Aging effects in simple models for glassy relaxation

TL;DR

This paper investigates aging effects in a simple kinetic model for glassy relaxation, focusing on fluctuation-dissipation violations and the role of asymmetry during transient non-equilibrium states.

Contribution

It demonstrates that in a simple energy model, aging effects are transient and the fluctuation-dissipation relation depends on an asymmetry function, challenging common quantification methods.

Findings

Aging effects are transient and vanish at equilibrium.

The fluctuation-dissipation relation depends on an asymmetry function.

Integrated response versus correlation plots are not suitable for this model.

Abstract

Aging effects in the two-time correlation function and the response function after a quench from a high temperature to some low temperature are considered for a simple kinetic random energy model exhibiting stretched exponential relaxation. Because the system reaches thermal equilibrium for long times after the quench, all aging effect are of a transient nature. In particular, the violations of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem are considered and it is found that the relation between the response and the two-time correlation function depends on another function, the so-called asymmetry. This asymmetry vanishes in equilibrium but cannot be neglected in the aging regime. It is found that plots of the integrated response versus the correlation function are not applicable to quantify the violations of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem in this particular model. This fact has its origin in the absence of a scaling form of the correlation.