Glassy behavior induced by geometrical frustration in a hard-core lattice gas model

TL;DR

This study introduces a hard-core lattice-gas model on generalized Bethe lattices, revealing how geometrical frustration causes glassy behavior during rapid compaction, with analytical and numerical insights.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel lattice-gas model demonstrating how geometrical frustration induces glass transitions, supported by analytical and numerical analysis.

Findings

First-order crystallization transition during slow compaction

Metastable liquid state during rapid compaction

Geometrical frustration caused by short loops induces glassy behavior

Abstract

We introduce a hard-core lattice-gas model on generalized Bethe lattices and investigate analytically and numerically its compaction behavior. If compactified slowly, the system undergoes a first-order crystallization transition. If compactified much faster, the system stays in a meta-stable liquid state and undergoes a glass transition under further compaction. We show that this behavior is induced by geometrical frustration which appears due to the existence of short loops in the generalized Bethe lattices. We also compare our results to numerical simulations of a three-dimensional analog of the model.