Distributions of inherent structure energies during aging

TL;DR

This study uses extensive simulations to analyze how the distribution of inherent structure energies evolves during aging in a binary Lennard-Jones system, revealing non-trivial fluctuation behaviors and their relation to equilibrium states.

Contribution

It provides detailed simulation data on the distribution of inherent structure energies during aging and compares these with theoretical predictions, highlighting the limitations of current theories at low temperatures.

Findings

Distributions narrow then widen during aging.

Fluctuations differ from equilibrium in deep quenches.

Theoretical models partially match simulation at higher temperatures.

Abstract

We perform extensive simulations of a binary mixture Lennard-Jones system subjected to a temperature jump in order to study the time evolution of fluctuations during aging. Analyzing data from 1500 different aging realizations, we calculate distributions of inherent structure energies for different aging times and contrast them with equilibrium. We find that the distributions initially become narrower and then widen as the system equilibrates. For deep quenches, fluctuations in the glassy system differ significantly from those observed in equilibrium. Simulation results are partially captured by theoretical predictions only when the final temperature is higher than the mode coupling temperature.