Dynamical properties and scaling behavior of self-propelled particles: Langevin dynamics

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the present paper is to investigate the behavior of collective motion of living biological organisms in the two-dimensional (2D) plane by adopting a new approach based on the use of Langevin dynamics. Langevin dynamics is a powerful tool to study these systems because they present a stochastic process due to collisions between their constituents.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the dynamical properties and scaling behavior of self-propelled particles were studied numerically by using Langevin dynamics. These dynamics have been affected by the use of only the alignment zone of radius R.

Findings

The results indicated that the system’s velocity increases with time and reaches to finite value at the equilibrium phase.

Research limitations/implications

This result is more consistent with that of Vicsek’s model. However, the system’s velocity decreases exponentially with the applied noise without taking the zero value for the highest noise value.

Practical implications

As well as, the crossover time of the growth kinetic system decreases exponentially with noise.

Social implications

Scaling behavior has been checked for this system and the corresponding results prove that behavior scales with the same law of the one in Vicsek’s model but with different scaling exponents.

Originality/value

The phase transition observed in Vicsek’s model cannot be reproduced by the Langevin dynamics model, which describes more about the dynamical properties of self-propelled systems.

Citation

Amallah, L., Hader, A., Tanasehte, M., Hariti, Y. and Boughaleb, Y. (2021), "Dynamical properties and scaling behavior of self-propelled particles: Langevin dynamics", Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 418-425. https://doi.org/10.1108/MMMS-06-2020-0129