Glassy arrest in colloidal fluids with size polydispersity

摘要

Short-range attraction between colloidal particles such as proteins can drive a glass-like structural arrest. For monodisperse systems, mode-coupling theory affords a simple asymptotic prediction of the transition. Here, using a depletion mapping framework, we extend this result to incorporate size polydispersity. For comparison, we also give an energy landscape formulation of the transition. We comment on the relevance to subcellular crowding, recombinant protein expression, and osmotic stress in microbial organisms.