A new broken U(1)-symmetry in extreme type-II superconductors

A phase transition within the molten phase of the Abrikosov vortex system without disorder in extreme type-II superconductors is found via large-scale Monte-Carlo simulations. It involves breaking a U(1)-symmetry, and has a zero-field counterpart, unlike vortex lattice melting. Its hallmark is the loss of number-conservation of connected vortex paths threading the entire system {\it in any direction}, driving the vortex line tension to zero. This tension plays the role of a generalized ``stiffness'' of the vortex liquid, and serves as a probe of the loss of order at the transition, where a weak specific heat anomaly is found.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Fractional-Period Excitations in Continuum Periodic Systems

We investigate the generation of fractional-period states in continuum periodic systems. As an example, we consider a Bose-Einstein condensate confined in an optical-lattice potential. We show that when the potential is turned on non-adiabatically, the system explores a number of transient states whose periodicity is a fraction of that of the lattice. We illustrate the origin of fractional-period states analytically by treating them as resonant states of a parametrically forced Duffing oscillator and discuss their transient nature and potential observability.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures (some with multiple parts); revised version: minor clarifications of a couple points, to appear in Physical Review

Quantum dynamics in photonic crystals

Employing a recently developed method that is numerically accurate within a model space simulating the real-time dynamics of few-body systems interacting with macroscopic environmental quantum fields, we analyze the full dynamics of an atomic system coupled to a continuum light-field with a gapped spectral density. This is a situation encountered, for example, in the radiation field in a photonic crystal, whose analysis has been so far been confined to limiting cases due to the lack of suitable numerical techniques. We show that both atomic population and coherence dynamics can drastically deviate from the results predicted when using the rotating wave approximation, particularly in the strong coupling regime. Experimental conditions required to observe these corrections are also discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures Updated with published versio

Higher Order Force Gradient Symplectic Algorithms

We show that a recently discovered fourth order symplectic algorithm, which requires one evaluation of force gradient in addition to three evaluations of the force, when iterated to higher order, yielded algorithms that are far superior to similarly iterated higher order algorithms based on the standard Forest-Ruth algorithm. We gauge the accuracy of each algorithm by comparing the step-size independent error functions associated with energy conservation and the rotation of the Laplace-Runge-Lenz vector when solving a highly eccentric Kepler problem. For orders 6, 8, 10 and 12, the new algorithms are approximately a factor of $10^3$, $10^4$, $10^4$ and $10^5$ better.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure

On the construction of high-order force gradient algorithms for integration of motion in classical and quantum systems

A consequent approach is proposed to construct symplectic force-gradient algorithms of arbitrarily high orders in the time step for precise integration of motion in classical and quantum mechanics simulations. Within this approach the basic algorithms are first derived up to the eighth order by direct decompositions of exponential propagators and further collected using an advanced composition scheme to obtain the algorithms of higher orders. Contrary to the scheme by Chin and Kidwell [Phys. Rev. E 62, 8746 (2000)], where high-order algorithms are introduced by standard iterations of a force-gradient integrator of order four, the present method allows to reduce the total number of expensive force and its gradient evaluations to a minimum. At the same time, the precision of the integration increases significantly, especially with increasing the order of the generated schemes. The algorithms are tested in molecular dynamics and celestial mechanics simulations. It is shown, in particular, that the efficiency of the new fourth-order-based algorithms is better approximately in factors 5 to 1000 for orders 4 to 12, respectively. The results corresponding to sixth- and eighth-order-based composition schemes are also presented up to the sixteenth order. For orders 14 and 16, such highly precise schemes, at considerably smaller computational costs, allow to reduce unphysical deviations in the total energy up in 100 000 times with respect to those of the standard fourth-order-based iteration approach.Comment: 23 pages, 2 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.

Unzipping of DNA with correlated base-sequence

We consider force-induced unzipping transition for a heterogeneous DNA model with a correlated base-sequence. Both finite-range and long-range correlated situations are considered. It is shown that finite-range correlations increase stability of DNA with respect to the external unzipping force. Due to long-range correlations the number of unzipped base-pairs displays two widely different scenarios depending on the details of the base-sequence: either there is no unzipping phase-transition at all, or the transition is realized via a sequence of jumps with magnitude comparable to the size of the system. Both scenarios are different from the behavior of the average number of unzipped base-pairs (non-self-averaging). The results can be relevant for explaining the biological purpose of correlated structures in DNA.Comment: 22 pages, revtex4, 14 eps figures; reprinted in the June 15, 2004 issue of Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Researc

Distribution of entanglement in light-harvesting complexes and their quantum efficiency

Recent evidence of electronic coherence during energy transfer in photosynthetic antenna complexes has reinvigorated the discussion of whether coherence and/or entanglement has any practical functionality for these molecular systems. Here we investigate quantitative relationships between the quantum yield of a light-harvesting complex and the distribution of entanglement among its components. Our study focusses on the entanglement yield or average entanglement surviving a time scale comparable to the average excitation trapping time. As a prototype system we consider the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) protein of green sulphur bacteria and show that there is an inverse relationship between the quantum efficiency and the average entanglement between distant donor sites. Our results suggest that longlasting electronic coherence among distant donors might help modulation of the lightharvesting function.Comment: Version accepted for publication in NJ

Effect of time delay on the onset of synchronization of the stochastic Kuramoto model

We consider the Kuramoto model of globally coupled phase oscillators with time-delayed interactions, that is subject to the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (Gaussian) colored or the non-Gaussian colored noise. We investigate numerically the interplay between the influences of the finite correlation time of noise $\tau$ and the time delay $\tau_{d}$ on the onset of the synchronization process. Both cases for identical and nonidentical oscillators had been considered. Among the obtained results for identical oscillators is a large increase of the synchronization threshold as a function of time delay for the colored non-Gaussian noise compared to the case of the colored Gaussian noise at low noise correlation time $\tau$. However, the difference reduces remarkably for large noise correlation times. For the case of nonidentical oscillators, the incoherent state may become unstable around the maximum value of the threshold (as a function of time delay) even at lower coupling strength values in the presence of colored noise as compared to the noiseless case. We had studied the dependence of the critical value of the coupling strength (the threshold of synchronization) on given parameters of the stochastic Kuramoto model in great details and presented results for possible cases of colored Gaussian and non-Gaussian noises.Comment: 19 pages with 7 figure

Flux melting in BSCCO: Incorporating both electromagnetic and Josephson couplings

Multilevel Monte Carlo simulations of a BSCCO system are carried out including both Josephson as well as electromagnetic couplings for a range of anisotropies. A first order melting transition of the flux lattice is seen on increasing the temperature and/or the magnetic field. The phase diagram for BSCCO is obtained for different values of the anisotropy parameter $\gamma$. The best fit to the experimental results of D. Majer {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 75}, 1166 (1995)] is obtained for $\gamma\approx 250$ provided one assumes a temperature dependence $\lambda^2(0)/\lambda^2(T)=1-t$ of the penetration depth with $t=T/T_c$. Assuming a dependence $\lambda^2(0)/\lambda^2(T)=1-t^2$ the best fit is obtained for $\gamma\approx 450$. For finite anisotropy the data is shown to collapse on a straight line when plotted in dimensionless units which shows that the melting transition can be satisfied with a single Lindemann parameter whose value is about 0.3. A different scaling applies to the $\gamma=\infty$ case. The energy jump is measured across the transition and for large values of $\gamma$ it is found to increase with increasing anisotropy and to decrease with increasing magnetic field. For infinite anisotropy we see a 2D behavior of flux droplets with a transition taking place at a temperature independent of the magnetic field. We also show that for smaller values of anisotropy it is reasonable to replace the electromagnetic coupling with an in-plane interaction represented by a Bessel function of the second kind ($K_0$), thus justifying our claim in a previous paper.Comment: 12 figures, revtex