Direct measurement of dipoles in anomalous elasticity of amorphous solids

Recent progress in studying the physics of amorphous solids has revealed that mechanical strains can be strongly screened by the formation of plastic events that are typically quadrupolar in nature. The theory stipulates that gradients in the density of the quadrupoles act as emergent dipole sources, leading to strong screening and to qualitative changes in the mechanical response, as seen, for example, in the displacement field. In this Letter we first offer direct measurements of the dipole field, independently of any theoretical assumptions, and second we demonstrate detailed agreement with the recently proposed theory. These two goals are achieved by using data from both simulations and experiments. Finally, we show how measurements of the dipole fields pinpoint the theory parameters that determine the profile of the displacement field.