Competition between energy and dynamics in memory formation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the interplay between energy landscapes and dynamic forcing influences memory formation in bistable systems, revealing complex transient behaviors beyond quasistatic models.

Contribution

It introduces a dynamic generalization of hysterons, demonstrating how forcing timescales affect system memory and trapping in energy minima.

Findings

Dynamic forcing leads to long-lasting transients.

System behavior shifts from energy-minimum following to path-dependent trapping.

Oscillatory forcing induces complex transient phenomena.

Abstract

Bi-stable objects that are pushed between states by an external field are often used as a simple model to study memory formation in disordered materials. Such systems, called hysterons, are typically treated quasistatically. Here, we generalize hysterons to explore the effect of dynamics in a simple spring system with tunable bistability and study how the system chooses a minimum. Changing the timescale of the forcing allows the system to transition between a situation where its fate is determined by following the local energy minimum to one where it is trapped in a shallow well determined by the path taken through configuration space. Oscillatory forcing can lead to transients lasting many cycles, a behavior not possible for a single quasistatic hysteron.