CONFIGURATION DYNAMICS IN A SIMULATED FINITE-TEMPERATURE TRANSITION-METAL GLASS

The dynamics of configurations and of `nearest-neighbour' relations are investigated for an amorphous metallic alloy by molecular dynamics computer simulations covering the whole range of temperatures up into the liquid state. The configuration dynamics are expressed in terms of nearest-neighbour auto-correlation functions, where at finite temperatures `nearest neighbours' are defined with regard to the force-free configuration closest to the actual atomic arrangement. Results are presented for an atomistic model adapted to the recent hybridized nearly-free-electron tight-binding-bond description of Ni0.5Zr0.5. The results agree well with the predictions of the extended mode-coupling theory for the time dependence of density fluctuations and related properties around the glass liquid transition in `real' systems.