Speeding up Evolutionary Search by Small Fitness Fluctuations

We consider a fixed size population that undergoes an evolutionary adaptation in the weak mutation rate limit, which we model as a biased Langevin process in the genotype space. We show analytically and numerically that, if the fitness landscape has a small highly epistatic (rough) and time-varying component, then the population genotype exhibits a high effective diffusion in the genotype space and is able to escape local fitness minima with a large probability. We argue that our principal finding that even very small time-dependent fluctuations of fitness can substantially speed up evolution is valid for a wide class of models.     

Random Evolutions Are Driven by the Hyperparabolic Operators

We resolve the long-standing problem of describing the multidimensional random evolutions by means of the telegraph equations. This problem was posed by Mark Kac more than 50 years ago and has become the subject of intense discussion among researchers on whether the multidimensional random flights could be described by the telegraph equations similarly to the one-dimensional case. We give the exhaustive answer to this question and show that the multidimensional random evolutions are driven by the hyperparabolic operators composed of the telegraph operators and their integer powers. The only exception is the 2D random flight whose transition density is the fundamental solution to the two-dimensional telegraph equation. The reason of the exceptionality of the 2D-case is explained. We also show that, under the standard Kac’s condition, the governing hyperparabolic operator turns into the generator of the Brownian motion.     

Ergodic Properties of Random Billiards Driven by Thermostats

We consider a class of mechanical particle systems interacting with thermostats. Particles move freely between collisions with disk-shaped thermostats arranged periodically on the torus. Upon collision, an energy exchange occurs, in which a particle exchanges its tangential component of the velocity for a randomly drawn one from the Gaussian distribution with the variance proportional to the temperature of the thermostat. In the case when all temperatures are equal one can write an explicit formula for the stationary distribution. We consider the general case and show that there exists a unique absolutely continuous stationary distribution. Moreover under rather mild conditions on the initial distribution the corresponding Markov dynamics converges to the equilibrium with exponential rate. One of the main technical difficulties is related to a possible overheating of moving particle. However as we show in the paper non-compactness of the particle velocity can be effectively controlled.     

Sandpile Dynamics Driven by Degree on Scale-Free Networks

We introduce a sandpile model driven by degree on scale-free networks, where the perturbation is triggered at nodes with the same degree. We numerically investigate the avalanche behaviour of sandpile driven by different degrees on scale-free networks. It is observed that the avalanche area has the same behaviour with avalanche size. When the sandpile is driven at nodes with the minimal degree, the avalanches of our model behave similarly to those of the original Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld （BTW） model on scale-free networks. As the degree of driven nodes increases from the minimal value to the maximal value, the avalanche distribution gradually changes from a clean power law, then a mixture of Poissonian and power laws, finally to a Poisson-like distribution. The average avalanche area is found to increase with the degree of driven nodes so that perturbation triggered on higher-degree nodes will result in broader spreading of avalanche propagation.     

Dynamics of Meandering Spiral Waves Driven by Two-Point Feedback

We numerically study the dynamics of meandering spiral waves in theexcitable system subjected to a feedback signal coming from two measuring points located on a straight line together with the initial spiral core. The core location and size radius of the final attractors are computed, and they change with the position of the moving measuring point in a unique way. By the Fourier Spectral analysis, we find the frequency-locked behaviors different from the
driving scheme of the external periodic force. It is also found that the meandering spiral wave can be eliminated when the moving measuring point approaches closely the boundary and its feedback gain is large enough. This offers an effective and convenient method for eliminating meandering spiral waves.     

Recording 2-D Nutation NQR Spectra by Random Sampling Method

The method of random sampling was introduced for the first time in the nutation nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectroscopy where the nutation spectra show characteristic singularities in the form of shoulders. The analytic formulae for complex two-dimensional (2-D) nutation NQR spectra (I = 3/2) were obtained and the condition for resolving the spectral singularities for small values of an asymmetry parameter η was determined. Our results show that the method of random sampling of a nutation interferogram allows significant reduction of time required to perform a 2-D nutation experiment and does not worsen the spectral resolution.     

Diffusion Dynamics of Classical Systems Driven by an Oscillatory Force

We investigate the asymptotic behavior of solutions to a kinetic equation describing the evolution of particles subject to the sum of a fixed, confining, Hamiltonian, and a small time-oscillating perturbation. Additionally, the equation involves an interaction operator which projects the distribution function onto functions of the fixed Hamiltonian. The paper aims at providing a classical counterpart to the derivation of rate equations from the atomic Bloch equations. Here, the homogenization procedure leads to a diffusion equation in the energy variable. The presence of the interaction operator regularizes the limit process and leads to finite diffusion coefficients. AMS Subject classification: 74Q10, 35Q99, 35B25, 82C70     

Dynamics of Front Driven by Convection Field in Bistable Media

The front dynamics driven by a convection field in a model of FitzHugh-Nagumo type is studied both analytieMly and numerically. Saddle-node bifurcation induced by the convection field is found by using a singular perturbation analysis of front solutions. Convection field accelerates the B1och front propagating opposite the direction of convection field, but inhibits the Bloch front propagating along the direction of convection field. In addition convection field drives Ising front to travel opposite the direction of convection field.     

Market Choices Driven by Reference Groups: A Comparison of Analytical and Simulation Results on Random Networks

The present paper reports simulation results for a simple model of reference group influence on market choices, e.g., brand selection. The model was simulated on three types of random graphs, Erdos–Renyi, Barabasi–Albert, and Watts–Strogatz. The estimates of equilibria based on the simulation results were compared to the equilibria of the theoretical model. It was verified that the simulations exhibited the same qualitative behavior as the theoretical model, and for graphs with high connectivity and low clustering, the quantitative predictions offered a viable approximation. These results allowed extending the results from the simple theoretical model to networks. Thus, by increasing the positive response towards the reference group, the third party may create a bistable situation with two equilibria at which respective brands dominate the market. This task is easier for large reference groups.     

Accelerated Diffusion-Based Sampling by the Non-Reversible Dynamics with Skew-Symmetric Matrices

Langevin dynamics (LD) has been extensively studied theoretically and practically as a basic sampling technique. Recently, the incorporation of non-reversible dynamics into LD is attracting attention because it accelerates the mixing speed of LD. Popular choices for non-reversible dynamics include underdamped Langevin dynamics (ULD), which uses second-order dynamics and perturbations with skew-symmetric matrices. Although ULD has been widely used in practice, the application of skew acceleration is limited although it is expected to show superior performance theoretically. Current work lacks a theoretical understanding of issues that are important to practitioners, including the selection criteria for skew-symmetric matrices, quantitative evaluations of acceleration, and the large memory cost of storing skew matrices. In this study, we theoretically and numerically clarify these problems by analyzing acceleration focusing on how the skew-symmetric matrix perturbs the Hessian matrix of potential functions. We also present a practical algorithm that accelerates the standard LD and ULD, which uses novel memory-efficient skew-symmetric matrices under parallel-chain Monte Carlo settings.     

Dynamics of Optically Driven Exciton and Quantum Decoherence

By using the normal ordering method, we study the state evolution of an optically driven excitons in aquantum well immersed in a leaky cavity, which was introduced by Yu-Xi Liu et al. [Phys. Rev. A63 (2001) 033816]. Theinfluence of the externallaser field on the quantum decoherence of a mesoscopically superposed state of the excitons isinvestigated. Our result shows that, the classical field can compensate the energy dissipation of the excitons. Althoughthe decoherence rate of the excitonic Schrodinger cat state does not depend on the external field, the phase of thedecoherence factor can be well controlled by adjusting the amplitude of the external field as well as the detuning betweenthe field and the transition frequency of the atom.     

The Dynamics of Power laws: Fitness and Aging in Preferential Attachment Trees

Continuous-time branching processes describe the evolution of a population whose individuals generate a random number of children according to a birth process. Such branching processes can be used to understand preferential attachment models in which the birth rates are linear functions. We are motivated by citation networks, where power-law citation counts are observed as well as aging in the citation patterns. To model this, we introduce fitness and age-dependence in these birth processes. The multiplicative fitness moderates the rate at which children are born, while the aging is integrable, so that individuals receives a finite number of children in their lifetime. We show the existence of a limiting degree distribution for such processes. In the preferential attachment case, where fitness and aging are absent, this limiting degree distribution is known to have power-law tails. We show that the limiting degree distribution has exponential tails for bounded fitnesses in the presence of integrable aging, while the power-law tail is restored when integrable aging is combined with fitness with unbounded support with at most exponential tails. In the absence of integrable aging, such processes are explosive.     

Quantum Dynamics in Noisy Backgrounds: from Sampling to Dissipation and Fluctuations

We investigate the dynamics of a quantum system coupled linearly to Gaussian white noise using functional methods. By performing the integration over the noisy field in the evolution operator, we get an equivalent non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, which evolves the quantum state with a dissipative dynamics. We also show that if the integration over the noisy field is done for the time evolution of the density matrix, a gain contribution from the fluctuations can be accessed in addition to the loss one from the non-hermitian Hamiltonian dynamics. We illustrate our study by computing analytically the effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, which we found to be the complex frequency harmonic oscillator, with a known evolution operator. It leads to space and time localisation, a common feature of noisy quantum systems in general applications.     

Asymptotic Behavior of the Quantum Harmonic Oscillator Driven by a Random Time-Dependent Electric Field

This paper investigates the evolution of the state vector of a charged quantum particle in a harmonic oscillator driven by a time-dependent electric field. The external field randomly oscillates and its amplitude is small but it acts long enough so that we can solve the problem in the asymptotic framework corresponding to a field amplitude which tends to zero and a field duration which tends to infinity. We describe the effective evolution equation of the state vector, which reads as a stochastic partial differential equation. We explicitly describe the transition probabilities, which are characterized by a polynomial decay of the probabilities corresponding to the low-energy eigenstates, and give the exact statistical distribution of the energy of the particle.     

Shocks and Excitation Dynamics in a Driven Diffusive Two-Channel System

We consider classical hard-core particles hopping stochastically on two parallel chains in the same or opposite directions with an inter- and intra-chain interaction. We discuss general questions concerning elementary excitations in these systems, shocks and rarefaction waves. From microscopical considerations we derive the collective velocities and shock stability conditions. The findings are confirmed by comparison to Monte Carlo data of a multi-parameter class of simple two lane driven diffusion models, which have the stationary state of a product form on a ring. Going to the hydrodynamic limit, we point out the analogy of our results to the ones known in the theory of differential equations of two conservation laws. We discuss the singularity problem and find a dissipative term that selects the physical solution.     

Driven Diatomic Frenkel-Kontorova Model: Resonant Steps,Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Dynamical Phase Diagrams

The resonant steps, spatiotemporal dynamics and dynamical phase diagrams of the driven diatomic Frenkel-Kontorova model are studied. The complete resonant velocity spectrum which relates only to the winding number is given. The diatomic effects result in each resonant step which is characterized by two integer pairs (k₁,k₂) and (k₁,k₂^ˊ). In the high-velocity regime the linear response of v to F is often punctuated by the subharmonic resonances (k₁>k₂). There are two kinds of nonlinear response regimes in the high-velocity regime. A new physical interpretation to the mean-field treatment is presented. The commensurate and incommensurate structures show similar dynamical behaviors except that the latter lacks depinning transition below the Aubry transition point. The increase of m makes the critical forces increasing, the transitions smoother and the hysteresis thinner.     

Emergence of Heavy-Tailed Distributions in a Random Multiplicative Model Driven by a Gaussian Stochastic Process

We consider a random multiplicative stochastic process with multipliers given by the exponential of a Brownian motion. The positive integer moments of the distribution function can be computed exactly, and can be represented as the grand partition function of an equivalent lattice gas with attractive 2-body interactions. The numerical results for the positive integer moments display a sharp transition at a critical value of the model parameters, which corresponds to a phase transition in the equivalent lattice gas model. The shape of the terminal distribution changes suddenly at the critical point to a heavy-tailed distribution. The transition can be related to the position of the complex zeros of the grand partition function of the lattice gas, in analogy with the Lee, Yang picture of phase transitions in statistical mechanics. We study the properties of the equivalent lattice gas in the thermodynamical limit, which corresponds to the continuous time limit of the random multiplicative model, and derive the asymptotics of the approach to the continuous time limit. The results can be generalized to a wider class of random multiplicative processes, driven by the exponential of a Gaussian stochastic process.