The work described in this book originates from a major effort to develop a fundamental theory of the glass and the jamming transitions. The first chapters guide the reader through the phenomenology of supercooled liquids and structural glasses and provide the tools to analyze the most frequently used models able to predict the complex behavior of such systems. A fundamental outcome is a detailed theoretical derivation of an effective thermodynamic potential, along with the study of anomalous vibrational properties of sphere systems. The interested reader can find in these pages a clear and deep analysis of mean-field models as well as the description of advanced beyond-mean-field perturbative expansions. To investigate important second-order phase transitions in lattice models, the last part of the book proposes an innovative theoretical approach, based on a multi-layer construction. The different methods developed in this thesis shed new light on important connections among constraint satisfaction problems, jamming and critical phenomena in complex systems, and lay part of the groundwork for a complete theory of amorphous solids.

The subject of jamming and rheology is a broad and interdisciplinary one that is generating increasing interest. This book deals with one of the oldest unsolved problems in condensed matter physics - that of the nature of glass transition in supercooled liquids. Jamming and Rheology is a collection of reprinted articles from several fields, ranging from structural glasses to foams and granular materials. Glassy relaxation and constrained dynamics (jamming) occur at all scales, from microscopic to macroscopic - in the glass transition of supercooled liquids, in fluids confined to thin films, in the structural arrest of particles such as granular materials, and in foams which must be driven by an applied stress in order to flow. Because jamming occurs at the transition between where a flow occurs and where motion stops, it is hoped that there may be a universal feature that describes this transition in all systems. This volume shows that the systems described above share many common phenomenological features, and covers work done by a wide range of scientists and technologists working in areas from physics to chemistry to chemical and mechanical engineering.

This pedagogical and self-contained text describes the modern mean field theory of simple structural glasses. The book begins with a thorough explanation of infinite-dimensional models in statistical physics, before reviewing the key elements of the thermodynamic theory of liquids and the dynamical properties of liquids and glasses. The central feature of the mean field theory of disordered systems, the existence of a large multiplicity of metastable states, is then introduced. The replica method is then covered, before the final chapters describe important, advanced topics such as Gardner transitions, complexity, packing spheres in large dimensions, the jamming transition, and the rheology of glass. Presenting the theory in a clear and pedagogical style, this is an excellent resource for researchers and graduate students working in condensed matter physics and statistical mechanics.

With contributions from 24 global experts in diverse fields, and edited by world-recognized leaders in physical chemistry, chemical physics and biophysics, Structural Glasses and Supercooled Liquids: Theory, Experiment, and Applications presents a modern, complete survey of glassy phenomena in many systems based on firmly established characteristics of the underlying molecular motions as deduced by first principle theoretical calculations, or with direct/single-molecule experimental techniques. A well-rounded view of a variety of disordered systems where cooperative phenomena, which are epitomized by supercooled liquids, take place is provided. These systems include structural glasses and supercooled liquids, polymers, complex liquids, protein conformational dynamics, and strongly interacting electron systems with quenched/self-generated disorder. Detailed calculations and reasoned arguments closely corresponding with experimental data are included, making the book accessible to an educated non-expert reader.

This book gives a pedagogical introduction to the physics of amorphous solids and related disordered condensed matter systems. Important concepts from statistical mechanics such as percolation, random walks, fractals and spin glasses are explained. Using these concepts, the common aspects of these systems are emphasized, and the current understanding of the glass transition and the structure of glasses are concisely reviewed. This second edition includes new material on emerging topics in the field of disordered systems such as gels, driven systems, dynamical heterogeneities, growing length scales etc. as well as an update of the literature in this rapidly developing field.

Describes and interrelates the following processes: cooperative alpha processes in a cold liquid, structural relaxation in the glass near Tg, the Johari-Goldstein beta process, the Williams-Götze process in a warm liquid, fast nonactivated cage rattling and boson peak, and ultraslow Fischer modes.

Most of the solid materials we use in everyday life, from plastics to cosmetic gels exist under a non-crystalline, amorphous form: they are glasses. Yet, we are still seeking a fundamental explanation as to what glasses really are and to why they form. In this book, we survey the most recent theoretical and experimental research dealing with glassy physics, from molecular to colloidal glasses and granular media. Leading experts in this field present broad and original perspectives on one of the deepest mysteries of condensed matter physics, with an emphasis on the key role played by heterogeneities in the dynamics of glassiness.

The last few years have seen many developments in the study of ?frustrated? systems, such as spin glasses and random fields. In addition, the application of the idea of spin glasses to other branches of physics, such as vortex lines in high temperature superconductors, protein folding, structural glasses, and the vulcanization of rubber, has been flourishing. The earlier reviews are several years old, so now is an appropriate time to summarize the recent developments. The articles in this book have been written by leading researchers and include theoretical and experimental studies, and large-scale numerical work (using state-of-the-art algorithms designed specifically for spin-glass-type problems), as well as analytical studies.

Amorphous condensed matter can exhibit complex motions on time scales which extend up to those relevant for the functioning of biomaterials. The book presents the derivation of a microscopic theory for amorphous matter, which exhibits the evolution of such complex motions as a new paradigm of strongly interacting particle systems.e

The science of complex materials continues to engage researchers from a vast range of disciplines, including physics, mathematics, computational science, and virtually all domains of engineering.This volume presents a unique multidisciplinary panorama of the current research in complex materials. The contributions explore an array of problems reflecting recent developments in four main areas: characterization and modeling of disordered packings, micromechanics and continuum theory; discrete element method; statistical mechanics. The common theme is the quest to unravel the connection between the microscopic and macroscopic properties of complex materials.