Optimal diffusion in ecological dynamics with Allee effect in a metapopulation

How diffusion impacts on ecological dynamics under the Allee effect and spatial constraints? That is the question we address. Employing a microscopic minimal model in a metapopulation (without imposing nonlinear birth and death rates) we evince --- both numerically and analitically --- the emergence of an optimal diffusion that maximises the survival probability. Even though, at first such result seems counter-intuitive, it has empirical support from recent experiments with engineered bacteria. Moreover, we show that this optimal diffusion disappears for loose spatial constraints.Comment: 16 pages; 6 figure

On a comparative study between dependence scales determined by linear and non-linear measures

In this manuscript we present a comparative study about the determination of the relaxation (\textit{i.e.}, independence) time scales obtained from the correlation function, the mutual information, and a criterion based on the evaluation of a nonextensive generalisation of mutual entropy. Our results show that, for systems with a small degree of complexity, standard mutual information and the criterion based on its nonextensive generalisation provide the same scale, whereas for systems with a higher complex dynamics the standard mutual information presents a time scale consistently smaller.Comment: 14 pages. To appear in Physica

The role of the nature of the noise in the thermal conductance of mechanical systems

Focussing on a paradigmatic small system consisting of two coupled damped oscillators, we survey the role of the L\'evy-It\^o nature of the noise in the thermal conductance. For white noises, we prove that the L\'evy-It\^o composition (Lebesgue measure) of the noise is irrelevant for the thermal conductance of a non-equilibrium linearly coupled chain, which signals the independence between mechanical and thermodynamical properties. On the other hand, for the non-linearly coupled case, the two types of properties mix and the explicit definition of the noise plays a central role.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures. To be published in Physical Review

Quantum walks with spatiotemporal fractal disorder

We investigate the transport and entanglement properties exhibited by quantum walks with coin operators concatenated in a space-time fractal structure. Inspired by recent developments in photonics, we choose the paradigmatic Sierpinski gasket. The 0-1 pattern of the fractal is mapped into an alternation of the generalized Hadamard-Fourier operators. In fulfilling the blank space on the analysis of the impact of disorder in quantum walk properties -- specifically, fractal deterministic disorder --, our results show a robust effect of entanglement enhancement as well as an interesting novel road to superdiffusive spreading with a tunable scaling exponent attaining effective ballistic diffusion. Namely, with this fractal approach it is possible to obtain an increase in quantum entanglement without jeopardizing spreading. Alongside those features, we analyze further properties such as the degree of interference and visibility. The present model corresponds to a new application of fractals in an experimentally feasible setting, namely the building block for the construction of photonic patterned structures.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure