6,268 research outputs found
Complex light: Dynamic phase transitions of a light beam in a nonlinear non-local disordered medium
The dynamics of several light filaments (spatial optical solitons)
propagating in an optically nonlinear and non-local random medium is
investigated using the paradigms of the physics of complexity. Cluster
formation is interpreted as a dynamic phase transition. A connection with the
random matrices approach for explaining the vibrational spectra of an ensemble
of solitons is pointed out. General arguments based on a Brownian dynamics
model are validated by the numerical simulation of a stochastic partial
differential equation system. The results are also relevant for Bose condensed
gases and plasma physics.Comment: 11 pages, 20 figures. Small revisions, added a referenc
The quark-gluon plasma, turbulence, and quantum mechanics
Quark-gluon plasmas formed in heavy ion collisions at high energies are well
described by ideal classical fluid equations with nearly zero viscosity. It is
believed that a similar fluid permeated the entire universe at about three
microseconds after the big bang. The estimated Reynolds number for this
quark-gluon plasma at 3 microseconds is approximately 10^19. The possibility
that quantum mechanics may be an emergent property of a turbulent proto-fluid
is tentatively explored. A simple relativistic fluid equation which is
consistent with general relativity and is based on a cosmic dust model is
studied. A proper time transformation transforms it into an inviscid Burgers
equation. This is analyzed numerically using a spectral method. Soliton-like
solutions are demonstrated for this system, and these interact with the known
ergodic behavior of the fluid to yield a stochastic and chaotic system which is
time reversible. Various similarities to quantum mechanics are explored.Comment: 41 pages. Content changes in the azimuthal soliton sectio
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