Pattern Formation and Functionality in Swarm Models

We explore a simplified class of models we call swarms, which are inspired by the collective behavior of social insects. We perform a mean-field stability analysis and numerical simulations of the model. Several interesting types of behavior emerge in the vicinity of a second-order phase transition in the model, including the formation of stable lines of traffic flow, and memory reconstruction and bootstrapping. In addition to providing an understanding of certain classes of biological behavior, these models bear a generic resemblance to a number of pattern formation processes in the physical sciences.