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Paradigmatic model systems, which are used to study the mechanical response of matter, are random networks of point-atoms, random sphere packings, or simple crystal lattices, all of these models assume central-force interactions between…
We report molecular dynamics simulations of a system of repulsive, polymer-tethered colloidal particles. We use an explicit polymer model to explore how the length and the behavior of the polymer (ideal or self-avoiding) affect the ability…
Deformations of amorphous polymer networks prepared with significant concentrations of liquid crystalline mesogens have been recently reported to undergo mechanotropic phase transitions. Here, we report that these mechanotropic phase…
The effective quasistatic conductivity of composite polymeric electrolytes is studied in terms of a hard-core--penetrable-layer model. Used to incorporate the interface phenomena (such as amorphization of the polymer matrix around filler…
A fundamental assumption in our understanding of material rheology is that when microscopic deformations are reversible, the material responds elastically to external loads. Plasticity, i.e. dissipative and irreversible macroscopic changes…
Exploring structural order in disordered systems including liquids and glasses is an intriguing but challenging issue in condensed matter physics. Here we construct a new parameter based on the angular distribution function of particles and…
Using molecular dynamics simulations, with a realistic many-body embedded-atom potential, and a novel method to characterize local order, we study the structure of pure nickel during the rapid quench of the liquid and in the resulting…
We propose a method to predict the value of the external strain where a generic amorphous solid will fail by a plastic response (i.e. an irreversible deformation), solely on the basis of measurements of the nonlinear elastic moduli. While…
Materials driven far from equilibrium can encode memories of past deformations through long-lived structural reorganisations. Such memory effects-reflecting parameters such as deformation direction, magnitude, and duration have been widely…
We study the dynamics of a particle in continuous time and space, the displacement of which is governed by an internal degree of freedom (spin). In one definite limit, the so-called quantum random walk is recovered but, although quite…
Mechanical properties are of central importance to materials sciences, in particular if they depend on external stimuli. Here we investigate the rheological response of amorphous solids, namely col- loidal glasses, to external forces. Using…
Amorphous carbon (a-C) materials have diverse interesting and useful properties, but the understanding of their atomic-scale structures is still incomplete. Here, we report on extensive atomistic simulations of the deposition and growth of…
Steadily shearing a non-Brownian suspension forms a memory of direction, while shearing back and forth forms a memory of amplitude. Each memory is evident in the systems response to further shear, exemplifying its strong history-dependence.…
Amorphous solids, such as glasses, have complex responses to deformations, with significant consequences in material design and applications. In this respect two intertwined aspects are important: stability and reversibility. It is crucial…
Elastic properties and internal states of isotropic sphere packings are studied by numerical simulations. Several numerical protocols to assemble dense configurations are compared. One, which imitates experiments with lubricated contacts,…
Using numerical simulations it is shown that a random, athermal pack of soft frictional grains will store an arbitrary waveform that is applied as a small time-dependent shear while the system is slowly compressed. When the system is…
In the mammalian brain, newly acquired memories depend on the hippocampus for maintenance and recall, but over time the neocortex takes over these functions, rendering memories hippocampus-independent. The process responsible for this…
We examine the structural relaxation of glassy materials at finite temperatures, considering the effect of activated rearrangements and long-range elastic interactions. Our three-dimensional mesoscopic relaxation model shows how the…
Necking instabilities, in which tensile (extensional) deformation localizes into a small spatial region, are generic failure modes in elasto-viscoplastic materials. Materials in this very broad class --- including amorphous, crystalline,…
We investigate the effect of annealed disorder on the mechanical properties and plasticity of a modeled amorphous solid by introducing a small fraction of heavy impurities into the material which resembles real experimental systems. The…