States of self stress in disordered solids: memory, heterogeneity, and yielding

States of self stress (SSSs), equilibrium stress distributions in a mechanical network with zero net force on any component, govern load-bearing abilities of this network. SSSs are determined by the geometry of the network (because they span the null space of the network's equilibrium matrix), and thus encode the memory of how the mechanical network is prepared. We present our results on SSSs in disordered solids generated by molecular dynamics simulations, and discuss how SSSs are affected by the preparation history of these solids (e.g., cooling rate, compression, shear), and explore the relation between SSSs in a disordered solid and its yielding under stress.