Energy-landscape network approach to the glass transition

TL;DR

This paper models the glass transition using an energy-landscape network of Lennard-Jones clusters, revealing how network structure influences transition properties and percolation phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a network-based approach to analyze the energy landscape of glass-forming systems and explores the impact of network topology on the glass transition.

Findings

Identification of stable basins and saddles as network nodes and links

Reproduction of glass transition properties through network modeling

Discovery of a critical temperature related to percolation transition

Abstract

We study the energy-landscape network of Lennard-Jones clusters as a model of a glass forming system. We find the stable basins and the first order saddles connecting them, and identify them with the network nodes and links, respectively. We analyze the network properties and model the system's evolution. Using the model, we explore the system's response to varying cooling rates, and reproduce many of the glass transition properties. We also find that the static network structure gives rise to a critical temperature where a percolation transition breaks down the space of configurations into disconnected components. Finally, we discuss the possibility of studying the system mathematically with a trap-model generalized to networks.