Publications
Long-range strain correlations in 3D quiescent glass forming liquids
M. R. Hassani, E. Mahmoudinezhad Zirdehi, K. Krok, P. Schall, M. Fuchs, F. Varnik.
Europhysics Letters, 124, 18003, (2018)
Abstract
Recent two-dimensional computer simulations and experiments indicate that even
supercooled liquids exhibit long-lived, long-range strain correlations expected only in solids. Here
we investigate this issue in three dimensions via Newtonian molecular-dynamics simulations, by a
generalized hydrodynamics approach, and by experiments on Brownian hard-sphere colloids. Both
in the glassy state and in liquid regimes, strain correlations are predicted to decay with a 1/r3
power law, reminiscent of elastic fields around an inclusion. In contrast, the temporal evolution
of the correlation amplitude is distinct in the liquid state, where it grows linearly with time, and
in the glass, where it reaches a time-independent plateau. These predictions are assessed via
molecular-dynamics simulations and experiments. In simple liquids, the size of the cooperative
strain patterns is of the order of the distance traveled by (high-frequency) transverse sound prior
to structural relaxation. This length is of the order of nanometers in a normal liquid and grows
to macroscale upon approaching the glass transition.
DOI: 10.1209/0295-5075/124/18003
Download BibTEX
