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Competition between Energy and Dynamics in Memory Formation
Chloe W Lindeman1, Varda F Hagh1, Chi Ian Ip1
1Department of Physics and The James Franck and Enrico Fermi Institutes The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Abstract:
Bistable objects that are pushed between states by an external field are often used as a simple model to study memory formation in disordered materials. Such systems, called hysterons, are typically treated quasistatically. Here, we generalize hysterons to explore the effect of dynamics in a simple spring system with tunable bistability and study how the system chooses a minimum. Changing the timescale of the forcing allows the system to transition between a situation where its fate is determined by following the local energy minimum to one where it is trapped in a shallow well determined by the path taken through configuration space. Oscillatory forcing can lead to transients lasting many cycles, a behavior not possible for a single quasistatic hysteron.
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