From the eden model to the kinetic growth walk: A generalized growth model with a finite lifetime of growth sites

We propose a new class of cluster growth models where growth sites have a finite lifetime , which contains as special cases the Eden model ( = ) and the kinetic growth walk ( = 1). For finite but large values the growth process can be characterized by a crossover timet _X; for times belowt _X an Eden-type cluster is formed, while for times abovet _X the growth process belongs to the universality class of the self-avoiding random walk. The crossover time increases monotonically with . We develop a scaling theory for the time evolution of the mean end-to-end distance between the seed and the last-added site, and for the average number of growth sites by which the kinetics of the growth process can be characterized. We test this scaling theory by extensive Monte Carlo simulations. We also extend our results to inhomogeneous media (percolation systems).     

Self-avoiding walks on percolation clusters at criticality and lattice animals

We use the real-space renormalization group method to study the critical behavior of self-avoiding walks (SAWs) on both site percolation clusters at percolation threshold and site lattice animals in a square lattice. The correlation length exponents of SAWs are found to be on the percolation clusters atp _c and _SAW ^LA =0.804 on lattice animals. These results are compared with Kremer's suggestion of modified Flory formula where is the fractal dimension of the fractal object.     

Dynamic percolation transition induced by phase separation: A Monte Carlo analysis

The percolation transition of geometric clusters in the three-dimensional, simple cubic, nearest neighbor Ising lattice gas model is investigated in the temperature and concentration region inside the coexistence curve. We consider quenching experiments, where the system starts from an initially completely random configuration (corresponding to equilibrium at infinite temperature), letting the system evolve at the considered temperature according to the Kawasaki spinexchange dynamics. Analyzing the distributionn _l(t) of clusters of sizel at timet, we find that after a time of the order of about 100 Monte Carlo steps per site a percolation transition occurs at a concentration distinctly lower than the percolation concentration of the initial random state. This dynamic percolation transition is analyzed with finite-size scaling methods. While at zero temperature, where the system settles down at a frozen-in cluster distribution and further phase separation stops, the critical exponents associated with this percolation transition are consistent with the universality class of random percolation, the critical behavior of the transient time-dependent percolation occurring at nonzero temperature possibly belongs to a different, new universality class.     

Surface tension,step free energy,and facets in the equilibrium crystal

Some aspects of the microscopic theory of interfaces in classical lattice systems are developed. The problem of the appearance of facets in the (Wulff) equilibrium crystal shape is discussed, together with its relation to the discontinuities of the derivatives of the surface tension (n) (with respect to the components of the surface normaln) and the role of the step free energy ^step(m) (associated with a step orthogonal tom on a rigid interface). Among the results are, in the case of the Ising model at low enough temperatures, the existence of ^step(m) in the thermodynamic limit, the expression of this quantity by means of a convergent cluster expansion, and the fact that 2^step(m) is equal to the value of the jump of the derivative / (when varies) at the point =0 [withn=(m ₁ sin ,m ₂ sin , cos )]. Finally, using this fact, it is shown that the facet shape is determined by the function ^step(m).     

Hausdorff dimension and fluctuations for the largest cluster at the two-dimensional percolation threshold

Monte Carlo simulation shows the average mass of the largest cluster to increase asL ^1.9 at the percolation threshold inL × L square lattices,L290. This fractal dimension agrees with the finite-size scaling prediction/v for this exponent, in contrast to results of Halley and Thang Mai. The mean-square fluctuations in the mass of the largest cluster diverge with the same exponent/v1.8 as the susceptibility.     

External non-white noise and nonequilibrium phase transitions

Langevin equations with external non-white noise are considered. A Fokker Planck equation valid in general in first order of the correlation time of the noise is derived. In some cases its validity can be extended to any value of. The effect of a finite in the nonequilibrium phase transitions induced by the noise is analyzed, by means of such Fokker Planck equation, in general, for the Verhulst equation under two different kind of fluctuations, and for a genetic model. It is shown that new transitions can appear and that the threshold value of the parameter can be changed.     

Percolation,fractals, and anomalous diffusion

Both the infinite cluster and its backbone are self-similar at the percolation threshold,p _c . This self-similarity also holds at concentrationsp nearp _c , for length scalesL which are smaller than the percolation connectedness length,. ForL<, the number of bonds on the infinite cluster scales asL ^D , where the fractal dimensionalityD is equal to(d-/v). Geometrical fractal models, which imitate the backbone and on which physical models are exactly solvable, are presented. Above six dimensions, one has D=4 and an additional scaling length must be included. The effects of the geometrical structure of the backbone on magnetic spin correlations and on diffusion at percolation are also discussed.     

Kinetic growth walk on critical percolation clusters and lattice animals

The statistics of recently proposed kinetic growth walk (KGW) model for linear polymers (or growing self avoiding walk (GSAW)) on two dimensional critical percolation clusters and lattice animals are studied using real-space renormalization group method. The correlation length exponents 's are found to be _KGW ^Pc = 0.68 and _KGW ^LA respectively for the critical percolation clusters and lattice animals. Close agreements are found between these results and a generalized Flory formula for linear polymers at theta point _KGW ^F = 2/ +1),, where is the fractal dimension of the fractal objectF.     

A study of the ϱ0 meson polarization in π− p reaction at 5 GeV/c

Experimental data on ⁰ meson polarization in ^– p reaction at 5 GeV/c are presented. Change in ⁰ meson polarization for mesons produced at smallP ² and atP ² 0·3 or produced in backward direction in CMS is demonstrated. Natural explanation of these phenomena is one pion exchange mechanism and mechanism of quark-antiquark annihilation as observed for ⁰ meson production in¯pp reactions.The authors are indebted to Ján Piút, Richard Lednický, V. S. Rumiancev and N. K. Koutsidi for discussions and critical comments.     

Directed spiral site percolation on the square lattice

A new site percolation model, directed spiral percolation (DSP), under both directional and rotational (spiral) constraints is studied numerically on the square lattice. The critical percolation threshold p _c ≈ 0.655 is found between the directed and spiral percolation thresholds. Infinite percolation clusters are fractals of dimension d _f ≈ 1.733. The clusters generated are anisotropic. Due to the rotational constraint, the cluster growth is deviated from that expected due to the directional constraint. Connectivity lengths, one along the elongation of the cluster and the other perpendicular to it, diverge as p → p _c with different critical exponents. The clusters are less anisotropic than the directed percolation clusters. Different moments of the cluster size distribution P _s(p) show power law behaviour with | p - p _c| in the critical regime with appropriate critical exponents. The values of the critical exponents are estimated and found to be very different from those obtained in other percolation models. The proposed DSP model thus belongs to a new universality class. A scaling theory has been developed for the cluster related quantities. The critical exponents satisfy the scaling relations including the hyperscaling which is violated in directed percolation. A reasonable data collapse is observed in favour of the assumed scaling function form of P _s(p). The results obtained are in good agreement with other model calculations. Received 10 November 2002 / Received in final form 20 February 2003 Published online 23 May 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: santra@iitg.ernet.in     

Cluster and percolation inequalities for lattice systems with interactions

For a lattice gas with attractive potentials of finite range we use the inequalities of Fortuin, Kasteleyn, and Ginibre (FKG) to obtain fairly accurate upper and lower bounds on the equilibrium probabilityp(K) of finding the set of sitesK occupied and the adjacent sites unoccupied, i.e., on the probabilities of finding specified clusters. The probability that a given site, say the origin, is empty or belongs to a cluster of at mostl particles is shown to be a nonincreasing function of the fugacityz and the reciprocal temperature=(T) ^–1; hence the percolation probability is a nondecreasing function ofz and. If the forces are not entirely attractive, or if the ensemble is restricted by forbidding clusters larger than a certain size, the FKG inequalities no longer apply, but useful upper and lower bounds onp(K) can still be obtained if the density of the system and the size of the clusterK are not too large. They are obtained from a generalization of the Kirkwood-Salsburg equation, derived by regarding the system as a mixture of different types of cluster, whose only interaction is that they cannot overlap or touch.Research supported in part by AFOSR Grant #2430B.     

Infinite-range mean-field percolation: Transfer matrix study of longitudinal correlation length

Two infinite-range directed percolation models, equivalent also to epidemic models, are considered for a finite population (finite number of sites)N at each time (directed axis) step. The general features of the transfer matrix spectrum (evolution operator spectrum for the epidemic) are studied numerically, and compared with analytical predictions in the limitN = . One of the models is devised to allow numerical results to be obtained forN as high as nearly 800 for the largest longitudinal percolation correlation length (relaxation time for epidemic). The finite-N behavior of this correlation length is studied in detail, including scaling near the percolation transition, exponential divergence (withN) above the percolation transition, as well as other noncritical and critical-point properties.     

Holes in the probability density of strongly colored noise driven systems

A qualitative change in the topology of the joint probability densityP(,x), which occurs for strongly colored noise in multistable systems, has recently been observed first by analog simulation (F. Moss and F. Marchesoni,Phys. Lett. A 131:322 (1988)) and confirmed by matrix continued fraction methods (Th. Leiber and H. Riskin, unpublished), and by analytic theory (P. Hänggi, P. Jung, and F. Marchesoni,J. Stat. Phys., this issue). Systems studied were of the classx=–U(x)/x+(t,), whereU(x) is a multistable potential and (t, ) is a colored, Gaussian noise of intensityD, for which =0, and (t) (s)=(D/)exp(–t–s/). When the noise correlation time is smaller than some critical value ₀, which depends onD, the two-dimensional densityP(,x) has the usual topology [P. Jung and H. Risken,Z. Phys. B 61:367 (1985); F. Moss and P. V. E. McClintock,Z. Phys. B 61:381 (1985)]: a pair of local maxima ofP(,x), which correspond to a pair of adjacent local minima ofU(x), are connected by a single saddle point which lies on thex axis. When >₀, however,the single saddle disappears and is replaced by a pair of off-axis saddles. A depression, or hole, which is bounded by the saddles and the local maxima thus appears. The most probable trajectory connecting the two potential wells therefore does not pass through the origin for >₀, but instead must detour around the local barrier. This observation implies that successful mean-first-passage-time theories of strongly colored noise driven systems must necessarily be two dimensional (Hänggiet al.). We have observed these holes for several potentialsU(x): (1)a soft, bistable potential by analog simulation (Moss and Marchesoni); (2) a periodic potential [Th. Leiber, F. Marchesoni, and H. Risken,Phys. Rev. Lett. 59:1381 (1987)] by matrix continued fractions; (3) the usual hard, bistable potential,U(x)=–ax ²/2+bx ⁴/4, by analog simulations only; and (4) a random potential for which the forcingf(x)=–U(x)/x is an approximate Gaussian with nonzero correlation length, i.e., colored spatiotemporal noise, by analog simulation. There is a critical curve ₀(D) in the versusD plane which divides the two topological behaviors. For a fixed value ofD, this curve is shifted toward larger values of ₀ for progressively weaker barriers between the wells. Therefore, strong barriers favor the observation of this topological transformation at smaller values of . Recently, an analytic expression for the critical curve, valid asymptotically in the small-D limit, has been obtained (Hänggiet al.).This paper will appear in a forthcoming issue of theJournal of Statistical Physics.     

Cluster glass-like behavior of the diluted antiferromagnet Fe x Mg1−x TiO3 (x=0.2,x=0.3)

A diluted antiferromagnet Fe _x Mg_1–x TiO₃ has been shown to behave as a spin glass (x=0.2) and a reentrant spin glass (x=0.3) near the Fe percolation concentrationx 0.25. In order to obtain microscopic information on these samples, we performed Mössbauer measurements. At considerably higher temperatures than the transition temperatures, magnetically broadened spectra appear superimposed upon the paramagnetic doublets. A remarkable feature is that the intensity of the magnetic spectra increases accompanying the decrease of their linewidth. This behavior can be ascribed to the gradual slow-down of fluctuations of the antiferromagnetic clusters formed at high temperatures. To investigate the temperature variations of the relaxation time of the clusters, we analyzed the Mössbauer spectra using the method formulated by Blume. It has been shown that becomes long with decreasing temperature and the rate of the slow-down of is hastened aroundT _SG andT _N.     

Coulomb zero bias anomaly for fractal geometry and conductivity of granular systems near the percolation threshold

A granular system slightly below the percolation threshold is a collection of finite metallic clusters, characterized by wide spectrum of sizes, resistances, and charging energies. Electrons hop from cluster to clusters via short insulating “links” of high resistance. At low temperatures all clusters are Coulomb blockaded and the dc-conductivity σ is exponentially suppressed. At lowest T the leading transport mechanism is variable range cotunneling via largest (critical) clusters, leading to the modified Efros-Shklovsky law. At intermediate temperatures the principal suppression of ρ originates from the Coulomb zero bias anomaly occurring, when electron tunnels between adjacent large clusters with large resistances. Such clusters are essentially extended objects and their internal dynamics should be taken into account. In this regime the T-dependence of ρ is stretched exponential with a nontrivial index, expressed through the indices of percolation theory. Due to the fractal structure of large clusters the anomaly is strongly enhanced: it arises not only in low dimensions, but also in d = 3 case.     

An Infinite Number of Effectively Infinite Clusters in Critical Percolation

An infinite number of effectively infinite clusters are predicted at the percolation threshold, if effectively infinite means that a cluster's mass increases with a positive power of the lattice size L. All these cluster masses increase as L _D with the fractal dimension D = d – /v, while the mass of the rth largest cluster for fixed L decreases as 1/r , with = D/d in d dimensions. These predictions are confirmed by computer simulations for the square lattice, where D = 91/48 and = 91/96.     

Correction: New stiff matter solutions are really not stiff

Four new solutions in general relativity have recently been derived as representing static spherically symmetric stiff matter,=p. It is pointed out that the equation of state is, in fact,+p=0. It is further shown that two of the solutions are physically reasonable, turning out to represent the vacuum, one of them with a term.     

Fractal structure of equipotential curves on a continuum percolation model

We numerically investigate the electric potential distribution over a two-dimensional continuum percolation model between the electrodes. The model consists of overlapped conductive particles on the background with an infinitesimal conductivity. Using the finite difference method, we solve the generalized Laplace equation and show that in the potential distribution, there appear quasi-equipotential clusters   which approximately and locally have the same values as steps and stairs. Since the quasi-equipotential clusters have the fractal structure, we compute the fractal dimension of equipotential curves and its dependence on the volume fraction over [0,1]$[0,1]$. The fractal dimension in [1.00, 1.246] has a peak at the percolation threshold _pc$p_c$.     

Conductance distributions in random resistor networks. Self-averaging and disorder lengths

The self-averaging properties of the conductanceg are explored in random resistor networks (RRN) with a broad distribution of bond strengthsP(g)g ^–1. The RRN problem is cast in terms of simple combinations of random variables on hierarchical lattices. Distributions of equivalent conductances are estimated numerically on hierarchical lattices as a function of sizeL and the distribution tail strength parameter . For networks above the percolation threshold, convergence to a Gaussian basin is always the case, except in the limit 0. Adisorder length _D is identified, beyond which the system is effectively homogeneous. This length scale diverges as _Dµ^–v ( is the regular percolation correlation length exponent) when the microscopic distribution of conductors is exponentially wide (0). This implies that exactly the same critical behavior can be induced by geometrical disorder and by strong bond disorder with the bond occupation probabilityp. We find that only lattices at the percolation threshold have renormalized probability distributions in aLevy-like basin. At the percolation threshold the disorder length diverges at a critical tail strength µ_c as µ–^–z withz3.2±0.1, a new exponent.Critical path analysis is used in a generalized form to give the macroscopic conductance in the case of lattices abovep _c.     

Renormalization group study of anomalous acoustic behavior in critical percolation network

We study the acoustic behavior of critical percolation network within a real-space renormalization group framework recently proposed by Ohtsuki and Keyes. Using large cell Monte Carlo renormalization group calculations, we obtain the exponent for anomalous sound dispersion K ^1+x/v . Our estimate 2x/v0.80 is in agreement with the exponent for anomalous diffusion in percolation clusters =(–)/v.