From black holes to sands: Application of holographic duality to granular matter

 

International Conference on Condensed Matter Physics 
Researchers from the Institute of Theoretical Physics (ITP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CA
S) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) have found that granular matter (such as sand) and some black hole models display similar nonlinear effects. The bridge between the two is the holographic duality.


Holographic duality allows one to map unsolved physical problems to tractable higher-dimensional gravitational counterparts and vice versa. The mapping between different dimensions resembles the optical holographic projection technique, hence the name.


Although the holographic duality originated from string theory and was part of the quest for a consistent theory of quantum gravity, it has also been widely applied to quantum chromodynamics, condensed matter physics, and quantum information.


In this work, the idea of holographic duality is extended to a concrete type of athermal, disordered solids—granular materials. Since granules tend to have a macroscopic size, thermal fluctuations and quantum effects can be ignored.


In addition, the traditional elasticity theory of ordered crystals is no longer applicable, due to the disordered nature of granular materials (i.e., there is no periodic lattice structure for the spatial distribution of grains). Understanding the physical properties of granular matter, such as the complex mechanical responses, remains a theoretical challenge.

Granular materials can resist deformations to a certain extent and maintain their structural integrity. Nevertheless, when the deformation exceeds a certain threshold, the material breaks, a phenomenon known as yielding. In some cases, shearing can lead to the hardening of the granular system (i.e., an increase in shear modulus), which appears as a nonlinear response to the external deformation.

This study predicts intrinsic relationships among the nonlinear elasticity, yielding and entropy of granular matter, based on the holographic duality principle and effective field theory techniques. Computer simulations of granular models verify the theoretical predictions.

This research not only expands the application scope of the holographic duality, but also reveals the potential relationship between black hole physics and amorphous materials, providing a new avenue for the study and understanding of complex systems.







   


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Time Crystals: A New Form of Matter That Could Change Everything

Image
Of all the science-fiction-sounding names that have come to fruition in recent years, perhaps none is as mysterious or seemingly fictitious as time crystals. The name evokes something between Back to the Future and Donnie Darko, and the reality is perhaps crazier than either. Two separate groups of scientists recently reported they observed time crystals, which lends credence to the idea that this theoretical state of matter is something humans can actually create and observe. And indeed, time crystals can be grown in a child’s bedroom. But, it requires nuclear sensors and lasers to help time crystals reach their full potential and then measure and observe them. This combination of dramatic scientific terms and shockingly simple objects is a great analogy for time crystals as a whole. Read on to understand what they are and how they might affect our lives.   What Are Time Crystals? Time crystals are systems of atoms that arrange themselves in time the way more traditional solids cr...
Read more

Viable superconducting material created at low temperature and low pressure

Image
International Conference on Condensed Matter Physics In a historic achievement, University of Rochester researchers have created a superconducting material at both a temperature and pressure low enough for practical applications. "With this material, the dawn of ambient superconductivity and applied technologies has arrived," according to a team led by Ranga Dias, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and physics. In a paper in Nature, the researchers describe a nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride (NDLH) that exhibits superconductivity at 69 degrees Fahrenheit (20.5 degrees Celsius) and 10 kilobars (145,000 pounds per square inch, or psi) of pressure. Although 145,000 psi might still seem extraordinarily high (pressure at sea level is about 15 psi), strain engineering techniques routinely used in chip manufacturing, for example, incorporate materials held together by internal chemical pressures that are even higher. Scientists have been pursuing this breakthrough in c...
Read more