We derive a minimal port-Hamiltonian formulation of a general class of
interacting particle systems driven by alignment and potential-based force
dynamics which include the Cucker-Smale model with potential interaction and
the second order Kuramoto model. The port-Hamiltonian structure allows to
characterize conserved quantities such as Casimir functions as well as the
long-time behaviour using a LaSalle-type argument on the particle level. It is
then shown that the port-Hamiltonian structure is preserved in the mean-field
limit and an analogue of the LaSalle invariance principle is studied in the
space of probability measures equipped with the 2-Wasserstein-metric. The
results on the particle and mean-field limit yield a new perspective on uniform
stability of general interacting particle systems. Moreover, as the minimal
port-Hamiltonian formulation is closed we identify the ports of the subsystems
which admit generalized mass-spring-damper structure modelling the binary
interaction of two particles. Using the information of ports we discuss the
coupling of difference species in a port-Hamiltonian preserving manner