Abstract
The first Ioffe-Regel crossover for vibrational plane waves (when wavelength and mean free path are comparable) has been investigated theoretically for models of vitreous silica constructed by molecular dynamics. The crossover is found to be from a state of weak scattering to one of strong scattering, not vibrational localization. Three methods have been used to investigate the crossover: an analysis of the time evolution of a vibrational plane wave, a spectral-density analysis in frequency space, and an analysis of the final scattered state in momentum space. The first Ioffe-Regel crossover frequency is found by all three methods to be THz for for both longitudinal and transverse polarizations. A second Ioffe-Regel crossover occurs at THz for corresponding to the frequency at which the mean free path is minimal (comparable to the interatomic spacing), and the spectral-density width is maximal (comparable to the frequency range of the vibrational density of states).
- Received 28 June 1999
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.61.12031
©2000 American Physical Society