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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Cooling Rate Dependent Ellipsometry Measurements to Determine the Dynamics of Thin Glassy Films
Published on: January 26, 2016
Non-Gaussian nature of glassy dynamics by cage to cage motion
Bart Vorselaars1, Alexey V Lyulin, K Karatasos
1Group Polymer Physics, Eindhoven Polymer Laboratories and Dutch Polymer Institute, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands. vorselaars@tue.nl
Abstract:
A model based on a single Brownian particle moving in a periodic effective field is used to understand the non-Gaussian dynamics in glassy systems of cage escape and subsequent recaging, often thought to be caused by a heterogeneous glass structure. The results are compared to molecular-dynamics simulations of systems with varying complexity: quasi-two-dimensional colloidlike particles, atactic polystyrene, and a dendritic glass. The model nicely describes generic features of all three topologically different systems, in particular around the maximum of the non-Gaussian parameter. This maximum is a measure for the average distance between cages.
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