Electrodynamics of amorphous media at low temperatures

Amorphous solids exhibit intrinsic, local structural transitions, which give rise to the well-known quantum-mechanical two-level systems at low temperatures. We explain the microscopic origin of the electric dipole moment of these two-level systems: the dipole emerges as a result of polarization fluctuations between near degenerate local configurations, which have nearly frozen in at the glass transition. An estimate of the dipole's magnitude, based on the random first-order transition theory, is obtained and is found to be consistent with experiment. The interaction between the dipoles is estimated and is shown to contribute significantly to the Grüneisen parameter anomaly in low T glasses. In completely amorphous media, the dipole moments are expected to be modest in size despite their collective origin. In partially crystalline materials, however, very large dipoles may arise, possibly explaining the findings of Bauer and Kador [J. Chem. Phys., 118, 9069 (2003)].

[1]  P. Wolynes,et al.  The Microscopic Quantum Theory of Low Temperature Amorphous Solids , 2005, cond-mat/0506708.

[2]  A. M. Saitta,et al.  Phonon dispersion of ice under pressure. , 2004, Physical review letters.

[3]  P. Wolynes,et al.  Theory of aging in structural glasses. , 2004, The Journal of chemical physics.

[4]  P. Wolynes,et al.  Barrier softening near the onset of nonactivated transport in supercooled liquids: Implications for establishing detailed connection between thermodynamic and kinetic anomalies in supercooled liquids , 2003, cond-mat/0307089.

[5]  L. Kador,et al.  Electric-field effects of two-level systems observed with single-molecule spectroscopy , 2003 .

[6]  P. Wolynes,et al.  The origin of the boson peak and thermal conductivity plateau in low-temperature glasses , 2002, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[7]  P. Wolynes,et al.  Intrinsic quantum excitations of low temperature glasses. , 2001, Physical review letters.

[8]  Mark Harris,et al.  Dynamics of silica glass: two-level tunnelling states and low-energy floppy modes , 2000 .

[9]  P G Wolynes,et al.  Fragilities of liquids predicted from the random first order transition theory of glasses. , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[10]  M. Orrit,et al.  Are the spectral trails of single molecules consistent with the standard two-level system model of glasses at low temperatures? , 1999 .

[11]  Maier,et al.  Optical detection of electric two level system dipoles in a polymeric glass. , 1995, Physical review letters.

[12]  Heuer,et al.  Microscopic estimation of the deformation potential in a structural model glass. , 1993, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[13]  Heuer,et al.  Microscopic description of tunneling systems in a structural model glass. , 1993, Physical review letters.

[14]  A. Leggett.  Amorphous materials at low temperatures: why are they so similar? , 1991 .

[15]  T. R. Kirkpatrick,et al.  Scaling concepts for the dynamics of viscous liquids near an ideal glassy state. , 1989, Physical review. A, General physics.

[16]  R. Lathe.  Phd by thesis , 1988, Nature.

[17]  T. R. Kirkpatrick,et al.  Stable and metastable states in mean-field Potts and structural glasses. , 1987, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[18]  T. R. Kirkpatrick,et al.  Connections between some kinetic and equilibrium theories of the glass transition. , 1987, Physical review. A, General physics.

[19]  Freeman,et al.  Thermal conductivity of amorphous solids. , 1986, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[20]  W. Macdonald,et al.  Low-temperature thermal expansion of disordered solids , 1984 .

[21]  A. C. Anderson,et al.  Amorphous Solids: Low-Temperature Properties , 1981 .

[22]  K. Dransfeld,et al.  Intrinsic Electric Dipole Moment of Tunneling Systems in Silica Glasses , 1979 .

[23]  T. N. Claytor,et al.  Excess Ultrasonic Attenuation in As 2 S 3 Glass after Electric Field Removal , 1979 .

[24]  L. Piché,et al.  Electric dipolar echoes in glasses , 1978 .

[25]  B. Halperin,et al.  Spectral diffusion, phonon echoes, and saturation recovery in glasses at low temperatures , 1977 .

[26]  W. Arnold,et al.  Influence of an electromagnetic wave on the acoustic absorption of borosilicate glass at low temperatures , 1977 .

[27]  Siegfried Hunklinger,et al.  CORRIGENDUM: The dielectric coupling of low-energy excitations in vitreous silica to electromagnetic waves , 1976 .

[28]  R. Stephens.  Polarizability of the low-energy excitations in disordered solids , 1976 .

[29]  W. Arnold,et al.  Elastic effects of structural relaxation in glasses at low temperatures , 1976 .

[30]  S. Timoshenko,et al.  Theory of elasticity , 1975 .

[31]  L. Piché,et al.  Anomalous Dielectric Dispersion in Glasses at Low Temperatures , 1975 .

[32]  J. Deutch,et al.  Analysis of conflicting theories of dielectric relaxation , 1974 .

[33]  W. A. Phillips,et al.  Tunneling states in amorphous solids , 1972 .

[34]  R. Pohl,et al.  Thermal Conductivity and Specific Heat of Noncrystalline Solids , 1971 .

[35]  E. M. Lifshitz,et al.  Classical theory of fields , 1952 .

[36]  W. P. Mason,et al.  Piezoelectric Crystals and Their Applications to Ultrasonics , 1951 .

[37]  J. Kirkwood.  The Dielectric Polarization of Polar Liquids , 1939 .

[38]  P. Esquinazi,et al.  Tunneling Systems in Amorphous and Crystalline Solids , 1998 .

[39]  P. Anderson,et al.  Anomalous low-temperature thermal properties of glasses and spin glasses , 1972 .

[40]  C. Gorter,et al.  Progress in low temperature physics , 1964 .