Self-organization and memory in an disordered solid subject to random loading

Abstract

We consider self-organization and memory formation in a mesoscopic model of an amorphous solid subject to a random shear strain protocol confined to a strain range $\pm \varepsilon_{\rm max}$. We develop proper read-out protocols to show that the response of the driven system retains a memory of the strain range, which can be subsequently retrieved. Our findings generalize previous results obtained upon oscillatory driving and suggest that self-organization and memory formation of disordered materials can emerge under more general conditions, such as a disordered system interacting with its fluctuating environment. The self-organization results in a correlation between the dynamics of the system and its environment. We conclude by discussing our results within the context of environmental sensing, highlighting their generalizability to adaptation strategies of simple organisms under changing conditions.