Network of Domain Walls in the Very Early Universe

The following movies have been provided by Dr Carlos Martins. There is a striking similarity in the evolution of the domains with coarsening processes in metallurgy.

A three-dimensional simulation of the evolution of a network of domain walls in the very early universe. These will form at phase transitions in which a discrete symmetry is broken. After an initial relaxation phase, the walls move at relativistic speeds and the characteristic domain length grows linearly with time (which is as fast as is allowed by causality).

Examples of laboratory (non-relativistic) systems where very similar wall dynamics can be found include spinodal decomposition in binary alloys and spontaneous magnetization in the ferromagnetic Ising model. However, in these systems domain growth follows a weaker power of time.

AVI movie format.

MP4 movie format.

MPG movie format.


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