Dimension improvement in Dhar's refutation of the Eden conjecture

We consider the Eden model on the d-dimensional hypercubical unoriented lattice, for large d. Initially, every lattice point is healthy, except the origin which is infected. Then, each infected lattice point contaminates any of its neighbours with rate 1. The Eden model is equivalent to first passage percolation, with exponential passage times on edges. The Eden conjecture states that the limit shape of the Eden model is a Euclidean ball. By pushing the computations of Dhar [5] a little further with modern computers and efficient implementation we obtain improved bounds for the speed of infection. This shows that the Eden conjecture does not hold in dimension superior to 22 (the lowest known dimension was 35).     

Interplay between phase ordering and roughening on growing films

We study the interplay between surface roughening and phase separation during the growth of binary films. Renormalization group calculations are performed on a pair of equations coupling the interface height and order parameter fluctuations. We find a larger roughness exponent at the critical point of the order parameter compared to the disordered phase, and an increase in the upper critical dimension for the surface roughening transition from two to four. Numerical simulations performed on a solid-on-solid model with two types of deposited particles corroborate some of these findings. However, for a range of parameters not accessible to perturbative analysis, we find non-universal behavior with a continuously varying dynamic exponent.Received: 23 July 2003, Published online: 23 December 2003PACS: 68.35.Rh Phase transitions and critical phenomena - 05.70.Jk Critical point phenomena - 05.70.Ln Nonequilibrium and irreversible thermodynamics - 64.60.Cn Order-disorder transformations; statistical mechanics of model systems     

Delocalization transition of a rough adsorption-reaction interface

We introduce a kinetic interface model suitable for simulating adsorption-reaction processes which take place preferentially at surface defects such as steps and vacancies. As the average interface velocity is taken to zero, the self-affine interface with Kardar-Parisi-Zhang-like scaling behavior undergoes a delocalization transition with critical exponents that fall into a different universality class. As the critical point is approached, the interface becomes a multivalued, multiply connected self-similar fractal set. The scaling behavior and critical exponents of the relevant correlation functions are determined from Monte Carlo simulations and scaling arguments.     

Phase Transition in a Generalized Eden Growth Model on a Tree

We study analytically the late time statistics of the number of particles in an Eden growth model on a tree. In this model, a cluster grows in continuous time on a binary Cayley tree, starting from the root, by absorbing new particles at the empty perimeter sites at a rate proportional to c ^−l where c is a positive parameter and l is the distance of the perimeter site from the root. For c=1, this model corresponds to random binary search trees and for c=2 it corresponds to digital search trees in computer science. By introducing a backward Fokker-Planck approach, we calculate the mean and the variance of the number of particles at large times and show that the variance undergoes a ‘phase transition’ at a critical value . While for the variance is proportional to the mean and the distribution is normal, for the variance is anomalously large and the distribution is non-Gaussian due to the appearance of extreme fluctuations. The model is generalized to one where growth occurs on a tree with m branches and, in this more general case, we show that the critical point occurs at .     

Renormalization group approach to the surface and defect critical behavior in the potts model

A simple real-space renormalization group method with two-terminal clusters is used to treat the critical behavior of Potts ferromagnet with free surface and defect plane on the same footing both for square and cubic lattices. For a square lattice, quite different critical behaviors are found for the cases of line defect and free surface. Whenq is larger than three, like the case ofa line type defect in ‘diamond’ hierarchical lattice, the order parameter on a defect line increases discontinuously at the bulk critical point if the defect interaction is sufficiently strong. This behavior, on the contrary, does not occur on the surface of a semi-infinite plane. For a cubic lattice, the phase diagram and renormalization group flow properties are obtained explicitly for bothq=1 (bond percolation) andq=2 (Ising model). In both cases, our calculations whow that the critical behavior on the surface of a semi-infinite system belongs to a different universality class from the critical behavior on the defect plane of a bulk system.     

Finite-size behavior near the critical point of QCD phase-transition

It is pointed out that the finite-size effect is not negligible in locating the critical point of quantum colordynamics (QCD) phase transitions at current relativistic heavy ion collisions. The finite-size scaling form of the critical related observable is suggested. Its fixed point behavior at critical incident energy can be served as a reliable identification of a critical point and nearby boundary of QCD phase transition. How to experimentally find the fixed point behavior is demonstrated by using 3D-Ising model as an example. The validity of the method at finite detector acceptances at RHIC is also discussed.     

Curie point singularity in the temperature derivative of resistivity in (Ga,Mn)As

We observe a singularity in the temperature derivative drho/dT of resistivity at the Curie point of high-quality (Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconductors with Tc's ranging from approximately 80 to 185 K. The character of the anomaly is sharply distinct from the critical contribution to transport in conventional dense-moment magnetic semiconductors and is reminiscent of the drho/dT singularity in transition metal ferromagnets. Within the critical region accessible in our experiments, the temperature dependence on the ferromagnetic side can be explained by dominant scattering from uncorrelated spin fluctuations. The singular behavior of drho/dT on the paramagnetic side points to the important role of short-range correlated spin fluctuations.     

Critical casimir effect and wetting by helium mixtures

We have measured the contact angle of the interface of phase-separated 3He-4He mixtures against a sapphire window. We have found that this angle is finite and does not tend to zero when the temperature approaches T(t), the temperature of the tricritical point. On the contrary, it increases with temperature. This behavior is a remarkable exception to what is generally observed near critical points, i.e., "critical point wetting." We propose that it is a consequence of the "critical Casimir effect" which leads to an effective attraction of the 3He-4He interface by the sapphire near T(t).     

On a sharp transition from area law to perimeter law in a system of random surfaces

We introduce and study a phase transition which is associated with the spontaneous formation of infinite surface sheets in a Bernoulli system of random plaquettes. The transition is manifested by a change in the asymptotic behavior of the probability of the formation of a surface, spanning a prescribed loop. As such, this transition offers a generalization of the bond percolation phenomenon. At low plaquette densities, the probability for large loops is shown to decay exponentially with the loops' area, whereas for high densities the decay is by a perimeter law. Furthermore, we show that the two phases of the three dimensional plaquette system are in a precise correspondence with the two phases of the dual system of random bonds. Thus, if a natural conjecture about the phase structure of the bond percolation model is true, then there is a sharp transition in the asymptotic behavior of the surface events. Our analysis incorporates block variables, in terms of which a non-critical system is transformed into one which is close to a trivial, high or low density, fixed point. Stochastic geometric effects like those discussed here play an important role in lattice gauge theories.     

Universality of the ratio of the critical amplitudes of the magnetic susceptibility in a two-dimensional ising model with nonmagnetic impurities

The behavior of the magnetic susceptibility of a two-dimensional Ising model with nonmagnetic impurities is investigated numerically. A new method for determining the critical amplitudes and critical temperature is developed. The results of a numerical investigation of the ratio of the critical amplitudes of the magnetic susceptibility are presented. It is shown that the ratio of the critical amplitudes is universal right up to impurity concentrations q ≤ 0.25 (the percolation point of a square lattice is q _c = 0.407254). The behavior of the effective critical exponent γ(q) of the magnetic susceptibility is discussed. Apparently, a transition from Ising-type universal behavior to percolation behavior should occur in a quite narrow concentration range near the percolation point of the lattice.     

Multicritical behavior at the kosterlitz-thouless critical point

A multicritical critical point for the two dimensional planar model is analyzed by studying an exactly soluable limit of a related model—the generalized Villain model. The statistical mechanics of this model is written in terms of vortex and symmetry breaking excitations. In these terms, the problem reduces to a kind of two dimensional problem with interacting electric charges and magnetic monopoles. In this form, the problem is manifestly self-dual. The multicritical behavior is exhibited in a three-dimensional phase space in which the axes are the coupling strength of a “square” symmetry breaking which favors four possible directions for the planar model vectors. The analysis of this multicritical point shows that it is the intersection of at least six critical lines—each with continuously varying critical indices. Two of these lines are described by the exactly soluable gaussian model. The other four are isomorphic to one another, and each one has—as a point on the line—a critical point of the Ashkin-Teller model. We argue that each of these lines might be in an equivalent universality class to the line of critical points which occurs in the Baxter and Ashkin-Teller models. We make a suggestion about which point on these critical lines might be in the same universality class as our multicritical point. Correlation functions at the intersection point are calculated and used to develop an expansion of critical indices about this point. This expansion gives a potential method for calculating the critical behavior along the critical lines of the model.     

Crossover Critical Behavior in the Three-Dimensional Ising Model

The character of critical behavior in physical systems depends on the range of interactions. In the limit of infinite range of the interactions, systems will exhibit mean-field critical behavior, i.e., critical behavior not affected by fluctuations of the order parameter. If the interaction range is finite, the critical behavior asymptotically close to the critical point is determined by fluctuations and the actual critical behavior depends on the particular universality class. A variety of systems, including fluids and anisotropic ferromagnets, belongs to the three-dimensional Ising universality class. Recent numerical studies of Ising models with different interaction ranges have revealed a spectacular crossover between the asymptotic fluctuation-induced critical behavior and mean-field-type critical behavior. In this work, we compare these numerical results with a crossover Landau model based on renormalization-group matching. For this purpose we consider an application of the crossover Landau model to the three-dimensional Ising model without fitting to any adjustable parameters. The crossover behavior of the critical susceptibility and of the order parameter is analyzed over a broad range (ten orders) of the scaled distance to the critical temperature. The dependence of the coupling constant on the interaction range, governing the crossover critical behavior, is discussed.     

Directed percolation and the extinction transition on a diffusive substrate

The extinction transition on a 1D heterogeneous substrate with diffusive correlations is studied. Diffusively correlated heterogeneity is shown to affect the location of the transition point, as the reactants adapt to the fluctuating environment. At the transition point the density decays like t^−0.159, as in directed percolation. However, the scaling function describing the behavior away from the transition and other critical exponents shows significant deviations from the known DP behavior. It is suggested, thus, that the off-transition behavior of the system is governed by local adaptation to favored regions.     

Critical behavior of geometric measure of quantum discord when approaching the critical points via different paths

We investigate the critical behavior of geometric measure of quantum discord (GMQD) in a one-dimensional transverse XY spin chain. The critical and the scaling behavior of the ground state GMQD are investigated both at the multi-critical and Ising critical points. Our results show that the behavior of GMQD at muti-critical point (MCP) has close relation with the path, which is determined by the parameter α, that approaching the MCP. For α < 2, the GMQD and its first derivation show oscillation behavior. For α ≥ 2, no oscillation behavior is observed. This indicates that the GMQD can not describe exactly the multi-critical point of the XY model. However, at the Ising critical point, the path parameter has no influence on the critical behavior. The GMQD (first derivation of GMQD) shows peaks (dips) and indicates exactly the position of Ising critical point. The results also show that the path parameter influences much to the scaling behavior near the MCP, but less to that of Ising critical point. Our results may provide reference to the exploration of relationships between GMQD and quantum phase transitions.     

Dynamic critical behavior of semi-infinite systems: the study of the model C

The dynamic critical behavior of semi-infinite model C near the special and ordinary transitions is investigated using field theoretic renormalization-group approach. It is shown that the dynamic surface quantities have different critical behavior aginst their bulk analogues and their scaling laws can be expressed entirely in terms of static (bulk and surface) exponents and dynamic exponents. It is found that at the critical point the surface transport coefficient reaches a finite value via a cusplike singularity and the surface-bulk transport coefficient diverges, but the bulk transport coefficient remains finite as that of the infinite model C.     

Fixed point behavior of cumulants in the three-dimensional Ising universality class

High-order cumulants and factorial cumulants of conserved charges are suggested for the study of the critical dynamics in heavy-ion collision experiments. In this paper, using the parametric representation of the three-dimensional Ising model which is believed to belong to the same universality class as quantum chromo-dynamics, the temperature dependence of the second- to fourth-order (factorial) cumulants of the order parameter is studied. It is found that the values of the normalized cumulants are independent of the external magnetic field at the critical temperature, which results in a fixed point in the temperature dependence of the normalized cumulants. In finite-size systems simulated using the Monte Carlo method, this fixed point behavior still exists at temperatures near the critical. This fixed point behavior has also appeared in the temperature dependence of normalized factorial cumulants from at least the fourth order. With a mapping from the Ising model to QCD, the fixed point behavior is also found in the energy dependence of the normalized cumulants (or fourth-order factorial cumulants) along different freeze-out curves.     

OPTIMAL VIBRATION ESTIMATION OF A NON-LINEAR FLEXIBLE BEAM MOUNTED ON A ROTATING COMPLIANT HUB

To eliminate the need for sensor placement on rotating flexible beams such as turbine blades, helicopter rotors and like applications, a new approach has been developed based on the linear quadratic estimator (LQE) technique for estimating the vibration of any point on the span of a rotating flexible beam mounted on a compliant hub (plant) in the presence of process and measurements noise. A non-linear model of the plant is utilized in this study to mimic the actual plant behavior. The corresponding plant dynamics of the LQE are in the form of a reduced order linear model constructed from the eigenvalues and eigenfuctions of a finite element dynamic model of the plant formulated in the state space. A virtual hub deflection (that mimics the actual measurement of the vertical hub deflection needed by the estimation process) is generated by the non-linear model of the plant. The LQE reconstructs the states of the plant, including transverse deflection of the beam at any point, from the measurements of the vertical deflection of the hub, assuming that it is the most accessible state for measurement. Estimated beam tip deflection obtained by the proposed technique is then compared to the tip deflection generated by the non-linear model and the results show good agreement.     

Landau theory of the finite temperature mott transition

In the context of the dynamical mean-field theory of the Hubbard model, we identify microscopically an order parameter for the finite temperature Mott end point. We derive a Landau functional of the order parameter. We then use the order parameter theory to elucidate the singular behavior of various physical quantities which are experimentally accessible.     

Exact field-driven interface dynamics in the two-dimensional stochastic Ising model with helicoidal boundary conditions

We investigate the interface dynamics of the two-dimensional stochastic Ising model in an external field under helicoidal boundary conditions. At sufficiently low temperatures and fields, the dynamics of the interface is described by an exactly solvable high-spin asymmetric quantum Hamiltonian that is the infinitesimal generator of the zero range process. Generally, the critical dynamics of the interface fluctuations is in the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang universality class of critical behavior. We remark that a whole family of RSOS interface models similar to the Ising interface model investigated here can be described by exactly solvable restricted high-spin quantum XXZ$XXZ$-type Hamiltonians.     

虚拟网络行为对互联网整体特性的影响

虚拟网络是一种依赖Internet基础设施所提供的传输能力，但又具有独立拓扑结构和信息传递规则的应用层网络行为逻辑网络.提出了耦合虚拟网络行为与物理节点的抽象模型，对一类典型的虚拟网络逻辑拓扑给互联网整体特性带来的影响进行了分析.研究表明在虚拟网络作用下，节点数据包排队长度存在相变特性，但相变临界点比对规则网络发生了明显左移，网络性能相对恶化.当数据包注入速率小于相变临界速率时，节点数据包排队长度不相关或短程相关；在接近临界速率处，节点数据包排队长度长程相关，幂指数H增大，网络获得更强的长程相关性.同时，在注入速率大于或等于临界速率时，虚拟网络行为使网络呈现出一致的长程相关特性.