# Does a growing static length scale control the glass transition?

## TL;DR

This paper challenges the idea that a growing static length scale solely controls the glass transition, showing that local dynamical slowdown plays a larger role in increasing relaxation times.

## Contribution

The study provides evidence from simulations that static length scale growth has a limited effect on the glass transition, emphasizing the importance of local dynamical slowdown.

## Key findings

- Static length scale growth contributes modestly to relaxation time increase.
- Local dynamical slowdown is the dominant factor in the glass transition.
- Strong coupling between particle diffusion and density fluctuations supports the findings.

## Abstract

Several theories of the glass transition propose that the structural relaxation time {\tau}{\alpha} is controlled by a growing static length scale {\xi} that is determined by the free energy landscape but not by the local dynamical rules governing its exploration. We argue, based on recent simulations using particle-radius-swap dynamics, that only a modest factor in the increase in {\tau}{\alpha} on approach to the glass transition may stem from the growth of a static length, with a vastly larger contribution attributable instead to a slowdown of local dynamics. This reinforces arguments that we base on the observed strong coupling of particle diffusion and density fluctuations in real glasses