Ergodicity and slow diffusion in a supercooled liquid

Abstract

A model for the slow dynamics of the supercooled liquid is formulated in terms of the standard equations of fluctuating nonlinear hydrodynamics (FNH) with the inclusion of an extra diffusive mode for the collective density fluctuations. If the compressible nature of the liquid is completely ignored, this diffusive mode sets the longest relaxation times in the supercooled state and smooths off a possible sharp ergodicity–nonergodicity (ENE) transition predicted in a mode coupling theory. The scenario changes when the complete dynamics is considered with the inclusion of 1/ρ nonlinearities in the FNH equations, reflecting the compressible nature of the liquid. The latter primarily determines the extent of slowing down in the supercooled liquid. The presence of slow diffusive modes in the supercooled liquid do not give rise to very long relaxation times unless the role of couplings between density and currents in the compressible liquid is negligible.