Communications: Comparison of activation barriers for the Johari-Goldstein and alpha relaxations and its implications

The range of activation barrier heights for the Johari-Goldstein (JG) relaxation in glasses is shown to overlap the range for the main (alpha) relaxation, but to be on the average somewhat lower. This suggests the JG relaxation, like the alpha, involve transitions between megabasins in the energy landscape, and that the original conjecture by Johari and this author that the JG relaxation is an intrabasin one cannot be correct. A further possibility is that there is a closer connection of the JG relaxation to the phenomenon of dynamic heterogeneity in supercooled liquids than so far assumed.