Influence of jerk on collective active-matter phenomena

Determine how jerk influences collective phenomena in active matter, including flocking, active turbulence, and motility-induced phase separation.

Background

The paper establishes that the interplay between self-propulsion and dry friction can produce jerk-dominated motion in active granular particles, characterized by a quadratic-in-time increase of speed and cubic-in-time displacement during activation. The authors note that jerk is associated with chaotic behavior and may therefore affect emergent collective states in active matter. They explicitly identify as unresolved how this higher-order dynamical effect influences flocking, active turbulence, and motility-induced phase separation.