A Boltzmann model for rod alignment and schooling fish
Journal article, 2015

We consider a Boltzmann model introduced by Bertin, Droz and Gregoire as a binary interaction model of the Vicsek alignment interaction. This model considers particles lying on the circle. Pairs of particles interact by trying to reach their mid-point (on the circle) up to some noise. We study the equilibria of this Boltzmann model and we rigorously show the existence of a pitchfork bifurcation when a parameter measuring the inverse of the noise intensity crosses a critical threshold. The analysis is carried over rigorously when there are only finitely many non-zero Fourier modes of the noise distribution. In this case, we can show that the critical exponent of the bifurcation is exactly 1/2. In the case of an infinite number of non-zero Fourier modes, a similar behavior can be formally obtained thanks to a method relying on integer partitions first proposed by Ben-Naim and Krapivsky.

kinetic equation

swarm

equilibrium

Author

E. Carlen

Rutgers University

M. C. Carvalho

Centro de Matematica e Aplicacoes Fundamentais

P. Degond

Imperial College London

Bernt Wennberg

University of Gothenburg

Chalmers, Mathematical Sciences

Nonlinearity

0951-7715 (ISSN) 13616544 (eISSN)

Vol. 28 6 1783-1803

Subject Categories

Mathematics

DOI

10.1088/0951-7715/28/6/1783

More information

Latest update

4/20/2018