Excluded volume,bag constant and hadron-quark phase transition

The model of hadron-quark phase transitions proposed by Cleymans et al. is modified by taking into account the fact that the nuclear repulsive force is operative between a pair of nucleons or a pair of antinucleons but not between a nucleon and an antinucleon. The phase boundary in the temperature (T)-chemical potential (μ) plane is calculated for some values of the bag constantB and the hard core radiusR. Stability of the normal nuclear matter together with the bag picture for the nucleon yields rather stringent bounds forB as functions ofR. The most probable range of values is estimated to beB ^1/4?150～200 MeV being consistent with the estimate from hadron spectroscopy. For this range ofB, it is improbable to realize the broken chiral phase with deconfining constituent quarks and Goldstone pions at someT and μ.     

Kinetics of a first-order phase transition: computer simulations and theory

We make a quantitative comparison between the predictions of the Becker-Döring equations and computer simulations on a model of a quenched binary A-B alloy. The atoms are confined to the vertices of a simple cubic lattice, interact through attractive nearest neighbor interactions, and move by interchanges of nearest neighbor pairs (Kawasaki dynamics). We study in particular the time evolution of the number of clusters of A atoms of each size, at four different concentrations: _A=0.035, 0.05, 0.075, and 0.1 atoms per lattice site. The temperature is 0.59 times the critical temperature. At this temperature the equilibrium concentration of A atoms in the B-rich phase is _A ^eq =0.0145 atoms/lattice site. The coefficients entering the Becker-Döring equations are obtained by extrapolation from previously published low-density calculations, leaving the time scale as the only adjustable parameter. We find good agreement at the three lower densities. At 10% density the agreement is, as might be expected, less satisfactory but still fairly good-indicating a quite wide range of utility for the Becker-Döring equations.Supported in part by NSF Grant DMR81-14726 and DOE Contract DE-AC02-76ERO3077.     

Static and time-dependent properties of polymer gels around the volume phase transition

Recent progress in the study of the volume phase transition of polymer gels is reviewed. The phenomenological theories of swelling equilibrium and phase transition of gels are summarized, and some basic experimental results on poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) gels are compared with the prediction from these theories. Special attention is paid to the elastic properties of the gel network near the volume phase transition. The effect of external stresses on the swelling and the phase transition is analyzed. Some anomalous and unique characteristics revealed in NIPA gels such as shape- and size-dependent swelling and phase transition properties, curious phase coexistence, and domain structure are presented. Experimental results on some time-dependent phenomena such as phase separation, spinodal decomposition, and pattern formation are also presented and discussed. Some problems inherent to gels from biological bodies are briefly discussed.     

Scaling analysis of phase transition in Hg-based superconductor

With the vibrating-reed technique, the internal friction (IF) Q⁻¹ is measured for sing-phase (Hg_0.66Pb_0.34)Ba₂Ca₂Cu₃O_8+x superconductor as a function of temperature at low applied magnetic field up to 0.5 T and as a function of frequency at normal state temperatures. An IF peak associated with flux motion can be found below T_C. The IF peak becomes higher and shifts towards lower temperature with increasing magnetic field. In addition an IF peak is found near 200 K. By scaling analysis we have demonstrated that the internal friction around the peak temperature can be collapsed into a single curve, indicating that the IF peak below T_C is originated from a phase transition associated with a vortex glass transition and a structural phase transition occurs at around 200 K in the superconductor.     

Kinetics of a phase transition into an inhomogeneous state in a ferroelectric plate

The kinetics of the emergence of a polarization vector field after a ferroelectric sample is rapidly cooled is investigated in two cases, in which the rate of growth of the polarization vector is determined by viscous forces of phonon origin or by the diffusion of charged particles. Analytic expressions are obtained for the rate of growth of the polarization vector and the period of the inhomogeneous phase as a function of the degree of supercooling of the sample. The existence of a slow relaxation process in the domain structure is established and the time dependence of this process is found. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 2238–2245 (December 1998)     

Chiral phase transition from the Dyson-Schwinger equations in a finite spherical volume

Within the framework of the Dyson-Schwinger equations and by means of Multiple Reflection Expansion,we study the effect of finite volume on the chiral phase transition in a sphere, and discuss in particular its influence on the possible location of the critical end point(CEP). According to our calculations, when we take a sphere instead of a cube, the influence of finite volume on phase transition is not as significant as previously calculated. For instance,as the radius of the spherical volume decreases from infinite to 2 fm, the critical temperature T c, at zero chemical potential and finite temperature, drops only slightly. At finite chemical potential and finite temperature, the location of CEP shifts towards smaller temperature and higher chemical potential, but the amplitude of the variation does not exceed 20%. As a result, we find that not only the size of the volume but also its shape have a considerable impact on the phase transition.     

Anomalous temperature dependence of speed of sound of bulk poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels near the phase transition

Bulk Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) hydrogels are thermally responsive polymers that undergo a sharp volumetric phase transition around its lower critical solution temperature of 33 °C. The physical characteristics of bulk, micro-, and nano-form PNIPAm hydrogel have been well-studied, and have applications ranging from biomedical devices to mechanical actuators. An important physical characteristics which reveals lack of available information is speed of sound. Prior studies have utilized Brillouin scattering, multi-echo reflection ultrasound spectroscopy, the sing-around method, and others in measuring the speed of sound. We use a planar resonant cavity with bulk PNIPAm hydrogel in aqueous solution to determine the temperature dependent speed of sound around the lower critical solution temperature. The results show sharp nonmonotonic behavior of the sound velocity in vicinity of the phase transition.     

Kinetics of transition through lasing threshold

The paper is devoted to an investigation of laser-radiation statistics. The dynamics of establishment of an equilibrium photon distribution in frequency is analyzed and the results are compared with numerical experiments. The spectral density of the radiation-intensity fluctuations is obtained in analytic form in the quasiclassical laser theory. An equation that generalizes the earlier calculations is obtained for the lasing linewidth in the framework of the Scully-Lamb theory.Optics Division, Lebedev Physics Institute. Translated from Preprint No. 79, Lebedev Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 1990.     

Calculation of the volume effect at an electron phase transition in pure cerium and praseodymium

The experimental values of the volume effect at an electronic phase transition in several rare-earth metals are discussed. Specifically, volume changes at phase transitions in cerium and praseodymium are calculated using a semiphenomenological relationship derived in terms of the Falikov-Ramirez-Kimball model. A number of factors influencing the amount of the volume effect at electronic phase transitions are analyzed.     

Stochastic analysis of a nonequilibrium phase transition: Some exact results

A system involving all-or-none transitions away from equilibrium is considered. Under the assumption of spatially homogeneous fluctuations an integral representation of the solution of the master equation is derived, which permits an exact evaluation of the variance in the thermodynamic limit. A systematic perturbative solution of the master equation is also developed. Both approaches yield “classical” exponents describing the divergence of the second-order variance as the instability point is approached on either side. Finally, at the instability point the second-order variance is shown to diverge as the $\text{3}\text{2}$ power of the volume.     

Effective lagrangian analysis of the chiral phase transition at finite density

Introducing a finite chemical potential μ for the quark number density ψ^°ψ, we study analytically the restoration of Π^° chiral symmetry as μ is varied. In the strong coupling limit, the effective lagrangian for SU(N) gauge theories coupled to fermion fields in d dimensions is derived for all N. In the case of SU(2) we predict a second order chiral symmetry restoration phase transition, whereas for all N?3 the transition is first order. Predictions are given for the critical values of the chemical potential μ.     

Kinetics of the phase transition in an isotropic liquid crystalline dimer subjected to a deep temperature quench

Kinetics of the ordered phase growth in a liquid crystalline azomethine dimer under a deep temperature quench was studied using a polarizing optical microscope at different cooling rates. The nematic droplets revealed in the optical images across the phase transition were treated statistically and the resulting statistical size distributions were described using principles of irreversible thermodynamics. After analysis of the mean droplet diameter evolving with time, two regimes of the nematic phase growth were recognized: (i) nucleation and rapid nucleus growth and (ii) nucleus coarsening. Both regimes were quantitatively described with the universal scaling function.