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Depletion of Two-Level Systems in Ultrastable Computer-Generated Glasses

Dmytro Khomenko, Camille Scalliet, Ludovic Berthier, David R. Reichman, and Francesco Zamponi
Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 225901 – Published 2 June 2020
Physics logo See synopsis: Simulations Reveal Quantum Tunneling Events in Glass
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Abstract

Amorphous solids exhibit quasiuniversal low temperature anomalies whose origin has been ascribed to localized tunneling defects. Using an advanced Monte Carlo procedure, we create in silico glasses spanning from hyperquenched to ultrastable glasses. Using a multidimensional path-finding protocol, we locate tunneling defects with energy splittings smaller than kBTQ, with TQ the temperature below which quantum effects are relevant (TQ1K in most experiments). We find that as the stability of a glass increases, its energy landscape as well as the manner in which it is probed tend to deplete the density of tunneling defects, as observed in recent experiments. We explore the real-space nature of tunneling defects, and find that they are mostly localized to a few atoms, but are occasionally dramatically delocalized.

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  • Received 22 November 2019
  • Accepted 28 April 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.225901

© 2020 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

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Simulations Reveal Quantum Tunneling Events in Glass

Published 2 June 2020

In a glass, the freedom of atoms to move by quantum tunneling depends on how fast the glass was initially formed.

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Authors & Affiliations

Dmytro Khomenko1,2,†, Camille Scalliet3,*,†, Ludovic Berthier4,5, David R. Reichman2, and Francesco Zamponi1

  • 1Laboratoire de Physique de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure, ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, 75005 Paris, France
  • 2Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
  • 3DAMTP, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom
  • 4Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
  • 5Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, 34095 Montpellier, France

  • *cs2057@cam.ac.uk
  • These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Issue

Vol. 124, Iss. 22 — 5 June 2020

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