Effects of topological disorder on thermodynamic and vibrational properties of amorphous solids

Abstract

The disordered topology introduces additional degrees of freedom in the structure of amorphous solids mainly enhancing the local atomic mobility. This gives rise to substantial and amazing changes of the physical properties of these systems compared to the corresponding crystals, i.e. solids having the same stoichiometry, but over an ordered structure. In this article, the possible connection between the thermodynamic and vibrational aspects of glasses and the topological disorder is considered, emphasizing the most significant differences between crystalline and amorphous solids having the same stoichiometry.