Fluctuation-response theorem for the active noisy oscillator of the hair-cell bundle

The hair bundle of sensory cells in the vertebrate ear provides an example of a noisy oscillator close to a Hopf bifurcation. The analysis of the data from both spontaneous and forced oscillations shows a strong violation of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, revealing the presence of an underlying active process that keeps the system out of equilibrium. Nevertheless, we show that a generalized fluctuation-dissipation theorem, valid for non-equilibrium steady states, is fulfilled within the limits of our experimental accuracy and computational approximations, when the adequate conjugate degrees of freedom are chosen.