A Random First Order Theory of Liquid -Glass Transition

"It is believed that all classical fluids could form glasses if cooled sufficiently fast so as to avoid crystallization. Various phenomena including violation of the usual Arrhenius law, stretched relaxations, deviations from the Stokes-Einstein relation in hydrodynamics, and aging have been observed in the laboratory. In this thesis, a microscopically motivated theory of glassy dynamics based on an underlying random first order transition is developed to explain the magnitude and variation of free energy barriers for glassy relaxation. A variety of empirical correlations embodied in the concept of liquid ""fragility"" are shown to be quantitatively explained by such a model. Fragility parameters, the size of heterogeneities, the degree of stretching of relaxations, and the enhancement of translational diffusion are derived from theory. The wide variety of kinetic behaviors in liquids of quite disparate chemical nature reflects quantitative rather than qualitative differences in their energy landscapes as it turns out."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Physics

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Xia, Xiaoyu

Contributors dc:contributor

• Wolynes, Peter G.

• Physics, Condensed Matter

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3023236

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/80474