V. N. Tronin

Kinetic equations for a system of interacting point defects in irradiated metal

Kinetic equations have been derived and investigated describing behaviour of point defects in irradiated metals.

On a mechanism of surface oxide formation near the nucleation threshold

Abstract A kinetic theory of submonolayer oxide formation on solid surfaces near the transition point from adsorption to surface oxide growth has been developed. The theory is based on vacancy instabilities of surface layers interacting with oxygen. The driving force onset of the surface oxidation is shown to be spontaneous vacancy generation when the oxygen coverage approaches the critical value. This gives rise to a substantial decrease of the critical radius for oxide islands and consequently to simultaneous oxide phase nucleation.

Stability of a nonwetting liquid in a nanoporous medium

A physical mechanism has been proposed to describe the formation of a metastable state of a nonwetting liquid after filling of a porous medium at an increased pressure with the subsequent reduction of the overpressure to zero. It has been shown that the observed transition of the system of nonwetting liquid nanoclusters to the metastable state in a narrow range of filling factors and a narrow temperature interval is due to a decrease in the surface free energy without change in the chemical potential owing to the collective interactions between liquid nanoclusters in the neighbouring pores. This effectively corresponds to their mutual attraction. The model makes it possible to describe the observed dependences of the volume of the liquid in pores in the metastable state on the filling factor and temperature.

VARIATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF NON-EQUILIBRIUM THERMODYNAMICS AND KINETICS OF RELAXATION TO THE EQUILIBRIUM OF FLUCTUATING MACROSCOPIC SYSTEMS

On the strength of variational principles of non-equilibrium thermodynamics we have proposed a non-perturbative approach which permits determination of the most probable trajectory of motion of fluctuating macroscopic systems.

Instability of homogeneous distribution of radiation defects in metals in the case of heavily fluctuating defect production

Abstract The phase transition to the inhomogeneous state in the system of interacting point defects in metals was investigated previously in terms of stability analysis of the homogeneous solution of the diffusion-type equations with constant defect production rate. The effective defect production rate for cascade inducing irradiation is shown to fluctuate heavily. An effective order parameter equation based on the appropriate equations with fluctuating defect production rate is obtained. Correlation functions of the fluctuations yield the nonlocal terms in the order parameter equation, thusproducing the effective defect interaction “via fluctuations”. The solutions demonstrate the change of the phase transition condition and the drastic increase of defect concentration in the growing new phase bubble.

Noise-induced phase transition in a system of interacting Brownian particles

Abstract A system of interacting Brownian particles is shown to feature non-equilibrium phase transitions which change the pattern of the systems evolution to equilibrium: diffusion relaxation at final stages acquires a hydrodynamic pattern due to these transitions.