The role of an intermediate metastable state in the fluctuation-induced transitions between two stable states is analyzed using generic kinetic models involving one and two order parameters. Conditions are identified under which the transition rate can be enhanced by the presence of the...

The role of an intermediate state in the kinetics of the passage between an initial and a final state is analyzed using a generic model involving one-order parameter and a sixth-order Landau-type potential. Applied to the problem of nucleation of protein crystals the model shows that the rate of...