Communication: High-frequency acoustic excitations and boson peak in glasses: A study of their temperature dependence.

The results of a combined experimental study of the high-frequency acoustic dynamics and of the vibrational density of states (VDOS) as a function of temperature in a glass of sorbitol are reported here. The excess in the VDOS at approximately 4.5 meV over the Debye, elastic continuum prediction (boson peak) is found to be clearly related to anomalies observed in the acoustic dispersion curve in the mesoscopic wavenumber range of few nm(-1). The quasiharmonic temperature dependence of the acoustic dispersion curves offers a natural explanation for the observed scaling of the boson peak with the elastic medium properties.

Vibrational dynamics of permanently densified GeO2 glasses: densification-induced changes in the boson peak.

Vitreous GeO(2), one of the main prototypes of strong glasses, was densified at several pressures up to 6 GPa, achieving more than 20% of densification. The density dependence of the vibrational density of states and of the low temperature properties of these glasses was investigated by means of inelastic neutron scattering and calorimetric measurements. With increasing density, both the boson peak and the bump in c(p)/T(3) versus T plot exhibit variations which are stronger than the elastic medium expectation. If one reduces the measured spectra to a common master curve, one finds that this is only possible for the densified samples; the first densification step has an additional effect, similar to other cases in the literature. Nevertheless, the existence of a master curve for the three densified samples proves that the total number of excess modes remains constant on further densification. The experimental data are discussed in the framework of different theoretical models.

Connection between Boson peak and elastic properties in silicate glasses.

Inelastic neutron, light, and x-ray scattering are used to investigate the vibrational density of states (VDOS) and the elastic properties of a sodium silicate glass as a function of temperature. The elastic moduli show the frequency and temperature dependence typical of anharmonic effects. The measured VDOS spectra, up to and including the excess vibrational density at the boson peak, scale with the Debye level only if this is calculated from the high-frequency values of the elastic constants. This emphasizes that conclusions on the relation between VDOS and elastic properties can be drawn only if anharmonic and relaxational effects are properly taken into account.

Structural and collisional relaxations in liquids and supercritical fluids.

The dynamic structure factor S(Q,omega) of both associated (water and ammonia) and simple fluids (nitrogen and neon) has been determined by high-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering in the 2-14 nm(-1) momentum transfer range. A line-shape analysis with a generalized hydrodynamic model was used to study the involved relaxation process and to characterize its strength and time scale. We observe that in the liquid phase such a process is governed by rearrangements of intermolecular bonds, whereas in the supercritical region it assumes a collisional nature.