Self-Propelled Rods: Linking Alignment-Dominated and Repulsion-Dominated Active Matter

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive model of self-propelled rods that unifies the behaviors of alignment-driven and repulsion-driven active matter, clarifying their phase relationships and collective dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a robust model linking alignment-dominated and repulsion-dominated active matter, bridging two previously separate research areas.

Findings

The model captures both Vicsek-style alignment behavior and motility-induced phase separation.

It demonstrates the unification of different active matter phases within a single framework.

The results clarify the nature and relationship of various phases in dry active matter.

Abstract

We study a robust model of self-propelled rods interacting via volume exclusion and show that its collective dynamics encompasses both that of the corresponding Vicsek-style model (where local alignment is the sole interaction), and motility-induced phase separation (which occurs when repulsion is dominant). These results unify these heretofore largely disconnected bodies of knowledge on dry active matter and clarify the nature of the various phases involved.