Mechanical response of disordered systems

Coordinator : Walter Kob

For crystalline materials the mechanical response can be understood by considering the defects in the structure. For glasses this is not possible, since these materials are intrinsically disordered.

Understanding how a glass sample reacts when it is subjected to an external force, requires thus the introduction of new concepts. This information is crucial to obtain a fundamental understanding of the non-elastic properties of materials, as well as their behavior close to the yielding point.

In this line of research we use computer simulations, topological quantities as well as mean field approaches to gain insight on the mechanical properties of glasses, gels and other disordered materials.