Observed polarization change mechanism

A supercooled hquid or amorphous sohd can be driven out of (restricted) equihbrium in a wide variety of ways, and the kinetics of relaxation back to (restricted) equihbrium subsequently followed. This variety includes sudden temperature or pressure changes, mechanical working, application of a polarizing electric field, and irradiation with energetic particles. As mentioned in Section I, the linear-response relaxation kinetics of supercooled liquids as monitored by any of several properties is observed to follow a Kohlrausch-Wilhams-Watts (KWW) stretched exponential form [see Eq. (2)],... 

The evidence presented so far excludes the formation of dissociated ions as the principal precursor to sulfone, since such a mechanism would yield a mixture of two isomeric sulfones. Similarly, in the case of optically active ester a racemic product should be formed. The observed data are consistent with either an ion-pair mechanism or a more concerted cyclic intramolecular mechanism involving little change between the polarity of the ground state and transition state. Support for the second alternative was found from measurements of the substituent and solvent effects on the rate of reaction. 

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