Swarming and Pattern Formation due to Selective Attraction and Repulsion

Abstract

We discuss the collective dynamics of self-propelled particles with selective attraction and repulsion interactions. Each particle, or individual, may respond differently to its neighbors depending on the sign of their relative velocity. Thus, it is able to distinguish approaching (coming closer) and moving away individuals. This differentiation of the social response is motivated by the response to looming visual stimuli and may be seen as a generalization of the previously proposed, biologically motivated, escape and pursuit interactions. The model can account for different types of behavior such as pure attraction, pure repulsion, or escape and pursuit depending on the values (signs) of the different response strengths, and provides, in the light of recent experimental results, an interesting alternative to previously proposed models of collective motion with an explicit velocity-alignment interaction. We show the onset of large scale collective motion in a subregion of the parameter space, which corresponds to an effective escape and/or pursuit response. Furthermore, we discuss the observed spatial patterns and show how kinetic description of the dynamics can be derived from the individual based model.