Elasticity-driven collective motion in active solids and active crystals

TL;DR

This paper presents a simple model of self-propelled agents connected by springs that self-organize into collective motion, driven by an elasticity-based mechanism, with analytical stability conditions derived for the translating state.

Contribution

It introduces a novel elasticity-driven mechanism for collective motion in active solids, without explicit alignment rules, supported by analytical stability analysis.

Findings

Agents self-organize into collective motion below a noise threshold

Stability conditions for translating states are analytically derived

Elasticity-based mechanism facilitates convergence to collective behavior

Abstract

We introduce a simple model of self-propelled agents connected by linear springs, with no explicit alignment rules. Below a critical noise level, the agents self-organize into a collectively translating or rotating group. We derive analytical stability conditions for the translating state in an elastic sheet approximation. We propose an elasticity-based mechanism that drives convergence to collective motion by cascading self-propulsion energy towards lower-energy modes. Given its simplicity and ubiquity, such mechanism could play a relevant role in various biological and robotic swarms.