Connecting Local Yield Stresses with Plastic Activity in Amorphous Solids

In model amorphous solids produced via differing quench protocols, a strong correlation is established between local yield stress measured by direct local probing of shear stress thresholds and the plastic rearrangements observed during remote loading in shear. This purely local measure shows a higher predictive power for identifying sites of plastic activity when compared with more conventional structural properties. Most importantly, the sites of low local yield stress, thus defined, are shown to be persistent, remaining predictive of deformation events even after fifty or more such plastic rearrangements. This direct and nonperturbative approach gives access to relevant transition pathways that control the stability of amorphous solids. Our results reinforce the relevance of modeling plasticity in amorphous solids based on a gradually evolving population of discrete and local zones preexisting in the structure.