Related papers: Positive Kauzmann Temperature: A Thermodynamic Pro…
We study stationary metastable states(SMS's)using a restricted partition function formalism. The formalism ensures that SMS free energy exists all the way to T=0, and remains stable. We introduce the concept of the reality condition,…
We introduce the concept of stationary metastable states (SMS's) in the presence of another more stable state. The stationary nature allows us to study SMS's by using a restricted partition function formalism as advocated by Penrose and…
We use computer simulations to study the thermodynamic properties of a glass former in which a fraction $c$ of the particles has been permanently frozen. By thermodynamic integration, we determine the Kauzmann, or ideal glass transition,…
The idea that a thermodynamic glass transition of some sort underlies the observed glass formation has been highly debated since Kauzmann first stressed the hypothetical entropy crisis that could take place if one were able to equilibrate…
A model glass is considered with one type of fast ($\beta$-type) of processes, and one type of slow processes ($\alpha$-type). On time-scales where the fast ones are in equilibrium, the slow ones have a dynamics that resembles the one of…
We propose a theory based on simple physical arguments that describes a non equilibrium steady-state by a temperature-like parameter (an "effective temperature"). We show how one can predict the effective temperature as a function of the…
The lack of thermal stability, originating from their metastable nature, has been one of the paramount obstacles that hinder the wide range of applications of metallic glasses. We report that the stability of a metallic glass can be…
Dense liquids gradually transform into non-equilibrium amorphous solids as they pass through the experimental glass transition. Experimentally, ergodicity is lost because measurements are conducted within a finite time window. More than…
Searching for the ideal glass transition, we exploit the ability of glassy polymer films to explore low energy states in remarkably short time scales. We use 30 nm thick polystyrene (PS) films, which in the supercooled state basically…
We introduce an effective field theory for the vicinity of a zero temperature quantum transition between a metallic spin glass (``spin density glass'') and a metallic quantum paramagnet. Following a mean field analysis, we perform a…
The metastable states of a glass are counted by adding a weak pinning field which explicitly breaks the ergodicity. Their entropy, that is the logarithm of their number, is extensive in a range of temperatures $T_G < T < T_C$ only, where…
Absolute temperature, the fundamental temperature scale in thermodynamics, is usually bound to be positive. Under special conditions, however, negative temperatures - where high-energy states are more occupied than low-energy states - are…
We construct a mean field theory for the lattice model of a structural glass and solve it using the replica method and one step replica symmetry breaking ansatz; this theory becomes exact in the limit of infinite dimensions. Analyzing…
We present an STZ-based analysis of numerical simulations by Haxton and Liu (HL). The extensive HL data sharply test the basic assumptions of the STZ theory, especially the central role played by the effective disorder temperature as a…
Truly stable metastable states are an artifact of the mean-field approximation or the zero temperature limit. If such appealing concepts in glass theory as configurational entropy are to have a meaning beyond these approximations, one needs…
Do negative absolute temperatures matter physics and specifically Statistical Physics? We provide evidence that we can certainly answer positively to this vexata quaestio. The great majority of models investigated by statistical mechanics…
We show that states of macroscopic systems with purported absolute negative temperatures are not stable under small, yet arbitrary, perturbations. We prove the previous statement using the fact that, in equilibrium, the entropy takes its…
We provide a rigorous calculation of the free energy of a non-metallic crystal containing a small concentration of defects. The low-temperature leading contribution is found to be $\propto T^2$. This further gives a linear-in-$T$…
A model of low-temperature polar liquids is constructed that accounts for configurational heat capacity, entropy, and the effect of a strong electric field on the glass transition. The model is based on Pad{\'e}-truncated perturbation…
We extend on ideas from standard thermodynamics to show that temperature can be assigned to a general nonequilibrium quantum system. By choosing a physically motivated complete set of observables and expanding the system state thereupon,…