Activity leads to topological phase transition in 2D populations of heterogeneous oscillators

TL;DR

Allowing active movement in 2D heterogeneous oscillator populations induces a topological phase transition, transforming short-range order into quasi-long-range order and linking XY and Kuramoto models.

Contribution

This study demonstrates that activity in oscillators causes a BKT transition, revealing a new mechanism for order emergence in active matter systems.

Findings

Active movement induces BKT transition

System exhibits quasi-long-range order

Connects XY and Kuramoto models

Abstract

Populations of heterogeneous, noisy oscillators on a two-dimensional lattice display short-range order. Here, we show that if the oscillators are allowed to actively move in space, the system undergoes instead a Berezenskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition and exhibits quasi-long-range order. This fundamental result connects two paradigmatic models -- XY and Kuramoto model -- and provides insight on the emergence of order in active systems.