Effective Field Theory for Supercooled Liquids

TL;DR

This paper develops an effective field theory for supercooled liquids based on microscopic models, identifying key length scales and relaxation times, and relates it to the Ising universality class near criticality.

Contribution

It introduces a novel effective field theory for supercooled liquids derived from microscopic models, linking it to critical phenomena and universality classes.

Findings

Identifies characteristic length scales and relaxation times from the effective theory.

Shows the effective theory belongs to the Ising universality class near the critical point.

Provides a framework connecting microscopic models to macroscopic glassy dynamics.

Abstract

Starting from a microscopic model of liquids, we construct an effective theory of an overlap field through duplication of the system and coarse-graining. We then propose a recipe to extract a relaxation time and two characteristic length scales of a supercooled liquid from this effective field theory. Appealing to the Ginzburg-Landau-Wilson paradigm near the putative critical point, we further conclude that this effective field theory resides within the Ising universality class.