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Updated: Oct 29, 2025

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Amorphous Order and Nonlinear Susceptibilities in Glassy Materials
Giulio Biroli1, Jean-Philippe Bouchaud2,3, Francois Ladieu4
1Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, F-75005 Paris, France.
Abstract:
We review 15 years of theoretical and experimental work on the nonlinear response of glassy systems. We argue that an anomalous growth of the peak value of nonlinear susceptibilities is a signature of growing "amorphous order" in the system, with spin-glasses as a case in point. Experimental results on supercooled liquids are fully compatible with the random first-order transition (RFOT) prediction of compact "glassites" of increasing volume as temperature is decreased, or as the system ages. We clarify why such a behavior is hard to explain within purely kinetic theories of glass formation, despite recent claims to the contrary.
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