Role of Structural Changes at Vitrification and Glass-Liquid Transition

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Physical Chemistry

Background:

• Structural rearrangements at the glass transition temperature significantly alter material properties.
• Understanding the differences between glassy and melt states is crucial for materials science.
• Existing models struggle to unambiguously differentiate between glasses and melts based on structure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a new structural description for differentiating glasses from melts.
• To introduce the concept of configurons (broken bonds) and their role in glass transition.
• To explore the implications of configuron percolation on material properties and phase transitions.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of structural rearrangements during calorimetric glass transition.
• Development of a theoretical model based on configuron percolation.
• Connecting the model to fundamental physics principles like Noether's theorem and Anderson localization.

Main Results:

• Formation of a macroscopic percolation cluster of configurons at and above the glass transition.
• Unambiguous structural differentiation of glasses from melts is achieved through this model.
• The model provides insights into melting criteria for condensed matter.

Conclusions:

• Configuron percolation offers a unified framework for understanding glass transition and material states.
• This approach clarifies the fundamental differences between glasses and melts.
• The findings have implications for materials design and understanding phase transitions in condensed matter.