Universal Dynamic Scaling for Sub-Yield Aging and Over-Yield Rejuvenation in A Cyclically Driven Metallic Glass
Abstract
Whether sub-yield aging and over-yield rejuvenation in cyclically deformed amorphous solids share a common physical origin or arise from distinct microscopic mechanisms remains a fundamental yet unresolved debate. Using molecular dynamics simulations of a metallic glass, we resolve this duality by uncovering a unified dynamic clock that dictates energy landscape navigation across both regimes. We show that the transition between regimes reflects a fundamental shift in energy injection pathways: (i) In the over-yield regime, rejuvenation is driven as a first-order response to macroscopic plastic shear work derived from Herschel-Bulkley non-linear rheological scaling. (ii) In contrast, this macroscopic work scaling fails in the sub-yield regime, where early-stage energy landscape elevation and subsequent cyclic aging are instead governed by second-order localized elastic stress fluctuations acting as a mechanical catalyst and noise source, respectively. Intense high-rate agitation increases the escape probability from deeper potential energy minima, thereby suppressing the retention efficiency of structural relaxation. By identifying these localized fluctuations as the primary origin of rate-attenuated sub-yield relaxation, we establish an exact scaling identity relating the relaxation attenuation exponent to the stress fluctuation exponent. This work directly bridges non-linear rheology with stress fluctuation dynamics, providing a unified framework to predict and manipulate structural evolution in amorphous solids.
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BibTeX
@misc{ren2026universal,
title = {{Universal Dynamic Scaling for Sub-Yield Aging and Over-Yield Rejuvenation in A Cyclically Driven Metallic Glass}},
author = {Nannan Ren and Hongfei Zhang and Rui Wan and Pengfei Guan and Limin Wang and Baoshuang Shang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.21625},
eprint = {2610.21625},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21625},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Universal Dynamic Scaling for Sub-Yield Aging and Over-Yield Rejuvenation in A Cyclically Driven Metallic Glass
AU - Nannan Ren
AU - Hongfei Zhang
AU - Rui Wan
AU - Pengfei Guan
AU - Limin Wang
AU - Baoshuang Shang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.21625
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21625
AB - Whether sub-yield aging and over-yield rejuvenation in cyclically deformed amorphous solids share a common physical origin or arise from distinct microscopic mechanisms remains a fundamental yet unresolved debate. Using molecular dynamics simulations of a metallic glass, we resolve this duality by uncovering a unified dynamic clock that dictates energy landscape navigation across both regimes. We show that the transition between regimes reflects a fundamental shift in energy injection pathways: (i) In the over-yield regime, rejuvenation is driven as a first-order response to macroscopic plastic shear work derived from Herschel-Bulkley non-linear rheological scaling. (ii) In contrast, this macroscopic work scaling fails in the sub-yield regime, where early-stage energy landscape elevation and subsequent cyclic aging are instead governed by second-order localized elastic stress fluctuations acting as a mechanical catalyst and noise source, respectively. Intense high-rate agitation increases the escape probability from deeper potential energy minima, thereby suppressing the retention efficiency of structural relaxation. By identifying these localized fluctuations as the primary origin of rate-attenuated sub-yield relaxation, we establish an exact scaling identity relating the relaxation attenuation exponent to the stress fluctuation exponent. This work directly bridges non-linear rheology with stress fluctuation dynamics, providing a unified framework to predict and manipulate structural evolution in amorphous solids.
ER -