Anomalous structural evolution of soft particles: Equibrium liquid state theory

Abstract

We use the hyper-netted chain approximation of liquid state theory to analyze the evolution with density of the pair correlation function in a model of soft spheres with harmonic repulsion. As observed in recent experiments on jammed soft particles, theory predicts an `anomalous' (nonmonotonic) evolution of the intensity of the first peak when density is increased at constant temperature. This structural anomaly is a direct consequence of particle softness, and can be explained from purely equilibrium considerations, emphasizing the generality of the phenomenon. This anomaly is also predicted to have a non-trivial, `$\mathcal{S}$-shaped', evolution with temperature, as a result of a competition between three distinct effects, which we describe in detail. Computer simulations support our predictions.

5 pages, 4 figures; Submitted to Soft Matter, special issue on Granular and Jammed Materials

References in corpus (12)

• Jamming at Zero Temperature and Zero Applied Stress: the Epitome of Disorder
• Jamming transitions in amorphous packings of frictionless spheres occur over a continuous range of volume fractions
• The glass transition of dense fluids of hard and compressible spheres
• A Landscape Analysis of Constraint Satisfaction Problems
• Nonperturbative effect of attractive forces in viscous liquids
• Phase diagram of Hertzian spheres
• Compressing nearly hard sphere fluids increases glass fragility
• Anomalous structure and dynamics of the Gaussian-core fluid
• Random close packing of polydisperse hard spheres
• Experimental study of the jamming transition at zero temperature
• Structural anomalies of fluids: Origins in second and higher coordination shells
• Scaling of the glassy dynamics of soft repulsive particles: a mode-coupling approach

Cited by in corpus (19)

• The glass transition of soft colloids
• Increasing the density melts ultrasoft colloidal glasses
• Dynamic criticality at the jamming transition
• Microscopic theory of the jamming transition of harmonic spheres
• Generalized Langevin equations for a driven tracer in dense soft colloids: construction and applications
• Theory of the Jamming Transition at Finite Temperature
• A microscopic mean-field theory of the jamming transition
• Generalizing Rosenfeld's excess-entropy scaling to predict long-time diffusivity in dense fluids of Brownian particles: From hard to ultrasoft interactions
• Thermal fluctuations, mechanical response, and hyperuniformity in jammed solids
• Critical scalings and jamming in thermal colloidal systems
• Observation and Characterization of the Vestige of the Jamming Transition in a Thermal 3D System
• Contacts Dynamics Reveals Widom Lines for Jamming
• Diffusion of a tracer in a dense mixture of soft particles connected to different thermostats
• Crystalline structures of particles interacting through the harmonic-repulsive pair potential
• Aging or DEAD: origin of the non-monotonic response to weak self-propulsion in active glasses
• Can the jamming transition be described using equilibrium statistical mechanics?
• Structure of the simple harmonic-repulsive system in liquid and glassy states studied by the triple correlation function
• A self-consistent current response theory of jamming and vibrational modes in low-temperature amorphous solids
• Theory of Generalized Hertzian Hyperspheres