Erik M. Rauch
, Mark M. Millonas
and Dante R. Chialvo
Yale University, P.O. Box 202200 Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520
Theoretical Division and CNLS, MS B258 Los Alamos National Laboratory,
Los Alamos, NM 87545
Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ 85724
We explore a simplified class of models we call swarms, which are inspired by the collective behavior of social insects. We perform a mean-field stability analysis and perform numerical simulations of the model. Several interesting types of behavior emerge in the vicinity of a second-order phase transition in the model, including the formation of stable lines of traffic flow, and memory reconstitution and boostrapping. In addition to providing an understanding of certain classes of biological behavior, these models bear a generic resemblance to a number of pattern formation processes in the physical sciences.