Spinodal Decomposition and Nonclassical Nucleation

Spinodal decomposition in microemulsions

Nonclassical Riemann solvers with nucleation

We introduce a new nonclassical Riemann solver for scalar conservation laws with concave-convex flux-function. This solver is based on both a kinetic relation, which determines the propagation speed of (undercompressive) nonclassical shock waves, and a nucleation criterion, which makes a choice between a classical Riemann solution and a nonclassical one. We establish the existence of (nonclassi...

Parallel Spinodal Decomposition

Spinodal decomposition encompasses the ordering dynamics of thermodynamically unstable phases. An example of spinodal decomposition is the separation of the metals in a binary alloy. Because physicists have been unable to develop a fully coherent, consistent , and calculable theory on spinodal decomposition, computational studies have served as valuable sources of information. However, since th...

Quantum spinodal decomposition.

We study the process of spinodal decomposition in a scalar quantum field theory that is quenched from an equilibrium disordered initial state at Ti > Tf to a final state at Tf ≈ 0. The process of formation and growth of correlated domains is studied in a Hartree approximation. We find an approximate scaling law for the size of the domains ξD(t) ≈ √ tξ0 at long times for weakly coupled theories,...

Isotropic-nematic spinodal decomposition kinetics.

The initial stage of isotropic-nematic spinodal demixing kinetics of suspensions of very long and thin, stiff, repulsive rods is analyzed on the basis of the N-particle Smoluchowski equation. Equations of motion for the reduced probability density function of the position and orientation of a rod are expanded up to second order in spatial gradients and leading order in orientational order param...