Origin of the excess specific heat in metallic glass forming liquids

Abstract

We report excess specific heat in a series of metallic glass forming liquids. It is found that the excess specific heat relative to glass at glass transition temperature Tg is constant and close to, where R is gas constant. In the typical Pd40Ni10Cu30P20 metallic glass forming liquid, the excess specific heat is independent of temperature. A quantitative description of the excess specific heat is built up. The atomic translational diffusion is the origin of the excess specific heat. The results provide a fundamental understanding to the glass transition in metallic glasses.