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Efficient computation of lattice defect geometries such as point defects, dislocations, disconnections, grain boundaries, interfaces, and free surfaces requires accurate coupling of displacements near the defect to the long-range elastic strain. Flexible boundary condition methods embed a defect in infinite harmonic bulk through the lattice Green function. We demonstrate an efficient and accurate calculation of the lattice Green function from the force-constant matrix for general crystals with an arbitrary basis by extending a method for Bravais lattices. New terms appear due to the presence of optical modes and the possible loss of inversion symmetry. By separately treating poles and discontinuities in reciprocal space, numerical accuracy is controlled at all distances. We compute the lattice Green function for a two-dimensional model with broken symmetry to elucidate the role of different coupling terms. The algorithm is generally applicable in two and three dimensions to crystals with arbitrary number of atoms in the unit cell, symmetry, and interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: For sedentary organisms with localized reproduction, spatially clustered growth drives the invasive advance of a favorable mutation. We model competition between two alleles where recurrent mutation introduces a genotype with a rate of local propagation exceeding the resident''s rate. We capture ecologically important properties of the rare invader''s stochastic dynamics by assuming discrete individuals and local neighborhood interactions. To understand how individual-level processes may govern population patterns, we invoke the physical theory for nucleation of spatial systems. Nucleation theory discriminates between single-cluster and multi-cluster dynamics. A sufficiently low mutation rate, or a sufficiently small environment, generates single-cluster dynamics, an inherently stochastic process; a favorable mutation advances only if the invader cluster reaches a critical radius. For this mode of invasion, we identify the probability distribution of waiting times until the favored allele advances to competitive dominance, and we ask how the critical cluster size varies as propagation or mortality rates vary. Increasing the mutation rate or system size generates multi-cluster invasion, where spatial averaging produces nearly deterministic global dynamics. For this process, an analytical approximation from nucleation theory, called Avrami''s Law, describes the time-dependent behavior of the genotype densities with remarkable accuracy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

For sedentary organisms with localized reproduction, spatially clustered growth drives the invasive advance of a favorable mutation. We model competition between two alleles where recurrent mutation introduces a genotype with a rate of local propagation exceeding the resident's rate. We capture ecologically important properties of the rare invader's stochastic dynamics by assuming discrete individuals and local neighborhood interactions. To understand how individual-level processes may govern population patterns, we invoke the physical theory for nucleation of spatial systems. Nucleation theory discriminates between single-cluster and multi-cluster dynamics. A sufficiently low mutation rate, or a sufficiently small environment, generates single-cluster dynamics, an inherently stochastic process; a favorable mutation advances only if the invader cluster reaches a critical radius. For this mode of invasion, we identify the probability distribution of waiting times until the favored allele advances to competitive dominance, and we ask how the critical cluster size varies as propagation or mortality rates vary. Increasing the mutation rate or system size generates multi-cluster invasion, where spatial averaging produces nearly deterministic global dynamics. For this process, an analytical approximation from nucleation theory, called Avrami's Law, describes the time-dependent behavior of the genotype densities with remarkable accuracy.