Jamming as a topological satisfiability transition with contact number hyperuniformity and criticality

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Authors: Jin Shang, Yinqiao Wang, Deng Yu Pan, Yuliang Jin, Jie Zhang
Cited by: 1
References: 59

Abstract

The jamming transition between flow and amorphous-solid states exhibits paradoxical properties characterized by hyperuniformity (suppressed spatial fluctuations) and criticality (hyperfluctuations), whose origin remains unclear. Here, we model the jamming transition by a topological satisfiability transition in a minimum network model with simultaneously hyperuniform distributions of contacts, diverging length scales and scale-free clusters. We show that these phenomena stem from isostaticity and mechanical stability: The former imposes a global equality, and the latter local inequalities on arbitrary subsystems. This dual constraint bounds contact number fluctuations from both above and below, limiting them to scale with the surface area. The hyperuniform and critical exponents of the network model align with those of frictionless jamming, suggesting a universality class of nonequilibrium phase transitions. Our results provide a minimal, dynamics-independent framework for jamming criticality and hyperuniformity in disordered systems.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Theoretical and Computational Physics Material Dynamics and Properties Complex Network Analysis Techniques

Publication details

Journal / source
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Volume
123
Issue
14
Pages
e2517241123–e2517241123
Publication date
31 March 2026
Language
EN