Relaxation of dynamically correlated clusters

In the frame of a new probabilistic approach to relaxation, the scenario of relaxation leading to the Havriliak-Negami and Kohlrausch Williams-Watts responses of complex systems is presented. In this approach the macroscopic laws are related to the micro/mesoscopic stochastic characteristics of the relaxing systems. This provides a rigorous formulation of the energy-criterion argument, introduced by Jonscher to explain the commonly observed high-frequency fractional power law. The presented considerations reinforce the physical significance of the empirically found forms of relaxation, and open a new line of analysis of relaxation phenomena. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.