Lattice gas simulations of dynamical geometry in two dimensions

We present a hydrodynamic lattice gas model for two-dimensional flows on curved surfaces with dynamical geometry. This model is an extension to two dimensions of the dynamical geometry lattice gas model previously studied in one dimension. We expand upon a variation of the two-dimensional flat space Frisch-Hasslacher-Pomeau (FHP) model created by Frisch et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 1505 (1986)] and independently by Wolfram, and modified by Boghosian et al. [Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 360, 333 (2002)]. We define a hydrodynamic lattice gas model on an arbitrary triangulation whose flat space limit is the FHP model. Rules that change the geometry are constructed using the Pachner moves, which alter the triangulation but not the topology. We present results on the growth of the number of triangles as a function of time. Simulations show that the number of triangles grows with time as t^(1/3), in agreement with a mean-field prediction. We also present preliminary results on the distribution of curvature for a typical triangulation in these simulations

Strong quantum scarring by local impurities

We discover and characterise strong quantum scars, or quantum eigenstates resembling classical periodic orbits, in two-dimensional quantum wells perturbed by local impurities. These scars are not explained by ordinary scar theory, which would require the existence of short, moderately unstable periodic orbits in the perturbed system. Instead, they are supported by classical resonances in the unperturbed system and the resulting quantum near-degeneracy. Even in the case of a large number of randomly scattered impurities, the scars prefer distinct orientations that extremise the overlap with the impurities. We demonstrate that these preferred orientations can be used for highly efficient transport of quantum wave packets across the perturbed potential landscape. Assisted by the scars, wave-packet recurrences are significantly stronger than in the unperturbed system. Together with the controllability of the preferred orientations, this property may be very useful for quantum transport applications

Imaging Cyclotron Orbits of Electrons in Graphene

Electrons in graphene can travel for several microns without scattering at low temperatures, and their motion becomes ballistic, following classical trajectories. When a magnetic field B is applied perpendicular to the plane, electrons follow cyclotron orbits. Magnetic focusing occurs when electrons injected from one narrow contact focus onto a second contact located an integer number of cyclotron diameters away. By tuning the magnetic field B and electron density n in the graphene layer, we observe magnetic focusing peaks. We use a cooled scanning gate microscope to image cyclotron trajectories in graphene at 4.2 K. The tip creates a local change in density that casts a shadow by deflecting electrons flowing nearby; an image of flow can be obtained by measuring the transmission between contacts as the tip is raster scanned across the sample. On the first magnetic focusing peak, we image a cyclotron orbit that extends from one contact to the other. In addition, we study the geometry of orbits deflected into the second point contact by the tip.Physic

A biophysical model of prokaryotic diversity in geothermal hot springs

Recent field investigations of photosynthetic bacteria living in geothermal hot spring environments have revealed surprisingly complex ecosystems, with an unexpected level of genetic diversity. One case of particular interest involves the distribution along hot spring thermal gradients of genetically distinct bacterial strains that differ in their preferred temperatures for reproduction and photosynthesis. In such systems, a single variable, temperature, defines the relevant environmental variation. In spite of this, each region along the thermal gradient exhibits multiple strains of photosynthetic bacteria adapted to several distinct thermal optima, rather than the expected single thermal strain adapted to the local environmental temperature. Here we analyze microbiology data from several ecological studies to show that the thermal distribution field data exhibit several universal features independent of location and specific bacterial strain. These include the distribution of optimal temperatures of different thermal strains and the functional dependence of the net population density on temperature. Further, we present a simple population dynamics model of these systems that is highly constrained by biophysical data and by physical features of the environment. This model can explain in detail the observed diversity of different strains of the photosynthetic bacteria. It also reproduces the observed thermal population distributions, as well as certain features of population dynamics observed in laboratory studies of the same organisms

A Classical Perspective on Non-Diffractive Disorder

The unifying themes connecting the chapters in this dissertation are the profound and often surprising effects of disorder in classical and quantum systems and the tremendous insight gained from a classical perspective, even in quantum systems. In particular, we investigate disorder in the form of weak, spatially correlated random potentials, i.e. far from the Anderson Localization regime. We present a new scar-like phenomenon in quantum wells. With the introduction of local impurities to the oscillator, the eigenstates localize onto classical periodic orbits of the unperturbed system. Compared to traditional scars in chaotic billiards, these scars are both more common and stronger. Though the unperturbed system has circular symmetry, the random perturbation selects a small number of orientations which are shared by many scarred states -- dozens or even hundreds -- over a range of energies. We show, via degenerate perturbation theory, that the cause of the new scars is the combination of an underlying classical resonance of the unperturbed system and a perturbation induced coupling that is strongly local in action space. Next we examine the same type of local perturbation applied to an open system: branched flow. Caustics in the manifold of trajectories have been implicated in the formation of strong branches. We show that caustic formation is intimately tied to compression of manifolds of trajectories in phase space, which has important implications for the position space density. We introduce the "Kick and Drift" model, a generalization of the standard map. The model is a good approximation to the full two dimensional dynamics of a wave propagating over a weak random potential, but it provides a simpler framework for studying branched flow. Next we develop a classical model for electrons executing cyclotron motion in a graphene flake and implement it numerically. We derive classical equations of motion for electrons moving through the graphene flake with a position dependent effective mass due to fluctuations in the background carrier density. I apply these methods to an experiment performed by the Westervelt group. They imaged the flow of electrons in a graphene flake by measuring the transresistance as they rastered a charged scanning probe microscope tip over the surface. My simulations show that the regions with the greatest change in transresistance do always coincide with the regions with the highest current density. Furthermore I show that the experimental results can qualitatively reproduced by treating the system classically. Finally, we extend Heller's thawed Gaussian approximation from second order in the classical action to third order, in order to capture curvature in phase space. Such phase space dynamics are ubiquitous in systems with weak random potentials, such as those discussed above. We derive a closed form solution, but find that more work needs to be done to make it numerically tractable and competitive with other methods. A semiclassical method capturing phase space curvature could provide insight into the behavior of scars away from the hbar goes to zero limit.Physic

Biophysical model of prokaryotic diversity in geothermal hot springs

This work presents computational studies of the diversity of microorganism in geothermal hot springs, where genetically distinct strains of bacteria live along gradients in temperature. By combining population biology and artificial evolution models with experimental biophysical data for growth rate and photosynthetic temperature dependence, we were able to reproduce detailed population profiles from actual field microbiology surveys. --author-supplied descriptio