Eur. Phys. J. E (2018) 41: 54
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

Abstract

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.