Scattering Calculations with Wavelets

We show that the use of wavelet bases for solving the momentum-space scattering integral equation leads to sparse matrices which can simplify the solution. Wavelet bases are applied to calculate the K-matrix for nucleon-nucleon scattering with the s-wave Malfliet-Tjon V potential. We introduce a new method, which uses special properties of the wavelets, for evaluating the singular part of the integral. Analysis of this test problem indicates that a significant reduction in computational size can be achieved for realistic few-body scattering problems.Comment: 26 pages, Latex, 6 eps figure

Tunable Superconducting Phase Transition in Metal-Decorated Graphene Sheets

Using typical experimental techniques it is difficult to separate the effects of carrier density and disorder on the superconducting transition in two dimensions. Using a simple fabrication procedure based on metal layer dewetting, we have produced graphene sheets decorated with a non-percolating network of nanoscale tin clusters. These metal clusters both efficiently dope the graphene substrate and induce long-range superconducting correlations. This allows us to study the superconducting transition at fixed disorder and variable carrier concentration. We find that despite structural inhomogeneity on mesoscopic length scales (10-100 nm), this material behaves electronically as a homogenous dirty superconductor. Our simple self-assembly method establishes graphene as an ideal tunable substrate for studying induced two-dimensional electronic systems at fixed disorder and our technique can readily be extended to other order parameters such as magnetism

Application of wavelets to singular integral scattering equations

The use of orthonormal wavelet basis functions for solving singular integral scattering equations is investigated. It is shown that these basis functions lead to sparse matrix equations which can be solved by iterative techniques. The scaling properties of wavelets are used to derive an efficient method for evaluating the singular integrals. The accuracy and efficiency of the wavelet transforms is demonstrated by solving the two-body T-matrix equation without partial wave projection. The resulting matrix equation which is characteristic of multiparticle integral scattering equations is found to provide an efficient method for obtaining accurate approximate solutions to the integral equation. These results indicate that wavelet transforms may provide a useful tool for studying few-body systems.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Velocity Fluctuations in Dynamical Fracture: the Role of Microcracks

We address the velocity fluctuations of fastly moving cracks in stressed materials. One possible mechanism for such fluctuations is the interaction of the main crack with micro cracks (irrespective whether these are existing material defects or they form during the crack evolution). We analyze carefully the dynamics (in 2 space dimensions) of one macro and one micro crack, and demonstrate that their interaction results in a {\em large} and {\em rapid} velocity fluctuation, in qualitative correspondence with typical velocity fluctuations observed in experiments. In developing the theory of the dynamical interaction we invoke an approximation that affords a reduction in mathematical complexity to a simple set of ordinary differential equations for the positions of the cracks tips; we propose that this kind of approximation has a range of usefulness that exceeds the present context.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Nonlinear lattice model of viscoelastic Mode III fracture

We study the effect of general nonlinear force laws in viscoelastic lattice models of fracture, focusing on the existence and stability of steady-state Mode III cracks. We show that the hysteretic behavior at small driving is very sensitive to the smoothness of the force law. At large driving, we find a Hopf bifurcation to a straight crack whose velocity is periodic in time. The frequency of the unstable bifurcating mode depends on the smoothness of the potential, but is very close to an exact period-doubling instability. Slightly above the onset of the instability, the system settles into a exactly period-doubled state, presumably connected to the aforementioned bifurcation structure. We explicitly solve for this new state and map out its velocity-driving relation

Extinction Rates for Fluctuation-Induced Metastabilities : A Real-Space WKB Approach

The extinction of a single species due to demographic stochasticity is analyzed. The discrete nature of the individual agents and the Poissonian noise related to the birth-death processes result in local extinction of a metastable population, as the system hits the absorbing state. The Fokker-Planck formulation of that problem fails to capture the statistics of large deviations from the metastable state, while approximations appropriate close to the absorbing state become, in general, invalid as the population becomes large. To connect these two regimes, a master equation based on a real space WKB method is presented, and is shown to yield an excellent approximation for the decay rate and the extreme events statistics all the way down to the absorbing state. The details of the underlying microscopic process, smeared out in a mean field treatment, are shown to be crucial for an exact determination of the extinction exponent. This general scheme is shown to reproduce the known results in the field, to yield new corollaries and to fit quite precisely the numerical solutions. Moreover it allows for systematic improvement via a series expansion where the small parameter is the inverse of the number of individuals in the metastable state

Front Propagation up a Reaction Rate Gradient

We expand on a previous study of fronts in finite particle number reaction-diffusion systems in the presence of a reaction rate gradient in the direction of the front motion. We study the system via reaction-diffusion equations, using the expedient of a cutoff in the reaction rate below some critical density to capture the essential role of fl uctuations in the system. For large density, the velocity is large, which allows for an approximate analytic treatment. We derive an analytic approximation for the front velocity depe ndence on bulk particle density, showing that the velocity indeed diverge s in the infinite density limit. The form in which diffusion is impleme nted, namely nearest-neighbor hopping on a lattice, is seen to have an essential impact on the nature of the divergence

Symplectic geometry on moduli spaces of J-holomorphic curves

Let (M,\omega) be a symplectic manifold, and Sigma a compact Riemann surface. We define a 2-form on the space of immersed symplectic surfaces in M, and show that the form is closed and non-degenerate, up to reparametrizations. Then we give conditions on a compatible almost complex structure J on (M,\omega) that ensure that the restriction of the form to the moduli space of simple immersed J-holomorphic Sigma-curves in a homology class A in H_2(M,\Z) is a symplectic form, and show applications and examples. In particular, we deduce sufficient conditions for the existence of J-holomorphic Sigma-curves in a given homology class for a generic J.Comment: 16 page

Complex Systems Science: Dreams of Universality, Reality of Interdisciplinarity

Using a large database (~ 215 000 records) of relevant articles, we empirically study the "complex systems" field and its claims to find universal principles applying to systems in general. The study of references shared by the papers allows us to obtain a global point of view on the structure of this highly interdisciplinary field. We show that its overall coherence does not arise from a universal theory but instead from computational techniques and fruitful adaptations of the idea of self-organization to specific systems. We also find that communication between different disciplines goes through specific "trading zones", ie sub-communities that create an interface around specific tools (a DNA microchip) or concepts (a network).Comment: Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (2012) 10.1002/asi.2264