Autonomous waves and global motion modes in living active solids

Abstract

Elastic active matter or active solid consists of self-propelled units embedded in an elastic matrix. Active solid resists deformation; the shape-preserving property and the intrinsic non-equilibrium nature make active solids a superior component for self-driven devices. Nonetheless, the mechanical properties and emergent behavior of active solids are poorly understood. Using a biofilm-based bacterial active solid, here we discovered self-sustained elastic waves with unique wave properties not seen in passive solids, such as power-law scaling of wave speed with activity. Under isotropic confinement, the active solid develops two topologically distinct global motion modes that can be selectively excited, with a surprising step-like frequency jump at mode transition. Our findings reveal novel spatiotemporal order in elastic active matter and may guide the development of solid-state adaptive or living materials.

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Cited by in corpus (21)

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• Noise-Induced Collective Actuation in Active Solids
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• Mechanical inhibition of dissipation in a thermodynamically consistent active solid
• Spin and velocity correlations in a confined two-dimensional fluid of disk-shaped active rotors
• Mechanochemical feedback drives complex inertial dynamics in active solids
• Collective excitations in active solids featuring alignment interactions
• A geometric formulation of Schaefer's theory of Cosserat solids
• More is less in unpercolated active solids
• Rheologically tuned modes of collective transport in active viscoelastic films
• Unified description of viscous, viscoelastic, or elastic thin active films on substrates
• Motility-induced crystallization and rotating crystallites
• Collective dynamics of densely confined active polar disks with self- and mutual alignment
• Reentrant transition to collective actuation in active solids with a polarizing field
• Topological defects in polar active matter
• Collective actuation in active solids in the presence of a polarizing field: a systematic analysis of the dynamical regimes
• Theory of Nonequilibrium Crystallization and the Phase Diagram of Active Brownian Spheres
• Learning general pair interactions between self-propelled particles