Tracking heterogeneous dynamics during the alpha-relaxation of a simple glass-former

TL;DR

This paper investigates the alpha-relaxation process in a simple glass-former model, revealing that heterogeneous dynamics arise from percolation of cooperative regions whose size distribution follows a power-law, influenced by initial structure and density.

Contribution

It demonstrates that structural relaxation in a lattice gas model is driven by percolation of cooperative regions, linking initial configuration to dynamic heterogeneity.

Findings

Relaxation involves slow percolation of cooperative regions.

Region sizes follow a power-law distribution.

Initial structure influences the formation of dynamic heterogeneity.

Abstract

We study the relaxation process in a simple glass-former - the KA lattice gas model. We show that, for this model, structural relaxation is due to slow percolation of regions of co-operatively moving particles, which leads to heterogeneous dynamics of the system. We find that the size distribution of these regions is given by a power-law and that their formation is encoded in the initial structure of the particles, with the memory of initial configuration increasingly retained with increasing density.