Microscopic analysis of sound attenuation in low-temperature amorphous solids reveals quantitative importance of non-affine effects

Abstract

Sound attenuation in low temperature amorphous solids originates from their disordered structure. However, its detailed mechanism is still being debated. Here we analyze sound attenuation starting directly from the microscopic equations of motion. We derive an exact expression for the zero-temperature sound damping coefficient. We verify that the sound damping coefficients calculated from our expression agree very well with results from independent simulations of sound attenuation. The small wavevector analysis of our expression shows that sound attenuation is primarily determined by the non-affine displacements' contribution to the sound wave propagation coefficient coming from the frequency shell of the sound wave. Our expression involves only quantities that pertain to solids' static configurations. It can be used to evaluate the low temperature sound damping coefficients without directly simulating sound attenuation.

Changed title, introduction and discussion expanded, 1 section, 1 figure and several references added; accepted for publication in J. Chem. Phys

References in corpus (5)

• Perspective: Highly stable vapor-deposited glasses
• Theory of harmonic dissipation in disordered solids
• Elastic moduli fluctuations predict wave attenuation rates in glasses
• Unifying description of the vibrational anomalies of amorphous materials
• Tracking the connection between disorder and energy landscape in glasses using geologically hyperaged amber

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