Comptes Rendus
no. S1
The RFOT Theory of Glasses: Recent Progress and Open Issues
[La théorie RFOT des verres : progrès récents et problèmes ouverts]
Giulio Biroli1  ; Jean-Philippe Bouchaud2
1 Laboratoire de Physique de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure, ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, F-75005 Paris, France
2 CFM, 23 rue de l’Université, F-75007 Paris, France, & Académie des Sciences, Quai de Conti, F-75006 Paris, France
Comptes Rendus. Physique, Volume 24 (2023) no. S1, pp. 9-23.

La théorie RFOT des verres a été initiée par les travaux de Kirkpatrick, Thirumalai & Wolynes. Elle s’appuie sur des méthodes récentes de la théorie des systèmes désordonnés. La théorie RFOT décrit remarquablement bien toute la phénoménologie des liquides surfondus. Cependant, aucun résultat expérimental n’a encore confirmé la théorie de manière directe et indiscutable. Dans ce bref article de revue, nous discutons les travaux récents qui sont en accord avec tous les aspects thermodynamiques de la théorie, mais aussi ceux pour lesquels l’extension dynamique de celle-ci semble en difficulté, en particulier concernant les effets de facilitation. Nous proposons des voies de résolution possibles, ainsi que certains problèmes ouverts.

The Random First Order Transition (RFOT) theory started with the pioneering work of Kirkpatrick, Thirumalai and Wolynes. It leverages methods and advances of the theory of disordered systems. It fares remarkably well at reproducing the salient experimental facts of super-cooled liquids. Yet, direct and indisputable experimental validations are missing. In this short survey, we will review recent investigations that broadly support all static aspects of RFOT, but also those for which the standard dynamical extension of the theory appears to be struggling, in particular in relation with facilitation effects. We discuss possible solutions and open issues.

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DOI : 10.5802/crphys.136
Keywords: Theory of glasses, Cooperative Dynamics, Random First Order Transition, Non-linear susceptibility, Activated processes, Super-cooled liquids, glass transitions
Mot clés : Théorie des verres, Dynamique coopérative, Transition du premier ordre aléatoire, Susceptibilité non-lineaire, Processus activés, Liquides confondus, transition vitreuse
Giulio Biroli 1 ; Jean-Philippe Bouchaud 2

1 Laboratoire de Physique de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure, ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, F-75005 Paris, France
2 CFM, 23 rue de l’Université, F-75007 Paris, France, & Académie des Sciences, Quai de Conti, F-75006 Paris, France
Licence : CC-BY 4.0
Droits d'auteur : Les auteurs conservent leurs droits 
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Giulio Biroli; Jean-Philippe Bouchaud. The RFOT Theory of Glasses: Recent Progress and Open Issues. Comptes Rendus. Physique, Volume 24 (2023) no. S1, pp. 9-23. doi : 10.5802/crphys.136. https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/physique/articles/10.5802/crphys.136/

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