Secondary ice growth mechanism for ice nuclei in the atmosphere

Abstract

The study of atmospheric ice nuclei is vital for understanding the formation of precipitation and the development of cloud systems as it reveals how these tiny particles grow. A mechanism of such growth when the nuclei are in a mixed ice/water phase and quantum vacuum fluctuation-induced Casimir-Lifshitz interaction highlights the complexity and interconnection of the atmospheric processes with quantum theory. Initially of the order of 0.1 ∼ 10µm in size, atmospheric ice nuclei can expand by the accumulation of water molecules from the surrounding water vapor.