Spontaneous trail formation in populations of auto-chemotactic walkers
Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-84466
- We study the formation of trails in populations of self-propelled agents that make oriented deposits of pheromones and also sense such deposits to which they then respond with gradual changes of their direction of motion. Based on extensive off-lattice computer simulations aiming at the scale of insects, e.g., ants, we identify a number of emerging stationary patterns and obtain qualitatively the non-equilibrium \add{state} diagram of the model, spanned by the strength of the agent--pheromone interaction and the number density of the population. In particular, we demonstrate the spontaneous formation of persistent, macroscopic trails, and highlight some behaviour that is consistent with a dynamic phase transition. This includes a characterisation of the mass of system-spanning trails as a potential order parameter. We also propose a dynamic model for a few macroscopic observables, including the sub-population size of trail-following agents, which captures the early phase of trail formation.
Author: | Zahra Mokhtari, Robert I. A. Patterson, Felix Höfling |
---|---|
Document Type: | ZIB-Report |
MSC-Classification: | 82-XX STATISTICAL MECHANICS, STRUCTURE OF MATTER |
PACS-Classification: | 80.00.00 INTERDISCIPLINARY PHYSICS AND RELATED AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY |
Date of first Publication: | 2021/10/22 |
Series (Serial Number): | ZIB-Report (21-36) |
ISSN: | 1438-0064 |