Current experiments support the controversial hypothesis that a well-known concept in physics—a critical point—is behind the striking behavior of collective animal systems. Physicists from the Cluster of Excellence Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior at the University of Konstanz showed that light-controlled microswimming particles can be made to organize into collective states such as swarms and swirls. By studying the particles fluctuating between these states, they provide evidence for critical behavior—and support for a physical principle underlying the complex behavior of collectives. The research results were published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
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Source: Phys.org