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Swarms of particle agents with harmonic interactions

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Summary

Agent-based modeling is a powerful methodology to describe the occurence of complex behavior in biological systems. The interaction of a large number of individuals (agents) may for example lead to the emergence of new forms of collective motion. In this paper, we investigate a particle-based approach to the coherent motion of a swarm with parabolic (i. e. harmonic) interactions between the agents. It is based on generalized Langevin equations for the particle agents, which take into account (i) energetic conditions for active motion, (ii) linear attractive forces between each two agents. The complex collective motion observed can be explained as the result of these different influences: the active motion of the agents, which is driven by the energy-take up, would eventually lead to a spatial dispersion of the swarm, while the mutual interaction of the agents results in a tendency of spatial concentration. In addition to particle-based computer simulations, we also provide a mathematical framework for investigating the collective dynamics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Physics, Humboldt University Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 110, 10115, Berlin, Germany

    Werner Ebeling

  2. Real World Computing Partnership - Theoretical Foundation GMD Laboratory, Sankt Augustin, Germany

    Frank Schweitzer

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  1. Werner Ebeling
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  2. Frank Schweitzer
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Correspondence to Werner Ebeling.

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Dedicated to the memory of Michael Conrad

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Ebeling, W., Schweitzer, F. Swarms of particle agents with harmonic interactions. Theory Biosci. 120, 207–224 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12064-001-0019-7

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