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  • Open Access

Remotely tuned metamaterials with emergent elastic properties

Laurin Sartori1,2,*,†, Peer Fischer1,2,3,4, and Athanasios G. Athanassiadis1,2,‡,§

  • *Contact author: l.sartori@amolf.nl
  • †Present address: AMOLF, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
  • ‡Contact author: thanasi@embl.de
  • §Present address: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany.
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 043028 – Published 9 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/72g7-gqdm

Abstract

We introduce a framework for remotely tunable dynamical metamaterials based on interacting nodes embedded in an elastic matrix, effectively forming meta-atoms governed by a programmable nonlinear landscape. Using secondary acoustic radiation forces between microbubble arrays, we predict and experimentally realize an acoustically actuated linear unit cell exhibiting geometric reconfiguration, discontinuous switching, and memory. Building on these results, we introduce a general numerical model for the system that predicts diverse behaviors in larger lattices, including a remote stiffness softening up to 60% and auxeticity up to ν=−0.22. The theory applies to other modes of actuation (e.g., optical or magnetic) and reveals universal behavior in these systems arising purely from the interplay of local r−n forces and elastic interactions in the lattice.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 043028– Published 9 October, 2026
  • Received 28 March 2026
  • Accepted 23 September 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Open access publication funded by Max Planck Society.

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