Emergence and percolation of rigid domains during colloidal glass transition

Abstract: Using video microscopy, we measure local spatial constraints in disordered binary colloidal samples, ranging from dilute fluids to jammed glasses, and probe their spatial and temporal correlations to local dynamics during the glass transition. We observe the emergence of significant correlations between constraints and local dynamics within the Lindemann criterion, which coincides with the onset of glassy dynamics in supercooled liquids. Rigid domains in fluids are identified based on local constraints, and demonstrate a percolation transition near glass transition, accompanied by the emergence of dynamical heterogeneities. Our results show that the spatial constraints instead of the geometry of amorphous structures is the key that connects the complex spatial-temporal correlations in disordered materials.