Spatial Structures and Dynamics of Kinetically Constrained Models of Glasses

Kob and Andersen's simple lattice models for the dynamics of structural glasses are analyzed. Although the particles have only hard core interactions, the imposed constraint that they cannot move if surrounded by too many others causes slow dynamics. On Bethe lattices, a dynamical transition to a partially frozen phase occurs. In finite dimensions there exist rare mobile elements that destroy the transition. At low vacancy density v, the spacing Xi between mobile elements diverges exponentially or faster in 1/v. Within the mobile elements, the dynamics is intrinsically cooperative, and the characteristic time scale diverges faster than any power of 1/v (although slower than Xi). The tagged-particle diffusion coefficient vanishes roughly as Xi(-d).