Contact Network Statistics During Vibration of Disk Packings*

We use simulations of bidisperse disks that interact via purely repulsive linear springs to determine properties of contact networks during vibration at various energies and pressures. From a set of initially existing contacts in a mechanically stable reference state the contact probability during vibration can be predicted by measuring the inter-particle potential before vibration. ~We explore the energy regions below particle rearrangement where our prediction is valid and discuss a physical mechanism for this behavior based on the exchange of potential and kinetic energy between particles.