Instabilities of isotropic solutions of active polar filaments

We study the dynamics of an isotropic solution of polar filaments coupled by molecular motors which generate relative motion of the filaments in two and three dimensions. We investigate the stability of the homogeneous state for constant motor concentration taking into account excluded volume and an estimate of entanglement. At low filament density the system develops a density instability, while at high density entanglement drives the instability of orientational fluctuations.     

Multiple attractors, long chaotic transients, and failure in small-world networks of excitable neurons

We study the dynamical states of a small-world network of recurrently coupled excitable neurons, through both numerical and analytical methods. The dynamics of this system depend mostly on both the number of long-range connections or "shortcuts", and the delay associated with neuronal interactions. We find that persistent activity emerges at low density of shortcuts, and that the system undergoes a transition to failure as their density reaches a critical value. The state of persistent activity below this transition consists of multiple stable periodic attractors, whose number increases at least as fast as the number of neurons in the network. At large shortcut density and for long enough delays the network dynamics exhibit exceedingly long chaotic transients, whose failure times follow a stretched exponential distribution. We show that this functional form arises for the ensemble-averaged activity if the failure time for each individual network realization is exponentially distributed.     

Excited-state quantum phase transitions in systems with two degrees of freedom: II. Finite-size effects

This article extends our previous analysis Stránský et al. (2014) of Excited-State Quantum Phase Transitions (ESQPTs) in systems of dimension two. We focus on the oscillatory component of the quantum state density in connection with ESQPT structures accompanying a first-order ground-state transition. It is shown that a separable (integrable) system can develop rather strong finite-size precursors of ESQPT expressed as singularities in the oscillatory component of the state density. The singularities originate in effectively 1-dimensional dynamics and in some cases appear in multiple replicas with increasing excitation energy. Using a specific model example, we demonstrate that these precursors are rather resistant to proliferation of chaotic dynamics.     

Dynamics of the formation of two-dimensional ordered structures

The growth of ordered domains in lattice gas models, which occurs after the system is quenched from infinite temperature to a state below the critical temperatureT _c, is studied by Monte Carlo simulation. For a square lattice with repulsion between nearest and next-nearest neighbors, which in equilibrium exhibits fourfold degenerate (2×1) superstructures, the time-dependent energy E(t), domain size L(t), and structure functionS(q, t) are obtained, both for Glauber dynamics (no conservation law) and the case with conserved density (Kawasaki dynamics). At late times the energy excess and halfwidth of the structure factor decrease proportional tot ^–x, whileL(t) t ^x, where the exponent x=1/2 for Glauber dynamics and x1/3 for Kawasaki dynamics. In addition, the structure factor satisfies a scaling lawS(k,t)=t ^2xS(kt^x). The smaller exponent for the conserved density case is traced back to the excess density contained in the walls between ordered domains which must be redistributed during growth. Quenches toT>T _c, T=T_c (where we estimate dynamic critical exponents) andT=0 are also considered. In the latter case, the system becomes frozen in a glasslike domain pattern far from equilibrium when using Kawasaki dynamics. The generalization of our results to other lattices and structures also is briefly discussed.     

Real-time ab initio simulations of excited carrier dynamics in carbon nanotubes

Combining time-dependent density functional calculations for electrons with molecular dynamics simulations for ions, we investigate the dynamics of excited carriers in a (3,3) carbon nanotube at different temperatures. Following an hnu=6.8 eV photoexcitation, the carrier decay is initially dominated by efficient coupling to electronic degrees of freedom. At room temperature, the excitation gap is reduced to nearly half its initial value after approximately 230 fs, where coupling to ionic motion starts dominating the decay. We show that the onset point and damping rate in the phonon regime change with initial ion velocities, a manifestation of temperature-dependent coupling between electronic and ionic degrees of freedom.     

Vertical transport of electrons and holes in short period GaAs---AlGaAs superlattices

Owing to the use of a high sensitivity streak camera we are able to observe photoluminescence (PL) decays with excitation density as low as 10¹⁴ photocarriers cm⁻³ per pulse. At such low densities photoexcited electrons are the minoritar carriers in our residual p-type MBE materials and they move freely. By varying the excitation density we are able to evidence the transition from electron transport regime to ambipolar motion. We have studied a series of samples superlattices (SLs) of different periods and AlGaAs reference alloy with an enlarged well (EW) located at about 1 μm from the surface. The vertical transport in these structures is analysed by measuring the dynamics of the photoluminescence.     

Dynamical vanishing of the order parameter in a fermionic condensate

We analyze the dynamics of a condensate of ultracold atomic fermions following an abrupt change of the pairing strength. At long times, the system goes to a nonstationary steady state, which we determine exactly. The superfluid order parameter asymptotes to a constant value. We show that the order parameter vanishes when the pairing strength is decreased below a certain critical value. In this case, the steady state of the system combines properties of normal and superfluid states -- the gap and the condensate fraction vanish, while the superfluid density is nonzero.     

Quantum coherence dynamics of spin pairs in many-spin cluster

We consider the dynamics of a quantum coherence of two chosen spins in systems of dipolar coupled nuclear spins s=1/2 in solid. With the purpose to study this coherence we suggest two different methods. One of them uses the partial trace technique and reduced density matrix. The second method is based on the calculation the intensity of multiple quantum coherences using two-spin operator and the density matrix of the whole spin system. Results of calculations of the multiple-quantum dynamics in spin clusters of various dimensionalities are presented. It is shown that the whole density matrix method is more informative than the method based on the reduced density matrix.     

Quantum phase transition in an antiferromagnetic spinor Bose-Einstein condensate

We have experimentally observed the dynamics of an antiferromagnetic sodium Bose-Einstein condensate quenched through a quantum phase transition. Using an off-resonant microwave field coupling the F = 1 and F = 2 atomic hyperfine levels, we rapidly switched the quadratic energy shift q from positive to negative values. At q = 0, the system undergoes a transition from a polar to antiferromagnetic phase. We measured the dynamical evolution of the population in the F = 1, mF = 0 state in the vicinity of this transition point and observed a mixed state of all 3 hyperfine components for q < 0. We also observed the coarsening dynamics of the instability for q < 0, as it nucleated small domains that grew to the axial size of the cloud.     

Nature of the transition from two- to three-dimensional ordering in a confined colloidal suspension

We report the results of extensive molecular dynamics simulations of solid-to-solid transitions in two- to six-layer colloidal suspensions confined between two smooth parallel walls. The studies are designed to elucidate the ordered particle packings that interpolate between the structures of two- and three-dimensional crystals in a confined space. At a fixed density per layer, as the wall separation increases we find a sequence of stable phases, each characterized by uniform amplitude buckling along the normal to the layer planes. The buckling is coupled to an in-plane ordering transition. The buckled phases alternate with phases whose structures contain only parallel planes of particles. The relative densities of the positively and negatively displaced particles in a buckled layer, the in-plane structures, and the behavior with respect to increasing wall separation of the split density distribution that characterizes a buckled layer, clearly identify these layers as intermediates in the reconstructive transformations ntriangle up-->(n+1) square that occur when the character of the constrained space evolves from being two dimensional to being three dimensional (triangle up denotes layers with hexagonal packing symmetry, while square denotes layers with square packing symmetry). The two transitions, ntriangle up-->n-buckled-->(n+1) square, are found to be first order.     

Structural transitions of solvent-free oligomer-grafted nanoparticles

Novel structural transitions of solvent-free oligomer-grafted nanoparticles are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained bead-spring model. Variations in core size and grafting density lead to self-assembly of the nanoparticles into a variety of distinct structures. At the boundaries between different structures, the nanoparticle systems undergo thermoreversible transitions. This structural behavior, which has not been previously reported, deviates significantly from that of simple liquids. The reversible nature of these transitions in solvent-free conditions offers new ways to control self-assembly of nanoparticles at experimentally accessible conditions.     

Enhanced ordering of interacting filaments by molecular motors

We theoretically study the cooperative behavior of cytoskeletal filaments in motility assays in which immobilized motor proteins bind the filaments to substrate surfaces and actively pull them along these surfaces. Because of the mutual exclusion of the filaments, the coupled dynamics of filaments, motor heads, and motor tails leads to a nonequilibrium phase transition which generalizes the isotropic-nematic phase transition of the corresponding equilibrium system, the hard-rod fluid. Langevin dynamics simulations show that the motor activity enhances the tendency for nematic ordering. We develop a quantitative theory for the location of the phase boundary as a function of motor density. At high detachment forces of motors, we also observe filament clusters arising from blocking effects.     

Three-dimensional magnetic structures generated by the development of the filamentation (Weibel) instability in the relativistic regime

We present three-dimensional, fully relativistic, fluid simulations of the dynamics of inhomogeneous counter streaming beams with the aim of understanding the magnetic structures that can be expected to form as a consequence of the development of the so-called Weibel instability. Ringlike structures in the transverse direction are generated as a consequence of the development of a spatially resonant mode. We describe the structures generated by beams of equal initial density and velocity and by a fast, less dense beam compensated by a slower, denser beam. We consider these two cases as schematic models of a laser produced beam propagating in a plasma with nearly equal density and in a plasma much denser than the injected beam.     

Self-consistent simulations of quantum cascade laser structures for frequency comb generation

Maxwell–Bloch equations are widely used to model the dynamics due to coherent light-matter interaction in quantum cascade laser (QCL) structures, which plays an essential role especially for the generation of frequency combs and mode-locked pulses. While the modest numerical complexity of the Maxwell–Bloch system allows for a full spatiotemporal treatment, its main disadvantage is the inclusion of dissipation by empirical dephasing rates and electron lifetimes. We present a self-consistent multi-domain approach which couples the Maxwell–Bloch equations to advanced carrier transport simulations based on a density matrix Monte Carlo technique, yielding the scattering and dephasing rates. In this way, the compact spatiotemporal modeling of the carrier-light dynamics by the Maxwell–Bloch system can be combined with the versatility and reliability of self-consistent carrier transport approaches. Simulation results are shown for a QCL-based terahertz frequency comb source, and good agreement with experiment is obtained.     

Noise induced patterning in reaction-diffusion systems with non-Fickian diffusion

We have studied the entropy-driven mechanism leading to stationary patterns formation in stochastic systems with local dynamics and non-Fickian diffusion. It is shown that a multiplicative noise fulfilling a fluctuation-dissipation relation is able to induce and sustain stationary structures. It was found that at small and large noise intensities the system is characterized by unstable homogeneous states. At intermediate values of the noise intensity three types of patterns are possible: nucleation, spinodal decomposition and stripes with liner defects (dislocations). Our analytical investigations are verified by computer simulations.     

Excitation-density-dependent generation of broadband terahertz radiation in an asymmetrically excited photoconductive antenna

The generation of terahertz (THz) transients in photoconductive emitters has been studied by varying the spatial extent and density of the optically excited photocarriers in asymmetrically excited, biased low-temperature-grown GaAs antenna structures. We find a pronounced dependence of the THz pulse intensity and broadband (>6.0 THz) spectral distribution on the pump excitation density and simulate this with a three-dimensional carrier dynamics model. We attribute the observed variation in THz emission to changes in the strength of the screening field.     

区间衍生粒子滤波器

针对非线性、非高斯环境下具有不确定动态模型参数的系统状态估计问题,提出了一种新颖的区间衍生粒子滤波算法.该算法利用区间滤波生成的重要性密度函数,在系统状态转移概率密度的基础上,融入最新的系统观测数据,从而提高了对系统状态后验概率的逼近程度.为了进一步提高算法的实时性,提出一种类似光子衍射的粒子衍生过程,进而缓解了滤波精度与运算量之间的矛盾.通过陀螺/星敏感器组合定姿问题验证了该算法的有效性和鲁棒性.     

Silicon clusters of intermediate size: energetics, dynamics, and thermal effects

A combination of the best available theoretical techniques for energetics, dynamics, and thermodynamics is employed in an extensive study of Si(n) ( n = 20,25) clusters. For T = 0 we solve the electronic structure by the density functional and the highly accurate quantum Monte Carlo approaches. Finite temperature and dynamical effects are investigated by the ab initio molecular dynamics method. This combination of methods enables us to find several new low-energy isomers and to explain the differences in properties, behavior, and stability of elongated versus compact types of structures and to elucidate the origin of the existing discrepancies between theory and experiments.     

Relaxation to nonequilibrium in expanding ultracold neutral plasmas

We investigate the strongly correlated ion dynamics and the degree of coupling achievable in the evolution of freely expanding ultracold neutral plasmas. We demonstrate that the ionic Coulomb coupling parameter Gamma(i) increases considerably in later stages of the expansion, reaching the strongly coupled regime despite the well known initial drop of Gamma(i) to order unity due to disorder-induced heating. Furthermore, we formulate a suitable measure of correlation and show that Gamma(i) calculated from the ionic temperature and density reflects the degree of order in the system if it is sufficiently close to a quasisteady state. At later times, however, the expansion of the plasma cloud becomes faster than the relaxation of correlations, and the system does not reach thermodynamic equilibrium anymore.