5,429 research outputs found
Second-order critical lines of spin-S Ising models in a splitting field with Grassmann techniques
We propose a method to study the second-order critical lines of classical
spin- Ising models on two-dimensional lattices in a crystal or splitting
field, using an exact expression for the bare mass of the underlying field
theory. Introducing a set of anticommuting variables to represent the partition
function, we derive an exact and compact expression for the bare mass of the
model including all local multi-fermions interactions. By extension of the
Ising and Blume-Capel models, we extract the free energy singularities in the
low momentum limit corresponding to a vanishing bare mass. The loci of these
singularities define the critical lines depending on the spin S, in good
agreement with previous numerical estimations. This scheme appears to be
general enough to be applied in a variety of classical Hamiltonians
Limit Cycles in Four Dimensions
We present an example of a limit cycle, i.e., a recurrent flow-line of the
beta-function vector field, in a unitary four-dimensional gauge theory. We thus
prove that beta functions of four-dimensional gauge theories do not produce
gradient flows. The limit cycle is established in perturbation theory with a
three-loop calculation which we describe in detail.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure. Significant revision of the interpretation of our
result. Improved description of three-loop calculatio
Defect Motion and Lattice Pinning Barrier in Josephson-Junction Ladders
We study motion of domain wall defects in a fully frustrated
Josephson-unction ladder system, driven by small applied currents. For small
system sizes, the energy barrier E_B to the defect motion is computed
analytically via symmetry and topological considerations. More generally, we
perform numerical simulations directly on the equations of motion, based on the
resistively-shunted junction model, to study the dynamics of defects, varying
the system size. Coherent motion of domain walls is observed for large system
sizes. In the thermodynamical limit, we find E_B=0.1827 in units of the
Josephson coupling energy.Comment: 7 pages, and to apear in Phys. Rev.
Weibull-type limiting distribution for replicative systems
The Weibull function is widely used to describe skew distributions observed
in nature. However, the origin of this ubiquity is not always obvious to
explain. In the present paper, we consider the well-known Galton-Watson
branching process describing simple replicative systems. The shape of the
resulting distribution, about which little has been known, is found essentially
indistinguishable from the Weibull form in a wide range of the branching
parameter; this can be seen from the exact series expansion for the cumulative
distribution, which takes a universal form. We also find that the branching
process can be mapped into a process of aggregation of clusters. In the
branching and aggregation process, the number of events considered for
branching and aggregation grows cumulatively in time, whereas, for the binomial
distribution, an independent event occurs at each time with a given success
probability.Comment: 6 pages and 5 figure
The -theorem and the Asymptotics of 4D Quantum Field Theory
We study the possible IR and UV asymptotics of 4D Lorentz invariant unitary
quantum field theory. Our main tool is a generalization of the
Komargodski-Schwimmer proof for the -theorem. We use this to rule out a
large class of renormalization group flows that do not asymptote to conformal
field theories in the UV and IR. We show that if the IR (UV) asymptotics is
described by perturbation theory, all beta functions must vanish faster than
as (). This implies that the
only possible asymptotics within perturbation theory is conformal field theory.
In particular, it rules out perturbative theories with scale but not conformal
invariance, which are equivalent to theories with renormalization group
pseudocycles. Our arguments hold even for theories with gravitational
anomalies. We also give a non-perturbative argument that excludes theories with
scale but not conformal invariance. This argument holds for theories in which
the stress-energy tensor is sufficiently nontrivial in a technical sense that
we make precise.Comment: 41 pages, 2 figures. v2: Arguments clarified, some side comments
corrected, connection to previous work by Jack and Osborn described,
conclusions unaffecte
Origin of the approximate universality of distributions in equilibrium correlated systems
We propose an interpretation of previous experimental and numerical
experiments, showing that for a large class of systems, distributions of global
quantities are similar to a distribution originally obtained for the
magnetization in the 2D-XY model . This approach, developed for the Ising
model, is based on previous numerical observations. We obtain an effective
action using a perturbative method, which successfully describes the order
parameter fluctuations near the phase transition. This leads to a direct link
between the D-dimensional Ising model and the XY model in the same dimension,
which appears to be a generic feature of many equilibrium critical systems and
which is at the heart of the above observations.Comment: To appear in Europhysics Letter
The H.E.S.S. extragalactic sky
The H.E.S.S. Cherenkov telescope array, located on the southern hemisphere in
Namibia, studies very high energy (VHE; E>100 GeV) gamma-ray emission from
astrophysical objects. During its successful operations since 2002 more than 80
galactic and extra-galactic gamma-ray sources have been discovered. H.E.S.S.
devotes over 400 hours of observation time per year to the observation of
extra-galactic sources resulting in the discovery of several new sources,
mostly AGNs, and in exciting physics results e.g. the discovery of very rapid
variability during extreme flux outbursts of PKS 2155-304, stringent limits on
the density of the extragalactic background light (EBL) in the near-infrared
derived from the energy spectra of distant sources, or the discovery of
short-term variability in the VHE emission from the radio galaxy M 87. With the
recent launch of the Fermi satellite in 2008 new insights into the physics of
AGNs at GeV energies emerged, leading to the discovery of several new
extragalactic VHE sources. Multi-wavelength observations prove to be a powerful
tool to investigate the production mechanism for VHE emission in AGNs. Here,
new results from H.E.S.S. observations of extragalactic sources will be
presented and their implications for the physics of these sources will be
discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, invited review talk, in the proceedings of the
"International Workshop on Beamed and Unbeamed Gamma-Rays from Galaxies"
11-15 April 2011, Lapland Hotel Olos, Muonio, Finland, Journal of Physics:
Conference Series Volume 355, 201
Thermalisation time and specific heat of neutron stars crust
We discuss the thermalisation process of the neutron stars crust described by
solving the heat transport equation with a microscopic input for the specific
heat of baryonic matter. The heat equation is solved with initial conditions
specific to a rapid cooling of the core. To calculate the specific heat of
inner crust baryonic matter, i.e., nuclear clusters and unbound neutrons, we
use the quasiparticle spectrum provided by the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approach
at finite temperature. In this framework we analyse the dependence of the crust
thermalisation on pairing properties and on cluster structure of inner crust
matter. It is shown that the pairing correlations reduce the crust
thermalisation time by a very large fraction. The calculations show also that
the nuclear clusters have a non-negligible influence on the time evolution of
the surface temperature of the neutron star.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Influence of thermal and mechanical cracks on permeability and elastic wave velocities in a basalt from Mt. Etna volcano subjected to elevated pressure
We report simultaneous laboratory measurements of seismic velocities and fluid permeability on lava flow
basalt from Etna (Italy). Results were obtained for dry and saturated samples deformed under triaxial
compression. During each test, the effective pressure was first increased up to 190 MPa to investigate the
effect of pre-existing crack closure on seismic properties. Then, the effective pressure was unloaded down to
20 MPa, a pressure which mirrors the stress field acting under a lava pile of approximately 1.5â2 km thick, and
deviatoric stress was increased until failure of the specimens.
Using an effective medium model, the measured elastic wave velocities were inverted in terms of two crack
densities: Ïi the crack density of the pre-existing thermal cracks and Ïv the crack density of the stress-induced
cracks. In addition a link was established between elastic properties (elastic wave velocities Vp and Vs) and
permeability using a statistical permeability model.
Our results show that the velocities increase with increasing hydrostatic pressure up to 190 MPa, due to the
closure of the pre-existing thermal cracks. This is interpreted by a decrease of the crack density Ïi from ~1 to
0.2. The effect of pre-existing cracks closure is also highlighted by the permeability evolution which decreases
of more than two orders of magnitude.
Under deviatoric loading, the velocities signature is interpreted, in the first stage of the loading, by the closure
of the pre-existing thermal cracks. However, with increasing deviatoric loading newly-formed vertical cracks
nucleate and propagate. This is clearly seen from the velocity signature and its interpretation in term of crack
density, the location of the acoustic emission sources, and from microstructural observations. This
competition between pre-existing cracks closure and propagation of vertical cracks is also seen from the
permeability evolution, and our study shows that mechanically-induced cracks has lesser influence on
permeability change than pre-existing thermal cracks
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