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Statistics of thermal avalanches in driven amorphous systems.

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We reveal non-Poisson waiting-time statistics in thermal avalanches within amorphous systems. This finding captures the aging dynamics and nonequilibrium signatures of these large-scale rearrangements.

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Area of Science:

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Statistical Mechanics

Background:

  • Glasses exhibit complex dynamics near instability, often described by the random first-order transition theory.
  • Understanding large-scale rearrangements, termed 'thermal avalanches,' is crucial for characterizing driven amorphous systems.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the statistical properties of thermal avalanches in driven amorphous systems.
  • To analyze nonequilibrium signatures, including auto-correlation functions and effective temperatures.
  • To model the non-Markovian and aging dynamics of avalanche clusters.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing the random first-order transition theory framework.
  • Analyzing stringy excitations to determine waiting-time statistics.
  • Employing a generalized master equation to capture non-Markovian dynamics.
  • Applying full counting statistics to derive avalanche magnitude and count distributions.

Main Results:

  • Stringy excitations lead to non-Poisson waiting-time statistics for thermal avalanches.
  • The generalized master equation successfully models the aging dynamics of avalanche clusters.
  • Non-equilibrium signatures like auto-correlation functions and effective temperatures were analyzed under different protocols.
  • Complete distributions for avalanche magnitudes and counts were derived, revealing intermediate-time behavior.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides a theoretical framework for understanding thermal avalanches in amorphous systems.
  • Non-Poisson statistics and aging dynamics are key features of these systems near instability.
  • The findings offer insights into the non-equilibrium behavior of driven amorphous materials.