From Flocking to Jamming in Collective Cell Dynamics: A Vicsek-Like Model Including Contact Forces

Abstract.

The goal of the present work is to propose an agent-based model that originally combines classical Vicsek-like polarity alignments and contact forces, as implemented in the framework developed by Maury and Venel in [ ESAIM Math. Model. Numer. Anal., 45 (2011), pp. 145–168]. The description additionally incorporates velocity feedback on polarity and soft attraction-repulsion interactions. After carefully studying the well posedness of the model, we introduce a suitable discretization and perform an extensive range of numerical experiments to assess the impact of different modeling ingredients. The dynamical system is capable of recovering the order-disorder phase transition of the flock, as well as the jamming effect in high density regimes. As such, the developed framework can be seen as a promising theoretical tool that could contribute to improving the understanding of complex collective cell dynamics and emerging tissue flows.