Scattering of plane-wave atomic vibrations in disordered structures

A theoretical analysis of the scattering of plane-wave atomic excitations in disordered solids has been made in terms of the spectral densities. Hybridization between transverse and longitudinal waves of approximately the same frequency is demonstrated. The analytic results agree well with the results obtained from computer simulation for a toy linear zig-zag chain model and a model of vitreous silica constructed by molecular dynamics.