Density functional theory , glass-forming

When an atomic system is cooled below its glass temperature, it vitrifies, that is, it forms an amorphous solid [1]. Upon decreasing the temperature, the viscosity of the fluid increases dramatically, as well as the time scale for structural relaxation, until the solid forms concomitantly, the diffusion coefficient vanishes. This process is observed in atomic or molecular systems and is widely used in material processing. Several theories have been developed to rationalize this behavior, in particular, the mode coupling theory (MCT) that describes the fluid-to-glass transition kinetically, as the arrest of the local dynamics of particles. This becomes manifest in (metastable) nondecaying amplitudes in the correlation functions of density fluctuations, which are due to a feedback mechanism that has been called cage effect [2],... 

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