Lattice Model of Glasses

Davide Cellai, Andrzej Z. Fima, Aonghus Lawlor, Kenneth A. Dawson

Published 2010-09-20, updated 2011-03-25Version 2

Glass-forming liquids have been extensively studied in recent decades, but there is still no theory that fully describes these systems, and the diversity of treatments is in itself a barrier to understanding. Here we introduce a new simple model that (possessing both liquid-crystal and glass transition) unifies different approaches, producing most of the phenomena associated with real glasses, without loss of the simplicity that theorists require. Within the model we calculate energy relaxation, non-exponential slowing phenomena, the Kauzmann temperature and other classical signatures. Moreover, the model reproduces a sub-diffusive exponent observed in experiments of dense systems. The simplicity of the model allows us to identify the microscopic origin of glassification, leaving open the possibility for theorists to make further progress.