Temperature dependent evolution of dynamic heterogeneity in metallic glass.

Substantial efforts in theoretical and experimental studies have demonstrated that the dynamics in supercooled liquids is spatially heterogeneous. However, a complete description concerning the dynamic heterogeneity evolution from liquid to rigid glass is still lacking. Here, by a combining study of the dynamic and static mechanical responses, we quantify the characterization of dynamic heterogeneity and its temperature evolution spanning an unprecedented broad temperature range in metallic glass. We show that the dynamic heterogeneity persists from the warm liquid state into the rigid glassy state and becomes progressively pronounced with cooling, accompanied by increasing breadth of the relaxation rate dispersion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]