Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 14, 2025
11:03
An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
8.9K
Vorticity, Kinetic Energy, and Suppressed Gravitational-Wave Production in Strong First-Order Phase Transitions
Daniel Cutting1,2, Mark Hindmarsh1,2, David J Weir2,3
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH, United Kingdom.
Physical Review Letters
|July 24, 2020
Summary
Simulations reveal that strong early universe phase transitions generate less gravitational waves than predicted. This is due to kinetic energy loss, particularly in deflagrations, impacting cosmic models.
Area of Science:
- Cosmology
- Early Universe Physics
- Phase Transitions
Background:
- First-order thermal phase transitions are crucial for early universe evolution.
- Previous models often simplified these transitions, potentially overestimating observable signals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To perform the first 3D simulations of strong first-order thermal phase transitions.
- To investigate the fluid velocity, kinetic energy transfer, and gravitational wave generation during these events.
Main Methods:
- Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations were conducted.
- The simulations focused on varying transition strengths for both deflagrations and detonations.
Main Results:
- For deflagrations, fluid velocity increased with transition strength; detonations showed constant, low velocity.
- Kinetic energy transfer efficiency decreased with increasing transition strength.
- Gravitational wave energy density for deflagrations was suppressed, with models overestimating signals by up to 10^3.
Conclusions:
- Current models significantly overestimate gravitational wave signals from strong deflagration transitions.
- The kinetic energy deficit, caused by reheated droplets, is a key factor in this discrepancy.
- Detonations are less affected by these strong transition effects.
Related Concept Videos
02:31Phase Transitions
22.1K
Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to...
22.1K
02:39Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
20.3K
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
20.3K
02:33Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
19.4K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
19.4K
01:06Forced Oscillations
7.4K
When an oscillator is forced with a periodic driving force, the motion may seem chaotic. The motions of such oscillators are known as transients. After the transients die out, the oscillator reaches a steady state, where the motion is periodic, and the displacement is determined.
7.4K
01:10Kinetic and Potential Energy of a Wave
6.0K
All forms of waves carry energy; this is directly visualized in nature. For instance, the waves of earthquakes are so intense that they can shake huge concrete buildings, causing them to fall. Loud sounds can damage nerve cells in the inner ear, causing permanent hearing loss. The waves of the oceans can erode beaches.
In mechanical waves, the amount of energy is related to their amplitude and frequency. In the context of the above examples, large-amplitude earthquakes produce large...
In mechanical waves, the amount of energy is related to their amplitude and frequency. In the context of the above examples, large-amplitude earthquakes produce large...
6.0K
02:39Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
14.3K
Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
14.3K