Universal Origin of Glassy Relaxation as Recognized by Configuration Pattern-matching

Abstract

Relaxation processes are crucial in understanding the structural rearrangements of liquids and amorphous materials. However, the overarching principle that governs these processes across vastly different materials remains an open question. Substantial analysis has been carried out based on the motions of individual particles. Here, alternatively, we propose viewing the global configuration as a single entity. We introduce a global order parameter, namely the inherent structure minimal displacement (IS Dmin), to quantify the variability of configurations by a pattern-matching technique. Through atomic simulations of seven model glass-forming liquids, we unify the influences of temperature, pressure, and perturbation time on the relaxation dissipation, via a scaling law between the mechanical damping factor and IS Dmin. Fundamentally, this scaling reflects the curvature of the local potential energy landscape. Our findings uncover a universal origin of glassy relaxation and offer an alternative approach to studying disordered systems.

arXiv comment22 pages, 6 figures

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Cited by in corpus (2)

• Mean-squared Energy Difference for Exploring Potential Energy Landscapes of Supercooled Liquids
• Inverse Bauschinger to Bauschinger Crossover under Steady Shear in Amorphous Solids