Microscopic Plasticity and Dynamic Heterogeneities in Yielding Soft Glasses

Explore the microscopic dynamics of yielding in soft glassy materials through this 38-minute conference talk delivered at the Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics. Delve into the relationship between macroscopic and microscopic manifestations of yielding, focusing on the transition from solid-like to fluidized behavior. Examine the key question of relevant length scales for structural rearrangements and energy dissipation in dense microgel suspensions under shear. Discover how plastic flow under large deformations is associated with spatially homogeneous dynamics, while the onset of yielding is dominated by collective processes with heterogeneous dynamics on larger length scales. Gain insights into the mapping of nonaffine dynamics and the comparison between experimental observations and theoretical models based on localized and uncorrelated rearrangements.