Quantitative Analysis of Boson Peak Dynamics of Glass Formers Based on Heterogeneous Elasticity Theory

We quantitatively evaluated the behavior of the boson peak (BP), which is the universal excitation in the terahertz region of glass-forming materials, using heterogeneous elasticity theory. By solving the coherent potential approximation equation for the shear modulus, we extracted the nanoscale mechanical properties of glasses and investigated the physical origin of the determinants of BP. Furthermore, terahertz spectroscopy could become a new application for evaluating nanoscale elastic heterogeneity in glasses when the interaction between BP and terahertz light is fully understood.