Equilibrium Distribution of the Inherent States and their Dynamics in Glassy Systems and Granular Media

Annalisa Fierro, Mario Nicodemi, Antonio Coniglio

Published 2001-07-06, updated 2002-09-02Version 3

The present paper proposes a Statistical Mechanics approach to the inherent states of glassy systems and granular materials, following the original ideas developed by Edwards for granular materials. Two lattice models, a diluted Spin Glass and a system of hard-spheres under gravity, introduced in the context of glassy systems and granular materials, are evolved using a ``tap dynamics'' analogous to that of experiments on granular materials. The asymptotic macrostates, reached by the system, are shown to be described by a single thermodynamical parameter, and this parameter to coincide with the temperature, called the ``configurational temperature'', predicted assuming that the distribution among the inherent states satisfies the principle of maximum entropy.