Homogeneous SPC/E water nucleation in large molecular dynamics simulations

We perform direct large molecular dynamics simulations of homogeneous SPC/E water nucleation, using up to $\sim 4\cdot 10^6$ molecules. Our large system sizes allow us to measure extremely low and accurate nucleation rates, down to $\sim 10^{19}\,\textrm{cm}^{-3}\textrm{s}^{-1}$, helping close the gap between experimentally measured rates $\sim 10^{17}\,\textrm{cm}^{-3}\textrm{s}^{-1}$. We are also able to precisely measure size distributions, sticking efficiencies, cluster temperatures, and cluster internal densities. We introduce a new functional form to implement the Yasuoka-Matsumoto nucleation rate measurement technique (threshold method). Comparison to nucleation models shows that classical nucleation theory over-estimates nucleation rates by a few orders of magnitude. The semi-phenomenological nucleation model does better, under-predicting rates by at worst, a factor of 24. Unlike what has been observed in Lennard-Jones simulations, post-critical clusters have temperatures consistent with the run average temperature. Also, we observe that post-critical clusters have densities very slightly higher, $\sim 5\%$, than bulk liquid. We re-calibrate a Hale-type $J$ vs. $S$ scaling relation using both experimental and simulation data, finding remarkable consistency in over $30$ orders of magnitude in the nucleation rate range, and $180\,$K in the temperature range.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of Chemical Physic

Transport through a single Anderson impurity coupled to one normal and two superconducting leads

We study the interplay between the Kondo and Andreev-Josephson effects in a quantum dot coupled to one normal and two superconducting (SC) leads. In the large gap limit, the low-energy states of this system can be described exactly by a local Fermi liquid for the interacting Bogoliubov particles. The phase shift and the renormalized parameters for the Bogoliubov particles vary depending on the Josephson phase between the two SC leads. We explore the precise features of a crossover that occurs between the Kondo singlet and local Cooper-pairing states as the Josephson phase varies, using the numerical renormalization group approach.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, contribution to SCES 201

The magnetization process of the spin-one triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet

We apply the coupled cluster method and exact diagonalzation to study the uniform susceptibility and the ground-state magnetization curve of the triangular-lattice spin-1 Heisenberg antiferromagnet. Comparing our theoretical data for the magnetization curve with recent measurements on the s=1 triangular lattice antiferromagnet Ba3NiSb2O9 we find a very good agreement.Comment: 2 pages, 3 figure

Vacuum Energy Density for Massless Scalar Fields in Flat Homogeneous Spacetime Manifolds with Nontrivial Topology

Although the observed universe appears to be geometrically flat, it could have one of 18 global topologies. A constant-time slice of the spacetime manifold could be a torus, Mobius strip, Klein bottle, or others. This global topology of the universe imposes boundary conditions on quantum fields and affects the vacuum energy density via Casimir effect. In a spacetime with such a nontrivial topology, the vacuum energy density is shifted from its value in a simply-connected spacetime. In this paper, the vacuum expectation value of the stress-energy tensor for a massless scalar field is calculated in all 17 multiply-connected, flat and homogeneous spacetimes with different global topologies. It is found that the vacuum energy density is lowered relative to the Minkowski vacuum level in all spacetimes and that the stress-energy tensor becomes position-dependent in spacetimes that involve reflections and rotations.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figure

Non-Universal Critical Behaviour of Two-Dimensional Ising Systems

Two conditions are derived for Ising models to show non-universal critical behaviour, namely conditions concerning 1) logarithmic singularity of the specific heat and 2) degeneracy of the ground state. These conditions are satisfied with the eight-vertex model, the Ashkin-Teller model, some Ising models with short- or long-range interactions and even Ising systems without the translational or the rotational invariance.Comment: 17 page

Cut loci and conjugate loci on Liouville surfaces

In the earlier paper (Itoh and Kiyohara, Manuscr Math 114:247–264, 2004), we showed that the cut locus of a general point on two-dimensional ellipsoid is a segment of a curvature line and proved "Jacobi’s last geometric statement" on the singularities of the conjugate locus. In the present paper,we showthat a wider class of Liouville surfaces possess such simple cut loci and conjugate loci. The results include the determination of cut loci and the set of poles on two-sheeted hyperboloids and elliptic paraboloids

Semi-relativistic approximation to gravitational radiation from encounters with nonspinning black holes

The capture of compact bodies by black holes in galactic nuclei is an important prospective source for low frequency gravitational wave detectors, such as the planned Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. This paper calculates, using a semirelativistic approximation, the total energy and angular momentum lost to gravitational radiation by compact bodies on very high eccentricity orbits passing close to a supermassive, nonspinning black hole; these quantities determine the characteristics of the orbital evolution necessary to estimate the capture rate. The semirelativistic approximation improves upon treatments which use orbits at Newtonian-order and quadrupolar radiation emission, and matches well onto accurate Teukolsky simulations for low eccentricity orbits. Formulae are presented for the semirelativistic energy and angular momentum fluxes as a function of general orbital parameters.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figures; v2: revised manuscript includes small changes to make paper consistent with published version; v3: a statement about how to generalise our results to hyperbolic orbits was incorrect, new version includes published erratum as an appendi