NUCLEATION AND GROWTH WITH PERIODIC MODULATION - ASYMPTOTIC VERSUS EXACT RESULTS

We consider the nucleation and growth of cavities in a metastable viscous liquid with a periodically modulated pressure. Growth is described from the continuity equation with a source of supercritical nuclei. The solution is matched in an asymptotically smooth manner with the solution of the time-dependent Fokker-Planck equation describing nucleation. It is shown that as a function of the driving frequency the time-dependent flux of nuclei undergoes a characteristic transition. The transition marks the abrupt breakaway from the adiabatic regime. An exactly solvable model of nucleation and growth is introduced which confirms the asymptotic analysis.