Science, Vol.275, No.5308, 1925-1927, 1997
Origin of the High-Frequency Doublet in the Vibrational-Spectrum of Vitreous SiO2
The vibrational properties of amorphous SiO2 were studied within first-principles density functional theory. The calculated spectrum is in good agreement with neutron data, showing, in particular, a double peak in the high-frequency region. This doublet results from different local modes of the tetrahedral subunits and cannot be ascribed to a longitudinal-optic-transverse-optic (LO-TO) effect. This solves a long-standing controversy about the origin of the doublet in neutron spectra. A LO-TO splitting is recovered only when the long-wavelength limit is probed, as in optical experiments. These findings should be a general feature of tetrahedral AX(2) amorphous networks.
Keywords:MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS;ALPHA-QUARTZ;AMORPHOUS SIO2;GLASSES;SILICA;RAMAN;SPLITTINGS;NEUTRON;PHONONS;DENSITY