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Defect structure and percolation in the packing of bidispersed particles on a sphere
Andrew M Mascioli1, Christopher J Burke, Mathew Q Giso
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, 574 Boston Avenue, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, USA. timothy.atherton@tufts.edu.
Abstract:
We study packings of bidispersed spherical particles on a spherical surface. The presence of curvature necessitates defects even for monodispersed particles; bidispersity either leads to a more disordered packing for nearly equal radii, or a higher fill fraction when the smaller particles are accommodated in the interstices of the larger spheres. Variation in the packing fraction is explained by a percolation transition, as chains of defects or scars previously discovered in the monodispersed case grow and eventually disconnect the neighbor graph.
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