Propagation of transient behaviour in linear flocking models

This talk will introduce a set of models for describing the behaviour of linear flocks. One application of these models is to describe groups of autonomous automobiles on a one-lane road, where each automobile controls its acceleration based on the differences of its own position and velocity from those of its neighbors. In my talk I will discuss recent theoretical results describing the propagation of perturbations across the flock, occuring when one vehicle is initially given a velocity different than all of the others. We study systems with asymmetric coupling, in which case the transients may travel with different velocities in two directions.