The most likely nucleation pathways in multiphase fluctuating hydrodynamics
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Phase change in fluids begins with nucleation, a rare and stochastic process where thermal fluctuations form critical vapour clusters. Understanding this process is essential, yet challenging, due to the wide range of timescales and the limitations of conventional Molecular Dynamics, especially for real fluids. We address this using fluctuating hydrodynamics and diffuse interface models, capturing both microscopic fluctuations and macroscopic behaviour. To overcome the rarity of nucleation events, we apply rare event sampling techniques based on Large Deviation Theory. This approach reveals the most probable nucleation pathways and accurately predicts boiling and cavitation thresholds, in agreement with experiments.