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Noise Stabilization of Multiple Memories in Sheared Non-Brownian Suspensions
A system with multiple transient memories can remember a set of inputs, but will forget most of them, even as they are continually applied. If noise is added, the system can store all memories for much longer. This behavior is a remarkable and counterintuitive example of how information can be stored in disordered systems that are out of equilibrium. Originally observed in traveling charge-density waves, these memories were recently predicted to occur in cyclically sheared non-Brownian suspensions. We perform experiments on such suspensions, and we find behavior that is consistent with multiple transient memories that are stabilized by noise.