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Updated: Jul 26, 2025

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers
Published on: May 28, 2007
Flocking turbulence of microswimmers in confined domains
L Puggioni1, G Boffetta1,2, S Musacchio1
1Dipartimento di Fisica and INFN, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy.
Abstract:
We extensively study the Toner-Tu-Swift-Hohenberg model of motile active matter by means of direct numerical simulations in a two-dimensional confined domain. By exploring the space of parameters of the model we investigate the emergence of a new state of active turbulence which occurs when the aligning interactions and the self-propulsion of the swimmers are strong. This regime of flocking turbulence is characterized by a population of few strong vortices, each surrounded by an island of coherent flocking motion. The energy spectrum of flocking turbulence displays a power-law scaling with an exponent which depends weakly on the model parameters. By increasing the confinement we observe that the system, after a long transient characterized by power-law-distributed transition times, switches to the ordered state of a single giant vortex.
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