Unified paradigm for interface dynamics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a unified theoretical framework that describes the dynamics of both relativistic and nonrelativistic interfaces across cosmological and material systems, revealing underlying similarities and implications for dark energy research.

Contribution

It develops a common phase field and velocity dependent model that applies to diverse interface dynamics, bridging cosmological and material physics.

Findings

Relativistic and nonrelativistic interfaces can be described by the same models.

A statistical von Neumann's law applies to relativistic interface networks.

Laboratory tests can constrain cosmological domain walls as dark energy candidates.

Abstract

In this paper we develop a common theoretical framework for the dynamics of thin featureless interfaces. We explicitly demonstrate that the same phase field and velocity dependent one-scale models characterizing the dynamics of relativistic domain walls, in a cosmological context, can also successfully describe, in a friction dominated regime, the dynamics of nonrelativistic interfaces in a wide variety of material systems. We further show that a statistical version of von Neumann's law applies in the case of scaling relativistic interface networks, implying that, although relativistic and nonrelativistic interfaces have very different dynamics, a single simulation snapshot is not able to clearly distinguish the two regimes. We highlight that crucial information is contained in the probability distribution function for the number of edges of domains bounded by the interface network and explain why laboratory tests with nonrelativistic interfaces can be used to rule out cosmological domain walls as a significant dark energy source.