Nonreciprocal many-body physics

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Fruchart, Michel, Vitelli, Vincenzo
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Fruchart, Michel
Vitelli, Vincenzo
author_facet Fruchart, Michel
Vitelli, Vincenzo
contents Reciprocity is a fundamental symmetry present in many natural phenomena and engineered systems. Distinct situations where this symmetry is broken are typically grouped under the umbrella term "nonreciprocity", colloquially defined by: the action of A on B $\neq$ the action of B on A. In this review, we elucidate what nonreciprocity is by providing an introduction to its most salient classes: nonvariational dynamics, violations of Newton's third law, broken detailed balance, nonreciprocal responses and nonreciprocity of arbitrary linear operators. Next, we point out where to find these manifestations of non-reciprocity, from ensembles of particles with field mediated interactions to synthetic neural networks and open quantum systems. Given this breadth of contexts and the lack of an all-encompassing definition, it makes it all the more intriguing that some general conclusions can be gathered, when distinct definitions of nonreciprocity overlap. We explore what these universal consequences are with a special emphasis on collective phenomena that arise in nonreciprocal many-body systems. The topics covered include nonreciprocal phase transitions and non-normal amplification of noise and perturbations. We conclude with some open questions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_11111
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Nonreciprocal many-body physics
Fruchart, Michel
Vitelli, Vincenzo
Statistical Mechanics
Soft Condensed Matter
Pattern Formation and Solitons
Quantum Physics
Reciprocity is a fundamental symmetry present in many natural phenomena and engineered systems. Distinct situations where this symmetry is broken are typically grouped under the umbrella term "nonreciprocity", colloquially defined by: the action of A on B $\neq$ the action of B on A. In this review, we elucidate what nonreciprocity is by providing an introduction to its most salient classes: nonvariational dynamics, violations of Newton's third law, broken detailed balance, nonreciprocal responses and nonreciprocity of arbitrary linear operators. Next, we point out where to find these manifestations of non-reciprocity, from ensembles of particles with field mediated interactions to synthetic neural networks and open quantum systems. Given this breadth of contexts and the lack of an all-encompassing definition, it makes it all the more intriguing that some general conclusions can be gathered, when distinct definitions of nonreciprocity overlap. We explore what these universal consequences are with a special emphasis on collective phenomena that arise in nonreciprocal many-body systems. The topics covered include nonreciprocal phase transitions and non-normal amplification of noise and perturbations. We conclude with some open questions.
title Nonreciprocal many-body physics
topic Statistical Mechanics
Soft Condensed Matter
Pattern Formation and Solitons
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11111