Kinetic explanation of the glass transition

Determine whether the glass transition can be explained by a purely kinetic or dynamical theory based on facilitated dynamics and kinetically constrained models, without requiring an underlying thermodynamic singularity.

Background

The paper presents the glass transition as a phenomenon in which viscosity increases by many orders of magnitude over a relatively narrow temperature range. It argues that the relevant timescale may be governed primarily by the frequency of dynamical events rather than by a free-energy landscape alone.

The authors propose that facilitated-dynamics and kinetically constrained models may provide a fundamentally frenetic account of the transition, while explicitly acknowledging that this interpretation remains unresolved. The open issue is whether a purely kinetic mechanism is sufficient, or whether a thermodynamic singularity must also be invoked.