Uniform convergence of the free energy of the classical Heisenberg model to that of the gaussian model

We show that the free energy of the classical Heisenberg model converges to the free energy of the Gaussian in the low-temperature limit. The limit is uniform as the field is taken to zero.     

Transport bifurcation in a rotating tokamak plasma

The effect of flow shear on turbulent transport in tokamaks is studied numerically in the experimentally relevant limit of zero magnetic shear. It is found that the plasma is linearly stable for all nonzero flow shear values, but that subcritical turbulence can be sustained nonlinearly at a wide range of temperature gradients. Flow shear increases the nonlinear temperature gradient threshold for turbulence but also increases the sensitivity of the heat flux to changes in the temperature gradient, except over a small range near the threshold where the sensitivity is decreased. A bifurcation in the equilibrium gradients is found: for a given input of heat, it is possible, by varying the applied torque, to trigger a transition to significantly higher temperature and flow gradients.     

Natural convection with damped thermal flux in a vertical circular cylinder

Natural convection flows of an incompressible Newtonian fluid inside a circular cylinder are studied. The heat transfer process is described by a generalized fractional constitutive equation for the thermal flux-temperature gradient. Caputo time-fractional derivative operator, which provides the damping of thermal flux, is considered into the studied model.Analytical solutions to the fluid temperature, thermal flux, fluid velocity and volume flow rate are obtained with the integral transforms method (Laplace transform and finite Hankel transform).Temperature behaviors for small and large values of the time t, as well as the post-transient and transient velocity components are determined. The influence of the memory parameter (the order of the time-fractional derivative) on the temperature, thermal flux, velocity and the volume flow rate is numerically and graphically studied.     

On relativistic thermodynamics

The thermodynamics of moving bodies is developed from first principles. To do this, it is necessary to augment the laws of thermodynamics with a new principle, which asserts the impossibility of thermal equilibrium between bodies in relative motion. Clausius' theorem is generalized to heat flow between moving systems, and leads naturally to the identification of heat and temperature as Lorentz scalars. The formulation of relativistic statistical mechanics is carried out and the correspondence with classical quantities is made. The quantum distribution laws are generalized to the relativistic case, and are found to differ from their accepted relativistic form.     

Analytic study of a sequence of path integral approximations for simple quantum systems at low temperature

The sequence of Feynman-Trotter approximations to the thermal Feynman path integral for the simple harmonic oscillator is obtained in an easily analyzable closed form. While it converges pointwise at every non-zero temperature to the quantum thermal propagator, the sequence manifests a highly non-uniform behaviour in the zero temperature limit—every one of its elements tends toward theclassical ground state (static equilibrium). For high order elements of the sequence, there is an abrupt “collapse” from the quantum to the classical ground state with falling temperature, a phenomenon which bears a possibly misleading resemblance to a phase transition. It is shown that Feynman-Trotter sequences for many simple systems other than the harmonic oscillator also have all their elements tending to the classical static equilibrium state in the zero temperature limit.     

热惯性对热弹性行为影响的渐近分析

当热作用时间或受热器件结构尺寸呈现微尺度特征时, 热流运动的惯性效应将对热量的传递过程产生显著地影响. 基于热质的概念, 依据牛顿力学原理引入用于描述热质运动的热波方程, 结合各向同性材料的本构关系, 构建了计及热流运动惯性效应的广义热弹性动力学模型. 利用超常传热的微尺度特征, 采用解析的方法对半无限大体外表面受热冲击作用的一维问题进行了渐近求解. 通过对热波、热弹性波的传播和各物理场分布的分析以及与已有广义热弹性理论预测结果的对比, 揭示了热流运动的惯性效应对热弹性行为的影响. 结果表明：热量的传递除了受到热流加速的时间惯性影响之外, 热流运动的空间惯性也对传热行为产生影响, 当计及空间惯性时, 热波、热弹性波的波速、波前位置, 各物理场的建立时间、阶跃峰值及阶跃间隔均受到不同程度的影响. 关键词： 热惯性 热质运动 广义热弹性动力学模型 渐近分析     

A fluctuation-dissipation relation and its applications to thermodynamic fluctuations in superconducting cylinders

Modifying slightly Kubo's formulation of perturbation theory to take care of the fact that generalized susceptibility may not be zero at infinite frequency, we establish, in the classical limit, a general relation between covariance and generalized susceptibility. The relation is then applied to evaluate the covariances of the magnetic flux, currents, and magnetization of a superconducting cylinder. Expressions for the spectra of magnetic flux and magnetization are also obtained.     

Quantum–Classical Correspondence Principle for Heat Distribution in Quantum Brownian Motion

Quantum Brownian motion, described by the Caldeira–Leggett model, brings insights to the understanding of phenomena and essence of quantum thermodynamics, especially the quantum work and heat associated with their classical counterparts. By employing the phase-space formulation approach, we study the heat distribution of a relaxation process in the quantum Brownian motion model. The analytical result of the characteristic function of heat is obtained at any relaxation time with an arbitrary friction coefficient. By taking the classical limit, such a result approaches the heat distribution of the classical Brownian motion described by the Langevin equation, indicating the quantum–classical correspondence principle for heat distribution. We also demonstrate that the fluctuating heat at any relaxation time satisfies the exchange fluctuation theorem of heat and its long-time limit reflects the complete thermalization of the system. Our research study justifies the definition of the quantum fluctuating heat via two-point measurements.     

The stationary state and the heat equation for a variant of Davies' model of heat conduction

We study a variant of Davies' model of heat conduction, consisting of a chain of (classical or quantum) harmonic oscillators, whose ends are coupled to thermal reservoirs at different temperatures, and where neighboring oscillators interact via intermediate reservoirs. In the weak coupling limit, we show that a unique stationary state exists, and that a discretized heat equation holds. We give an explicit expression of the stationary state in the case of two classical oscillators. The heat equation is obtained in the hydrodynamic limit, and it is proved that it completely describes the macroscopic behavior of the model.     

The Eulerian Limit for 2D Statistical Hydrodynamics

We consider the 2D Navier–Stokes system, perturbed by a white in time random force, proportional to the square root of the viscosity. We prove that under the limit “time to infinity, viscosity to zero” each of its (random) solution converges in distribution to a non-trivial stationary process, formed by solutions of the (free) Euler equation, while the Reynolds number grows to infinity. We study the convergence and the limiting solutions.     

Opposed-flow ignition and flame spread over melting polymers with Navier-Stokes gas flow

A numerical model is constructed to predict transient opposed-flow flame spread behaviour in a channel flow over a melting polymer. The transient flame is established by initially applying a high external radiation heat flux to the surface. This is followed by ignition, transition and finally steady opposed-flow flame spread. The physical phenomena under consideration include the following: gas phase: channel flow, thermal expansion and injection flow from the pyrolyzed fuel; condensed phase: heat conduction, melting, and discontinuous thermal properties (heat capacity and thermal conductivity) across the phase boundary; gas-condensed phase interface: radiation loss. There is no in-depth gas radiation absorption in the gas phase. It is necessary to solve the momentum, species, energy and continuity equations in the gas along with the energy equation(s) in the liquid and solid. Agreement is obtained between the numerical spread rate and a flame spread formula. The influence of the gas flow is explored by comparing the Navier-Stokes (NS) and Oseen (OS) models. An energy balance analysis describes the flame-spread mechanism in terms of participating heat transfer mechanisms.     

Observation of size-dependent thermalization in CdSe nanocrystals using time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy

We report heat dissipation times in semiconductor nanocrystals of CdSe. Specifically, a previously unresolved, subnanosecond decay component in the low-temperature photoluminescence decay dynamics exhibits longer decay lifetimes (tens to hundreds of picoseconds) for larger nanocrystals as well as a size-independent, ~25-meV spectral shift. We attribute the fast relaxation to transient phonon-mediated relaxation arising from nonequilibrium acoustic phonons. Following acoustic phonon dissipation, the dark exciton state recombines more slowly via LO-phonon assistance resulting in the observed spectral shift. The measured relaxation time scales agree with classical calculations of thermal diffusion, indicating that interfacial thermal conductivity does not limit thermal transport in these semiconductor nanocrystal dispersions.     

Approach to Equilibrium for the Phonon Boltzmann Equation

We study the asymptotics of solutions of the Boltzmann equation describing the kinetic limit of a lattice of classical interacting anharmonic oscillators. We prove that, if the initial condition is a small perturbation of an equilibrium state, and vanishes at infinity, the dynamics tends diffusively to equilibrium. The solution is the sum of a local equilibrium state, associated to conserved quantities that diffuse to zero, and fast variables that are slaved to the slow ones. This slaving implies the Fourier law, which relates the induced currents to the gradients of the conserved quantities. Partially supported by the Belgian IAP program P6/02. Partially supported by the Academy of Finland.     

静态球对称黑洞的热质点模型及辐射功率

利用静态球对称黑洞的热质点模型,研究了黑洞的热辐射规律,得到了当η取固有厚度时,对所有Schwarzschild黑洞,其辐射功率都相同,其视界处的辐射能通量与黑洞的质量的平方成反比,而距黑洞遥远的观察者所接收到的辐射能通量与观测者到黑洞的距离的平方成反比; Reissner-Nordstrm黑洞视界处的辐射能通量和辐射功率不仅与黑洞的质量有关,还与黑洞的电荷有关,而距黑洞遥远的观察者所接收到的辐射能通量,当截断的固有厚度η、黑洞的质量m和电荷Q取定后与观测者到黑洞之间的距离的 关键词： 静态球对称黑洞 热质点模型 辐射功率 辐射能通量     

Wave function of the quantum black hole

We show that the Wald Noether-charge entropy is canonically conjugate to the opening angle at the horizon. Using this canonical relation, we extend the Wheeler–DeWitt equation to a Schrödinger equation in the opening angle, following Carlip and Teitelboim. We solve the equation in the semiclassical approximation by using the correspondence principle and find that the solutions are minimal uncertainty wavefunctions with a continuous spectrum for the entropy and therefore also of the area of the black hole horizon. The fact that the opening angle fluctuates away from its classical value of 2π indicates that the quantum black hole is a superposition of horizonless states. The classical geometry with a horizon serves only to evaluate quantum expectation values in the strict classical limit.     

Transient lumped heat pipe analyses

A transient lumped heat pipe formulation for conventional heat pipes is presented and the lumped analytical solutions for different boundary conditions at the evaporator and condenser are given. For high temperature heat pipes with a radiative boundary condition at the condenser, a nonlinear ordinary differential equation is solved. In an attempt to reduce computer demands, a transient lumped conductive model has been developed for noncondensible gas-loaded heat pipes. The lumped flat-front transient model was extended by accounting for axial heat conduction across the sharp vapor-gas interface. The analytical solutions for conventional and gas-loaded heat pipes were compared with the corresponding numerical results of the full two-dimensional conservation equations and experimental data, with good agreement.     

Non-Colliding Paths in the Honeycomb Dimer Model and the Dyson Process

In this paper we describe a natural family of random non-intersecting discrete paths in the dimer model on the honeycomb lattice. We show that when the dimer model is going to freeze, this family of paths, after a proper rescaling, converges to the extended sine process, obtained traditionally as the limit of the Dyson model when the number of particles goes to infinity.     

From the N-body Schrödinger Equation to the Quantum Boltzmann Equation: a Term-by-Term Convergence Result in the Weak Coupling Regime

In this paper we analyze the asymptotic dynamics of a system of N quantum particles, in a weak coupling regime. Particles are assumed statistically independent at the initial time. Our approach follows the strategy introduced by the authors in a previous work [BCEP1]: we compute the time evolution of the Wigner transform of the one-particle reduced density matrix; it is represented by means of a perturbation series, whose expansion is obtained upon iterating the Duhamel formula; this approach allows us to follow the arguments developed by Lanford [L] for classical interacting particles evolving in a low density regime. We prove, under suitable assumptions on the interaction potential, that the complete perturbation series converges term-by-term, for all times, towards the solution of a Boltzmann equation. The present paper completes the previous work [BCEP1]: it is proved there that a subseries of the complete perturbation expansion converges uniformly, for short times, towards the solution to the nonlinear quantum Boltzmann equation. This previous result holds for (smooth) potentials having possibly non-zero mean value. The present text establishes that the terms neglected at once in [BCEP1], on a purely heuristic basis, indeed go term-by-term to zero along the weak coupling limit, at least for potentials having zero mean. Our analysis combines stationary phase arguments with considerations on the nature of the various Feynman graphs entering the expansion.     

Effect of Plug Flow on the Stability of Two-Dimensional Arcs

Steady solutions to the governing equations that describe fully two-dimensional arc plasmas in a plug flow have been obtained. The stability of these steady solutions is investigated by calculating the transient created when infinitesmal changes in the electrode potentials are imposed. Comparisons are made with solutions obtained using a one-dimensional electric field. We find that with increasing blowing (Peclet number) the one-dimensional electric field solutions yield increasingly inaccurate results for higher currents. The stability results conform with those given by the classical Kaufmann criterion. We find that convection tends to reduce and eventually to eliminate the declining branch of the current-voltage characteristic. The presence of convection promotes axial temperature gradients in the arc and hastens the transition from the unstable (declining) branch to a stable (increasing) branch of the current-voltage characteristic.