Self-organization and control in acoustically coupled active matter

In active matter systems, interactions and self-propulsion of agents lead to the formation of structures that exceed the size of individual units by orders of magnitude. The resulting collective structures exhibit emergent properties and functionalities that are not realizable by the individual constituent units. Recently, it has been shown that chemical communication with active decision making at the level of individual agents enables a rapid collectively controlled multi-scale organization process resulting in functional self-assembled structures [1].

Here we study the collective behavior of self-propelled active agents communicating with each other by means of acoustic signals. The interplay of self-propulsion and the acoustic interaction leads to a self-organization into aggregates such as localized droplets and collectively propagating snake- and larvae-like solutions. These structures enable cooperative functionality such as collective navigation in heterogeneous environments and concerted localization. Moreover, the emergent dynamic states are amenable to externally imposed guiding cues, which opens pathways for applications using controlled acoustically interacting microrobots.

[1] A. Ziepke, I. Maryshev, I.S. Aranson, and E. Frey, preprint, Research Square, doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1756534/v1 (2022).