Global regularity of two-dimensional flocking hydrodynamics

Abstract: We study the systems of Euler equations which arise from agent-based dynamics driven by velocity \emph{alignment}. It is known that smooth solutions of such systems must flock, namely -- the large time behavior of the velocity field approaches a limiting "flocking" velocity. To address the question of global regularity, we derive sharp critical thresholds in the phase space of initial configuration which characterize the global regularity and hence flocking behavior of such \emph{two-dimensional} systems. Specifically, we prove for that a large class of \emph{sub-critical} initial conditions such that the initial divergence is "not too negative" and the initial spectral gap is "not too large", global regularity persists for all time.