Abstract
Using quasielastic neutron scattering, we compare dynamics in single-element liquids, glass-forming selenium and non glass-forming gallium. There is a single jump-diffusion process in gallium, whereas in selenium there is also a faster, spatially localized process. The fast and slow processes describe β- and α-relaxation, respectively. We then analyze an archetypical glass-former, glycerol, to show that the two-component fit, with β- and α-relaxations explicitly separated, yields the correct value for the translational diffusion coefficient and provides information on the spatial localization of the β-relaxation that is not experimentally accessible otherwise.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 55-60 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Chemical Physics Letters |
| Volume | 530 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 19 2012 |
Funding
This research is based upon work supported as part of the Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures and Transport (FIRST) Center, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. We are thankful to S. M. Chathoth for valuable discussion. The neutron scattering studies were conducted with support from the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US DOE. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for US DOE under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725. The DAVE package was used for data analysis.