Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in a mesoscopic ring with a quantum dot

We present an analysis of the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations for a mesoscopic ring with a quantum dot inserted in one of its arms. It is shown that microreversibility demands that the phase of the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations changes {\it abruptly} when a resonant level crosses the Fermi energy. We use the Friedel sum rule to discuss the conservation of the parity of the oscillations at different conductance peaks. Our predictions are illustrated with the help of a simple one channel model that permits the variation of the potential landscape along the ring.Comment: 11 pages, Revtex style, 3 figures under request. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B (rapid communications

Numerical study of the shape and integral parameters of a dendrite

We present a numerical study of sidebranching of a solidifying dendrite by means of a phase--field model. Special attention is paid to the regions far from the tip of the dendrite, where linear theories are no longer valid. Two regions have been distinguished outside the linear region: a first one in which sidebranching is in a competition process and a second one further down where branches behave as independent of each other. The shape of the dendrite and integral parameters characterizing the whole dendrite (contour length and area of the dendrite) have been computed and related to the characteristic tip radius for both surface tension and kinetic dominated dendrites. Conclusions about the different behaviors observed and comparison with available experiments and theoretical predictions are presented.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Statistical Mechanics of Nonuniform Magnetization Reversal

The magnetization reversal rate via thermal creation of soliton pairs in quasi-1D ferromagnetic systems is calculated. Such a model describes e.g. the time dependent coercivity of elongated particles as used in magnetic recording media. The energy barrier that has to be overcome by thermal fluctuations corresponds to a soliton-antisoliton pair whose size depends on the external field. In contrast to other models of first order phase transitions such as the phi^4 model, an analytical expression for this energy barrier is found for all values of the external field. The magnetization reversal rate is calculated using a functional Fokker-Planck description of the stochastic magnetization dynamics. Analytical results are obtained in the limits of small fields and fields close to the anisotropy field. In the former case the hard-axis anisotropy becomes effectively strong and the magnetization reversal rate is shown to reduce to the nucleation rate of soliton-antisoliton pairs in the overdamped double sine-Gordon model. The present theory therefore includes the nucleation rate of soliton-antisoliton pairs in the double sine-Gordon chain as a special case. These results demonstrate that for elongated particles, the experimentally observed coercivity is significantly lower than the value predicted by the standard theories of N\'eel and Brown.Comment: 21 pages RevTex 3.0 (twocolumn), 6 figures available on request, to appear in Phys Rev B, Dec (1994

Phase separation and pattern formation

Wetensch. publicatieFaculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappe

Nucleation Rate of Hadron Bubbles in Baryon-Free Quark-Gluon Plasma

We evaluate the factor $\kappa$ appearing in Langer's expression for the nucleation rate extended to the case of hadron bubbles forming in zero baryon number cooled quark-gluon plasma. We consider both the absence and presence of viscosity and show that viscous effects introduce only small changes in the value of $\kappa$Comment: 9 pages, revtex, no figures Full postscript version available at via the WWW at http://nucth.physics.wisc.edu/preprints/ or by via from ftp://nucth.physics.wisc.edu/pub/preprints/mad-nt-95-06.p

Nucleation versus Spinodal decomposition in a first order quark hadron phase transition

We investigate the scenario of homogeneous nucleation for a first order quark-hadron phase transition in a rapidly expanding background of quark gluon plasma. Using an improved preexponential factor for homogeneous nucleation rate, we solve a set of coupled equations to study the hadronization and the hydrodynamical evolution of the matter. It is found that significant supercooling is possible before hadronization begins. This study also suggests that spinodal decomposition competes with nucleation and may provide an alternative mechanism for phase conversion particularly if the transition is strong enough and the medium is nonviscous. For weak enough transition, the phase conversion may still proceed via homogeneous nucleation.Comment: LaTeX, 10 pages with 7 Postscript figures, more discussions and referencese added, typos correcte

Bose-Einstein condensation and superfluidity of dilute Bose gas in a random potential

We develop the dilute Bose gas model with random potential in order to understand the Bose system in random media such as 4He in porous glass. Using the random potential taking account of the pore size dependence, we can compare quantitatively the calculated specific heat with the experimental results, without free parameters. The agreement is excellent at low temperatures, which justifies our model. The relation between Bose condensation and superfluidity is discussed. Our model can predict some unobserved phenomena in this system.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.