Models of 3D confluent tissue as under-constrained glasses

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Li, Chengling, Merkel, Matthias, Sussman, Daniel M.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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_version_ 1866912982230892544
author Li, Chengling
Merkel, Matthias
Sussman, Daniel M.
author_facet Li, Chengling
Merkel, Matthias
Sussman, Daniel M.
contents The dynamics of glassy materials slows down upon cooling, typically showing either Arrhenius or super-Arrhenius behavior. However, it was recently shown that 2D cell-based models for biological tissues can be continuously tuned between Arrhenius and sub-Arrhenius dynamics. In previous work, using the 2D Voronoi model, we proposed that such atypical dynamical behavior could be a generic feature of the broad class of mechanically under-constrained materials. Our earlier study had left two important points open: (1) many 2D systems are affected by long-wavelength fluctuations and the 2D melting scenario, and (2) the 2D Voronoi model sits exactly at the isostatic point, making it a marginal case rather than a strictly under-constrained one. Both points complicate the interpretation of our 2D Voronoi model results and their generalization to other systems; to remedy this, here we use large-scale simulations to study the glassy behavior of the 3D extension of the Voronoi model. We first show that the structural relaxation time $τ_α$ of the 3D Voronoi model can be tuned between sub-Arrhenius and Arrhenius behavior, like the 2D Voronoi model. We then establish that the four-point susceptibility, the structure factor, and the model's mechanical properties all display trends consistent with the 2D Voronoi model. These results provide strong evidence that sub-Arrhenius glassy dynamics are a generic feature of under-constrained materials across dimensions. Our work thus broadens the class of disordered materials known to have highly unusual glassy phenomenology.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_24438
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Models of 3D confluent tissue as under-constrained glasses
Li, Chengling
Merkel, Matthias
Sussman, Daniel M.
Soft Condensed Matter
The dynamics of glassy materials slows down upon cooling, typically showing either Arrhenius or super-Arrhenius behavior. However, it was recently shown that 2D cell-based models for biological tissues can be continuously tuned between Arrhenius and sub-Arrhenius dynamics. In previous work, using the 2D Voronoi model, we proposed that such atypical dynamical behavior could be a generic feature of the broad class of mechanically under-constrained materials. Our earlier study had left two important points open: (1) many 2D systems are affected by long-wavelength fluctuations and the 2D melting scenario, and (2) the 2D Voronoi model sits exactly at the isostatic point, making it a marginal case rather than a strictly under-constrained one. Both points complicate the interpretation of our 2D Voronoi model results and their generalization to other systems; to remedy this, here we use large-scale simulations to study the glassy behavior of the 3D extension of the Voronoi model. We first show that the structural relaxation time $τ_α$ of the 3D Voronoi model can be tuned between sub-Arrhenius and Arrhenius behavior, like the 2D Voronoi model. We then establish that the four-point susceptibility, the structure factor, and the model's mechanical properties all display trends consistent with the 2D Voronoi model. These results provide strong evidence that sub-Arrhenius glassy dynamics are a generic feature of under-constrained materials across dimensions. Our work thus broadens the class of disordered materials known to have highly unusual glassy phenomenology.
title Models of 3D confluent tissue as under-constrained glasses
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.24438