| Abstract: | We explain the physical motivation for studying the collective coherent motion of large numbers of self-propelled biological
organisms. Starting from a well-known discrete model, we discuss the fundamental microscopic mechanisms leading to collective
behavior in bird flocks, and how appropriate behavioral rules for the individuals can determine specific features of the aggregation
at the group level. We further discuss the theoretical, experimental, and computational effort undertaken to explore this
phenomenon together with possible directions for future research in this area. |
