We study analytically and numerically a generic continuum model of an isotropic active solid with internal stresses generated by non-equilibrium `active' mechano-chemical reactions. Our analysis shows that the gel can be tuned through three classes of dynamical states by increasing motor activity: a constant unstrained state of homogeneous density, a state where the local density exhibits sustained oscillations, and a steady-state which is spontaneously contracted, with a uniform mean density.
@article{arxiv.1108.5999,
title = {Generic phases of cross-linked active gels: Relaxation, Oscillation and Contractility},
author = {Shiladitya Banerjee and Tanniemola B. Liverpool and M. Cristina Marchetti},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1108.5999},
year = {2015}
}