Non-equilibrium phase transitions in colloidal glasses and gels

This work presents studies of the structure, dynamics and mechanical response of colloidal glasses and gels in the presence of applied stresses and aging. The dynamics and three-dimensional structures of the glass and gel are observed in real time by confocal microscopy and X-ray scattering. Recent development of X-ray scattering and confocal microscopy, and a new conceptual idea of a dynamical phase transition allow us to identify and investigate a new non-equilibrium first-order phase transition by connecting the non-affine motion of the particles to their free energy under deformation, and characterize the experimental trajectories of mobile and immobile colloidal particles in the presence of a shear field and aging.