Anharmonic dynamics in crystalline, glassy, and supercooled-liquid glycerol: A case study on the onset of relaxational behavior

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the spectral distributions of the glass, crystalline, and supercooled-liquid phases of glycerol is investigated by means of neutron inelastic scattering. The importance of anharmonic effects is quantified by the temperature dependence of reduced spectral frequency moments. The onset of relaxational (i.e., stochastic, zero-frequency) motions in the supercooled liquid state is monitored by neutron quasielastic scattering. A substantial deviation of the observed linewidths from the hydrodynamic prescription is observed and is interpreted at a microscopic level, by comparison with the crystalline phase.