1208.5448 (Christoph. A. Weber et al.)

Nucleation-induced transition to collective motion in active systems    [PDF]

Christoph. A. Weber, Volker Schaller, Andreas R. Bausch, Erwin Frey

While the existence of polar ordered states in active systems is well established, the dynamics of the self-assembly processes are still elusive. We study a lattice gas model of self-propelled elongated particles interacting through excluded volume and alignment interactions, which shows a phase transition from an isotropic to a polar ordered state. By analyzing the ordering process we find that the transition is driven by the formation of a critical nucleation cluster and a subsequent coarsening process. Moreover, the time to establish a polar ordered state shows a power-law divergence.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1208.5448