  Using a phase-field model which incorporates enhanced diffusion at the
nanowire surfaces, we study the effect of different parameters on the stability
of intersecting nanowires. Our study shows that at the intersection of
nanowires, sintering (curvature driven material flow) leads to the formation of
junctions. These junctions act the initiators of nanowire break-up. The
subsequent break-ups take place due to Rayleigh instability at the arms away
from these junctions. Finally, at long time scales, the fragments coarsen due
to the differences in sizes. The radii of the nanowires that form the junction,
the difference in size of the intersecting nanowires and the angle of
intersection play a dominant role in determining the kinetics of break-up while
the density of intersections has little or no effect on the kinetics. We
rationalise our results using maps of (i) mean curvatures (and, hence, chemical
potentials), and, (ii) Interfacial Shape Distributions (ISDs) (which are based
on probability densities associated with different combinations of the two
principal curvatures). Finally, we use the moment of inertia tensor to
characterise the (non-spherical) shapes and morphologies of (central) nanowire
fragments at the junctions.
