A mean-field model for nematic alignment of self-propelled rods

Abstract

In this paper we develop a model for nematic alignment of self-propelled rods interacting through binary collisions. We avoid phenomenological descriptions of rod interaction in favor of rigorously using a set of microscopic-level rules. Under the assumption that each collision results in a small change to a rod's orientation, we derive the Fokker-Planck equation for the evolution of the kinetic density function. Using analytical and numerical methods, we study the emergence of the nematic order from a homogeneous, uniform steady-state of the mean-field equation.

https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.106.034613

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