RECORD
Connecting local active forces to macroscopic stress in elastic media
Soft Condensed Matter · Submitted 12 Nov 2014
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim We show that the medium's macroscopic active stress tensor is equal to the active elements' force dipole tensor per unit volume in both continuum and discrete linear homogeneous media of arbitrary geometries.
The compiled record
The paper's own sentences, arranged. Each label is drawn from a closed vocabulary; the number beside it is the probability the classifier gave that label. Numbers in the tables are the authors', checked by code. No sentence in this record was written by a model.
Open the compiled record
The abstract, sentence by sentence
In contrast with ordinary materials, living matter drives its own motion by generating active, out-of-equilibrium internal stresses. These stresses typically originate from localized active elements embedded in an elastic medium, such as molecular motors inside the cell or contractile cells in a tissue. While many large-scale phenomenological theories of such active media have been developed, a systematic understanding of the emergence of stress from the local force-generating elements is lacking. In this paper, we present a rigorous theoretical framework to study this relationship. We show that the medium's macroscopic active stress tensor is equal to the active elements' force dipole tensor per unit volume in both continuum and discrete linear homogeneous media of arbitrary geometries. This relationship is conserved on average in the presence of disorder, but can be violated in nonlinear elastic media. Such effects can lead to either a reinforcement or an attenuation of the active stresses, giving us a glimpse of the ways in which nature might harness microscopic forces to create active materials.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | In contrast with ordinary materials, living matter drives its own motion by generating active, out-of-equilibrium internal stresses. | background 1.00 | 0.04 | 0.02 | asserted 1.00 |
| s1 | These stresses typically originate from localized active elements embedded in an elastic medium, such as molecular motors inside the cell or contractile cells in a tissue. | background 1.00 | 0.05 | 0.02 | asserted 0.77 |
| s2 | While many large-scale phenomenological theories of such active media have been developed, a systematic understanding of the emergence of stress from the local force-generating elements is lacking. | gap 1.00 | 0.04 | 0.02 | asserted 0.99 |
| s3 | In this paper, we present a rigorous theoretical framework to study this relationship. | contribution 1.00 | 0.87 | 0.04 | asserted 0.82 |
| s4 | We show that the medium's macroscopic active stress tensor is equal to the active elements' force dipole tensor per unit volume in both continuum and discrete linear homogeneous media of arbitrary geometries. | result 0.99 | 0.95 | 0.93 | asserted 1.00 |
| s5 | This relationship is conserved on average in the presence of disorder, but can be violated in nonlinear elastic media. | result 0.95 | 0.87 | 0.14 | asserted 0.90 |
| s6 | Such effects can lead to either a reinforcement or an attenuation of the active stresses, giving us a glimpse of the ways in which nature might harness microscopic forces to create active materials. | interpretation 1.00 | 0.50 | 0.07 | hedged possibility 0.51 |
What was examined, and what was not
- arXiv listing abstract v1
- full text
- figures and tables
- references and citing sentences
- relations to other papers
- P abstract
- S sections
- T body sentences
- C citations
- R cross-paper relations
The paper
Original abstract
In contrast with ordinary materials, living matter drives its own motion by generating active, out-of-equilibrium internal stresses. These stresses typically originate from localized active elements embedded in an elastic medium, such as molecular motors inside the cell or contractile cells in a tissue. While many large-scale phenomenological theories of such active media have been developed, a systematic understanding of the emergence of stress from the local force-generating elements is lacking. In this paper, we present a rigorous theoretical framework to study this relationship. We show that the medium's macroscopic active stress tensor is equal to the active elements' force dipole tensor per unit volume in both continuum and discrete linear homogeneous media of arbitrary geometries. This relationship is conserved on average in the presence of disorder, but can be violated in nonlinear elastic media. Such effects can lead to either a reinforcement or an attenuation of the active stresses, giving us a glimpse of the ways in which nature might harness microscopic forces to create active materials.
Human review
How the literature uses it
What this paper does with the arXiv papers it cites
Discussion
Know something about this paper? Leave a comment, or highlight any passage above to comment on it.