Activity-driven clustering of jamming run-and-tumble particles: Exact three-body steady state by dynamical symmetry

Abstract: We exactly resolve the three-particle steady state of run-and-tumble particles with jamming interactions, providing the first microscopic description beyond two bodies. The invariant measure, derived via a piecewise-deterministic Markov process description and symmetry principles, reveals persistent, separated, and diffusive regimes. A cascade of scales in the activity parameter organizes the structural weights, showing the separated phase dominates at finite activity, while non-uniformity plays only a minor role. This approach lays the groundwork for tackling the $N$-body problem.