Self-aligning polar active matter
What if active units could align--or even antialign--their orientation with their own velocity? This intriguing self-alignment property unlocks a spectrum of fascinating behaviors, from single self-propelled particles orbiting in harmonic traps to transformative collective phenomena like synchronized motion in dense or solid elastic assemblies. Unlike systems where units simply mimic their neighbors, self-alignment fundamentally reshapes how motion emerges, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries in biology, smart materials, and robotics. This review uncovers the hidden power of self-alignment in active systems, introduces a unified mathematical and conceptual framework, explores existing models of self-alignment, and highlights its transformative impact on the study and real-world applications of active systems.
Authors
- Amir Shee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1784-7737)
- Cristián Huepe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6495-8387)
- Olivier Dauchot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7039-5787)
- Gustavo Düring (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4171-5948)
- Paul Baconnier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3526-7605)
- Silke Henkes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6688-7367)
- Vincent Démery (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7546-0384)
Institutions
- École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (FR)
- Leiden University (NL)
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL)
- Université de Lyon (FR)
- Beijing Normal University (CN)
- Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR)
- Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (NL)
- Tempus Labs (United States) (US)
- Environnement, ville, société (FR)
- East China Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Reviews of Modern Physics
- Published
- 2025-03-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/revmodphys.97.015007
- Citations
- 39
- Primary Topic
- Micro and Nano Robotics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 49.07