The world of Vicsek-like models and related experiments

24.03.2017 14:15 – 15:00

After a brief introduction to the fast-growing field of active matter, I will review our current knowledge of its emblematic minimal model, the Vicsek model, and its siblings. I will detail the new physics that emerges at the collective level in Vicsek-style models where local alignment competes with noise, and point to pending important questions related to our understanding of fluctuations. Finally, i will show that the restrictive framework of these models does have some direct relevance in the real world by describing recent experiments performed on bacterial suspensions.