SIGNIFICANT EVENTS - SCIENCE EVENTS
07/07/00
Duke University PI Describes Crossover from Classical to Asymptotic Behavior near a Critical Point
Horst Meyer of Duke University reports that the paper "Crossover Behavior in 3He and Xe
near their liquid-vapor critical points" by Erik Luijten and Horst Meyer, has been accepted for
publication in Physical Review E and is to appear in the September issue.
In this paper the authors present a detailed discussion of the crossover from mean-field
(i.e., "classical") to Ising model ( i.e., asymptotic) critical behavior upon approach of
the critical point for 3He and Xe. They have made a comparison of the compressibility data
above the critical point (T > Tc) and of the coexistence curve (T < Tc) with recent Monte
Carlo calculations by Luijten and Binder. From this comparison they have derived the
Ginzburg numbers that define the approximate temperature location where the crossover
from "asymptotic" to "classical" takes place. The authors have also shown the difference
between the behavior of Xe and 3He, where in the latter fluid there might be evidence of
interplay between quantum and critical fluctuations.
