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From compressed- to stretched-exponential dynamics in metallic glasses

Birte Riechers1,*, Achraf Atila1, Reza Rashidi1, Fabian Westermeier2, Michael Sprung2, and Robert Maaß1,3,4,†

  • *Contact author: birte.riechers@bam.de
  • †Contact author: robert.maass@bam.de
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Phys. Rev. B 114, 274202 – Published 12 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/cx29-r8ht

Abstract

The microscopic dynamics of metallic glasses are fundamentally governed by their out-of-equilibrium state. In this study, we combine synchrotron x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy with atomistic simulations to track the evolution of structural dynamics from the out-of-equilibrium glassy solid into the metaequilibrium state. The experiments reveal a clear transition from compressed- to stretched-exponential dynamics driven by physical aging. In contrast, the simulations consistently exhibit stretched-exponential behavior across all tested conditions, including zero pressure and applied hydrostatic stress. Despite these qualitatively different initial responses, we demonstrate here that both experimental and computational approaches converge toward a common metaequilibrium stretched relaxation shape with β≈ 0.8. Further, in this regime both experiment and simulation exhibit de Gennes narrowing in the relaxation timescale and shape parameter, a behavior that emerges in the experiments even before the metaequilibrium state is reached. Ultimately, the absence of compressed-exponential dynamics in simulated quenched-in and pressurized states indicates that the experimental as-cast state possesses a distinct dynamical fingerprint whose exact structural origin continues to remain unresolved.

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 274202– Published 12 November, 2026
  • Received 16 July 2026
  • Revised 2 October 2026
  • Accepted 16 October 2026
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