Theory on quench-induced pattern formation: Application to the isotropic to smectic-A phase transitions
arXiv:cond-mat/9808005 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.58.5909
Abstract
During catastrophic processes of environmental variations of a thermodynamic system, such as rapid temperature decreasing, many novel and complex patterns often form. To understand such phenomena, a general mechanism is proposed based on the competition between heat transfer and conversion of heat to other energy forms. We apply it to the smectic-A filament growth process during quench-induced isotropic to smectic-A phase transition. Analytical forms for the buckling patterns are derived and we find good agreement with experimental observation [Phys. Rev. {\bf E55} (1997) 1655]. The present work strongly indicates that rapid cooling will lead to structural transitions in the smectic-A filament at the molecular level to optimize heat conversion. The force associated with this pattern formation process is estimated to be in the order of piconewton.
9 pages in RevTex form, with 3 postscript figures. Accepted by PRE