Real Space Renormalization: A Generic Microscopic Theory for Low-Temperature Avalanches in Static Strained Insulating Glass

TL;DR

This paper introduces a microscopic real-space renormalization model to explain low-temperature avalanches and brittle behavior in static strained insulating glass, revealing the origins of irreversible stress drops.

Contribution

It develops a novel microscopic theory using real-space renormalization to analyze avalanche phenomena and brittleness in glass under static strain at low temperatures.

Findings

Irreversible stress drops are linked to non-elastic stress interactions.

The model predicts specific strain directions leading to brittleness.

Glass susceptibility exhibits steep positive-negative transitions.

Abstract

We propose a microscopic model to study the avalanche problem of insulating glass deformed by external static uniform strain below $T=60$K. We use three-dimensional real-space renormalization procedure to carry out the glass mechanical susceptibility at macroscopic length scale. We prove the existence of irreversible stress drops in amorphous materials, corresponding to the steep positive-negative transitions in glass mechanical susceptibility. We also obtain the strain directions in which the glass system is brittle. The irreversible stress drops in glass essentially come from non-elastic stress-stress interaction which is generated by virtual phonon exchange process.