Gutzwiller description of non-magnetic Mott insulators: a dimer lattice model

We introduce a novel extension of the Gutzwiller variational wavefunction able to deal with insulators that escape any mean-field like description, as for instance non-magnetic insulators. As an application, we study the Mott transition from a paramagnetic metal into a non-magnetic Peierls, or valence-bond, Mott insulator. We analyze this model by means of our Gutzwiller wavefunction analytically in the limit of large coordination lattices, where we find that: (1) the Mott transition is first order; (2) the Peierls gap is large in the Mott insulator, although it is mainly contributed by the electron repulsion; (3) singlet-superconductivity arises around the transition.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure

The influence of convective exchanges on coandã effect

Modeling Coandã effect has been a fundamental issue in fluid dynamic research in the XX century. It has lost some interest because of the improvement in CFD, even if it could be still important in the area of the preliminary design of aerodynamic devices that benefits of fluid deflection by convex surfaces. An effective model of Coandã effect has not been defined, and fundamental questions are still open. The influence of convective heat exchange on Coandã adhesion of a fluid stream on a convex surface in the presence of a temperature gradient between the fluid and the convex surface is a problem, which affects many practical cases, but it is still marginally approached by scientific literature. This paper aims to start an effective research direction on the effects of convective heat exchange on Coandã effect. It approaches the problem with a set of CFD simulations. It analyses the previous hypotheses, which are based on Prandtl number and evidences the need of a more effective model that accounts also for the Reynolds number

Some Preconditioning Techniques for Saddle Point Problems

Saddle point problems arise frequently in many applications in science and engineering, including constrained optimization, mixed finite element formulations of partial differential equations, circuit analysis, and so forth. Indeed the formulation of most problems with constraints gives rise to saddle point systems. This paper provides a concise overview of iterative approaches for the solution of such systems which are of particular importance in the context of large scale computation. In particular we describe some of the most useful preconditioning techniques for Krylov subspace solvers applied to saddle point problems, including block and constrained preconditioners.\ud \ud The work of Michele Benzi was supported in part by the National Science Foundation grant DMS-0511336

Curve counting, instantons and McKay correspondences

We survey some features of equivariant instanton partition functions of topological gauge theories on four and six dimensional toric Kahler varieties, and their geometric and algebraic counterparts in the enumerative problem of counting holomorphic curves. We discuss the relations of instanton counting to representations of affine Lie algebras in the four-dimensional case, and to Donaldson-Thomas theory for ideal sheaves on Calabi-Yau threefolds. For resolutions of toric singularities, an algebraic structure induced by a quiver determines the instanton moduli space through the McKay correspondence and its generalizations. The correspondence elucidates the realization of gauge theory partition functions as quasi-modular forms, and reformulates the computation of noncommutative Donaldson-Thomas invariants in terms of the enumeration of generalized instantons. New results include a general presentation of the partition functions on ALE spaces as affine characters, a rigorous treatment of equivariant partition functions on Hirzebruch surfaces, and a putative connection between the special McKay correspondence and instanton counting on Hirzebruch-Jung spaces.Comment: 79 pages, 3 figures; v2: typos corrected, reference added, new summary section included; Final version to appear in Journal of Geometry and Physic

Next-to-leading order gravitational spin1-spin2 coupling with Kaluza-Klein reduction

We use the recently proposed Kaluza-Klein (KK) reduction over the time dimension, within an effective field theory (EFT) approach, to calculate the next to leading order (NLO) gravitational spin1-spin2 interaction between two spinning compact objects. It is shown here that to NLO in the spin1-spin2 interaction, the reduced KK action within the stationary approximation is sufficient to describe the gravitational interaction, and that it simplifies calculation substantially. We also find here that the gravito-magnetic vector field defined within the KK decomposition of the metric mostly dominates the mediation of the interaction. Our results coincide with those calculated in the ADM Hamiltonian formalism, and we provide another explanation for the discrepancy with the result previously derived within the EFT approach, thus demonstrating clearly the equivalence of the ADM Hamiltonian formalism and the EFT action approach.Comment: 12 pages, revtex4-1, 3 figures; v2: reference added; v3: edited, section 3 elaborated; v4: publishe

Bayesian inference for pulsar timing models

The extremely regular, periodic radio emission from millisecond pulsars makes them useful tools for studying neutron star astrophysics, general relativity, and low-frequency gravitational waves. These studies require that the observed pulse times of arrival be fit to complex timing models that describe numerous effects such as the astrometry of the source, the evolution of the pulsar's spin, the presence of a binary companion, and the propagation of the pulses through the interstellar medium. In this paper, we discuss the benefits of using Bayesian inference to obtain pulsar timing solutions. These benefits include the validation of linearized least-squares model fits when they are correct, and the proper characterization of parameter uncertainties when they are not; the incorporation of prior parameter information and of models of correlated noise; and the Bayesian comparison of alternative timing models. We describe our computational setup, which combines the timing models of Tempo2 with the nested-sampling integrator MultiNest. We compare the timing solutions generated using Bayesian inference and linearized least-squares for three pulsars: B1953+29, J2317+1439, and J1640+2224, which demonstrate a variety of the benefits that we posit.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, RevTeX 4.1. Revised in response to referee's suggestions; contains a broader discussion of model comparison, revised Monte Carlo runs, improved figure

General contact mechanics theory for randomly rough surfaces with application to rubber friction

We generalize the Persson contact mechanics and rubber friction theory to the case where both surfaces have surface roughness. The solids can be rigid, elastic or viscoelastic, and can be homogeneous or layered. We calculate the contact area, the viscoelastic contribution to the friction force, and the average interfacial separation as a function of the sliding speed and the nominal contact pressure. We illustrate the theory with numerical results for a rubber block sliding on a road surface. We find that with increasing sliding speed, the influence of the roughness on the rubber block decreases, and for typical sliding speeds involved in tire dynamics it can be neglected