Dynamical field theory for glass-forming liquids, self-consistent resummations and time-reversal symmetry

TL;DR

This paper develops a symmetry-preserving dynamical field theory approach for glass-forming liquids, ensuring fluctuation-dissipation relations are maintained, and revises mode-coupling theory to accurately describe the glass transition.

Contribution

It introduces a nonlinear field transformation framework that preserves time-reversal symmetry in dynamical theories, correcting previous violations in mode-coupling theory.

Findings

Symmetry-preserving perturbation theories automatically maintain fluctuation-dissipation relations.

Revised mode-coupling equations do not predict a finite-order cutoff of the glass transition.

Incorrect treatment of time-reversal symmetry led to previous inaccuracies in field theoretical approaches.

Abstract

We analyse the symmetries and the self-consistent perturbative approaches of dynamical field theories for glassforming liquids. In particular, we focus on the time-reversal symmetry (TRS), which is crucial to obtain fluctuation-dissipation relations (FDRs). Previous field theoretical treatment violated this symmetry, whereas others pointed out that constructing symmetry preserving perturbation theories is a crucial and open issue. In this work we solve this problem and then apply our results to the mode-coupling theory of the glass transition (MCT). We show that in the context of dynamical field theories for glass-forming liquids TRS is expressed as a nonlinear field transformation that leaves the action invariant. Because of this nonlinearity, standard perturbation theories generically do not preserve TRS and in particular FDRs. We show how one can cure this problem and set up symmetry-preserving perturbation theories by introducing some auxiliary fields. As an outcome we obtain Schwinger-Dyson dynamical equations that automatically preserve FDRs and that serve as a basis for carrying out symmetry-preserving approximations. We apply our results to MCT, revisiting previous field theory derivations of MCT equations and showing that they generically violate FDR. We obtain symmetry-preserving mode-coupling equations and discuss their advantages and drawbacks. Furthermore, we show, contrary to previous works, that the structure of the dynamic equations is such that the ideal glass transition is not cut off at any finite order of perturbation theory, even in the presence of coupling between current and density. The opposite results found in previous field theoretical works, such as the ones based on nonlinear fluctuating hydrodynamics, were only due to an incorrect treatment of TRS.