Crossover behavior of conductivity in a discontinuous percolation model

Abstract

When conducting bonds are occupied randomly in a two-dimensional square lattice, the conductivity of the system increases continuously as the density of those conducting bonds exceeds the percolation threshold. Such a behavior is well known in percolation theory; however, the conductivity behavior has not been studied yet when the percolation transition is discontinuous. Here we investigate the conductivity behavior through a discontinuous percolation model evolving under a suppressive external bias. Using effective medium theory, we analytically calculate the conductivity behavior as a function of the density of conducting bonds. The conductivity function exhibits a crossover behavior from a drastically to a smoothly increasing function beyond the percolation threshold in the thermodynamic limit. The analytic expression fits well our simulation data.