Further info
Simulating herds, flocks and swarms
A curated set of accessible background pages, reviews and lecture notes related to this research programme.
Wikipedia primers
Entry points for active matter, flocking models and the optimisation ideas connected to the programme.
Active matterSystems whose constituents consume energy to move or exert forces, placing the collective dynamics intrinsically out of equilibrium.Active fluidContinuum descriptions of dense active systems such as bacterial suspensions and synthetic self-propelled particles.Vicsek modelA minimal particle model of self-propulsion, alignment, noise and the transition to collective motion.Mermin-Wagner theoremThe equilibrium theorem whose assumptions help highlight why two-dimensional active flocks can behave very differently from equilibrium magnets.Particle swarm optimisationA population-based optimisation method inspired by collective motion, and a computational application of the group's dispersion-engineering ideas.
Reviews and research background
Broader reviews connecting microscopic active-particle models to continuum hydrodynamics and collective behaviour.
Hydrodynamics of soft active matterA classic review of active-matter hydrodynamics across biological and synthetic systems.Self-aligning polar active matterA recent review of self-alignment, collective motion and emergent organisation in polar active systems.Flocks, herds, and schools: a quantitative theory of flockingThe Toner-Tu hydrodynamic theory of flocking, a central continuum reference for the programme.