Statistical Mechanics of Frustrated Assemblies and Incompatible Graphs

Geometrically frustrated assemblies where building blocks misfit have been shown to generate intriguing phenomena from self-limited growth, fiber formation, to structural complexity. We introduce a graph theory formulation of geometrically frustrated assemblies, capturing frustrated interactions through the concept of incompatible flows, providing a direct link between structural connectivity and frustration. This theory offers a minimal yet comprehensive framework for the fundamental statistical mechanics of frustrated assemblies, and connects it to tensor gauge theory formulations of amorphous solids. Through numerical simulations, the theory reveals new characteristics of frustrated assemblies, including two distinct percolation transitions for structure and incompatible flows, a crossover between cumulative and non-cumulative frustration controlled by disorder, and a divergent length scale in their response.