抄録
Dynamical behaviour of a (metastable) liquid near the instability point is studied based on a Vlasov-Fokker-Planck equation (VFP eq.) or equivalently on a nonlinear diffusion equation (ND eq.) derivable from the VFP eq. on coarse-graining in space and time. Near the instability point the ND eq. is reduced, with the use of a reductive perturbation method, to a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) equation for the order parameter W(R, T) for freezing. The TDGL equation shows that the second maximum of the structure factor S(k) at k=2k0 plays a crucial role in determining whether the TDGL equation is of a continuous type or of a discontinuous type, where k0 is the wave-number at which S(k) takes its maximum.