2007/07/13 by Pinaki Chaudhuri, Ludovic Berthier, Walter Kob · 4 citations
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Condensed matter physics #Decoupling (probability) #Dynamical heterogeneity #Exponential decay #Exponential function #Gaussian #Glass transition #Granular material #Hard spheres #Jamming #Material Dynamics and Properties #Materials science #Nuclear magnetic resonance #Phase Equilibria and Thermodynamics #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Relaxation (psychology) #Statistical physics #Supercooling #Thermodynamics #cond-mat.stat-mech
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.060604
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 060604 (2007) · 5 pages; 4 figs
arxiv created 2007/07/13 · openalex publication_date 2007/08/10 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We examine the structure of the distribution of single particle displacements (van Hove function) in a broad class of materials close to glass and jamming transitions. In a wide time window comprising structural relaxation, van Hove functions reflect the coexistence of slow and fast particles (dynamic heterogeneity). The tails of the distributions exhibit exponential, rather than Gaussian, decay. We argue that this behavior is universal in glassy materials and should be considered the analog, in space, of the stretched exponential decay of time correlation functions. We introduce a dynamical model that describes quantitatively numerical and experimental data in supercooled liquids, colloidal hard spheres, and granular materials. The tails of the distributions directly explain the decoupling between translational diffusion and structural relaxation observed in glassy materials.