Finite-Size Scaling at the Jamming Transition (1204.4915v3)

Abstract: We present an analysis of finite-size effects in jammed packings of N soft, frictionless spheres at zero temperature. There is a 1/N correction to the discrete jump in the contact number at the transition so that jammed packings exist only above isostaticity. As a result, the canonical power-law scalings of the contact number and elastic moduli break down at low pressure. These quantities exhibit scaling collapse with a non-trivial scaling function, demonstrating that the jamming transition can be considered a phase transition. Scaling is achieved as a function of N in both 2 and 3 dimensions, indicating an upper critical dimension of 2.