Mechanical inhibition of dissipation in a thermodynamically consistent active solid

TL;DR

This paper develops a thermodynamically consistent model of active solids revealing how mechanical stresses can suppress dissipation, explaining non-monotonic entropy production observed in biological materials.

Contribution

It introduces a bottom-up theoretical framework for active solids that uncovers the inhibition of dissipation under large stresses, a novel insight into active matter thermodynamics.

Findings

Dissipation peaks at finite stresses.

Large stresses inhibit dissipation, reverting to passive behavior.

Explains non-monotonic entropy production in biological systems.

Abstract

The study of active solids offers a window into the mechanics and thermodynamics of dense living matter. A key aspect of the non-equilibrium dynamics of such active systems is a mechanistic description of how the underlying mechano-chemical couplings arise, which cannot be resolved in models that are phenomenologically constructed. Here, we follow a bottom-up theoretical approach to develop a thermodynamically consistent active solid (TCAS) model, and uncover a non-trivial cross-talk that naturally ensues between mechanical response and dissipation. In particular, we show that dissipation reaches a maximum at finite stresses, while it is inhibited under large stresses, effectively reverting the system to a passive state. Our findings establish a generic mechanism plausibly responsible for the non-monotonic behaviour observed in recent experimental measurements of entropy production rate in an actomyosin material and enzymatic activity in crowded condensates.