Anomalous structural evolution of soft particles: Equibrium liquid state theory
Abstract
We use the hyper-netted chain approximation of liquid state theory to analyze the evolution with density of the pair correlation function in a model of soft spheres with harmonic repulsion. As observed in recent experiments on jammed soft particles, theory predicts an `anomalous' (nonmonotonic) evolution of the intensity of the first peak when density is increased at constant temperature. This structural anomaly is a direct consequence of particle softness, and can be explained from purely equilibrium considerations, emphasizing the generality of the phenomenon. This anomaly is also predicted to have a non-trivial, `-shaped', evolution with temperature, as a result of a competition between three distinct effects, which we describe in detail. Computer simulations support our predictions.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0912.2657,
title = {Anomalous structural evolution of soft particles: Equibrium liquid state theory},
author = {Hugo Jacquin and Ludovic Berthier},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0912.2657},
year = {2010}
}
Comments
5 pages, 4 figures; Submitted to Soft Matter, special issue on Granular and Jammed Materials