title: Depinning by fracture in a glassy background.
abstract: We force a single particle through a two-dimensional simulated glass of smaller particles. We find that the particle velocity obeys a robust power law that persists to drive wells above threshold. As the single driven particle moves, it induces cooperative distortions in the surrounding medium. We show theoretically that a fracture model for these distortions produces power-law behavior and discuss implications for experimental probes of soft matter systems.
authors.affiliation: Center for Nonlinear Studies and Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Hastings
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Olson Reichhardt
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reichhardt