674 research outputs found
Ground state properties of solid-on-solid models with disordered substrates
We study the glassy super-rough phase of a class of solid-on-solid models
with a disordered substrate in the limit of vanishing temperature by means of
exact ground states, which we determine with a newly developed minimum cost
flow algorithm. Results for the height-height correlation function are compared
with analytical and numerical predictions. The domain wall energy of a boundary
induced step grows logarithmically with system size, indicating the marginal
stability of the ground state, and the fractal dimension of the step is
estimated. The sensibility of the ground state with respect to infinitesimal
variations of the quenched disorder is analyzed.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX, 3 eps-figures include
Critical Exponents of the pure and random-field Ising models
We show that current estimates of the critical exponents of the
three-dimensional random-field Ising model are in agreement with the exponents
of the pure Ising system in dimension 3 - theta where theta is the exponent
that governs the hyperscaling violation in the random case.Comment: 9 pages, 4 encapsulated Postscript figures, REVTeX 3.
Non-trivial fixed point structure of the two-dimensional +-J 3-state Potts ferromagnet/spin glass
The fixed point structure of the 2D 3-state random-bond Potts model with a
bimodal (J) distribution of couplings is for the first time fully
determined using numerical renormalization group techniques. Apart from the
pure and T=0 critical fixed points, two other non-trivial fixed points are
found. One is the critical fixed point for the random-bond, but unfrustrated,
ferromagnet. The other is a bicritical fixed point analogous to the bicritical
Nishimori fixed point found in the random-bond frustrated Ising model.
Estimates of the associated critical exponents are given for the various fixed
points of the random-bond Potts model.Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps figures, RevTex 3.0 format requires float and epsfig
macro
The Reaction Process A+A->O in Sinai Disorder
The single-species reaction-diffusion process is examined in the
presence of an uncorrelated, quenched random velocity field. Utilising a
field-theoretic approach, we find that in two dimensions and below the density
decay is altered from the case of purely diffusing reactants. In two-dimensions
the density amplitude is reduced in the presence of weak disorder, yielding the
interesting result that Sinai disorder can cause reactions to occur at an {\it
increased} rate. This is in contrast to the case of long-range correlated
disorder, where it was shown that the reaction becomes sub-diffusion limited.
However, when written in terms of the microscopic diffusion constant it is seen
that increasing the disorder has the effect of reducing the rate of the
reaction. Below two dimensions, the effect of Sinai disorder is much more
severe and the reaction is shown to become sub-diffusion limited. Although
there is no universal amplitude for the time-dependence of the density, it is
universal when expressed in terms of the disorder-averaged diffusion length.
The appropriate amplitude is calculated to one-loop order.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
How ions distribute in a drying porous medium: A simple model
Salt crystallization at surfaces is an important problem for buildings and monuments. We do not consider the formation of salt crystals as such, but focus on transport properties of ions in a drying porous medium. We deal with the first phase of the drying process, where the water is still uniformly distributed throughout the medium. An approximate model is presented, which accounts for both convection and diffusion. It is shown that the key parameter is the Peclet number at the evaporating surface, PehL/D, where h, L, , and D are the drying rate, sample size, porosity, and diffusion constant, respectively. When Pe1 (diffusion dominates over convection) the ions remain uniformly distributed throughout the system. Strong accumulation at the evaporating surface occurs for Pe1 (convection dominates over diffusion). Crossover behavior is found for Pe1. Therefore, it is likely that the first crystals will be formed both in the bulk and at the interfaces of the material when Pe1. For high values of Pe the density peak at the evaporating surface will reach the saturation concentration long before it is reached in the bulk of the material. As a consequence, the salt starts to crystallize at the interfaces
Random Walks, Reaction-Diffusion, and Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Spin Chains in One-dimensional Random Environments
Sinai's model of diffusion in one-dimension with random local bias is studied
by a real space renormalization group which yields asymptotically exact long
time results. The distribution of the position of a particle and the
probability of it not returning to the origin are obtained, as well as the
two-time distribution which exhibits "aging" with
scaling and a singularity at . The effects of a small uniform
force are also studied. Extension to motion of many domain walls yields
non-equilibrium time dependent correlations for the 1D random field Ising model
with Glauber dynamics and "persistence" exponents of 1D reaction-diffusion
models with random forces.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figures, RevTe
The two-dimensional random-bond Ising model, free fermions and the network model
We develop a recently-proposed mapping of the two-dimensional Ising model
with random exchange (RBIM), via the transfer matrix, to a network model for a
disordered system of non-interacting fermions. The RBIM transforms in this way
to a localisation problem belonging to one of a set of non-standard symmetry
classes, known as class D; the transition between paramagnet and ferromagnet is
equivalent to a delocalisation transition between an insulator and a quantum
Hall conductor. We establish the mapping as an exact and efficient tool for
numerical analysis: using it, the computational effort required to study a
system of width is proportional to , and not exponential in as
with conventional algorithms. We show how the approach may be used to calculate
for the RBIM: the free energy; typical correlation lengths in quasi-one
dimension for both the spin and the disorder operators; even powers of
spin-spin correlation functions and their disorder-averages. We examine in
detail the square-lattice, nearest-neighbour RBIM, in which bonds are
independently antiferromagnetic with probability , and ferromagnetic with
probability . Studying temperatures , we obtain precise
coordinates in the plane for points on the phase boundary between
ferromagnet and paramagnet, and for the multicritical (Nishimori) point. We
demonstrate scaling flow towards the pure Ising fixed point at small , and
determine critical exponents at the multicritical point.Comment: 20 pages, 25 figures, figures correcte
Gut microbiota-derived propionate reduces cancer cell proliferation in the liver
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
The metastate approach to thermodynamic chaos
In realistic disordered systems, such as the Edwards-Anderson (EA) spin
glass, no order parameter, such as the Parisi overlap distribution, can be both
translation-invariant and non-self-averaging. The standard mean-field picture
of the EA spin glass phase can therefore not be valid in any dimension and at
any temperature. Further analysis shows that, in general, when systems have
many competing (pure) thermodynamic states, a single state which is a mixture
of many of them (as in the standard mean-field picture) contains insufficient
information to reveal the full thermodynamic structure. We propose a different
approach, in which an appropriate thermodynamic description of such a system is
instead based on a metastate, which is an ensemble of (possibly mixed)
thermodynamic states. This approach, modelled on chaotic dynamical systems, is
needed when chaotic size dependence (of finite volume correlations) is present.
Here replicas arise in a natural way, when a metastate is specified by its
(meta)correlations. The metastate approach explains, connects, and unifies such
concepts as replica symmetry breaking, chaotic size dependence and replica
non-independence. Furthermore, it replaces the older idea of non-self-averaging
as dependence on the bulk couplings with the concept of dependence on the state
within the metastate at fixed coupling realization. We use these ideas to
classify possible metastates for the EA model, and discuss two scenarios
introduced by us earlier --- a nonstandard mean-field picture and a picture
intermediate between that and the usual scaling/droplet picture.Comment: LaTeX file, 49 page
Clinical Manifestations and Case Management of Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever caused by a newly identified virus strain, Bundibugyo, Uganda, 2007-2008
A confirmed Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreak in Bundibugyo, Uganda, November 2007-February 2008, was caused by a putative new species (Bundibugyo ebolavirus). It included 93 putative cases, 56 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 37 deaths (CFR = 25%). Study objectives are to describe clinical manifestations and case management for 26 hospitalised laboratory-confirmed EHF patients. Clinical findings are congruous with previously reported EHF infections. The most frequently experienced symptoms were non-bloody diarrhoea (81%), severe headache (81%), and asthenia (77%). Seven patients reported or were observed with haemorrhagic symptoms, six of whom died. Ebola care remains difficult due to the resource-poor setting of outbreaks and the infection-control procedures required. However, quality data collection is essential to evaluate case definitions and therapeutic interventions, and needs improvement in future epidemics. Organizations usually involved in EHF case management have a particular responsibility in this respect
- …