High resolution kinematics of galactic globular clusters. II. On the significance of velocity dispersion measurements

Small number statistics may heavily affect the structure of the broadening function in integrated spectra of galactic globular cluster centers. As a consequence, it is a priori unknown how closely line broadening measure- ments gauge the intrinsic velocity dispersions at the cores of these stel- lar systems. We have tackled this general problem by means of Monte Carlo simulations. An examination of the mode and the frequency distribution of the measured values of the simulations indicates that the low value measured for the velocity dispersion of M30 (Zaggia etal 1992) is likely a reliable estimate of the velocity dispersion at the center of this cluster. The same methodology applied to the case of M15 suggests that the steep inward rise of the velocity dispersion found by Peterson, Seitzer and Cudworth (1989) is real, although less pronounced. Large-aperture observa- tions are less sensitive to statistical fluctuations, but are unable to detect strong variations in the dispersion wich occur within the aperture itself.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures upon request, Latex A&A style version 3.0, DAPD-20

Dynamically correlated regions and configurational entropy in supercooled liquids

When a liquid is cooled below its melting temperature, if crystallization is avoided, it forms a glass. This phenomenon, called glass transition, is characterized by a marked increase of viscosity, about 14 orders of magnitude, in a narrow temperature interval. The microscopic mechanism behind the glass transition is still poorly understood. However, recently, great advances have been made in the identification of cooperative rearranging regions, or dynamical heterogeneities, i.e. domains of the liquid whose relaxation is highly correlated. The growth of the size of these domains is now believed to be the driving mechanism for the increase of the viscosity. Recently a tool to quantify the size of these domains has been proposed. We apply this tool to a wide class of materials to investigate the correlation between the size of the heterogeneities and their configurational entropy, i.e. the number of states accessible to a correlated domain. We find that the relaxation time of a given system, apart from a material dependent pre-factor, is a universal function of the configurational entropy of a correlated domain. As a consequence, we find that at the glass transition temperature, the size of the domains and the configurational entropy per unit volume are anti-correlated, as originally predicted by the Adam-Gibbs theory. Finally, we use our data to extract some exponents defined in the framework of the Random First Order Theory, a recent quantitative theory of the glass transition.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 3 table

Local Dielectric Spectroscopy of Nanocomposite Materials Interfaces

Local dielectric spectroscopy is performed to study how relaxation dynamics of a poly-vinyl-acetate ultra-thin film is influenced by inorganic nano-inclusions of a layered silicate (montmorillonite). Dielectric loss spectra are measured by electrostatic force microscopy in the frequency-modulation mode in ambient air. Spectral changes in both shape and relaxation time are evidenced across the boundary between pure polymer and montmorillonite sheets. Dielectric loss imaging is also performed, evidencing spatial variations of dielectric properties near to nanostructures with nanometer scale resolution.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Relaxation is a Two-Step Process for Metallic Glasses

n/

Relation between the activation energy of the Johari-Goldstein beta relaxation and T(g) of glass formers

For glass-forming substances, we show that the ratio E(beta)/RT(g) can be predicted quantitatively from the coupling model. Here E(beta) is the glassy state activation enthalpy of the Johari-Goldstein beta relaxation, T(g) is the glass transition temperature of the alpha relaxation, and R is the gas constant. The calculated value is in good agreement with the experimental value in many glass formers. The results locate the origin of this cross correlation between E(beta) of the Johari-Goldstein beta relaxation and T(g) of the alpha relaxation, although there are some notable exceptions to this cross correlation

Surface diffusion of polymer glasses redux

Measurements of the surface self-diffusion coefficients of glass-forming small molecules, indomethacin (IMC), nifedipine (NIF),2 and o-terphenyl (OTP),3 by Yu and coworkers using the method of surface grating decay have found exceedingly large enhancement of molecular mobility at the surface. The decay of surface grating in all three molecules occurs by viscous flow at high temperatures, but by surface diffusion at lower temperatures starting at about 10 deg above Tg

Molecular dynamics in amorphous ergocalciferol

While developing new pharmaceutical products based on drug substances in their amorphous form, the molecular mobility of amorphous active ingredients have to be characterized in detail. The molecular mobility in the supercooled liquid and glassy states of ergocalciferol is studied using broadband dielectric spectroscopy over wide frequency and temperature ranges. Dielectric studies revealed a number of relaxation process of different molecular origi

Complex Dynamics of a Fluorinated Vinylidene Cyanide Copolymer Highlighted by Dielectric Relaxation Spectroscopy

The complex dynamics of a nearly alternating copolymer of vinylidene cyanide (1,1-dicyanoethylene, VCN) with 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA), including two alpha-relaxations with diverging time scale in the glass transition temperature range, was thoroughly characterized by dielectric spectroscopy over wide temperature and frequency ranges and analyzed in the frame of the Ngai’s coupling model. The dielectric relaxation strength as well as the glass transition temperature, the temperature dependence of the α-relaxation time, and the corresponding distribution of relaxation times were all larger than those of a reference TFEMA homopolymer, as expected from the introduction of the stiffening VCN units all along the macromolecular chain. The effect of casting solvent and applied poling electric field on the copolymer dielectric strength suggests the onset of local orientational order involving the strong dipoles in the VCN units, a requirement for piezo- and pyroelectricity in amorphous polymer