Related papers: Inducing mechanical self-healing in glassy polymer…
An analysis of glass formation for polymer melts that are diluted by structured molecular additives is derived by using the generalized entropy theory, which involves a combination of the Adam-Gibbs model and the direct computation of the…
While the structural dynamics of chromophores are of interest for a range of applications, it is experimentally very challenging to resolve the underlying microscopic mechanisms. Glassy dynamics are also challenging for atomistic…
We explore glassy dynamics of dense assemblies of soft particles that are self-propelled by active forces. These forces have a fixed amplitude and a propulsion direction that varies on a timescale tau_p, the persistence timescale. Numerical…
We force a single particle through a two-dimensional simulated glass. We find that the particle velocity obeys a robust power law that persists to drives well above threshold. As the single driven particle moves, it induces cooperative…
Polymer-related materials exhibit rich glassy behaviors at different length scales due to their various molecular structures and topological constraints. Recent studies have identified transient interpenetration of the long-chain rings…
We investigate the internal structure of a polymer during collapse from an expanded coil to a compact globule. Collapse is more probable in local regions of high curvature, so a smoothing of the fractal polymer structure occurs that…
We show numerically that a three-dimensional model for structural glass displays aging, rejuvenation and memory effects when submitted to a temperature cycle. These effects indicate that the free energy landscape of structural glasses may…
The glassy state is known to undergo slow structural relaxation, where the system progressively explores lower free-energy minima which are either amorphous (ageing) or crystalline (devitrification). Recently, there is growing interest in…
Network glasses are the physical prototype for many self-organized systems, ranging from proteins to computer science. Conventional theories of gases, liquids, and crystals do not account for the strongly material-selective character of the…
Understanding and controlling physical aging, i.e. the spontaneous temporal evolution of out-of-equilibrium systems, represents one of the greatest tasks in material science. Recent studies have revealed the existence of a complex atomic…
Understanding how to produce forces using biomolecular building blocks is essential for the development of adaptive synthetic cells and living materials. Here we ask whether a dynamic polymer system can generate deformation forces in soft…
Glassy dynamics was investigated for thin films of atactic polystyrene by complex electric capacitance measurements using dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. During the isothermal aging process the real part of the electric capacitance…
We propose the concept of autonomous self-damaging in "smart" composite materials, controlled by activation of added nanosize "damaging" capsules. Percolation-type modeling approach earlier applied to the related concept of self-healing…
Recent experiments and simulations have revealed glassy features in the cytoplasm, living tissues as well as dense assemblies of self propelled colloids. This leads to a fundamental question: how do these non-equilibrium (active) amorphous…
We combine molecular dynamics simulations of deformations at the submicron scale with a continuum fracture mechanics calculation for the onset of crack propagation to predict the macroscopic fracture toughness of amorphous glassy polymers.…
Living organisms are molecular systems with self-sustained dynamics via energy conversion through molecular cooperation, resulting in highly complex macroscopic behaviors. Construction of such autonomous macroscopic dynamics at a molecular…
A mode-coupling theory for dense polymeric systems is developed which unifyingly incorporates the segmental cage effect relevant for structural slowing down and polymer chain conformational degrees of freedom. An ideal glass transition of…
Elucidating mechanical deformation in glassy materials at the atomic level is challenging due to their disordered atomic structure. Using our novel "frozen atom analysis," we reveal that anelastic deformation in CuZr metallic glasses is…
Mixing theoretical topological structures with cutting-edge simulation methods, a recent study in Nature Communications has finally confirmed the existence of topological defects in glasses and their crucial role for plasticity.
Identifying heterogeneous structures in glasses --- such as localized soft spots --- and understanding structure-dynamics relations in these systems remain major scientific challenges. Here we derive an exact expression for the local…