The asymmetric contact process at its second critical value

The asymmetric contact process onZ has two distinct critical values ₁ > ₂ (at least with sufficient asymmetry). One can consider the process on {0,...,N} and analyze the time (which we call _N ) till complete vacany starting from complete occupation. Its behavior has already been resolved for all regions of except for =₂. For this value, Schinazi proved that lim _N log _N /logN=2 in probability and conjectured that _N /N ² converges in distribution. It is that result that we prove in this paper. We rely heavily on the Brownian motion behavior of the edge particle, which comes from Galves and Presutti and Kuczek.     

A complementary thermodynamic limit for classical Coulomb matter

The canonical equilibrium measure of classical two-component Coulomb matter with regularized interactions is analyzed in a finite volume. It is shown that, in the mean-field regime, the one-particle density is inhomogeneous on a new characteristic length scale _inh. For a system ofN positive andN negative particles, _inh and the characteristic length scale of correlations _corr (=Debye screening length) are related via _inh=(2N)^1/2 _corr. The major conceptual conclusion that is drawn from this is that one needs two nontrivial complementary thermodynamic limits to define the equilibrium thermodynamics of two-component Coulomb systems. One of them is the standard thermodynamic limit (infinite volume), where one takesN, _corr fixed. Its complementary limit is characterized byN, _inh fixed, and is a finite-volume inhomogeneous mean-field limit. The most prominent new feature in the mean-field thermodynamic limit, which is absent in the standard thermodynamic limit, is an anomalous first-order phase transition where the Coulomb system explodes or implodes, respectively. The phase transition is connected with the existence of a metastable plasma phase far below the ionization temperature.     

Energy level crossings in quantum mechanics

From the eigenvalue equationH \ _n () =E _n ()\ _n () withH H ₀ +V one can derive an autonomous system of first order differential equations for the eigenvaluesE _n () and the matrix elementsV _mn () where is the independent variable. To solve the dynamical system we need the initial valuesE _n ( = 0) and \ _n ( = 0). Thus one finds the motion of the energy levelsE _n (). We discuss the question of energy level crossing. Furthermore we describe the connection with the stationary state perturbation theory. The dependence of the survival probability as well as some thermodynamic quantities on is derived. This means we calculate the differential equations which these quantities obey. Finally we derive the equations of motion for the extended caseH =H ₀ +V ₁ + ² V ₂ and give an application to a supersymmetric Hamiltonian.     

Geometry and combinatorics of Julia sets of real quadratic maps

For real a correspondence is made between the Julia setB forz(z–)², in the hyperbolic case, and the set of-chains±(±(±..., with the aid of Cremer's theorem. It is shown how a number of features ofB can be understood in terms of-chains. The structure ofB is determined by certain equivalence classes of-chains, fixed by orders of visitation of certain real cycles; and the bifurcation history of a given cycle can be conveniently computed via the combinatorics of-chains. The functional equations obeyed by attractive cycles are investigated, and their relation to-chains is given. The first cascade of period-doubling bifurcations is described from the point of view of the associated Julia sets and-chains. Certain Julia sets associated with the Feigenbaum function and some theorems of Lanford are discussed.Supported by NSF grant No. MCS-8104862.Supported by NSF grant No. MCS-8203325.     

On the invariant sets of a family of quadratic maps

The Julia setB for the mappingz (z–)² is considered, where is a complex parameter. For 2 a new upper bound for the Hausdorff dimension is given, and the monic polynomials orthogonal with respect to the equilibrium measure onB are introduced. A method for calculating all of the polynomials is provided, and certain identities which obtain among coefficients of the three-term recurrence relations are given. A unifying theme is the relationship betweenB and -chains ± (± (± ...), which is explored for –1/42 and for with ||1/4, with the aid of the Böttcher equation. ThenB is shown to be a Hölder continuous curve for ||<1/4.Supported by NSF Grant MCS-8104862Supported by NSF Grant MCS-8002731     

Fractional noise

Fractional noiseN(t),t 0, is a stochastic process for every , and is defined as the fractional derivative or fractional integral of white noise. For = 1 we recover Brownian motion and for = 1/2 we findf ^–1-noise. For 1/2 1, a superposition of fractional noise is related to the fractional diffusion equation.     

Hölder Equicontinuity of the Integrated Density of States at Weak Disorder

Hölder continuity, |N(E)–N(E)| C |E – E|, with a constant C independent of the disorder strength is proved for the integrated density of states N(E) associated to a discrete random operator H=H_o + V consisting of a translation invariant hopping matrix H_o and i.i.d. single site potentials V with an absolutely continuous distribution, under a regularity assumption for the hopping term.Mathematics Subject Classifications (2000). 82D30, 46N55, 47N55.     

C λ-extended oscillator algebra and parasupersymmetric quantum mechanics

The C -extended oscillator algebra is generated by {1, a, a , N, T}, where T is the generator of the cyclic group C of order . It can be realized as a generalized deformed oscillator algebra (GDOA). Its unirreps can thus be easily exhibited using the representation theory of GDOAs and their carrier spaces show a Z-grading structure. Within its infinite-dimensional Fock space representation, this algebra provides a bosonization of parasupersymmetric quantum mechanics of order p = – 1.     

Mean-Field Critical Behavior for the Contact Process

The contact process is a model of spread of an infectious disease. Combining with the result of ref. 1, we prove that the critical exponents take on the mean-field values for sufficiently high dimensional nearest-neighbor models and for sufficiently spread-out models with d>4:()– _c as _c and ()( _c–)^–1 as _c, where () and () are the spread probability and the susceptibility of the infection respectively, and _c is the critical infection rate. Our results imply that the upper critical dimension for the contact process is at most 4.     

The central limit theorem for the spectrum of the random one-dimensional Schrödinger operator

Let H_L = –d²/dt²+q(t,) be an one-dimensional random Schrödinger operator in ²(–L, L) with the classical boundary conditions. The random potential q(t,) has a form q(t, )=F(x_t), where x_t is a Brownian motion on the Euclidean v-dimensional torus, FS^v R¹ is a smooth function with the nondegenerated critical points, min_s ^v F = 0. Let are the eigenvalues of H_L) be a spectral distribution function in the volume [– L,L] and N() = lim_L(1/2L)N_L() be a corresponding limit distribution function.Theorem 1. If L then the normalized difference N _L ^* ()=[N_L() -2L·N()]2L tends (in the sense of Levi-Prokhorov) to the limit Gaussian process N^*(); N^*()0, 0, and N^*() has nondegenerated finitedimensional distributions on the spectrum (i.e., > 0). Theorem 2. The limit process N^*() is a continuous process with the locally independent increments.     

A solvable model exhibiting a glass-like transition

A nonlinear equation of motion of an overdamped oscillator exhibiting a glass-like transition at a critical coupling constant _c is presented and solved exactly. Below _c , in the fluid phase, the oscillator coordinatex(t) decays to zero, while above _c , in the amorphous phase, it decays to a nonzero infinite time limit. Near _c the motion is slowed down by a nonlinear feedback mechanism andx(t) decays exponentially to its long time limit with a relaxation time diverging as (1 – / _c )^–3/2 and (/ _c –1)^–1 for < _c and > _c respectively. At _c x(t) exhibits a power law decay proportional tot ^– with exponent -1/2.     

Soliton mass and surface tension in the (λ|Ø|4)2 quantum field model

The spectrum of the mass operator on the soliton sectors of the anisotropic (|ø|⁴)₂—and the (ø⁴)₂—quantum field models in the two phase region is analyzed. It is proven that, for small enough >0, the mass gapm _s() on the soliton sector is positive, andm _s()=0(^–1). This involves estimatingm _s() from below by a quantity () analogous to the surface tension in the statistical mechanics of two dimensional, classical spin systems and then estimating () by methods of Euclidean field theory. In principle, our methods apply to any two dimensional quantum field model with a spontaneously broken, internal symmetry group.A Sloan Foundation Fellow; Research supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. MPS 75-11864.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY 76-17191     

Calculation and optimization of parameters of radiating distributed feedback structures

A simple method is suggested for calculation of reflection, radiation and transmission coefficients for the distributed feedback structure in the second diffraction order. The method is based on a slight difference between coefficients of reflectionR and radiationI of the surface wave for = (where is the light wavelength corresponding to a precise resonance for the grating length I) and those for =_l (where _l is the light wavelength corresponding to the resonance for the finite grating length). The simplicity of the method makes it possible to use it for optimization of the distributed feedback structure by a number of parameters. The technique can be used in the case of thin-film and diffused waveguides for both TE and TM modes.     

Absolutely continuous invariant measures for one-parameter families of one-dimensional maps

Given a one-parameter familyf (x) of maps of the interval [0, 1], we consider the set of parameter values for whichf has an invariant measure absolutely continuous with respect to Lebesgue measure. We show that this set has positive measure, for two classes of maps: i)f (x)=f(x) where 0<4 andf(x) is a functionC ³-near the quadratic mapx(1–x), and ii)f (x)=f(x) (mod 1) wheref isC ³,f(0)=f(1)=0 andf has a unique nondegenerate critical point in [0, 1].     

Parametric relaxation of spectra

We study the change of an quasienergy spectrum upon variation of the weight of a perturbation in the Floquet operatorF=F ₀e^–iV . Employing ideas from level dynamics and random matrix-theory we show that the distribution of nearest-neighbor spacings can display effectively irreversible behavior. Small deviations from equilibrium relax in a certain collision time which scales with the numberN of levels as _collN ^–3/2.     

Analysis of the order parameter for uniform nearest particle system

The uniform nearest particle system (UNPS) is studied, which is a continuoustime Markov process with state space . The rigorous upper bound ^(mf) = ( – 1)/ for the order parameter ₂, is given by the correlation identity and the FKG inequality. Then an improvement of this bound ^(mf) is shown in a similar fashion; C( – 1)/|log( – 1) for >1. Recently, Mountford proved that the critical value _c=1. Combining his result and our improved bound implies that if the critical exponent exists, it is strictly greater than the mean-field value 1 in the weak sense.     

The ground state energy of Sdhrödinger operators

We studye()=inf spec(-+V) and examine whene()<0 for all 0. We prove thatc ²e()–d ² for suitableV and all small ||.Research partially funded under NSF grant number DMS-9101716.     

A relation between a.c. spectrum of ergodic Jacobi matrices and the spectra of periodic approximants

We study ergodic Jacobi matrices onl ²(Z), and prove a general theorem relating their a.c. spectrum to the spectra of periodic Jacobi matrices, that are obtained by cutting finite pieces from the ergodic potential and then repeating them. We apply this theorem to the almost Mathieu operator: (H _{, ,} u)(n)=u(n+1)+u(n–1)+ cos(2n+)u(n), and prove the existence of a.c. spectrum for sufficiently small , all irrational 's, and a.e. . Moreover, for 0<2 and (Lebesgue) a.e. pair , , we prove the explicit equality of measures: |_ac|=||=4 –2.Work partially supported by the US-Israel BSF     

Trapping and cascading of eigenvalues in the large coupling limit

We consider eigenvaluesE of the HamiltonianH =–+V+W,W compactly supported, in the limit. ForW0 we find monotonic convergence ofE to the eigenvalues of a limiting operatorH (associated with an exterior Dirichlet problem), and we estimate the rate of convergence for 1-dimensional systems. In 1-dimensional systems withW0, or withW changing sign, we do not find convergence. Instead, we find a cascade phenomenon, in which, as , each eigenvalueE stays near a Dirichlet eigenvalue for a long interval (of lengthO( )) of the scaling range, quickly drops to the next lower Dirichlet eigenvalue, stays there for a long interval, drops again, and so on. As a result, for most large values of the discrete spectrum ofH is close to that ofE , but when reaches a transition region, the entire spectrum quickly shifts down by one. We also explore the behavior of several explicit models, as .Max Kade Foundation FellowPartially supported by USNSF under Grant DMS-8416049On leave of absence from Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. Partially supported by USNSF under Grant DMS-8620231 and the Case Institute of Technology, RIG     

Painlevé test and energy level motion

From the eigenvalue H|_n()=E_n() |_n(), where HH₀+V, one can derive an autonomous system of first-order differential equations for the eigenvaluesE _n() and the matrix elements V_mn(), where is the independent variable. We perform a Painlevé test for this system and discuss the connection with integrability. It turns out that the equations of motion do not pass the Painlevé test, but a weaker form. The first integrals are polynomials and can be related to the Kowalewski exponents.