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Updated: May 18, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Correlation between β relaxation and self-diffusion of the smallest constituting atoms in metallic glasses
1I. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany. hyu1@gwdg.de
Abstract:
In multicomponent metallic glasses, we demonstrate that diffusion and secondary (β) relaxation are closely related. The diffusion motion of the smallest constituting atoms takes place within the temperature and time regimes where the β relaxations are activated, and, in particular, the two processes have similar activation energies. We suggest cooperative stringlike atomic motion plays an important role in both processes. This finding provides additional insights into the structural origin of the β relaxations as well as the mechanisms of diffusions in metallic glasses.
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