Active Matter: Collective Behaviour

Synopsis

Schrödinger highlighted the significance of continuous energy consumption, emphasizing the need for living systems to remain far from thermodynamic equilibrium to establish order and complexity. This concept is encapsulated in the term "active matter," referring to systems composed of self-driven agents performing mechanical work on themselves and their surroundings. Examples include flocks or herds of animals, collections of cells, and components of the cellular cytoskeleton, where mechanical energy is locally introduced by the agents. In my talk, I will discuss how physicists have attempted to explore and characterize the rules governing complex behaviour in active matter systems. Specifically, I will emphasize the Vicsek model and a particular model used to explain the collective behaviour of filamentous cyanobacteria.