A Replica-Coupling Approach to Disordered Pinning Models

We consider a renewal process τ = {τ ₀, τ ₁,...} on the integers, where the law of τ _i − τ _i-1 has a power-like tail P(τ _i − τ _i-1 = n) = n ^−(α+1) L(n) with α ≥ 0 and L(·) slowly varying. We then assign a random, n-dependent reward/penalty to the occurrence of the event that the site n belongs to τ. In such generality this class of problems includes, among others, (1 + d)-dimensional models of pinning of directed polymers on a one-dimensional random defect, (1 + 1)-dimensional models of wetting of disordered substrates, and the Poland-Scheraga model of DNA denaturation. By varying the average of the reward, the system undergoes a transition from a localized phase, where τ occupies a finite fraction of to a delocalized phase, where the density of τ vanishes. In absence of disorder (i.e., if the reward is independent of n), the transition is of first order for α > 1 and of higher order for α < 1. Moreover, for α ranging from 1 to 0, the transition ranges from first to infinite order. Presence of even an arbitrarily small (but extensive) amount of disorder is known to modify the order of transition as soon as α > 1/2 [11]. In physical terms, disorder is relevant in this situation, in agreement with the heuristic Harris criterion. On the other hand, for 0 < α < 1/2 it has been proven recently by K. Alexander [2] that, if disorder is sufficiently weak, critical exponents are not modified by randomness: disorder is irrelevant. In this work, generalizing techniques which in the framework of spin glasses are known as replica coupling and interpolation, we give a new, simpler proof of the main results of [2]. Moreover, we (partially) justify a small-disorder expansion worked out in [9] for α < 1/2, showing that it provides a free energy upper bound which improves the annealed one.     

Coarsening process in one-dimensional surface growth models

Surface growth models may give rise to instabilities with mound formation whose typical linear size L increases with time (coarsening process). In one dimensional systems coarsening is generally driven by an attractive interaction between domain walls or kinks. This picture applies to growth models for which the largest surface slope remains constant in time (corresponding to model B of dynamics): coarsening is known to be logarithmic in the absence of noise ( L(t) ∼ ln t) and to follow a power law ( L(t) ∼t ^1/3) when noise is present. If the surface slope increases indefinitely, the deterministic equation looks like a modified Cahn-Hilliard equation: here we study the late stages of coarsening through a linear stability analysis of the stationary periodic configurations and through a direct numerical integration. Analytical and numerical results agree with regard to the conclusion that steepening of mounds makes deterministic coarsening faster : if α is the exponent describing the steepening of the maximal slope M of mounds ( M ^α∼L) we find that L(t) ∼t ⁿ: n is equal to for 1≤α≤2 and it decreases from to for α≥2, according to n = α/(5α - 2). On the other side, the numerical solution of the corresponding stochastic equation clearly shows that in the presence of shot noise steepening of mounds makes coarsening slower than in model B: L(t) ∼t ^1/4, irrespectively of α. Finally, the presence of a symmetry breaking term is shown not to modify the coarsening law of model α = 1, both in the absence and in the presence of noise. Received 28 September 2001 and Received in final form 21 November 2001     

Scaling near the upper critical dimensionality in the localization theory

The phenomenon of upper critical dimensionality d _c2 has been studied from the viewpoint of the scaling concepts. The Thouless number g(L) is not the only essential variable in scale transformations, because there is the second essential parameter connected with the off-diagonal disorder. The investigation of the resulting two-parameter scaling has revealed two scenarios, and switching from one to another scenario determines the upper critical dimensionality. The first scenario corresponds to the conventional one-parameter scaling and is characterized by the parameter g(L) invariant under scale transformations when the system is at the critical point. In the second scenario, the Thouless number g(L) grows at the critical point as , which leads to a violation of the Wegner relation s=v(d−22) between the critical exponents for conductivity s and localization radius v, which takes the form s=v(d _c2−2). The resulting formulas for g(L) are in agreement with the symmetry theory suggested in a previous publication, I. M. Suslov, Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 108, 1686 (1995) [JETP 81, 925 (1995)]. A more rigorous version of Mott’s argument concerning localization due to topological disorder has been proposed. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 1460–1473 (April 1998)     

Propagator of the Lattice Domain Wall Fermion and the Staggered Fermion

We calculate the propagator of the domain wall fermion (DWF) of the RBC/UKQCD collaboration with 2 + 1 dynamical flavors of 16³ × 32 × 16 lattice in Coulomb gauge, by applying the conjugate gradient method. We find that the fluctuation of the propagator is small when the momenta are taken along the diagonal of the 4-dimensional lattice. Restricting momenta in this momentum region, which is called the cylinder cut, we compare the mass function and the running coupling of the quark-gluon coupling α _s,g1(q) with those of the staggered fermion of the MILC collaboration in Landau gauge. In the case of DWF, the ambiguity of the phase of the wave function is adjusted such that the overlap of the solution of the conjugate gradient method and the plane wave at the source becomes real. The quark-gluon coupling α _s,g1(q) of the DWF in the region q > 1.3 GeV agrees with ghost-gluon coupling α _s (q) that we measured by using the configuration of the MILC collaboration, i.e., enhancement by a factor (1 + c/q ²) with c ≃ 2.8 GeV² on the pQCD result. In the case of staggered fermion, in contrast to the ghost-gluon coupling α _s (q) in Landau gauge which showed infrared suppression, the quark-gluon coupling α _s,g1(q) in the infrared region increases monotonically as q→ 0. Above 2 GeV, the quark-gluon coupling α _s,g1(q) of staggered fermion calculated by naive crossing becomes smaller than that of DWF, probably due to the complex phase of the propagator which is not connected with the low energy physics of the fermion taste. An erratum to this article can be found at     

The Asymptotic Limits of Zero Modes of Massless Dirac Operators

Asymptotic behaviors of zero modes of the massless Dirac operator H = α · D + Q(x) are discussed, where α = (α₁, α₂, α₃) is the triple of 4 × 4 Dirac matrices, , and Q(x) = (q _jk (x)) is a 4 × 4 Hermitian matrix-valued function with | q _jk (x) | ≤ C 〈x〉^−ρ, ρ > 1. We shall show that for every zero mode f, the asymptotic limit of |x|² f (x) as |x| → + ∞ exists. The limit is expressed in terms of the Dirac matrices and an integral of Q(x) f (x).      

The Studies of Enhanced Fluorescence in the Two Novel Ternary Rare-Earth Complex Systems

Two novel ternary rare-earth complexes SmL₅·L^’·(ClO₄)₂·7H₂O and EuL₅·L^’·(ClO₄)₂·6H₂O (the first ligand L = C₆H₅COCH₂SOCH₂COC₆H₅, the second ligand L^’ = C₆H₄OHCOO⁻) were synthesized and characterized by element analysis, molar conductivity, coordination titration analysis, IR, TG-DSC, ¹HNMR and UV spectra. The detailed luminescence studies on the rare-earth complexes showed that the ternary rare-earth complexes presented stronger fluorescence intensities, longer lifetimes, and higher fluorescence quantum efficiencies than the binary rare-earth materials. After the introduction of the second ligand salicylic acid group, the relative emission intensities and fluorescence lifetimes of the ternary complexes LnL₅·L^’·(ClO₄)₂·nH₂O (Ln = Sm, Eu; n = 7, 6) enhanced more obviously than the binary complexes LnL₅·(ClO₄)₃·2H₂O. This indicated that the presence of both organic ligand bis(benzoylmethyl) sulfoxide and the second ligand salicylic acid could sensitize fluorescence intensities of rare-earth ions, and the introduction of salicylic acid group was a benefit for the fluorescence properties of the ternary rare-earth complexes. The fluorescence spectra, fluorescence lifetime and phosphorescence spectra were also discussed.     

Copolymers at Selective Interfaces: New Bounds on the Phase Diagram

We investigate the phase diagram of disordered copolymers at the interface between two selective solvents, and in particular its weak-coupling behavior, encoded in the slope m _c of the critical line at the origin. We focus on the directed walk case, which has turned out to be, in spite of the apparent simplicity, extremely challenging. In mathematical terms, the partition function of such a model does not depend on all the details of the Markov chain that models the polymer, but only on the time elapsed between successive returns to zero and on whether the walk is in the upper or lower half plane between such returns. This observation leads to a natural generalization of the model, in terms of arbitrary laws of return times: the most interesting case being the one of return times with power law tails (with exponent 1+α, α=1/2 in the case of the symmetric random walk). The main results we present here are:

Analytical Approach to the One-Dimensional Disordered Exclusion Process with Open Boundaries and Random Sequential Dynamics

A one-dimensional disordered particle hopping rate asymmetric exclusion process (ASEP) with open boundaries and a random sequential dynamics is studied analytically. Combining the exact results of the steady states in the pure case with a perturbative mean field-like approach the broken particle-hole symmetry is highlighted and the phase diagram is studied in the parameter space (α,β), where α and β represent respectively the injection rate and the extraction rate of particles. The model displays, as in the pure case, high-density, low-density and maximum-current phases. All critical lines are determined analytically showing that the high-density low-density first order phase transition occurs at α≠β. We show that the maximum-current phase extends its stability region as the disorder is increased and the usual -decay of the density profile in this phase is universal. Assuming that some exact results for the disordered model on a ring hold for a system with open boundaries, we derive some analytical results for platoon phase transition within the low-density phase and we give an analytical expression of its corresponding critical injection rate α ^*. As it was observed numerically (Bengrine et al. J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 32:2527, [1999]), we show that the quenched disorder induces a cusp in the current-density relation at maximum flow in a certain region of parameter space and determine the analytical expression of its slope. The results of numerical simulations we develop agree with the analytical ones. Regular associate of ICTP.     

Finite-size scaling of the level compressibility at the Anderson transition

We compute the number level variance Σ ₂ and the level compressibility χ from high precision data for the Anderson model of localization and show that they can be used in order to estimate the critical properties at the metal-insulator transition by means of finite-size scaling. With N, W, and L denoting, respectively, linear system size, disorder strength, and the average number of levels in units of the mean level spacing, we find that both χ(N, W) and the integrated Σ ₂ obey finite-size scaling. The high precision data was obtained for an anisotropic three-dimensional Anderson model with disorder given by a box distribution of width W/2. We compute the critical exponent as ν≈ 1.45±0.12 and the critical disorder as W _c≈ 8.59±0.05 in agreement with previous transfer-matrix studies in the anisotropic model. Furthermore, we find χ≈ 0.28±0.06 at the metal-insulator transition in very close agreement with previous results. Received 1st November 2001 and Received in final form 8 March 2002 Published online 6 June 2002     

Phase transition properties of three-dimensional systems described by diluted potts model

Monte Carlo simulations are performed to analyze phase transitions in three-dimensional systems described by the 3-state Potts model with nonmagnetic impurities. Numerical results are presented for systems with spin concentrations p = 1.00, 0.95, 0.90, 0.80, 0.70, and 0.65 on lattices of size L varying between 20 and 44. Binder’s cumulant analysis shows that the introduction of quenched disorder in the form of non-magnetic impurities induces a crossover from first-order to second-order phase transition. The finite-size scaling method is used to calculate the static critical exponents α, γ, β, and ν for specific heat, susceptibility, magnetization, and correlation length, respectively.     

Lattice Dislocations in a 1-Dimensional Model

The spectral properties of the Schr?dinger operator T(t)=−d ²/dx ²+q(x,t) in L ²(ℝ) are studied, where the potential q is defined by q=p(x+t), x>0, and q=p(x), x<0; p is a 1-periodic potential and t∈ℝ is the dislocation parameter. For each t the absolutely continuous spectrum σ _ac (T(t))=σ _ac (T(0)) consists of intervals, which are separated by the gaps γ _n (T(t))=γ _n (T(0))=(α _n ⁻,α _n ⁺), n≥1. We prove: in each gap γ _n ≠?, n≥ 1 there exist two unique “states” (an eigenvalue and a resonance) λ _n ^±(t) of the dislocation operator, such that λ _n ^±(0)=α _n ^± and the point λ _n ^±(t) runs clockwise around the gap γ _n changing the energy sheet whenever it hits α _n ^±, making n/2 complete revolutions in unit time. On the first sheet λ _n ^±(t) is an eigenvalue and on the second sheet λ _n ^±(t) is a resonance. In general, these motions are not monotonic. There exists a unique state λ₀(t) in the basic gap γ₀(T(t))=γ₀(T(0))=(−∞ ,α₀ ⁺). The asymptotics of λ _n ^±(t) as n→∞ is determined. Received: 5 April 1999 / Accepted: 3 March 2000     

Binding of Engeletin with Bovine Serum Albumin: Insights from Spectroscopic Investigations

In this paper, several spectroscopic techniques were used to investigate the interaction of engeletin (ELN) with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The analysis of UV–Vis absorption and fluorescence spectra revealed that ELN and BSA formed a static complex ELN–BSA, and ELN quenched the fluorescence of BSA effectively. According to the thermodynamic parameters ΔS ⁰ = 47.27 J·mol⁻¹·K⁻¹ and ΔΗ ⁰ = −10.34 kJ·mol⁻¹, the hydrophobic and hydrogen bond interactions were suggested to be the major interaction forces between ELN and BSA. Raman spectroscopy indicated that the binding of ELN slightly changed the conformations and microenviroment of BSA and decreased the α–helix content of BSA.     

Kinetics of formation of O2(1Σ) molecules in reactions involving excited O2(1Δ) oxygen molecules and I(2P1/2) iodine atoms

The results of our experimental study of the kinetics of formation of O₂(¹Σ) molecules in energy-exchange reactions O₂(¹Δ) + I(⁵ p,² P _1/2) and O₂(a,¹Δ) + O₂(a,¹Δ) are presented. The ratio of rate constants was obtained for these reactions (4800 ± 300). Setting the rate constant of the deactivation of O₂(¹Σ) molecules on CO₂ molecules at 4.1 · 10^–13 cm³/s, we evaluated the rate constants for these reactions at a temperature of approximately 330 K: (1.7 ± 0.2) · 10⁻¹³ and (3.6 ± 0.5) · 10⁻¹⁷ cm³/s, respectively.     

Distribution of pseudo-critical temperatures and lack of self-averaging in disordered Poland-Scheraga models with different loop exponents

According to recent progresses in the finite size scaling theory of disordered systems, thermodynamic observables are not self-averaging at critical points when the disorder is relevant in the Harris criterion sense. This lack of self-averageness at criticality is directly related to the distribution of pseudo-critical temperatures T_c(i,L) over the ensemble of samples (i) of size L. In this paper, we apply this analysis to disordered Poland-Scheraga models with different loop exponents c, corresponding to marginal and relevant disorder. In all cases, we numerically obtain a Gaussian histogram of pseudo-critical temperatures T_c(i,L) with mean T_c^av(L) and width ΔT_c(L). For the marginal case c=1.5 corresponding to two-dimensional wetting, both the width ΔT_c(L) and the shift [T_c(∞)-T_c^av(L)] decay as L^-1/2, so the exponent is unchanged (ν_random=2=ν_pure) but disorder is relevant and leads to non self-averaging at criticality. For relevant disorder c=1.75, the width ΔT_c(L) and the shift [T_c(∞)-T_c^av(L)] decay with the same new exponent L^-1/νrandom (where ν_random ∼2.7 > 2 > ν_pure) and there is again no self-averaging at criticality. Finally for the value c=2.15, of interest in the context of DNA denaturation, the transition is first-order in the pure case. In the presence of disorder, the width ΔT_c(L) ∼L^-1/2 dominates over the shift [T_c(∞)-T_c^av(L)] ∼L^-1, i.e. there are two correlation length exponents ν=2 and that govern respectively the averaged/typical loop distribution.     

Effective nonlinear optical properties of shape distributed composite media

The effective linear and nonlinear optical properties of metal/dielectric composite media, in which ellipsoidal metal inclusions are distributed in shape, are investigated. The shape distribution function P(L _x, L _y) is assumed to be 2Δ^-2θ(L _x - 1/3 + Δ/3)θ(L _y - 1/3 + Δ/3)θ(2/3 + Δ/3 - L _x - L _y), where θ( ^{. . .} ) is the Heaviside function, Δ is the shape variance and L_i are the depolarization factors of the ellipsoidal inclusions along i-symmetric axes (i = x, y). Within the spectral representation, we adopt Maxwell-Garnett type approximation to study the effect of shape variance Δ on the effective nonlinear optical properties. Numerical results show that both the effective linear optical absorption α ∼ ωIm() and the modulus of the effective third-order optical nonlinearity enhancement |χ⁽³⁾ _e|/χ⁽³⁾ ₁ exhibit the nonmonotonic behavior with Δ. Moreover, with increasing Δ, the optical absorption and the nonlinearity enhancement bands become broad, accompanied with the decrease of their peaks. The adjustment of Δ from 0 to 1 allows us to examine the crossover behavior from no separation to large separation between optical absorption and nonlinearity enhancement peaks. As Δ → 0, i.e., the ellipsoidal shape deviates slightly from the spherical one, the dependence of |χ⁽³⁾ _e|/χ⁽³⁾ ₁ on Δ becomes strong first and then weak with increasing the imaginary part of inclusions' dielectric constant. In the dilute limit, the exact formula for the effective optical nonlinearity is derived, and the present approximation characterizes the exact results better than old mean field one does. Received 10 December 2002 Published online 4 June 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: lgaophys@pub.sz.jsinfo.net     

Chiral SU(4) × SU(4) breaking: masses and decay constants of charmed hadrons

The (4, 4*) ⊕ (4*, 4) model of broken chiral SU (4) × SU (4) symmetry has been used to calculate the third-order coupling constants involving charmed and ordinary pseudoscalar mesons. These coupling constants are exploited to derive some interesting new relations among the masses and decay constants of these charmed particles. Using the known masses and decay constants as inputs, we exploit these relations to predict:F _D = −1·41F _π ,F _F = −1·13F _π ,F _D/F_F = 1·25,m(D _s) = 1·43 GeV,m(F _s) = 1·39 GeV andm(K _s) = 1·02 GeV.     

Ground State and Charge Renormalization in a Nonlinear Model of Relativistic Atoms

We study the reduced Bogoliubov-Dirac-Fock (BDF) energy which allows to describe relativistic electrons interacting with the Dirac sea, in an external electrostatic potential. The model can be seen as a mean-field approximation of Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) where photons and the so-called exchange term are neglected. A state of the system is described by its one-body density matrix, an infinite rank self-adjoint operator which is a compact perturbation of the negative spectral projector of the free Dirac operator (the Dirac sea). We study the minimization of the reduced BDF energy under a charge constraint. We prove the existence of minimizers for a large range of values of the charge, and any positive value of the coupling constant α. Our result covers neutral and positively charged molecules, provided that the positive charge is not large enough to create electron-positron pairs. We also prove that the density of any minimizer is an L ¹ function and compute the effective charge of the system, recovering the usual renormalization of charge: the physical coupling constant is related to α by the formula α_phys ≃ α(1 + 2α/(3π) log Λ)⁻¹, where Λ is the ultraviolet cut-off. We eventually prove an estimate on the highest number of electrons which can be bound by a nucleus of charge Z. In the nonrelativistic limit, we obtain that this number is  ≤  2Z, recovering a result of Lieb. This work is based on a series of papers by Hainzl, Lewin, Séré and Solovej on the mean-field approximation of no-photon QED.     

Spectral theory of elliptic operators in exterior domains

Diverse closed (and selfadjoint) realizations of elliptic differential expressions A = Σ_{0⩽|α|,|β|⩽m} (−1) ^α D ^α a _α,β (x)D ^β , a _α,β (·) ∈ C ^∞($ \bar \Omega $ \bar \Omega ) on smooth (bounded or unbounded) domains Ω in ℝ ⁿ with compact boundary ∂Ω are considered. Trace-ideal properties of powers of resolvent differences for these closed realizations of A are proved by using the concept of boundary triples and operator-valued Weyl-Titchmarsh functions, and estimates for negative eigenvalues of certain selfadjoint extensions of the nonnegative minimal operator are derived. Our results extend classical theorems due to Vishik, Povzner, Birman, and Grubb.