13,745 research outputs found
Determining efficient temperature sets for the simulated tempering method
In statistical physics, the efficiency of tempering approaches strongly
depends on ingredients such as the number of replicas , reliable
determination of weight factors and the set of used temperatures, . For the simulated tempering (SP) in
particular -- useful due to its generality and conceptual simplicity -- the
latter aspect (closely related to the actual ) may be a key issue in
problems displaying metastability and trapping in certain regions of the phase
space. To determine 's leading to accurate thermodynamics
estimates and still trying to minimize the simulation computational time, here
it is considered a fixed exchange frequency scheme for the ST. From the
temperature of interest , successive 's are chosen so that the exchange
frequency between any adjacent pair and has a same value .
By varying the 's and analyzing the 's through relatively
inexpensive tests (e.g., time decay toward the steady regime), an optimal
situation in which the simulations visit much faster and more uniformly the
relevant portions of the phase space is determined. As illustrations, the
proposal is applied to three lattice models, BEG, Bell-Lavis, and Potts, in the
hard case of extreme first-order phase transitions, always giving very good
results, even for . Also, comparisons with other protocols (constant
entropy and arithmetic progression) to choose the set are
undertaken. The fixed exchange frequency method is found to be consistently
superior, specially for small 's. Finally, distinct instances where the
prescription could be helpful (in second-order transitions and for the parallel
tempering approach) are briefly discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figure
Influence of disordered porous media in the anomalous properties of a simple water model
The thermodynamic, dynamic and structural behavior of a water-like system
confined in a matrix is analyzed for increasing confining geometries. The
liquid is modeled by a two dimensional associating lattice gas model that
exhibits density and diffusion anomalies, in similarity to the anomalies
present in liquid water. The matrix is a triangular lattice in which fixed
obstacles impose restrictions to the occupation of the particles. We show that
obstacules shortens all lines, including the phase coexistence, the critical
and the anomalous lines. The inclusion of a very dense matrix not only suppress
the anomalies but also the liquid-liquid critical point
q-Deformed quaternions and su(2) instantons
We have recently introduced the notion of a q-quaternion bialgebra and shown
its strict link with the SO_q(4)-covariant quantum Euclidean space R_q^4.
Adopting the available differential geometric tools on the latter and the
quaternion language we have formulated and found solutions of the
(anti)selfduality equation [instantons and multi-instantons] of a would-be
deformed su(2) Yang-Mills theory on this quantum space. The solutions depend on
some noncommuting parameters, indicating that the moduli space of a complete
theory should be a noncommutative manifold. We summarize these results and add
an explicit comparison between the two SO_q(4)-covariant differential calculi
on R_q^4 and the two 4-dimensional bicovariant differential calculi on the bi-
(resp. Hopf) algebras M_q(2),GL_q(2),SU_q(2), showing that they essentially
coincide.Comment: Latex file, 18 page
A high space density of L* Active Galactic Nuclei at z~4 in the COSMOS field
Identifying the source population of ionizing radiation, responsible for the
reionization of the universe, is currently a hotly debated subject with
conflicting results. Studies of faint, high-redshift star-forming galaxies, in
most cases, fail to detect enough escaping ionizing radiation to sustain the
process. Recently, the capacity of bright quasi-stellar objects to ionize their
surrounding medium has been confirmed also for faint active galactic nuclei
(AGNs), which were found to display an escaping fraction of ~74% at z~4. Such
levels of escaping radiation could sustain the required UV background, given
the number density of faint AGNs is adequate. Thus, it is mandatory to
accurately measure the luminosity function of faint AGNs (L~L*) in the same
redshift range. For this reason we have conducted a spectroscopic survey, using
the wide field spectrograph IMACS at the 6.5m Baade Telescope, to determine the
nature of our sample of faint AGN candidates in the COSMOS field. This sample
was assembled using photometric redshifts, color, and X-ray information. We
ended up with 16 spectroscopically confirmed AGNs at 3.6<z<4.2 down to a
magnitude of i=23.0 for an area of 1.73 deg. This leads to an AGN
space density of ~1.6 (corrected) at z~4 for an
absolute magnitude of M=-23.5. This is higher than previous
measurements and seems to indicate that AGNs could make a substantial
contribution to the ionizing background at z~4. Assuming that AGN physical
parameters remain unchanged at higher redshifts and fainter luminosities, these
sources could be regarded as the main drivers of cosmic reionization.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication by Ap
The M_BH-M_star relation of obscured AGNs at high redshift
We report the detection of broad Halpha emission in three X-ray selected
obscured AGNs at z=1-2. By exploiting the Halpha width and the intrinsic X-ray
luminosity, we estimate their black hole masses, which are in the range
0.1-3x10^9 Msun. By means of multi-band photometric data, we measure the
stellar mass of their host galaxy and, therefore, infer their M_BH/M_star
ratio. These are the first obscured AGNs at high-z, selected based on their
black hole accretion (i.e. on the basis of their X-ray luminosity), that can be
located on the M_BH-M_star relation at high-z. All of these obscured high-z
AGNs are fully consistent with the local M_BH-M_star relation. This result
conflicts with those for other samples of AGNs in the same redshift range,
whose M_BH/M_star ratio departs significantly from the value observed in local
galaxies. We suggest that the obscured AGNs in our sample are in an advanced
evolutionary stage, have already settled onto the local M_BH-M_star relation,
and whose nuclear activity has been temporarily revived by recent galaxy
interactions.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letters, slightly
revised discussion on SMG
Unveiling obscured accretion in the Chandra Deep Field South
A large population of heavily obscured, Compton Thick AGNs is predicted by
models of galaxy formation, models of Cosmic X-ray Background and by the
``relic'' super-massive black-hole mass function measured from local bulges.
However, so far only a handful of Compton thick AGNs have been possibly
detected using even the deepest Chandra and XMM surveys. Compton-thick AGNs can
be recovered thanks to the reprocessing of the AGN UV emission in the infrared
by selecting sources with AGN luminosity's in the mid-infrared and faint
near-infrared and optical emission. To this purpose, we make use of deep HST,
VLT, Spitzer and Chandra data on the Chandra Deep Field South to constrain the
number of Compton thick AGN in this field. We show that sources with high
24m to optical flux ratios and red colors form a distinct source
population, and that their infrared luminosity is dominated by AGN emission.
Analysis of the X-ray properties of these extreme sources shows that most of
them (80) are indeed likely to be highly obscured, Compton thick AGNs.
The number of infrared selected, Compton thick AGNs with 5.8m luminosity
higher than erg s turns out to be similar to that of X-ray
selected, unobscured and moderately obscured AGNs with 2-10 keV luminosity
higher than erg s in the redshift bin 1.2-2.6. This ``factor
of 2'' source population is exactly what it is needed to solve the
discrepancies between model predictions and X-ray AGN selection.Comment: Revised version, to be published by The Astrophysical Journa
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