A new approach to the study of quasi-normal modes of rotating stars

We propose a new method to study the quasi-normal modes of rotating relativistic stars. Oscillations are treated as perturbations in the frequency domain of the stationary, axisymmetric background describing a rotating star. The perturbed quantities are expanded in circular harmonics, and the resulting 2D-equations they satisfy are integrated using spectral methods in the (r,theta)-plane. The asymptotic conditions at infinity, needed to find the mode frequencies, are implemented by generalizing the standing wave boundary condition commonly used in the non rotating case. As a test, the method is applied to find the quasi-normal mode frequencies of a slowly rotating star.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Universality of slow decorrelation in KPZ growth

There has been much success in describing the limiting spatial fluctuations of growth models in the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) universality class. A proper rescaling of time should introduce a non-trivial temporal dimension to these limiting fluctuations. In one-dimension, the KPZ class has the dynamical scaling exponent $z=3/2$, that means one should find a universal space-time limiting process under the scaling of time as $t\,T$, space like $t^{2/3} X$ and fluctuations like $t^{1/3}$ as $t\to\infty$. In this paper we provide evidence for this belief. We prove that under certain hypotheses, growth models display temporal slow decorrelation. That is to say that in the scalings above, the limiting spatial process for times $t\, T$ and $t\, T+t^{\nu}$ are identical, for any $\nu<1$. The hypotheses are known to be satisfied for certain last passage percolation models, the polynuclear growth model, and the totally / partially asymmetric simple exclusion process. Using slow decorrelation we may extend known fluctuation limit results to space-time regions where correlation functions are unknown. The approach we develop requires the minimal expected hypotheses for slow decorrelation to hold and provides a simple and intuitive proof which applied to a wide variety of models.Comment: Exposition improved, typos correcte

Anisotropic KPZ growth in 2+1 dimensions: fluctuations and covariance structure

In [arXiv:0804.3035] we studied an interacting particle system which can be also interpreted as a stochastic growth model. This model belongs to the anisotropic KPZ class in 2+1 dimensions. In this paper we present the results that are relevant from the perspective of stochastic growth models, in particular: (a) the surface fluctuations are asymptotically Gaussian on a sqrt(ln(t)) scale and (b) the correlation structure of the surface is asymptotically given by the massless field.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Two distinct desynchronization processes caused by lesions in globally coupled neurons

To accomplish a task, the brain works like a synchronized neuronal network where all the involved neurons work together. When a lesion spreads in the brain, depending on its evolution, it can reach a significant portion of relevant area. As a consequence, a phase transition might occur: the neurons desynchronize and cannot perform a certain task anymore. Lesions are responsible for either disrupting the neuronal connections or, in some cases, for killing the neuron. In this work, we will use a simplified model of neuronal network to show that these two types of lesions cause different types of desynchronization.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

ATCA observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 3921 - I. Radio emission from the central merging sub-clusters

We present the analysis of our 13 and 22 cm ATCA observations of the central region of the merging galaxy cluster A3921 (z=0.094). We investigated the effects of the major merger between two sub-clusters on the star formation (SF) and radio emission properties of the confirmed cluster members. The origin of SF and the nature of radio emission in cluster galaxies was investigated by comparing their radio, optical and X-ray properties. We also compared the radio source counts and the percentage of detected radio galaxies with literature data. We detected 17 radio sources above the flux density limit of 0.25 mJy/beam in the central field of A3921, among which 7 are cluster members. 9 galaxies with star-forming optical spectra were observed in the collision region of the merging sub-clusters. They were not detected at radio wavelengths, giving upper limits for their star formation rate significantly lower than those typically found in late-type, field galaxies. Most of these star-forming objects are therefore really located in the high density part of the cluster, and they are not infalling field objects seen in projection at the cluster centre. Their SF episode is probably related to the cluster collision that we observe in its very central phase. None of the galaxies with post-starburst optical spectra was detected down our 2$\sigma$ flux density limit, confirming that they are post-starburst and not dusty star-forming objects. We finally detected a narrow-angle tail (NAT) source associated with the second brightest cluster galaxy (BG2), whose diffuse component is a partly detached pair of tails from an earlier period of activity of the BG2 galaxy.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, date of acceptance 29/06/2006. A version of the paper with higher resolution images can be downloaded at: http://astro.uibk.ac.at/~c.ferrari/ATCA_Paper/A3921_ATCA.pd

From interacting particle systems to random matrices

In this contribution we consider stochastic growth models in the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class in 1+1 dimension. We discuss the large time distribution and processes and their dependence on the class on initial condition. This means that the scaling exponents do not uniquely determine the large time surface statistics, but one has to further divide into subclasses. Some of the fluctuation laws were first discovered in random matrix models. Moreover, the limit process for curved limit shape turned out to show up in a dynamical version of hermitian random matrices, but this analogy does not extend to the case of symmetric matrices. Therefore the connections between growth models and random matrices is only partial.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures; Contribution to StatPhys24 special issue; minor corrections in scaling of section 2.

A Feature Tracking velocimetry technique applied to inclined negatively buoyant jets

We have applied a Feature Tracking Velocimetry (FTV) technique to measure displacements of particles on inclined negatively buoyant jets (INBJs), issuing from a circular sharp-edged orifice, in order to investigate, among the others, the symmetry properties of the velocity field on this phenomenon. Feature Tracking Velocimetry is less sensitive to the appearance and disappearance of particles and to high velocity gradients than classical Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The basic idea of Feature Tracking Velocimetry is to compare windows only where the motion detection may be successful, that is where there are high luminosity gradients. The Feature Tracking Velocimetry algorithm presented here is suitable in presence of different seeding densities, where other techniques produce significant errors, due to the non-homogeneous seeding at the boundary of a flow. The Feature Tracking Velocimetry algorithm has been tested on laboratory experiments regarding simple jets (SJs) and inclined negatively buoyant jets released from a sharp-edged orifice. We present here velocity statistics, from the first to the fourth order, to study, among the others, the differences between simple jets and inclined negatively buoyant jets, and to investigate how the increase in buoyancy affects the inclined negatively buoyant jet behavior. We remark that, to the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to investigate velocity statistics of an order higher than the second on Inclined Negatively Buoyant Jets. Among the others quantities, the mean streamwise velocity decay and the integral Turbulent Kinetic Energy have been measured and analyzed, both along the jet axis and in the upper and lower region of the simple jets and inclined negatively buoyant jets, as well as the streamwise and spanwise velocity skewness and kurtosis evolution along the axis. Results show the role of buoyancy in modifying the inclined negatively buoyant jet features; moreover, it is highlighted that the asymmetry of inclined negatively buoyant jets cannot be considered only a far field feature of this phenomenon, as it arises very close to the release point

Mean Field Voter Model of Election to the House of Representatives in Japan

In this study, we propose a mechanical model of a plurality election based on a mean field voter model. We assume that there are three candidates in each electoral district, i.e., one from the ruling party, one from the main opposition party, and one from other political parties. The voters are classified as fixed supporters and herding (floating) voters with ratios of $1-p$ and $p$, respectively. Fixed supporters make decisions based on their information and herding voters make the same choice as another randomly selected voter. The equilibrium vote-share probability density of herding voters follows a Dirichlet distribution. We estimate the composition of fixed supporters in each electoral district and $p$ using data from elections to the House of Representatives in Japan (43rd to 47th). The spatial inhomogeneity of fixed supporters explains the long-range spatial and temporal correlations. The estimated values of $p$ are close to the estimates obtained from a survey.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure