Exact Solutions for Loewner Evolutions

In this note, we solve the Loewner equation in the upper half-plane with forcing function xi(t), for the cases in which xi(t) has a power-law dependence on time with powers 0, 1/2 and 1. In the first case the trace of singularities is a line perpendicular to the real axis. In the second case the trace of singularities can do three things. If xi(t)=2*(kappa*t)^1/2, the trace is a straight line set at an angle to the real axis. If xi(t)=2*(kappa*(1-t))^1/2, the behavior of the trace as t approaches 1 depends on the coefficient kappa. Our calculations give an explicit solution in which for kappa<4 the trace spirals into a point in the upper half-plane, while for kappa>4 it intersects the real axis. We also show that for kappa=9/2 the trace becomes a half-circle. The third case with forcing xi(t)=t gives a trace that moves outward to infinity, but stays within fixed distance from the real axis. We also solve explicitly a more general version of the evolution equation, in which xi(t) is a superposition of the values +1 and -1.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, LaTeX, one minor correction, and improved hyperref

Conducting-angle-based percolation in the XY model

We define a percolation problem on the basis of spin configurations of the two dimensional XY model. Neighboring spins belong to the same percolation cluster if their orientations differ less than a certain threshold called the conducting angle. The percolation properties of this model are studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations and a finite-size scaling analysis. Our simulations show the existence of percolation transitions when the conducting angle is varied, and we determine the transition point for several values of the XY coupling. It appears that the critical behavior of this percolation model can be well described by the standard percolation theory. The critical exponents of the percolation transitions, as determined by finite-size scaling, agree with the universality class of the two-dimensional percolation model on a uniform substrate. This holds over the whole temperature range, even in the low-temperature phase where the XY substrate is critical in the sense that it displays algebraic decay of correlations.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figure

Exact valence bond entanglement entropy and probability distribution in the XXX spin chain and the Potts model

By relating the ground state of Temperley-Lieb hamiltonians to partition functions of 2D statistical mechanics systems on a half plane, and using a boundary Coulomb gas formalism, we obtain in closed form the valence bond entanglement entropy as well as the valence bond probability distribution in these ground states. We find in particular that for the XXX spin chain, the number N_c of valence bonds connecting a subsystem of size L to the outside goes, in the thermodynamic limit, as = (4/pi^2) ln L, disproving a recent conjecture that this should be related with the von Neumann entropy, and thus equal to 1/(3 ln 2) ln L. Our results generalize to the Q-state Potts model.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Shear banding of colloidal glasses - a dynamic first order transition?

We demonstrate that application of an increasing shear field on a glass leads to an intriguing dynamic first order transition in analogy to equilibrium transitions. By following the particle dynamics as a function of the driving field in a colloidal glass, we identify a critical shear rate upon which the diffusion time scale of the glass exhibits a sudden discontinuity. Using a new dynamic order parameter, we show that this discontinuity is analogous to a first order transition, in which the applied stress acts as the conjugate field on the system's dynamic evolution. These results offer new perspectives to comprehend the generic shear banding instability of a wide range of amorphous materials.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Angular spectrum of quantized light beams

We introduce a generalized angular spectrum representation for quantized light beams. By using our formalism, we are able to derive simple expressions for the electromagnetic vector potential operator in the case of: {a)} time-independent paraxial fields, {b)} time-dependent paraxial fields, and {c)} non-paraxial fields. For the first case, the well known paraxial results are fully recovered.Comment: 3 pages, no figure

End to end distance on contour loops of random gaussian surfaces

A self consistent field theory that describes a part of a contour loop of a random Gaussian surface as a trajectory interacting with itself is constructed. The exponent \nu characterizing the end to end distance is obtained by a Flory argument. The result is compared with different previuos derivations and is found to agree with that of Kondev and Henley over most of the range of the roughening exponent of the random surface.Comment: 7 page

Criticality in Dynamic Arrest: Correspondence between Glasses and Traffic

Dynamic arrest is a general phenomenon across a wide range of dynamic systems, but the universality of dynamic arrest phenomena remains unclear. We relate the emergence of traffic jams in a simple traffic flow model to the dynamic slow down in kinetically constrained models for glasses. In kinetically constrained models, the formation of glass becomes a true (singular) phase transition in the limit $T\to 0$. Similarly, using the Nagel-Schreckenberg model to simulate traffic flow, we show that the emergence of jammed traffic acquires the signature of a sharp transition in the deterministic limit \pp\to 1, corresponding to overcautious driving. We identify a true dynamical critical point marking the onset of coexistence between free flowing and jammed traffic, and demonstrate its analogy to the kinetically constrained glass models. We find diverging correlations analogous to those at a critical point of thermodynamic phase transitions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Intersecting Loop Models on Z^D: Rigorous Results

We consider a general class of (intersecting) loop models in D dimensions, including those related to high-temperature expansions of well-known spin models. We find that the loop models exhibit some interesting features - often in the ``unphysical'' region of parameter space where all connection with the original spin Hamiltonian is apparently lost. For a particular n=2, D=2 model, we establish the existence of a phase transition, possibly associated with divergent loops. However, for n >> 1 and arbitrary D there is no phase transition marked by the appearance of large loops. Furthermore, at least for D=2 (and n large) we find a phase transition characterised by broken translational symmetry.Comment: LaTeX+elsart.cls; 30 p., 6 figs; submitted to Nucl. Phys. B; a few minor typos correcte

A constrained Potts antiferromagnet model with an interface representation

We define a four-state Potts model ensemble on the square lattice, with the constraints that neighboring spins must have different values, and that no plaquette may contain all four states. The spin configurations may be mapped into those of a 2-dimensional interface in a 2+5 dimensional space. If this interface is in a Gaussian rough phase (as is the case for most other models with such a mapping), then the spin correlations are critical and their exponents can be related to the stiffness governing the interface fluctuations. Results of our Monte Carlo simulations show height fluctuations with an anomalous dependence on wavevector, intermediate between the behaviors expected in a rough phase and in a smooth phase; we argue that the smooth phase (which would imply long-range spin order) is the best interpretation.Comment: 61 pages, LaTeX. Submitted to J. Phys.