Orientational freezing in three dimensions: Mean-field theory

Abstract

An analysis of orientational order in dense, three-dimensional liquids is presented. The alignment of neighboring regions of local orientational order with both icosahedral and cubic symmetry is studied with the use of mean-field theory. The theory predicts a first-order transition to a phase which possesses long-range orientational order but no translational order. This is the phase which appears to have been seen in recent computer simulations of a supercooled liquid.