In physics, disordered systems are physical systems whose microscopic constituents (e.g., atoms, spins, impurities, or structural units) lack translational or orientational long-range order and are characterized by randomness in parameters such as positions, couplings, or local potentials. This quenched or annealed disorder crucially affects thermodynamic, transport, and dynamical properties, leading to phenomena such as Anderson localization, glassy dynamics, and complex energy landscapes. Disordered systems are modeled using probabilistic descriptions of disorder realizations and ensemble averages, often requiring techniques from statistical mechanics, random matrix theory, and renormalization group methods to analyze emergent macroscopic behavior and phase transitions in the presence of randomness.
The so-called glass transition is the process by which some liquid-like materials become solid-like, without forming a crystalline structure. In contrast to conventional solid materials, which exhibit an orderly atom arrangement, ...
Many materials store information about what has happened to them in a sort of material memory, like wrinkles on a once crumpled piece of paper. Now, a team led by Penn State physicists has uncovered how, under specific conditions, ...
Condensed Matter
Jan 29, 2025
0
82
The amorphous state of matter is the most abundant form of visible matter in the universe, and includes all structurally disordered systems, such as biological cells or essential materials like glass and polymers.
Glass might seem to be an ordinary material we encounter every day, but the physics at play inside are actually quite complex and still not completely understood by scientists. Some panes of glass, such as the stained-glass ...
Soft Matter
Jan 8, 2025
0
60
While atoms are known to wiggle very fast, dopants added to a cuprate superconductor can also cause atoms to meander very slowly. An SLAC study shows this process, called atomic relaxation, offers a new way to explore quantum ...
Superconductivity
Dec 5, 2024
0
62
A new route to materials with complex disordered magnetic properties at the quantum level has been produced by scientists for the first time. The material, based on a framework of ruthenium, fulfills the requirements of the ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 15, 2024
0
108
Electrocaloric (EC) cooling works by using electricity to generate a cooling effect, which is more efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly compared to traditional vapor-compression-based cooling methods.
Condensed Matter
Nov 13, 2024
0
35
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune and the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Pune have shown that the macroscopic deformation of amorphous solids is controlled by structural ...
Condensed Matter
Oct 18, 2024
0
72
A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in Hamburg, Germany, and Brookhaven National Laboratory in the United States has demonstrated a new way to study disorder ...
Superconductivity
Sep 16, 2024
0
138
Overcoming magnetic disorder is key to exploiting the unique properties of quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators. A Monash-led team has demonstrated that the breakdown in topological protection is caused by magnetic disorder, ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 11, 2024
0
81
