Statistical Mechanics and Dynamics of a 3-Dimensional Glass-Forming System

Abstract

In the context of a classical example of glass-formation in 3-dimensions we exemplify how to construct a statistical mechanical theory of the glass transition. At the heart of the approach is a simple criterion for verifying a proper choice of up-scaled quasi-species that allow the construction of a theory with a finite number of 'states'. Once constructed, the theory identifies a typical scale $\xi$ that increases rapidly with lowering the temperature and which determines the $\alpha$-relaxation time $\tau_\alpha$ as $\tau_\alpha \sim \exp(\mu\xi/T)$ with $\mu$ a typical chemical potential. The theory can predict relaxation times at temperatures that are inaccessible to numerical simulations.