A general structural order parameter for the amorphous solidification of a supercooled liquid
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: The persistent problem posed by the glass transition is to develop a general atomic level description of amorphous solidification. The answer proposed in this paper is to measure a configuration's capacity to restrain the motion of the constituent atoms. Here, we show that the instantaneous normal modes can be used to define a measure of atomic restraint that accounts for the difference between fragile and strong liquids and the collective length scale of the supercooled liquid. These results represent a significant simplification of the description of amorphous solidification and provide a powerful systematic treatment of the influence of microscopic factors on the formation of an amorphous solid.
Source: The Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI: 10.1063/5.0094386
Authors: Gang Sun, Peter Harrowell
Institutions: The University of Sydney, The University of Tokyo
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Australian Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W3213097491