My co-workers and I have studied the formation and precursors in terms of a statistical mechanics of trajectory space.  Familiar concepts in the theory of equilibrium phase transitions (e.g., order parameters, free energies, interfaces and wetting) have natural space-time counterparts for this class of non-equilibrium phenomena, and techniques developed to treat rare events in complex systems provide useful tools to understand these phenomena.  The resulting picture and its relationship to some alternative perspectives will be discussed.

Award Address  (Peter   Debye Award in Physical Chemistry sponsored by E. I. du Pont de Nemours &   Company). Order-disorder and the glass transition

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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