Shear-driven dynamic clusters in a colloidal glass

ORAL

Abstract

We investigate the effect of shear applied to a colloidal glass on a microscopic level using a shear device that can be mounted on top of a confocal microscope. We find that the glass yields at a critical strain of about 10\%, independently of the shear rate. Surprisingly, the yielding is accompanied by an increase of cooperative particle movements and a formation of dynamic clusters which is in contrast to the normal glass transition where one typically finds heterogeneity increasing whilst moving towards the glass transition.

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Authors

  • Christoph Eisenmann

    • DEAS, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
    • DEAS, Harvard University

  • Chanjoong Kim

    • DEAS, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
    • DEAS, Harvard University
    • Division of Engineering and Applied Science. Harvard University

  • Johan Mattsson

    • DEAS, Harvard University

  • David Weitz

    • Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Department of Physics, Harvard University
    • DEAS, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
    • Harvard University
    • DEAS, Harvard University
    • Division of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138, USA
    • Division of Engineering and Applied Science. Harvard University
    • Applied Physics, Harvard University