Glassy behaviour of sticky spheres: What lies beyond experimental timescales?

TL;DR

This study employs advanced simulation techniques to explore the equilibrium glassy behavior of sticky spheres at densities beyond experimental reach, revealing a unified ergodic region with smoothly evolving properties.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence of a single ergodic region for sticky spheres at high densities, extending understanding beyond previous phase transition predictions.

Findings

Identification of a unique ergodic region encompassing multiple phases

Gradual evolution of structural and dynamic observables within this region

Discovery of complex glassy behavior with broad relaxation time distributions

Abstract

We use the swap Monte Carlo algorithm to analyse the glassy behaviour of sticky spheres in equilibrium conditions at densities where conventional simulations and experiments fail to reach equilibrium, beyond predicted phase transitions and dynamic singularities. We demonstrate the existence of a unique ergodic region comprising all the distinct phases previously reported, except for a phase-separated region at strong adhesion. All structural and dynamic observables evolve gradually within this ergodic region, the physics evolving smoothly from well-known hard sphere glassy behaviour at small adhesions and large densities, to a more complex glassy regime characterised by unusually-broad distributions of relaxation timescales and lengthscales at large adhesions.