The influence of shape on the glassy dynamics of hard nonspherical particle fluids. I. Dynamic crossover and elasticity

Abstract

We extend and apply the center-of-mass version of the microscopic naive mode coupling theory to study the ideal kinetic glass transition of dense fluids and suspensions composed of broad families of one-, two-, and three-dimensional hard nonspherical particles. A kinetic arrest diagram is constructed which indicates a dynamical crossover or onset of activated barrier hopping controlled transport. We find (quasi-) one-dimensional rods and rings form ideal glasses at the lowest volume fractions which decrease strongly with aspect ratio. Two-dimensional disks form ideal glasses at intermediate volume fractions which decrease slowly with the number of particles comprising the planar objects. Compact three-dimensional cluster particles exhibit a subtle nonmonotonic variation of the onset volume fraction that depends on their detailed shape, surface corrugation, and intraparticle interstitial volume. A strong correlation between the ideal kinetic arrest volume fraction and dimensionless compressibility (amplitude of density fluctuations) is predicted. The elastic shear modulus (transient localization length) grows (decreases) exponentially with volume fraction in a manner that becomes stronger as particle dimensionality increases.