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Polydispersity-driven dynamical differences between two- and three-dimensional supercooled liquids
Phys. Rev. E 112, 025417 – Published 21 August, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2ly2-nqzs
Abstract
The dynamics of supercooled liquids and glasses are widely believed to be similar in two and three dimensions. However, our study challenges this assumption by showing that polydispersity-driven relaxation dynamics differ drastically across dimensions. We resolve an apparent contradiction in prior work by demonstrating that standard corrections for Mermin-Wagner fluctuations obscure size-dependent relaxation in two dimensions. Furthermore, our analysis of mobile particle clusters reveals distinct growth mechanisms, with three-dimensional systems favoring sparse, small-particle-dominated clusters, while two-dimensional systems exhibit more cooperative, size-agnostic rearrangements.
