Related papers: Incompatible sets of gradients and metastability
A simple model of inelastic hard-rods subject to a one-dimensional array of identical wells is introduced. The energy loss due to inelastic collisions is balanced by the work supplied by an external stochastic heat-bath. We explore the…
Metastability is a physical phenomenon ubiquitous in first order phase transitions. A fruitful mathematical way to approach this phenomenon is the study of rare transitions Markov chains. For Metropolis chains associated with Statistical…
Discontinuous quantum phase transitions and the associated metastability play central roles in diverse areas of physics ranging from ferromagnetism to false vacuum decay in the early universe. Using strongly-interacting ultracold atoms in…
We consider the dynamics of a periodic chain of N coupled overdamped particles under the influence of noise. Each particle is subjected to a bistable local potential, to a linear coupling with its nearest neighbours, and to an independent…
The presence of multiple stable states and associated nonlinear phenomena, such as hysteresis, in multistable mechanical metamaterials enables frequency-independent energy harvesting and shock absorption. This study focuses on shock…
The dynamics of active matter driven by interacting molecular motors has a non-potential structure at the local scale. However, we show that there exists a quasi-potential effectively describing the collective self-organization of the…
A relativistic system of electrically charged fermions and oppositely charged massive scalars with no self-interactions, is argued to have a long-lived collective state with a net charge. The charge is residing near the surface of the…
When setup/hold times of bistable elements are violated, they may become metastable, i.e., enter a transient state that is neither digital 0 nor 1. In general, metastability cannot be avoided, a problem that manifests whenever taking…
A non-isothermal phase field model that captures both displacive and diffusive phase transformations in a unified framework is presented. The model is developed in a formal thermodynamic setting, which provides guidance on admissible…
The phase transition kinetics in three phase systems was investigated using the numerically efficient cell dynamics method. A phasefield model with a simple analytical free energy and single order parameter was used to study the kinetics…
Metastability appears when a thermodynamic system, such as supercooled water (which is liquid below freezing temperature), lands on the "wrong" side of a phase transition, and remains for a very long time in a state different from its…
During the phase transitions, diverse states evolve with multiplex phenomena arising from the critical competition. In this study, a displacive martensitic transformation with a lattice shear distortion was unexpectedly observed at the…
In order to understand the conditions which lead a highly magnetized, relativistic plasma to become unstable, and in such cases how the plasma evolves, we study a prototypical class of magnetostatic equilibria where the magnetic field…
This letter investigates the molecular dynamics of inelastic disks without external forcing. By introducing a new observation frame with a rescaled time, we observe the virtual steady states converted from asymptotic energy dissipation…
We consider the stochastic evolution of a (1 + 1)-dimensional polymer in the depinned regime. At equilibrium the system exhibits a double well structure: the polymer lies(essentially) either above or below the repulsive line. As a…
The formation of plasma crystals confined in an external one-dimensional parabolic potential well is simulated for a normal experimental environment employing a computer code called BOXITREE. Under appropriate conditions, crystals were…
The microscopic mechanisms involved in the formation/dissociation of methane hydrate confined at the nanometer scale are unraveled using advanced molecular modeling techniques combined with a mesoscale thermodynamic approach. By means of…
When tensioned, ordinary materials expand along the direction of the applied force. Here, we explore network concepts to design metamaterials exhibiting negative compressibility transitions, during which a material undergoes contraction…
Experimental data suggest that the Higgs potential has a lower ground state at high field values. Consequently, decaying from the electroweak to the true vacuum nucleates bubbles that expand rapidly and can have dire consequences for our…
Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are soft phase-changing solids that exhibit large reversible contractions upon heating, Goldstone-like soft modes and resultant microstructural instabilities. We heat a planar LCE slab to isotropic, clamp…