Edge Mode Amplification in Disordered Elastic Networks

Abstract

We study theoretically and numerically the propagation of a displacement field imposed at the edge of a disordered elastic material. While some modes decay with some inverse penetration depth $\kappa$, other exponentially {\it amplify} with rate $|\kappa|$, where $\kappa$'s are Lyapounov exponents analogous to those governing electronic transport in a disordered conductors. We obtain an analytical approximation for the full distribution $g(\kappa)$, which decays exponentially for large $|\kappa|$ and is finite when $\kappa\rightarrow0$. Our analysis shows that isostatic materials generically act as levers with possibly very large gains, suggesting a novel principle to design molecular machines that behave as elastic amplifiers.