1,154 research outputs found
Saddles and softness in simple model liquids
We report a numerical study of saddles properties of the potential energy
landscape for soft spheres with different softness, i.e. different power n of
the interparticle repulsive potential. We find that saddle-based quantities
rescale into master curves once energies and temperatures are scaled by
mode-coupling temperature T_MCT, confirming and generalizing previous findings
obtained for Lennard-Jones like models.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figure
Phase diagram and complexity of mode-locked lasers: from order to disorder
We investigate mode-locking processes in lasers displaying a variable degree
of structural randomness, from standard optical cavities to multiple-scattering
media. By employing methods mutuated from spin-glass theory, we analyze the
mean-field Hamiltonian and derive a phase-diagram in terms of the pumping rate
and the degree of disorder. Three phases are found: i) paramagnetic,
corresponding to a noisy continuous wave emission, ii) ferromagnetic, that
describes the standard passive mode-locking, and iii) the spin-glass in which
the phases of the electromagnetic field are frozen in a exponentially large
number of configurations. The way the mode-locking threshold is affected by the
amount of disorder is quantified. The results are also relevant for other
physical systems displaying a random Hamiltonian, like Bose-Einstein
condensates and nonlinear optical beams.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Light diffusion and localization in 3D nonlinear disordered media
Using a 3D Finite-Difference Time-Domain parallel code, we report on the
linear and nonlinear propagation of light pulses in a disordered assembly of
scatterers, whose spatial distribution is generated by a Molecular Dynamics
code; refractive index dispersion is also taken into account. We calculate the
static and dynamical diffusion constant of light, while considering a pulsed
excitation. Our results are in quantitative agreement with reported
experiments, also furnishing evidence of a non-exponential decay of the
transmitted pulse in the linear regime and in the presence of localized modes.
By using an high power excitation, we numerically demonstrate the
``modulational instability random laser'': at high peak input powers energy is
transferred to localized states from the input pulse, via third-order
nonlinearity and optical parametric amplification, and this process is signed
by a power-dependent non-exponential time-decay of the transmitted pulse.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Revised version with new figure 4 with localized
state
Frustration and sound attenuation in structural glasses
Three classes of harmonic disorder systems (Lennard-Jones like glasses,
percolators above threshold, and spring disordered lattices) have been
numerically investigated in order to clarify the effect of different types of
disorder on the mechanism of high frequency sound attenuation. We introduce the
concept of frustration in structural glasses as a measure of the internal
stress, and find a strong correlation between the degree of frustration and the
exponent alpha that characterizes the momentum dependence of the sound
attenuation . In particular, alpha decreases from
about d+1 in low-frustration systems (where d is the spectral dimension), to
about 2 for high frustration systems like the realistic glasses examined.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages including 4 figure
High frequency dynamics in liquid nickel: an IXS study
Owing to their large relatively thermal conductivity, peculiar,
non-hydrodynamic features are expected to characterize the acoustic-like
excitations observed in liquid metals. We report here an experimental study of
collective modes in molten nickel, a case of exceptional geophysical interest
for its relevance in Earth interior science. Our result shed light on
previously reported contrasting evidences: in the explored energy-momentum
region no deviation from the generalized hydrodynamic picture describing non
conductive fluids are observed. Implications for high frequency transport
properties in metallic fluids are discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to appear in "Journal of Chemical Physics
Landscapes and Fragilities
The concept of fragility provides a possibility to rank different supercooled
liquids on the basis of the temperature dependence of dynamic and/or
thermodynamic quantities. We recall here the definitions of kinetic and
thermodynamic fragility proposed in the last years and discuss their
interrelations. At the same time we analyze some recently introduced models for
the statistical properties of the potential energy landscape. Building on the
Adam-Gibbs relation, which connects structural relaxation times to
configurational entropy, we analyze the relation between statistical properties
of the landscape and fragility. We call attention to the fact that the
knowledge of number, energy depth and shape of the basins of the potential
energy landscape may not be sufficient for predicting fragility. Finally, we
discuss two different possibilities for generating strong behavior.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures; accepted version, minor correction
Condensation in disordered lasers: theory, 3D+1 simulations and experiments
The complex processes underlying the generation of a coherent-like emission
from the multiple-scattering of photons and wave-localization in the presence
of structural disorder are still mostly un-explored. Here we show that a single
nonlinear Schroedinger equation, playing the role of the Schawlow-Townes law
for standard lasers, quantitatively reproduces experimental results and
three-dimensional time-domain parallel simulations of a colloidal laser system.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Observation of Umklapp processes in non-crystalline materials
Umklapp processes are known to exist in cristalline materials, where they
control important properties such as thermal conductivity, heat capacity and
electrical conductivity. In this work we report the provocative observation of
Umklapp processes in a non-periodical system, namely liquid Lithium. The lack
of a well defined periodicity seems then not to prevent the existence of these
scattering processes mechanisms provided that the local order of the systems
i.e. the maxima of the static structure factor supply the equivalent of a
reciprocal lattice vector in the case of cristalline materials.Comment: 13 pages P
The nature of the short wavelength excitations in vitreous silica: X-Rays Brillouin scattering study
The dynamical structure factor (S(Q,E)) of vitreous silica has been measured
by Inelastic X-ray Scattering varying the exchanged wavevector (Q) at fixed
exchanged energy (E) - an experimental procedure that, contrary to the usual
one at constant Q, provides spectra with much better identified inelastic
features. This allows the first direct evidence of Brillouin peaks in the
S(Q,E) of SiO_2 at energies above the Boson Peak (BP) energy, a finding that
excludes the possibility that the BP marks the transition from propagating to
localised dynamics in glasses.Comment: 4 pages, 3 Postscript figures. To appear in Physical Review Letter
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