Résumé
Active-matter systems are inherently out-of-equilibrium and perform mechanical work by utilizing their internal energy sources. Breakdown of time-reversal symmetry (BTRS) is a hallmark of such dissipative nonequilibrium dynamics. We introduce a robust, experimentally accessible, noninvasive, quantitative measure of BTRS in terms of the Kullback–Leibler divergence in collision events, demonstrated in our novel artificial active matter, comprised of battery-powered spherical rolling robots whose energetics in different modes of motion can be measured with high precision. Our model independent, dimensionless measure characterizes how dissipation and internal energetics are influenced by kinematic constraints from interactions with the environment. We propose this measure of BTRS as an empirical estimate of the distance from equilibrium. An energetic insight into this departure of active matter from equilibrium comes from our demonstration of a nontrivial fluctuation symmetry, which reveals a potentially universal thermodynamic characteristic of active energetics. As a many-body consequence of BTRS in our experimental active system, we demonstrate the emergence of herding, which has no equilibrium analog.