Hydrodynamically consistent many-body Harada-Sasa relation

The effect of hydrodynamic interactions on the non-equilibrium stochastic dynamics of particles – arising from the conservation of momentum in the fluid medium – is examined in the context of the relationship between fluctuations, response functions, and the entropy production rate. The multiplicative nature of the hydrodynamic interactions is shown to introduce subtleties that preclude a straightforward extension of the Harada-Sasa relation. A generalization of the definitions involved in the framework is used to propose a new form of the relation applicable to systems with hydrodynamic interactions. The resulting framework will enable characterization of the non-equilibrium properties of living and active matter systems, which are predominantly in suspensions.