Excitations follow (or lead?) density scaling in propylene carbonate

Abstract

Structural excitations that enable interbasin (IB) barrier crossings on a potential energy landscape are thought to play a facilitating role in the relaxation of liquids. Here, we show that the population of these excitations exhibits the same density scaling observed for α relaxation in propylene carbonate, even though they are heavily influenced by intramolecular modes. We also find that IB crossing modes exhibit a Grüneisen parameter (γG) that is approximately equivalent to the density scaling parameter γTS. These observations suggest that the well-documented relationship between γG and γTS may be a direct result of the pressure dependence of the frequency of unstable (relaxation) modes associated with IB motion.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Nov 28, 2022
Source ID
10.1063/5.0123444

Entities

People

  • Jesse McDaniel
  • John P. Stoppelman
  • Marcus T Cicerone

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Georgia Tech

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Quantum Chemistry