Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2025

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Supercluster states and phase transitions in aggregation-fragmentation processes
Wendy Otieno1, Nikolai V Brilliantov2,3, P L Krapivsky4,5
1Department of Physics, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We study the evolution of aggregates triggered by collisions with monomers that either lead to the attachment of monomers or the break-up of aggregates into constituting monomers. Depending on parameters quantifying addition and break-up rates, the system falls into a jammed or a steady state. Supercluster states (SCSs) are very peculiar nonextensive jammed states that also arise in some models. Fluctuations underlie the formation of the SCSs. Conventional tools, such as the van Kampen expansion, apply to small fluctuations. We go beyond the van Kampen expansion and determine a set of critical exponents quantifying SCSs. We observe continuous and discontinuous phase transitions between the states. Our theoretical predictions are in good agreement with numerical results.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
States of Matter and Phase Changes
Separation of Sister Chromatids
At the onset of anaphase, separase, a proteolytic enzyme, is...
Phase Diagram
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing

