More is less in unpercolated active solids

A remarkable feat of active matter physics is that systems as diverse as collections of self-propelled particles, nematics mixed with molecular motors, and interacting robots can all be described by symmetry-based continuum theories. These descriptions rely on reducing complex effects of individual motors to a few key active parameters, which increase with activity. Here we observe a striking anomaly in the continuum description of non-reciprocal active solids, a ubiquitous class of active materials. Using a combination of metamaterial experiments and coarse-graining theory we find that as microscopic activity increases, macroscale active response can vanish: more is less. In this highly active regime, non-affine and localized modes prevail and destroy the large-scale signature of microscopic activity. These modes exist in any dilute periodic structure and emerge in random lattices below a percolation transition. Our results unveil a counterintuitive facet of active matter, offering new principles for engineering materials far from equilibrium.