https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2018-11662-3
Regular Article
Structural-dynamical transition in the Wahnström mixture
1
H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, BS8 1TL, Bristol, UK
2
Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information, BS8 1FD, Bristol, UK
3
Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 7-9, 55128, Mainz, Germany
4
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, BS8 1TS, Bristol, UK
* e-mail: f.turci@bristol.ac.uk
Received:
26
February
2018
Accepted:
12
April
2018
Published online:
26
April
2018
In trajectory space, dynamical heterogeneities in glass-forming liquids correspond to the emergence of a dynamical phase transition between an active phase poor in local structure and an inactive phase which is rich in local structure. We support this scenario with the study of a model additive mixture of Lennard-Jones particles, quantifying how the choice of the relevant structural and dynamical observable affects the transition in trajectory space. We find that the low mobility, structure-rich phase is dominated by icosahedral order. Applying a non-equilibrium rheological protocol, we connect local order to the emergence of mechanical rigidity.
Key words: Topical issue: Advances in Computational Methods for Soft Matter Systems
© The Author(s), 2018