Phase Transitions Mathematics Physics Biology Proceedings Of The Conference

This volume is dedicated to the theory of phase transitions and its interdisciplinary aspects. More specifically, the idea is to discuss the notion of the Gibbs state and its use (and limitations) in different applications.

This book provides a comprehensive review of the theory of phase transitions and its modern applications, based on the five pillars of the modern theory of phase transitions: the Ising model, mean field, scaling, renormalization group and universality. This expanded second edition includes, along with a description of vortices and high temperature superconductivity, a discussion of phase transitions in chemical reactions and moving systems. The book covers the close connection between phase transitions and small world phenomena as well as scale-free systems such as the stock market and the Internet.

This book is an introduction to a comprehensive and unified dynamic transition theory for dissipative systems and to applications of the theory to a range of problems in the nonlinear sciences. The main objectives of this book are to introduce a general principle of dynamic transitions for dissipative systems, to establish a systematic dynamic transition theory, and to explore the physical implications of applications of the theory to a range of problems in the nonlinear sciences. The basic philosophy of the theory is to search for a complete set of transition states, and the general principle states that dynamic transitions of all dissipative systems can be classified into three categories: continuous, catastrophic and random. The audience for this book includes advanced graduate students and researchers in mathematics and physics as well as in other related fields. This second edition introduces a unified theory for topological phase transitions, provides a first-principle approach to statistical and quantum physics, and offers a microscopic mechanism of quantum condensates (Bose-Einstein condensation, superfluidity, and superconductivity). Reviews of first edition: “The goals of this interesting book are to derive a general principle of dynamic transitions for dissipative systems and to establish a systematic dynamic transition theory for a wide range of problems in the nonlinear sciences. ... The intended audience for this book includes students and researchers working on nonlinear problems in physics, meteorology, oceanography, biology, chemistry, and the social sciences.” (Carlo Bianca, Mathematical Reviews, December, 2014) “This is a clearly written book on numerous types of phase transitions taken in a broad sense when a dynamical dissipative system transforms from one physical state into another. ... The book is a very useful literature not only for the professionals in the field of dynamic systems and phase transitions but also for graduate students due to its interdisciplinary coverage and state-of-the-art level.” (Vladimir Čadež, zbMATH, Vol. 1285, 2014)

Recently, interacting particle systems have been studied widely from the standpoints of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. Many researchers are becoming interested in this field.This book focuses on the phase transitions of interacting particle systems, especially their critical values and order parameters. It poses the following question: How can we get good bounds on the critical values and the order parameters? This question is very basic, and many researchers have been trying to get better bounds rigorously. Hence the book provides bounds — both the author's and others'.

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications MICROSTRUCTURE AND PHASE TRANSITION is based on the proceedings of a workshop which was an integral part of the 1990-91 IMA program on "Phase Transitions and Free Boundaries." We thank R. Fosdick, M.E. Gurtin, W.-M. Ni and L.A. Peletier for organizing the year-long program and, especially, D. Kinderlehrer, R. James, M. Luskin and J. Ericksen for organizing the meeting and editing these proceedings. We also take this opportunity to thank those agencies whose financial support made the workshop possible: the Army Research Office, and the National Science Foun dation. A vner Friedman Willard Miller. Jr. PREFACE Much of our traditional knowledge of materials and processes is achievf'd by observa tion and analysis of small departures from equilibrium. Many materials, especially modern alloys, ceramics, and their composites, experience not only larger but more dramatic changes, such as the occurrence of phase transitions and t.he creation of defect structures, when viewed at the microscopic scale. How is this observed, how can it be interpreted, and how does it influence macroscopic behavior? These are the principle concerns of this volume, which constitutes the proceedings of an IMA workshop dedicated to these issues.

This book demonstrates the usefulness of tools from statistical mechanics for biology. It includes the new tendencies in topics like membranes, vesicles, microtubules, molecular motors, DNA, protein folding, phase transitions in biological systems, evolution, population dynamics, neural systems and biological oscillators, with special emphasis on the importance of statistical mechanics in their development. The book addresses researchers and graduate students.

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications SHOCK INDUCED TRANSITIONS AND PHASE STRUCTURES IN GENERAL MEDIA is based on the proceedings of a workshop that was an integral part of the 1990-91 IMA program on "Phase Transitions and Free Boundaries." The workshop focused on the thermodynamics and mechanics of dynamic phase transitions that are mainly inertially driven and brought together physicists, metallurgists, mathematicians, engineers, and molecular dynamicists with interests in these problems. Financial support of the National Science Foundation made the meeting pos sible. We are grateful to J .E. Dunn, Roger Fosdick, and Marshall Slemrod for organizing the meeting and editing the proceedings. A vner Friedman Willard Miller, .Jr. PREFACE When a body is subjected to a strong shock the material may suffer severe local structural changes. Rapid solidification, liquification, or vaporization can oc cur, and, moreover, complex structural heterogeneity is often left in the wake of the passing wave. Thus, inertially driven shock waves raise fundamental questions involving experiment, theory, and mathematics which bear on phase stability and metastability, as well as on reaction kinetics and appropriate measures of phase structure.