Boltzmann-Ginzburg-Landau approach for continuous descriptions of generic Vicsek-like models

A. Peshkov (1, 2) , E. Bertin (3) , F. Ginelli (4, 5) , H. Chaté (6, 2)

1 PMMH - Physique et mécanique des milieux hétérogenes (UMR 7636)
2 SPHYNX - Systèmes Physiques Hors-équilibre, hYdrodynamique, éNergie et compleXes
3 LIPhy - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique [Saint Martin d’Hères]
4 ICSMB - Institute for Complex Systems and Mathematical Biology [Aberdeen]
5 SPEC - UMR3680 - Service de physique de l'état condensé
6 LPTMC - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de la Matière Condensée

We describe a generic theoretical framework, denoted as the Boltzmann-Ginzburg-Landau approach, to derive continuous equations for the polar and/or nematic order parameters describing the large scale behavior of assemblies of point-like active particles interacting through polar or nematic alignment rules. Our study encompasses three main classes of dry active systems, namely polar particles with 'ferro-magnetic' alignment (like the original Vicsek model), nematic particles with nematic alignment (" active nematics "), and polar particles with nematic alignment (" self-propelled rods "). The Boltzmann-Ginzburg-Landau approach combines a low-density description in the form of a Boltzmann equation, with a Ginzburg-Landau-type expansion close to the instability threshold of the disordered state. We provide the generic form of the continuous equations obtained for each class, and comment on the relationships and differences with other approaches.

Domains: Physics [physics]

A. Peshkov, E. Bertin, F. Ginelli, H. Chaté. Boltzmann-Ginzburg-Landau approach for continuous descriptions of generic Vicsek-like models. The European Physical Journal. Special Topics, 2014, 223 (7), pp.1315 - 1344. ⟨10.1140/epjst/e2014-02193-y⟩. ⟨cea-01384282⟩