5,465 research outputs found
Modelling a Bistable System Strongly Coupled to a Debye Bath: A Quasiclassical Approach Based on the Generalised Langevin Equation
Bistable systems present two degenerate metastable configurations separated
by an energy barrier. Thermal or quantum fluctuations can promote the
transition between the configurations at a rate which depends on the dynamical
properties of the local environment (i.e., a thermal bath). In the case of
classical systems, strong system-bath interaction has been successfully
modelled by the Generalised Langevin Equation (GLE) formalism. Here we show
that the efficient GLE algorithm introduced in Phys. Rev. B 89, 134303 (2014)
can be extended to include some crucial aspects of the quantum fluctuations. In
particular, the expected isotopic effect is observed along with the convergence
of the quantum and classical transition rates in the strong coupling limit.
Saturation of the transition rates at low temperature is also retrieved, in
qualitative, yet not quantitative, agreement with the analytic predictions. The
discrepancies in the tunnelling regime are due to an incorrect sampling close
to the barrier top. The domain of applicability of the quasiclassical GLE is
also discussed.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures. Presented at the NESC16 conference: Advances in
theory and simulation of non-equilibrium system
Applications of the Generalised Langevin Equation: towards a realistic description of the baths
The Generalised Langevin Equation (GLE) method, as developed in Ref. [Phys.
Rev. B 89, 134303 (2014)], is used to calculate the dissipative dynamics of
systems described at the atomic level. The GLE scheme goes beyond the commonly
used bilinear coupling between the central system and the bath, and permits us
to have a realistic description of both the dissipative central system and its
surrounding bath. We show how to obtain the vibrational properties of a
realistic bath and how to convey such properties into an extended Langevin
dynamics by the use of the mapping of the bath vibrational properties onto a
set of auxiliary variables. Our calculations for a model of a Lennard-Jones
solid show that our GLE scheme provides a stable dynamics, with the
dissipative/relaxation processes properly described. The total kinetic energy
of the central system always thermalises toward the expected bath temperature,
with appropriate fluctuation around the mean value. More importantly, we obtain
a velocity distribution for the individual atoms in the central system which
follows the expected canonical distribution at the corresponding temperature.
This confirms that both our GLE scheme and our mapping procedure onto an
extended Langevin dynamics provide the correct thermostat. We also examined the
velocity autocorrelation functions and compare our results with more
conventional Langevin dynamics.Comment: accepted for publication in PR
Relativistic precession around rotating neutron stars: Effects due to frame-dragging and stellar oblateness
General relativity predicts that a rotating body produces a frame-dragging
(or Lense-Thirring) effect: the orbital plane of a test particle in a
non-equatorial orbit precesses about the body's symmetry axis. In this paper we
compute the precession frequencies of circular orbits around rapidly rotating
neutron stars for a variety of masses and equations of state. The precession
frequencies computed are expressed as numerical functions of the orbital
frequency observed at infinity. The post-Newtonian expansion of the exact
precession formula is examined to identify the relative magnitudes of the
precession caused by the Lense-Thirring effect, the usual Newtonian quadrupole
effect and relativistic corrections. The first post-Newtonian correction to the
Newtonian quadrupole precession is derived in the limit of slow rotation. We
show that the post-Newtonian precession formula is a good approximation to the
exact precession close to the neutron star in the slow rotation limit (up to
\sim 400 Hz in the present context).
The results are applied to recent RXTE observations of neutron star low-mass
X-ray binaries, which display kHz quasi-periodic oscillations and, within the
framework of beat frequency models, allow the measurement of both the neutron
star spin frequency and the Keplerian frequency of the innermost ring of matter
in the accretion disk around it. For a wide range of realistic equations of
state, we find that the predicted precession frequency of this ring is close to
one half of the low-frequency (\sim 20 - 35 Hz) quasi-periodic oscillations
seen in several Atoll sources.Comment: 35 pages including 10 figures and 6 tables. To appear in the
Astrophysical Journa
Nonequilibrium processes from Generalised Langevin Equations: realistic nanoscale systems connected to two thermal baths
We extend the Generalised Langevin Equation (GLE) method [Phys. Rev. B 89,
134303 (2014)] to model a central classical region connected to two realistic
thermal baths at two different temperatures. In such nonequilibrium conditions
a heat flow is established, via the central system, in between the two baths.
The GLE-2B (GLE two baths) scheme permits us to have a realistic description of
both the dissipative central system and its surrounding baths. Following the
original GLE approach, the extended Langevin dynamics scheme is modified to
take into account two sets of auxiliary degrees of freedom corresponding to the
mapping of the vibrational properties of each bath. These auxiliary variables
are then used to solve the non-Markovian dissipative dynamics of the central
region. The resulting algorithm is used to study a model of a short Al nanowire
connected to two baths. The results of the simulations using the GLE-2B
approach are compared to the results of other simulations that were carried out
using standard thermostatting approaches (based on Markovian Langevin and
Nose-Hoover thermostats). We concentrate on the steady state regime and study
the establishment of a local temperature profile within the system. The
conditions for obtaining a flat profile or a temperature gradient are examined
in detail, in agreement with earlier studies. The results show that the GLE-2B
approach is able to treat, within a single scheme, two widely different thermal
transport regimes, i.e. ballistic systems, with no temperature gradient, and
diffusive systems with a temperature gradient.Comment: present version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B (Apr 2016
Steady-state analysis of shortest expected delay routing
We consider a queueing system consisting of two non-identical exponential
servers, where each server has its own dedicated queue and serves the customers
in that queue FCFS. Customers arrive according to a Poisson process and join
the queue promising the shortest expected delay, which is a natural and
near-optimal policy for systems with non-identical servers. This system can be
modeled as an inhomogeneous random walk in the quadrant. By stretching the
boundaries of the compensation approach we prove that the equilibrium
distribution of this random walk can be expressed as a series of product-forms
that can be determined recursively. The resulting series expression is directly
amenable for numerical calculations and it also provides insight in the
asymptotic behavior of the equilibrium probabilities as one of the state
coordinates tends to infinity.Comment: 41 pages, 13 figure
Warping modes in discs around accreting neutron stars
The origin and stability of a thin sheet of plasma in the magnetosphere of an
accreting neutron star is investigated. First the radial extension of such a
magnetospheric disc is explored. Then a mechanism for magnetospheric accretion
is proposed, reconsidering the bending wave explored by Agapitou, Papaloizou &
Terquem (1997), that was found to be stable in ideal MHD. We show that this
warping becomes unstable and can reach high amplitudes, in a variant of
Pringle's radiation-driven model for the warping of AGN accretion discs
(Pringle (1996)). Finally we discuss how this mechanism might give a clue to
explain the observed X-ray kHz QPO of neutron star binaries.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Nonequilibrium Generalised Langevin Equation for the calculation of heat transport properties in model 1D atomic chains coupled to two 3D thermal baths
We use a Generalised Langevin Equation (GLE) scheme to study the thermal
transport of low dimensional systems. In this approach, the central classical
region is connected to two realistic thermal baths kept at two different
temperatures [H. Ness et al., Phys. Rev. B {\bf 93}, 174303 (2016)]. We
consider model Al systems, i.e. one-dimensional atomic chains connected to
three-dimensional baths. The thermal transport properties are studied as a
function of the chain length and the temperature difference
between the baths. We calculate the transport properties both in the linear
response regime and in the non-linear regime. Two different laws are obtained
for the linear conductance versus the length of the chains. For large
temperatures ( K) and temperature differences ( K), the chains, with atoms, present a diffusive transport regime
with the presence of a temperature gradient across the system. For lower
temperatures( K) and temperature differences ( K), a regime similar to the ballistic regime is observed. Such a
ballistic-like regime is also obtained for shorter chains (). Our
detailed analysis suggests that the behaviour at higher temperatures and
temperature differences is mainly due to anharmonic effects within the long
chains.Comment: Accepted for publication in J. Chem. Phy
Exploring the Role of Organisational Trust in Mergers and Acquisitions M/A Processes in Family Firms
In recent years, mergers and acquisitions (M/As) of family firms have started to play a more crucial role. But despite its increasing relevance this topic has not yet been studied in the family firm context. The existing theories on organisational trust in the M/A process might not necessarily apply in the family firm M/A (FF M/A) context as these companies are somehow unique, especially since the employees’ organisational trust in the family firm owners tends to be a key dynamic in merging family firms. Therefore, this thesis wants to close an application gap in research and explore how organisational trust can be applied to the family firm M/A context.
M/As of German midsized family firms are explored in two different studies. In the quantitative study 1 data was collected in an employee survey (N=352). Data for the qualitative study 2 consists of 21 semi-structured interviews.
In this thesis I generate an organisational trust framework in the context of family firms that have undergone M/As. This framework is valuable because it shows how family firms can use their specific nature as an asset to maintain their employees’ organisational trust even after an M/A. Therefore, M/As of family firms tend to be the less risky option for family firms that need to sell their businesses, and a way for them to maintain or restore their organisational trust.
The three main contributions are the following: Firstly, there is not necessarily a trust breach under the premise of a “responsible” outcome. Secondly, there is an observation period in the M/A process where family firm employees will reserve judgement on the new family firm. Thirdly, the process of trust regain after the observation period is primarily based on trustworthiness demonstrated by role models, and especially by the new family firm owners.
The analysis further shows that it should be a major concern of merging family firms to develop a reasonable, trust-enhancing concept because of the major consequences of a trust loss, such as a decrease of commitment and engagement. So from a practical point of view, this work’s framework can help family firms to prevent the employees’ loss of organisational trust due to M/As, and to establish a trusting relationship after the acquisition
Anomalous scaling due to correlations: Limit theorems and self-similar processes
We derive theorems which outline explicit mechanisms by which anomalous
scaling for the probability density function of the sum of many correlated
random variables asymptotically prevails. The results characterize general
anomalous scaling forms, justify their universal character, and specify
universality domains in the spaces of joint probability density functions of
the summand variables. These density functions are assumed to be invariant
under arbitrary permutations of their arguments. Examples from the theory of
critical phenomena are discussed. The novel notion of stability implied by the
limit theorems also allows us to define sequences of random variables whose sum
satisfies anomalous scaling for any finite number of summands. If regarded as
developing in time, the stochastic processes described by these variables are
non-Markovian generalizations of Gaussian processes with uncorrelated
increments, and provide, e.g., explicit realizations of a recently proposed
model of index evolution in finance.Comment: Through text revision. 15 pages, 3 figure
Future X-ray timing missions
Thanks to the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), it is now widely recognized
that fast X-ray timing can be used to probe strong gravity fields around
collapsed objects and constrain the equation of state of dense matter in
neutron stars. We first discuss some of the outstanding issues which could be
solved with an X-ray timing mission building on the great successes of RXTE and
providing an order of magnitude better sensitivity. Then we briefly describe
the 'Experiment for X-ray timing and Relativistic Astrophysics' (EXTRA)
recently proposed to the European Space Agency as a follow-up to RXTE and the
related US mission 'Relativistic Astrophysics Explorer' (RAE).Comment: To be published in `Proceedings of the Third Microquasar Workshop:
Granada Workshop on galactic relativistic jet sources', Eds A. J.
Castro-Tirado, J. Greiner and J. M. Paredes, Astrophysics and Space Science,
in press. More about EXTRA can be found at:
http://www.cesr.fr/~barret/extra.htm
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