Non-equilibrium glass transitions in driven and active matter

• DOI: 10.1038/nphys2592
• Publication Date: 2013-03-31T17:15:44Z
• Authors: Ludovic Berthier; Jorge Kurchan
• Keywords: Thermal equilibrium; Thermal fluctuations; Autocatalytic reaction; Active matter; Equilibrium thermodynamics

7 pages, 2 figs<br/>The glass transition, extensively studied in dense fluids, polymers, or colloids, corresponds to a dramatic evolution of equilibrium transport coefficients upon a modest change of control parameter, like temperature or pressure. A similar phenomenology is found in many systems evolving far from equilibrium, such as driven granular media, active and living matter. While many theories compete to describe the glass transition at thermal equilibrium, very little is understood far from equilibrium. Here, we solve the dynamics of a specific, yet representative, class of glass models in the presence of nonthermal driving forces and energy dissipation, and show that a dynamic arrest can take place in these nonequilibrium conditions. While the location of the transition depends on the specifics of the driving mechanisms, important features of the glassy dynamics are insensitive to details, suggesting that an `effective' thermal dynamics generically emerges at long time scales in nonequilibrium systems close to dynamic arrest.<br/>