Physical aging effect on the boson peak and heterogeneous nanostructure of a silicate glass

The effect of physical aging on a silicate glass has been investigated by low-frequency Raman scattering. It was observed that the low-frequency side of the excess of Raman scattering, or boson peak, due to harmonic vibration modes decreases in intensity with the thermal annealing (aging) at a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature (Tg), after quenching (rejuvenation) from a temperature higher than Tg. Moreover, it was found that the lowering of the very low-frequency scattering mainly due to anharmonic modes becomes more pronounced when the aging temperature is decreased. These observations are interpreted in the frame of the energy landscape, and by considering the model of the glass heterogeneous cohesion at the nanometric scale.