X-Ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy Reveals Intermittent Aging Dynamics in a Metallic Glass

Abstract

We use coherent X-rays to probe the aging dynamics of a metallic glass directly on the atomic level. Contrary to the common assumption of a steady slowing down of the dynamics usually observed in macroscopic studies, we show that the structural relaxation processes underlying aging in this metallic glass are intermittent and highly heterogeneous at the atomic scale. Moreover, physical aging is triggered by cooperative atomic rearrangements, driven by the relaxation of internal stresses. The rich diversity of this behavior reflects a complex energy landscape, giving rise to a unique type of glassy-state dynamics.

5 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Theoretical perspective on the glass transition and amorphous materials
• Length scale dependence of dynamical heterogeneity in a colloidal fractal gel
• Relaxation in yield stress systems through elastically interacting activated events
• Avalanches mediate crystallization in a hard-sphere glass

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