641 research outputs found
Unveiling the nature of out-of-equilibrium phase transitions in a system with long-range interactions
Recently, there has been some vigorous interest in the out-of-equilibrium
quasistationary states (QSSs), with lifetimes diverging with the number N of
degrees of freedom, emerging from numerical simulations of the ferromagnetic XY
Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF) starting from some special initial conditions.
Phase transitions have been reported between low-energy magnetized QSSs and
large-energy unexpected, antiferromagnetic-like, QSSs with low magnetization.
This issue is addressed here in the Vlasov N \rightarrow \infty limit. It is
argued that the time-asymptotic states emerging in the Vlasov limit can be
related to simple generic time-asymptotic forms for the force field. The
proposed picture unveils the nature of the out-of-equilibrium phase transitions
reported for the ferromagnetic HMF: this is a bifurcation point connecting an
effective integrable Vlasov one-particle time-asymptotic dynamics to a partly
ergodic one which means a brutal open-up of the Vlasov one-particle phase
space. Illustration is given by investigating the time-asymptotic value of the
magnetization at the phase transition, under the assumption of a sufficiently
rapid time-asymptotic decay of the transient force field
Linear theory and violent relaxation in long-range systems: a test case
In this article, several aspects of the dynamics of a toy model for longrange
Hamiltonian systems are tackled focusing on linearly unstable unmagnetized
(i.e. force-free) cold equilibria states of the Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF).
For special cases, exact finite-N linear growth rates have been exhibited,
including, in some spatially inhomogeneous case, finite-N corrections. A random
matrix approach is then proposed to estimate the finite-N growth rate for some
random initial states. Within the continuous, , approach,
the growth rates are finally derived without restricting to spatially
homogeneous cases. All the numerical simulations show a very good agreement
with the different theoretical predictions. Then, these linear results are used
to discuss the large-time nonlinear evolution. A simple criterion is proposed
to measure the ability of the system to undergo a violent relaxation that
transports it in the vicinity of the equilibrium state within some linear
e-folding times
870 micron continuum observations of the bubble-shaped nebula Gum 31
We are presenting here a study of the cold dust in the infrared ring nebula
Gum 31. We aim at deriving the physical properties of the molecular gas and
dust associated with the nebula, and investigating its correlation with the
star formation in the region, that was probably triggered by the expansion of
the ionization front. We use 870 micron data obtained with LABOCA to map the
dust emission. The obtained LABOCA image was compared to archival IR,radio
continuum, and optical images. The 870 micron emission follows the 8 micron
(Spitzer), 250 micron, and 500 micron (Herschel) emission distributions showing
the classical morphology of a spherical shell. We use the 870 micron and 250
micron images to identify 60 dust clumps in the collected layers of molecular
gas using the Gaussclumps algorithm. The clumps have effective deconvolved
radii between 0.16 pc and 1.35 pc, masses between 70 Mo and 2800 Mo, and volume
densities between 1.1x10^3 cm^-3 and 2.04x10^5 cm^-3. The total mass of the
clumps is 37600 Mo. The dust temperature of the clumps is in the range from 21
K to 32 K, while inside the HII region reaches ~ 40 K. The clump mass
distribution is well-fitted by a power law dN/dlog(M/Mo) proportional to
M^(-alpha), with alpha=0.93+/-0.28. The slope differs from those obtained for
the stellar IMF in the solar neighborhood, suggesting that the clumps are not
direct progenitors of single stars/protostars. The mass-radius relationship for
the 41 clumps detected in the 870 microns emission shows that only 37% of them
lie in or above the high-mass star formation threshold, most of them having
candidate YSOs projected inside. A comparison of the dynamical age of the HII
region with the fragmentation time, allowed us to conclude that the collect and
collapse mechanism may be important for the star formation at the edge of Gum
31, although other processes may also be acting.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Phase transition in the collisionless regime for wave-particle interaction
Gibbs statistical mechanics is derived for the Hamiltonian system coupling
self-consistently a wave to N particles. This identifies Landau damping with a
regime where a second order phase transition occurs. For nonequilibrium initial
data with warm particles, a critical initial wave intensity is found: above it,
thermodynamics predicts a finite wave amplitude in the limit of infinite N;
below it, the equilibrium amplitude vanishes. Simulations support these
predictions providing new insight on the long-time nonlinear fate of the wave
due to Landau damping in plasmas.Comment: 12 pages (RevTeX), 2 figures (PostScript
Molecular gas and star formation towards the IR dust bubble S24 and its environs
We present a multi-wavelength analysis of the infrared dust bubble S24, and
its environs, with the aim of investigating the characteristics of the
molecular gas and the interstellar dust linked to them, and analyzing the
evolutionary status of the young stellar objects (YSOs) identified there. Using
APEX data, we mapped the molecular emission in the CO(2-1), CO(2-1),
CO(2-1), and CO(3-2) lines in a region of about 5'x 5' in size
around the bubble. The cold dust distribution was analyzed using ATLASGAL and
Herschel images. Complementary IR and radio data were also used.The molecular
gas linked to the S24 bubble, G341.220-0.213, and G341.217-0.237 has velocities
between -48.0 km sec and -40.0 km sec. The gas distribution
reveals a shell-like molecular structure of 0.8 pc in radius bordering
the bubble. A cold dust counterpart of the shell is detected in the LABOCA and
Herschel images.The presence of extended emission at 24 m and radio
continuum emission inside the bubble indicates that the bubble is a compact HII
region. Part of the molecular gas bordering S24 coincides with the extended
infrared dust cloud SDC341.194-0.221. A cold molecular clump is present at the
interface between S24 and G341.217-0.237. As regards G341.220-0.213, the
presence of an arc-like molecular structure at the northern and eastern
sections of this IR source indicates that G341.220-0.213 is interacting with
the molecular gas. Several YSO candidates are found to be linked to the IR
extended sources, thus confirming their nature as active star-forming regions.
The total gas mass in the region and the H ambient density amount to 10300
M and 5900 cm, indicating that G341.220-0.213, G341.217-0.237,
and the S24 HII region are evolving in a high density medium. A triggering star
formation scenario is also investigated.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures. Submitted to A&A. Revised according to the
referee repor
Inhomogeneous Quasi-stationary States in a Mean-field Model with Repulsive Cosine Interactions
The system of N particles moving on a circle and interacting via a global
repulsive cosine interaction is well known to display spatially inhomogeneous
structures of extraordinary stability starting from certain low energy initial
conditions. The object of this paper is to show in a detailed manner how these
structures arise and to explain their stability. By a convenient canonical
transformation we rewrite the Hamiltonian in such a way that fast and slow
variables are singled out and the canonical coordinates of a collective mode
are naturally introduced. If, initially, enough energy is put in this mode, its
decay can be extremely slow. However, both analytical arguments and numerical
simulations suggest that these structures eventually decay to the spatially
uniform equilibrium state, although this can happen on impressively long time
scales. Finally, we heuristically introduce a one-particle time dependent
Hamiltonian that well reproduces most of the observed phenomenology.Comment: to be published in J. Phys.
Long-time discrete particle effects versus kinetic theory in the self-consistent single-wave model
The influence of the finite number N of particles coupled to a monochromatic
wave in a collisionless plasma is investigated. For growth as well as damping
of the wave, discrete particle numerical simulations show an N-dependent long
time behavior resulting from the dynamics of individual particles. This
behavior differs from the one due to the numerical errors incurred by Vlasov
approaches. Trapping oscillations are crucial to long time dynamics, as the
wave oscillations are controlled by the particle distribution inhomogeneities
and the pulsating separatrix crossings drive the relaxation towards thermal
equilibrium.Comment: 11 pages incl. 13 figs. Phys. Rev. E, in pres
Topological origin of the phase transition in a mean-field model
We argue that the phase transition in the mean-field XY model is related to a
particular change in the topology of its configuration space. The nature of
this topological transition can be discussed on the basis of elementary Morse
theory using the potential energy per particle V as a Morse function. The value
of V where such a topological transition occurs equals the thermodynamic value
of V at the phase transition and the number of (Morse) critical points grows
very fast with the number of particles N. Furthermore, as in statistical
mechanics, also in topology the way the thermodynamic limit is taken is
crucial.Comment: REVTeX, 5 pages, with 1 eps figure included. Some changes in the
text. To appear in Physical Review Letter
The use of nematodes in assessing ecological conditions in shallow waters surrounding a Mediterranean harbour facility
The spatial distribution and structure of nematode assemblages in the area surrounding the harbour of
Vado Ligure (Savona, NW Mediterranean) were studied in relation to the influence of natural and
anthropogenic environmental factors. Stations were selected following an “anthropogenic gradient” from
sites located near the city centre and its harbour to more pristine and distant sites. Sediment quality was
determined by considering both sediment granulometric and chemical parameters (hydrocarbons, heavy
metals, total organic matter, proteins, carbohydrates) as well as nematode abundance, diversity, life
strategies, trophic structure and assemblage composition. A high correlation between environmental
characteristics and the nematode response was found. On the basis of the comparison of these results,
which identified three distinct sub-areas associated with different levels of environmental quality, a set
of nematode indicator genera was selected for the future evaluation of quality status
Emergence of a non trivial fluctuating phase in the XY model on regular networks
We study an XY-rotor model on regular one dimensional lattices by varying the
number of neighbours. The parameter is defined.
corresponds to mean field and to nearest neighbours coupling. We
find that for the system does not exhibit a phase transition,
while for the mean field second order transition is recovered.
For the critical value , the systems can be in a non
trivial fluctuating phase for whichthe magnetisation shows important
fluctuations in a given temperature range, implying an infinite susceptibility.
For all values of the magnetisation is computed analytically in the
low temperatures range and the magnetised versus non-magnetised state which
depends on the value of is recovered, confirming the critical value
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