Topological jamming of extended structures and the glass transition

Abstract

We propose a new scenario for glassy dynamics in frustrated systems with no quenched-in randomness, based on jamming of extended dynamical structures near a critical point. This route to a glassy state is demonstrated in a lattice model of fluctuating lines. Numerical simulations of the model show non-exponential relaxations and diverging energy barriers in the vicinity of a thermodynamic phase transition. A master equation for the coarse grained dynamics is constructed. It shows how topological jamming leads to the observed glassy dynamics.