Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée
Ecole Polytechnique
91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
Phone: +33 1 6933 4777 Fax: +33 1 6933 4799
email:
Mathis.Plapp@polytechnique.fr
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Research projects:
My principal area of interest is the physics of crystal
growth. In particular, I study theoretically and numerically
the spontaneous emergence of complex structures during
growth far from equilibrium. Examples for such structures
include dendritic crystals such as snowflakes, the irregular
metallic aggregates formed during electrochemical deposition,
domains and spirals that develop during molecular beam
epitaxy, and the precipitates that form during phase
separation. The fundamental interest of these processes is
that they furnish examples of spontaneous pattern formation
and self-organization processes in relatively simple
systems. Their study can help to identify and understand
common basic principles and mechanisms underlying self-organization,
with the hope to apply this knowledge in the future to more
complex systems, in particular in biology. From the practical
point of view, the structures formed during the fabrication
of a material often determine its final properties. A better
understanding of the pattern formation dynamics can therefore
help to optimize the processing conditions.