Particle Dynamics in a Mass-Conserving Coalescence Process

We consider a fully asymmetric one-dimensional model with mass-conserving coalescence. Particles of unit mass enter at one edge of the chain and coalescence while performing a biased random walk towards the other edge where they exit. The conserved particle mass acts as a passive scalar in the reaction process $A+A\to A$, and allows an exact mapping to a restricted ballistic surface deposition model for which exact results exist. In particular, the mass- mass correlation function is exactly known. These results complement earlier exact results for the $A+A\to A$ process without mass. We introduce a comprehensive scaling theory for this process. The exact anaytical and numerical results confirm its validity.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Exact Results for a Three-Body Reaction-Diffusion System

A system of particles hopping on a line, singly or as merged pairs, and annihilating in groups of three on encounters, is solved exactly for certain symmetrical initial conditions. The functional form of the density is nearly identical to that found in two-body annihilation, and both systems show non-mean-field, ~1/t**(1/2) instead of ~1/t, decrease of particle density for large times.Comment: 10 page

Symmetry and species segregation in diffusion-limited pair annihilation

We consider a system of q diffusing particle species A_1,A_2,...,A_q that are all equivalent under a symmetry operation. Pairs of particles may annihilate according to A_i + A_j -> 0 with reaction rates k_{ij} that respect the symmetry, and without self-annihilation (k_{ii} = 0). In spatial dimensions d > 2 mean-field theory predicts that the total particle density decays as n(t) ~ 1/t, provided the system remains spatially uniform. We determine the conditions on the matrix k under which there exists a critical segregation dimension d_{seg} below which this uniformity condition is violated; the symmetry between the species is then locally broken. We argue that in those cases the density decay slows down to n(t) ~ t^{-d/d_{seg}} for 2 < d < d_{seg}. We show that when d_{seg} exists, its value can be expressed in terms of the ratio of the smallest to the largest eigenvalue of k. The existence of a conservation law (as in the special two-species annihilation A + B -> 0), although sufficient for segregation, is shown not to be a necessary condition for this phenomenon to occur. We work out specific examples and present Monte Carlo simulations compatible with our analytical results.Comment: latex, 19 pages, 3 eps figures include

Model of Cluster Growth and Phase Separation: Exact Results in One Dimension

We present exact results for a lattice model of cluster growth in 1D. The growth mechanism involves interface hopping and pairwise annihilation supplemented by spontaneous creation of the stable-phase, +1, regions by overturning the unstable-phase, -1, spins with probability p. For cluster coarsening at phase coexistence, p=0, the conventional structure-factor scaling applies. In this limit our model falls in the class of diffusion-limited reactions A+A->inert. The +1 cluster size grows diffusively, ~t**(1/2), and the two-point correlation function obeys scaling. However, for p>0, i.e., for the dynamics of formation of stable phase from unstable phase, we find that structure-factor scaling breaks down; the length scale associated with the size of the growing +1 clusters reflects only the short-distance properties of the two-point correlations.Comment: 12 page

Coherent State path-integral simulation of many particle systems

The coherent state path integral formulation of certain many particle systems allows for their non perturbative study by the techniques of lattice field theory. In this paper we exploit this strategy by simulating the explicit example of the diffusion controlled reaction $A+A\to 0$. Our results are consistent with some renormalization group-based predictions thus clarifying the continuum limit of the action of the problem.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures. Minor corrections. Acknowledgement and reference correcte

Crossover from Rate-Equation to Diffusion-Controlled Kinetics in Two-Particle Coagulation

We develop an analytical diffusion-equation-type approximation scheme for the one-dimensional coagulation reaction A+A->A with partial reaction probability on particle encounters which are otherwise hard-core. The new approximation describes the crossover from the mean-field rate-equation behavior at short times to the universal, fluctuation-dominated behavior at large times. The approximation becomes quantitatively accurate when the system is initially close to the continuum behavior, i.e., for small initial density and fast reaction. For large initial density and slow reaction, lattice effects are nonnegligible for an extended initial time interval. In such cases our approximation provides the correct description of the initial mean-field as well as the asymptotic large-time, fluctuation-dominated behavior. However, the intermediate-time crossover between the two regimes is described only semiquantitatively.Comment: 21 pages, plain Te

t1/3t^{1/3} Superdiffusivity of Finite-Range Asymmetric Exclusion Processes on Z\mathbb Z

We consider finite-range asymmetric exclusion processes on $\mathbb Z$ with non-zero drift. The diffusivity $D(t)$ is expected to be of ${\mathcal O}(t^{1/3})$. We prove that $D(t)\ge Ct^{1/3}$ in the weak (Tauberian) sense that $\int_0^\infty e^{-\lambda t}tD(t)dt \ge C\lambda^{-7/3}$ as $\lambda\to 0$. The proof employs the resolvent method to make a direct comparison with the totally asymmetric simple exclusion process, for which the result is a consequence of the scaling limit for the two-point function recently obtained by Ferrari and Spohn. In the nearest neighbor case, we show further that $tD(t)$ is monotone, and hence we can conclude that $D(t)\ge Ct^{1/3}(\log t)^{-7/3}$ in the usual sense.Comment: Version 3. Statement of Theorem 3 is correcte

Diffusion-Limited Coalescence with Finite Reaction Rates in One Dimension

We study the diffusion-limited process $A+A\to A$ in one dimension, with finite reaction rates. We develop an approximation scheme based on the method of Inter-Particle Distribution Functions (IPDF), which was formerly used for the exact solution of the same process with infinite reaction rate. The approximation becomes exact in the very early time regime (or the reaction-controlled limit) and in the long time (diffusion-controlled) asymptotic limit. For the intermediate time regime, we obtain a simple interpolative behavior between these two limits. We also study the coalescence process (with finite reaction rates) with the back reaction $A\to A+A$, and in the presence of particle input. In each of these cases the system reaches a non-trivial steady state with a finite concentration of particles. Theoretical predictions for the concentration time dependence and for the IPDF are compared to computer simulations. P. A. C. S. Numbers: 82.20.Mj 02.50.+s 05.40.+j 05.70.LnComment: 13 pages (and 4 figures), plain TeX, SISSA-94-0

Three-Species Diffusion-Limited Reaction with Continuous Density-Decay Exponents

We introduce a model of three-species two-particle diffusion-limited reactions A+B -> A or B, B+C -> B or C, and C+A -> C or A, with three persistence parameters (survival probabilities in reaction) of the hopping particle. We consider isotropic and anisotropic diffusion (hopping with a drift) in 1d. We find that the particle density decays as a power-law for certain choices of the persistence parameter values. In the anisotropic case, on one symmetric line in the parameter space, the decay exponent is monotonically varying between the values close to 1/3 and 1/2. On another, less symmetric line, the exponent is constant. For most parameter values, the density does not follow a power-law. We also calculated various characteristic exponents for the distance of nearest particles and domain structure. Our results support the recently proposed possibility that 1d diffusion-limited reactions with a drift do not fall within a limited number of distinct universality classes.Comment: 12 pages in plain LaTeX and four Postscript files with figure

Bifurcations and chaotic dynamics in a tumour-immune-virus system

Despite mounting evidence that oncolytic viruses can be effective in treating cancer, understanding the details of the interactions between tumour cells, oncolytic viruses and immune cells that could lead to tumour control or tumour escape is still an open problem. Mathematical modelling of cancer oncolytic therapies has been used to investigate the biological mechanisms behind the observed temporal patterns of tumour growth. However, many models exhibit very complex dynamics, which renders them difficult to investigate. In this case, bifurcation diagrams could enable the visualisation of model dynamics by identifying (in the parameter space) the particular transition points between different behaviours. Here, we describe and investigate two simple mathematical models for oncolytic virus cancer therapy, with constant and immunity-dependent carrying capacity. While both models can exhibit complex dynamics, namely fixed points, periodic orbits and chaotic behaviours, only the model with immunity-dependent carrying capacity can exhibit them for biologically realistic situations, i.e., before the tumour grows too large and the experiment is terminated. Moreover, with the help of the bifurcation diagrams we uncover two unexpected behaviours in virus-tumour dynamics: (i) for short virus half-life, the tumour size seems to be too small to be detected, while for long virus half-life the tumour grows to larger sizes that can be detected; (ii) some model parameters have opposite effects on the transient and asymptotic dynamics of the tumour.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe