Fractal Concepts in Surface Growth

by A.- L. Barabási, H. E. Stanley

Overview

Fractals and surfaces are two of the most widely-studied areas of modern physics. In fact, most surfaces in nature are fractals. In this book, Drs. Barabási and Stanley explain how fractals can be successfully used to describe and predict the morphology of surface growth. The authors begin by presenting basic growth models and the principles used to develop them. They next demonstrate how models can be used to answer specific questions about surface roughness. In the second half of the book, they discuss in detail two classes of phenomena: fluid flow in porous media and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In each case, the authors review the model and analytical approach, and present experimental results. This book is the first attempt to unite the subjects of fractals and surfaces, and it will appeal to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in condensed matter physics and statistical mechanics. Because of the technological importance of MBE, it will also be of interest to scientists, particularly materials scientists, working in industry and research. Interested readers may view a sample chapter by contacting our web site at http://www.cup.org/onlinepubs/Fractals/fracts1.html.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521483186
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/13/1995
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	388
Product dimensions:	7.17(w) x 9.88(h) x 0.87(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Notation guide; Part I. Introduction: 1. Interfaces in nature; 2. Scaling concepts; 3. Fractal concepts; Part II. Nonequilibrium Roughening: 4. Random deposition; 5. Linear theory; 6. Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation; 7. Renormalization group approach; 8. Discrete growth models; Part III. Interfaces in Random Media: 9. Basic phenomena; 10. Quenched noise; 11. Experiments; Part IV. Molecular Beam Epitaxy: 12. Basic phenomena of MBE; 13. Linear theory of MBE; 14. Nonlinear theory for MBE; 15. Discrete models for MBE; 16. MBE experiments; 17. Submonolayer deposition; 18. The roughening transition; 19. Nonlocal growth models; 20. Diffusion bias; Part V. Noise: 21. Diffusive versus deposition noise; 22. Correlated noise; 23. Rare events; Part VI. Advanced Topics: 24. Multi-affine surfaces; 25. Variants of the KPZ equation; 26. Equilibrium fluctuations and directed polymers; Part VII. Finale: 27. Summary of the continuum growth equations; 28. Outlook; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"I am convinced that the book will become a classic one...and can wholeheartedly recommend it to everybody interested in this interdisciplinary field of rough surfaces and interfaces." Armin Bunde, Heterogeneous Reviews

"...a useful, clear and thorough presentation of the field of surface growth." Dietrich Wolf, HLRZ

"Barabási and Stanley have done a real service in writing a clear and careful introduction to this active area. At this level, the book is unique and merits a place on many shelves." Leonard M. Sander, Physics Today

"This book is an excellent introductory text and could be used for advanced course work in a number of areas. It should be of interest to materials scientists, condensed matter physicists and physical chemists working on surface phenomena....The strength of this book is that it links results from theory, computer simulation and experiment in one unified exposition. It provides an excellent entree into this literature and will be a valuable aid for both teaching and research. I anticipate that this book will be cited long after its contemporaries are out of print." T. Gregory Dewey, Journal of the American Chemical Society

"Overall this timely and beautifully produced book provides an excellent overview of some of the most important developments in application of dynamic scaling concepts to surface growth....Barabási and Stanley have done an excellent job of distilling a decade's worth of work into a readable book that provides the background needed to delve into recent literature in this field. I recommend this book strongly to students studying surface and interface growth phenomena, because it provides an excellent background needed to enter this field. I also recommend it to researchers seeking a comprehensive review of a particular surface growth problem, because the authors have covered most of the important surface growth areas in which scaling and fractal concepts have been used. To non-specialists, this book will also be quite useful as a general introduction to application of scaling and fractals to nonequilibrium surface growth phenomena." Fereydoon Family, Journal of Statistical Physics

"...the presentation is made with care and rigor.... The book...can be used for advanced undergraduate or graduate courses. It will be of great practical use for students in the areas of physics and surface growth, and more generally, for students in chemistry, biology, applied mathematics and engineering or materials science." Vitor R. Vieira, Mathematical Reviews

From the Publisher