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  • Open Access

Intrinsic chirality reshapes collective states in perception-driven active matter

Diganta Bhaskar*, Abhishek Chaudhuri†, and Anil Kumar Dasanna‡

  • *Contact author: ph23060@iisermohali.ac.in
  • †Contact author: abhishek@iisermohali.ac.in
  • ‡Contact author: adasanna@iisermohali.ac.in
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033191 – Published 17 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/x14x-yykw

Abstract

Biological systems often combine intrinsic rotation with directional sensing and nonreciprocal interactions. However, the collective consequences of these combinations are poorly understood. Here, we extend a previously studied model of active Brownian particles with vision-mediated steering, polar alignment, and steric repulsion by adding intrinsic chirality, and examine how the additional rotational timescale introduced by intrinsic chirality reorganizes the resulting collective dynamics. We vary the alignment-to-vision maneuverability ratio, the vision angle, and the chirality to obtain dynamical state diagrams containing compact spinning clusters, vortices, ripple loops, wormlike swarms, and mobile rotary clusters. Intrinsic chirality alters the balance between vision-mediated cohesion and velocity alignment, giving rise to the observed rotary behavior. Large chirality suppresses collective organization, while moderate-to-low chirality stabilizes rotating and translating clusters. At moderate chirality, the model exhibits a ripple-loop morphology. We use both structural and dynamical measures like polarization, orientational correlations, solid-body spin, and mean squared displacement to distinguish the different regimes and the pathways between them.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033191– Published 17 August, 2026
  • Received 29 April 2026
  • Accepted 22 July 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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