Growing Correlation Length on Cooling Below the Onset of Caging in a Simulated Glass-Forming Liquid

Published

September 1, 2002

Author(s)

N Lacevic, Francis W. Starr, T B. Schroder, V N. Novikov, S C. Glotzer

Abstract

We present a calculation of a fourth-order, time-dependent density correlation function that measures spatial correlations of the density of a liquid at two points in space, each at two different times. From molecular dynamics simulations of a glass-forming Lennard-Jones liquid, we find that the characteristic length scale of this function has a maximum as a function of time, which increases by a factor of seven in the temperature range we simulate approaching the mode coupling crossover temperature. Over this range, the static two-point correlation length is roughly constant.

Citation

Physical Review Letters

Volume

66

Issue

No. 3

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

correlation length, dynamical heterogeniety, glass transition, molecular dynamics, simulations

Citation

Lacevic, N. , Starr, F. , Schroder, T. , Novikov, V. and Glotzer, S. (2002), Growing Correlation Length on Cooling Below the Onset of Caging in a Simulated Glass-Forming Liquid, Physical Review Letters, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=851874 (Accessed October 18, 2025)