On the static length of relaxation and the origin of dynamic heterogeneity in fragile glass-forming liquids

TL;DR

This paper explores the relationship between static relaxation length and dynamic heterogeneity in fragile glass-forming liquids, proposing that bond energy correlations underpin the observed dynamic behavior during the glass transition.

Contribution

It introduces a bond ordering-based static relaxation length that aligns with the size of dynamically heterogeneous domains, linking static and dynamic aspects of glass transition.

Findings

Static relaxation length correlates with domain size in supercooled liquids.

Bond energy fluctuations explain the origin of dynamic heterogeneity.

The bond ordering scenario reconciles static and dynamic length scales.

Abstract

The most puzzling aspect of the glass transition observed in laboratory is an apparent decoupling of dynamics from structure. In this paper we recount the implication of various theories of glass transition for the static correlation length in an attempt to reconcile the dynamic and static lengths associate with the glass problem. We argue that a more recent characterization of the static relaxation length based on the bond ordering scenario, as the typical length over which the energy fluctuations are correlated, is more consistent with, and indeed in perfect agreement with the typical linear size of the dynamically heterogeneous domains observed in deeply supercooled liquids. The correlated relaxation of bonds in terms of energy is therefore identified as the physical origin of the observed dynamic heterogeneity.