Field theoretic method in phase transformations (Q660433)

The author discusses the field theoretic method in phase transitions. Phase transitions are significant changes in a system's properties and symmetry, which happen as a result of changes of external conditions (temperature, pressure, chemical potential, etc.). Although various phase transitions are discussed in the book as physical phenomena, the book is more about the method to study phase transitions than about the phenomena themselves. One of the most convenient ways of addressing the general problem of phase transformations is the field-theoretic method based on the Landau paradigm, which assumes that the free energy, in addition to temperature, pressure, and composition, is a continuous function of a set of internal parameters associated with the symmetry changes. The book consists of 11 chapters (introduction; Landau theory of phase transitions; heterogeneous equilibrium systems; dynamics of homogeneous systems; evolution of heterogeneous systems; thermomechanical analogy; thermodynamic fluctuations; more complicated systems, thermal effects of phase transformations; transformations in real materials; and extensions of the method) and 10 appendices where some specific topics, critical to the subject of the book, are briefly presented. This book is aimed at researches who are interested in all aspects of phase transformations, especially for practitioners who are involved in theoretical studies or computer simulations of the phenomena. This book can be used as a textbook for a graduate or upper-level undergraduate course in the physics of phase transitions.