Related papers: Crystallization and topology-induced dynamical het…
Dry granular materials consist of a vast ensemble of discrete solid particles, interacting through complex frictional forces at the contact points. The particles are so large that these systems are believed to be completely athermal. Here,…
We numerically investigate slow dynamics of a binary mixture of ultrasoft particles interacting with the generalized Hertzian potential. If the softness parameter, $\alpha$, is small, the particles at high densities start penetrating each…
We report experiments on the dynamics of vibrated particles constrained in a two-dimensional vertical container, motivated by the following question: how to get the most out of a given external vibration to maximize internal disorder (e.g.…
We study model protein solutions and colloidal suspensions in the temperature range whereupon the nature of the system changes from a homogeneous fluid to a "cluster fluid". It is commonly assumed - as deduced by the behavior of the…
Freestanding tubular crystals offer a general description of crystalline order on deformable surfaces with cylindrical topology, such as single-walled carbon nanotubes, microtubules, and recently reported colloidal assemblies. These systems…
Concentrated colloidal suspensions are a well-tested model system which has a glass transition. Colloids are suspensions of small solid particles in a liquid, and exhibit glassy behavior when the particle concentration is high; the…
We investigate experimentally the collective behavior of a wet granular monolayer under vertical vibrations. The spherical particles are partially wet such that there are short-ranged attractive interactions between adjacent particles. As…
We present large-scale molecular dynamics simulations to study the free evolution of granular gases. Initially, the density of particles is homogeneous and the velocity follows a Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB) distribution. The system cools down…
It is well known that jammed soft materials will flow if sheared above their yield stress - think mayonnaise spread on bread - but a complete microscopic description of this seemingly sim- ple process has yet to emerge. What remains elusive…
Discrete simulation methods are efficient tools to investigate the complex behaviors of complex fluids made of either dry granular materials or dilute suspensions. By contrast, materials made of soft and/or concentrated units (emulsions,…
Using numerical simulations, we study the dynamical evolution of particles interacting via competing long-range repulsion and short-range attraction in two dimensions. The particles are compressed using a time-dependent quasi-one…
Soft particles such as microgels and core-shell particles can undergo significant and anisotropic deformations when adsorbed to a liquid interface. This, in turn, leads to a complex phase behavior upon compression. Here we develop a…
Granular materials such as sand, powders, and food grains are ubiquitous in civil engineering, geoscience, agriculture, and medicine. While the influence of friction between the grains on the static structure of these systems is well…
When an amorphous solid is deformed homogeneously, the response exhibits heterogeneous plastic instabilities with localized cooperative rearrangement of cluster of particles. The heterogeneous behavior plays an important role in deciding…
Astrophysical gases such as the interstellar-, circumgalactic- or intracluster-medium are commonly multiphase, which poses the question of the structure of these systems. While there are many known processes leading to fragmentation of cold…
We address the crystallization of monodisperse hard spheres in terms of the properties of finite- size crystalline clusters. By means of large scale event-driven Molecular Dynamics simulations, we study systems at different packing…
When dense granular gases are continuously excited under microgravity conditions, spatial inhomogeneities of the particle number density can emerge. A significant share of particles may collect in strongly overpopulated regions, called…
Confinement can significantly alter fluid properties, offering potential for specific technological applications. However, achieving precise control over the structural complexity of confined fluids and soft matter remains challenging, as…
We performed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the clustering instability of a freely cooling dilute gas of inelastically colliding disks in a quasi-one-dimensional setting. We observe that, as the gas cools, the shear stress…
Dynamical clustering represents a characteristic feature of active matter consisting of self-propelled agents that convert energy from the environment into mechanical motion. At the micron scale, typical of overdamped dynamics, particles…