Glassy dynamics of athermal self-propelled particles: Computer simulations and a nonequilibrium microscopic theory

We combine computer simulations and analytical theory to investigate the glassy dynamics in dense assemblies of athermal particles evolving under the sole influence of self-propulsion. Our simulations reveal that when the persistence time of the self-propulsion is increased, the local structure becomes more pronounced, whereas the long-time dynamics first accelerates and then slows down. We explain these surprising findings by constructing a nonequilibrium microscopic theory that yields nontrivial predictions for the glassy dynamics. These predictions are in qualitative agreement with the simulations and reveal the importance of steady-state correlations of the local velocities to the nonequilibrium dynamics of dense self-propelled particles.