205 research outputs found
Path-integral representation for a stochastic sandpile
We introduce an operator description for a stochastic sandpile model with a
conserved particle density, and develop a path-integral representation for its
evolution. The resulting (exact) expression for the effective action highlights
certain interesting features of the model, for example, that it is nominally
massless, and that the dynamics is via cooperative diffusion. Using the
path-integral formalism, we construct a diagrammatic perturbation theory,
yielding a series expansion for the activity density in powers of the time.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure
Nonequilibrium phase transition on a randomly diluted lattice
We show that the interplay between geometric criticality and dynamical
fluctuations leads to a novel universality class of the contact process on a
randomly diluted lattice. The nonequilibrium phase transition across the
percolation threshold of the lattice is characterized by unconventional
activated (exponential) dynamical scaling and strong Griffiths effects. We
calculate the critical behavior in two and three space dimensions, and we also
relate our results to the recently found infinite-randomness fixed point in the
disordered one-dimensional contact process.Comment: 4 pages, 1 eps figure, final version as publishe
On the nature of different types of absorbing states
We present a comparison of three different types of Langevin equation
exhibiting absorbing states: the Langevin equation defining the Reggeon field
theory, one with multiplicative noise, and a third type in which the noise is
complex. Each one is found to describe a different underlying physical
mechanism; in particular, the nature of the different absorbing states depends
on the type of noise considered.
By studying the stationary single-site effective potential, we analyze the
impossibility of finding a reaction-diffusion model in the multiplicative noise
universality class. We also discuss some theoretical questions related to the
nature of complex noise, as for example, whether it is necessary or not to
consider a complex equation in order to describe processes as the annihilation
reaction, .Comment: 7 figures, Latex fil
In vivo Observation of Tree Drought Response with Low-Field NMR and Neutron Imaging
Using a simple low-field NMR system, we monitored water content in a livingtree in a greenhouse over two months. By continuously running thesystem, we observed changes in tree water content on a scale of halfan hour. The data showed a diurnal change in water content consistentboth with previous NMR and biological observations. Neutron imaging experiments showthat our NMR signal is primarily due to water being rapidly transported through the plant, and not to other sources of hydrogen, such as water in cytoplasm, or water in cell walls. After accountingfor the role of temperature in the observed NMR signal, we demonstratea change in the diurnal signal behavior due to simulated drought conditionsfor the tree. These results illustrate the utility of our system toperform noninvasive measurements of tree water content outside of a temperature controlled environment
Tricritical directed percolation
We consider a modification of the contact process incorporating higher-order
reaction terms. The original contact process exhibits a non-equilibrium phase
transition belonging to the universality class of directed percolation. The
incorporated higher-order reaction terms lead to a non-trivial phase diagram.
In particular, a line of continuous phase transitions is separated by a
tricritical point from a line of discontinuous phase transitions. The
corresponding tricritical scaling behavior is analyzed in detail, i.e., we
determine the critical exponents, various universal scaling functions as well
as universal amplitude combinations
The one-dimensional contact process: duality and renormalisation
We study the one-dimensional contact process in its quantum version using a
recently proposed real space renormalisation technique for stochastic
many-particle systems. Exploiting the duality and other properties of the
model, we can apply the method for cells with up to 37 sites. After suitable
extrapolation, we obtain exponent estimates which are comparable in accuracy
with the best known in the literature.Comment: 15 page
The non-equilibrium phase transition of the pair-contact process with diffusion
The pair-contact process 2A->3A, 2A->0 with diffusion of individual particles
is a simple branching-annihilation processes which exhibits a phase transition
from an active into an absorbing phase with an unusual type of critical
behaviour which had not been seen before. Although the model has attracted
considerable interest during the past few years it is not yet clear how its
critical behaviour can be characterized and to what extent the diffusive
pair-contact process represents an independent universality class. Recent
research is reviewed and some standing open questions are outlined.Comment: Latexe2e, 53 pp, with IOP macros, some details adde
Interface depinning versus absorbing-state phase transitions
According to recent numerical results from lattice models, the critical
exponents of systems with many absorbing states and an order parameter coupled
to a non-diffusive conserved field coincide with those of the linear interface
depinning model within computational accuracy. In this paper the connection
between absorbing state phase transitions and interface pinning in quenched
disordered media is investigated. For that, we present a mapping of the
interface dynamics in a disordered medium into a Langevin equation for the
active-site density and show that a Reggeon-field-theory like description,
coupled to an additional non-diffusive conserved field, appears rather
naturally. Reciprocally, we construct a mapping from a discrete model belonging
in the absorbing state with-a-conserved-field class to a discrete interface
equation, and show how a quenched disorder is originated.
We discuss the character of the possible noise terms in both representations,
and overview the critical exponent relations. Evidence is provided that, at
least for dimensions larger that one, both universality classes are just two
different representations of the same underlying physics.Comment: 8 page
Searching for chameleon-like scalar fields with the ammonia method
(Abridged) The ammonia method, which has been proposed to explore the
electron-to-proton mass ratio, mu = m_e/m_p, is applied to nearby dark clouds
in the Milky Way. This ratio, which is measured in different physical
environments of high (terrestrial) and low (interstellar) densities of baryonic
matter is supposed to vary in chameleon-like scalar field models, which predict
strong dependence of both masses and coupling constant on the local matter
density. High resolution spectral observations of molecular cores in lines of
NH3 (J,K) = (1,1), HC3N J = 2-1, and N2H+ J = 1-0 were performed at three radio
telescopes to measure the radial velocity offsets, DeltaV = V_rot - V_inv,
between the inversion transition of NH3 (1,1) and the rotational transitions of
other molecules with different sensitivities to the parameter dmm = (mu_obs -
mu_lab)/mu_lab. The measured values of DeltaV exhibit a statistically
significant velocity offset of 23 +/- 4_stat +/- 3_sys m/s. When interpreted in
terms of the electron-to-proton mass ratio variation, this infers that dmm =
(2.2 +/- 0.4_stat +/- 0.3_sys)x10^{-8}. If only a conservative upper bound is
considered, then the maximum offset between ammonia and the other molecules is
|DeltaV| <= 30 m/s. This gives the most accurate reference point at z = 0 for
dmm: |dmm| <= 3x10^{-8}.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication in A&A.
Title and text corrected, references update
Analytic approach to stochastic cellular automata: exponential and inverse power distributions out of Random Domino Automaton
Inspired by extremely simplified view of the earthquakes we propose the
stochastic domino cellular automaton model exhibiting avalanches. From
elementary combinatorial arguments we derive a set of nonlinear equations
describing the automaton. Exact relations between the average parameters of the
model are presented. Depending on imposed triggering, the model reproduces both
exponential and inverse power statistics of clusters.Comment: improved, new material added; 9 pages, 3 figures, 2 table
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