Susceptibility of Orientationally-Ordered Active Matter to Chirality Disorder

Abstract

We investigate the susceptibility of long-range ordered phases of two-dimensional dry aligning active matter to population disorder, taken in the form of a distribution of intrinsic individual chiralities. Using a combination of particle-level models and hydrodynamic theories derived from them, we show that while in finite systems all ordered phases resist a finite amount of such chirality disorder, the homogeneous ones (polar flocks and active nematics) are unstable to any amount of disorder in the infinite-size limit. On the other hand, we find that the inhomogeneous solutions of the coexistence phase (bands) may resist a finite amount of chirality disorder even asymptotically.

Collective states of active matter with stochastic reversals: emergent chiral states and spontaneous current switching

“…In the case of mobility of animals or microorganisms such intrinsic disorder corresponds for example to behavioral variability in a population. Recent studies include inhomogeneous chirality disorder throughout a population [23], speed inhomogeneity [24] or the inclusion of dissenters [25] or particles with contrarian tendencies [26].…”