Document Type
Article
Publication Date
January 2005
Journal or Book Title
Journal of Physical Chemistry B
Volume
109
Abstract
We perform experiments on two different dense colloidal suspensions with confocal microscopy to probe the relationship between local structure and dynamics near the glass transition. We calculate the Voronoi volume for our particles and show that this quantity is not a universal probe of glassy structure for all colloidal suspensions. We correlate the Voronoi volume to displacement and find that these quantities are only weakly correlated. We observe qualitatively similar results in a simulation of a polymer melt. These results suggest that the Voronoi volume does not predict dynamical behavior in experimental colloidal suspensions; a purely structural approach based on local single particle volume likely cannot describe the colloidal glass transition.
Recommended Citation
Conrad, J. C.; Starr, Francis W.; and Weitz, D. A., "Weak Correlations between Local Density and Dynamics near the Glass Transition" (2005). Division III Faculty Publications. Paper 218.
http://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/div3facpubs/218