Memory in the aging of a polymer glass

Abstract

Low frequency dielectric measurements on plexiglass (PMMA) show that cooling and heating the sample at constant rate give an hysteretic dependence on temperature of the dielectric constant $\epsilon$. A temporary stop of cooling produces a downward relaxation of $\epsilon$. Two main features are observed i) when cooling is resumed $\epsilon$ goes back to the values obtained without the cooling stop (i.e. the low temperature state is independent of the cooling history) ii) upon reheating $\epsilon$ keeps the memory of the aging history ({\it Memory}). The analogies and differences with similar experiments done in spin glasses are discussed.