title: Model for reversible colloidal gelation.
abstract: We report a numerical study, covering a wide range of packing fraction Phi and temperature T, for a system of particles interacting via a square well potential supplemented by an additional constraint on the maximum number n(max) of bonded interactions. We show that, when n(max)<6, the liquid-gas coexistence region shrinks, giving access to regions of low Phi where dynamics can be followed down to low T without an intervening phase separation. We characterize these arrested states at low densities (gel states) in terms of structure and dynamical slowing down, pointing out features which are very different from the standard glassy states observed at high Phi values.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica and INFM-CRS SOFT, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, I-00185 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zaccarelli
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Buldyrev
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: La Nave
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Saika-Voivod
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sciortino
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tartaglia
mesh_terms: D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods*; D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D005782:Gels; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D013696:Temperature; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids; D005782:Gels