Metallic Liquids and Glasses: Atomic Order and Global Packing

X. J. Liu, Y. Xu, X. Hui, Z. P. Lu, F. Li, G. L. Chen, J. Lu, and C. T. Liu

Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 155501 – Published 5 October 2010

Abstract

In this Letter, we have revealed the common structural behavior of metallic glasses through scrutinizing the evolution of pair distribution functions from metallic liquids to glasses and statistically analyzing pair distribution functions of 64 metallic glasses. It is found that the complex atomic configuration in metallic glasses can be interpreted globally as a combination of the spherical-periodic order and local translational symmetry. The implications of our study suggest that the glass transition could be visualized mainly as a process involving in local translational symmetry increased from the liquid to glassy states.

Received 3 May 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.155501

Authors & Affiliations

X. J. Liu^1,2, Y. Xu¹, X. Hui¹, Z. P. Lu^1,*, F. Li³, G. L. Chen^1,†, J. Lu², and C. T. Liu^2,‡

¹State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
²Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
³Engineering Research Center of Materials Behavior and Design, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China

^*To whom correspondence should be addressed. luzp@ustb.edu.cn
^†glchen@skl.ustb.edu.cn
^‡liuct@ornl.gov

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Vol. 105, Iss. 15 — 8 October 2010

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