Glass transition for driven granular fluids

Abstract

We investigate the dynamics of a driven system of dissipative hard spheres within mode-coupling theory. The dissipation is modeled by normal restitution, and driving is applied to individual particles in the bulk. In such a system, a glass transition is predicted for a finite transition density. With increasing dissipation, the transition shifts to higher densities. Despite the strong driving at high dissipation, the transition persists up to the limit of totally inelastic normal restitution.