Consequences of anomalous diffusion in disordered systems under cyclic forcing

Phys Rev Lett. 2014 Jun 6;112(22):228001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.228001. Epub 2014 Jun 3.

Abstract

We study the particle scale response of a 2D frictionless disk system to bulk forcing via cyclic shear with reversal amplitude γ_{r}. We find a subdiffusive γ_{r}-dependent regime, which is consistent with models of anomalous diffusion with scale-invariant cage dynamics, and a crossover to diffusive grain motion at high γ_{r}. Analysis of local displacements of a particle relative to its cage of neighbors reveals a key distinction from thermal systems. Particles are moved by fluctuations of their cage of neighbors rather than rattling in their cage, indicating a distinct cage-breaking mechanism.