Analysis of a Self-Propelled Particle Model for Understanding Flocking Transition in Sperm

POSTER

Abstract

Self-propelled particle (SPP) model has been used to derive useful knowledge in active matter systems for more than two decades. When there is no alignment between particles, there is a known phase separation of a condensed phase and a dilute phase solely due to the volume exclusion called motility induced phase separation (MIPS). When there is alignment between particles, there is a flocking transition. The goal of our SPP model is to help us understand experimental observation, and we focus on showing that our model produces comparable results with known literature. When we used a quadratic repulsion potential with no alignment, cell density fluctuation was seen when 7,000 particles were placed in the system, similar to other observation from MIPS, while the mean squared displacement (MSD) scales linearly with time to show a purely diffusive motion. When alignment was introduced and flocking occurred, we saw the MSD to scale with time quadratically, in line with particles going in a fixed direction. Along with the correlation function measurement, we have established a framework for the analysis of the SPP model, and we look to help better understand the origin of sperm flocking in experiments.

Authors

  • Paul Yanka

    North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A\&T State University

  • Jelani Lyles

    North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A\&T State University

  • Emmanuel Sarpong

    Georgia State University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, American Association of Physics Teachers, Bradley University, Michigan State University, University of St. Thomas, Kansas State University, Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate and Institute for Integrated Catalysis, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Delhi, University of Mississippi, Vanderbilt University, Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), President of UNCW SPS Chapter, Duke University, NC Central University, Davidson College, Beijing Normal University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, University of Kentucky, Syracuse University, Clemson University, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Florida International University, Oak Ridge National Lab, Indiana University, Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II), Bowie State University, MD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Arizona State University, University of California, Davis, North Carolina State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, North Carolina A&T State University, UNC Charlotte

  • Emmanuel Sarpong

    Georgia State University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, American Association of Physics Teachers, Bradley University, Michigan State University, University of St. Thomas, Kansas State University, Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate and Institute for Integrated Catalysis, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Delhi, University of Mississippi, Vanderbilt University, Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), President of UNCW SPS Chapter, Duke University, NC Central University, Davidson College, Beijing Normal University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, University of Kentucky, Syracuse University, Clemson University, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Florida International University, Oak Ridge National Lab, Indiana University, Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II), Bowie State University, MD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Arizona State University, University of California, Davis, North Carolina State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, North Carolina A&T State University, UNC Charlotte

  • Chih-Kuan Tung

    North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A\&T State University