CLUSTER APPROACH TO GELS AND GLASSES

A percolation theory is presented to describe the dynamics of the sol-gel
transition[1]. The same approach at mean field level is shown to describe
also the dynamical critical behavior predicted by mode coupling theory
(MCT) for the continuous glass transition[2]. A similar approach is
extended to MCT for the discontinuous glass transition, more appropriate
to describe the standard molecular glass transition. It is shown that the
relevant model now is given by Bootstrap Percolation. This approach will
provide a geometrical and physical interpretation of the critical
exponents, elucidating the scaling laws and the universal aspect of MCT. \\

[1] A. Fierro, T. Abete and A. Coniglio, J. Chem. Phys. 131, (2009) 194906.

[2] J..J. Arenzon, A. Coniglio A. Fierro, and M. Sellitto. Phys. Rev. 90,
(2014) 020301(R)