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Probing a liquid to glass transition in equilibrium
Walter Kob1, Ludovic Berthier1
1Laboratoire Charles Coulomb, UMR 5221, CNRS and Université Montpellier 2, Montpellier 34095, France.
Physical Review Letters
|August 29, 2014
Summary
Computer simulations reveal that freezing a fraction of particles in a fluid induces a glass transition. This random pinning leads to a random first-order phase transition at low temperatures, rounded by finite size effects.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Computational materials science
Background:
- Glass-forming fluids are complex systems exhibiting unique properties.
- Understanding the mechanisms behind the glass transition is a key challenge in condensed matter physics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of random particle pinning on the static properties of a simple glass-forming fluid.
- To determine if freezing a finite fraction of particles induces a glass transition.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing computer simulations to model a glass-forming fluid with a fraction of frozen particles.
- Analyzing equilibrium statistics of the overlap between independent liquid configurations.
Main Results:
- Strong evidence found for the induction of a glass transition due to random pinning.
- Numerical findings at low temperatures are consistent with a random first-order phase transition.
- Observed rounding of the phase transition attributed to finite size effects.
Conclusions:
- Random pinning of particles is a viable mechanism to induce a glass transition in fluids.
- The study provides insights into the nature of phase transitions in disordered systems.
- Finite size effects play a crucial role in the observed transition characteristics.
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