Pacman Percolation and the Glass Transition

TL;DR

This paper uses Monte Carlo simulations to explore a lattice glass model, revealing that relaxation and heterogeneity are governed by different time scales linked to percolation and spatial correlations, offering a new geometric perspective.

Contribution

It uncovers the distinct time scales for relaxation and heterogeneity in a lattice glass model, connecting them to percolation and spatial correlations, which challenges current assumptions.

Findings

Relaxation time linked to reverse percolation transition

Maximum heterogeneity related to spatial particle correlations

Different time scales govern relaxation and heterogeneity

Abstract

We investigate via Monte Carlo simulations the kinetically constrained Kob-Andersen lattice glass model showing that, contrary to current expectations, the relaxation process and the dynamical heterogeneities seems to be characterized by different time scales. Indeed, we found that the relaxation time is related to a reverse percolation transition, whereas the time of maximum heterogeneity is related to the spatial correlation between particles. This investigation leads to a geometrical interpretation of the relaxation processes and of the different observed time scales.