3,874 research outputs found
An introduction to the Ginzburg-Landau theory of phase transitions and nonequilibrium patterns
This paper presents an introduction to phase transitions and critical
phenomena on the one hand, and nonequilibrium patterns on the other, using the
Ginzburg-Landau theory as a unified language. In the first part, mean-field
theory is presented, for both statics and dynamics, and its validity tested
self-consistently. As is well known, the mean-field approximation breaks down
below four spatial dimensions, where it can be replaced by a scaling
phenomenology. The Ginzburg-Landau formalism can then be used to justify the
phenomenological theory using the renormalization group, which elucidates the
physical and mathematical mechanism for universality. In the second part of the
paper it is shown how near pattern forming linear instabilities of dynamical
systems, a formally similar Ginzburg-Landau theory can be derived for
nonequilibrium macroscopic phenomena. The real and complex Ginzburg-Landau
equations thus obtained yield nontrivial solutions of the original dynamical
system, valid near the linear instability. Examples of such solutions are plane
waves, defects such as dislocations or spirals, and states of temporal or
spatiotemporal (extensive) chaos
Compatible Quantum Theory
Formulations of quantum mechanics can be characterized as realistic,
operationalist, or a combination of the two. In this paper a realistic theory
is defined as describing a closed system entirely by means of entities and
concepts pertaining to the system. An operationalist theory, on the other hand,
requires in addition entities external to the system. A realistic formulation
comprises an ontology, the set of (mathematical) entities that describe the
system, and assertions, the set of correct statements (predictions) the theory
makes about the objects in the ontology. Classical mechanics is the prime
example of a realistic physical theory. The present realistic formulation of
the histories approach originally introduced by Griffiths, which we call
'Compatible Quantum Theory (CQT)', consists of a 'microscopic' part (MIQM),
which applies to a closed quantum system of any size, and a 'macroscopic' part
(MAQM), which requires the participation of a large (ideally, an infinite)
system. The first (MIQM) can be fully formulated based solely on the assumption
of a Hilbert space ontology and the noncontextuality of probability values,
relying in an essential way on Gleason's theorem and on an application to
dynamics due in large part to Nistico. The microscopic theory does not,
however, possess a unique corpus of assertions, but rather a multiplicity of
contextual truths ('c-truths'), each one associated with a different framework.
This circumstance leads us to consider the microscopic theory to be physically
indeterminate and therefore incomplete, though logically coherent. The
completion of the theory requires a macroscopic mechanism for selecting a
physical framework, which is part of the macroscopic theory (MAQM). Detailed
definitions and proofs are presented in the appendice
Electronic structure of amorphous germanium disulfide via density functional molecular dynamics simulations
Using density functional molecular dynamics simulations we study the
electronic properties of glassy g-GeS. We compute the electronic density of
states, which compares very well with XPS measurements, as well as the partial
EDOS and the inverse participation ratio. We show the electronic contour plots
corresponding to different structural environments, in order to determine the
nature of the covalent bonds between the atoms. We finally study the local
atomic charges, and analyze the impact of the local environment on the charge
transfers between the atoms. The broken chemical order inherent to amorphous
systems leads to locally charged zones when integrating the atomic charges up
to nearest-neighbor distances.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures; to appear in Phys. Rev.
Modeling of droplet breakup in a microfluidic T--shaped junction with a phase--field model
A phase--field method is applied to the modeling of flow and breakup of
droplets in a T--shaped junction in the hydrodynamic regime where capillary and
viscous stresses dominate over inertial forces, which is characteristic of
microfluidic devices. The transport equations are solved numerically in the
three--dimensional geometry, and the dependence of the droplet breakup on the
flow rates, surface tension and viscosities of the two components is
investigated in detail. The model reproduces quite accurately the phase diagram
observed in experiments performed with immiscible fluids. The critical
capillary number for droplet breakup depends on the viscosity contrast, with a
trend which is analogous to that observed for free isolated droplets in
hyperbolic flow
Analysis of the Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Images of the Charge Density Wave Phase in Quasi-one-dimensional Rb0.3MoO3
The experimental STM images for the CDW phase of the blue bronze RbMoO3 have
been successfully explained on the basis of first-principles DFT calculations.
Although the density of states near the Fermi level strongly concentrates in
two of the three types of Mo atoms Mo-II and Mo-III, the STM measurement mostly
probes the contribution of the uppermost O atoms of the surface, associated
with the Mo-IO6 octahedra. In addition, it is found that the surface
concentration of Rb atoms plays a key role in determining the surface nesting
vector and hence the periodicity of the CDW modulation. Significant
experimental inhomogeneities of the b* surface component of the wavevector of
the modulation, probed by STM, are reported. The calculated changes in the
surface nesting vector are consistent with the observed experimental
inhomogeneities.Comment: 4 pages 5 Figure
Determination of Compton profiles at solid surfaces from first-principles calculations
Projected momentum distributions of electrons, i.e. Compton profiles above
the topmost atomic layer have recently become experimentally accessible by
kinetic electron emission in grazing-incidence scattering of atoms at
atomically flat single crystal metal surfaces. Sub-threshold emission by slow
projectiles was shown to be sensitive to high-momentum components of the local
Compton profile near the surface. We present a method to extract momentum
distribution, Compton profiles, and Wigner and Husimi phase space distributions
from ab-initio density-functional calculations of electronic structure. An
application for such distributions to scattering experiments is discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR
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