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Social interactions lead to motility-induced phase separation in fire ants

Author

Listed:
  • Caleb Anderson

    (University of Barcelona
    Georgia Institute of Technology)

  • Alberto Fernandez-Nieves

    (University of Barcelona
    Georgia Institute of Technology
    ICREA-Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats
    University of Barcelona)

Abstract

Collections of fire ants are a form of active matter, as the ants use their internal metabolism to self-propel. In the absence of aligning interactions, theory and simulations predict that active matter with spatially dependent motility can undergo motility-induced phase separation. However, so far in experiments, the motility effects that drive this process have come from either crowding or an external parameter. Though fire ants are social insects that communicate and cooperate in nontrivial ways, we show that the effect of their interactions can also be understood within the framework of motility-induced phase separation. In this context, the slowing down of ants when they approach each other results in an effective attraction that can lead to space-filling clusters and an eventual formation of dynamical heterogeneities. These results illustrate that motility-induced phase separation can provide a unifying framework to rationalize the behavior of a wide variety of active matter systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Caleb Anderson & Alberto Fernandez-Nieves, 2022. "Social interactions lead to motility-induced phase separation in fire ants," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-34181-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34181-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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