780 research outputs found
Ion structure in warm dense matter: benchmarking solutions of hypernetted-chain equations by first-principle simulations
We investigate the microscopic structure of strongly coupled ions in warm dense matter using ab initio simulations and hypernetted chain (HNC) equations. We demonstrate that an approximate treatment of quantum effects by weak pseudopotentials fails to describe the highly degenerate electrons in warm dense matter correctly. However, one-component HNC calculations for the ions agree well with first-principles simulations if a linearly screened Coulomb potential is used. These HNC results can be further improved by adding a short-range repulsion that accounts for bound electrons. Examples are given for recently studied light elements, lithium and beryllium, and for aluminum where the extra short-range repulsion is essential
Structure of strongly coupled, multi-component plasmas
We investigate the short-range structure in strongly coupled fluidlike plasmas using the hypernetted chain approach generalized to multicomponent systems. Good agreement with numerical simulations validates this method for the parameters considered. We found a strong mutual impact on the spatial arrangement for systems with multiple ion species which is most clearly pronounced in the static structure factor. Quantum pseudopotentials were used to mimic diffraction and exchange effects in dense electron-ion systems. We demonstrate that the different kinds of pseudopotentials proposed lead to large differences in both the pair distributions and structure factors. Large discrepancies were also found in the predicted ion feature of the x-ray scattering signal, illustrating the need for comparison with full quantum calculations or experimental verification
Shuffling cards, factoring numbers, and the quantum baker's map
It is pointed out that an exactly solvable permutation operator, viewed as
the quantization of cyclic shifts, is useful in constructing a basis in which
to study the quantum baker's map, a paradigm system of quantum chaos. In the
basis of this operator the eigenfunctions of the quantum baker's map are
compressed by factors of around five or more. We show explicitly its connection
to an operator that is closely related to the usual quantum baker's map. This
permutation operator has interesting connections to the art of shuffling cards
as well as to the quantum factoring algorithm of Shor via the quantum order
finding one. Hence we point out that this well-known quantum algorithm makes
crucial use of a quantum chaotic operator, or at least one that is close to the
quantization of the left-shift, a closeness that we also explore
quantitatively.Comment: 12 pgs. Substantially elaborated version, including a new route to
the quantum bakers map. To appear in J. Phys.
One-sided versus two-sided stochastic descriptions
It is well-known that discrete-time finite-state Markov Chains, which are
described by one-sided conditional probabilities which describe a dependence on
the past as only dependent on the present, can also be described as
one-dimensional Markov Fields, that is, nearest-neighbour Gibbs measures for
finite-spin models, which are described by two-sided conditional probabilities.
In such Markov Fields the time interpretation of past and future is being
replaced by the space interpretation of an interior volume, surrounded by an
exterior to the left and to the right.
If we relax the Markov requirement to weak dependence, that is, continuous
dependence, either on the past (generalising the Markov-Chain description) or
on the external configuration (generalising the Markov-Field description), it
turns out this equivalence breaks down, and neither class contains the other.
In one direction this result has been known for a few years, in the opposite
direction a counterexample was found recently. Our counterexample is based on
the phenomenon of entropic repulsion in long-range Ising (or "Dyson") models.Comment: 13 pages, Contribution for "Statistical Mechanics of Classical and
Disordered Systems
On the exchange of intersection and supremum of sigma-fields in filtering theory
We construct a stationary Markov process with trivial tail sigma-field and a
nondegenerate observation process such that the corresponding nonlinear
filtering process is not uniquely ergodic. This settles in the negative a
conjecture of the author in the ergodic theory of nonlinear filters arising
from an erroneous proof in the classic paper of H. Kunita (1971), wherein an
exchange of intersection and supremum of sigma-fields is taken for granted.Comment: 20 page
Chaos for Liouville probability densities
Using the method of symbolic dynamics, we show that a large class of
classical chaotic maps exhibit exponential hypersensitivity to perturbation,
i.e., a rapid increase with time of the information needed to describe the
perturbed time evolution of the Liouville density, the information attaining
values that are exponentially larger than the entropy increase that results
from averaging over the perturbation. The exponential rate of growth of the
ratio of information to entropy is given by the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy of the
map. These findings generalize and extend results obtained for the baker's map
[R. Schack and C. M. Caves, Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 3413 (1992)].Comment: 26 pages in REVTEX, no figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Fluctuations in Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics: Models, Mathematical Theory, Physical Mechanisms
The fluctuations in nonequilibrium systems are under intense theoretical and
experimental investigation. Topical ``fluctuation relations'' describe
symmetries of the statistical properties of certain observables, in a variety
of models and phenomena. They have been derived in deterministic and, later, in
stochastic frameworks. Other results first obtained for stochastic processes,
and later considered in deterministic dynamics, describe the temporal evolution
of fluctuations. The field has grown beyond expectation: research works and
different perspectives are proposed at an ever faster pace. Indeed,
understanding fluctuations is important for the emerging theory of
nonequilibrium phenomena, as well as for applications, such as those of
nanotechnological and biophysical interest. However, the links among the
different approaches and the limitations of these approaches are not fully
understood. We focus on these issues, providing: a) analysis of the theoretical
models; b) discussion of the rigorous mathematical results; c) identification
of the physical mechanisms underlying the validity of the theoretical
predictions, for a wide range of phenomena.Comment: 44 pages, 2 figures. To appear in Nonlinearity (2007
Einstein's fluctuation formula. A historical overview
A historical overview is given on the basic results which appeared by the
year 1926 concerning Einstein's fluctuation formula of black-body radiation, in
the context of light-quanta and wave-particle duality. On the basis of the
original publications (from Planck's derivation of the black-body spectrum and
Einstein's introduction of the photons up to the results of Born, Heisenberg
and Jordan on the quantization of a continuum) a comparative study is presented
on the first line of thoughts that led to the concept of quanta. The nature of
the particle-like fluctuations and the wave-like fluctuations are analysed by
using several approaches. With the help of the classical probability theory, it
is shown that the infinite divisibility of the Bose distribution leads to the
new concept of classical poissonian photo-multiplets or to the binary
photo-multiplets of fermionic character. As an application, Einstein's
fluctuation formula is derived as a sum of fermion type fluctuations of the
binary photo-multiplets.Comment: 34 page
Defining the impaction frequency and threshold force required for femoral impaction grafting in revision hip arthroplasty: A human cadaveric mechanical study
Impaired executive function in male MDMA ("ecsatsy") users.
Rationale: Long-term users of ecstasy have shown impaired performance on a multitude of cognitive abilities (most notably memory, attention, executive function). Research into the pattern of MDMA effects on executive functions remains fragmented, however. Objectives: To determine more systematically what aspects of executive function are affected by a history of MDMA use, by using a model that divides executive functions into cognitive flexibility, information updating and monitoring, and inhibition of pre-potent responses. Methods: MDMA users and controls who abstained from ecstasy and other substances for at least 2 weeks were tested with a computerized cognitive test battery to assess their abilities on tasks that measure the three submodalities of executive function, and their combined contribution on two more complex executive tasks. Because of sex-differential effects of MDMA reported in the literature, data from males and females were analyzed separately. Results: Male MDMA users performed significantly worse on the tasks that tap on cognitive flexibility and on the combined executive function tasks; no differences were found on the other cognitive tasks. Female users showed no impairments on any of the tasks. Conclusions: The present data suggest that a history of MDMA use selectively impairs executive function. In male users, cognitive flexibility was impaired and increased perseverative behavior was observed. The inability to adjust behavior rapidly and flexibly may have repercussions for daily life activities
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