Size-Dependent Localization in Polydisperse Colloidal Glasses

Phys Rev Lett. 2017 Jul 28;119(4):048003. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.048003. Epub 2017 Jul 28.

Abstract

We have investigated concentrated suspensions of polydisperse hard spheres and have determined the dynamics and sizes of individual particles using confocal microscopy. With increasing concentration, the dynamics of the small and large particles start to differ. The large particles exhibit slower dynamics and stronger localization. Moreover, as the particle size increases, the local volume fraction ϕ_{loc} also increases. In the glass state, the localization length significantly decreases beyond ϕ_{loc}≈0.67. This suggests a link between local crowding and dynamical heterogeneities. However dynamical arrest of subpopulations seems not directly linked to a large value of ϕ_{loc}, indicating the importance of collective effects.