On the physical mechanisms of relaxation time distribution in disordered dielectrics

The distribution function of relaxation times in disordered dielectrics has been calculated in the random field theory framework. For this purpose, we first consider the dynamics of single two-orientable impurity electric dipole in a random electric field $E$ created by the rest of impurities in disordered ferroelectric. This dynamics is conveniently described by Langevin equation. Relaxation time $\tau $ is then a reciprocal probability (calculated on the base of Fokker-Planck equation) of the dipole transition through barrier in a double-well potential (corresponding to two possible dipole orientations), distorted by a random fields. The obtained dependence $\tau (E)$ made it possible to obtain the expression for relaxation times distribution function $F(\tau)$(via random fields distribution function $f(E)$. Latter function has been calculated self-consistently in the random field theory framework. Nonlinear random field contribution and effects of spatial correlations between impurities have also been taken into account. It was shown that nonlinear contribution of random field gives asymmetric shape of $F(\tau)$, while in linear case it is symmetric. Comparison of calculated $F(\tau)$ curves with those extracted from empirical Cole-Cole (CC), Davidson-Cole (DC), Kohlrausch-William-Watts (KWW) and Havriliak-Negami (HN) functions had shown, that they correspond to mixed ferro-glass phase with coexistence of short and long-range order. Different forms of $F(\tau)$ are determined by linear (CC) or nonlinear (DC, KWW, HN) contributions of random field.