A Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamic Framework for Sequential Symmetry Breaking in Driven Complex Fluids

The spontaneous emergence of macroscopic order in driven, far-from-equilibrium complex fluids lacks a generalized framework capable of bridging continuous and discrete symmetry-breaking transitions. In this study, we propose a non-equilibrium phenomenological framework that synthesizes irreversible thermodynamics, coupled Landau–de Gennes potential expansions, and active hydrodynamics. The formulation employs a single tensorial order parameter, a nonlinear state-dependent jamming mobility closure, and a generalized set of dimensionless groups to map the non-equilibrium phase space. The model predicts a sequential symmetry-breaking cascade and reproduces the emergence of polar heliconical smectic and antiferroelectric phases in driven liquid crystals, as well as the transition from isotropic active gases to macroscopic fluid flocks and active Wigner crystals in purely repulsive Janus colloids. Across these systems, a dimensionless active torque number acts as the principal bifurcation parameter, suggesting that their macroscopic structural transitions are governed by a common balance between thermodynamic and kinematic effects rather than by the details of their microscopic interactions.