Growing length scales in a supercooled liquid close to an interface

We present the results of molecular dynamics computer simulations of a simple glass former close to an interface between the liquid and the frozen amorphous phase of the same material. By investigating F-s(q,z,t) incoherent intermediate scattering function for particles that have a distance : from the wall, we show that the relaxation dynamics of the particles close to the wall are much slower than those for particles far away from the wall. For small z the typical relaxation time for F-s(q,z,t) increases as exp [Delta /(z - z(p))], where Delta and z(p) are constants. We use the location of the crossover from this law to the bulk behaviour to define a first length scale -. A different length scale is defined by considering the Ansatz F-s(q,z, t) = F-s(bulk) (q,t) + a(t) exp{-[z/xi(t)](3(t))}, where alpha(t), xi(t) and beta(t) are fit parameters. We show that this Ansatz gives a very good description of the data for all times and all values of z. The length xi(t) increases for short and intermediate times and decreases again on the time scale of the alpha relaxation of the system. The maximum value of xi(t) can thus be defined as a new length scale xi(max). We find that z as well as ximax increase with decreasing temperature. The temperature dependence of this increase is compatible with a divergence of the length scale at the Kauzmann temperature of the bulk system.