Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), University of Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
Institut de physique théorique, Université Paris Saclay, CEA, CNRS, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
J Chem Phys. 2019 Mar 7;150(9):094501. doi: 10.1063/1.5086509.
It was recently discovered that SWAP, a Monte Carlo algorithm that involves the exchange of pairs of particles of differing diameters, can dramatically accelerate the equilibration of simulated supercooled liquids in regimes where the normal dynamics is glassy. This spectacular effect was subsequently interpreted as direct evidence against a static, cooperative explanation of the glass transition such as the one offered by the random first-order transition (RFOT) theory. We explain the speedup induced by SWAP within the framework of the RFOT theory. We suggest that the efficiency of SWAP stems from a postponed onset of glassy dynamics. We describe this effect in terms of "crumbling metastability" and use the example of nucleation to illustrate the possibility of circumventing free-energy barriers of thermodynamic origin by a change in the local dynamical rules.
最近发现，SWAP 是一种蒙特卡罗算法，涉及不同直径粒子对的交换，可以在正常动力学为玻璃态的情况下显著加速模拟过冷液体的平衡。这种惊人的效果随后被解释为直接反对静态、协作的玻璃转变解释，如随机一级相变（RFOT）理论所提供的解释。我们在 RFOT 理论的框架内解释 SWAP 引起的加速。我们认为，SWAP 的效率源于玻璃态动力学的延迟开始。我们用“崩溃亚稳性”来描述这种效应，并以成核为例来说明通过改变局部动力学规则来绕过热力学起源的自由能势垒的可能性。
