Selection principle for the screening parameters in the mechanical response of amorphous solids.

Abstract

The mechanical response of amorphous solids to external strains is riddled with plastic events that create topological charges in the resulting displacement field. It was recently shown that the latter lead to screening phenomena that are accompanied by the breaking of both translational and Chiral symmetries. The screening effects are quantified by two screening parameters κ_{e} and κ_{o}, which are inverse characteristic lengths that do not exist in classical elasticity. The screening parameters (and the associated lengths) are emergent, and it is important to understand how they are selected. This Letter explores the mechanism of selection of these characteristic lengths in two examples of strain protocols that allow analytic scrutiny.