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arXiv · 2212.08637

Social Phases in Human Movement

Yi Zhang·Debasish Sarker·Samantha Mitsven·Lynn Perry·Daniel Messinger·Chaoming Song
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Abstract

Recent empirical studies found different thermodynamic phases for collective motion in animals. However, such a thermodynamic description for human movement remains unclear, mainly due to the limited resolution of existing tracking technologies. In this Letter, we used a new ultra-wideband radio frequency identification technology to collect high-resolution spatial-temporal data for classroom movements. We measured the effective temperatures for the underlying systems, and found two social phases, gas and liquid-vapor coexistence, associated with different temperatures. We also proposed a simple statistical physics model that can reproduce different empirically observed phases.

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Yi Zhang, Debasish Sarker, Samantha Mitsven, Lynn Perry, Daniel Messinger, Chaoming Song. 2022-12-16. Social Phases in Human Movement. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.110.044303

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