Isotropic soft-core potentials with two characteristic length scales and anomalous behaviour

TL;DR

This paper reviews isotropic soft-core potentials with two length scales, highlighting their ability to model polyamorphism and anomalies in complex liquids, resembling water's behavior despite lacking directional bonds.

Contribution

It demonstrates that isotropic soft-core potentials can reproduce polyamorphism and anomalies similar to water, expanding their applicability to various complex liquids.

Findings

Potentials exhibit structural, diffusion, and density anomalies.

Anomalies occur in a hierarchy similar to water.

Applications to colloids, proteins, and metals are promising.

Abstract

Isotropic soft-core potentials with two characteristic length scales have been used since 40 years to describe systems with polymorphism. In the recent years intense research is showing that these potentials also display polyamorphism and several anomalies, including structural, diffusion and density anomaly. These anomalies occur in a hierarchy that resembles the anomalies of water. However, the absence of directional bonding in these isotropic potentials makes them different from water. Other systems, such as colloidal suspensions, protein solutions or liquid metals, can be well described by these family of potentials, opening the possibility of studying the mechanism generating the polyamorphism and anomalies in these complex liquids.