Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 167802 (2007) [4 pages]Molecular Theory of Physical Aging in Polymer GlassesReceived 25 January 2007; published 20 April 2007 A molecular level theory for the physical aging of polymer glasses is proposed. The nonequilibrium time evolution of the amplitude of long wavelength density fluctuations, and its influence on activated barrier hopping, plays an essential role. The theory predicts temperature-dependent apparent power-law aging of the segmental relaxation time and logarithmic aging of thermodynamiclike properties, in good accord with experiments. A physical origin for the quantitative nonuniversal aspects based on the amplitude of quenched density fluctuations is suggested. © 2007 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.167802
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.167802
PACS:
61.25.Hq, 64.70.Pf, 81.40.Cd
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