Spontaneous vortex formation by microswimmers with retarded attractions

Xiangzun Wang, Pin-Chuan Chen, Klaus Kroy, Viktor Holubec and Frank Cichos ()
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Xiangzun Wang: Leipzig University
Pin-Chuan Chen: Leipzig University
Klaus Kroy: Leipzig University
Viktor Holubec: Charles University
Frank Cichos: Leipzig University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Collective states of inanimate particles self-assemble through physical interactions and thermal motion. Despite some phenomenological resemblance, including signatures of criticality, the autonomous dynamics that binds motile agents into flocks, herds, or swarms allows for much richer behavior. Low-dimensional models have hinted at the crucial role played in this respect by perceived information, decision-making, and feedback, implying that the corresponding interactions are inevitably retarded. Here we present experiments on spherical Brownian microswimmers with delayed self-propulsion toward a spatially fixed target. We observe a spontaneous symmetry breaking to a transiently chiral dynamical state and concomitant critical behavior that do not rely on many-particle cooperativity. By comparison with the stochastic delay differential equation of motion of a single swimmer, we pinpoint the delay-induced effective synchronization of the swimmers with their own past as the key mechanism. Increasing numbers of swimmers self-organize into layers with pro- and retrograde orbital motion, synchronized and stabilized by steric, phoretic, and hydrodynamic interactions. Our results demonstrate how even most simple retarded interactions can foster emergent complex adaptive behavior in small active-particle ensembles.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35427-7

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