Collective behavior and dynamic scaling in biological groups

by Irene Giardina ("Sapienza" Univ. di Roma)

Monday 2 Mar 2020, 14:00 → 16:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Conversi (Dip. di Fisica - Edificio G. Marconi)

Recent findings on flocks of birds and swarms of insects show that these groups exhibit strong correlations and obey static and dynamic scaling laws, thereby supporting a statistical physics approach. Experiments also indicate that a crucial ingredient - behavioral inertia - is needed to reproduce the observed phenomenology. In this talk, after reviewing the experimental facts, I will introduce a new model of collective motion with behavioral inertia. The related field theory, including both dissipative and reversible dynamical terms, displays flock-like propagation in the ordered phase, and - as revealed by an RG analysis - dynamic scaling laws consistent with the ones of natural swarms.