  Supercooled liquids and dense colloids exhibit anomalous behaviour known as
"spatially heterogeneous dynamics" (SHD), which becomes increasingly pronounced
with approach to the glass transition. Recently, SHD has been observed in
confined granular packings under slow shear near the onset of jamming,
bolstering speculation that the two transitions are related. Here, we report
measurements of SHD in a system of air-driven granular beads, as a function of
both density and effective temperature. On approach to jamming, the dynamics
become progressively slower and more spatially heterogeneous. The rapid growth
of dynamical time and length scales characterizing the heterogeneities can be
described both by mode-coupling theory and the Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher (VTF)
equation, in analogy with glass-forming liquids. The value of the control
variable at the VTF transition coincides with point-J, the random close-packed
jamming density at which all motion ceases, indicating analogy with a zero
temperature ideal glass transition. Our findings demonstrate further
universality of the jamming concept and provide a significant step forward in
the quest for a unified theory of jamming in disparate systems.
