Related papers: Melting of the two-dimensional solid phase in the …
We report the observation of the transition from an ordered solid-like phase to a disordered liquid-like phase of a lattice of spikes on a ferrofluid surface submitted to horizontal sinusoidal vibrations. The melting transition occurs for a…
We consider simulations of Wigner crystals interacting with random quenched disorder in the presence of thermal fluctuations. When quenched disorder is absent, there is a well defined melting temperature determined by the proliferation of…
We study the quantum fidelity approach to characterize thermal phase transitions. Specifically, we focus on the mixed-state fidelity induced by a perturbation in temperature. We consider the behavior of fidelity in two types of second-order…
A microscopic picture of the ``preparation'' of a crystal to the transition to liquid state at the approach to melting temperature is proposed. Basing on simple crystallogeometric considerations and the analysis of the computational results…
We study the initial stages of homogeneous melting of a hexagonal ice crystal at coexistence and at moderate superheating. Our trajectory-based computer simulation approach provides a comprehensive picture of the events that lead to…
We review the theory of second--order (ferro--)elastic phase transitions, where the order parameter consists of a certain linear combination of strain tensor components, and the accompanying soft mode is an acoustic phonon. In…
There are many factors that contribute to the breaking of the spherical symmetry of a neutron star. Most notably is rotation, magnetic fields, and/or accretion of matter from companion stars. All these phenomena influence the macroscopic…
Colloidal crystals are used to understand fundamentals of atomic rearrangements in condensed matter and build complex metamaterials with unique functionalities. Simulations predict a multitude of self-assembled crystal structures from…
Close-contact melting refers to the process of a heat source melting its way into a phase-change material. Of special interest is the close-contact melting velocity, or more specifically the relative velocity between the heat source and the…
The aim of this paper is to illustrate that generalized two-dimensional XY models (proposed by Romano and Zagrebnov) may also support a first-order phase transition. Two approaches are employed to accurately determine the critical parameter…
We consider the 2D $J_1-J_2$ classical XY model on a square lattice. In the frustrated phase corresponding to $J_2>J_1/2$, an Ising like order parameter emerges by an ``order due to disorder'' effect. This leads to a discrete $Z_2$ symmetry…
We present an extensive but concise review of our present understanding, largely based on theory and simulation work from our group, on the equilibrium behavior of solid surfaces and nanosystems close to the bulk melting point. In the first…
A molecular theory of the glass transition of network forming liquids is developed using a combination of self-consistent phonon and liquid state approaches. Both the dynamical transition and the entropy crisis characteristic of random…
Soft condensed matter structures often challenge us with complex many-body phenomena governed by collective modes spanning wide spatial and temporal domains. In order to successfully tackle such problems mesoscopic coarse-grained (CG)…
Predicting solid-solid phase transitions remains a long-standing challenge in materials science. Solid-solid transformations underpin a wide range of functional properties critical to energy conversion, information storage, and thermal…
The statistical mechanics of a two dimensional Coulomb gas confined to one dimension is studied, wherein hard core particles move on a ring. Exact self-duality is shown for a version of the sine-Gordon model arising in this context, thereby…
Homogeneous melting of superheated crystals at constant energy is a dynamical process, believed to be triggered by the accumulation of thermal vacancies and their self-diffusion. From microcanonical simulations we know that if an ideal…
We introduce a numerical workflow to model and simulate transient close-contact melting processes based on the space-time finite element method. That is, we aim at computing the velocity at which a forced heat source melts through a…
The quantum excitations in glasses have long presented a set of puzzles for condensed matter physicists. A common view is that they are largely disordered analogs of elementary excitations in crystals, supplemented by two level systems…
We employ extensive NPT molecular dynamics simulations to explore the thermal transitions of two-dimensional colloidal crystals interacting via a core-softened potential with competing length scales. The system stabilizes three distinct…