Relaxation Decoupling in Metallic Glasses at Low Temperatures

P. Luo (1) , P. Wen (1) , H. Y. Bai (1) , Béatrice Ruta (2) , W. H. Wang (1)

1 Institute of Physics
2 ILM - Institut Lumière Matière [Villeurbanne]

Upon cooling, glass-forming liquids experience a dynamic decoupling in the fast β and slow α process, which has greatly influenced glass physics. By exploring an extremely wide temporal and temperature range, we find a surprising gradual change of the relaxation profile from a single-step to a two-step decay upon cooling in various metallic glasses. This behavior implies a decoupling of the relaxation in two different processes in a glass state: a faster one likely related to the anomalous stress-dominated microscopic dynamics, and a slower one associated with subdiffusive motion at larger scales with a broader distribution of relaxation times.

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

P. Luo, P. Wen, H. Y. Bai, Béatrice Ruta, W. H. Wang. Relaxation Decoupling in Metallic Glasses at Low Temperatures. Physical Review Letters, 2017, 118, pp.225901. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.225901⟩. ⟨hal-02317558⟩