27,257 research outputs found
A microscopic description of the aging dynamics: fluctuation-dissipation relations, effective temperature and heterogeneities
We consider the dynamics of a diluted mean-field spin glass model in the
aging regime. The model presents a particularly rich heterogeneous behavior. In
order to catch this behavior, we perform a **spin-by-spin analysis** for a
**given disorder realization**. The results compare well with the outcome of a
static calculation which uses the ``survey propagation'' algorithm of Mezard,
Parisi, and Zecchina [Sciencexpress 10.1126/science.1073287 (2002)]. We thus
confirm the connection between statics and dynamics at the level of single
degrees of freedom. Moreover, working with single-site quantities, we can
introduce a new response-vs-correlation plot, which clearly shows how
heterogeneous degrees of freedom undergo coherent structural rearrangements.
Finally we discuss the general scenario which emerges from our work and
(possibly) applies to more realistic glassy models. Interestingly enough, some
features of this scenario can be understood recurring to thermometric
considerations.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures (7 eps files
Message passing and Monte Carlo algorithms: connecting fixed points with metastable states
Mean field-like approximations (including naive mean field, Bethe and Kikuchi
and more general Cluster Variational Methods) are known to stabilize ordered
phases at temperatures higher than the thermodynamical transition. For example,
in the Edwards-Anderson model in 2-dimensions these approximations predict a
spin glass transition at finite . Here we show that the spin glass solutions
of the Cluster Variational Method (CVM) at plaquette level do describe well
actual metastable states of the system. Moreover, we prove that these states
can be used to predict non trivial statistical quantities, like the
distribution of the overlap between two replicas. Our results support the idea
that message passing algorithms can be helpful to accelerate Monte Carlo
simulations in finite dimensional systems.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Heat transfer simulation of evacuated tube collectors (ETC): An application to a prototype
Since fossil fuels shortages are predicted for the forthcoming generations, the use of renewable energy sources is playing a key role and is strongly recommended worldwide by national and international regulations. In this scenario, solar collectors for hot water preparation, space heating and cooling are becoming an increasingly interesting alternative, especially in the building sector because of population growth. Thus, the present paper is addressed to numerically investigate the thermal behaviour of a prototypal evacuated tube by solving the heat transfer differential equations using the Finite Element Method. This is to reproduce the heat transfer process occurring within the real system, helping the industry improve the prototype
Nondiffusive suprathermal ion transport in simple magnetized toroidal plasmas
We investigate suprathermal ion dynamics in simple magnetized toroidal
plasmas in the pres- ence of electrostatic turbulence driven by the ideal
interchange instability. Turbulent fields from fluid simulations are used in
the non-relativistic equation of ion motion to compute suprathermal tracer ion
trajectories. Suprathermal ion dispersion starts with a brief ballistic phase,
during which particles do not interact with the plasma, followed by a
turbulence interaction phase. In this one simple system, we observe the entire
spectrum of suprathermal ion dynamics, from subdiffusion to superdiffusion,
depending on beam energy and turbulence amplitude. We estimate the duration of
the ballistic phase and identify basic mechanisms during the interaction phase
that determine the character of suprathermal ion dispersion upon the beam
energy and turbulence fluctuation amplitude.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted in PR
A molecular dynamics simulation of water confined in a cylindrical SiO2 pore
A molecular dynamics simulation of water confined in a silica pore is
performed in order to compare it with recent experimental results on water
confined in porous Vycor glass at room temperature. A cylindrical pore of 40 A
is created inside a vitreous SiO2 cell, obtained by computer simulation. The
resulting cavity offers to water a rough hydrophilic surface and its geometry
and size are similar to those of a typical pore in porous Vycor glass. The
site-site distribution functions of water inside the pore are evaluated and
compared with bulk water results. We find that the modifications of the
site-site distribution functions, induced by confinement, are in qualitative
agreement with the recent neutron diffraction experiment, confirming that the
disturbance to the microscopic structure of water mainly concerns orientational
arrangement of neighbouring molecules. A layer analysis of MD results indicates
that, while the geometrical constraint gives an almost constant density profile
up to the layers closest to the interface, with an uniform average number of
hydrogen bonds (HB), the hydrophilic interaction produces the wetting of the
pore surface at the expenses of the adjacent water layers. Moreover the
orientational disorder togheter with a reduction of the average number of HB
persists in the layers close to the interface, while water molecules cluster in
the middle of the pore at a density and with a coordination similar to bulk
water.Comment: RevTex, 11 pages, 12 figures; to appear in June 15 issue of J. Chem.
Phy
Helioseismology and the solar age
The problem of measuring the solar age by means of helioseismology hasbeen
recently revisited by Guenther & Demarque (1997) and by Weiss & Schlattl
(1998). Different best values for and different assessment of
the uncertainty resulted from these two works. We show that depending on the
way seismic data are used, one may obtain the value
Gy, close to the age of the oldest meteorites, Gy, like in
the first paper, or above 5 Gy like in the second paper. The discrepancy in the
seismic estimates of the solar age may be eliminated by assuming higher than
the standard metal abundance and/or an upward revision of the opacities in the
solar radiative interior.We argue that the most accurate and robust seismic
measure of the solar age are the small frequency separations,
, for spherical harmonic degrees
and radial orders .The seismic age inferred by
minimization of the sum of squared differences between the model and the solar
small separations is , a number consistent with
meteoritic data.Our analysis supports earlier suggestions of using small
frequency separations as stellar age indicators.Comment: 8 pages + 4 ps figures included, LaTeX file with l-aa.sty, submitted
to Astronomy and Astrophysic
CARMA interferometric observations of 2MASS J044427+2512: the first spatially resolved observations of thermal emission of a brown dwarf disk
We present CARMA 1.3 mm continuum data of the disk surrounding the young
brown dwarf 2MASS J044427+2512 in the Taurus molecular cloud. The high angular
resolution of the CARMA observations (0.16 arcsec) allows us to spatially
resolve for the first time the thermal emission from dust around a brown dwarf.
We analyze the interferometric visibilities and constrain the disk outer radius
adopting disk models with power-law radial profiles of the dust surface
density. In the case of a power-law index equal to or lower than 1, we obtain a
disk radius in the range of about 15 - 30 AU, while larger disks are inferred
for steeper radial profiles. By combining this information on the disk spatial
extent with the sub-mm spectral index of this source we find conclusive
evidence for mm-sized grains, or larger, in this brown dwarf disk. We discuss
the implications of our results on the models of dust evolution in
proto-planetary disks and brown dwarf formation.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Confined water in the low hydration regime
Molecular dynamics results on water confined in a silica pore in the low
hydration regime are presented. Strong layering effects are found due to the
hydrophilic character of the substrate. The local properties of water are
studied as function of both temperature and hydration level. The interaction of
the thin films of water with the silica atoms induces a strong distortion of
the hydrogen bond network. The residence time of the water molecules is
dependent on the distance from the surface. Its behavior shows a transition
from a brownian to a non-brownian regime approaching the substrate in agreement
with results found in studies of water at contact with globular proteins.Comment: 7 pages with 12 figures (RevTeX4). To be published on J. Chem. Phy
Brown dwarf disks with ALMA
We present ALMA continuum and spectral line data at 0.89 mm and 3.2 mm for
three disks surrounding young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars in the
Taurus star forming region. Dust thermal emission is detected and spatially
resolved for all the three disks, while CO(J=3-2) emission is seen in two
disks. We analyze the continuum visibilities and constrain the disks physical
structure in dust. The results of our analysis show that the disks are
relatively large, the smallest one with an outer radius of about 70 AU. The
inferred disk radii, radial profiles of the dust surface density and disk to
central object mass ratios lie within the ranges found for disks around more
massive young stars. We derive from our observations the wavelength dependence
of the millimeter dust opacity. In all the three disks data are consistent with
the presence of grains with at least millimeter sizes, as also found for disks
around young stars, and confirm that the early stages of the solid growth
toward planetesimals occur also around very low mass objects. We discuss the
implications of our findings on models of solids evolution in protoplanetary
disks, on the main mechanisms proposed for the formation of brown dwarfs and
very low mass stars, as well as on the potential of finding rocky and giant
planets around very low mass objects.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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