Scenario for the Vogel-Fulcher "law". Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • A scenario is presented to explain the Vogel-Fulcher "law" which describes the slowing down of relaxation processes associated with many glasses: -1=0-1exp[-E(T-T0)]. It assumes that relaxation processes are local and satisfy an Arhennius law whose activation energy Ea is determined by the energy needed to jump out of a local potential well. This latter is determined by employing a local Landau expansion of the free energy in powers of the order parameter, where it is assumed that frustration and quenched-in randomness lead to local order which is incompatible with global order. In the free energy, the randomness is considered to provide a linear coupling which drives the quadratic term, with the quartic term preventing the divergence at T0 from actually occurring. 1988 The American Physical Society.

published proceedings

  • Phys Rev B Condens Matter

author list (cited authors)

  • Saslow, W. M.

citation count

  • 41

complete list of authors

  • Saslow, WM

publication date

  • January 1988