70 research outputs found
A Double-Transition Scenario for Anomalous Diffusion in Glass-Forming Mixtures
We study by molecular dynamics computer simulation a binary soft-sphere
mixture that shows a pronounced decoupling of the species' long-time dynamics.
Anomalous, power-law-like diffusion of small particles arises, that can be
understood as a precursor of a double-transition scenario, combining a glass
transition and a separate small-particle localization transition. Switching off
small-particle excluded-volume constraints slows down, rather than enhances,
small-particle transport. The data are contrasted with results from the
mode-coupling theory of the glass transition
The Dynamics of Silica Melts under High Pressure: Mode-Coupling Theory Results
The high-pressure dynamics of a computer-modeled silica melt is studied in
the framework of the mode-coupling theory of the glass transition (MCT) using
static-structure input from molecular-dynamics (MD) computer simulation. The
theory reproduces the experimentally known viscosity minimum (diffusivity
maximum) as a function of density or pressure and explains it in terms of a
corresponding minimum in its critical temperature. This minimum arises from a
gradual change in the equilibrium static structure which shifts from being
dominated by tetrahedral ordering to showing the cageing known from
high-density liquids. The theory is in qualitative agreement with computer
simulation results.Comment: Presented at ESF EW Glassy Liquids under Pressure, to be published in
Journal of Physic
Asymptotic analysis of mode-coupling theory of active nonlinear microrheology
We discuss a schematic model of mode-coupling theory for force-driven active
nonlinear microrheology, where a single probe particle is pulled by a constant
external force through a dense host medium. The model exhibits both a glass
transition for the host, and a force-induced delocalization transition, where
an initially localized probe inside the glassy host attains a nonvanishing
steady-state velocity by locally melting the glass. Asymptotic expressions for
the transient density correlation functions of the schematic model are derived,
valid close to the transition points. There appear several nontrivial time
scales relevant for the decay laws of the correlators. For the nonlinear
friction coeffcient of the probe, the asymptotic expressions cause various
regimes of power-law variation with the external force, and two-parameter
scaling laws.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figure
Slow Dynamics in Ion-Conducting Sodium Silicate Melts: Simulation and Mode-Coupling Theory
A combination of molecular-dynamics (MD) computer simulation and
mode-coupling theory (MCT) is used to elucidate the structure-dynamics relation
in sodium-silicate melts (NSx) of varying sodium concentration. Using only the
partial static structure factors from the MD as an input, MCT reproduces the
large separation in relaxation time scales of the sodium and the silicon/oxygen
components. This confirms the idea of sodium diffusion channels which are
reflected by a prepeak in the static structure factors around 0.95 A^-1, and
shows that it is possible to explain the fast sodium-ion dynamics peculiar to
these mixtures using a microscopic theory.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Sensitivity of arrest in mode-coupling glasses to low-q structure
We quantify, within mode coupling theory, how changes in the liquid structure
affect that of the glass. Apart from the known sensitivity to the structure
factor at wavevectors around the first sharp diffraction peak , we
find a strong (and inverted) response to structure at wavevectors \emph{below}
this peak: an increase in {\em lowers} the degree of arrest over a
wide -range. This strong sensitivity to `caged cage' packing effects, on
length scales of order 2d, is much weaker in attractive glasses where
short-range bonding dominates the steric caging effect.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. v2: 3 figures replaced; text rewritte
Idealized glass transitions under pressure: dynamics versus thermodynamics
The interplay of slow dynamics and thermodynamic features of dense liquids is
studied by examinining how the glass transition changes depending on the
presence or absence of Lennard-Jones-like attractions. Quite different
thermodynamic behavior leaves the dynamics unchanged, with important
consequences for high-pressure experiments on glassy liquids. Numerical results
are obtained within mode-coupling theory (MCT), but the qualitative features
are argued to hold more generally. A simple square-well model can be used to
explain generic features found in experiment.Comment: to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Universal and non-universal features of glassy relaxation in propylene carbonate
It is demonstrated that the susceptibility spectra of supercooled propylene
carbonate as measured by depolarized-light-scattering, dielectric-loss, and
incoherent quasi-elastic neutron-scattering spectroscopy within the GHz window
are simultaneously described by the solutions of a two-component schematic
model of the mode-coupling theory (MCT) for the evolution of glassy dynamics.
It is shown that the universal beta-relaxation-scaling laws, dealing with the
asymptotic behavior of the MCT solutions, describe the qualitative features of
the calculated spectra. But the non-universal corrections to the scaling laws
render it impossible to achieve a complete quantitative description using only
the leading-order-asymptotic results.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Colloidal gelation and non-ergodicity transitions
Within the framework of the mode coupling theory (MCT) of structural
relaxation, mechanisms and properties of non-ergodicity transitions in rather
dilute suspensions of colloidal particles characterized by strong short-ranged
attractions are studied. Results building on the virial expansion for particles
with hard cores and interacting via an attractive square well potential are
presented, and their relevance to colloidal gelation is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures; Talk at the Conference: "Unifying Concepts in
Glass Physics" ICTP Trieste, September 1999; to be published in J. Phys.:
Condens. Matte
Role of structural relaxations and vibrational excitations in the high-frequency dynamics of liquids and glasses
We present theoretical investigation on the high-frequency collective
dynamics in liquids and glasses at microscopic length scales and terahertz
frequency region based on the mode-coupling theory for ideal liquid-glass
transition. We focus on recently investigated issues from
inelastic-X-ray-scattering and computer-simulation studies for dynamic
structure factors and longitudinal and transversal current spectra: the
anomalous dispersion of the high-frequency sound velocity and the nature of the
low-frequency excitation called the boson peak. It will be discussed how the
sound mode interferes with other low-lying modes present in the system.
Thereby, we provide a systematic explanation of the anomalous sound-velocity
dispersion in systems -- ranging from high temperature liquid down to deep
inside the glass state -- in terms of the contributions from the
structural-relaxation processes and from vibrational excitations called the
anomalous-oscillation peak (AOP). A possibility of observing negative
dispersion -- the {\em decrease} of the sound velocity upon increase of the
wave number -- is argued when the sound-velocity dispersion is dominated by the
contribution from the vibrational dynamics. We also show that the low-frequency
excitation, observable in both of the glass-state longitudinal and transversal
current spectra at the same resonance frequency, is the manifestation of the
AOP. As a consequence of the presence of the AOP in the transversal current
spectra, it is predicted that the transversal sound velocity also exhibits the
anomalous dispersion. These results of the theory are demonstrated for a model
of the Lennard-Jones system.Comment: 25 pages, 22 figure
Dense colloidal suspensions under time-dependent shear
We consider the nonlinear rheology of dense colloidal suspensions under a
time-dependent simple shear flow. Starting from the Smoluchowski equation for
interacting Brownian particles advected by shearing (ignoring fluctuations in
fluid velocity) we develop a formalism which enables the calculation of
time-dependent, far-from-equilibrium averages. Taking shear-stress as an
example we derive exactly a generalized Green-Kubo relation, and an equation of
motion for the transient density correlator, involving a three-time memory
function. Mode coupling approximations give a closed constitutive equation
yielding the time-dependent stress for arbitrary shear rate history. We solve
this equation numerically for the special case of a hard sphere glass subject
to step-strain.Comment: 4 page
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