New Kinds of Phase Transitions: Transformations in disordered Substances

TL;DR

This paper explores various phase transitions in disordered substances, proposing a unified description using many-particle distribution functions and introducing the concept of hidden long-range order linked to broken symmetry.

Contribution

It introduces a novel framework for describing phase transitions in disordered materials through higher-order distribution functions and the concept of hidden long-range order.

Findings

Identification of liquid-liquid and glass transitions in disordered substances

Proposal of a description based on many-particle distribution functions

Demonstration of frustration in supercooled Lennard-Jones liquids

Abstract

The transitions in disordered substances are discussed briefly: liquid--liquid phase transitions, liquid--glass transition and the transformations of one amorphous form to another amorphous form of the same substances. A description of these transitions in terms of many--particle conditional distribution functions is proposed. The concept of a hidden long range order is proposed, which is connected with the broken symmetry of higher order distribution functions. The appearance of frustration in simple supercooled Lennard--Jones liquid is demonstrated.