Microscopic reversibility and the nonlinear Einstein-Onsager relation in macroscopic description of nucleation

V. A. Shneidman, P. Hänggi

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5 Scopus citations

Abstract

We investigate the possibility of describing fluctuational decay of a metastable phase macroscopically, without a detailed knowledge of the microscopic kinetics. Using the ideas of microscopic reversibility, we construct a hydrodynamic-type equation which describes the buildup of fluctuations in the region of subcritical sizes. An equation of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck type is used to bridge this equation with the one describing unstable growth of larger (overcritical) fluctuations. An explicit time-dependent solution to the proposed system of equations is derived in the spirit of the singular perturbation technique. It is shown that this solution also accurately approximates the solution of the Farkas-Becker-Döring master equation, so that the macroscopic level of description is consistent with the underlying models.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)431-439
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Statistical Physics
Volume78
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1995
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
  • Mathematical Physics

Keywords

  • Metastable system
  • large fluctuations
  • master equation
  • random walk
  • singular perturbations
  • time-dependent nucleation

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