Anomalous Drude Model

A generalization of the Drude model is studied. On the one hand, the free motion of the particles is allowed to be sub- or superdiffusive; on the other hand, the distribution of the time delay between collisions is allowed to have a long tail and even a non-vanishing first moment. The collision averaged motion is either regular diffusive or L\'evy-flight like. The anomalous diffusion coefficients show complex scaling laws. The conductivity can be calculated in the diffusive regime. The model is of interest for the phenomenological study of electronic transport in quasicrystals.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 2 figures, to be published in Physical Review Letter

Distance traveled by random walkers before absorption in a random medium

We consider the penetration length $l$ of random walkers diffusing in a medium of perfect or imperfect absorbers of number density $\rho$. We solve this problem on a lattice and in the continuum in all dimensions $D$, by means of a mean-field renormalization group. For a homogeneous system in $D>2$, we find that $l\sim \max(\xi,\rho^{-1/2})$, where $\xi$ is the absorber density correlation length. The cases of D=1 and D=2 are also treated. In the presence of long-range correlations, we estimate the temporal decay of the density of random walkers not yet absorbed. These results are illustrated by exactly solvable toy models, and extensive numerical simulations on directed percolation, where the absorbers are the active sites. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results for diffusion limited aggregation (DLA), and we propose a more effective method to measure $l$ in DLA clusters.Comment: Final version: also considers the case of imperfect absorber

Theory of the temperature and doping dependence of the Hall effect in a model with x-ray edge singularities in d=oo

We explain the anomalous features in the Hall data observed experimentally in the normal state of the high-Tc superconductors. We show that a consistent treatment of the local spin fluctuations in a model with x-ray edge singularities in d=oo reproduces the temperature and the doping dependence of the Hall constant as well as the Hall angle in the normal state. The model has also been invoked to justify the marginal-Fermi-liquid behavior, and provides a consistent explanation of the Hall anomalies for a non-Fermi liquid in d=oo.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, To appear in Phys. Rev. B, title correcte

Finite mass self-similar blowing-up solutions of a chemotaxis system with non-linear diffusion

For a specific choice of the diffusion, the parabolic-elliptic Patlak-Keller-Segel system with non-linear diffusion (also referred to as the quasi-linear Smoluchowski-Poisson equation) exhibits an interesting threshold phenomenon: there is a critical mass $M_c>0$ such that all the solutions with initial data of mass smaller or equal to $M_c$ exist globally while the solution blows up in finite time for a large class of initial data with mass greater than $M_c$. Unlike in space dimension 2, finite mass self-similar blowing-up solutions are shown to exist in space dimension $d?3$

Anisotropic Coarsening: Grain Shapes and Nonuniversal Persistence

We solve a coarsening system with small but arbitrary anisotropic surface tension and interface mobility. The resulting size-dependent growth shapes are significantly different from equilibrium microcrystallites, and have a distribution of grain sizes different from isotropic theories. As an application of our results, we show that the persistence decay exponent depends on anisotropy and hence is nonuniversal.Comment: 4 pages (revtex), 2 eps figure

Self-gravitating Brownian particles in two dimensions: the case of N=2 particles

We study the motion of N=2 overdamped Brownian particles in gravitational interaction in a space of dimension d=2. This is equivalent to the simplified motion of two biological entities interacting via chemotaxis when time delay and degradation of the chemical are ignored. This problem also bears some similarities with the stochastic motion of two point vortices in viscous hydrodynamics [Agullo & Verga, Phys. Rev. E, 63, 056304 (2001)]. We analytically obtain the density probability of finding the particles at a distance r from each other at time t. We also determine the probability that the particles have coalesced and formed a Dirac peak at time t (i.e. the probability that the reduced particle has reached r=0 at time t). Finally, we investigate the variance of the distribution and discuss the proper form of the virial theorem for this system. The reduced particle has a normal diffusion behaviour for small times with a gravity-modified diffusion coefficient =r_0^2+(4k_B/\xi\mu)(T-T_*)t, where k_BT_{*}=Gm_1m_2/2 is a critical temperature, and an anomalous diffusion for large times ~t^(1-T_*/T). As a by-product, our solution also describes the growth of the Dirac peak (condensate) that forms in the post-collapse regime of the Smoluchowski-Poisson system (or Keller-Segel model) for T<T_c=GMm/(4k_B). We find that the saturation of the mass of the condensate to the total mass is algebraic in an infinite domain and exponential in a bounded domain.Comment: Revised version (20/5/2010) accepted for publication in EPJ

Analytical results for random walk persistence

In this paper, we present the detailed calculation of the persistence exponent $\theta$ for a nearly-Markovian Gaussian process $X(t)$, a problem initially introduced in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 1420 (1996)], describing the probability that the walker never crosses the origin. New resummed perturbative and non-perturbative expressions for $\theta$ are obtained, which suggest a connection with the result of the alternative independent interval approximation (IIA). The perturbation theory is extended to the calculation of $\theta$ for non-Gaussian processes, by making a strong connection between the problem of persistence and the calculation of the energy eigenfunctions of a quantum mechanical problem. Finally, we give perturbative and non-perturbative expressions for the persistence exponent $\theta(X_0)$, describing the probability that the process remains bigger than $X_0\sqrt{}$.Comment: 23 pages; accepted for publication to Phys. Rev. E (Dec. 98

Asymptotically exact solution of a local copper-oxide model

We present an asymptotically exact solution of a local copper-oxide model abstracted from the multi-band models. The phase diagram is obtained through the renormalization-group analysis of the partition function. In the strong coupling regime, we find an exactly solved line, which crosses the quantum critical point of the mixed valence regime separating two different Fermi-liquid (FL) phases. At this critical point, a many-particle resonance is formed near the chemical potential, and a marginal-FL spectrum can be derived for the spin and charge susceptibilities.Comment: 11 pages, 1 postcript figure is appended as self-extracting archive, Revtex 2.0, ICTP preprint 199

Post-collapse dynamics of self-gravitating Brownian particles in D dimensions

We address the post-collapse dynamics of a self-gravitating gas of Brownian particles in D dimensions, in both canonical and microcanonical ensembles. In the canonical ensemble, the post-collapse evolution is marked by the formation of a Dirac peak with increasing mass. The density profile outside the peak evolves self-similarly with decreasing central density and increasing core radius. In the microcanonical ensemble, the post-collapse regime is marked by the formation of a ``binary''-like structure surrounded by an almost uniform halo with high temperature. These results are consistent with thermodynamical predictions

Anomalous Resonance of the Symmetric Single-Impurity Anderson Model in the Presence of Pairing Fluctuations

We consider the symmetric single-impurity Anderson model in the presence of pairing fluctuations. In the isotropic limit, the degrees of freedom of the local impurity are separated into hybridizing and non-hybridizing modes. The self-energy for the hybridizing modes can be obtained exactly, leading to two subbands centered at $\pm U/2$. For the non-hybridizing modes, the second order perturbation yields a singular resonance of the marginal Fermi liquid form. By multiplicative renomalization, the self-energy is derived exactly, showing the resonance is pinned at the Fermi level, while its strength is weakened by renormalization.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, no figures. To be published in Physical Review Letter