Non-equilibrium dynamics of an active colloidal "chucker"

We report Monte Carlo simulations of the dynamics of a "chucker": a colloidal particle which emits smaller solute particles from its surface, isotropically and at a constant rate k_c. We find that the diffusion constant of the chucker increases for small k_c, as recently predicted theoretically. At large k_c the chucker diffuses more slowly due to crowding effects. We compare our simulation results to those of a "point particle" Langevin dynamics scheme in which the solute concentration field is calculated analytically, and in which hydrodynamic effects can be included albeit in an approximate way. By simulating the dragging of a chucker, we obtain an estimate of its apparent mobility coefficient which violates the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. We also characterise the probability density profile for a chucker which sediments onto a surface which either repels or absorbs the solute particles, and find that the steady state distributions are very different in the two cases. Our simulations are inspired by the biological example of exopolysaccharide-producing bacteria, as well as by recent experimental, simulation and theoretical work on phoretic colloidal "swimmers".Comment: re-submission after referee's comment

Active Brownian particles with velocity-alignment and active fluctuations

We consider a model of active Brownian particles with velocity-alignment in two spatial dimensions with passive and active fluctuations. Hereby, active fluctuations refers to purely non-equilibrium stochastic forces correlated with the heading of an individual active particle. In the simplest case studied here, they are assumed as independent stochastic forces parallel (speed noise) and perpendicular (angular noise) to the velocity of the particle. On the other hand, passive fluctuations are defined by a noise vector independent of the direction of motion of a particle, and may account for example for thermal fluctuations. We derive a macroscopic description of the active Brownian particle gas with velocity-alignment interaction. Hereby, we start from the individual based description in terms of stochastic differential equations (Langevin equations) and derive equations of motion for the coarse grained kinetic variables (density, velocity and temperature) via a moment expansion of the corresponding probability density function. We focus here in particular on the different impact of active and passive fluctuations on the onset of collective motion and show how active fluctuations in the active Brownian dynamics can change the phase-transition behaviour of the system. In particular, we show that active angular fluctuation lead to an earlier breakdown of collective motion and to emergence of a new bistable regime in the mean-field case.Comment: 5 figures, 22 pages, submitted to New Journal of Physic

Infrared Spectra and Spectral Energy Distributions of Late-M- and L-Dwarfs

We have obtained 1.0-2.5um spectra at R~600 of 14 disk dwarfs with spectral types M6 to L7. For four of the dwarfs we have also obtained infrared spectra at R~3000 in narrow intervals. In addition, we present new L' photometry for four of the dwarfs in the sample, which allows improved determinations of their bolometric luminosities. We resolve the L-dwarf Denis-P J 0205-1159 into an identical pair of objects separated by 0.35". The spectra, with the published energy distribution for one other dwarf, are compared to synthetic spectra generated by upgraded model atmospheres. Good matches are found for 2200> Teff K>1900 (spectral types around M9 to L3), but discrepancies exist at Teff> 2300 K (M8) and for Teff<1800 K (L4-L7). At the higher temperatures the mismatches are due to incompleteness in the water vapor linelist. At the lower temperatures the disagreement is probably due to our treatment of dust: we assume a photospheric distribution in equilibrium with the gas phase. We derive effective temperatures for the sample from the comparison with synthetic spectra and also by comparing our observed total intrinsic luminosities to structural model calculations (which are mostly independent of the atmosphere but are dependent on the unknown masses and ages of the targets). The two derivations agree to ~200 K except for the faintest object in the sample where the discrepancy is larger. Agreement with other temperature determinations is also ~200 K, except for the L7 dwarf.Comment: 31 pages incl. 5 Tables and 12 Figures, accepted by ApJ for Feb 2001 issu

Photostimulated Luminescence and Thermoluminescence of LSO Scintillators

Photostimulated luminescence (PSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) from five Lu_(2(1-x))Ce_(2x)(SiO_4)O (LSO) crystals with different light outputs is reported. Optical irradiation into the Ce^(3+) absorption bands causes the appearance of a broad absorption band near 280 nm which is ascribed to Ce^(4+). In addition, a tail is observed extending beyond 700 nm. Optical irradiation into this tail (PSL) or heating of the crystal (TL) results in Ce^(3+) emission. It is shown that both PSL and TL are due to the same traps: In addition, an anti-correlation is found between the light output under gamma-ray irradiation and the trap concentration in the crystal. The nature of the recombination centers responsible for the low light output in some crystals is not clear. Annealing experiments suggest that the traps and the recombination centers may be related to oxygen vacancies

Photostimulated Luminescence and Thermoluminescence of LSO Scintillators

Photostimulated luminescence (PSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) from five Lu_(2(1-x/)Ce)_(2x)/(SiO_4)O (LSO) crystals with different light outputs is reported. Optical irradiation into the Ce^(3+) absorption bands causes the appearance of a broad absorption band near 280 nn which is ascribed to Ce^(4+). In addition, a tail is observed extending beyond 700 nm. Optical irradiation into this tail (PSL) or heating of the crystal (TL) results in Ce^(3+) emission. It is shown that both PSL and TL are due to the same traps: In addition, an anti-correlation is found between the light output under gamma-ray irradiation and the trap concentration in the crystal. The nature of the recombination centers responsible for the low light output in some crystals is not clear. Annealing experiments suggest that the traps and the recombination centers may be related to oxygen vacancies

Are there approximate relations among transverse momentum dependent distribution functions?

Certain exact relations among transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions due to QCD equations of motion turn into approximate ones upon the neglect of pure twist-3 terms. On the basis of available data from HERMES we test the practical usefulness of one such ``Wandzura-Wilczek-type approximation'', namely of that connecting h_{1L}^{\perp(1)a}(x) to h_L^a(x), and discuss how it can be further tested by future CLAS and COMPASS data.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Diffusing opinions in bounded confidence processes

We study the effects of diffusing opinions on the Deffuant et al. model for continuous opinion dynamics. Individuals are given the opportunity to change their opinion, with a given probability, to a randomly selected opinion inside an interval centered around the present opinion. We show that diffusion induces an order-disorder transition. In the disordered state the opinion distribution tends to be uniform, while for the ordered state a set of well defined opinion clusters are formed, although with some opinion spread inside them. If the diffusion jumps are not large, clusters coalesce, so that weak diffusion favors opinion consensus. A master equation for the process described above is presented. We find that the master equation and the Monte-Carlo simulations do not always agree due to finite-size induced fluctuations. Using a linear stability analysis we can derive approximate conditions for the transition between opinion clusters and the disordered state. The linear stability analysis is compared with Monte Carlo simulations. Novel interesting phenomena are analyzed

Risk-Seeking versus Risk-Avoiding Investments in Noisy Periodic Environments

We study the performance of various agent strategies in an artificial investment scenario. Agents are equipped with a budget, $x(t)$, and at each time step invest a particular fraction, $q(t)$, of their budget. The return on investment (RoI), $r(t)$, is characterized by a periodic function with different types and levels of noise. Risk-avoiding agents choose their fraction $q(t)$ proportional to the expected positive RoI, while risk-seeking agents always choose a maximum value $q_{max}$ if they predict the RoI to be positive ("everything on red"). In addition to these different strategies, agents have different capabilities to predict the future $r(t)$, dependent on their internal complexity. Here, we compare 'zero-intelligent' agents using technical analysis (such as moving least squares) with agents using reinforcement learning or genetic algorithms to predict $r(t)$. The performance of agents is measured by their average budget growth after a certain number of time steps. We present results of extensive computer simulations, which show that, for our given artificial environment, (i) the risk-seeking strategy outperforms the risk-avoiding one, and (ii) the genetic algorithm was able to find this optimal strategy itself, and thus outperforms other prediction approaches considered.Comment: 27 pp. v2 with minor corrections. See http://www.sg.ethz.ch for more inf

Rotational quenching of CO due to H2_2 collisions

Rate coefficients for state-to-state rotational transitions in CO induced by both para- and ortho-H$_2$ collisions are presented. The results were obtained using the close-coupling method and the coupled-states approximation, with the CO-H$_2$ interaction potential of Jankowski & Szalewicz (2005). Rate coefficients are presented for temperatures between 1 and 3000 K, and for CO($v=0,j$) quenching from $j=1-40$ to all lower $j^\prime$ levels. Comparisons with previous calculations using an earlier potential show some discrepancies, especially at low temperatures and for rotational transitions involving large $|\Delta j|$. The differences in the well depths of the van der Waals interactions in the two potential surfaces lead to different resonance structures in the energy dependence of the cross sections which influence the low temperature rate coefficients. Applications to far infrared observations of astrophysical environments are briefly discussed.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figure