Abstract In this work we analytically investigate the alignment mechanism of self-propelled ellipse-shaped cells in two spatial dimensions interacting via overlap avoidance. By considering a two-cell system and imposing certain symmetries, we obtain an analytically tractable dynamical system, which we mathematically analyse in detail. We find that for elongated cells there is a half-stable steady state corresponding to perfect alignment between the cells. Whether cells move towards this state (i.e., become perfectly aligned) or not is determined by where in state space the initial condition lies. We find that a separatrix splits the state space into two regions, which characterise these two different outcomes. We find that some self-propulsion is necessary to achieve perfect alignment, however too much self-propulsion hinders alignment. Analysing the effect of small amounts of self-propulsion offers an insight into the timescales at play when a trajectory is moving towards the point of perfect alignment. We find that the two cells initially move apart to avoid overlap over a fast timescale, and then the presence of self-propulsion causes them to move towards a configuration of perfect alignment over a much slower timescale. Overall, our analysis highlights how the interaction between self-propulsion and overlap avoidance is sufficient to generate alignment.

A Dynamical Analysis of the Alignment Mechanism Between Two Interacting Cells