Abstract
Cristian Huepe Minoletti: „Elasticity-driven collective motion in active solids and active crystals”
Northwestern University, USA
Collective motion is one of the simplest forms of self-organization in systems of active components. Its emergence in fluid-like swarms with aligning interactions has been the focus of much research activity. In this talk, I will introduce instead an idealized model of self-propelled particles connected by linear springs that describes a semi-rigid formation of active components without explicit aligning dynamics. I will show that a simple elasticity-based mechanism drives the particles to self-organize by cascading self-propulsion energy towards lower-energy modes. Given its ubiquity, this mechanism could play a relevant role in various natural and artificial systems of active matter.