2,771 research outputs found
The Hartree ensemble approximation revisited: The "symmetric phase"
The Hartree ensemble approximation is studied in the ``symmetric phase'' of
1+1 dimensional lambda phi^4 theory. In comparison with the ``broken phase''
studied previously, it is shown that the dynamical evolution of observables
such as the particle distribution, energy exchange and auto-correlation
functions, is substantially slower. Approximate thermalization is found only
for relatively large energy densities and couplings.Comment: 17 pages RevTeX, 16 figures, 3 tables, uses amsmath and feynmp.
Extended some sections, reordered Sec.IV, added 3 refs, numerical typo
corrected, published versio
Integrated sensors for robotic laser welding
A welding head is under development with integrated sensory systems for robotic laser welding applications. Robotic laser welding requires sensory systems that are capable to accurately guide the welding head over a seam in three-dimensional space and provide information about the welding process as well as the quality of the welding result. In this paper the focus is on seam tracking. It is difficult to measure three-dimensional parameters of a ream during a robotic laser welding task, especially when sharp corners are present. The proposed sensory system is capable to provide the three dimensional parameters of a seam in one measurement and guide robots over sharp corners
Exact and Truncated Dynamics in Nonequilibrium Field Theory
Nonperturbative dynamics of quantum fields out of equilibrium is often
described by the time evolution of a hierarchy of correlation functions, using
approximation methods such as Hartree, large N, and nPI-effective action
techniques. These truncation schemes can be implemented equally well in a
classical statistical system, where results can be tested by comparison with
the complete nonlinear evolution obtained by numerical methods. For a 1+1
dimensional scalar field we find that the early-time behaviour is reproduced
qualitatively by the Hartree dynamics. The inclusion of direct scattering
improves this to the quantitative level. We show that the emergence of
nonthermal temperature profiles at intermediate times can be understood in
terms of the fixed points of the evolution equations in the Hartree
approximation. The form of the profile depends explicitly on the initial
ensemble. While the truncated evolution equations do not seem to be able to get
away from the fixed point, the full nonlinear evolution shows thermalization
with a (surprisingly) slow relaxation.Comment: 30 pages with 12 eps figures, minor changes; to appear in Phys.Rev.
Looking for defects in the 2PI correlator
Truncations of the 2PI effective action are seen as a promising way of
studying non-equilibrium dynamics in quantum field theories. We probe their
applicability in the non-perturbative setting of topological defect formation
in a symmetry-breaking phase transition, by comparing full classical lattice
field simulations and the 2PI formulation for classical fields in an O()
symmetric scalar field theory. At next-to-leading order in 1/N, the 2PI
formalism fails to reproduce any signals of defects in the two-point function.
This suggests that one should be careful when applying the 2PI formalism for
symmetry breaking phase transitions.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure
Nonequilibrium time evolution of the spectral function in quantum field theory
Transport or kinetic equations are often derived assuming a quasi-particle
(on-shell) representation of the spectral function. We investigate this
assumption using a three-loop approximation of the 2PI effective action in real
time, without a gradient expansion or on-shell approximation. For a scalar
field in 1+1 dimensions the nonlinear evolution, including the integration over
memory kernels, can be solved numerically. We find that a spectral function
approximately described by a nonzero width emerges dynamically. During the
nonequilibrium time evolution the Wigner transformed spectral function is
slowly varying, even in presence of strong qualitative changes in the effective
particle distribution. These results may be used to make further analytical
progress towards a quantum Boltzmann equation including off-shell effects and a
nonzero width.Comment: 20 pages with 6 eps figures, explanation and references added; to
appear in Phys.Rev.
Thermal effects on slow-roll dynamics
A description of the transition from the inflationary epoch to radiation
domination requires the understanding of quantum fields out of thermal
equilibrium, particle creation and thermalisation. This can be studied from
first principles by solving a set of truncated real-time Schwinger-Dyson
equations, written in terms of the mean field (inflaton) and the field
propagators, derived from the two-particle irreducible effective action. We
investigate some aspects of this problem by considering the dynamics of a
slow-rolling mean field coupled to a second quantum field, using a \phi^2\chi^2
interaction. We focus on thermal effects. It is found that interactions lead to
an earlier end of slow-roll and that the evolution afterwards depends on
details of the heatbath.Comment: 25 pages, 11 eps figures. v2: paper reorganized, title changed,
conclusions unchanged, to appear in PR
On the Complexity of Local Search for Weighted Standard Set Problems
In this paper, we study the complexity of computing locally optimal solutions
for weighted versions of standard set problems such as SetCover, SetPacking,
and many more. For our investigation, we use the framework of PLS, as defined
in Johnson et al., [JPY88]. We show that for most of these problems, computing
a locally optimal solution is already PLS-complete for a simple neighborhood of
size one. For the local search versions of weighted SetPacking and SetCover, we
derive tight bounds for a simple neighborhood of size two. To the best of our
knowledge, these are one of the very few PLS results about local search for
weighted standard set problems
The 2PI finite temperature effective potential of the O(N) linear sigma model in 1+1 dimensions, at next-to-leading order in 1/N
We study the O(N) linear sigma model in 1+1 dimensions. We use the 2PI
formalism of Cornwall, Jackiw and Tomboulis in order to evaluate the effective
potential at finite temperature. At next-to-leading order in a 1/N expansion
one has to include the sums over "necklace" and generalized "sunset" diagrams.
We find that - in contrast to the Hartree approximation - there is no
spontaneous symmetry breaking in this approximation, as to be expected for the
exact theory. The effective potential becomes convex throughout for all
parameter sets which include N=4,10,100, couplings lambda=0.1 and 0.5, and
temperatures between 0.2 and 1. The Green's functions obtained by solving the
Schwinger-Dyson equations are enhanced in the infrared region. We also compare
the effective potential as function of the external field phi with those
obtained in various other approximations.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures; v2: references added, some changes in the tex
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