Time evolution of the reaction front in a subdiffusive system

Using the quasistatic approximation, we show that in a subdiffusion--reaction system the reaction front $x_{f}$ evolves in time according to the formula $x_{f} \sim t^{\alpha/2}$, with $\alpha$ being the subdiffusion parameter. The result is derived for the system where the subdiffusion coefficients of reactants differ from each other. It includes the case of one static reactant. As an application of our results, we compare the time evolution of reaction front extracted from experimental data with the theoretical formula and we find that the transport process of organic acid particles in the tooth enamel is subdiffusive.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure

Complete Exact Solution of Diffusion-Limited Coalescence, A + A -> A

Some models of diffusion-limited reaction processes in one dimension lend themselves to exact analysis. The known approaches yield exact expressions for a limited number of quantities of interest, such as the particle concentration, or the distribution of distances between nearest particles. However, a full characterization of a particle system is only provided by the infinite hierarchy of multiple-point density correlation functions. We derive an exact description of the full hierarchy of correlation functions for the diffusion-limited irreversible coalescence process A + A -> A.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures (postscript). Typeset with Revte

Annihilation of Immobile Reactants on the Bethe Lattice

Two-particle annihilation reaction, A+A -> inert, for immobile reactants on the Bethe lattice is solved exactly for the initially random distribution. The process reaches an absorbing state in which no nearest-neighbor reactants are left. The approach of the concentration to the limiting value is exponential. The solution reproduces the known one-dimensional result which is further extended to the reaction A+B -> inert.Comment: 12 pp, TeX (plain

Two-Species Annihilation with Drift: A Model with Continuous Concentration-Decay Exponents

We propose a model for diffusion-limited annihilation of two species, $A+B\to A$ or $B$, where the motion of the particles is subject to a drift. For equal initial concentrations of the two species, the density follows a power-law decay for large times. However, the decay exponent varies continuously as a function of the probability of which particle, the hopping one or the target, survives in the reaction. These results suggest that diffusion-limited reactions subject to drift do not fall into a limited number of universality classes.Comment: 10 pages, tex, 3 figures, also available upon reques

Three-Species Diffusion-Limited Reaction with Continuous Density-Decay Exponents

We introduce a model of three-species two-particle diffusion-limited reactions A+B -> A or B, B+C -> B or C, and C+A -> C or A, with three persistence parameters (survival probabilities in reaction) of the hopping particle. We consider isotropic and anisotropic diffusion (hopping with a drift) in 1d. We find that the particle density decays as a power-law for certain choices of the persistence parameter values. In the anisotropic case, on one symmetric line in the parameter space, the decay exponent is monotonically varying between the values close to 1/3 and 1/2. On another, less symmetric line, the exponent is constant. For most parameter values, the density does not follow a power-law. We also calculated various characteristic exponents for the distance of nearest particles and domain structure. Our results support the recently proposed possibility that 1d diffusion-limited reactions with a drift do not fall within a limited number of distinct universality classes.Comment: 12 pages in plain LaTeX and four Postscript files with figure

A Method of Intervals for the Study of Diffusion-Limited Annihilation, A + A --> 0

We introduce a method of intervals for the analysis of diffusion-limited annihilation, A+A -> 0, on the line. The method leads to manageable diffusion equations whose interpretation is intuitively clear. As an example, we treat the following cases: (a) annihilation in the infinite line and in infinite (discrete) chains; (b) annihilation with input of single particles, adjacent particle pairs, and particle pairs separated by a given distance; (c) annihilation, A+A -> 0, along with the birth reaction A -> 3A, on finite rings, with and without diffusion.Comment: RevTeX, 13 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. References Added, and some other minor changes, to conform with final for

Voting and Catalytic Processes with Inhomogeneities

We consider the dynamics of the voter model and of the monomer-monomer catalytic process in the presence of many ``competing'' inhomogeneities and show, through exact calculations and numerical simulations, that their presence results in a nontrivial fluctuating steady state whose properties are studied and turn out to specifically depend on the dimensionality of the system, the strength of the inhomogeneities and their separating distances. In fact, in arbitrary dimensions, we obtain an exact (yet formal) expression of the order parameters (magnetization and concentration of adsorbed particles) in the presence of an arbitrary number $n$ of inhomogeneities (``zealots'' in the voter language) and formal similarities with {\it suitable electrostatic systems} are pointed out. In the nontrivial cases $n=1, 2$, we explicitly compute the static and long-time properties of the order parameters and therefore capture the generic features of the systems. When $n>2$, the problems are studied through numerical simulations. In one spatial dimension, we also compute the expressions of the stationary order parameters in the completely disordered case, where $n$ is arbitrary large. Particular attention is paid to the spatial dependence of the stationary order parameters and formal connections with electrostatics.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, revtex4 2-column format. Original title ("Are Voting and Catalytic Processes Electrostatic Problems ?") changed upon editorial request. Minor typos corrected. Published in Physical Review

Autonomous models solvable through the full interval method

The most general exclusion single species one dimensional reaction-diffusion models with nearest-neighbor interactions which are both autonomous and can be solved exactly through full interval method are introduced. Using a generating function method, the general solution for, $F_n$, the probability that $n$ consecutive sites be full, is obtained. Some other correlation functions of number operators at nonadjacent sites are also explicitly obtained. It is shown that for a special choice of initial conditions some correlation functions of number operators called full intervals remain uncorrelated

Equilibrium First-Order Melting and Second-Order Glass Transitions of the Vortex Matter in Bi2_2Sr2_2CaCu2_2O8_8

The thermodynamic $H-T$ phase diagram of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$ was mapped by measuring local \emph{equilibrium} magnetization $M(H,T)$ in presence of vortex `shaking'. Two equally sharp first-order magnetization steps are revealed in a single temperature sweep, manifesting a liquid-solid-liquid sequence. In addition, a second-order glass transition line is revealed by a sharp break in the equilibrium $M(T)$ slope. The first- and second-order lines intersect at intermediate temperatures, suggesting the existence of four phases: Bragg glass and vortex crystal at low fields, glass and liquid at higher fields.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Lattice Kinetics of Diffusion-Limited Coalescence and Annihilation with Sources

We study the 1D kinetics of diffusion-limited coalescence and annihilation with back reactions and different kinds of particle input. By considering the changes in occupation and parity of a given interval, we derive sets of hierarchical equations from which exact expressions for the lattice coverage and the particle concentration can be obtained. We compare the mean-field approximation and the continuum approximation to the exact solutions and we discuss their regime of validity.Comment: 24 pages and 3 eps figures, Revtex, accepted for publication in J. Phys.