Scaling of fluctuations in a colloidal glass

TL;DR

This paper investigates particle dynamics in a colloidal glass, revealing universal scaling behaviors in fluctuations that characterize the transition from less to highly heterogeneous regimes during aging.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental analysis of local and global fluctuation scaling in aging colloidal glasses, highlighting universal behaviors in dynamical heterogeneities.

Findings

Fluctuations follow a modified power-law scaling.

A plateau characterizes the less heterogeneous short-time regime.

A power-law tail describes the highly heterogeneous long-time regime.

Abstract

We report experimental measurements of particle dynamics in a colloidal glass in order to understand the dynamical heterogeneities associated with the cooperative motion of the particles in the glassy regime. We study the local and global fluctuation of correlation and response functions in an aging colloidal glass. The observables display universal scaling behavior following a modified power-law, with a plateau dominating the less heterogeneous short-time regime and a power-law tail dominating the highly heterogeneous long-time regime.