High-dimensional percolation criticality and hints of mean-field-like caging of the random Lorentz gas

Abstract

The random Lorentz gas (RLG) is a minimal model for transport in disordered media. Despite the broad relevance of the model, theoretical grasp over its properties remains weak. For instance, the scaling with dimension d of its localization transition at the void percolation threshold is not well controlled analytically nor computationally. A recent study [Biroli et al. Phys. Rev. E L030104 (2021)] of the caging behavior of the RLG motivated by the mean-field theory of glasses has uncovered physical inconsistencies in that scaling that heighten the need for guidance. Here, we first extend analytical expectations for asymptotic high-d bounds on the void percolation threshold, and then computationally evaluate both the threshold and its criticality in various d. In high-d systems, we observe that the standard percolation physics is complemented by a dynamical slowdown of the tracer dynamics reminiscent of mean-field caging. A simple modification of the RLG is found to bring the interplay between percolation and mean-field-like caging down to d=3.