Materials Science Forum, Vol.373-3, 111-116, 2001
Phase transformations and phase transitions in glass-forming liquids and disordered spin systems
The communication includes results of investigations of the inhomogeneities of glass-forming liquids and glasses, and their manifestations in properties of glassy magnets. Mesoscopic inhomogeneities of liquid state are treated as heterophase fluctuations (HPF). Ginsburg-Landau (GL) equations for the HPF are obtained. The correlation length of the HPF order parameter is calculated. It is a natural characteristic scale of the inhomogeneities. Mesoscopic compositional and topologic disorder of a glass is inherited by its spin system. Phase transitions of the spin system with the disorder which is enforced by the inhomogeneities are investigated using known approaches (see [1-3]). The Griffiths phase formation above the temperature of the transition of paramagnetic-to-ferromagnetic (or to spin glass) phase is unavoidable in magnetic glasses as a result of the HPF in the liquid state.
Keywords:magnetic glasses;heterophase fluctuations;Ginzburg-Landau approach;glassy ferromagnets;Griffiths phase