Dense polar active fluids in a disordered environment

Abstract

We examine the influence of quenched disorder on the flocking transition of dense polar active matter. We consider incompressible systems of active particles with aligning interactions under the effect of either quenched random forces or random dilution. The system displays a continuous disorder-order (flocking) transition, and the associated scaling behavior is described by a new universality class which is controlled by a quenched Navier-Stokes fixed point. We determine the critical exponents through a perturbative renormalization group analysis. We show that the two forms of quenched disorder, random force and random mass (dilution), belong to the same universality class, in contrast with the situation at equilibrium.