Flocking in the Cucker-Smale model with self-delay and nonsymmetric interaction weights (Q2672989)

This paper analyzes a Cucker-Smale system with nonsymmetric interaction weights and time delay of reaction type. In particular, in the considered model, in the equation for the velocity \(v_i\) of each agent \(i\in \{1, \dots, N\},\) a time delay is present in positions and velocities not only of other agents \(j\in \{1, \dots, N\},\) \(j\ne i,\) but also of the agent \(i\) itself. An analogous model had been analyzed in [\textit{J. Haskovec} and \textit{I. Markou}, Kinet. Relat. Models 13, No. 4, 795--813 (2020; Zbl 1462.34100)] and [\textit{J. Haskovec} and \textit{I. Markou}, Math. Biosci. Eng. 17, No. 5, 5651--5671 (2020; Zbl 1470.92401)] in the case of symmetric interactions. Here, the main novelty is the presence of nonsymmetric interaction strengths that make the model more difficult to deal with. Under a smallness condition on the time delay, combining a decay estimate for the group velocity diameter with a variant of the Gronwall-Halanay inequality, an exponential flocking estimate is deduced. The sufficient flocking condition is formulated in terms of the time delay length \(\tau,\) the influence function \(\psi,\) and the position and velocity diameters of the initial datum.