Superior glass-forming ability and its correlation with density in Ce-Ga-Cu ternary bulk metallic glasses

► Ce-Ga-Cu alloys were discovered with superior GFA in ternary alloy system. ► A consistent relation between GFA and density is observed. ► Chemical interaction of atoms plays a significant role in atomic packing and glass forming of alloys. ► The general reason why it is hard to observe the density dependent GFA in metallic glasses is explained.