The Plastic Response of Magnetoelastic Amorphous Solids

TL;DR

This paper explores the complex plastic behavior of magnetoelastic amorphous solids, revealing new co-dimension 2 instabilities and phase diagrams that suggest a rich landscape of magnetic and mechanical interactions.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of co-dimension 2 plastic instabilities in magnetic amorphous solids under combined strain and magnetic field, expanding understanding beyond non-magnetic cases.

Findings

Identification of co-dimension 2 plastic instabilities.

Prediction of complex phase diagrams for magnetoelastic materials.

Highlighting the potential for novel magnetoplastic phenomena.

Abstract

We address the cross effects between mechanical strains and magnetic fields on the plastic response of magnetoelastic amorphous solids. It is well known that plasticity in non-magnetic amorphous solids under external strain $\gamma$ is dominated by the co-dimension 1 saddle-node bifurcation in which an eigenvalue of the Hessian matrix vanishes at $\gamma_P$ like $\sqrt{\gamma_P-\gamma}$. This square-root singularity determines much of the statistical physics of elasto-plasticity, and in particular that of the stress-strain curves under athermal-quasistatic conditions. In this Letter we discuss the much richer physics that can be expected in magnetic amorphous solids. Firstly, magnetic amorphous solids exhibit co-dimension 2 plastic instabilities, when an external strain and an external magnetic field are applied simultaneously. Secondly, the phase diagrams promise a rich array of new effects that have been barely studied; this opens up a novel and extremely rich research program for magnetoplastic materials.