Abstract
The bond-orientational order parameters introduced by Steinhardt et al. [Phys. Rev. B 28, 784 (1983)] have been an invaluable measurement tool for assessing short-range order in disordered, close-packed assemblies of particles in which the particle positions are known. In many glassy systems the measurement of particle position is not possible or limited (field of view, thickness, resolution) and the bond-orientational order parameters cannot be measured, or adequately sampled. Here we calculate a set of rotationally averaged, projected bond-orientational order parameters that reflect the symmetries of close-packed particle clusters when projected onto a plane. We show by simulation that these parameters are unique fingerprints that can be directly compared to angular correlations in limited-volume, transmission geometry, diffraction patterns from close-packed glassy assemblies.
- Received 15 December 2015
- Corrected 3 June 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.205501
© 2016 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Corrections
3 June 2016
Erratum
Publisher’s Note: Calculation of Projected Bond-Orientational Order Parameters to Quantify Local Symmetries from Transmission Diffraction Data [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 205501 (2016)]
A. C. Y. Liu, R. F. Tabor, L. Bourgeois, M. D. de Jonge, S. T. Mudie, and T. C. Petersen
Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 239902 (2016)
Synopsis
Glassy Fingerprints
Published 18 May 2016
The local structure of glasses and other disordered materials could be extracted from diffraction patterns, according to a proposal for a new technique.
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