From Supercooled Liquids to RFOT

In the introductory chapter we focused on the supercooled and deeply supercooled branches in Fig. 1.1, as a way to properly introduce the phenomenon of the glassy slowdown, the fundamental notion ofmetastable glassy state, and lay the groundwork for the discussion of the Random First Order Theory of the glassy slowdown which this thesis is based upon. This discussion takes place in the present chapter. We introduce the basics of RFOT, which posits that the slowdown of the dynamics in the glassy regime can be explained in terms of the insurgence of a great number of metastable glassy states, which trap the dynamics and hamper structural relaxation, thereby forcing the glass former in a metastable, out-of-equilibrium glass. We proceed by giving some arguments in support of the RFOT picture, in light of the phenomenology of the glassy slowdown discussed earlier. We then review summarily the RFOT picture over the course of a conceptual cooling experiment on a generic glass former, also discussing the possibility or necessity of an ideal glass transition. We conclude the chapter with a brief review of some other approaches to the glass problem.