Asymmetric velocity correlations in shearing media

TL;DR

This study uses simulations of 2D frictionless disks under shear to explore asymmetries in velocity correlations, revealing similarities along diagonals and links to plastic events.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of velocity correlations and rotational asymmetries in sheared soft disk systems, highlighting new insights into their microscopic behavior.

Findings

Velocity correlations along compression and dilation diagonals are nearly identical.

A feature in the correlation function is directly linked to irreversible plastic events.

The study uncovers asymmetries in rotational fields in sheared media.

Abstract

A model of soft frictionless disks in two dimensions at zero temperature is simulated with a shearing dynamics to study various kinds of asymmetries in sheared systems. We examine both single particle properties, the spatial velocity correlation function, and a correlation function designed to separate clockwise and counter-clockwise rotational fields from one another. Among the rich and interesting behaviors we find that the velocity correlation along the two different diagonals corresponding to compression and dilation, respectively, are almost identical and, furthermore, that a feature in one of the correlation functions is directly related to irreversible plastic events.