Macroscopic Illusion and Microscopic Reality of Glass Formation Paths: Cooling vs Compression
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 228001 – Published 3 June, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/cmvd-7ddr
Abstract
We provide evidence that dynamical slowdown in glass-forming liquids may follow different microscopic routes under cooling and compression, pointing to a previously unrecognized discrepancy between two dynamical landmarks: the Arrhenius–to–non-Arrhenius crossover associated with cooling and the inflection point emerging under compression. This separation suggests the coexistence of two distinct mechanisms governing dynamical slowdown and naturally supports the dynamic facilitation framework already at small supercoolings. Based on simulations, we further show that it is the inflection point, rather than the Arrhenius–to–non-Arrhenius crossover, that is more directly associated with the growth of dynamical heterogeneity.
