{
  "abstract": "We compare three particle-scale measures of rearrangement in highly polydisperse materials under driven flow: (a) nonaffine motion defined relative to the time-averaged mean flow, (b) changes in nearest-neighbor connectivity, and (c) $D^2_{\\min}$, which measures nonaffine motion relative to an affine deformation fitted locally in space and time [Falk and Langer, Phys. Rev. E 57, 7192 (1998)]. We apply these measures to previously published two-dimensional simulations [Jiang, Sussman, and Weeks, Phys. Rev. E 108, 054605 (2023)] and granular-flow experiments [Illing and Weeks, Phys. Rev. E 111, 045422 (2025)] with polydispersities up to $δ\\approx0.50$. Changes in connectivity and $D^2_{\\min}$ both require a definition of neighboring particles, making the choice of neighborhood nontrivial in highly polydisperse systems. For detecting changes in connectivity, we recommend radical Delaunay triangulation, which provides a size-aware topological definition of neighbors. For calculating $D^2_{\\min}$, we recommend a size-aware pairwise cutoff distance method. We further show that changing the neighborhood definition can reverse the apparent dependence of $D^2_{\\min}$ on particle size in experimental data. Thus, trends in $D^2_{\\min}$ cannot be interpreted independently of the neighborhood used to calculate it. Overall, the three measures presented provide complementary information about rearrangements in highly polydisperse systems.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.10247",
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Waad Paliwal"
    },
    {
      "name": "Eric R. Weeks"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8t3ab6wmk1976.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.10247",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "8t3ab6wmk1976",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.10247",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.soft"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2206|Granular flow and fluidized beds"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7212174730",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.10247",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-09",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8t3ab6wmk1976.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:12Z",
      "native_id": "2609.10247",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.10247"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.soft",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Characterizing particle rearrangements in sheared highly polydisperse materials",
  "title_text": "Characterizing particle rearrangements in sheared highly polydisperse materials",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:12Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8t3ab6wmk1976",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}