No Arabic abstract
We study the liquid-gas phase separation observed in a system of repulsive particles dressed with ferromagnetically aligning spins, a so-called `spin fluid. Microcanonical ensemble numerical simulations of finite-size systems reveal that magnetization sets in and induces a liquid-gas phase separation between a disordered gas and a ferromagnetic dense phase at low enough energies and large enough densities. The dynamics after a quench into the coexistence region show that the order parameter associated to the liquid-vapour phase separation follows an algebraic law with an unusual exponent, as it is forced to synchronize with the growth of the magnetization: this suggests that for finite size systems the magnetization sets in along a Curie line, which is also the gas-side spinodal line, and that the coexistence region ends at a tricritical point. This picture is confirmed at the mean-field level with different approximation schemes, namely a Bethe lattice resolution and a virial expansion complemented by the introduction of a self-consistent Weiss-like molecular field. However, a detailed finite-size scaling analysis shows that in two dimensions the ferromagnetic phase escapes the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless scenario, and that the long-range order is not destroyed by the unbinding of topological defects. The Curie line becomes thus a magnetic crossover in the thermodynamic limit. Finally, the effects of the magnetic interaction range and those of the interaction softness are characterized within a mean-field semi-analytic low-density approach.
We review understanding of kinetics of fluid phase separation in various space dimensions. Morphological differences, percolating or disconnected, based on overall composition in a binary liquid or density in a vapor-liquid system, have been pointed out. Depending upon the morphology, various possible mechanisms and corresponding theoretical predictions for domain growth are discussed. On computational front, useful models and simulation methodologies have been presented. Theoretically predicted growth laws have been tested via molecular dynamics simulations of vapor-liquid transitions. In case of disconnected structure, the mechanism has been confirmed directly. This is a brief review on the topic for a special issue on coarsening dynamics, expected to appear in Comptes Rendus Physique.
Magnetic properties of materials confined to nanometer length scales are providing important information regarding low dimensional physics. Using gadolinium based Langmuir-Blodgett films, we demonstrate that two-dimensional ferromagnetic order can be induced by applying magnetic field along the in-plane (perpendicular to growth) direction. Field dependent exchange coupling is evident in the in-plane magnetization data that exhibit absence of hysteresis loop and show reduction in field required to obtain saturation in measured moment with decreasing temperature.
As a result of nonequilibrium forces, purely repulsive self-propelled particles undergo macrophase separation between a dense and a dilute phase. We present a thorough study of the ordering kinetics of such motility-induced phase separation (MIPS) in active Brownian particles in two dimensions, and we show that it is generically accompanied by microphase separation. The growth of the dense phase follows a law akin to the one of liquid-gas phase separation. However, it is made of a mosaic of hexatic microdomains whose size does not coarsen indefinitely, leaving behind a network of extended topological defects from which microscopic dilute bubbles arise. The characteristic length of these finite-size structures increases with activity, independently of the choice of initial conditions.
Ensemble averages of a stochastic model show that, after a formation stage, the tips of active blood vessels in an angiogenic network form a moving two dimensional stable diffusive soliton, which advances toward sources of growth factor. Here we use methods of multiple scales to find the diffusive soliton as a solution of a deterministic equation for the mean density of active endothelial cells tips. We characterize the diffusive soliton shape in a general geometry, and find that its vector velocity and the trajectory of its center of mass along curvilinear coordinates solve appropriate collective coordinate equations. The vessel tip density predicted by the soliton compares well with that obtained by ensemble averages of simulations of the stochastic model.
We compute the phase diagram of a one-dimensional model of spinless fermions with pair-hopping and nearest-neighbor interaction, first introduced by Ruhman and Altman, using the density-matrix renormalization group combined with various analytical approaches. Although the main phases are a Luttinger liquid of fermions and a Luttinger liquid of pairs, we also find remarkable phases in which only a fraction of the fermions are paired. In such case, two situations arise: either fermions and pairs coexist spatially in a two-fluid mixture, or they are spatially segregated leading to phase separation. These results are supported by several analytical models that describe in an accurate way various relevant cuts of the phase diagram. Last, we identify relevant microscopic observables that capture the presence of these two fluids: while originally introduced in a phenomenological way, they support a wider application of two-fluid models for describing pairing phenomena.