Why is Random Close Packing Reproducible?

Abstract

We link the thermodynamics of colloidal suspensions to the statistics of regular and random packings. Random close packing has defied a rigorous definition yet, in three dimensions, there is near universal agreement on the volume fraction at which it occurs. We conjecture that the common value of phi_rcp, approximately 0.64, arises from a divergence in the rate at which accessible states disappear. We relate this rate to the equation of state for a hard sphere fluid on a metastable, non-crystalline branch.

4 pages, 1 figure, formerly entitled "Universality of Random Close Packing?"

References in corpus (2)

• Jamming at Zero Temperature and Zero Applied Stress: the Epitome of Disorder
• An invariant distribution in static granular media

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Random close packing of granular matter
• Hard Discs on the Hyperbolic Plane
• Geometrical Frustration in Two Dimensions: Idealizations and Realizations of a Hard Disc Fluid in Negative Curvature
• From the ideal gas to an ideal glass: reversible path to random close packing