Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Optimization of Crystal Growth for Neutron Macromolecular Crystallography
Published on: March 13, 2021
Low-temperature nucleation rate calculations using the N-Fold way
Federico Ettori1, Dipanjan Mandal2,3, David Quigley2
1Department of Physics, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, Milan 20133, Italy.
Abstract:
We present a numerical study to determine nucleation rates for magnetization reversal within the Ising model (lattice gas model) in the low-temperature regime, a domain less explored in previous research. To achieve this, we implemented the N-Fold way algorithm, a well-established method for low-temperature simulations, alongside a novel, highly efficient cluster identification algorithm. Our method can access nucleation rates up to 50 orders of magnitude lower than previously reported results. We examine three cases: homogeneous pure system, system with static impurities, and system with mobile impurities, where impurities are defined as sites with zero interactions with neighboring spins (the spin value of impurities is set to 0). Classical nucleation theory holds across the entire temperature range studied in the paper, for both the homogeneous system and the static impurity case. However, in the case of mobile impurities, the umbrella sampling technique appears ineffective at low mobility values. These findings provide valuable insights into nucleation phenomena at low temperatures, contributing to theoretical and experimental understanding.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Temperature Dependence on Reaction Rate
Atoms, molecules, or ions must collide before they can react with each other. Atoms must be close together to form chemical bonds. This premise is the basis for a theory that explains many observations regarding chemical kinetics, including factors affecting reaction rates.
The collision theory is based on the postulates that (i) the reaction rate is proportional to the rate of reactant collisions, (ii) the reacting species collide in an orientation allowing contact between...
Effect of Temperature Change on Reaction Rate
Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution
Precipitation Processes

