Hydrodynamic theory of active matter

2018/03/15 by Frank Jülicher, Stephan W. Grill, Stephan W Grill +1 · 296 citations
Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Active matter #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Angular momentum #Classical mechanics #Entropy (arrow of time) #Entropy production #Micro and Nano Robotics #Physics #Soft matter #Spaceflight effects on biology #Statistical physics #Thermodynamics

paper · open access · doi:10.1088/1361-6633/aab6bb

published in Reports on Progress in Physics 81(7), 076601 (IOP Publishing)

openalex publication_date 2018/03/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

We review the general hydrodynamic theory of active soft materials that is motivated in particular by biological matter. We present basic concepts of irreversible thermodynamics of spatially extended multicomponent active systems. Starting from the rate of entropy production, we identify conjugate thermodynamic fluxes and forces and present generic constitutive equations of polar active fluids and active gels. We also discuss angular momentum conservation which plays a role in the the physics of active chiral gels. The irreversible thermodynamics of active gels provides a general framework to discuss the physics that underlies a wide variety of biological processes in cells and in multicellular tissues.

Citations

• Some constitutive equations for liquid crystals
• The Physics of Liquid Crystals
• BODY SIZE AND METABOLIC RATE

Cited by

• Inferring activity from fluid flow in continuum models of active matter
• Entropic, active, and frictional forces in cytoskeletal crosslinking
• Nonequilibrium noise emerging from broken detailed balance in active gels
• Towards an active matter theory of plant morphogenesis
• TopoSPAM: Topology grounded Simulation Platform for morphogenesis and biological Active Matter
• Active Intracellular Mechanics: A Key to Cellular Function and Organization
• Physics of droplet regulation in biological cells
• Self-Aligning Polar Active Matter
• From the thermodynamics of irreversible processes to dissipative structures and active matter
• From bipedal to chaotic motion of chemically fueled partially wetting liquid drops
• Three phases of odd robotic active matter
• Boundary geometry controls a topological defect transition that determines lumen nucleation in embryonic development
• Fluctuation-Response Theory of Non-Equilibrium Complex Fluids
• Cell clusters sense their global shape to drive collective migration
• Emergent odd viscoelasticity in chiral soft glassy materials
• A microscopically reversible kinetic theory of flocking
• Controlling Topological Defects in Polar Fluids via Reinforcement Learning
• New universality classes govern the critical and multicritical behavior of an active Ising model
• On the temperature of an active nematic
• The Interplay of Polar and Nematic Order in Active Matter: Implications for Non-Equilibrium Physics and Biology
• Lattice and Orientational Defects Mediate Collective Transport of Confluent Cells
• The non-equilibrium thermodynamics of active suspensions
• Statistical physics of active matter, cell division and cell aggregation
• Active waves from non-reciprocity and cytoplasmic exchange
• Thermodynamic efficiency of self-organisation in nonequilibrium steady states
• Flocking and reorientation transition in the 4-state active Potts model
• Activity pulses induce spontaneous flow reversals in viscoelastic environments
• Odd elasticity
• Competing effect of disorder on phase separation in active systems
• Self-organized shape dynamics of active surfaces. [europepmc]
• Crowding-Activity Coupling Effect on Conformational Change of a Semi-Flexible Polymer. [europepmc]
• Supersonic kinks and solitons in active solids. [europepmc]
• Self-straining of actively crosslinked microtubule networks. [europepmc]
• Active Matter, Microreversibility, and Thermodynamics. [europepmc]
• Active forces shape the metaphase spindle through a mechanical instability. [europepmc]
• Flow-accelerated platelet biogenesis is due to an elasto-hydrodynamic instability. [europepmc]
• Active inter-cellular forces in collective cell motility. [europepmc]
• Self-organized patterning of cell morphology via mechanosensitive feedback. [europepmc]
• Activity pulses induce spontaneous flow reversals in viscoelastic environments. [europepmc]
• Controlling biomolecular condensates via chemical reactions. [europepmc]
• DNA-Topology Simplification by Topoisomerases. [europepmc]
• Local thermodynamics govern formation and dissolution of Caenorhabditis elegans P granule condensates. [europepmc]
• Collective durotaxis of cohesive cell clusters on a stiffness gradient. [europepmc]
• Mobilities of a drop and an encapsulated squirmer. [europepmc]
• Stochastic Hydrodynamics of Complex Fluids: Discretisation and Entropy Production. [europepmc]
• Active T1 transitions in cellular networks. [europepmc]
• Self-organization in amoeboid motility. [europepmc]
• Mind the matter: Active matter, soft robotics, and the making of bio-inspired artificial intelligence. [europepmc]
• Proliferating active matter. [europepmc]
• Physical interactions in non-ideal fluids promote Turing patterns. [europepmc]
• Dynamics and functions of E-cadherin complexes in epithelial cell and tissue morphogenesis. [europepmc]
• The scales, mechanisms, and dynamics of the genome architecture. [europepmc]
• Metareview: a survey of active matter reviews. [europepmc]
• Dynamics of phase separation in non-local elastic networks. [europepmc]

Related

• The Mechanics and Statistics of Active Matter
• Soft Active Matter
• Hydrodynamics of thermal active matter
• Active Matter
• Thermodynamic nature of irreversibility in active matter