1,773 research outputs found
Corrections to Einstein's relation for Brownian motion in a tilted periodic potential
In this paper we revisit the problem of Brownian motion in a tilted periodic
potential. We use homogenization theory to derive general formulas for the
effective velocity and the effective diffusion tensor that are valid for
arbitrary tilts. Furthermore, we obtain power series expansions for the
velocity and the diffusion coefficient as functions of the external forcing.
Thus, we provide systematic corrections to Einstein's formula and to linear
response theory. Our theoretical results are supported by extensive numerical
simulations. For our numerical experiments we use a novel spectral numerical
method that leads to a very efficient and accurate calculation of the effective
velocity and the effective diffusion tensor.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figures, submitted to the Journal of Statistical Physic
Stochastic Gravity
Gravity is treated as a stochastic phenomenon based on fluctuations of the
metric tensor of general relativity. By using a (3+1) slicing of spacetime, a
Langevin equation for the dynamical conjugate momentum and a Fokker-Planck
equation for its probability distribution are derived. The Raychaudhuri
equation for a congruence of timelike or null geodesics leads to a stochastic
differential equation for the expansion parameter in terms of the
proper time . For sufficiently strong metric fluctuations, it is shown that
caustic singularities in spacetime can be avoided for converging geodesics. The
formalism is applied to the gravitational collapse of a star and the
Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological model. It is found that owing to the
stochastic behavior of the geometry, the singularity in gravitational collapse
and the big-bang have a zero probability of occurring. Moreover, as a star
collapses the probability of a distant observer seeing an infinite red shift at
the Schwarzschild radius of the star is zero. Therefore, there is a vanishing
probability of a Schwarzschild black hole event horizon forming during
gravitational collapse.Comment: Revised version. Eq. (108) has been modified. Additional comments
have been added to text. Revtex 39 page
Some relations between Lagrangian models and synthetic random velocity fields
We propose an alternative interpretation of Markovian transport models based
on the well-mixedness condition, in terms of the properties of a random
velocity field with second order structure functions scaling linearly in the
space time increments. This interpretation allows direct association of the
drift and noise terms entering the model, with the geometry of the turbulent
fluctuations. In particular, the well known non-uniqueness problem in the
well-mixedness approach is solved in terms of the antisymmetric part of the
velocity correlations; its relation with the presence of non-zero mean helicity
and other geometrical properties of the flow is elucidated. The well-mixedness
condition appears to be a special case of the relation between conditional
velocity increments of the random field and the one-point Eulerian velocity
distribution, allowing generalization of the approach to the transport of
non-tracer quantities. Application to solid particle transport leads to a model
satisfying, in the homogeneous isotropic turbulence case, all the conditions on
the behaviour of the correlation times for the fluid velocity sampled by the
particles. In particular, correlation times in the gravity and in the inertia
dominated case, respectively, longer and shorter than in the passive tracer
case; in the gravity dominated case, correlation times longer for velocity
components along gravity, than for the perpendicular ones. The model produces,
in channel flow geometry, particle deposition rates in agreement with
experiments.Comment: 54 pages, 8 eps figures included; contains additional material on
SO(3) and on turbulent channel flows. Few typos correcte
Numerical self-consistent stellar models of thin disks
We find a numerical self-consistent stellar model by finding the distribution
function of a thin disk that satisfies simultaneously the Fokker-Planck and
Poisson equations. The solution of the Fokker-Planck equation is found by a
direct numerical solver using finite differences and a variation of Stone's
method. The collision term in the Fokker-Planck equation is found using the
local approximation and the Rosenbluth potentials. The resulting diffusion
coefficients are explicitly evaluated using a Maxwellian distribution for the
field stars. As a paradigmatic example, we apply the numerical formalism to
find the distribution function of a Kuzmin-Toomre thin disk. This example is
studied in some detail showing that the method applies to a large family of
actual galaxies.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, version accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysic
The linear Fokker-Planck equation for the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process as an (almost) nonlinear kinetic equation for an isolated N-particle system
It is long known that the Fokker-Planck equation with prescribed constant
coefficients of diffusion and linear friction describes the ensemble average of
the stochastic evolutions in velocity space of a Brownian test particle
immersed in a heat bath of fixed temperature. Apparently, it is not so well
known that the same partial differential equation, but now with constant
coefficients which are functionals of the solution itself rather than being
prescribed, describes the kinetic evolution (in the infinite particle limit) of
an isolated N-particle system with certain stochastic interactions. Here we
discuss in detail this recently discovered interpretation.Comment: Minor revisions and corrections (including the title
The Lundgren-Monin-Novikov Hierarchy: Kinetic Equations for Turbulence
We present an overview of recent works on the statistical description of
turbulent flows in terms of probability density functions (PDFs) in the
framework of the Lundgren-Monin-Novikov (LMN) hierarchy. Within this framework,
evolution equations for the PDFs are derived from the basic equations of fluid
motion. The closure problem arises either in terms of a coupling to multi-point
PDFs or in terms of conditional averages entering the evolution equations as
unknown functions. We mainly focus on the latter case and use data from direct
numerical simulations (DNS) to specify the unclosed terms. Apart from giving an
introduction into the basic analytical techniques, applications to
two-dimensional vorticity statistics, to the single-point velocity and
vorticity statistics of three-dimensional turbulence, to the temperature
statistics of Rayleigh-B\'enard convection and to Burgers turbulence are
discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in C. R. Acad. Sc
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