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Description

The talk will describe a mesoscopic algorithm for snow crystal formation based on physical principles. The model combines diffusion limited growth with anisotropic attachment kinetics. Aggregation is regulated by an idealized semi-liquid layer. Our scheme, motivated by a particle system representation of a suitable Stefan problem, attempts to mimic the snowflake's hydrodynamics. This is apparently the first approach that successfully captures most aspects of real snow crystal growth. This is joint work with David Griffeath (Univ. of Wisconsin).