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arXiv · 2512.15305

From flocking to jamming in collective cell dynamics: a Vicsek-like model including contact forces

Laurent Navoret·Roxana Sublet·Marcela Szopos
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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 [Maury, Venel, 2011]. 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.

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Laurent Navoret, Roxana Sublet, Marcela Szopos. 2025-12-17. From flocking to jamming in collective cell dynamics: a Vicsek-like model including contact forces. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.15305

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