Cooperative Parrondo's Games

We introduce a new family of Parrondo's games of alternating losing strategies in order to get a winning result. In our version of the games we consider an ensemble of players and use "social" rules in which the probabilities of the games are defined in terms of the actual state of the neighbors of a given player.Comment: 4 pages (including 2 figures

Distribution of winners in truel games

In this work we present a detailed analysis using the Markov chain theory of some versions of the truel game in which three players try to eliminate each other in a series of one-to-one competitions, using the rules of the game. Besides reproducing some known expressions for the winning probability of each player, including the equilibrium points, we give expressions for the actual distribution of winners in a truel competition.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. Conference proceedin

Weakly Nonextensive Thermostatistics and the Ising Model with Long--range Interactions

We introduce a nonextensive entropic measure $S_{\chi}$ that grows like $N^{\chi}$, where $N$ is the size of the system under consideration. This kind of nonextensivity arises in a natural way in some $N$-body systems endowed with long-range interactions described by $r^{-\alpha}$ interparticle potentials. The power law (weakly nonextensive) behavior exhibited by $S_{\chi}$ is intermediate between (1) the linear (extensive) regime characterizing the standard Boltzmann-Gibbs entropy and the (2) the exponential law (strongly nonextensive) behavior associated with the Tsallis generalized $q$-entropies. The functional $S_{\chi}$ is parametrized by the real number $\chi \in[1,2]$ in such a way that the standard logarithmic entropy is recovered when $\chi=1$ >. We study the mathematical properties of the new entropy, showing that the basic requirements for a well behaved entropy functional are verified, i.e., $S_{\chi}$ possesses the usual properties of positivity, equiprobability, concavity and irreversibility and verifies Khinchin axioms except the one related to additivity since $S_{\chi}$ is nonextensive. For $1<\chi<2$, the entropy $S_{\chi}$ becomes superadditive in the thermodynamic limit. The present formalism is illustrated by a numerical study of the thermodynamic scaling laws of a ferromagnetic Ising model with long-range interactions.Comment: LaTeX file, 20 pages, 7 figure

Fronts, Domain Growth and Dynamical Scaling in a d=1 non-Potential System

We present a study of dynamical scaling and front motion in a one dimensional system that describes Rayleigh-Benard convection in a rotating cell. We use a model of three competing modes proposed by Busse and Heikes to which spatial dependent terms have been added. As long as the angular velocity is different from zero, there is no known Lyapunov potential for the dynamics of the system. As a consequence the system follows a non-relaxational dynamics and the asymptotic state can not be associated with a final equilibrium state. When the rotation angular velocity is greater than some critical value, the system undergoes the Kuppers-Lortz instability leading to a time dependent chaotic dynamics and there is no coarsening beyond this instability. We have focused on the transient dynamics below this instability, where the dynamics is still non-relaxational. In this regime the dynamics is governed by a non-relaxational motion of fronts separating dynamically equivalent homogeneous states. We classify the families of fronts that occur in the dynamics, and calculate their shape and velocity. We have found that a scaling description of the coarsening process is still valid as in the potential case. The growth law is nearly logarithmic with time for short times and becomes linear after a crossover, whose width is determined by the strength of the non-potential terms.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure

Anticipated synchronization and the predict-prevent control method in the FitzHugh-Nagumo model system

We study the synchronization region of two unidirectionally coupled, in a master-slave configuration, FitzHugh-Nagumo systems under the influence of external forcing terms. We observe that anticipated synchronization is robust to the different types of forcings. We then use the predict-prevent control method to suppress unwanted pulses in the master system by using the information of the slave output. We find that this method is more efficient than the direct control method based on the master. Finally, we observe that a perfect matching between the parameters of the master and the slave is not necessary for the control to be efficient. Moreover, this parameter mismatch can, in some cases, improve the control

Synchronisation Induced by Repulsive Interactions in a System of van der Pol Oscillators

We consider a system of identical van der Pol oscillators, globally coupled through their velocities, and study how the presence of competitive interactions affects its synchronisation properties. We will address the question from two points of view. Firstly, we will investigate the role of competitive interactions on the synchronisation among identical oscillators. Then, we will show that the presence of an intermediate fraction of repulsive links results in the appearance of macroscopic oscillations at that signal's rhythm, in regions where the individual oscillator is unable to synchronise with a weak external signal

Stochastic thermodynamics for kinetic equations

Stochastic thermodynamics is formulated for variables that are odd under time reversal. The invariance under spatial rotation of the collision rates due to the isotropy of the heat bath is shown to be a crucial ingredient. An alternative detailed fluctuation theorem is derived, expressed solely in terms of forward statistics. It is illustrated for a linear kinetic equation with kangaroo rates