6 January, 2010
Glass-forming ability and crystal nucleation in glassy liquids:
insights from computer simulations
Abstract
We will explore the interrelationship of glass formation and crystal nucleation in supercooled liquids, with a focus on basic theory, computer simulation methods, and insights that have been obtained from simulations. We will begin with a discussion of metastability as it applies to supercooled liquids, and the thermodynamic and kinetic phenomena that may set limits (both fundamental and practical) on the range of conditions over which a supercooled liquid is observed. We will then explore the related question of the structural, thermodynamic and kinetic contributions that may affect a given system’s ability to form a glass on cooling. Basic concepts of nucleation theory will also be discussed, as well as examples of current simulation methods used to characterize crystal nucleation in supercooled liquids. We will conclude with a presentation of some recent simulation results exploring the influence of glassy dynamics (in the form of Stokes-Einstein decoupling) on the crystal nucleation process in a deeply supercooled liquid.
References and suggested reading
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- I. Saika-Voivod, P.H. Poole and R.K. Bowles, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 224709 (2006)
- V. Molinero, S. Sastry and C.A. Angell, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 075701 (2006)
- M.H. Bhat, V. Molinero, E. Soignard, V.C. Solomon, S. Sastry, J.L. Yarger and C.A. Angell, Nature, 448, 787 (2007)
- S. E. M. Lundrigan and I. Saika-Voivod, J. Chem. Phys. 131, 104503 (2009)
- I. Saika-Voivod, R.K. Bowles and P.H. Poole, Phys. Rev. Lett. (in press); http://arxiv.org/abs/0910.3568 (2009)