CAREER: Statistical Mechanics of Particulate Systems Far from Equilibrium

该职业奖支持颗粒材料“堵塞”系统的理论和计算研究和教育，如乳剂和颗粒介质。这些系统本质上远离它们的平衡状态。这项工作旨在测试并进一步发展一个统一的热力学框架，该框架有望导致对具有集体松弛动力学的广泛系统的共同理解。特别是，研究将集中在两种软物质系统：密集堆积的颗粒物质和高浓度的乳剂。如果热力学框架可以描述远离平衡态的系统行为，那么具有真正热力学意义的有效温度就可以作为表征材料性质的关键参数存在。为了检验这一概念的有效性，PI将执行计算机模拟-使用串行和并行架构中的高性能数值算法-并开发适当的理论基础来描述观察到的行为。PI将测试热力学概念的应用是否可以为理解缓慢颗粒流变和非线性弹性现象提供框架。这项工作对石油、制药和加工工业以及基础科学具有潜在的更广泛的影响，通过探索紧密堆积的颗粒系统的统计系综的理论思想，可以成为吉布斯和玻尔兹曼统计力学应用于非平衡系统的真正推广的一个例子。教育方面的内容包括课程的发展和创新、吸引和留住代表性不足的少数民族学生，以及通过教育网站向广大受众传播我们的研究结果。它需要开发一系列关于现代、软物质物理和计算物理主题的跨学科课程，这些课程将与研究计划紧密结合。让本科生和研究生在其职业生涯的早期参与研究环境将是该计划的优先事项。PI将吸引来自物理和化学、土木和机械工程背景的优秀少数民族本科生和研究生。该职业奖支持颗粒材料“堵塞”系统的理论和计算研究和教育，如乳剂和颗粒介质。在颗粒材料中，如果粒子被挤在一起，使得所有的粒子都接触到它们的邻居，就会导致“堵塞”系统，只要密度足够高，这种可能性就会出现。人们已经假设，系统在经历这种结构停滞状态时的行为，这种状态本质上远离平衡状态，可以用平衡热力学概念和有效温度的存在来描述。这项工作建议测试和进一步发展一个统一的热力学框架，它有望导致对广泛系统的共同理解。这项工作对石油、制药和加工工业以及基础科学具有潜在的更广泛的影响，通过探索紧密堆积的颗粒系统的统计系综的理论思想，可以成为吉布斯和玻尔兹曼统计力学应用于非平衡系统的真正推广的一个例子。教育方面的内容包括课程的发展和创新、吸引和留住代表性不足的少数民族学生，以及通过教育网站向广大受众传播我们的研究结果。它需要开发一系列关于现代、软物质物理和计算物理主题的跨学科课程，这些课程将与研究计划紧密结合。让本科生和研究生在其职业生涯的早期参与研究环境将是该计划的优先事项。PI将吸引来自物理和化学、土木和机械工程背景的优秀少数民族本科生和研究生。＊＊＊

This CAREER award supports theoretical and computational research and education on "jammed" systems of particulate materials, such as emulsions and granular media. These systems are inherently far from their equilibrium state. This work seeks to test and further develop a unifying thermodynamic framework which promises to lead to a common understanding of a wide range of systems with collective relaxation dynamics. In particular, study will focus on two soft-matter systems: densely packed granular matter and highly concentrated emulsions. If a thermodynamic framework can describe the behavior of systems far from equilibrium, than an effective temperature with a true thermodynamic meaning exists as a key parameter in characterizing the material's properties. In order to examine the validity of this concept, the PI will perform computer simulations- using high-performance numerical algorithms in serial and parallel architectures- and develop an appropriate theoretical basis to describe the observed behavior. The PI will test whether the application of thermodynamic concepts may provide the framework for understanding slow granular rheology and nonlinear elastic phenomena. The work has potential broader impacts on the petroleum, pharmaceutical, and processing industries and on fundamental science through the exploration of the theoretical idea that a statistical ensemble for closely packed particulate systems could be an example of a true generalization of the application of statistical mechanics of Gibbs and Boltzmann to systems out of equilibrium. The educational component involves curriculum development and innovation, attraction and retention of underrepresented minority students, and dissemination of our results to a wide audience through an educational web site. It entails the development of a series of interdisciplinary courses on modern, soft-matter physics and computational physics topics, which will be tightly integrated with the research plan. Involving undergraduate and graduate students in research environments early on in their careers will be a priority of this program. The PI will draw an excellent pool of minority undergraduate and graduate students from physics and chemical, civil and mechanical engineering backgrounds. %%%This CAREER award supports theoretical and computational research and education on "jammed" systems of particulate materials, such as emulsions and granular media.In particulate materials, a "jammed" system results if particles are packed together so that all particles are touching their neighbors, a possibility provided the density is sufficiently high. It has been postulated that the behavior of systems experiencing such a state of structural arrest, a state that is inherently far from the equilibrium state, can be described by equilibrium thermodynamic concepts and the existence of an effective temperature. This work proposes to test and further develop a unifying thermodynamic framework which promises to lead to a common understanding of a wide range of systems. The work has potential broader impacts on the petroleum, pharmaceutical, and processing industries and on fundamental science through the exploration of the theoretical idea that a statistical ensemble for closely packed particulate systems could be an example of a true generalization of the application of statistical mechanics of Gibbs and Boltzmann to systems out of equilibrium. The educational component involves curriculum development and innovation, attraction and retention of underrepresented minority students, and dissemination of our results to a wide audience through an educational web site. It entails the development of a series of interdisciplinary courses on modern, soft-matter physics and computational physics topics, which will be tightly integrated with the research plan. Involving undergraduate and graduate students in research environments early on in their careers will be a priority of this program. The PI will draw an excellent pool of minority undergraduate and graduate students from physics and chemical, civil and mechanical engineering backgrounds. ***