Phase transitions in systems of self-propelled agents and related network models

TL;DR

This paper investigates the nature of phase transitions in systems of self-propelled agents, revealing that the transition's character depends on how noise is incorporated, through analytical and numerical analysis of related network models.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how noise implementation affects the order of phase transitions in self-propelled particle systems, combining analytical and numerical methods.

Findings

The phase transition can be continuous or discontinuous depending on noise introduction.

Analytical results clarify the conditions influencing transition type.

Numerical simulations support the analytical predictions.

Abstract

An important characteristic of flocks of birds, school of fish, and many similar assemblies of self-propelled particles is the emergence of states of collective order in which the particles move in the same direction. When noise is added into the system, the onset of such collective order occurs through a dynamical phase transition controlled by the noise intensity. While originally thought to be continuous, the phase transition has been claimed to be discontinuous on the basis of recently reported numerical evidence. We address this issue by analyzing two representative network models closely related to systems of self-propelled particles. We present analytical as well as numerical results showing that the nature of the phase transition depends crucially on the way in which noise is introduced into the system.