Oral: Time-Dependent Non-Equilibrium Phase Diagrams of Liquids with Competing Interactions

Liquids with short-range attractive and long-range repulsive (SALR) interactions exhibit a complex balance of forces, leading to non-equilibrium phenomena such as microphase separation, clustering, and the formation of amorphous phases like glasses and gels. These behaviors are evident in soft matter systems like colloidal gels and protein aggregates, where aging, slow dynamics, and evolving microstructures are key to their functionality. To characterize these systems, Time-Temperature-Transformation (TTT) diagrams are often used, though experimentally mapping the full thermodynamic landscape is slow and resource-intensive.

Recent publications have demonstrated the predictive power of the Non-Equilibrium Self-Consistent Generalized Langevin Equation (NE-SCGLE) theory, including a novel approach that allows the theoretical prediction of TTT diagrams. However, it has primarily been applied to simpler systems with purely attractive or repulsive interactions.

In this work, we extend the NE-SCGLE framework to SALR systems approaching glassy states. Notably, we present the corresponding arrest diagrams as a function of waiting time, showing that the region of thermodynamic instability exhibits a non-ergodic nature that intensifies with increasing waiting time. These insights deepen the understanding of aging and structural evolution in SALR systems while offering a more efficient method to map the time-dependent phase diagram, reducing both time and resource costs.