Fluctuations, Instabilities, and Phase Transitions
Fluctuations, Instabilities, and Phase Transitions

Author: T. Riste

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-09

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 1461589126

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This book contains the papers presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute held at Geilo, Norway, 11th - 20th April 1975. The institute was the third in a row devoted to phase transitions. The previous two dealt with 2nd- and 1st-order transitions in equilibrium systems and the proceedings have been published.i~ In order to make an overlap wi th those institutes, the first part of this institute was devoted to 1st -or der transitions with an emphasis on the problems of metast abi l i t y and instability en countered i n spinodal decomposition, nucleation etc. The main topic was, however, that of non-equilibrium systems, and the present institute was to our knowledge the first one devoted to the physics of such systems. The discovery of the analogy between phase transitions in equilibrium systems and instabilities in non-equilibrium systems was first made by Rolf Landauer in 1961 and later independently by others. The analogy was first pointed out for electronic devices (tunnel diodes, Gunn oscillators, lasers, etc. ) and the treatment of hydrodynamic instabilities followed later.

Lectures on Phase Transitions
Lectures on Phase Transitions

Author: V. I. Yukalov

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 9789971504748

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This book treats the problem of phase transitions, emphasizing the generality and universality of the methods and models used. The course is basically concentrated on the problems of vacuum degeneration in macroscopic systems and a fundamental concept of quasiaverages by Bogolubov playing a special role in the theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena. An analysis of the connection between phase transition and spontaneous symmetry breaking in a macroscopic system allows a unique description of both first- and second-order phase transitions.The unique features of this book are: (i) a unique approach of describing first ? as well as second-order phase transitions, based on the Bogolubov concept of quasi-averages.(ii) a detailed presentation of the material and at the same time a review of modern problems.(iii) a general character of developed ideas that could be applied to various particular systems of condensed matter physics, nuclear physics and high-energy physics.

Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions

Author: Ricard V. Solé

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2011-08-14

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 0691150753

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Phase transitions--changes between different states of organization in a complex system--have long helped to explain physics concepts, such as why water freezes into a solid or boils to become a gas. How might phase transitions shed light on important problems in biological and ecological complex systems? Exploring the origins and implications of sudden changes in nature and society, Phase Transitions examines different dynamical behaviors in a broad range of complex systems. Using a compelling set of examples, from gene networks and ant colonies to human language and the degradation of diverse ecosystems, the book illustrates the power of simple models to reveal how phase transitions occur. Introductory chapters provide the critical concepts and the simplest mathematical techniques required to study phase transitions. In a series of example-driven chapters, Ricard Solé shows how such concepts and techniques can be applied to the analysis and prediction of complex system behavior, including the origins of life, viral replication, epidemics, language evolution, and the emergence and breakdown of societies. Written at an undergraduate mathematical level, this book provides the essential theoretical tools and foundations required to develop basic models to explain collective phase transitions for a wide variety of ecosystems.

Nonlinear Phenomena at Phase Transitions and Instabilities
Nonlinear Phenomena at Phase Transitions and Instabilities

Author: Tormod Riste

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 479

ISBN-13: 1468441272

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This NATO Advanced Study Institute, held in Geilo between March 29th and April 9th 1981, was the sixth in a series devoted to the subject of phase transitions and instabilities. The present institute was intended to provide a forum for discussion of the importance of nonlinear phenomena associated with instabilities in systems as seemingly disparate as ferroelectrics and rotating buckets of oil. Ten years ago, at the first Geilo school, the report of a central peak in the fluctuation spectrum of SrTi0 close to its 3 106 K structural phase transition demonstrated that the simple soft-mode theory of such transitions was incomplete. The missing ingredient was the essential nonlinearity of the system. Parti cipants at this year's Geilo school heard assessments of a decade of experimental and theoretical effort which has been expended to elucidate the nature of this nonlinearity. The importance of order ed clusters and the walls which bound them was stressed in this con text. A specific type of wall, the soliton, was discussed by a number of speakers. New experimental results which purport to demonstrate the existence of solitons in a one-dimensional ferromagnet were presented. A detailed discussion was given of the role of solitons in transport phenomena in driven multistable systems, typified by a sine-Gordon chain.

Phase Transition Dynamics
Phase Transition Dynamics

Author: Akira Onuki

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2002-06-06

Total Pages: 726

ISBN-13: 1139433164

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Phase Transition Dynamics, first published in 2002, provides a fully comprehensive treatment of the study of phase transitions. Building on the statistical mechanics of phase transitions, covered in many introductory textbooks, it will be essential reading for researchers and advanced graduate students in physics, chemistry, metallurgy and polymer science.

Directions In Condensed Matter Physics: Memorial Volume In Honor Of Shang-keng Ma
Directions In Condensed Matter Physics: Memorial Volume In Honor Of Shang-keng Ma

Author: Geoffrey Grinstein

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 1986-08-01

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9814513601

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This volume collects several in-depth articles giving lucid discussions on new developments in statistical and condensed matter physics. Many, though not all, contributors had been in touch with the late S-K Ma. Written by some of the world's experts and originators of new ideas in the field, this book is a must for all researchers in theoretical physics. Most of the articles should be accessible to diligent graduate students and experienced readers will gain from the wealth of materials contained herein.

Noise-Induced Transitions
Noise-Induced Transitions

Author: W. Horsthemke

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2006-09-12

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 3540368523

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The study of phase transitions is among the most fascinating fields in physics. Originally limited to transition phenomena in equilibrium systems, this field has outgrown its classical confines during the last two decades. The behavior of far from equilibrium systems has received more and more attention and has been an extremely active and productive subject of research for physicists, chemists and biologists. Their studies have brought about a more unified vision of the laws which govern self-organization processes of physico-chemical and biological sys tems. A major achievement has been the extension of the notion of phase transi tion to instabilities which occur only in open nonlinear systems. The notion of phase transition has been proven fruitful in apphcation to nonequilibrium ins- bihties known for about eight decades, like certain hydrodynamic instabilities, as well as in the case of the more recently discovered instabilities in quantum optical systems such as the laser, in chemical systems such as the Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction and in biological systems. Even outside the realm of natural sciences, this notion is now used in economics and sociology. In this monograph we show that the notion of phase transition can be extend ed even further. It apphes also to a new class of transition phenomena which occur only in nonequilibrium systems subjected to a randomly fluctuating en vironment.

The CBM Physics Book
The CBM Physics Book

Author: Bengt Friman

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2011-03-03

Total Pages: 973

ISBN-13: 3642132936

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This exhaustive survey is the result of a four year effort by many leading researchers in the field to produce both a readable introduction and a yardstick for the many upcoming experiments using heavy ion collisions to examine the properties of nuclear matter. The books falls naturally into five large parts, first examining the bulk properties of strongly interacting matter, including its equation of state and phase structure. Part II discusses elementary hadronic excitations of nuclear matter, Part III addresses the concepts and models regarding the space-time dynamics of nuclear collision experiments, Part IV collects the observables from past and current high-energy heavy-ion facilities in the context of the theoretical predictions specific to compressed baryonic matter. Part V finally gives a brief description of the experimental concepts. The book explicitly addresses everyone working or planning to enter the field of high-energy nuclear physics.