Stochastic Resonance and Dynamic First-Order Pseudo-Phase Transitions in the Irreversible Growth of Thin Films under Spatially Periodic Magnetic Fields

We study the irreversible growth of magnetic thin films under the influence of spatially periodic fields by means of extensive Monte Carlo simulations. We find first-order pseudo-phase transitions that separate a dynamically disordered phase from a dynamically ordered phase. By analogy with time-dependent oscillating fields applied to Ising-type models, we qualitatively associate this dynamic transition with the localization/delocalization transition of "spatial hysteresis" loops. Depending on the relative width of the magnetic film, $L$, compared to the wavelength of the external field, $\lambda$, different transition regimes are observed. For small systems ($L<\lambda$), the transition is associated with the Standard Stochastic Resonance regime, while, for large systems ($L>\lambda$), the transition is driven by Anomalous Stochastic Resonance. The origin of the latter is identified as due to the emergence of an additional relevant lengthscale, namely the roughness of the spin domain switching interface. The distinction between different stochastic resonance regimes is discussed at length, both qualitatively by means of snapshot configurations, as well as quantitatively via residence-length and order-parameter probability distributions.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Scaling behavior of jamming fluctuations upon random sequential adsorption

It is shown that the fluctuations of the jamming coverage upon Random Sequential Adsorption ($\sigma_{\theta_J}$), decay with the lattice size according to the power-law $\sigma_{\theta_J} \propto L^{-1 / \nu_J}$, with $\nu_{J} = 2 / (2D - d_f)$, where $D$ is the dimension of the substrate and $d_{\rm f}$ is the fractal dimension of the set of sites belonging to the substrate where the RSA process actually takes place. This result is in excellent agreement with the figure recently reported by Vandewalle {\it et al} ({\it Eur. Phys. J.} B. {\bf 14}, 407 (2000)), namely $\nu_J = 1.0 (1)$ for the RSA of needles with $D = 2$ and $d_f = 2$, that gives $\nu_J = 1$. Furthermore, our prediction is in excellent agreement with different previous numerical results. The derived relationships are also confirmed by means of extensive numerical simulations applied to the RSA of dimers on both stochastic and deterministic fractal substrates.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. To appear in Eur. Phys. J. B (Rapid note) (2003

Ageing and crystallization in a lattice glass model

We have studied a the 3-$d$ lattice glass of Pica Ciamarra, Tarzia, de Candia and Coniglio [Phys.\ Rev.\ E. 67, 057105 (2013)], which has been shown to reproduce several features of the structural glass phenomenology, such as the cage effect, exponential increase of relaxation times and ageing. We show, using short-time dynamics, that the metastability limit is above the estimated Kauzmann temperature. We also find that in the region where the metastable liquid exists the aging exponent is lower that 0.5, indicating that equilibrium is reached relatively quickly. We conclude that the usefulness of this model to study the deeply supercooled regime is rather limited.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure

Thermodynamics of trajectories of the one-dimensional Ising model

We present a numerical study of the dynamics of the one-dimensional Ising model by applying the large-deviation method to describe ensembles of dynamical trajectories. In this approach trajectories are classified according to a dynamical order parameter and the structure of ensembles of trajectories can be understood from the properties of large-deviation functions, which play the role of dynamical free-energies. We consider both Glauber and Kawasaki dynamics, and also the presence of a magnetic field. For Glauber dynamics in the absence of a field we confirm the analytic predictions of Jack and Sollich about the existence of critical dynamical, or space-time, phase transitions at critical values of the "counting" field $s$. In the presence of a magnetic field the dynamical phase diagram also displays first order transition surfaces. We discuss how these non-equilibrium transitions in the 1$d$ Ising model relate to the equilibrium ones of the 2$d$ Ising model. For Kawasaki dynamics we find a much simple dynamical phase structure, with transitions reminiscent of those seen in kinetically constrained models.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure

Non-equilibrium Characterization of Spinodal Points using Short Time Dynamics

Though intuitively appealing, the concept of spinodal is rigourously defined only in systems with infinite range interactions (mean field systems). In short-range systems, a pseudo-spinodal can be defined by extrapolation of metastable measurements, but the point itself is not reachable because it lies beyond the metastability limit. In this work we show that a sensible definition of spinodal points can be obtained through the short time dynamical behavior of the system deep inside the metastable phase, by looking for a point where the system shows critical behavior. We show that spinodal points obtained by this method agree both with the thermodynamical spinodal point in mean field systems and with the pseudo-spinodal point obtained by extrapolation of meta-equilibrium behavior in short range systems. With this definition, a practical determination can be achieved without regard for equilibration issues.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure

On the fluctuations of jamming coverage upon random sequential adsorption on homogeneous and heterogeneous media

The fluctuations of the jamming coverage upon Random Sequential Adsorption (RSA) are studied using both analytical and numerical techniques. Our main result shows that these fluctuations (characterized by $\sigma_{\theta_J}$) decay with the lattice size according to the power-law $\sigma_{\theta_J} \propto L^{-1/ \nu}$. The exponent $\nu$ depends on the dimensionality $D$ of the substrate and the fractal dimension of the set where the RSA process actually takes place ($d_f$) according to $\nu = 2 / (2D - d_f)$.This theoretical result is confirmed by means of extensive numerical simulations applied to the RSA of dimers on homogeneous and stochastic fractal substrates. Furthermore, our predictions are in excellent agreement with different previous numerical results. It is also shown that, studying correlated stochastic processes, one can define various fluctuating quantities designed to capture either the underlying physics of individual processes or that of the whole system. So, subtle differences in the definitions may lead to dramatically different physical interpretations of the results. Here, this statement is demonstrated for the case of RSA of dimers on binary alloys.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

Numerical study of a first-order irreversible phase transition in a CO+NO catalyzed reaction model

The first-order irreversible phase transitions (IPT) of the Yaldran-Khan model (Yaldran-Khan, J. Catal. 131, 369, 1991) for the CO+NO reaction is studied using the constant coverage (CC) ensemble and performing epidemic simulations. The CC method allows the study of hysteretic effects close to coexistence as well as the location of both the upper spinodal point and the coexistence point. Epidemic studies show that at coexistence the number of active sites decreases according to a (short-time) power law followed by a (long-time) exponential decay. It is concluded that first-order IPT's share many characteristic of their reversible counterparts, such as the development of short ranged correlations, hysteretic effects, metastabilities, etc.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure