Transitions at the mesoscale: morphological changes in thin solid films and magnetic filaments

Abstract

One of the most striking features of Physics studying the behavior of Nature is that it covers an impressively wide range of sizes and energy scales. These ranges are continuously expanding as new knowledge is acquired and new technologies are developed. However, all the physical theories devised so far have a limited coverage, losing all its meaning or predictive power beyond certain limits which are in some cases quite narrow in front of the vast realm of the known and observable phenomena. The applicability of the different physical theories establishes partial scale domains which may overlap to different extents. The overlap regions between domains, called frontiers, are particularly interesting areas for scientific study. Therefore, the scientific and technical progress not only broadens the full range of lengths and speeds of physical phenomena under study, but also involves research of new physical phenomena at the frontiers between different domains defined by well-established theories.