Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics Journal Club

An exact solution of a Landau model of an order-disorder transition with activated critical dynamics is presented. The model describes a funnel-shaped topology of the order parameter space in which the number of energy lowering trajectories rapidly diminishes as the ordered ground state is approached. This leads to an asymmetry in the effective transition rates which results in a nonexponential relaxation of the order-parameter fluctuations and a Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann divergence of the relaxation times, typical of a glass transition. We argue that the Landau model provides a general framework for studying glassy dynamics in a variety of systems.

Reference: Satya N. Majumdar, Dibyendu Das, Jané Kondev, and Bulbul Chakraborty; Phys. Rev. E 70, 060501(R) (2004).