Continuous phase transitions with a convex dip in the microcanonical entropy

The appearance of a convex dip in the microcanonical entropy of finite systems usually signals a first order transition. However, a convex dip also shows up in some systems with a continuous transition as for example in the Baxter-Wu model and in the four-state Potts model in two dimensions. We demonstrate that the appearance of a convex dip in those cases can be traced back to a finite-size effect. The properties of the dip are markedly different from those associated with a first order transition and can be understood within a microcanonical finite-size scaling theory for continuous phase transitions. Results obtained from numerical simulations corroborate the predictions of the scaling theory.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Confinement and the analytic structure of the one body propagator in Scalar QED

We investigate the behavior of the one body propagator in SQED. The self energy is calculated using three different methods: i) the simple bubble summation, ii) the Dyson-Schwinger equation, and iii) the Feynman-Schwinger represantation. The Feynman-Schwinger representation allows an {\em exact} analytical result. It is shown that, while the exact result produces a real mass pole for all couplings, the bubble sum and the Dyson-Schwinger approach in rainbow approximation leads to complex mass poles beyond a certain critical coupling. The model exhibits confinement, yet the exact solution still has one body propagators with {\it real} mass poles.Comment: 5 pages 2 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

GNSS Signal Authentication via Power and Distortion Monitoring

We propose a simple low-cost technique that enables civil Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and other civil global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers to reliably detect carry-off spoofing and jamming. The technique, which we call the Power-Distortion detector, classifies received signals as interference-free, multipath-afflicted, spoofed, or jammed according to observations of received power and correlatio n function distortion. It does not depend on external hardware or a network connection and can be readily implemented on many receivers via a firmware update. Crucially, the detector can with high probability distinguish low-power spoofing from ordinary multipath. In testing against over 25 high-quality empirical data sets yielding over 900,000 separate detection tests, the detector correctly alarms on all malicious spoofing or jamming attack s while maintaining a <0.5% single-channel false alarm rate.Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanic

Exact renormalization group approach in scalar and fermionic theories

The Polchinski version of the exact renormalization group equation is discussed and its applications in scalar and fermionic theories are reviewed. Relation between this approach and the standard renormalization group is studied, in particular the relation between the derivative expansion and the perturbation theory expansion is worked out in some detail.Comment: 15 pages, 2 Postscript figures, Latex, uses sprocl.sty which is included; contribution to the Proceedings of the Meeting "Renormalization Group - 96" (August 26 - 31, 1996, Dubna, Russia); misprints are corrected, some minor changes are made and one reference is added in the revised versio

Ising metamagnets in thin film geometry: equilibrium properties

Artificial antiferromagnets and synthetic metamagnets have attracted much attention recently due to their potential for many different applications. Under some simplifying assumptions these systems can be modeled by thin Ising metamagnetic films. In this paper we study, using both the Wang/Landau scheme and importance sampling Monte Carlo simulations, the equilibrium properties of these films. On the one hand we discuss the microcanonical density of states and its prominent features. On the other we analyze canonically various global and layer quantities. We obtain the phase diagram of thin Ising metamagnets as a function of temperature and external magnetic field. Whereas the phase diagram of the bulk system only exhibits one phase transition between the antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases, the phase diagram of thin Ising metamagnets includes an additional intermediate phase where one of the surface layers has aligned itself with the direction of the applied magnetic field. This additional phase transition is discontinuous and ends in a critical end point. Consequently, it is possible to gradually go from the antiferromagnetic phase to the intermediate phase without passing through a phase transition.Comment: 8 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Nanoscale Zeeman localization of charge carriers in diluted magnetic semiconductor-permalloy hybrids

We investigate the possibility of charge carrier localization in magnetic semiconductors due to the presence of a highly inhomogeneous external magnetic field. As an example, we study in detail the properties of a magnetic semiconductor-permalloy disk hybrid system. We find that the giant Zeeman respose of the magnetic semiconductor in conjuction with the highly non-uniform magnetic field created by the vortex state of a permalloy disk can lead to Zeeman localized states at the interface of the two materials. These trapped state are chiral, with chirality controlled by the orientation of the core magnetization of the permalloy disk. We calculate the energy spectrum and the eigenstates of these Zeeman localized states, and discuss their experimental signatures in spectroscopic probes.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Witten's Vertex Made Simple

The infinite matrices in Witten's vertex are easy to diagonalize. It just requires some SL(2,R) lore plus a Watson-Sommerfeld transformation. We calculate the eigenvalues of all Neumann matrices for all scale dimensions s, both for matter and ghosts, including fractional s which we use to regulate the difficult s=0 limit. We find that s=1 eigenfunctions just acquire a p term, and x gets replaced by the midpoint position.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures, RevTeX style, typos correcte