Varying the direction of propagation in reaction-diffusion equations in periodic media

We consider a multidimensional reaction-diffusion equation of either ignition or monostable type, involving periodic heterogeneity, and analyze the dependence of the propagation phenomena on the direction. We prove that the (minimal) speed of the underlying pulsating fronts depends continuously on the direction of propagation, and so does its associated profile provided it is unique up to time shifts. We also prove that the spreading properties \cite{Wein02} are actually uniform with respect to the direction

Collet, Eckmann and the bifurcation measure

The moduli space $\mathcal{M}_d$ of degree $d\geq2$ rational maps can naturally be endowed with a measure $\mu_\mathrm{bif}$ detecting maximal bifurcations, called the bifurcation measure. We prove that the support of the bifurcation measure $\mu_\mathrm{bif}$ has positive Lebesgue measure. To do so, we establish a general sufficient condition for the conjugacy class of a rational map to belong to the support of $\mu_\mathrm{bif}$ and we exhibit a large set of Collet-Eckmann rational maps which satisfy this condition. As a consequence, we get a set of Collet-Eckmann rational maps of positive Lebesgue measure which are approximated by hyperbolic rational maps

Criticality in the approach to failure in amorphous solids

Failure of amorphous solids is fundamental to various phenomena, including landslides and earthquakes. Recent experiments indicate that highly plastic regions form elongated structures that are especially apparent near the maximal shear stress $\Sigma_{\max}$ where failure occurs. This observation suggested that $\Sigma_{\max}$ acts as a critical point where the length scale of those structures diverges, possibly causing macroscopic transient shear bands. Here we argue instead that the entire solid phase ($\Sigma<\Sigma_{\max}$) is critical, that plasticity always involves system-spanning events, and that their magnitude diverges at $\Sigma_{\max}$ independently of the presence of shear bands. We relate the statistics and fractal properties of these rearrangements to an exponent $\theta$ that captures the stability of the material, which is observed to vary continuously with stress, and we confirm our predictions in elastoplastic models.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure