Metastability of Discrete-Symmetry Flocks

Phys Rev Lett. 2023 Nov 24;131(21):218301. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.218301.

Abstract

We study the stability of the ordered phase of flocking models with a scalar order parameter. Using both the active Ising model and a hydrodynamic description, we show that droplets of particles moving in the direction opposite to that of the ordered phase nucleate and grow. We characterize analytically this self-similar growth and demonstrate that droplets spread ballistically in all directions. Our results imply that, in the thermodynamic limit, discrete-symmetry flocks-and, by extension, continuous-symmetry flocks with rotational anisotropy-are metastable in all dimensions.