Related papers: Spontaneous second order phase transition. Amorpho…
This paper explain the existence of a particular formal model (drew from Theoretical Astrophysics) whose thermodynamical phenomenology shows a possible second order phase transition (according to Landau's Thermodynamical Theory) that seems…
A thermodynamic-like formalism is developed for superstatistical systems based on conditional entropies. This theory takes into account large-scale variations of intensive variables of systems in nonequilibrium stationary states. Ordinary…
Phase transitions not allowed in equilibrium steady states may happen however at the fluctuating level. We observe for the first time this striking and general phenomenon measuring current fluctuations in an isolated diffusive system. While…
The possibility is investigated that competition between fluctuations at different symmetry-related ordering wave vectors may affect the quantum phase transition between a fermi liquid and a longitudinal spin density wave state, in…
Transition from bending-dominated to stretching-dominated elastic response in semi-flexible fibrous networks plays an important role in the mechanical behavior of cells and tissues. It is induced by changes in network connectivity and…
The mean field theory is revisited in the classical and quantum mechanical limits. Taking into account the boundary conditions at the phase transition and the third law of the thermodynamics the physical properties of the ordered and…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a well-understood mechanism for generating distinct phases of matter. Recently, the notion of symmetry has been broadened to include operations without inverses, leading to the concept of non-invertible…
To provide a phenomenological theory for the various interesting transitions in restructuring networks we employ a statistical mechanical approach with detailed balance satisfied for the transitions between topological states. This enables…
We propose Landau phenomenology for describing the phase transition from the conventional nematic into the conical helical orientationally non-uniform structure recently identified in liquid crystals formed by "banana"-shaped molecules. The…
Percolation theory characterizing the robustness of a network has applications ranging from biology, to epidemic spreading, and complex infrastructures. Percolation theory, however, only concern the typical response of a infinite network to…
Structure-forming systems are ubiquitous in nature, ranging from atoms building molecules to self-assembly of colloidal amphibolic particles. The understanding of the underlying thermodynamics of such systems remains an important problem.…
We consider non-equilibrium phenomena in a very simple model that displays a zero-temperature first-order phase transition. The quantum Ising model with a four-spin exchange is adopted as a general representative of first-order quantum…
Using results from sheaf theory combined with the phenomenological theory of the two-dimensional superfluid, the precipitation of quantum vortices is shown to be the genesis of a macroscopic order parameter for a phase transition in two…
There is only limited experimental evidence for the existence in nature of phase transitions of Ehrenfest order greater than two. However, there is no physical reason for their non-existence, and such transitions certainly exist in a number…
We show that a first-order phase transition can take place in a metal in a strong magnetic field if an electron Landau level approaches the Fermi energy of the metal. This transition is due to the electron-phonon interaction and is…
Landau theory relates phase transitions to the minimization of the Landau functional (e.g., free energy functional), which is expressed as a power series of the order parameter. It has been shown that the critical behavior of certain…
A quenched second order phase transition is modeled by an effective $\Phi^4$-theory with a time-dependent Hamiltonian $\hat{H} (t)$, whose symmetry is broken spontaneously in time. The quantum field evolves out of equilibrium…
The most important recent results in the theory of phase transitions and quantum effects in quantum anharmonic crystals are presented and discussed. In particular, necessary and sufficient conditions for a phase transition to occur at some…
In previous papers we have introduced a natural nonequilibrium free energy by considering the functional describing the large fluctuations of stationary nonequilibrium states. While in equilibrium this functional is always convex, in…
We define an entropy for a quantum field theory by combining quantum fluctuations, scaling and the maximum entropy concept. This entropy has different behavior in asymptotically free and non--asymptotically free theories. We find that the…