Force network and mechanical stability in an ageing 2D glass*

The concept of force network as a heterogeneous load bearing structure comes from the physics of jamming and granular matter. Recently, extension of this idea to thermal systems is gaining considerable attention to understand the nature of mechanical equilibrium in glass [1]. We study a weakly poly-dispersed almost hard sphere glass in two dimensions. In the deeply aged regime, we find the structural relaxation in our system is intermittent - long quiescent stage followed by rapid avalanches, and a long-lived force network is developed. By analyzing the topology of this emergent force network, the structural defects and the dynamics, we find evidence that suggests a close connection between the changes in the force network in the quiescent stage, and the large particle displacements during avalanche.
Ref:
1. T. Yanagashima, J. Russo, H. Tanaka, Nat. Comm., 8, 15954 (2017).