Social Phases in Human Movement

Abstract

Recent empirical studies found different thermodynamic phases for collective motion in animals. However, such a thermodynamic description for human movement remains unclear, mainly due to the limited resolution of existing tracking technologies. In this Letter, we used a new ultra-wideband radio frequency identification technology to collect high-resolution spatial-temporal data for classroom movements. We measured the effective temperatures for the underlying systems, and found two social phases, gas and liquid-vapor coexistence, associated with different temperatures. We also proposed a simple statistical physics model that can reproduce different empirically observed phases.