Fragility and elasticity - a new perspective

TL;DR

This paper presents a new perspective on the fragility and elasticity of highly viscous liquids, identifying two key sources of fragility related to temperature dependence and inherent state asymmetry.

Contribution

It introduces a dual-source explanation for fragility, combining barrier temperature dependence and inherent state asymmetry for better quantitative understanding.

Findings

Fragility arises from two sources: barrier temperature dependence and inherent state asymmetry.

Both factors are necessary for accurate quantitative description.

The study advances understanding of viscous liquids' temperature-dependent behavior.

Abstract

The fragility (the abnormally strong temperature dependence of the viscosity) of highly viscous liquids is shown to have two sources. The first is the temperature dependence of the barriers between inherent states considered earlier. The second is the recently discovered asymmetry between the actual inherent state and its neighbors. One needs both terms for a quantitative description.