Physics of Critical Fluctuations

Physics of Critical Fluctuations
Author: Yuli M. Ivanchenko
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461242045

Building on Wilson's renormalization group, the authors have developed a unified approach that not only reproduces known results but also yields new results. A systematic exposition of the contemporary theory of phase transitions, the book includes detailed discussions of phenomena in Heisenberg magnets, granular super-conducting alloys, anisotropic systems of dipoles, and liquid-vapor transitions. Suitable for advanced undergraduates as well as graduate students in physics, the text assumes some knowledge of statistical mechanics, but is otherwise self-contained.

A Primer to the Theory of Critical Phenomena

A Primer to the Theory of Critical Phenomena
Author: Jurgen M. Honig
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2018-02-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0128048360

A Primer to the Theory of Critical Phenomena provides scientists in academia and industry, as well as graduate students in physics, chemistry, and geochemistry with the scientific fundamentals of critical phenomena and phase transitions. The book helps readers broaden their understanding of a field that has developed tremendously over the last forty years. The book also makes a great resource for graduate level instructors at universities. - Provides a thorough and accessible treatment of the fundamentals of critical phenomena - Offers an in-depth exposition on renormalization and field theory techniques - Includes experimental observations of critical effects - Includes live examples illustrating the applications of the theoretical material

The Theory of Critical Phenomena

The Theory of Critical Phenomena
Author: J. J. Binney
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 477
Release: 1992-06-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0191660566

The successful calculation of critical exponents for continuous phase transitions is one of the main achievements of theoretical physics over the last quarter-century. This was achieved through the use of scaling and field-theoretic techniques which have since become standard equipment in many areas of physics, especially quantum field theory. This book provides a thorough introduction to these techniques. Continuous phase transitions are introduced, then the necessary statistical mechanics is summarized, followed by standard models, some exact solutions and techniques for numerical simulations. The real-space renormalization group and mean-field theory are then explained and illustrated. The final chapters cover the Landau-Ginzburg model, from physical motivation, through diagrammatic perturbation theory and renormalization to the renormalization group and the calculation of critical exponents above and below the critical temperature.

Introduction To The Theory Of Critical Phenomena: Mean Field, Fluctuations And Renormalization (2nd Edition)

Introduction To The Theory Of Critical Phenomena: Mean Field, Fluctuations And Renormalization (2nd Edition)
Author: Dimo I Uzunov
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Total Pages: 701
Release: 2010-08-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9813100907

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena. The content covers a period of more than 100 years of theoretical research of condensed matter phases and phase transitions providing a clear interrelationship with experimental problems. It starts from certain basic University knowledge of thermodynamics, statistical physics and quantum mechanics. The text is illustrated with classic examples of phase transitions. Various types of phase transition and (multi)critical points are introduced and explained. The classic aspects of the theory are naturally related with the modern developments. This interrelationship and the field-theoretical renormalization group method are presented in details. The main applications of the renormalization group methods are presented. Special attention is paid to the description of quantum phase transitions. This edition contains a more detailed presentation of the renormalization group method and its applications to particular systems.

Neutron Fluctuations

Neutron Fluctuations
Author: Imre Pazsit
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2007-10-05
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0080550436

The transport of neutrons in a multiplying system is an area of branching processes with a clear formalism. Neutron Fluctuations presents an account of the mathematical tools used in describing branching processes, which are then used to derive a large number of properties of the neutron distribution in multiplying systems with or without an external source. In the second part of the book, the theory is applied to the description of the neutron fluctuations in nuclear reactor cores as well as in small samples of fissile material. The question of how to extract information about the system under study is discussed. In particular the measurement of the reactivity of subcritical cores, driven with various Poisson and non-Poisson (pulsed) sources, and the identification of fissile material samples, is illustrated. The book gives pragmatic information for those planning and executing and evaluating experiments on such systems. - Gives a complete treatise of the mathematics of branching particle processes, and in particular neutron fluctuations, in a self-contained manner - The first monograph containing the theory and application of neutron fluctuations in low power ADS (spallation and pulsed sources) - Suitable as a tutorial and handbook/reference book for scientists and graduate students - One of the authors is the founder of the mathematical theory of neutron fluctuations in zero power systems

30 Years of the Landau Institute

30 Years of the Landau Institute
Author: Isaak Markovich Khalatnikov
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 802
Release: 1996
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9789810222536

The Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics was created in 1965 by a group of LD Landau's pupils. Very soon, it was widely recognized as one of the world's leading centers in theoretical physics. According to Science Magazine, the Institute in the eighties had the highest citation index among all the scientific organizations in the former Soviet Union. This collection of the best papers of the Institute reflects the development of the many directions in the exact sciences during the last 30 years. The reader can find the original formulations of well-known notions in condensed matter theory, quantum field theory, mathematical physics and astrophysics, which were introduced by members of the Landau Institute.The following are some of the achievements described in this book: monopoles (A Polyakov), instantons (A Belavin et al.), weak crystallization (S Brazovskii), spin superfluidity (I Fomin), finite band potentials (S Novikov) and paraconductivity (A Larkin, L Aslamasov).

Theory of Fluctuations in Superconductors

Theory of Fluctuations in Superconductors
Author: Anatoly Larkin
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2005-01-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0191523704

This book presents a complete encyclopedia of superconducting fluctuations, summarising the last thirty-five years of work in the field. The first part of the book is devoted to an extended discussion of the Ginzburg-Landau phenomenology of fluctuations in its thermodynamical and time-dependent versions and its various applications. The second part deals with microscopic justification of the Ginzburg-Landau approach and presents the diagrammatic theory of fluctuations. The third part is devoted to a less-detailed review of the manifestation of fluctuations in observables: diamagnetism, magnetoconductivity, various tunneling characteristics, thermoelectricity, and NMR relaxation. The final chapters turn to the manifestation of fluctuations in unconventional superconducting systems: nanodrops, nanorings, Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless state, quantum phase transition between superconductor and insulator, and thermal and quantum fluctuations in weak superconducting systems. The book ends with a brief discussion on theories of high temperature superconductivity, where fluctuations appear as the possible protagonist of this exciting phenomenon.

Hydrodynamic Fluctuations in Fluids and Fluid Mixtures

Hydrodynamic Fluctuations in Fluids and Fluid Mixtures
Author: Jose M. Ortiz de Zarate
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2006-04-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080459439

This book deals with density, temperature, velocity and concentration fluctuations in fluids and fluid mixtures. The book first reviews thermal fluctuations in equilibrium fluids on the basis of fluctuating hydrodynamics. It then shows how the method of fluctuating hydrodynamics can be extended to deal with hydrodynamic fluctuations when the system is in a stationary nonequilibrium state. In contrast to equilibrium fluids where the fluctuations are generally short ranged unless the system is close to a critical point, fluctuations in nonequilibrium fluids are always long-ranged encompassing the entire system. The book provides the first comprehensive treatment of fluctuations in fluids and fluid mixtures brought out of equilibrium by the imposition of a temperature and concentration gradient but that are still in a macroscopically quiescent state. By incorporating appropriate boundary conditions in the case of fluid layers, it is shown how fluctuating hydrodynamics affects the fluctuations close to the onset of convection. Experimental techniques of light scattering and shadowgraphy for measuring nonequilibrium fluctuations are elucidated and the experimental results thus far reported in the literature are reviewed.· Systematic exposition of fluctuating hydrodynamics and its applications· First book on nonequilibrium fluctuations in fluids· Fluctuating Boussinesq equations and nonequilibrium fluids· Fluid layers and onset of convection· Rayleigh scattering and Brillouin scattering in fluids· Shadowgraph technique for measuring fluctuations· Fluctuations near hydrodynamic instabilities

Quantum Fluctuations

Quantum Fluctuations
Author: Edward Nelson
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 155
Release: 1985-05-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691083797

Stochastic mechanics is a description of quantum phenomena in classical probabilistic terms. This work contains a detailed account of the kinematics of diffusion processes, including diffusions on curved manifolds which are necessary for the treatment of spin in stochastic mechanics. The dynamical equations of the theory are derived from a variational principle, and interference, the asymptotics of free motion, bound states, statistics, and spin are described in classical terms. In addition to developing the formal mathematical aspects of the theory, the book contains discussion of possible physical causes of quantum fluctuations in terms of an interaction with a background field. The author gives a critical analysis of stochastic mechanics as a candidate for a realistic theory of physical processes, discussing measurement, local causality in the sense of Bell, and the failure of the theory in its present form to satisfy locality.

Theory Of Critical Phenomena In Finite-size Systems: Scaling And Quantum Effects

Theory Of Critical Phenomena In Finite-size Systems: Scaling And Quantum Effects
Author: Jordan G Brankov
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 459
Release: 2000-08-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9814494569

The aim of this book is to familiarise the reader with the rich collection of ideas, methods and results available in the theory of critical phenomena in systems with confined geometry. The existence of universal features of the finite-size effects arising due to highly correlated classical or quantum fluctuations is explained by the finite-size scaling theory. This theory (1) offers an interpretation of experimental results on finite-size effects in real systems; (2) gives the most reliable tool for extrapolation to the thermodynamic limit of data obtained by computer simulations; (3) reveals the intimate mechanism of how the critical singularities build up in the thermodynamic limit; and (4) can be fruitfully used to explain the low-temperature behaviour of quantum critical systems.The exposition is given in a self-contained form which presumes the reader's knowledge only in the framework of standard courses on the theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena. The instructive role of simple models, both classical and quantum, is demonstrated by putting the accent on the derivation of rigorous and exact analytical results.