Granular packing as model glass formers

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent experimental advances using granular materials as model systems to understand the glass transition, focusing on structural order growth and theoretical implications.

Contribution

It highlights the use of granular packings to explore glass transition phenomena, emphasizing structural order and theoretical connections.

Findings

Growth of five-fold symmetric order in granular packings

Relation of findings to geometric frustration theories

Insights into random first-order phase transition models

Abstract

Static granular packings are model hard-sphere glass formers. The nature of glass transition has remained a hotly debated issue. We review recent experimental progresses in using granular materials to study glass transitions. We focus on the growth of glass order with five-fold symmetry in granular packings and relate the findings to both geometric frustration and random first-order phase transition theories.