University of Toronto
Physics Department
Quantum Optics and Condensed Matter
MONDAY SEMINAR


Speaker : PROF. MATTHIEU ERNST
Institute of Theoretical Physics
University of Ultrecht
The Netherlands
Topic : TOWARDS A GINZBURG-LANDAU THEORY FOR GRANULAR FLUIDS
Time : Monday, September 18, 2000 at 12:10 p.m.
Place : Room MP408, Burton Tower 60 St. George Street / 255 Huron Street

Abstract

Granular matter, composed of macroscopic or mesoscopic particles, with short range dissipative interactions, and fluidized through external energy input, behaves as an unstable fluid. It spontaneously develops local flow fields with growing vortices, and the local density forms cold dense clusters surrounded by a hot dilute gas. We develop a simple Landau-Ginzburg type of theory to explain the observed instabilities and the development of patterns.








Local Host:  Prof. Allan Griffin  (416-978-5199) and Prof Ray Kapral phone    (416-978-6106)

See   http://www.physics.utoronto.cphonea/~qocmp