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Updated: Jan 1, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Derivation of an exact, nonequilibrium framework for nucleation: Nucleation is a priori neither diffusive nor
Anja Kuhnhold1, Hugues Meyer1,2, Graziano Amati1
1Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
Abstract:
We discuss the structure of the equation of motion that governs nucleation processes at first order phase transitions. From the underlying microscopic dynamics of a nucleating system, we derive by means of a nonequilibrium projection operator formalism the equation of motion for the size distribution of the nuclei. The equation is exact, i.e., the derivation does not contain approximations. To assess the impact of memory, we express the equation of motion in a form that allows for direct comparison to the Markovian limit. As a numerical test, we have simulated crystal nucleation from a supersaturated melt of particles interacting via a Lennard-Jones potential. The simulation data show effects of non-Markovian dynamics.
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