Absorbing-State Transitions in Granular Materials Close to Jamming.

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Materials Science
• Statistical Mechanics

Background:

• Driven particulate matter systems exhibit complex behaviors.
• Understanding transitions between absorbing and non-absorbing states is crucial.
• Existing models may not fully capture the interplay of particle isolation and caging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a model for driven particulate matter that unifies different dynamical regimes.
• To investigate the nonequilibrium phase diagram and identify critical transitions.
• To establish a theoretical framework, like a Manna-like mean field description, for observed phenomena.

Main Methods:

• Development of a computational model for driven particulate matter.
• Analysis of the model's nonequilibrium phase diagram.
• Application of Manna-like mean field theory to describe phase transitions.

Main Results:

• A single phase boundary was identified, connecting chaos in sheared suspensions to yielding in jammed packings.
• Hydrodynamic and elastic reversibility analogs emerge at low and high volume fractions, respectively.
• The phase boundary exhibits characteristics of a nonequilibrium second-order phase transition.

Conclusions:

• Jamming can represent a direct transition between absorbing states or occur within a diffusive region.
• The proposed model and mean field description effectively capture the complex dynamics and phase transitions in driven particulate systems.
• The findings provide a unified perspective on phenomena ranging from chaotic suspensions to jammed solids.