2011-11-16
15:45 at HCI D2

From dynamic heterogeneity to static correlations in glass-forming materials

Ludovic Berthier

Laboratoire Charles Coulomb, Universite de Montpellier

Amorphous solids are mechanically rigid while possessing a disordered structure similar to that of dense liquids. I will briefly review recent research indicating that dynamical heterogeneity, spatio-temporal fluctuations in local dynamical behavior, might help understanding the statistical mechanics of glassy states. The observation of dynamic heterogeneity also suggests that the physics of glass-forming materials near the glass transition might be controlled by the emergence of a form of "amorphous static order". This idea is currently under intense scrutiny, in particular through the characterization and measurement of point-to-set correlation functions. I will explain both the goals and the current status of this very recent line of investigations.