Diffusion in Agitated Frictional Granular Matter Near the Jamming Transition

Abstract

We study agitated frictional disks in two dimensions with the aim of developing a scaling theory for their diffusion over time. As a function of the area fraction $\varphi$ and mean-square velocity fluctuations $⟨v^2⟩$ the mean-square displacement of the disks $⟨d^2⟩$ spans 4-5 orders of magnitude. The motion evolves from a subdiffusive form to a complex diffusive behabvior at long times. The statistics of $⟨d^n⟩$ at all times are multiscaling, since the probability distribution function (pdf) of displacements has very broad wings. Even where a diffusion constant can be identified it is a complex function of $\varphi$ and $⟨v^2⟩$. By identifying the relevant length and time scales and their interdependence one can rescale the data for the mean square displacement and the pdf of displacements into collapsed scaling functions for all $\varphi$ and $⟨v^2⟩$. These scaling functions provide a predictive tool, allowing to infer from one set of measurements (at a given $\varphi$ and $⟨v^2⟩$) what are the expected results at any value of $\varphi$ and $⟨v^2⟩$.

9 pages, 9 figs Submitted to Phys. Rev. E