Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Abstract: We study how the rigidity transition in a triangular lattice changes as a function of anisotropy by preferentially filling bonds on the lattice in one direction. We discover that the onset of rigidity in anisotropic spring networks arises in at least two steps, reminiscent of the two-step melting transition in two dimensional crystals. In particular, our simulations demonstrate that the percolation of stress-supporting bonds happens at different critical volume fractions along different directions. By examining each independent component of the elasticity tensor, we determine universal exponents and develop universal scaling functions to analyze isotropic rigidity percolation as a multicritical point. We expect that these results will be important for elucidating the underlying mechanical phase transitions governing the properties of biological materials ranging from the cytoskeletons of cells to the extracellular networks of tissues such as tendon where the networks are often preferentially aligned.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Wang, William Y., Thornton, Stephen J., Chakraborty, Bulbul, Barth, Anna, Singh, Navneet, Omonira, Japheth, Michel, Jonathan A., Das, Moumita, Sethna, James P., Cohen, Itai
Language: English
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1205195086, G2415270547, Collaborative Research: Unified Field Theory of Soft Amorphous Solids, Cornell Center for Materials Research - MRSEC, Collaborative Research: Bottom-up Construction of a Synthetic Neuron and Programmable Neuronal Network, G5917061246, Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), Emergent Behaviors of Dense Active Suspensions Under Shear, G6351810044, Collaborative Research: Statistical mechanics of dense suspensions - dynamical correlations and scaling theory, G7557880017
OpenAlex ID: W4403661920