Dynamic facilitation theory: a statistical mechanics approach to dynamic arrest

Abstract

The modeling of supercooled liquids approaching dynamic arrest has a long tradition, which is documented through a plethora of competing theoretical approaches. Here, we review the modeling of supercooled liquids in terms of dynamic ‘defects’, also called excitations or soft spots, that are able to sustain motion. To this end, we consider a minimal statistical mechanics description in terms of activate regions with the order parameter related to their typical size. This is the basis for both Adam–Gibbs and dynamical facilitation theory, which differ in their relaxation mechanism as the liquid is cooled: collective motion of more and more particles versus concerted hierarchical motion over larger and larger length scales. For the latter, dynamic arrest is possible without a growing static correlation length, and we sketch the derivation of a key result: the parabolic law for the structural relaxation time. We critically discuss claims in favor of a growing static length and argue that the resulting scenarios for pinning and dielectric relaxation are in fact compatible with dynamic facilitation.