Probing the glass transition from structural and vibrational properties of zero-temperature glasses

Abstract

We find that the density dependence of the glass transition temperature of Lennard-Jones (LJ) and Weeks-Chandler-Andersen (WCA) systems can be predicted from properties of the zero-temperature ($T=0$) glasses. Below a crossover density $\rho_s$, LJ and WCA glasses show different structures, leading to different vibrational properties and consequently making LJ glasses more stable with higher glass transition temperatures than WCA ones. Above $\rho_s$, structural and vibrational quantities of the $T=0$ glasses show scaling collapse. From scaling relations and dimensional analysis, we predict a density scaling of the glass transition temperature, in excellent agreement with simulation results. We also propose an empirical expression of the glass transition temperature using structural and vibrational properties of the $T=0$ glasses, which works well over a wide range of densities.