Related papers: Incompatible sets of gradients and metastability
This paper extends our earlier studies of free energy functions of density and crystalline order parameters for models of supercooled water, which allows us to examine the possibility of two distinct metastable liquid phases [J. Chem. Phys.…
We apply a recently developed theory for metastability in open quantum systems to a one-dimensional dissipative quantum Ising model. Earlier results suggest this model features either a non-equilibrium phase transition or a smooth but sharp…
We study a coupled dynamics of a network and a particle system. Particles of density $\rho$ diffuse freely along edges, each of which is rewired at a rate given by a decreasing function of particle flux. We find that the coupled dynamics…
A system of a metastable phase with a pseudo continuous set of the heterogeneous centers is considered. An analytical theory for kinetics of decay of the metastable phase in such a system is constructed. The free energy of formation of a…
A system of metastable plus unstable states is discussed. The mass matrix governing the time development of the system is supposed to vary slowly with time. The adiabatic limit for this case is studied and it is shown that only the…
Current measurements of Standard Model parameters suggest that the electroweak vacuum is metastable. This metastability has important cosmological implications, because large fluctuations in the Higgs field could trigger vacuum decay in the…
Phase transitions impose topological constraints on thermodynamic state variables, masking energetic fluctuations at the phase boundary. This constraint is most apparent in melting systems, where temperature remains pinned despite continued…
A two-dimensional bistable lattice is a periodic triangular network of non-linear bi-stable rods. The energy of each rod is piecewise quadratic and has two minima. Consequently, a rod undergoes a reversible phase transition when its…
By analytically solving some simple models of phase-ordering kinetics, we suggest a mechanism for the onset of non-equilibrium behaviour in colloid-polymer mixtures. These mixtures can function as models of atomic systems; their physics…
We develop a statistical physics theory for solid-solid phase transitions in which a metamaterial undergoes longitudinal contraction in response to increase in external tension. Such transitions, which are forbidden in thermodynamic…
This paper provides an overview of the research on the metastable behavior of the Ising model. We analyze the transition times from the set of metastable states to the set of the stable states by identifying the critical configurations that…
Phase transitions into a new phase that is itself metastable are common; instead of the equilibrium phase nucleating a metastable phase does so. When this occurs the system is sometimes said to be obeying Ostwald's rule. We show how this…
This paper proposes a phase space to compare the static packings of a granular system compatible to a macrostate that is set by the external stress. The nature of this phase space is analyzed, showing that the consideration of the allowed…
We present a linear stability analysis to demonstrate that a flat coherent phase boundary formed by the (de)intercalation of solutes into a compound is unstable against perturbations with wavelengths larger than a critical wavelength. This…
The equilibrium behavior of binary mixtures can be understood through the competition of energy scales, which classifies their corresponding phase diagrams into distinct topological regimes (Types I-IV). However, in many soft-matter…
Metastable phases may be spontaneously formed from other metastable phases through nucleation. Here we demonstrate the spontaneous formation of a metastable phase from an unstable equilibrium by spinodal decomposition, which leads to a…
The preferential formation of one solid over the other, as it precipitates out from the melt at specific temperatures, is often explained by invoking a competition between thermodynamic and kinetic control. A quantitative theory, however,…
We investigate the metastability associated with the first order transition from normal to superfluid phases in the phase diagram of two-component polarised Fermi gases.We begin by detailing the dominant decay processes of single…
In systems characterized by a rough potential energy landscape, local energetic minima and saddles define a network of metastable states whose topology strongly influences the dynamics. Changes in temperature, causing the merging and…
We investigate a variational theory for magnetoelastic solids under the incompressibility constraint. The state of the system is described by deformation and magnetization. While the former is classically related to the reference…