Odd elasticity

Colin Scheibner, Anton Souslov, Debarghya Banerjee, Piotr Surówka, William T. M. Irvine, Vincenzo Vitelli

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

164 Citations (SciVal)
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Abstract

A passive solid cannot do work on its surroundings through any quasistatic cycle of deformations. This property places strong constraints on the allowed elastic moduli. In this Article, we show that static elastic moduli altogether absent in passive elasticity can arise from active, non-conservative microscopic interactions. These active moduli enter the antisymmetric (or odd) part of the static elastic modulus tensor and quantify the amount of work extracted along quasistatic strain cycles. In two-dimensional isotropic media, two chiral odd-elastic moduli emerge in addition to the bulk and shear moduli. We discuss microscopic realizations that include networks of Hookean springs augmented with active transverse forces and non-reciprocal active hinges. Using coarse-grained microscopic models, numerical simulations and continuum equations, we uncover phenomena ranging from auxetic behaviour induced by odd moduli to elastic wave propagation in overdamped media enabled by self-sustained active strain cycles. Our work sheds light on the non-Hermitian mechanics of two- and three-dimensional active solids that conserve linear momentum but exhibit a non-reciprocal linear response.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)475-480
Number of pages6
JournalNature Physics
Volume16
Issue number4
Early online date2 Mar 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Apr 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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