The breakdown of the shear modulus at the glass transition

Abstract

The glass transition is described in terms of thermally activated local structural rearrangements, the secondary relaxations of the glass phase. The interaction between these secondary relaxations leads to a much faster and much more dramatic breakdown of the shear modulus than without interaction, thus creating the impression of a separate primary process which in reality does not exist. The model gives a new view on the fragility and the stretching, two puzzling features of the glass transition.

4 pages, 5 figures, 13 references; version 2 changed in title, reduced claims and modified arguments according to referee criticque from PRL. One equation was omitted; otherwise equations are unchanged Paper rejected by PRL; Version 3 accepted as part of the proceedings Workshop Disordered Solids in Andalo 2003 to appear in Phil. Mag. B