Probing a critical length scale at the glass transition

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Materials science
• Statistical mechanics

Background:

• The glass transition is a key phenomenon in materials science, marked by a dramatic change in properties without a phase transition.
• Understanding the underlying structural changes during glass transition remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify a clear structural signature of the glass transition.
• To investigate the behavior of inherent structures under external perturbation.
• To determine the finite-size scaling properties of the correlation length.

Main Methods:

• Introducing a static perturbation to probe the system's response.
• Analyzing the transformation of local minima (inherent structures) under deformation.
• Performing finite-size scaling analysis of numerical results.

Main Results:

• A static correlation length was identified with system-size dependence characteristic of critical phenomena.
• This correlation length was found to diverge at a critical temperature (Tc) below equilibration temperatures.
• Numerical results are consistent with random first-order theory predictions.

Conclusions:

• The study provides evidence for a structural signature of the glass transition.
• The observed divergence of correlation length supports theoretical predictions, including random first-order theory.
• The findings link the glass transition to critical phenomena and the Kauzmann temperature.