In 2024, particles became one of the key topics in popular culture and academic circles. Video games and films are increasingly striving for realism, using complex particles simulations. In science, supercomputers allow modeling billions of particles, combining various disciplines and evaluating the likelihood of ongoing processes.
New research, published in the “Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment”, sheds light on the phenomenon of collective movement, in which individual objects begin to move as a whole. Although this phenomenon is well known in particle physics, it is also found in Macromir – for example, in flocks of fish. Researchers believe that their ability to synchronous movement is explained not only by improved sensory organs, but also by previously unknown physical processes.
It is interesting that the collective movement of fish or birds can be compared with plasma in thermonuclear synthesis reactors. Both phenomena demonstrate similar features with liquids such as water or wind. However, the exact mechanisms underlying these phenomena still cause disputes. Researchers have found that fluctuations play a key role – changes that cause a violation of order in the system, ultimately leading to the organized behavior of the group.
Experiments showed that even magnetic particles react to fluctuations in an unexpected manner, leading to the formation of organized groups. This contradicts previous theories that explained collective behavior based on pressure and temperature. It is interesting that such processes are observed even in complex systems, such as groups of birds that focus on visual images.
Researchers created a new model to study collective movement, hoping that their approach will help further study such phenomena. This model has already shown its effectiveness, for example, in active particles experiencing considerable moments – a phenomenon observed in crystals of time when atoms are built into parallel rows and synchronized.
Thus, this study was an important step towards a deeper understanding of the phenomena of collective movement in nature.