Impulsive stimulated thermal scattering study of structural relaxation in supercooled glycerol

Abstract
Impulsive stimulated thermal scattering (ISTS) studies are conducted on glycerol in the supercooled liquid range. ISTS is used to measure the Debye–Waller factor, and to characterize the structural relaxation dynamics in the range from a few nanoseconds to hundreds of microseconds. The results are compared to predictions of mode-coupling theory (MCT), and suggest that inclusion of important microscopic degrees of freedom may be needed for MCT to successfully describe hydrogen-bonded liquids like glycerol.