Kinetic limit of a conservative lattice gas dynamics showing long-range correlations

An anisotropic lattice gas dynamics is investigated for which particles on ^d jump to empty nearest neighbor sites with (fast) rate ^–2 in a specified direction and some particular configuration-dependent rates in the other directions. The model is translation and reflection invariant and is particle conserving. The space coordinate in the fast-rate direction is rescaled by ^–1. It follows that the density field converges in probability, as 0, to the corresponding solution of a nonlinear diffusion-type equation. The microscopic fluctuations about the deterministic macroscopic evolution are determined explicitly and it is found that the stationary fluctuations decay via a power law (1/r ^d ) with the direction dependence of a quadrupole field.     

Statistical mechanics of probabilistic cellular automata

We investigate the behavior of discrete-time probabilistic cellular automata (PCA), which are Markov processes on spin configurations on ad-dimensional lattice, from a rigorous statistical mechanics point of view. In particular, we exploit, whenever possible, the correspondence between stationary measures on the space-time histories of PCAs on ^d and translation-invariant Gibbs states for a related Hamiltonian on ( ^d+1). This leads to a simple large-deviation formula for the space-time histories of the PCA and a proof that in a high-temperature regime the stationary states of the PCA are Gibbsian. We also obtain results about entropy, fluctuations, and correlation inequalities, and demonstrate uniqueness of the invariant state and exponential decay of correlations in a high-noise regime. We discuss phase transitions in the low-noise (or low-temperature) regime and review Toom's proof of nonergodicity of a certain class of PCAs.     

Slowly relaxing tunneling states in neutron-irradiated quartz: A study of the internal friction at audio-frequencies

The internal friction of two neutron-irradiated quartz samples was measured at audio-frequency as a function of temperature. This is an extension of acoustic measurements to much lower frequencies and thus to much longer time scales. A temperature independent behaviour has been observed and is discussed in the framework of the tunnelling model. One of the major assumptions of this model regarding the tunnelling states with long relaxation time could be verified for neutron-irradiated quartz.