Discontinuous fluidization transition in time-correlated assemblies of actively deforming particles

Tracking experiments in dense biological tissues reveal a diversity of sources for local energy injection at the cell scale. The effect of cell motility has been largely studied, but much less is known about the effect of the observed volume fluctuations of individual cells. We consider a microscopic model of "actively deforming" particles where local fluctuations of the particle size constitute a unique source of motion. We demonstrate that collective motion can emerge under the sole influence of such active volume fluctuations. We interpret the onset of diffusive motion as a nonequilibrium first-order phase transition, which arises at a well-defined amplitude of self-deformation. This behavior contrasts with the glassy dynamics produced by self-propulsion, but resembles the mechanical response of soft solids under mechanical deformation. It thus constitutes an example of an active yielding transition.