Dynamics and Configurational Entropy in the LW Model for Supercooled Orthoterphenyl

Abstract

We study thermodynamic and dynamic properties of a rigid model of the fragile glass forming liquid orthoterphenyl. A system of N=343 molecules is considered in a wide range of densities and temperatures, reaching simulation times up to 1 microsecond. Working within the inherent structures thermodynamic formalism, we present results for the temperature and density dependence of the number, depth and shape of the basins of the potential energy surface. We evaluate the configurational entropy of the system and we study the connection between thermodynamical and dynamical properties. We confirm that the temperature dependence of the configurational entropy and of the diffusion constant, as well as the inverse of the characteristic structural relaxation time, are strongly connected in supercooled states.