Different sets of metastable states can be reached in glassy systems below some transition temperature depending on initial conditions and details of the dynamics. This is investigated for the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin glass model with long ranged interactions. In particular, the time...

Granular media jam into a panoply of metastable states. The way in which these states are achieved depends on the nature of local and global constraints on grains; here we investigate this issue by means of a non-equilibrium stochastic model of a hindered granular column near its jamming limit....

Humidity is well-known to significantly affect the mechanical properties, static as well as dynamic, of granular materials. We present the method of humidification of granular media from an under-saturated vapor that we designed in order to experimentally quantify such moisture-induced effects...

We report sets of precise and reproducible measurements on the static pressure at the bottom of a granular column. We make a quantitative analysis of the pressure saturation when the column height is increased. We evidence a great sensitivity of the measurements with the global packing fraction...

Determining the stability of granular matter piles is of basic concern in understanding many real-world phenomena (e.g. landslides, debris flow, and avalanches). While extensive literature exists dealing with the stability of mono-disperse systems, models for the dynamical behavior of...

A simple model for the dynamics of a granular system under tapping is studied. The model can be considered as a particularization for short taps of a more general one-dimensional lattice model with facilitated dynamics. The steady state reached by the system is discussed and the results are...

We report measurements of the density of a vibrated granular material as a function of time or taps. The material studied consists of monodisperse spherical glass beads confined to a long, thin cylindrical tube. Changes in vibration intensity are used to induce transitions between two steady...