Inhomogeneous elastic response of silica glass

Using large scale molecular dynamics simulations we investigate the properties of the nonaffine displacement field induced by macroscopic uniaxial deformation of amorphous silica, a strong glass according to Angell's classification. We demonstrate the existence of a length scale xi characterizi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 97; no. 5; p. 055501
Main Authors Léonforte, F, Tanguy, A, Wittmer, J P, Barrat, J-L
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 04.08.2006
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Using large scale molecular dynamics simulations we investigate the properties of the nonaffine displacement field induced by macroscopic uniaxial deformation of amorphous silica, a strong glass according to Angell's classification. We demonstrate the existence of a length scale xi characterizing the correlations of this field (corresponding to a volume of about 1000 atoms), and compare its structure to the one observed in a standard fragile model glass. The "boson-peak" anomaly of the density of states can be traced back in both cases to elastic inhomogeneities on wavelengths smaller than xi where classical continuum elasticity becomes simply unapplicable.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.055501