Phase Transitions and Relaxation in Systems with Competing Energy Scales

Phase Transitions and Relaxation in Systems with Competing Energy Scales
Author: T. Riste
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 456
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401119082

Systems with competing energy scales are widespread and exhibit rich and subtle behaviour, although their systematic study is a relatively recent activity. This text presents lectures given at a NATO Advanced Study Institute reviewing the current knowledge and understanding of this fascinating subject, particularly with regard to phase transitions and dynamics, at an advanced tutorial level. Both general and specific aspects are considered, with competitions having several origins; differences in intrinsic interactions, interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic effects, such as geometry and disorder; irreversibility and non-equilibration. Among the specific physical application areas are supercooled liquids and glasses, high-temperature superconductors, flux or vortex pinning and motion, charge density waves, domain growth and coarsening, and electron solidification.

Magnetic Systems With Competing Interactions

Magnetic Systems With Competing Interactions
Author: Hung-the Diep
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 351
Release: 1994-11-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9814502197

This book is intended for postgraduate students as well as researchers in various areas of physics such as statistical physics, magnetism and materials sciences. The content of the book covers mainly frustrated spin systems with possible applications in domains where physical systems can be mapped into the spin language. Pedagogical effort has been made to make each chapter to be self-contained, comprehensible for researchers who are not really involved in the field. Basic methods are given in detail.

Relaxation Phenomena

Relaxation Phenomena
Author: Wolfgang Haase
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 732
Release: 2013-03-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3662097478

The authors describe the electric, magnetic and other relaxational processes in a wide spectrum of materials: liquid crystals, molecular magnets, polymers, high-Tc superconductors and glasses. The book summarizes the phenomenological fundamentals and the experimental methods used. A detailed description of molecular and collective dynamics in the broad range of liquid crystals is presented. Magnetic systems, high-Tc superconductors, polymers and glasses are an important subject of matter. It is shown that the researchers working on relaxation processes in different fields of materials sciences are dealing with the same physical fundamentals, but are sometimes using slightly different terms. The book is addressed to scientists, engineers, graduate and undergraduate students, experimentalists and theorists in physics, chemistry, materials sciences and electronic engineering. Many internationally well known experts contribute to it.

Observation, Prediction and Simulation of Phase Transitions in Complex Fluids

Observation, Prediction and Simulation of Phase Transitions in Complex Fluids
Author: Marc Baus
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 669
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401100659

Observation, Prediction and Simulation of Phase Transitions in Complex Fluids presents an overview of the phase transitions that occur in a variety of soft-matter systems: colloidal suspensions of spherical or rod-like particles and their mixtures, directed polymers and polymer blends, colloid--polymer mixtures, and liquid-forming mesogens. This modern and fascinating branch of condensed matter physics is presented from three complementary viewpoints. The first section, written by experimentalists, emphasises the observation of basic phenomena (by light scattering, for example). The second section, written by theoreticians, focuses on the necessary theoretical tools (density functional theory, path integrals, free energy expansions). The third section is devoted to the results of modern simulation techniques (Gibbs ensemble, free energy calculations, configurational bias Monte Carlo). The interplay between the disciplines is clearly illustrated. For all those interested in modern research in equilibrium statistical mechanics.

Critical Dynamics

Critical Dynamics
Author: Uwe C. Täuber
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2014-03-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0521842239

A comprehensive and unified introduction to describing and understanding complex interacting systems.

Scale Invariance, Interfaces, and Non-Equilibrium Dynamics

Scale Invariance, Interfaces, and Non-Equilibrium Dynamics
Author: Alan McKane
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1489914218

The NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Scale Invariance, Interfaces and Non Equilibrium Dynamics" was held at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge, UK from 20-30 June 1994. The topics discussed at the Institute were all concerned with the origin and nature of complex structures found far from equilibrium. Examples ranged from reaction diffusion systems and hydrodynamics through to surface growth due to deposition. A common theme was that of scale invariance due to the self-similarity of the underly ing structures. The topics that were covered can be broadly classified as pattern for mation (theoretical, computational and experimental aspects), the non-equilibrium dynamics of the growth of interfaces and other manifolds, coarsening phenomena, generic scale invariance in driven systems and the concept of self-organized critical ity. The main feature of the Institute was the four one-hour-Iong lectures given each day by invited speakers. In addition to thirty-seven of these lectures, two contributed lectures were also given. The many questions that were asked after the lectures attested to the excitement and interest that the lecturers succeeded in generating amongst the students. In addition to the discussions initiated by lectures, an im portant component of the meeting were the poster sessions, where participants were able to present their own work, which took place on three of the afternoons. The list of titles given at the end of these proceedings gives some idea of the range and scope of these posters.

Principles of Condensed Matter Physics

Principles of Condensed Matter Physics
Author: P. M. Chaikin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 724
Release: 2000-09-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521794503

This successful and widely-reviewed book covering the physics of condensed matter systems is now available in paperback.

Jamming and Rheology

Jamming and Rheology
Author: Andrea J. Liu
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 568
Release: 2001-02-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1482268175

The subject of jamming and rheology is a broad and interdisciplinary one that is generating increasing interest. This book deals with one of the oldest unsolved problems in condensed matter physics - that of the nature of glass transition in supercooled liquids. Jamming and Rheology is a collection of reprinted articles from several fields, ran