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Measuring the Densities of Aqueous Glasses at Cryogenic Temperatures

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Published on: June 28, 2017

Increasing the density melts ultrasoft colloidal glasses.

Ludovic Berthier¹, Angel J Moreno, Grzegorz Szamel

¹Laboratoire des Colloïdes, Verres et Nanomatériaux, UMR CNRS 5587, Université Montpellier 2, 34095 Montpellier, France.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics

|January 15, 2011

Summary

In ultrasoft colloids, amorphous glassy states unexpectedly melt with increasing density, revealing a reentrant fluid-glass-fluid transition due to particle softness. This finding is confirmed by simulations.

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Area of Science:

Soft matter physics
Colloid science
Statistical mechanics

Background:

Amorphous glassy states are common in colloidal systems.
Previous studies focused on hard spheres, with limited understanding of soft potentials.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate amorphous glassy states in ultrasoft colloids.
Explore the dynamic phase diagram of soft repulsive spheres.
Understand the role of particle softness in glass transitions.

Main Methods:

Combined hypernetted chain approximation with mode-coupling theory.
Utilized theoretical models and numerical simulations.
Focused on Hertzian potentials at low temperatures and high densities.

Main Results:

Identified an amorphous glassy state upon compression, similar to hard spheres.
Observed an unexpected melting of the glass at higher densities.
Confirmed a reentrant fluid-glass-fluid transition sequence numerically.

Conclusions:

Particle softness is key to the reentrant fluid-glass transition in ultrasoft colloids.
This behavior highlights general anomalies in soft condensed matter systems.
The findings challenge conventional understanding of glass transitions in soft matter.