Domain formation in transitions with noise and time-dependent bifurcation parameter

The characteristic size for spatial structure, that emerges when the bifurcation parameter in model partial differential equations is slowly increased through its critical value, depends logarithmically on the size of added noise. Numerics and analysis are presented for the real Ginzburg-Landau and Swift-Hohenberg equations.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 4 postscript figures include

Dynamics of defect formation

A dynamic symmetry-breaking transition with noise and inertia is analyzed. Exact solution of the linearized equation that describes the critical region allows precise calculation (exponent and prefactor) of the number of defects produced as a function of the rate of increase of the critical parameter. The procedure is valid in both the overdamped and underdamped limits. In one space dimension, we perform quantitative comparison with numerical simulations of the nonlinear nonautonomous stochastic partial differential equation and report on signatures of underdamped dynamics.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures. Submitted to Physical Revie