Vibration Modes and Characteristic Length Scales in Amorphous Materials

The numerical study of the mechanical responses of amorphous materials at the nanometer scale shows characteristic length scales that are larger than the intrinsic length of the microstructure. In this article, we review the different scales appearing upon athermal elastoplastic mechanical load and we relate it to a detailed study of the vibrational response. We compare different materials with different microstructures and different bond directionality (from Lennard-Jones model materials to amorphous silicon and silicate glasses). This work suggests experimental measurements that could help to understand and, if possible, to predict plastic deformation in glasses.