Abstract

We propose a simple adaptive-network model describing recent swarming experiments. Exploiting an analogy with human decision making, we capture the dynamics of the model using a low-dimensional system of equations permitting analytical investigation. We find that the model reproduces several characteristic features of swarms, including spontaneous symmetry breaking, noise-and density-driven order-disorder transitions that can be of first or second order, and intermittency. Reproducing these experimental observations using a non-spatial model suggests that spatial geometry may have less of an impact on collective motion than previously thought.