Local energy landscape in a simple liquid
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Joint Inst. for Neutron Sciences and Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Joint Inst. for Neutron Sciences, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
It is difficult to relate the properties of liquids and glasses directly to their structure because of complexity in the structure that defies precise definition. The potential energy landscape (PEL) approach is a very insightful way to conceptualize the structure-property relationship in liquids and glasses, particularly the effect of temperature and history. However, because of the highly multidimensional nature of the PEL it is hard to determine, or even visualize, the actual details of the energy landscape. In this article we introduce a modified concept of the local energy landscape (LEL), which is limited in phase space, and demonstrate its usefulness using molecular dynamics simulation on a simple liquid at high temperatures. The local energy landscape is given as a function of the local coordination number, the number of the nearest-neighbor atoms. The excitation in the LEL corresponds to the so-called β-relaxation process. In this work, the LEL offers a simple but useful starting point to discuss complex phenomena in liquids and glasses.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1185336
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1180215
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, Vol. 90, Issue 5; ISSN 1539-3755
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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