3,886 research outputs found
2D growth processes: SLE and Loewner chains
This review provides an introduction to two dimensional growth processes.
Although it covers a variety processes such as diffusion limited aggregation,
it is mostly devoted to a detailed presentation of stochastic Schramm-Loewner
evolutions (SLE) which are Markov processes describing interfaces in 2D
critical systems. It starts with an informal discussion, using numerical
simulations, of various examples of 2D growth processes and their connections
with statistical mechanics. SLE is then introduced and Schramm's argument
mapping conformally invariant interfaces to SLE is explained. A substantial
part of the review is devoted to reveal the deep connections between
statistical mechanics and processes, and more specifically to the present
context, between 2D critical systems and SLE. Some of the SLE remarkable
properties are explained, as well as the tools for computing with SLE. This
review has been written with the aim of filling the gap between the
mathematical and the physical literatures on the subject.Comment: A review on Stochastic Loewner evolutions for Physics Reports, 172
pages, low quality figures, better quality figures upon request to the
authors, comments welcom
Time-frequency analysis of ship wave patterns in shallow water: modelling and experiments
A spectrogram of a ship wake is a heat map that visualises the time-dependent
frequency spectrum of surface height measurements taken at a single point as
the ship travels by. Spectrograms are easy to compute and, if properly
interpreted, have the potential to provide crucial information about various
properties of the ship in question. Here we use geometrical arguments and
analysis of an idealised mathematical model to identify features of
spectrograms, concentrating on the effects of a finite-depth channel. Our
results depend heavily on whether the flow regime is subcritical or
supercritical. To support our theoretical predictions, we compare with data
taken from experiments we conducted in a model test basin using a variety of
realistic ship hulls. Finally, we note that vessels with a high aspect ratio
appear to produce spectrogram data that contains periodic patterns. We can
reproduce this behaviour in our mathematical model by using a so-called
two-point wavemaker. These results highlight the role of wave interference
effects in spectrograms of ship wakes.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
Random Convex Hulls and Extreme Value Statistics
In this paper we study the statistical properties of convex hulls of
random points in a plane chosen according to a given distribution. The points
may be chosen independently or they may be correlated. After a non-exhaustive
survey of the somewhat sporadic literature and diverse methods used in the
random convex hull problem, we present a unifying approach, based on the notion
of support function of a closed curve and the associated Cauchy's formulae,
that allows us to compute exactly the mean perimeter and the mean area enclosed
by the convex polygon both in case of independent as well as correlated points.
Our method demonstrates a beautiful link between the random convex hull problem
and the subject of extreme value statistics. As an example of correlated
points, we study here in detail the case when the points represent the vertices
of independent random walks. In the continuum time limit this reduces to
independent planar Brownian trajectories for which we compute exactly, for
all , the mean perimeter and the mean area of their global convex hull. Our
results have relevant applications in ecology in estimating the home range of a
herd of animals. Some of these results were announced recently in a short
communication [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 103}, 140602 (2009)].Comment: 61 pages (pedagogical review); invited contribution to the special
issue of J. Stat. Phys. celebrating the 50 years of Yeshiba/Rutgers meeting
- …