Related papers: Spontaneous second order phase transition. Amorpho…
Recently, a model of opinion formation with kinetic exchanges has been proposed in which a spontaneous symmetry breaking transition was reported [M. Lallouache et al, Phys. Rev. E, {\bf 82} 056112 (2010)]. We generalise the model to…
Some deterministic cellular automata have been observed to follow the pattern of the second law of thermodynamics: starting from a partially disordered state, the system evolves towards a state of equilibrium characterized by maximal…
Fluctuations from a hydrodynamic limit of a one-dimensional asymmetric system come at two levels. On the central limit scale n^{1/2} one sees initial fluctuations transported along characteristics and no dynamical noise. The second order of…
The quench dynamics of systems exhibiting cooperative or almost competitive orders in equilibrium are explored using Ginzburg-Landau theory plus fluctuations. We show that when the renormalization of the free energy by fluctuations is taken…
In a system of interdependent networks, an initial failure of nodes invokes a cascade of iterative failures that may lead to a total collapse of the whole system in a form of an abrupt first order transition. When the fraction of initial…
Some important rigorous results on phase transitions accompanied by the spontaneous breaking of symmetries in statistical mechanics and relativistic quantum field theory are reviewed. Basic ideas, mainly inspired by quantum field theory,…
We study various dynamical aspects of systems possessing a first order phase transition in their phase diagram. We isolate three qualitatively distinct types of theories depending on the structure of instabilities and the nature of the low…
Dynamical phase transitions (DPTs) in the space of trajectories are one of the most intriguing phenomena of nonequilibrium physics, but their nature in realistic high-dimensional systems remains puzzling. Here we observe for the first time…
Both quantum phase transitions and thermodynamic phase transitions are probably induced by fluctuations, yet the specific mechanism through which fluctuations cause phase transitions remains unclear in existing theories. This paper…
Boltzmann's entropy is slightly modified to make it suitable for discussing phase transitions in finite systems. As an example it is shown that the pendulum undergoes a second order phase transition when passing from a vibrational to a…
It is a well-known empirical phenomenon that natural axiomatic theories are pre-well-ordered by consistency strength. Without a precise mathematical definition of "natural," it is unclear how to study this phenomenon mathematically. We will…
The Landau theory of phase transitions has been productively applied to phase transitions that involve rotational symmetry breaking, such as the transition from an isotropic fluid to a nematic liquid crystal. It even can be applied to the…
The Landau theory of phase transitions has been re-examined under the framework of a modified mean field theory in ferroelectrics. By doing so, one can see that there are two atomic movements involved in the ferroelectric phase transition;…
This paper looks at the early theory of phase transitions. It considers a group of related concepts derived from condensed matter and statistical physics. The key technical ideas here go under the names of "singularity", "order parameter",…
We introduce a condition for an ensemble of networked phase oscillators to feature an abrupt, first-order phase transition from an unsynchronized to a synchronized state. This condition is met in a very wide spectrum of situations, and for…
We consider a two-dimensional athermal binary mixture of Lennard-Jones particles with persistent random active forces. The liquid phase of this system for active forces exceeding a threshold value exhibits self-organization with long-range…
Mean-field theories of the glass transition predict a phase transition to a dynamically arrested state, yet no such transition is observed in experiments or simulations of finite-dimensional systems. We resolve this long-standing…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking in systems with symmetry is a cornerstone phenomenon accompanying second-order phase transitions. Here, we predict the opposite phenomenon, namely, spontaneous symmetry emergence in a system that lacks…
A granular system confined in a quasi two-dimensional box that is vertically vibrated can transit to an absorbing state in which all particles bounce vertically in phase with the box, with no horizontal motion. In principle, this state can…
A rich variety of amorphous solids are found in nature and technology, including ones formed via the vulcanization of long, flexible molecules. A special class -- those featuring a wide gap between the long timescales over which constraints…