Nicole Zalewski, Temple University
Event Date
2026-02-04
Event Time
04:00 pm ~ 05:00 pm
Event Location
617 Wachman Hall
Multi-agent dynamical systems models are used widely to model the movement of groups of animals. Several species of animal, including penguins and rodent pups, have been observed to huddle for warmth and continuously cycle who is in the center of the huddle. In this talk I present a novel model of individuals that exchange warmth and move based on their own body temperature. This model is built on the physics of heat exchange and well-studied attraction/repulsion dynamics, with some new mathematical results on consequences of parameter choices in attraction/repulsion potentials. I will showcase how the individual dynamics lead to emergent macroscopic movement patterns that mimic observed behavior. Simulations show how different choices of parameters lead to interesting different behaviors that raise questions on fairness and cooperative behavior in animals.