Extended-range propagated order in amorphous solids

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Abstract
Atomic density fluctuations, extending to at least 35 AA, have been discovered in a large (13824 atom) model of amorphous silicon (a-Si). This extended-range structural order has been found, in the case of a-Si, to arise from second-neighbour correlations preferentially propagating atomic-density fluctuations. The period of such low-amplitude, extended-range oscillations in atomic density, namely approximately=3.4 AA in the case of a-Si, is that associated with the position of the first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP), namely approximately=1.9 AA-1; indeed, the extended real-space fluctuations for r>10 AA contribute almost as significantly to the intensity of the FSDP as do the much stronger, but less periodic, correlations in the range 0-10 AA.
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