Collective order reorganizes dissipation and powers an active engine
Abstract
Motile active matter systems, from animal groups to synthetic particles, exhibit spontaneous self-organized transitions between disordered and ordered collective states. These transitions are driven by continuous energy injection, yet how energy consumption and dissipation change during these transitions remains poorly understood due to the challenge of measuring individual energetic fluxes. Here, we introduce a minimal experimental system of synthetic motile spheres that enables the first time-resolved power-budget characterization of collective motion. We show that the transition to an ordered state is accompanied by increased locomotion efficiency and a reorganization of dissipation pathways, shifting dissipation from internal friction to external slip with the environment. Leveraging this energetic reorganization, we construct an active engine powered by collective motion, capable of performing mechanical work against an external load. These findings establish energetic fluxes as quantitative observables for understanding collective state transitions and demonstrate how collective order can be harnessed for work extraction in active matter.
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BibTeX
@misc{riedl2026collective,
title = {{Collective order reorganizes dissipation and powers an active engine}},
author = {Michael Riedl and Vincent Wattiez and Étienne Fodor and Jan Brugués and Francesco Romanò},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.31059},
eprint = {2609.31059},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31059},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Collective order reorganizes dissipation and powers an active engine
AU - Michael Riedl
AU - Vincent Wattiez
AU - Étienne Fodor
AU - Jan Brugués
AU - Francesco Romanò
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.31059
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31059
AB - Motile active matter systems, from animal groups to synthetic particles, exhibit spontaneous self-organized transitions between disordered and ordered collective states. These transitions are driven by continuous energy injection, yet how energy consumption and dissipation change during these transitions remains poorly understood due to the challenge of measuring individual energetic fluxes. Here, we introduce a minimal experimental system of synthetic motile spheres that enables the first time-resolved power-budget characterization of collective motion. We show that the transition to an ordered state is accompanied by increased locomotion efficiency and a reorganization of dissipation pathways, shifting dissipation from internal friction to external slip with the environment. Leveraging this energetic reorganization, we construct an active engine powered by collective motion, capable of performing mechanical work against an external load. These findings establish energetic fluxes as quantitative observables for understanding collective state transitions and demonstrate how collective order can be harnessed for work extraction in active matter.
ER -