256 research outputs found
Classification of Complex Polynomial Vector Fields in One Complex Variable
A classification of the global structure of monic and centered one-variable
complex polynomial vector fields is presented.Comment: 57 pages, 35 figures, submitted to the Journal of Difference
Equations and Application
Profile and width of rough interfaces
In the context of Landau theory and its field theoretical refinements,
interfaces between coexisting phases are described by intrinsic profiles. These
intrinsic interface profiles, however, are neither directly accessible by
experiment nor by computer simulation as they are broadened by long-wavelength
capillary waves. In this paper we study the separation of the small scale
intrinsic structure from the large scale capillary wave fluctuations in the
Monte Carlo simulated three-dimensional Ising model. To this purpose, a
blocking procedure is applied, using the block size as a variable cutoff, and a
translationally invariant method to determine the interface position of
strongly fluctuating profiles on small length scales is introduced. While the
capillary wave picture is confirmed on large length scales and its limit of
validity is estimated, an intrinsic regime is, contrary to expectations, not
observed.Comment: 18 pages, 4 Postscript figures, LaTeX2e, formulation of sec.3.2
improved, 1 reference adde
Pre-dewetting transition on a hydrophobic wall: Statics and dynamics
For one-component fluids, we predict a pre-dewetting phase transition between
a thin and thick low-density layer in liquid on a wall repelling the fluid.
This is the case of a hydrophobic wall for water. A pre-dewetting line starts
from the coexistence curve and ends at a surface critical point in the phase
diagram. We calculate this line numerically using the van der Waals model and
analytically using the free energy expansion up to the quartic order. We also
examine the pre-dewetting dynamics of a layer created on a hydrophobic spot on
a heterogeneous wall. It is from a thin to thick layer during decompression and
from a thick to thin layer during compression. Upon the transition, a liquid
region above the film is cooled for decompression and heated for compression
due to latent heat convection and a small pressure pulse is emitted from the
film into the liquid.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figure
Intrinsic profiles and capillary waves at homopolymer interfaces: a Monte Carlo study
A popular concept which describes the structure of polymer interfaces by
``intrinsic profiles'' centered around a two dimensional surface, the ``local
interface position'', is tested by extensive Monte Carlo simulations of
interfaces between demixed homopolymer phases in symmetric binary (AB)
homopolymer blends, using the bond fluctuation model. The simulations are done
in an LxLxD geometry. The interface is forced to run parallel to the LxL planes
by imposing periodic boundary conditions in these directions and fixed boundary
conditions in the D direction, with one side favoring A and the other side
favoring B. Intrinsic profiles are calculated as a function of the ``coarse
graining length'' B by splitting the system into columns of size BxBxD and
averaging in each column over profiles relative to the local interface
position. The results are compared to predictions of the self-consistent field
theory. It is shown that the coarse graining length can be chosen such that the
interfacial width matches that of the self-consistent field profiles, and that
for this choice of B the ``intrinsic'' profiles compare well with the
theoretical predictions.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.
Molecular Dynamics Study of the Nematic-Isotropic Interface
We present large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of a nematic-isotropic
interface in a system of repulsive ellipsoidal molecules, focusing in
particular on the capillary wave fluctuations of the interfacial position. The
interface anchors the nematic phase in a planar way, i.e., the director aligns
parallel to the interface. Capillary waves in the direction parallel and
perpendicular to the director are considered separately. We find that the
spectrum is anisotropic, the amplitudes of capillary waves being larger in the
direction perpendicular to the director. In the long wavelength limit, however,
the spectrum becomes isotropic and compares well with the predictions of a
simple capillary wave theory.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.
Surface layering of liquids: The role of surface tension
Recent measurements show that the free surfaces of liquid metals and alloys
are always layered, regardless of composition and surface tension; a result
supported by three decades of simulations and theory. Recent theoretical work
claims, however, that at low enough temperatures the free surfaces of all
liquids should become layered, unless preempted by bulk freezing. Using x-ray
reflectivity and diffuse scattering measurements we show that there is no
observable surface-induced layering in water at T=298 K, thus highlighting a
fundamental difference between dielectric and metallic liquids. The
implications of this result for the question in the title are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B. 69 (2004
Monte Carlo Methods for Estimating Interfacial Free Energies and Line Tensions
Excess contributions to the free energy due to interfaces occur for many
problems encountered in the statistical physics of condensed matter when
coexistence between different phases is possible (e.g. wetting phenomena,
nucleation, crystal growth, etc.). This article reviews two methods to estimate
both interfacial free energies and line tensions by Monte Carlo simulations of
simple models, (e.g. the Ising model, a symmetrical binary Lennard-Jones fluid
exhibiting a miscibility gap, and a simple Lennard-Jones fluid). One method is
based on thermodynamic integration. This method is useful to study flat and
inclined interfaces for Ising lattices, allowing also the estimation of line
tensions of three-phase contact lines, when the interfaces meet walls (where
"surface fields" may act). A generalization to off-lattice systems is described
as well.
The second method is based on the sampling of the order parameter
distribution of the system throughout the two-phase coexistence region of the
model. Both the interface free energies of flat interfaces and of (spherical or
cylindrical) droplets (or bubbles) can be estimated, including also systems
with walls, where sphere-cap shaped wall-attached droplets occur. The
curvature-dependence of the interfacial free energy is discussed, and estimates
for the line tensions are compared to results from the thermodynamic
integration method. Basic limitations of all these methods are critically
discussed, and an outlook on other approaches is given
Some examples of Baker domains
We construct entire functions with hyperbolic and simply parabolic Baker
domains on which the functions are not univalent. The Riemann maps from the
unit disk to these Baker domains extend continuously to certain arcs on the
unit circle. The results answer questions posed by Fagella and Henriksen, Baker
and Dominguez, and others.Comment: 13 page
2-D Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Induced Plasma Dynamics in the Near-Core Region of a Galaxy Cluster
We present results from numerical simulations of the cooling-core cluster
A2199 produced by the two-dimensional (2-D) resistive magnetohydrodynamics
(MHD) code MACH2. In our simulations we explore the effect of anisotropic
thermal conduction on the energy balance of the system. The results from
idealized cases in 2-D axisymmetric geometry underscore the importance of the
initial plasma density in ICM simulations, especially the near-core values
since the radiation cooling rate is proportional to . Heat conduction
is found to be non-effective in preventing catastrophic cooling in this
cluster. In addition we performed 2-D planar MHD simulations starting from
initial conditions deliberately violating both thermal balance and hydrostatic
equilibrium in the ICM, to assess contributions of the convective terms in the
energy balance of the system against anisotropic thermal conduction. We find
that in this case work done by the pressure on the plasma can dominate the
early evolution of the internal energy over anisotropic thermal conduction in
the presence of subsonic flows, thereby reducing the impact of the magnetic
field. Deviations from hydrostatic equilibrium near the cluster core may be
associated with transient activity of a central active galactic nucleus and/or
remnant dynamical activity in the ICM and warrant further study in three
dimensions.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Atomic X-ray Spectroscopy of Accreting Black Holes
Current astrophysical research suggests that the most persistently luminous
objects in the Universe are powered by the flow of matter through accretion
disks onto black holes. Accretion disk systems are observed to emit copious
radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, each energy band providing
access to rather distinct regimes of physical conditions and geometric scale.
X-ray emission probes the innermost regions of the accretion disk, where
relativistic effects prevail. While this has been known for decades, it also
has been acknowledged that inferring physical conditions in the relativistic
regime from the behavior of the X-ray continuum is problematic and not
satisfactorily constraining. With the discovery in the 1990s of iron X-ray
lines bearing signatures of relativistic distortion came the hope that such
emission would more firmly constrain models of disk accretion near black holes,
as well as provide observational criteria by which to test general relativity
in the strong field limit. Here we provide an introduction to this phenomenon.
While the presentation is intended to be primarily tutorial in nature, we aim
also to acquaint the reader with trends in current research. To achieve these
ends, we present the basic applications of general relativity that pertain to
X-ray spectroscopic observations of black hole accretion disk systems, focusing
on the Schwarzschild and Kerr solutions to the Einstein field equations. To
this we add treatments of the fundamental concepts associated with the
theoretical and modeling aspects of accretion disks, as well as relevant topics
from observational and theoretical X-ray spectroscopy.Comment: 63 pages, 21 figures, Einstein Centennial Review Article, Canadian
Journal of Physics, in pres
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