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    Granular packing as model glass formers
    Yujie Wang(王宇杰)
    Chin. Phys. B, 2017, 26 (1): 014503.   DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/26/1/014503
    Abstract1032)   HTML    PDF (17090KB)(877)      

    Static granular packings are model hard-sphere glass formers. The nature of glass transition has remained a hotly debated issue. We review recent experimental progresses in using granular materials to study glass transitions. We focus on the growth of glass order with five-fold symmetry in granular packings and relate the findings to both geometric frustration and random first-order phase transition theories.

    Five-fold local symmetry in metallic liquids and glasses
    M Z Li(李茂枝), H L Peng(彭海龙), Y C Hu(胡远超), F X Li(李福祥), H P Zhang(张华平), W H Wang(汪卫华)
    Chin. Phys. B, 2017, 26 (1): 016104.   DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/26/1/016104
    Abstract803)   HTML    PDF (874KB)(1146)      

    The structure of metallic glasses has been a long-standing mystery. Owing to the disordered nature of atomic structures in metallic glasses, it is a great challenge to find a simple structural description, such as periodicity for crystals, for establishing the structure-property relationship in amorphous materials. In this paper, we briefly review the recent developments of the five-fold local symmetry in metallic liquids and glasses and the understanding of the structure-property relationship based on this parameter. Experimental evidence demonstrates that five-fold local symmetry is found to be general in metallic liquids and glasses. Comprehensive molecular dynamics simulations show that the temperature evolution of five-fold local symmetry reflects the structural evolution in glass transition in cooling process, and the structure-property relationship such as relaxation dynamics, dynamic crossover phenomena, glass transition, and mechanical deformation in metallic liquids and glasses can be well understood base on the simple and general structure parameter of five-fold local symmetry.

    Interstitialcy theory of condensed matter states and its application to non-crystalline metallic materials
    V A Khonik
    Chin. Phys. B, 2017, 26 (1): 016401.   DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/26/1/016401
    Abstract666)   HTML    PDF (1312KB)(887)      

    A comprehensive review of a novel promising framework for the understanding of non-crystalline metallic materials, i.e., interstitialcy theory of condensed matter states (ITCM), is presented. The background of the ITCM and its basic results for equilibrium/supercooled liquids and glasses are given. It is emphasized that the ITCM provides a new consistent, clear, and testable approach, which uncovers the generic relationship between the properties of the maternal crystal, equilibrium/supercooled liquid and glass obtained by melt quenching.

    Secondary relaxation and dynamic heterogeneity in metallic glasses: A brief review
    J C Qiao(乔吉超), Q Wang, D Crespo, Y Yang(杨勇), J M Pelletier
    Chin. Phys. B, 2017, 26 (1): 016402.   DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/26/1/016402
    Abstract885)   HTML    PDF (8377KB)(1332)      

    Understanding mechanical relaxation, such as primary (α) and secondary (β) relaxation, is key to unravel the intertwined relation between the atomic dynamics and non-equilibrium thermodynamics in metallic glasses. At a fundamental level, relaxation, plastic deformation, glass transition, and crystallization of metallic glasses are intimately linked to each other, which can be related to atomic packing, inter-atomic diffusion, and cooperative atom movement. Conceptually, β relaxation is usually associated with structural heterogeneities intrinsic to metallic glasses. However, the details of such structural heterogeneities, being masked by the meta-stable disordered long-range structure, are yet to be understood. In this paper, we briefly review the recent experimental and simulation results that were attempted to elucidate structural heterogeneities in metallic glasses within the framework of β relaxation. In particular, we will discuss the correlation among β relaxation, structural heterogeneity, and mechanical properties of metallic glasses.

    Multiscale structures and phase transitions in metallic glasses: A scattering perspective
    Si Lan(兰司), Zhenduo Wu(吴桢舵), Xun-Li Wang(王循理)
    Chin. Phys. B, 2017, 26 (1): 017104.   DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/26/1/017104
    Abstract903)   HTML    PDF (10410KB)(532)      

    Amorphous materials are ubiquitous and widely used in human society, yet their structures are far from being fully understood. Metallic glasses, a new class of amorphous materials, have attracted a great deal of interests due to their exceptional properties. In recent years, our understanding of metallic glasses increases dramatically, thanks to the development of advanced instrumentation, such as in situ x-ray and neutron scattering. In this article, we provide a brief review of recent progress in study of the structure of metallic glasses. In particular, we will emphasize, from the scattering perspective, the multiscale structures of metallic glasses, i.e., short-to-medium range atomic packing, and phase transitions in the supercooled liquid region, e.g., crystallization and liquid-to-liquid phase transition. We will also discuss, based on the understanding of their structures and phase stability, the mechanical and magnetic properties of metallic glasses.

    Amorphous phase formation rules in high-entropy alloys
    Qiu-Wei Xing(邢秋玮), Yong Zhang(张勇)
    Chin. Phys. B, 2017, 26 (1): 018104.   DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/26/1/018104
    Abstract683)   HTML    PDF (1694KB)(982)      

    There have been many interesting studies on high-entropy alloys (HEAs), also known as multi-component (MC) alloys (MCAs), in recent years. MC metallic-glasses (MGs) have shown the potential to express the advantages of MCAs and MGs in tandem. Amorphous phase formation rules are a crucial issue in the HEA and MCA field. For equal or near-equal atomic ratio alloys, mixed-entropy among the elements has a significant effect on the phase formation. This paper focuses on HEA amorphous phase formation rules. In the first two sections, the recent progress in amorphous phase formation in HEAs and MCAs is reviewed, including the effective factors and correlative parameters related to amorphous phase formation. In the third section, novel MCMGs including high-entropy (HE) bulk-metallic-glass (HE-BMG) and MCMG films developed in recent decades are summarized, and the giant-magnetic-impedance (GMI) effect of MC amorphous fibers is discussed.

    Universal properties of relaxation and diffusion in condensed matter
    K L Ngai(倪嘉陵)
    Chin. Phys. B, 2017, 26 (1): 018105.   DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/26/1/018105
    Abstract669)   HTML    PDF (5872KB)(873)      

    By and large the research communities today are not fully aware of the remarkable universality in the dynamic properties of many-body relaxation/diffusion processes manifested in experiments and simulations on condensed matter with diverse chemical compositions and physical structures. I shall demonstrate the universality first from the dynamic processes in glass-forming systems. This is reinforced by strikingly similar properties of different processes in contrasting interacting systems all having nothing to do with glass transition. The examples given here include glass-forming systems of diverse chemical compositions and physical structures, conductivity relaxation of ionic conductors (liquid, glassy, and crystalline), translation and orientation ordered phase of rigid molecule, and polymer chain dynamics. Universality is also found in the change of dynamics when dimension is reduced to nanometer size in widely different systems. The remarkable universality indicates that many-body relaxation/diffusion is governed by fundamental physics to be unveiled. One candidate is classical chaos on which the coupling model is based, Universal properties predicted by this model are in accord with diverse experiments and simulations.

ISSN 1674-1056   CN 11-5639/O4

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