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...

A theory for concentration fluctuations in binary polymer blends is developed using field-theoretic techniques. The theory provides a simple, unified framework for addressing a number of important issues. First, consideration of the fluctuation and correlation effects on different length scales leads to a clarification of three different x parameters and their interrelationship. By incorporatin...

Spinodal decomposition is a phase-separation phenomenon occurring at non-equilibrium conditions. In isotropic materials, it is expected to improve the physical properties, in which modulated structures arise from a single system of spinodal waves. However, in anisotropic materials this process is controversial and not very well understood. Here, we report anisotropic spinodal decomposition patt...

We have generalized the microscopic polymer reference interaction site model (PRISM) theory to study the structure and phase behavior of polymer-tethered spherical nanoparticles in a dense homopolymer melt. In the absence of a polymer matrix, fluids of such hybrid nanoparticles show strong concentration fluctuations indicative of aggregate formation and/or a tendency for microphase separation a...

The non-equilibrium self-consistent generalized Langevin equation theory of irreversible relaxation [P. E. Ramŕez-González and M. Medina-Noyola, Phys. Rev. E 82, 061503 (2010); 82, 061504 (2010)] is applied to the description of the non-equilibrium processes involved in the spinodal decomposition of suddenly and deeply quenched simple liquids. For model liquids with hard-sphere plus attractive ...

The dynamics of the Cahn-Hilliard equations for a ternary alloy are studied during the phase separation process. The results show a primary spinodal decomposition followed by coarsening and then possibly a secondary spinodal decomposition.

Scattered light intensities measurements of the nuclear part of adult bovine lenses are reported. In the investigated samples the existence of a binary liquid phase separation from a metastable state is demonstrated by the phenomenon of hysteresis. Fluctuations near spinodal are studied by means of a tentative theoretical approach. Accordingly the scattered light intensities were analyzed reduc...

We present the results of molecular dynamics simulations of the extended simple point charge model of water to investigate the thermodynamic and dynamic properties of stretched and supercooled water. We locate the liquid–gas spinodal, and confirm that the spinodal pressure increases monotonically with T, supporting thermodynamic scenarios for the phase behavior of supercooled water involving a ...

Although intuitively appealing, the concept of spinodal is rigorously defined only in systems with infinite range interactions (mean-field systems). In short-range systems, a pseudospinodal can be defined by extrapolation of metastable measurements, but the point itself is not reachable because it lies beyond the metastability limit. In this work we show that a sensible definition of spinodal p...