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.
Physicists from the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge have created the first two-dimensional version of the Bose glass, a novel phase of matter that challenges statistical mechanics. The details of the study have been published ...
General Physics
Sep 11, 2024
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321
The ratchet mechanism is a fascinating energy-conversion system that converts disorderly or random motion into orderly, directed movement through a process known as spontaneous rectification. It is a critical component of ...
General Physics
Aug 20, 2024
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123
Glasses and gels are two different types of solid materials that are commonly used in a wide range of settings. Despite their markedly different compositions, these distinct materials share some similar properties, for instance, ...
While we usually think of disorder as a bad thing, a team of materials science researchers led by Rohan Mishra, from Washington University in St. Louis, and Jayakanth Ravichandran, from the University of Southern California, ...
Nanophysics
May 7, 2024
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151
In the realm of disorder and amorphous systems, such as oxide glasses utilized in display technologies and the cryogenic preservation of biological materials, there exists a substantial body of contemporary scientific and ...
General Physics
Apr 22, 2024
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Physicists at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) have made a discovery that could boost the understanding of the role of entanglement in high-temperature copper oxide superconductors. The low-energy quasiparticles ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 9, 2024
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142
For a long time, it was thought that amorphous solids do not selectively absorb light because of their disordered atomic structure. However, a new uOttawa study disproves this theory and shows that amorphous solids actually ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 29, 2024
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105
A research team has developed a new technique that enables precise spatiotemporal control of terahertz waves as they pass through disordered materials.
Optics & Photonics
Feb 13, 2024
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160
Cornell quantum researchers have detected an elusive phase of matter, called the Bragg glass phase, using large volumes of X-ray data and a new machine learning data analysis tool. The discovery settles a long-standing question ...
Condensed Matter
Feb 9, 2024
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175
Oxidation can degrade the properties and functionality of metals. However, a research team co-led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently discovered that severely oxidized metallic glass nanotubes ...
Nanophysics
Feb 2, 2024
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151
