Related papers: Phase structure of self-gravitating systems
If a theory has more than one classically stable vacuum, quantum tunneling and thermal jumps make the transition between the vacua possible. The transition happens through a first order phase transition started by nucleation of a bubble of…
In many particle physics models, domain wall can form during the phase transition process after discrete symmetry breaking. We study the scenario within a complex singlet extended Standard Model framework, where a strongly first order phase…
Due to the fact that only matter fields have phase, frequently is believed that the gauge principle can induce gauge fields only in quantum systems. But this is not necessary. This paper, of pedagogical scope, presents a classical system…
We study the thermodynamics of galactic clustering under the higher-order corrected Newtonian dynamics. The clustering of galaxies is considered as a gravitational phase transition. In order to study the effects of higher-order correction…
We discuss recent results obtained for the Hamiltonian Mean Field model. The model describes a system of N fully-coupled particles in one dimension and shows a second-order phase transition from a clustered phase to a homogeneous one when…
Condensation occurs in nonequilibrium steady states when a finite fraction of particles in the system occupies a single lattice site. We study condensation transitions in a one-dimensional zero-range process with a single defect site. The…
First order phase transitions in the early universe can give rise to a stochastic background of gravitational waves. A hypothetical first order electroweak phase transition is particularly interesting in this respect, since the signal is in…
The influence of the gravitational field on the reversible process of assembly and disassembly of linear aggregates is focus of this paper. Even the earth gravitational field can affect the equilibrium properties of heavy biological…
The phase transitions and critical properties of two types of inhomogeneous systems are reviewed. In one case, the local critical behaviour results from the particular shape of the system. Here scale-invariant forms like wedges or cones are…
Phase transitions are emergent phenomena where microscopic interactions drive a disordered system into a collectively ordered phase. Near the boundary between two phases, the system can exhibit critical, scale-invariant behavior. Here, we…
In the mean field limit, isolated gravitational systems often evolve towards a steady state through a violent relaxation phase. One question is to understand the nature of this relaxation phase, in particular the role of radial…
We study first order phase transitions that occur when the temperature of the system increases and we identify the conditions that lead to super-heating, a phase where the system can heat up arbitrarily. First order phase transitions with…
The evolution of a vacuum component of the Universe is investigated in the quantum as well as the classical regimes. Probably our Universe has arisen as a vacuum fluctuation and very probably that it has had a high symmetry for Planckian…
Quantum phase transitions have been the subject of intense investigations in the last two decades [1]. Among other problems, these phase transitions are relevant in the study of heavy fermion systems, high temperature superconductors and…
The problem of formation of generic structures in the Universe is addressed, whereby first the kinematics of inertial continua for coherent initial data is considered. The generalization to self--gravitating continua is outlined focused on…
We review the out-of-equilibrium properties of a self-gravitating gas of particles in the presence of a strong friction and a random force (canonical gas). We assume a bare diffusion coefficient of the form $D(\rho)=T\rho^{1/n}$, where…
General relativity describes the gravitational field geometrically and in a self-interacting way because it couples to all forms of energy, including its own. Both features make finding a quantum theory difficult, yet it is important in the…
We study the formation of topological defects in nonequilibrium phase transitions of both classical and quantum field theory. We examine three model systems. 1). The phase transition of a quantum scalar field in a FRW universe is analyzed…
Placing a high-Tc superconductor in an increasing external magnetic field, the flux first penetrates the sample through an Abrikosov vortex lattice, and then a first order transition is observed by which the system goes to the normal phase.…
We show that in the presence of spinodal instabilities which develop at a first order phase transition, the fluctuations of conserved charges can be as strong as those at the critical end point (CEP). In particular, the net baryon number…