Unifying Atoms and Colloids near the Glass Transition through Bond-Order Topology

L Stricker and PM Derlet and AF Demirörs and HR Vutukuri and J Vermant, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 132, 218202 (2024).

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.218202

In this combined experimental and simulation study, we utilize bond- order topology to quantitatively match particle volume fraction in mechanically uniformly compressed colloidal suspensions with temperature in atomistic simulations. The obtained mapping temperature is above the dynamical glass transition temperature, indicating that the colloidal systems examined are structurally most like simulated undercooled liquids. Furthermore, the structural mapping procedure offers a unifying framework for quantifying relaxation in arrested colloidal systems.

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