Collective motion

Collective motion is defined as the spontaneous emergence of ordered movement in a system compound of a large number of self-propelled agents. It can be observed in everyday life, for example in flocks of birds, schools of fish, herds of animals and also in crowds and car traffic. It also appears at the microscopic level: in colonies of bacteria, motility assays and artificial self-propelled particles. The scientific community is trying to understand the universality of this phenomenon. In particular it is intensively investigated in statistical physics and more precisely in the field of active matter. Experiments on animals, biological and synthesized self-propelled particles, simulations and theories are conducted in parallel to study these phenomena. One of the most famous model trying to exhibit such behavior is the Vicsek model introduced by Tamás Vicsek et al. in 1995.