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Ideal Glass and Ideal Disk Packing in Two Dimensions

Viola M. Bolton-Lum1, R. Cameron Dennis2,3, Peter K. Morse4,5, and Eric I. Corwin1

  • 1Department of Physics and Materials Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, 209 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
  • 3Department of Physics and Soft Matter Program, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, USA
  • 4Department of Physics, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey 07079, USA
  • 5Department of Chemistry, Department of Physics and Princeton Institute of Materials, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA

Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 058201 – Published 2 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vldy-r77w

Abstract

The ideal glass, a disordered system of particles with zero configurational entropy, cannot be realized through thermal processes. Nevertheless, we present a method for constructing ideal jammed packings of soft spheres, and thus the zero temperature ideal glass, in two dimensions. In line with the predicted properties, these critically jammed packings have high bulk and shear moduli as well as an anomalously high density. While the absence of pressure scaling in the shear moduli of crystalline materials is often attributed to the ordered nature of the particles, we show for the first time that disordered ideal packings also have this feature. We also find that the density of states avoids the low frequency power law scaling famously found in most amorphous materials, these configurations display hyperuniformity, and they melt at unusually high temperatures compared to conventional packings. In addition to resolving a long-standing mystery, this methodology represents a valuable shortcut in the generation of well-equilibrated glassy systems. The creation of such an ideal packing makes possible a complete exploration and explanation of two-dimensional jammed and glassy systems.

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