A note on Kauzmann's paradox

TL;DR

This paper explains the entropy decrease in undercooled liquids through the disappearance of local structural instabilities, linking it to the Kauzmann paradox and experimental data in liquid selenium.

Contribution

It provides a new explanation for the Kauzmann paradox based on the vanishing of local structural instabilities at the Kauzmann temperature.

Findings

Entropy decreases due to disappearance of local structural instabilities.

Neutron and heat capacity data support the vanishing of boson peak modes.

Density of low-temperature tunneling states extrapolates to zero at Kauzmann temperature.

Abstract

The rapid structural and vibrational entropy decrease with decreasing temperature in undercooled liquids is explained in terms of the disappearance of local structural instabilities, which freeze in at the glass temperature as boson peak modes and low temperature tunneling states. At the Kauzmann temperature, their density extrapolates to zero, as evidenced by neutron and heat capacity data in liquid selenium.