246 research outputs found
Dynamical surface structures in multi-particle-correlated surface growths
We investigate the scaling properties of the interface fluctuation width for
the -mer and -particle-correlated deposition-evaporation models. These
models are constrained with a global conservation law that the particle number
at each height is conserved modulo . In equilibrium, the stationary
roughness is anomalous but universal with roughness exponent ,
while the early time evolution shows nonuniversal behavior with growth exponent
varying with models and . Nonequilibrium surfaces display diverse
growing/stationary behavior. The -mer model shows a faceted structure, while
the -particle-correlated model a macroscopically grooved structure.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, revte
Aspects of the Noisy Burgers Equation
The noisy Burgers equation describing for example the growth of an interface
subject to noise is one of the simplest model governing an intrinsically
nonequilibrium problem. In one dimension this equation is analyzed by means of
the Martin-Siggia-Rose technique. In a canonical formulation the morphology and
scaling behavior are accessed by a principle of least action in the weak noise
limit. The growth morphology is characterized by a dilute gas of nonlinear
soliton modes with gapless dispersion law with exponent z=3/2 and a superposed
gas of diffusive modes with a gap. The scaling exponents and a heuristic
expression for the scaling function follow from a spectral representation.Comment: 23 pages,LAMUPHYS LaTeX-file (Springer), 13 figures, and 1 table, to
appear in the Proceedings of the XI Max Born Symposium on "Anomalous
Diffusion: From Basics to Applications", May 20-24, 1998, Ladek Zdroj, Polan
Effects of different needles and substrates on CuInS2 deposited by electrostatic spray deposition
Copper indium disulphide (CuInS2) thin films were deposited using the electrostatic spray deposition method. The effects of applied voltage and solution flow rate on the aerosol cone shape, film composition, surface morphology and current conversion were investigated. The effect of aluminium substrates and transparent fluorine doped tin oxide (SnO2:F) coated glass substrates on the properties of as-deposited CuInS2 films were analysed. An oxidation process occurs during the deposition onto the metallic substrates which forms an insulating layer between the photoactive film and substrate. The effects of two different spray needles on the properties of the as-deposited films were also studied. The results reveal that the use of a stainless steel needle results in contamination of the film due to the transfer of metal impurities through the spray whilst this is not seen for the glass needle. The films were characterised using a number of different analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Rutherford back-scattering and secondary ion mass spectroscopy and opto-electronic measurements
Directed polymers in high dimensions
We study directed polymers subject to a quenched random potential in d
transversal dimensions. This system is closely related to the
Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation of nonlinear stochastic growth. By a careful
analysis of the perturbation theory we show that physical quantities develop
singular behavior for d to 4. For example, the universal finite size amplitude
of the free energy at the roughening transition is proportional to (4-d)^(1/2).
This shows that the dimension d=4 plays a special role for this system and
points towards d=4 as the upper critical dimension of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang
problem.Comment: 37 pages REVTEX including 4 PostScript figure
Adaptation of Autocatalytic Fluctuations to Diffusive Noise
Evolution of a system of diffusing and proliferating mortal reactants is
analyzed in the presence of randomly moving catalysts. While the continuum
description of the problem predicts reactant extinction as the average growth
rate becomes negative, growth rate fluctuations induced by the discrete nature
of the agents are shown to allow for an active phase, where reactants
proliferate as their spatial configuration adapts to the fluctuations of the
catalysts density. The model is explored by employing field theoretical
techniques, numerical simulations and strong coupling analysis. For d<=2, the
system is shown to exhibits an active phase at any growth rate, while for d>2 a
kinetic phase transition is predicted. The applicability of this model as a
prototype for a host of phenomena which exhibit self organization is discussed.Comment: 6 pages 6 figur
Geometric origin of mechanical properties of granular materials
Some remarkable generic properties, related to isostaticity and potential
energy minimization, of equilibrium configurations of assemblies of rigid,
frictionless grains are studied. Isostaticity -the uniqueness of the forces,
once the list of contacts is known- is established in a quite general context,
and the important distinction between isostatic problems under given external
loads and isostatic (rigid) structures is presented. Complete rigidity is only
guaranteed, on stability grounds, in the case of spherical cohesionless grains.
Otherwise, the network of contacts might deform elastically in response to load
increments, even though grains are rigid. This sets an uuper bound on the
contact coordination number. The approximation of small displacements (ASD)
allows to draw analogies with other model systems studied in statistical
mechanics, such as minimum paths on a lattice. It also entails the uniqueness
of the equilibrium state (the list of contacts itself is geometrically
determined) for cohesionless grains, and thus the absence of plastic
dissipation. Plasticity and hysteresis are due to the lack of such uniqueness
and may stem, apart from intergranular friction, from small, but finite,
rearrangements, in which the system jumps between two distinct potential energy
minima, or from bounded tensile contact forces. The response to load increments
is discussed. On the basis of past numerical studies, we argue that, if the ASD
is valid, the macroscopic displacement field is the solution to an elliptic
boundary value problem (akin to the Stokes problem).Comment: RevTex, 40 pages, 26 figures. Close to published paper. Misprints and
minor errors correcte
Non-Hermitian Localization and Population Biology
The time evolution of spatial fluctuations in inhomogeneous d-dimensional
biological systems is analyzed. A single species continuous growth model, in
which the population disperses via diffusion and convection is considered.
Time-independent environmental heterogeneities, such as a random distribution
of nutrients or sunlight are modeled by quenched disorder in the growth rate.
Linearization of this model of population dynamics shows that the fastest
growing localized state dominates in a time proportional to a power of the
logarithm of the system size. Using an analogy with a Schrodinger equation
subject to a constant imaginary vector potential, we propose a delocalization
transition for the steady state of the nonlinear problem at a critical
convection threshold separating localized and extended states. In the limit of
high convection velocity, the linearized growth problem in dimensions
exhibits singular scaling behavior described by a (d-1)-dimensional
generalization of the noisy Burgers' equation, with universal singularities in
the density of states associated with disorder averaged eigenvalues near the
band edge in the complex plane. The Burgers mapping leads to unusual transverse
spreading of convecting delocalized populations.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figure
Ecological Invasion, Roughened Fronts, and a Competitor's Extreme Advance: Integrating Stochastic Spatial-Growth Models
Both community ecology and conservation biology seek further understanding of
factors governing the advance of an invasive species. We model biological
invasion as an individual-based, stochastic process on a two-dimensional
landscape. An ecologically superior invader and a resident species compete for
space preemptively. Our general model includes the basic contact process and a
variant of the Eden model as special cases. We employ the concept of a
"roughened" front to quantify effects of discreteness and stochasticity on
invasion; we emphasize the probability distribution of the front-runner's
relative position. That is, we analyze the location of the most advanced
invader as the extreme deviation about the front's mean position. We find that
a class of models with different assumptions about neighborhood interactions
exhibit universal characteristics. That is, key features of the invasion
dynamics span a class of models, independently of locally detailed demographic
rules. Our results integrate theories of invasive spatial growth and generate
novel hypotheses linking habitat or landscape size (length of the invading
front) to invasion velocity, and to the relative position of the most advanced
invader.Comment: The original publication is available at
www.springerlink.com/content/8528v8563r7u2742
Anisotropy studies around the galactic centre at EeV energies with the Auger Observatory
Data from the Pierre Auger Observatory are analyzed to search for
anisotropies near the direction of the Galactic Centre at EeV energies. The
exposure of the surface array in this part of the sky is already significantly
larger than that of the fore-runner experiments. Our results do not support
previous findings of localized excesses in the AGASA and SUGAR data. We set an
upper bound on a point-like flux of cosmic rays arriving from the Galactic
Centre which excludes several scenarios predicting sources of EeV neutrons from
Sagittarius . Also the events detected simultaneously by the surface and
fluorescence detectors (the `hybrid' data set), which have better pointing
accuracy but are less numerous than those of the surface array alone, do not
show any significant localized excess from this direction.Comment: Matches published versio
Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter
Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed
evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the
Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, \nobreak{eV}. The
anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less
than from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc
(using the V\'eron-Cetty and V\'eron catalog). An updated
measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of
cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009.
The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more
precise measurement. The correlating fraction is , compared
with expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early
estimate of . The enlarged set of arrival directions is
examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects:
galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in
hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the
position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions
relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is
shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic
expectation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics on 31 August 201
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