Influence of structural relaxation on the low-temperature properties of glassy metals

The thermal conductivity κ of glassy metals is shown to change reversibly with heat treatment at temperatures TA near the glass transition. If the change in κ is interpreted as resulting from a change in the density n(E) of the two-level states found in amorphous solids, the observed dependence of n(E) on TA is in qualitative agreement with a prediction of a free-volume model for the glass transition.