Long-wavelength fluctuations and the glass transition in two dimensions and three dimensions

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Skanda Vivek, Emory University; Colm P. Kelleher, New York University; Paul M. Chaikin, New York University; Eric Weeks, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-02-21
• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2017 PNAS
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607226113
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• ISSN: 0027-8424
• Volume: 114
• Issue: 8
• Start Page: 1850
• End Page: 1855
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant CMMI-1250235 (to S.V. and E.R.W.), National Science Foundation Grant DMR-1105417 (to C.P.K. and P.M.C.), National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grant NNX 13AR67G, and National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center Program Grant DMR-1420073.
• Keywords: long-wavelength fluctuations; dimensionality; phase transition; colloidal glass transition; two-dimensional physics

Abstract

For phase transitions and fluid dynamics, there are significant qualitative differences between two dimensions and three dimensions. However, it has been long assumed that the glass transition is similar in two and three dimensions. Here, we present experimental data on 2D and 3D colloidal systems near their glass transitions. We demonstrate that the differences between two dimensions and three dimensions are due to long-wavelength fluctuations, precisely those that distinguish 2D and 3D phase transitions. We show that the influence of these fluctuations can be disentangled from the underlying dynamics, and that 2D and 3D glass transitions are otherwise similar.