Glassy phases and driven response of the phase-field-crystal model with random pinning

TL;DR

This study investigates how a two-dimensional phase-field-crystal model with random pinning behaves under external driving forces, revealing transitions from amorphous glassy states to moving phases with distinct structural and response characteristics.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of the driven response and structural correlations in a disordered phase-field-crystal model, highlighting the emergence of glassy and moving phases.

Findings

Glassy ground state with short-range correlations

Transition to plastic-flow and smectic phases under drive

Vanishing transverse critical force in large systems

Abstract

We study the structural correlations and the nonlinear response to a driving force of a two-dimensional phase-field-crystal model with random pinning. The model provides an effective continuous description of lattice systems in the presence of disordered external pinning centers, allowing for both elastic and plastic deformations. We find that the phase-field crystal with disorder assumes an amorphous glassy ground state, with only short-ranged positional and orientational correlations even in the limit of weak disorder. Under increasing driving force, the pinned amorphous-glass phase evolves into a moving plastic-flow phase and then finally a moving smectic phase. The transverse response of the moving smectic phase shows a vanishing transverse critical force for increasing system sizes.