Thermally Driven Two-Sphere Microswimmer with Internal Feedback Control

We investigate the locomotion of a thermally driven elastic two-sphere microswimmer with internal feedback control that is realized by the position-dependent friction coefficients. In our model, the two spheres are in equilibrium with independent heat baths characterized by different temperatures, causing a heat flow between the two spheres. We generally show that the average velocity of the microswimmer is non-zero when the friction coefficients are dependent on the spring extension. Using the method of stochastic thermodynamics, we obtain the entropy production rate and estimate the efficiency of the two-sphere microswimmer. The proposed self-propulsion model highlights the importance of information in active matter and offers a fundamental transport mechanism in various biological systems.