254 research outputs found
A Theorem on the origin of Phase Transitions
For physical systems described by smooth, finite-range and confining
microscopic interaction potentials V with continuously varying coordinates, we
announce and outline the proof of a theorem that establishes that unless the
equipotential hypersurfaces of configuration space \Sigma_v ={(q_1,...,q_N)\in
R^N | V(q_1,...,q_N) = v}, v \in R, change topology at some v_c in a given
interval [v_0, v_1] of values v of V, the Helmoltz free energy must be at least
twice differentiable in the corresponding interval of inverse temperature
(\beta(v_0), \beta(v_1)) also in the N -> \infty and the
{\Sigma_v}_{v > v_c}, which is the consequence of the existence of critical
points of V on \Sigma_{v=v_c}, that is points where \nabla V=0.Comment: 10 pages, Statistical Mechanics, Phase Transitions, General Theory.
Phys. Rev. Lett., in pres
COMPTEL upper limits for the 56Co γ-rays from SN1998bu
The type Ia supernova SN 1998bu in M96 was observed by COMPTEL for a total of 88 days starting 17 days after the detection of the SN. A special mode improving the low-energy sensitivity was invoked. We obtained images in the 847 keV and 1238 keV lines of 56Co using an improved point-spread function for the low-energies. We do not detect SN1998bu. Sensitive upper limits at both energies constrain the standard supernova model for this event
Partially ordered models
We provide a formal definition and study the basic properties of partially
ordered chains (POC). These systems were proposed to model textures in image
processing and to represent independence relations between random variables in
statistics (in the later case they are known as Bayesian networks). Our chains
are a generalization of probabilistic cellular automata (PCA) and their theory
has features intermediate between that of discrete-time processes and the
theory of statistical mechanical lattice fields. Its proper definition is based
on the notion of partially ordered specification (POS), in close analogy to the
theory of Gibbs measure. This paper contains two types of results. First, we
present the basic elements of the general theory of POCs: basic geometrical
issues, definition in terms of conditional probability kernels, extremal
decomposition, extremality and triviality, reconstruction starting from
single-site kernels, relations between POM and Gibbs fields. Second, we prove
three uniqueness criteria that correspond to the criteria known as bounded
uniformity, Dobrushin and disagreement percolation in the theory of Gibbs
measures.Comment: 54 pages, 11 figures, 6 simulations. Submited to Journal of Stat.
Phy
Mutation, selection, and ancestry in branching models: a variational approach
We consider the evolution of populations under the joint action of mutation
and differential reproduction, or selection. The population is modelled as a
finite-type Markov branching process in continuous time, and the associated
genealogical tree is viewed both in the forward and the backward direction of
time. The stationary type distribution of the reversed process, the so-called
ancestral distribution, turns out as a key for the study of mutation-selection
balance. This balance can be expressed in the form of a variational principle
that quantifies the respective roles of reproduction and mutation for any
possible type distribution. It shows that the mean growth rate of the
population results from a competition for a maximal long-term growth rate, as
given by the difference between the current mean reproduction rate, and an
asymptotic decay rate related to the mutation process; this tradeoff is won by
the ancestral distribution.
Our main application is the quasispecies model of sequence evolution with
mutation coupled to reproduction but independent across sites, and a fitness
function that is invariant under permutation of sites. Here, the variational
principle is worked out in detail and yields a simple, explicit result.Comment: 45 pages,8 figure
Chaotic temperature dependence at zero temperature
We present a class of examples of nearest-neighbour, boubded-spin models, in
which the low-temperature Gibbs measures do not converge as the temperature is
lowered to zero, in any dimension
Exact renormalization-group analysis of first order phase transitions in clock models
We analyze the exact behavior of the renormalization group flow in
one-dimensional clock-models which undergo first order phase transitions by the
presence of complex interactions. The flow, defined by decimation, is shown to
be single-valued and continuous throughout its domain of definition, which
contains the transition points. This fact is in disagreement with a recently
proposed scenario for first order phase transitions claiming the existence of
discontinuities of the renormalization group. The results are in partial
agreement with the standard scenario. However in the vicinity of some fixed
points of the critical surface the renormalized measure does not correspond to
a renormalized Hamiltonian for some choices of renormalization blocks. These
pathologies although similar to Griffiths-Pearce pathologies have a different
physical origin: the complex character of the interactions. We elucidate the
dynamical reason for such a pathological behavior: entire regions of coupling
constants blow up under the renormalization group transformation. The flows
provide non-perturbative patterns for the renormalization group behavior of
electric conductivities in the quantum Hall effect.Comment: 13 pages + 3 ps figures not included, TeX, DFTUZ 91.3
Large deviations for many Brownian bridges with symmetrised initial-terminal condition
Consider a large system of Brownian motions in with some
non-degenerate initial measure on some fixed time interval with
symmetrised initial-terminal condition. That is, for any , the terminal
location of the -th motion is affixed to the initial point of the
-th motion, where is a uniformly distributed random
permutation of . Such systems play an important role in quantum
physics in the description of Boson systems at positive temperature .
In this paper, we describe the large-N behaviour of the empirical path
measure (the mean of the Dirac measures in the paths) and of the mean of
the normalised occupation measures of the motions in terms of large
deviations principles. The rate functions are given as variational formulas
involving certain entropies and Fenchel-Legendre transforms. Consequences are
drawn for asymptotic independence statements and laws of large numbers.
In the special case related to quantum physics, our rate function for the
occupation measures turns out to be equal to the well-known Donsker-Varadhan
rate function for the occupation measures of one motion in the limit of
diverging time. This enables us to prove a simple formula for the large-N
asymptotic of the symmetrised trace of , where
is an -particle Hamilton operator in a trap
The "Unromantic Pictures" of Quantum Theory
I am concerned with two views of quantum mechanics that John S. Bell called
``unromantic'': spontaneous wave function collapse and Bohmian mechanics. I
discuss some of their merits and report about recent progress concerning
extensions to quantum field theory and relativity. In the last section, I
speculate about an extension of Bohmian mechanics to quantum gravity.Comment: 37 pages LaTeX, no figures; written for special volume of J. Phys. A
in honor of G.C. Ghirard
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