Aging and non-linear glassy dynamics in a mean field model

The mean field approach of glassy dynamics successfully describes systems which are out-of-equilibrium in their low temperature phase. In some cases an aging behaviour is found, with no stationary regime ever reached. In the presence of dissipative forces however, the dynamics is indeed stationary, but still out-of-equilibrium, as inferred by a significant violation of the fluctuation dissipation theorem. The mean field dynamics of a particle in a random but short-range correlated environment, offers the opportunity of observing both the aging and driven stationary regimes. Using a geometrical approach previously introduced by the author, we study here the relation between these two situations, in the pure relaxational limit, i.e. the zero temperature case. In the stationary regime, the velocity (v)-force (F) characteristics is a power law v∼F ⁴, while the characteristic times scale like powers of v, in agreement with an early proposal by Horner. The cross-over between the aging, linear-response regime and the non-linear stationary regime is smooth, and we propose a parametrization of the correlation functions valid in both cases, by means of an “effective time”. We conclude that aging and non-linear response are dual manifestations of a single out-of-equilibrium state, which might be a generic situation. Received 7 May 2000 and Received in final form 22 August 2000     

Velocity Multistability vs. Ergodicity Breaking in a Biased Periodic Potential

Multistability, i.e., the coexistence of several attractors for a given set of system parameters, is one of the most important phenomena occurring in dynamical systems. We consider it in the velocity dynamics of a Brownian particle, driven by thermal fluctuations and moving in a biased periodic potential. In doing so, we focus on the impact of ergodicity—A concept which lies at the core of statistical mechanics. The latter implies that a single trajectory of the system is representative for the whole ensemble and, as a consequence, the initial conditions of the dynamics are fully forgotten. The ergodicity of the deterministic counterpart is strongly broken, and we discuss how the velocity multistability depends on the starting position and velocity of the particle. While for non-zero temperatures the ergodicity is, in principle, restored, in the low temperature regime the velocity dynamics is still affected by initial conditions due to weak ergodicity breaking. For moderate and high temperatures, the multistability is robust with respect to the choice of the starting position and velocity of the particle.     

Mixing Properties for Mechanical Motion¶of a Charged Particle in a Random Medium

We study a one-dimensional semi-infinite system of particles driven by a constant positive force F which acts only on the leftmost particle of mass M, called the heavy particle (the h.p.), and all other particles are mechanically identical and have the same mass m < M. Particles interact through elastic collisions. At initial time all neutral particles are at rest, and the initial measure is such that the interparticle distances ξ _i are i.i.d. r.v. Under conditions on the distribution of ξ which imply that the minimal velocity obtained by each neutral particle after the first interaction with the h.p. is bigger than the drift of an associated Markovian dynamics (in which each neutral particle is annihilated after the first collision) we prove that the dynamics has a strong cluster property, and as a consequence, we prove existence of the discrete time limit distribution for the system as seen from the first particle, a ψ-mixing property, a drift velocity, as well as the central limit theorem for the tracer particle. Received: 22 March 2000 / Accepted: 8 December 2000     

Free expansion of a Bose–Einstein condensate from an Ioffe–Pritchard magnetic trap

5 rubidium-87 atoms released from an Ioffe–Pritchard magnetic trap is investigated experimentally. The expansion dynamics depend only on the trap frequencies, which are determined independently. The data are in good agreement with the expected expansion of a condensate, and are clearly distinct from the behaviour of a classical gas in the hydrodynamic regime. Received: 3 June 1998/Final version: 25 September 1998     

Active nonlinear microrheology in a glass-forming Yukawa fluid

A molecular dynamics computer simulation of a glass-forming Yukawa mixture is used to study the anisotropic dynamics of a single particle pulled by a constant force. Beyond linear response, a scaling regime is found where a force-temperature superposition principle of a Peclet number holds. In the latter regime, the diffusion dynamics perpendicular to the force can be mapped on the equilibrium dynamics in terms of an effective temperature, whereas parallel to the force a superdiffusive behavior is seen in the long-time limit. This behavior is associated with a hopping motion from cage to cage and can be qualitatively understood by a simple trap model.     

Asymptotic fractality and the anomalous transport of particles having finite velocity

A generalized time-dependent transport equation is obtained for particles whose free motion has a finite velocity, which includes “Lévy flights” and the effect of “traps.” It is shown that as a result of allowing for the finite velocity, the asymptotic (with respect to time) distribution of a particle walking in one dimension has a fractal nature only when the power-law tails of the mean-free-path distributions and particle residence times in the trap have the same exponents. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 138–139 (January 1998)     

Induced Resonance Processes Accompanying Interaction of the Field of a TEM Trap with Oscillating Charges

We theoretically analyze resonance processes in an electromagnetic trap (TEM trap) formed by a circularly polarized high-frequency standing field of homogeneous plane waves and a uniform static magnetic field aligned with the direction of wave propagation. The regime of resonance amplification of the trap field by an ensemble of initially nonphased oscillators in the absence of a static magnetic field is described. The regime of resonance acceleration of charges from thermal to relativistic velocities for a bounded particle motion in the presence of a static magnetic field is considered. It is shown that charge oscillations in the trap are similar to flutter in mechanical systems. The efficient energy exchange is stipulated by an M-type interaction mechanism.     

Einstein Relation for a Tagged Particle in Simple Exclusion Processes

 It is known that the rescaled position of a tagged particle in symmetric simple exclusion processes converges to a diffusion. If now the tracer particle is driven by a small force, then it picks up a velocity. The Einstein relation states that in the limit, this velocity is proportional to the small force, and the constant of proportionality can be computed from the diffusion matrix of the tracer particle with no driving force. Such a relation is believed to be generally valid. In this article we establish its validity for all symmetric simple exclusion processes in dimension and we prove a density property for certain invariant states of the driven system. Received: 2 September 2001 / Accepted: 28 March 2002 Published online: 31 July 2002     

Brownian motion in a solitary potential well in a bounded solid structure

The motion of a heavy Brownian particle in a low-dimensional bounded solid structure under the effect of a phonon’s excitation fluctuations is considered. Because of the finiteness of the system, the fluctuation spectrum has zero spectral density at zero frequency. The effect of this kind of noise, which is conditionally called “green” noise, is studied both analytically by using the averaging method and numerically on the basis of predictor-corrector algorithms. The effective potential is introduced, and its form is shown to govern the particle dynamics. Considering a Gaussian potential well (a trap) as an example, it is demonstrated that green noise leads to abrupt phase transitions in the system as a result of very small parameter variations (a catastrophe-type effect). The results are compared with the case of white noise in an unbounded structure. From numerical calculations, it follows that the boundedness of the structure, which changes the noise spectrum, favors a considerable increase in the lifetime of the particle in the trap.     

Collisional effects on the collective laser cooling . of trapped bosonic gases

We analyse the effects of atom–atom collisions on a collective laser cooling scheme. We derive a quantum master equation which describes the laser cooling in presence of atom–atom collisions in the weak-condensation regime. Using such equation, we perform Monte Carlo simulations of the population dynamics in one and three dimensions. We observe that the ground-state laser-induced condensation is maintained in the presence of collisions. Laser cooling causes a transition from a Bose–Einstein distribution describing collisionally induced equilibrium, to a distribution with an effective zero temperature. We analyse also the effects of atom–atom collisions on the cooling into an excited state of the trap. Received: 18 June 1999 / Revised version: 24 September 1999 / Published online: 10 November 1999     

Density profiles and collective excitations of a trapped two-component Fermi vapour

We discuss the ground state and the small-amplitude excitations of a degenerate vapour of fermionic atoms placed in two hyperfine states inside a spherical harmonic trap. An equations-of-motion approach is set up to discuss the hydrodynamic dissipation processes from the interactions between the two components of the fluid beyond mean-field theory and to emphasize analogies with spin dynamics and spin diffusion in a homogeneous Fermi liquid. The conditions for the establishment of a collisional regime via scattering against cold-atom impurities are analyzed. The equilibrium density profiles are then calculated for a two-component vapour of ⁴⁰K atoms: they are little modified by the interactions for presently relevant values of the system parameters, but spatial separation of the two components will spontaneously arise as the number of atoms in the trap is increased. The eigenmodes of collective oscillation in both the total particle number density and the concentration density are evaluated analytically in the special case of a symmetric two-component vapour in the collisional regime. The dispersion relation of the surface modes for the total particle density reduces in this case to that of a one-component Fermi vapour, whereas the frequencies of all other modes are shifted by the interactions.     

Langevin equation for a free particle driven by power law type of noises

We study a generalized Langevin equation for a free particle driven by N internal noises. The mean square displacement and velocity autocorrelation function are derived in case of a mixture of Dirac delta, power law and Mittag-Leffler noises. Additionally, a frictional memory kernel of distributed order is considered. The long time limit and short time limit are analyzed, and the dominant contributions of noises on particle dynamics is discussed. Various different diffusive behaviors (subdiffusion, superdiffusion, normal diffusion, ultraslow diffusion) are obtained. The considered problem may be used in the theory of anomalous diffusion in complex environment.     

An exact solution of the relativistic equation of motion of acharged particle driven by a circularly polarized electromagnetic waveand a constant magnetic field

An exact solution is found for the relativistic equation of motion of a charged particle driven by a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave and a constant magnetic field. The explicit expressions of particle position and velocity are obtained for certain initial conditions. The results are of interest to the interaction of the high-power laser with the magnetized plasma, electromagnetically pumped free-electron laser with a guide magnetic field, propagation of electromagnetic wave signals through a re-entry plasma sheath in the presence of a strong magnetic field, and magnetic confinement plasmas     

Electric field of a buried interfacial region measured by positron-lifetime spectroscopy

Positrons from a radioactive source are implanted into a reverse-biased metal–semiconductor contact and are drifted back towards the contact by the internal electric field where they trap into voids and annihilate. The electric field dependent interface annihilation fraction is monitored by way of the intensity of the long (∼400–500 ps) void lifetime component using positron-lifetime spectroscopy. Unlike previous analyses of such systems a numerical model involving positron drift, annihilation and trapping into the interfacial state has been constructed to describe the positron dynamics in the presence of the non-uniform junction electric field. The use of the positron-lifetime technique in probing the internal electric field at buried contacts is thus demonstrated. Results obtained using the numerical method for the Au, Al and Ni/Semi-Insulating (SI)-GaAs contact systems are found to be consistent with the findings of previous studies on the Au/SI-GaAs system. Received: 29 November 2000 / Accepted: 26 February 2001 / Published online: 25 July 2001     

Bright atomic beam by a temporal Zeeman acceleration

A novel method to produce a slow, monochromatic, and bright pulsed atomic beam from a magneto-optical trap by switching the magnetic field of the trap is proposed. A pulsed lithium atomic beam with a brightness of 1.1×10¹⁵ /sr s and a velocity of 13 m/s was produced as an experimental proof of this technique. The conversion efficiency from the trap into the atomic pulse was nearly 100%. Received: 22 October 1999 / Revised version: 15 November 1999 / Published online: 8 March 2000     

Dispersive flow of disks through a two-dimensional Galton board

We report here an experimental and numerical study of the flow properties of disks driven by gravity through a hexagonal lattice of obstacles, i.e. a Galton board. During the fall, particles experience dissipative collisions that scatter them in random directions. A driven-diffusion regime can be achieved under certain conditions. A characteristic length of the motion and its dependence on geometrical parameters of the system is analyzed in the steady regime. The influence of collective effects on the dispersion process is investigated by comparison between single- and many-particle flows. The characterization of the dynamics and the diffusive properties of the flow in a system like a Galton board can be expanded to other granular systems, particularly static solid particle mixers and will give some insight in understanding granular mixing.     

Collective excitations of a degenerate Fermi vapour in a magnetic trap

We evaluate the small-amplitude excitations of a spin-polarized vapour of Fermi atoms confined inside a harmonic trap. The dispersion law is obtained for the vapour in the collisional regime inside a spherical trap of frequency , with n the number of radial nodes and the orbital angular momentum. The low-energy excitations are also treated in the case of an axially symmetric harmonic confinement. The collisionless regime is discussed with main reference to a Landau-Boltzmann equation for the Wigner distribution function: this equation is solved within a variational approach allowing an account of non-linearities. A comparative discussion of the eigenmodes of oscillation for confined Fermi and Bose vapours is presented in an Appendix. Received 23 February 1999 and Received in final form 21 April 1999     

A Gallavotti–Cohen-Type Symmetry in the Large Deviation Functional for Stochastic Dynamics

We extend the work of Kurchan on the Gallavotti–Cohen fluctuation theorem, which yields a symmetry property of the large deviation function, to general Markov processes. These include jump processes describing the evolution of stochastic lattice gases driven in the bulk or through particle reservoirs, general diffusive processes in physical and/or velocity space, as well as Hamiltonian systems with stochastic boundary conditions. For dynamics satisfying local detailed balance we establish a link between the average of the action functional in the fluctuation theorem and the macroscopic entropy production. This gives, in the linear regime, an alternative derivation of the Green–Kubo formula and the Onsager reciprocity relations. In the nonlinear regime consequences of the new symmetry are harder to come by and the large deviation functional difficult to compute. For the asymmetric simple exclusion process the latter is determined explicitly using the Bethe ansatz in the limit of large N.     

Depinning dynamics of driven colloids with random pinning： a numerical study

Using Langevin simulations, we have investigated numerically the depinning dynamics of driven two-dimensional colloids subject to the randomly distributed point-like pinning centres. With increasing strength of pinning, we find a crossover from elastic to plastic depinnings, accompanied by an order to disorder transition of state and a substantial increase in the depinning force. In the elastic regime, no peaks are found in the differential curves of the velocity－force dependence (VFD) and the transverse motion is almost none. In addition, the scaling relationship between velocity and force is found to be valid above depinning. However, when one enters the plastic regime, a peak appears in the differential curves of VFD and transverse diffusion occurs above depinning. Furthermore, history dependence is found in the plastic regime.