Related papers: Crystallization of hard spheres under gravity

We address the crystallization of monodisperse hard spheres in terms of the properties of finite- size crystalline clusters. By means of large scale event-driven Molecular Dynamics simulations, we study systems at different packing…

We use numerical simulations to understand how random deviations from the ideal spherical shape affect the ability of hard particles to form fcc crystalline structures. Using a system of hard spheres as a reference, we determine the…

We report a detailed experimental study of the structure and dynamics of glassy states in hard spheres with short-range attraction. The system is a suspension of nearly-hard-sphere colloidal particles and non-adsorbing linear polymer which…

The thermodynamics of a self-gravitating gas cloud of particles interacting only via their gravitational potential is an interesting problem with peculiarities arising due to the long-ranged nature of the gravitational interaction. Based on…

The quantum-mechanical expression for the polarization of a crystalline solid does not bear any resemblance to the (trivial) expression for the dipole of a bounded crystallite; and in fact it has been proved via a conceptually different…

Effective geometries arising from a hypothetical discrete structure of space-time can play an important role in the understanding of the gravitational physics beyond General Relativity. To discuss this question, we make use of lessons from…

The interplay between gravitational and dispersive forces in a multi-streamed medium leads to an effect which is exposed in the present note as the genuine driving force of stabilization of large-scale structure. The conception of `adhesive…

Crystals, as quantum objects typically much larger than their lattice spacing, are a counterexample to a frequent prejudice that quantum effects should not be pronounced at macroscopic distances. We propose that the Einstein theory of…

Stars form within molecular clouds but our understanding of this fundamental process remains hampered by the complexity of the physics that drives their evolution. We review our observational and theoretical knowledge of molecular clouds…

The effect of capture of a cosmic object by the central gravitational field of a galaxy cluster is described in the expanding Universe. The cosmic evolution can be the origin of the capture explaining formation of galaxies and their…

We investigate the dynamics of an ensemble of inelastic hard spheres confined between two horizontal plates separated a distance smaller than twice the diameter of the particles, in such a way that the system is quasi-two-dimensional. The…

Gravitational lensing in clusters of galaxies is an efficient tool to probe the mass distribution of galaxies and clusters, high redshift objects thanks to the gravitational amplification, and the geometry of the universe. We review some…

We describe an educational simulation of some effects within the gas of hard spheres. The focus of the presented simulation is on the comprehension of random character of the velocity of molecules in the gas and of the energy at fixed…

We prove that a system of particles in the plane, interacting only with a certain hard-core constraint, undergoes a fluid/solid phase transition.

We investigate the early part of the crystal nucleation process in the hard sphere fluid using data produced by computer simulation. We find that hexagonal order manifests continuously in the overcompressed liquid, beginning approximately…

According to classical nucleation theory, a crystal grows from a small nucleus that already bears the symmetry of its end phase - but experiments with colloids now reveal that, from an amorphous precursor, crystallites with different…

We present a computer simulation study on crystal nucleation and growth in supersaturated suspensions of mono-disperse hard spheres induced by a triangular lattice substrate. The main result is that compressed substrates are wet by the…

Cosmology, high-energy physics and astrophysics are converging on the study of large-scale magnetic fields. While the experimental evidence for the existence of large-scale magnetization in galaxies, clusters and superclusters is rather…

We derive a microscopic criterion for the stability of hard sphere configurations, and we show empirically that this criterion is marginally satisfied in the glass. This observation supports a geometric interpretation for the initial rapid…

We prepared a buoyancy matched binary mixture of polydisperse polystyrene microgel spheres of size ratio 0.785 and at a volume fraction of 0.567 just below the kinetic glass transition. In line with theoretical expectations, a eutectic…