Joint ICTP/SISSA SP Seminar 2 May at 11:00 @ ICTP Stasi Seminar Room - G. BIROLI

[Condensed Matter Section]

JOINT ICTP/SISSA STATISTICAL PHYSICS SEMINAR:


TUESDAY, 2 May at 11:00
Luigi Stasi Seminar Room, first floor, ICTP Leonardo building

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Speaker: Giulio BIROLI (CEA Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France)


Title: Non-Linear Responses, Soft Modes and the True Nature of Glasses

Abstract:

In understanding the nature and the formation of glasses lie questions 
that go beyond the physics of such amorphous materials and are relevant 
for many branches of science from physics to mathematics, computer 
science, and biology. After a general introduction to the field of 
glassy systems, I will show that strong non-linear responses to small 
perturbations and the proliferation of soft-modes are key signatures of 
glassiness. I will explain how we used these features to probe the 
nature of the glass transition and to reveal that amorphous solids may 
undergo a new kind of phase transition at which standard elasticity 
breaks down.