The jamming transition is a k-core percolation transition

Abstract

We explain the structural origin of the jamming transition in jammed matter as the sudden appearance of k-cores at precise coordination numbers which are related not to the isostatic point, but to the sudden emergence of the 3- and 4-cores as given by k-core percolation theory. At the transition, the k-core variables freeze and the k-core dominates the appearance of rigidity. Surprisingly, the 3-D simulation results can be explained with the result of mean-field k-core percolation in the Erdos-Renyi network. That is, the finite-dimensional transition seems to be explained by the infinite-dimensional k-core, implying that the structure of the jammed pack is compatible with a fully random network.