In this talk I will discuss the role of finite temperature quantum corrections in string cosmology and show that they can lead to a stabilization mechanism for the volume moduli. I will show that from the higher dimensional perspective this results from the effect of states of enhanced symmetry on the one-loop free energy. These states lead not only to stabilization, but also suggest an alterna...

The enthalpy and entropy of vacancy creation in solid argon are re-evaluated using the two-body force approximation. At the triple point, the resulting vacancy free energy is g, = 1900 -4.0 RTcaljmole vat. This does not agree well with previous calculations of g,, but agrees well with experimental values of g, obtained from the argon specific heat”’ C, (but not with the questionable values obta...

For spacetimes with timelike Killing fields, we introduce a “Fermi-WalkerKilling” coordinate system and use it to prove a Liouville Theorem for an appropriate volume element of phase space for a statistical mechanical system of particles. We derive an exact relativistic formula for the Helmholtz free energy of an ideal gas and compare it, for a class of spacetimes, to its Newtonian analog, deri...

Scalar fields at finite temperature are considered in four dimensional ultrastatic curved spacetime. One loop nonlocal effective action at finite temperature is found up to the second order in curvature expansion. This action is explicitly infrared finite. In the high temperature expansion of free energy, essentially nonlocal terms linear in temperature are derived. e-mail: [email protected]...

Abstract. We show that the generating function for the higher Weil–Petersson volumes of the moduli spaces of stable curves with marked points can be obtained from Witten’s free energy by a change of variables given by Schur polynomials. Since this generating function has a natural extension to the moduli space of invertible Cohomological Field Theories, this suggests the existence of a “very la...

Basic concepts of crystal growth and their practical use to semi-quantitatively estimate growth processes are explained: surface energy and free energy, driving force of crystallization, atomically rough vs smooth interface structure and the corresponding normal vs layer-by-layer growth modes, application of the activated complex concept to derive kinetic coefficient characterizing crystal grow...

We develop a phase-field model of eutectic growth that uses three phase fields, admits strictly binary interfaces as stable solutions, and has a smooth free energy functional. We use this model to simulate oscillatory limit cycles in two-dimensional lamellar growth, and find a continuous evolution from lowamplitude oscillations to successive invasions of one solid phase by the other when the la...

The inclusion of molecular flexibility into free energy simulations over creation/annihilation paths has been analyzed. A new formalism is presented for such simulations with the intramolecular degrees of freedom being active during the simulation and a recently introduced path is reviewed that allows the inclusion of the flexibility using separate simulations.

The stability and mutual interaction of tearing and twisting modes in a torus is governed by matrices that generalize the well-known 0 stability index. The diagonal elements of these matrices determine the intrinsic stability of modes that reconnect the magnetic eld at a single resonant surface. The o -diagonal elements indicate the strength of the coupling between the di erent modes. We show h...

Free energy and entropy are examined in detail from the standpoint of classical thermodynamics. The approach is logically based on the fact that thermodynamic work is mediated by thermal energy through the tendency for nonthermal energy to convert spontaneously into thermal energy and for thermal energy to distribute spontaneously and uniformly within the accessible space. The fact that free en...