IRG III: Jamming, Slow Relaxation and Rigidity Onset in Materials Far from Equilibrium @ University of Chicago
Research Fields: | Condensed Matter Phenomena | Soft Materials, Colloids |
IRG 3, Jamming and Slow Relaxation in Materials Far From Equilibrium, is developing a novel, unifying framework to understand the complex behavior of large classes of materials, from spin systems to supercooled liquids to granular matter, that become stuck in states far from equilibrium and defy description by conventional statistical mechanics. This interdisciplinary approach is based on the concept of “jamming” co-developed at Chicago. A first thrust investigates phenomena in which systems jam via self-organized processes. A second thrust extends the jamming phase diagram to include systems with externally imposed disorder.