The yielding transition in periodically sheared binary glasses at finite temperature

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the dynamic behavior of three-dimensional binary glasses prepared via an instantaneous quench across the glass transition. We found that with increasing strain amplitude up to a critical value, the potential energy approaches lower minima in steady state, whereas the amplitude of shear stress oscillations becomes larger. Below the yielding transition, the storage modulus dominates the mechanical response, and the gradual decay of the potential energy over consecutive cycles is accompanied by reduction in size of transient clusters of atoms with large nonaffine displacements. In contrast, above the yield strain, the loss modulus increases and the system settles at a higher level of potential energy due to formation of a system-spanning shear band after a number of transient cycles.