Related papers: Ice structures, patterns, and processes: A view ac…
We will show that the complex shapes of snow crystals can be explained from a simple basic mechanism that is also responsible for the appearance of many others structures in nature. We expect that this new physical mechanism, that follows…
This article addresses broad trends in interdisciplinary research in physics where interactions with colleagues in fields such as computer science, ecology, or economics can often be derailed by unintentional clashes of methodologies and…
I review (1) Physics of Star Formation & Open Questions; (2) Structure & Dynamics of Star-Forming Clouds & Young Clusters; (3) Star Formation Rates: Observations & Theoretical Implications.
Grains of ice are formed spontaneously when water vapor is injected into a weakly-ionized laboratory plasma in which the background gas has been cooled to cryogenic temperatures comparable to those of deep space. These ice grains are…
Water is one of the most abundant substances on Earth, and ice, i.e., solid water, has more than 18 known phases. Normally ice in nature exists only as Ice Ih, Ice Ic, or a stacking disordered mixture of both. Although many theoretical…
The geophysics of extrasolar planets is a scientific topic often regarded as standing largely beyond the reach of near-term observations. This reality in no way diminishes the central role of geophysical phenomena in shaping planetary…
Complex systems are characterized by specific time-dependent interactions among their many constituents. As a consequence they often manifest rich, non-trivial and unexpected behavior. Examples arise both in the physical and non-physical…
Detailed characterization of an extrasolar planet's atmosphere provides the best hope for distinguishing the makeup of its outer layers, and the only hope for understanding the interplay between initial composition, chemistry, dynamics &…
Water/solid interfaces are relevant to a broad range of physicochemical phenomena and technological processes such as corrosion, lubrication, heterogeneous catalysis and electrochemistry. Although many fields have contributed to rapid…
Context. The gas and ice-grain chemistry of the pre-stellar core L1544 has been the subject of several observations and modelling studies conducted in the past years. The chemical composition of the ice mantles reflects the environmental…
We argue for a convergence of crystallography, materials science and biology, that will come about through asking materials questions about biology and biological questions about materials, illuminated by considerations of information. The…
Experiments and computer simulations have established that liquid water's surfaces can deviate in important ways from familiar bulk behavior. Even in the simplest case of an air-water interface, distinctive layering, orientational biases,…
Aequous dielectrics are ubiquitous in soft- and bio-nano matter systems. The theoretical description of such systems in terms of continuum (`macroscopic') theory remains a serious challenge. In this perspective we first review the existing…
Network theory provides various tools for investigating the structural or functional topology of many complex systems found in nature, technology and society. Nevertheless, it has recently been realised that a considerable number of systems…
Whether ice in cold cosmic environments is physically separated from the silicate dust or mixed with individual silicate moieties is not known. However, different grain models give very different compositions and temperatures of grains. The…
Some microbes appear to be able to metabolize in glacial ice or permafrost. The rate depends on temperature, nutrient level, and bioelement availability, among other factors. I have developed a plausible argument that they do this while…
We briefly review some of the scientific challenges and epistemological issues related to climate science. We discuss the formulation and testing of theories and numerical models, which, given the presence of unavoidable uncertainties in…
The ever-expanding catalog of detected super-Earths calls for theoretical studies of their properties in the case of a substantial water layer. This work considers such water planets with a range of masses and water mass fractions (2 to 5…
This paper reviews the new highly interdisciplinary research field studying the behavior of condensed matter systems exposed to radiation. The paper highlights several relevant examples of recent advances in the field and provides a roadmap…
This chapter provides an overview of the basic concepts foundational to atmospheric physics and chemistry. We discuss the retention of atmospheres against thermal evaporation and the global energy balance of planets. We present simple…