Short-time Dynamics of Percolation Observables

We consider the critical short-time evolution of magnetic and droplet-percolation order parameters for the Ising model in two and three dimensions, through Monte-Carlo simulations with the (local) heat-bath method. We find qualitatively different dynamic behaviors for the two types of order parameters. More precisely, we find that the percolation order parameter does not have a power-law behavior as encountered for the magnetization, but develops a scale (related to the relaxation time to equilibrium) in the Monte-Carlo time. We argue that this difference is due to the difficulty in forming large clusters at the early stages of the evolution. Our results show that, although the descriptions in terms of magnetic and percolation order parameters may be equivalent in the equilibrium regime, greater care must be taken to interprete percolation observables at short times. In particular, this concerns the attempts to describe the dynamics of the deconfinement phase transition in QCD using cluster observables.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Topologically disordered systems at the glass transition

The thermodynamic approach to the viscosity and fragility of amorphous oxides was used to determine the topological characteristics of the disordered network-forming systems. Instead of the disordered system of atoms we considered the congruent disordered system of interconnecting bonds. The Gibbs free energy of network-breaking defects (configurons) was found based on available viscosity data. Amorphous silica and germania were used as reference disordered systems for which we found an excellent agreement of calculated and measured glass transition temperatures. We reveal that the Hausdorff dimension of the system of bonds changes from Euclidian three-dimensional below to fractal 2.55 ± 0.05-dimensional geometry above the glass transition temperature

Fragmenting Forests: The Double Edge of Effective Forest Monitoring

The link between ineffective forest monitoring and forest degradation is well known. Under REDD+, monitoring stands to become more important as a means of maintaining incentive. Little attention however has been paid to the possible adverse consequences of forest monitoring. Our research develops a spatially explicit, agent-based model (ABM) of timber extraction in a Congo Basin forest concession to investigate the potential conservation impact of more effective monitoring. We modeled the building of access roads, and logging of legal timber and illegal timber, where illegal timber may be interpreted broadly to include prohibited species, smaller trees, or trees in areas where cutting is not permitted. We investigated road building under (1) random spot monitoring of logging sites and (2) monitoring of logged trunks at checkpoints. Our findings indicate that although more effective monitoring can reduce illegal harvesting, it can also lead to construction of denser road networks and higher levels of forest fragmentation, with an implied loss of biodiversity. These insights are particularly relevant in the context of REDD+, as they suggest that some monitoring strategies may lead to more forest fragmentation, even as they help reduce emissions

Thermodynamic parameters of bonds in glassy materials from viscosity-temperature relationships

Doremus's model of viscosity assumes that viscous flow in amorphous materials is mediated by broken bonds (configurons). The resulting equation contains four coefficients, which are directly related to the entropies and enthalpies of formation and motion of the configurons. Thus by fitting this viscosity equation to experimental viscosity data these enthalpy and entropy terms can be obtained. The non-linear nature of the equation obtained means that the fitting process is non-trivial. A genetic algorithm based approach has been developed to fit the equation to experimental viscosity data for a number of glassy materials, including SiO2, GeO2, B2O3, anorthite, diopside, xNa2O–(1-x)SiO2, xPbO–(1-x)SiO2, soda-lime-silica glasses, salol, and α-phenyl-o-cresol. Excellent fits of the equation to the viscosity data were obtained over the entire temperature range. The fitting parameters were used to quantitatively determine the enthalpies and entropies of formation and motion of configurons in the analysed systems and the activation energies for flow at high and low temperatures as well as fragility ratios using the Doremus criterion for fragility. A direct anti-correlation between fragility ratio and configuron percolation threshold, which determines the glass transition temperature in the analysed materials, was found

Heat capacity of liquids: an approach from the solid phase

We calculate the energy and heat capacity of a liquid on the basis of its elastic properties and vibrational states. The experimental decrease of liquid heat capacity with temperature is attributed to the increasing loss of two transverse modes with frequency $\omega<1/\tau$, where $\tau$ is liquid relaxation time. In a simple model, liquid heat capacity is related to viscosity and is compared with the experimental data of mercury. We also calculate the vibrational energy of a quantum liquid, and show that transverse phonons can not be excited in the low-temperature limit. Finally, we discuss the implications of the proposed approach to liquids for the problem of glass transition

Numerical stability of a family of Osipkov-Merrit models

We have investigated the stability of a set of non-rotating anisotropic spherical models with a phase-space distribution function of the Osipkov-Merritt type. The velocity distribution in these models is isotropic near the center and becomes radially anisotropic at large radii. They are special members of the family studied by Dehnen and Tremaine et al. where the mass density has a power-law cusp $\rho\propto r^{-\gamma}$ at small radii and decays as $\rho\propto r^{-4}$ at large radii. The radial-orbit instability of models with $\gamma$ = 0, 1/2, 1, 3/2, and 2, was studied using an N-body code written by one of us and based on the `self-consistent field' method developed by Hernquist and Ostriker. These simulations have allowed us to delineate a boundary in the $(\gamma,r_{a})$-plane that separates the stable from the unstable models. This boundary is given by $2T_{r}/T_{t} = 2.31 \pm 0.27$, for the ratio of the total radial to tangential kinetic energy. We also found that the stability criterion $df/dQ\le 0$, recently raised by Hjorth, gives lower values compared with our numerical results.Comment: AASTEX, 22 pages, 11 figures, Figs. 5 available from author. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

Irradiation-induced Ag nanocluster nucleation in silicate glasses: analogy with photography

The synthesis of Ag nanoclusters in sodalime silicate glasses and silica was studied by optical absorption (OA) and electron spin resonance (ESR) experiments under both low (gamma-ray) and high (MeV ion) deposited energy density irradiation conditions. Both types of irradiation create electrons and holes whose density and thermal evolution - notably via their interaction with defects - are shown to determine the clustering and growth rates of Ag nanocrystals. We thus establish the influence of redox interactions of defects and silver (poly)ions. The mechanisms are similar to the latent image formation in photography: irradiation-induced photoelectrons are trapped within the glass matrix, notably on dissolved noble metal ions and defects, which are thus neutralized (reverse oxidation reactions are also shown to exist). Annealing promotes metal atom diffusion, which in turn leads to cluster nuclei formation. The cluster density depends not only on the irradiation fluence, but also - and primarily - on the density of deposited energy and the redox properties of the glass. Ion irradiation (i.e., large deposited energy density) is far more effective in cluster formation, despite its lower neutralization efficiency (from Ag+ to Ag0) as compared to gamma photon irradiation.Comment: 48 pages, 18 figures, revised version publ. in Phys. Rev. B, pdf fil

A new variational approach to the stability of gravitational systems

We consider the three dimensional gravitational Vlasov Poisson system which describes the mechanical state of a stellar system subject to its own gravity. A well-known conjecture in astrophysics is that the steady state solutions which are nonincreasing functions of their microscopic energy are nonlinearly stable by the flow. This was proved at the linear level by several authors based on the pioneering work by Antonov in 1961. Since then, standard variational techniques based on concentration compactness methods as introduced by P.-L. Lions in 1983 have led to the nonlinear stability of subclasses of stationary solutions of ground state type. In this paper, inspired by pioneering works from the physics litterature (Lynden-Bell 94, Wiechen-Ziegler-Schindler MNRAS 88, Aly MNRAS 89), we use the monotonicity of the Hamiltonian under generalized symmetric rearrangement transformations to prove that non increasing steady solutions are local minimizer of the Hamiltonian under equimeasurable constraints, and extract compactness from suitable minimizing sequences. This implies the nonlinear stability of nonincreasing anisotropic steady states under radially symmetric perturbations

Review of Exploration Systems Development (ESD) Integrated Hazard Development Process

The Chief Engineer of the Exploration Systems Development (ESD) Office requested that the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) perform an independent assessment of the ESD's integrated hazard development process. The focus of the assessment was to review the integrated hazard analysis (IHA) process and identify any gaps/improvements in the process (e.g. missed causes, cause tree completeness, missed hazards). This document contains the outcome of the NESC assessment