Optimal Navigation for Active Particles in Complex Environments
Giorgio Volpe
University College London, UK
Active particles are biological or manmade entities that can self-propel. Examples range from the macroscopic world of animal foraging and robot swarming to the microscopic world of bacterial motility and artificial swimmers. Because of their ability to self-propel, their behaviour can only be explained and understood within the framework of non-equilibrium physics. As a consequence, their dynamics finely depend on environmental features, which are often highly heterogeneous and disordered in realistic environments. In this talk, using both numerical and experimental examples, I will discuss how the adoption of different strategies can enable active particles to efficiently navigate their environment in the presence of complexity.