Yielding and shear banding of amorphous materials*

Many processes in nature and technology are governed by the dynamical transition via which a material in an initially solid-like state then yields plastically when subject to an imposed deformation. Key unresolved questions concern whether any material will yield smoothly via ductile behaviour or fail catastrophically via brittle behaviour; the roles of sample annealing, disorder and shear banding in the onset of yielding and failure; and whether any impending failure can be anticipated before it occurs. We address these questions by studying the yielding of slowly sheared amorphous materials, within minimal mesoscopic models.