  Active fluids operate by constantly dissipating energy at the particle level
to perform a directed motion, yielding dynamics and phases without any
equilibrium equivalent. The emerging behaviors have been studied extensively,
yet deciphering how local energy fluxes control the collective phenomena is
still largely an open challenge. We provide generic relations between the
activity-induced dissipation and the transport properties of an internal
tracer. By exploiting a mapping between active fluctuations and disordered
driving, our results reveal how the local dissipation, at the basis of
self-propulsion, constrains internal transport by reducing the mobility and the
diffusion of particles. Then, we employ techniques of large deviations to
investigate how interactions are affected when varying dissipation. This leads
us to shed light on a microscopic mechanism to promote clustering at low
dissipation, and we also show the existence of collective motion at high
dissipation. Overall, these results illustrate how tuning dissipation provides
an alternative route to phase transitions in active fluids.
