Local order evolution of liquid Cu during glass transition under different pressures: A molecular dynamics study

Based on the second-moment approximation of tight-binding scheme, constant-pressure molecular dynamics simulations are performed for liquid Cu during the glass transition under different pressures. By means of pair analysis technique and bond orientational order analysis we find that the dominant bond pairs are those related to fcc and hcp crystalline order not those representing icosahedral short-range order (ISRO) when the systems enter into glass transition region. Although these two kinds of bond pairs compete with each other, the system tends towards a mixture of crystalline bond pairs during glass formation. The effect on various bond pairs brought about by higher pressure is much less for liquids than for glasses. The experimental observation of a shoulder on the second peak of the structure factor for supercooled liquids might not merely attribute to ISRO, since supercooled liquid Cu exhibits such a shoulder, but does not display an enhanced icosahedral symmetry.