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Cooling Rate Dependent Ellipsometry Measurements to Determine the Dynamics of Thin Glassy Films

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Local Dynamical Heterogeneity in Simple Glass Formers.

Giulio Biroli¹, Patrick Charbonneau^2,3, Giampaolo Folena^1,4

¹Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, F-75005 Paris, France.

Physical Review Letters

|May 16, 2022

Summary

We found that particle dynamics near the glass transition show surprising fluctuations. These fluctuations, especially the non-Gaussian parameter, diverge due to correlations, offering a new explanation for glass-forming behavior.

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Area of Science:

Condensed Matter Physics
Statistical Mechanics
Materials Science

Background:

Glass-forming materials exhibit complex dynamics near the glass transition.
Understanding particle motion is crucial for explaining glass formation.
Previous models often relied on multiparticle correlations.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate local dynamical fluctuations in glass-forming models.
To analytically calculate these fluctuations in the mean-field limit (d→∞).
To explain the origin of the divergent non-Gaussian parameter (α₂) near the dynamical transition.

Main Methods:

Analytical calculations in the mean-field limit (d→∞).
Study of single-particle observables like squared particle displacements.
Analysis of correlations between particle displacements in different directions.

Main Results:

Single-particle observables show divergent fluctuations near the dynamical transition.
Nontrivial correlations between displacements along different directions emerge.
The non-Gaussian parameter (α₂) diverges, indicating significant deviations from Gaussian behavior.

Conclusions:

Local dynamics in glass-forming models become rich near the glass transition.
The divergent non-Gaussian parameter is explained by single-particle dynamics and correlations.
This provides a first-principle explanation for α₂ growth, independent of multiparticle correlations.