  A ring-kinetic theory for Vicsek-style models of self-propelled agents is
derived from the exact N-particle evolution equation in phase space. The theory
goes beyond mean-field and does not rely on Boltzmann's approximation of
molecular chaos. It can handle pre-collisional correlations and cluster
formation which both seem important to understand the phase transition to
collective motion. We propose a diagrammatic technique to perform a small
density expansion of the collision operator and derive the first two equations
of the BBGKY-hierarchy. An algorithm is presented that numerically solves the
evolution equation for the two-particle correlations on a lattice. Agent-based
simulations are performed and informative quantities such as orientational and
density correlation functions are compared with those obtained by ring-kinetic
theory. Excellent quantitative agreement between simulations and theory is
found at not too small noises and mean free paths. This shows that there is
parameter ranges in Vicsek-like models where the correlated closure of the
BBGKY-hierarchy gives correct and nontrivial results. We calculate the
dependence of the orientational correlations on distance in the disordered
phase and find that it seems to be consistent with a power law with exponent
around -1.8, followed by an exponential decay. General limitations of the
kinetic theory and its numerical solution are discussed.
