2,111 research outputs found
Zero-Temperature Dynamics of Plus/Minus J Spin Glasses and Related Models
We study zero-temperature, stochastic Ising models sigma(t) on a
d-dimensional cubic lattice with (disordered) nearest-neighbor couplings
independently chosen from a distribution mu on R and an initial spin
configuration chosen uniformly at random. Given d, call mu type I (resp., type
F) if, for every x in the lattice, sigma(x,t) flips infinitely (resp., only
finitely) many times as t goes to infinity (with probability one) --- or else
mixed type M. Models of type I and M exhibit a zero-temperature version of
``local non-equilibration''. For d=1, all types occur and the type of any mu is
easy to determine. The main result of this paper is a proof that for d=2,
plus/minus J models (where each coupling is independently chosen to be +J with
probability alpha and -J with probability 1-alpha) are type M, unlike
homogeneous models (type I) or continuous (finite mean) mu's (type F). We also
prove that all other noncontinuous disordered systems are type M for any d
greater than or equal to 2. The plus/minus J proof is noteworthy in that it is
much less ``local'' than the other (simpler) proof. Homogeneous and plus/minus
J models for d greater than or equal to 3 remain an open problem.Comment: 17 pages (RevTeX; 3 figures; to appear in Commun. Math. Phys.
Fermionic Shadow Wavefunction Variational calculations of the vacancy formation energy in He
We present a novel technique well suited to study the ground state of
inhomogeneous fermionic matter in a wide range of different systems. The system
is described using a Fermionic Shadow wavefunction (FSWF) and the energy is
computed by means of the Variational Monte Carlo technique. The general form of
FSWF is useful to describe many--body systems with the coexistence of different
phases as well in the presence of defects or impurities, but it requires
overcoming a significant sign problem. As an application, we studied the energy
to activate vacancies in solid He.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Spin Response and Neutrino Emissivity of Dense Neutron Matter
We study the spin response of cold dense neutron matter in the limit of zero
momentum transfer, and show that the frequency dependence of the
long-wavelength spin response is well constrained by sum-rules and the
asymptotic behavior of the two-particle response at high frequency. The
sum-rules are calculated using Auxiliary Field Diffusion Monte Carlo technique
and the high frequency two-particle response is calculated for several
nucleon-nucleon potentials. At nuclear saturation density, the sum-rules
suggest that the strength of the spin response peaks at 40--60
MeV, decays rapidly for 100 MeV, and has a sizable strength below
40 MeV. This strength at relatively low energy may lead to enhanced neutrino
production rates in dense neutron-rich matter at temperatures of relevance to
core-collapse supernova.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Minor change. Published versio
REM near-IR and optical photometric monitoring of Pre-Main Sequence Stars in Orion
We performed an intensive photometric monitoring of the PMS stars falling in
a field of about 10x10 arc-minutes in the vicinity of the Orion Nebula Cluster
(ONC). Photometric data were collected between November 2006 and January 2007
with the REM telescope in the VRIJHK' bands. The largest number of observations
is in the I band (about 2700 images) and in J and H bands (about 500 images in
each filter). From the observed rotational modulation, induced by the presence
of surface inhomogeneities, we derived the rotation periods for 16 stars and
improved previous determinations for the other 13. The analysis of the spectral
energy distributions and, for some stars, of high-resolution spectra provided
us with the main stellar parameters (luminosity, effective temperature, mass,
age, and vsini). We also report the serendipitous detection of two strong
flares in two of these objects. In most cases, the light-curve amplitudes
decrease progressively from the R to H band as expected for cool starspots,
while in a few cases, they can only be modelled by the presence of hot spots,
presumably ascribable to magnetospheric accretion. The application of our own
spot model to the simultaneous light curves in different bands allowed us to
deduce the spot parameters and particularly to disentangle the spot temperature
and size effects on the observed light curves.Comment: 29 pages, 24 figure
Kepler-539: a young extrasolar system with two giant planets on wide orbits and in gravitational interaction
We confirm the planetary nature of Kepler-539b (aka Kepler object of interest
K00372.01), a giant transiting exoplanet orbiting a solar-analogue G2 V star.
The mass of Kepler-539b was accurately derived thanks to a series of precise
radial velocity measurements obtained with the CAFE spectrograph mounted on the
CAHA 2.2m telescope. A simultaneous fit of the radial-velocity data and Kepler
photometry revealed that Kepler-539b is a dense Jupiter-like planet with a mass
of Mp = 0.97 Mjup and a radius of Rp = 0.747 Rjup, making a complete circular
revolution around its parent star in 125.6 days. The semi-major axis of the
orbit is roughly 0.5 au, implying that the planet is at roughly 0.45 au from
the habitable zone. By analysing the mid-transit times of the 12 transit events
of Kepler-539b recorded by the Kepler spacecraft, we found a clear modulated
transit time variation (TTV), which is attributable to the presence of a planet
c in a wider orbit. The few timings available do not allow us to precisely
estimate the properties of Kepler-539c and our analysis suggests that it has a
mass between 1.2 and 3.6 Mjup, revolving on a very eccentric orbit (0.4<e<0.6)
with a period larger than 1000 days. The high eccentricity of planet c is the
probable cause of the TTV modulation of planet b. The analysis of the CAFE
spectra revealed a relatively high photospheric lithium content, A(Li)=2.48
dex, which, together with both a gyrochronological and isochronal analysis,
suggests that the parent star is relatively young.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Percolation and number of phases in the 2D Ising model
We reconsider the percolation approach of Russo, Aizenman and Higuchi for
showing that there exist only two phases in the Ising model on the square
lattice. We give a fairly short alternative proof which is only based on FKG
monotonicity and avoids the use of GKS-type inequalities originally needed for
some background results. Our proof extends to the Ising model on other planar
lattices such as the triangular and honeycomb lattice. We can also treat the
Ising antiferromagnet in an external field and the hard-core lattice gas model
on .Comment: 22 pages. Further details on extensions. To appear in J.Math.Phys.,
special issue on `Probabilistic Methods in Statistical Physics', March 200
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