The jamming transition as probed by quasistatic shear flow

TL;DR

This paper investigates the jamming transition in amorphous soft particle packings using quasistatic shear flow, revealing a well-defined transition point with characteristic scaling laws and correlations.

Contribution

It introduces a quasistatic simulation approach to directly sample states at the yield stress and characterizes the critical behavior at the jamming transition.

Findings

A continuous jamming transition occurs at a specific packing fraction.

Scaling laws of isostatic solids are observed at the transition.

Long-range correlations differ below and above the transition, linked to isostaticity and elastic media.

Abstract

We study the rheology of amorphous packings of soft, frictionless particles close to jamming. Implementing a quasistatic simulation method we generate a well defined ensemble of states that directly samples the system at its yield-stress. A continuous jamming transition from a freely-flowing state to a yield stress situation takes place at a well defined packing fraction, where the scaling laws characteristic of isostatic solids are observed. We propose that long-range correlations observed below the transition are dominated by this isostatic point, while those that are observed above the transition are characteristic of dense, disordered elastic media.