Short Range Ising Spin Glasses: a critical exponent study

The critical properties of short-range Ising spin-glass models, defined on a diamond hierarchical lattice of graph fractal dimension $d_{f}=2.58$, 3, and 4, and scaling factor 2 are studied via a method based on the Migdal-Kadanoff renormalization-group scheme. The order parameter critical exponent $\beta$ is directly estimated from the data of the local Edwards- Anderson (EA) order parameter, obtained through an exact recursion procedure. The scaling of the EA order parameter, leading to estimates of the $\nu$ exponent of the correlation length is also performed. Four distinct initial distributions of the quenched coupling constants (Gaussian, bimodal, uniform and exponential) are considered. Deviations from a universal behaviour are observed and analysed in the framework of the renormalized flow in a two dimensional appropriate parameter space.Comment: 9 pages, 01 figure (ps

A p-Spin Interaction Ashkin-Teller Spin-Glass Model

A p-spin interaction Ashkin-Teller spin glass, with three independent Gaussian probability distributions for the exchange interactions, is studied by means of the replica method. A simple phase diagram is obtained within the replica-symmetric approximation, presenting an instability of the paramagnetic solution at low temperatures. The replica-symmetry-breaking procedure is implemented and a rich phase diagram is obtained; besides the paramagnetic phase, three distinct spin-glass phases appear. Three first-order critical frontiers are found and they all meet at a triple point; among such lines, two of them present discontinuities in the order parameters, but no latent heat, whereas the other one exhibits both discontinuities in the order parameters and a finite latent heat.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physica

On the composition of ammonia-sulfuric-acid ion clusters during aerosol particle formation

The formation of particles from precursor vapors is an important source of atmospheric aerosol. Research at the Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets (CLOUD) facility at CERN tries to elucidate which vapors are responsible for this new-particle formation, and how in detail it proceeds. Initial measurement campaigns at the CLOUD stainless-steel aerosol chamber focused on investigating particle formation from ammonia (NH3) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Experiments were conducted in the presence of water, ozone and sulfur dioxide. Contaminant trace gases were suppressed at the technological limit. For this study, we mapped out the compositions of small NH3–H2SO4 clusters over a wide range of atmospherically relevant environmental conditions. We covered [NH3] in the range from 10. Positively charged clusters grew on average by Δm/Δn = 1.05 and were only observed at sufficiently high [NH3] / [H2SO4]. The H2SO4 molecules of these clusters are partially neutralized by NH3, in close resemblance to the acid–base bindings of ammonium bisulfate. Supported by model simulations, we substantiate previous evidence for acid–base reactions being the essential mechanism behind the formation of these clusters under atmospheric conditions and up to sizes of at least 2 nm. Our results also suggest that electrically neutral NH3–H2SO4 clusters, unobservable in this study, have generally the same composition as ionic clusters for [NH3] / [H2SO4] > 10. We expect that NH3–H2SO4 clusters form and grow also mostly by Δm/Δn > 1 in the atmosphere's boundary layer, as [NH3] / [H2SO4] is mostly larger than 10. We compared our results from CLOUD with APi-TOF measurements of NH3–H2SO4 anion clusters during new-particle formation in the Finnish boreal forest. However, the exact role of NH3–H2SO4 clusters in boundary layer particle formation remains to be resolved

Evolution of particle composition in CLOUD nucleation experiments

Sulphuric acid, ammonia, amines, and oxidised organics play a crucial role in nanoparticle formation in the atmosphere. In this study, we investigate the composition of nucleated nanoparticles formed from these compounds in the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber experiments at CERN (Centre européen pour la recherche nucléaire). The investigation was carried out via analysis of the particle hygroscopicity, ethanol affinity, oxidation state, and ion composition. Hygroscopicity was studied by a hygroscopic tandem differential mobility analyser and a cloud condensation nuclei counter, ethanol affinity by an organic differential mobility analyser and particle oxidation level by a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer. The ion composition was studied by an atmospheric pressure interface time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The volume fraction of the organics in the particles during their growth from sizes of a few nanometers to tens of nanometers was derived from measured hygroscopicity assuming the Zdanovskii–Stokes–Robinson relationship, and compared to values gained from the spectrometers. The ZSR-relationship was also applied to obtain the measured ethanol affinities during the particle growth, which were used to derive the volume fractions of sulphuric acid and the other inorganics (e.g. ammonium salts). In the presence of sulphuric acid and ammonia, particles with a mobility diameter of 150 nm were chemically neutralised to ammonium sulphate. In the presence of oxidation products of pinanediol, the organic volume fraction of freshly nucleated particles increased from 0.4 to ~0.9, with an increase in diameter from 2 to 63 nm. Conversely, the sulphuric acid volume fraction decreased from 0.6 to 0.1 when the particle diameter increased from 2 to 50 nm. The results provide information on the composition of nucleated aerosol particles during their growth in the presence of various combinations of sulphuric acid, ammonia, dimethylamine and organic oxidation products