Emergence of Active Foams in a Minimal Cognitive Flocking Model
Abstract
We investigate a minimal visual perception-driven model of self-propelled particles that interact through purely position-based cohesive steering within a finite vision cone, in the absence of velocity alignment and physical volume exclusion. Building on a previously proposed minimal cognitive model, we extend the interaction range from the previously studied short-range and distance-independent limits to an intermediate regime, enabling a systematic investigation of how a finite vision range influences collective behavior. We find that this regime exhibits a rich state diagram that combines characteristics of both limiting cases while giving rise to qualitatively new collective states. Besides the gas, nematic-band, and polar file states, we uncover the emergence of \emph{active foams} -- system-spanning fractal-like networks sustained by dynamically evolving particle streams. These structures arise solely from non-reciprocal vision-based interactions and are absent in both the short and long vision-range limits. For larger vision angles, the system self-organizes into a variety of aggregate morphologies, including condensates, rings, and multi-twist filaments, revealing a strong interplay between interaction range and anisotropic perception in shaping collective organization.
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BibTeX
@misc{dwivedi2026emergence,
title = {{Emergence of Active Foams in a Minimal Cognitive Flocking Model}},
author = {Aryan Dwivedi and Diganta Bhaskar and Anil Kumar Dasanna},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.15835},
eprint = {2610.15835},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.15835},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Emergence of Active Foams in a Minimal Cognitive Flocking Model
AU - Aryan Dwivedi
AU - Diganta Bhaskar
AU - Anil Kumar Dasanna
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/11
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.15835
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.15835
AB - We investigate a minimal visual perception-driven model of self-propelled particles that interact through purely position-based cohesive steering within a finite vision cone, in the absence of velocity alignment and physical volume exclusion. Building on a previously proposed minimal cognitive model, we extend the interaction range from the previously studied short-range and distance-independent limits to an intermediate regime, enabling a systematic investigation of how a finite vision range influences collective behavior. We find that this regime exhibits a rich state diagram that combines characteristics of both limiting cases while giving rise to qualitatively new collective states. Besides the gas, nematic-band, and polar file states, we uncover the emergence of \emph{active foams} -- system-spanning fractal-like networks sustained by dynamically evolving particle streams. These structures arise solely from non-reciprocal vision-based interactions and are absent in both the short and long vision-range limits. For larger vision angles, the system self-organizes into a variety of aggregate morphologies, including condensates, rings, and multi-twist filaments, revealing a strong interplay between interaction range and anisotropic perception in shaping collective organization.
ER -