Orientational correlations in stripe patterns

摘要

Stripe phases are observed in many condensed matter systems where there is a competition between long- and short-range ordering. Cell dynamics simulations are used to generate patterns in which the stripe orientation is enhanced by increasing thermal noise, decreasing temperature or applying shear. Although a steady state degree of order is reached, the non-equilibrium nature of the simulated patterns is demonstrated through the dependence of orientational correlation functions on thermal history. Nevertheless, the results show that the computed orientational correlation function provides a quantitative "fingerprint" that should enable the characterization of equilibrium stripe patterns as well as trapped non-equilibrium states. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. [References: 28]