Collective dynamics of liquid sulfur scrutinized over three decades in frequency

Liquid sulfur consists mainly of eight-membered rings and hence can be regarded as a model of a molecular liquid. A liquid, which is built from different molecular structures, will demonstrate a wide range in relaxation processes and excitation modes. Three inelastic neutron scattering experiments have been performed to study the collective dynamics of liquid sulfur over three decades in frequencies. A wide range of wave vectors was studied to reveal the response of density fluctuations over different lengthscales. A viscoelastic model with a two-times memory function was applied to the data. The analysis revealed a slow relaxation mode, an acoustic-type excitation, and a high-frequency mode, which resembles an optic-type excitation. The wave-vector dependence of the slow relaxation mode width exhibits the signs of a de Gennes narrowing around the wave vector where the structure factor has a shoulder. This slow relaxation process could be related to diffusive particle movements. The acoustic-type modes evidence a viscoelastic reaction with a 50% enhancement of the sound velocity. This enhancement of the sound velocity and the spectral line shape is qualitatively similar to spectra of molecular liquids. The two relaxation times of the memory function are separated by about two orders of magnitude and underpin the need for a wide frequency range investigation of this complex liquid. The high-frequency response can be interpreted as optic-type modes in the liquid.