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Programming entropy production hotspots via interaction patterning.
Caroline Desgranges1, Jerome Delhommelle2
1Department of Physics & Applied Physics, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854, USA. caroline_desgranges@uml.edu.
Soft Matter
|February 9, 2026
Summary
Scientists can now program entropy production hotspots in soft matter systems. By controlling local interactions, they can fine-tune energy hotspots to power nanomachines and biological devices.
Area of Science:
- Soft matter physics
- Statistical mechanics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Dissipation in soft matter and living systems is heterogeneous, creating complex local entropy production patterns.
- Local entropy production is linked to locally extractable work, suggesting potential for powering nanoscale machines.
- Efficient strategies are needed to modulate local entropy production for applications in nanotechnology and biology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and test a method for programming entropy production hotspots using local interaction patterns.
- To investigate the feasibility of controlling energy landscapes at the nanoscale for targeted applications.
Main Methods:
- Simulations of fluid flow through a nanopore with patterned surfaces.
- Simulations of fluid flow past obstacles with patterned interactions.
- Analysis of entropy production patterns based on surface modifications.
Main Results:
- Repulsive surface patches in nanopores create entropy production hotspots.
- Attractive surface patches lead to entropy production cold spots.
- Interaction strength and patch width allow modulation of hotspot characteristics.
- Patterned obstacles enable programming specific entropy production maps through steric and attractive forces.
Conclusions:
- Local interaction patterning is an effective strategy to program entropy production hotspots.
- This approach offers precise control over energy landscapes for powering nanomachines.
- Opens possibilities for targeted energy harvesting and directed motion at the nanoscale.
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