Unified paradigm for interface dynamics

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2011

Authors

Avelino, PP (Author) FCUP; Menezes, R (Author) Other; J.C.R.E. Oliveira (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Physical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics

Vol. 83

ISSN: 1539-3755

Publisher: American Physical Society

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 16 Citations

Scopus - 17 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-VVD

DOI: 10.1103/physreve.83.011602

Abstract (EN): In this paper we develop a common theoretical framework for the dynamics of thin featureless interfaces. We explicitly demonstrate that the same phase field and velocity dependent one-scale models characterizing the dynamics of relativistic domain walls, in a cosmological context, can also successfully describe, in a friction dominated regime, the dynamics of nonrelativistic interfaces in a wide variety of material systems. We further show that a statistical version of the von Neumann's law applies in the case of scaling relativistic interface networks, implying that, although relativistic and nonrelativistic interfaces have very different dynamics, a single simulation snapshot is not able to clearly distinguish the two regimes. We highlight that crucial information is contained in the probability distribution function for the number of edges of domains bounded by the interface network and explain why laboratory tests with nonrelativistic interfaces can be used to rule out cosmological domain walls as a significant dark energy source.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 5