title: Emergent behavioural phenotypes of swarming models revealed by mimicking a frustrated anti-ferromagnet.
abstract: Self-propelled particle (SPP) models are often compared with animal swarms. However, the collective animal behaviour observed in experiments often leaves considerable unconstrained freedom in the structure of a proposed model. Essentially, multiple models can describe the observed behaviour of animal swarms in simple environments. To tackle this degeneracy, we study swarms of SPPs in non-trivial environments as a new approach to distinguish between candidate models. We restrict swarms of SPPs to circular (periodic) channels where they polarize in one of two directions (like spins) and permit information to pass through windows between neighbouring channels. Co-alignment between particles then couples the channels (anti-ferromagnetically) so that they tend to counter-rotate. We study channels arranged to mimic a geometrically frustrated anti-ferromagnet and show how the effects of this frustration allow us to better distinguish between SPP models. Similar experiments could therefore improve our understanding of collective motion in animals. Finally, we discuss how the spin analogy can be exploited to construct universal logic gates, and therefore swarming systems that can function as Turing machines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK MOAC Doctoral Training Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK d.j.g.pearce@warwick.ac.uk.
authors.forename: D J G
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK Centre for Complexity Science, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Turner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003198:Computer Simulation; D060733:Electromagnetic Radiation; D005399:Fishes; D006110:Grasshoppers; D008280:Magnetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009038:Motion; D009068:Movement; D010641:Phenotype
keywords: active matter; animal behaviour; collective motion; frustration; self-propelled particles; swarm