• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.37-43
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• 2010

In field, one can observe without difficulties that two flocks are intersected or combined with each other. For example, a fish flock in a stream separates into two part by obstacles (e.g. stone) and rejoins behind the obstacles. The dynamics of two flocks guided by their leader were studied in the situation where the flocks cross each other with a crossing angle, ${\theta}$, between their moving directions. Each leader is unaffected by its flock members whereas each member is influenced by its leader and other members. To understand the dynamics, I investigated the order parameter, ${\phi}$, defined by the absolute value of the average unit velocity of the flocks' members. When the two flocks were encountered, the first peak in ${\phi}$ was appeared due to the breaking of the flocks' momentum balance. When the flocks began to separate, the second peak in ${\phi}$ was observed. Subsequently, erratic peaks were emerged by some individuals that were delayed to rejoin their flock. The amplitude of the two peaks, $d_1$ (first) and $d_2$ (second), were measured. Interestingly, they exhibited a synchronized behavior for different ${\theta}$. This simulation model can be a useful tool to explore animal behavior and to develop multi-agent robot systems.