Self-Organized Criticality Below The Glass Transition

Katharina Vollmayr-Lee, Elizabeth A. Baker

Published 2006-02-28, updated 2006-03-26Version 2

We obtain evidence that the dynamics of glassy systems below the glass transition is characterized by self-organized criticality. Using molecular dynamics simulations of a model glass-former we identify clusters of cooperatively jumping particles. We find string-like clusters whose size is power-law distributed not only close to T_c but for ALL temperatures below T_c, indicating self-organized criticality which we interpret as a freezing in of critical behavior.