Ab initio method for locating characteristic potential-energy minima of liquids

V-T theory for the self-intermediate scattering function in a monatomic liquid

In V-T theory the atomic motion is harmonic vibrations in a liquid-specific potential energy valley, plus transits, which move the system rapidly among the multitude of such valleys. In its first application to the self intermediate scattering function (SISF), V-T theory produced an accurate account of molecular dynamics (MD) data at all wave numbers q and time t. Recently, analysis of the mean square displacement (MSD) resolved a crossover behavior that was not observed in the SISF study. Our purpose here is to apply the more accurate MSD calibration to the SISF, and assess the results. We derive and discuss the theoretical equations for vibrational and transit contributions to the SISF. The time evolution is divided into three successive intervals: the vibrational interval when the vibrational contribution alone accurately accounts for the MD data; the crossover when the vibrational contribution saturates and the transit contribution becomes resolved; and the diffusive interval when the transit contribution alone accurately accounts for the MD data. The resulting theoretical error is extremely small at all q and t. V-T theory is compared to mode-coupling theories for the MSD and SISF, and to recent developments in Brownian motion experiments and theory.

Computer simulations of glasses: the potential energy landscape

We review the current state of research on glasses, discussing the theoretical background and computational models employed to describe them. This article focuses on the use of the potential energy landscape (PEL) paradigm to account for the phenomenology of glassy systems, and the way in which it can be applied in simulations and the interpretation of their results. This article provides a broad overview of the rich phenomenology of glasses, followed by a summary of the theoretical frameworks developed to describe this phenomonology. We discuss the background of the PEL in detail, the onerous task of how to generate computer models of glasses, various methods of analysing numerical simulations, and the literature on the most commonly used model systems. Finally, we tackle the problem of how to distinguish a good glass former from a good crystal former from an analysis of the PEL. In summarising the state of the potential energy landscape picture, we develop the foundations for new theoretical methods that allow the ab initio prediction of the glass-forming ability of new materials by analysis of the PEL.

Disorder-induced room temperature ferromagnetism in glassy chromites

We report an unusual robust ferromagnetic order above room temperature upon amorphization of perovskite [YCrO₃] in pulsed laser deposited thin films. This is contrary to the usual expected formation of a spin glass magnetic state in the resulting disordered structure. To understand the underlying physics of this phenomenon, we combine advanced spectroscopic techniques and first-principles calculations. We find that the observed order-disorder transformation is accompanied by an insulator-metal transition arising from a wide distribution of Cr-O-Cr bond angles and the consequent metallization through free carriers. Similar results also found in YbCrO₃-films suggest that the observed phenomenon is more general and should, in principle, apply to a wider range of oxide systems. The ability to tailor ferromagnetic order above room temperature in oxide materials opens up many possibilities for novel technological applications of this counter intuitive effect.

The R3-carbon allotrope: a pathway towards glassy carbon under high pressure

Pressure-induced bond type switching and phase transformation in glassy carbon (GC) has been simulated by means of Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and the Stochastic Quenching method (SQ) in a wide range of pressures (0–79 GPa). Under pressure, the GC experiences a hardening transition from sp- and sp²-type to sp³-type bonding, in agreement with previous experimental results. Moreover, a new crystalline carbon allotrope possessing R3 symmetry (R3-carbon) is predicted using the stochastic SQ method. The results indicate that R3-carbon can be regarded as an allotrope similar to that of amorphous GC. A very small difference in the heat of formation and the coherence of the radial and angular distribution functions of GC and the R3-carbon structure imply that small perturbations to this crystalline carbon allotrope may provide another possible amorphization pathway of carbon besides that of quenching the liquid melt or gas by ultra-fast cooling.

Statistical mechanics model for the transit free energy of monatomic liquids

In applying vibration-transit (V-T) theory of liquid dynamics to the thermodynamic properties of monatomic liquids, the point has been reached where an improved model is needed for the small (approximately 10%) transit contribution. Toward this goal, an analysis of the available high-temperature experimental entropy data for elemental liquids was recently completed [D. C. Wallace, E. D. Chisolm, and N. Bock, Phys. Rev. E 79, 051201 (2009)]. This analysis yields a common curve of transit entropy vs T/thetatr, where T is temperature and thetatr is a scaling temperature for each element. In the present paper, a statistical mechanics model is constructed for the transit partition function, and is calibrated to the experimental transit entropy curve. The model has two scalar parameters, and captures the temperature scaling of experiment. The calibrated model fits the experimental liquid entropy to high accuracy at all temperatures. With no additional parameters, the model also agrees with both experiment and molecular dynamics for the internal energy vs. T for Na. With the calibrated transit model, V-T theory provides equations subject to ab initio evaluation for thermodynamic properties of monatomic liquids. This will allow the range of applicability of the theory, and its overall accuracy, to be determined. More generally, the hypothesis of V-T theory, which divides the many-atom potential energy valleys into random and symmetric classes, can also be tested for its application beyond monatomic systems.