877 research outputs found
Random Convex Hulls and Extreme Value Statistics
In this paper we study the statistical properties of convex hulls of
random points in a plane chosen according to a given distribution. The points
may be chosen independently or they may be correlated. After a non-exhaustive
survey of the somewhat sporadic literature and diverse methods used in the
random convex hull problem, we present a unifying approach, based on the notion
of support function of a closed curve and the associated Cauchy's formulae,
that allows us to compute exactly the mean perimeter and the mean area enclosed
by the convex polygon both in case of independent as well as correlated points.
Our method demonstrates a beautiful link between the random convex hull problem
and the subject of extreme value statistics. As an example of correlated
points, we study here in detail the case when the points represent the vertices
of independent random walks. In the continuum time limit this reduces to
independent planar Brownian trajectories for which we compute exactly, for
all , the mean perimeter and the mean area of their global convex hull. Our
results have relevant applications in ecology in estimating the home range of a
herd of animals. Some of these results were announced recently in a short
communication [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 103}, 140602 (2009)].Comment: 61 pages (pedagogical review); invited contribution to the special
issue of J. Stat. Phys. celebrating the 50 years of Yeshiba/Rutgers meeting
Statistical properties of the Burgers equation with Brownian initial velocity
We study the one-dimensional Burgers equation in the inviscid limit for
Brownian initial velocity (i.e. the initial velocity is a two-sided Brownian
motion that starts from the origin x=0). We obtain the one-point distribution
of the velocity field in closed analytical form. In the limit where we are far
from the origin, we also obtain the two-point and higher-order distributions.
We show how they factorize and recover the statistical invariance through
translations for the distributions of velocity increments and Lagrangian
increments. We also derive the velocity structure functions and we recover the
bifractality of the inverse Lagrangian map. Then, for the case where the
initial density is uniform, we obtain the distribution of the density field and
its -point correlations. In the same limit, we derive the point
distributions of the Lagrangian displacement field and the properties of
shocks. We note that both the stable-clustering ansatz and the Press-Schechter
mass function, that are widely used in the cosmological context, happen to be
exact for this one-dimensional version of the adhesion model.Comment: 42 pages, published in J. Stat. Phy
Network Landscape from a Brownian Particle's Perspective
Given a complex biological or social network, how many clusters should it be
decomposed into? We define the distance from node to node as
the average number of steps a Brownian particle takes to reach from .
Node is a global attractor of if for any of
the graph; it is a local attractor of , if (the set of
nearest-neighbors of ) and for any . Based
on the intuition that each node should have a high probability to be in the
same community as its global (local) attractor on the global (local) scale, we
present a simple method to uncover a network's community structure. This method
is applied to several real networks and some discussion on its possible
extensions is made.Comment: 5 pages, 4 color-figures. REVTeX 4 format. To appear in PR
Homogenization of weakly coupled systems of Hamilton--Jacobi equations with fast switching rates
We consider homogenization for weakly coupled systems of Hamilton--Jacobi
equations with fast switching rates. The fast switching rate terms force the
solutions converge to the same limit, which is a solution of the effective
equation. We discover the appearance of the initial layers, which appear
naturally when we consider the systems with different initial data and analyze
them rigorously. In particular, we obtain matched asymptotic solutions of the
systems and rate of convergence. We also investigate properties of the
effective Hamiltonian of weakly coupled systems and show some examples which do
not appear in the context of single equations.Comment: final version, to appear in Arch. Ration. Mech. Ana
Collapse dynamics of trapped Bose-Einstein condensates
We analyze the implosion and subsequent explosion of a trapped condensate
after the scattering length is switched to a negative value. Our results
compare very well qualitatively and fairly well quantitatively with the results
of recent experiments at JILA.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Wavenumber-explicit continuity and coercivity estimates in acoustic scattering by planar screens
We study the classical first-kind boundary integral equation reformulations
of time-harmonic acoustic scattering by planar sound-soft (Dirichlet) and
sound-hard (Neumann) screens. We prove continuity and coercivity of the
relevant boundary integral operators (the acoustic single-layer and
hypersingular operators respectively) in appropriate fractional Sobolev spaces,
with wavenumber-explicit bounds on the continuity and coercivity constants. Our
analysis is based on spectral representations for the boundary integral
operators, and builds on results of Ha-Duong (Jpn J Ind Appl Math 7:489--513
(1990) and Integr Equat Oper Th 15:427--453 (1992)).Comment: v2 has minor corrections compared to v1. arXiv admin note:
substantial text overlap with arXiv:1401.280
Instability of vortex array and transitions to turbulent states in rotating helium II
We consider superfluid helium inside a container which rotates at constant
angular velocity and investigate numerically the stability of the array of
quantized vortices in the presence of an imposed axial counterflow. This
problem was studied experimentally by Swanson {\it et al.}, who reported
evidence of instabilities at increasing axial flow but were not able to explain
their nature. We find that Kelvin waves on individual vortices become unstable
and grow in amplitude, until the amplitude of the waves becomes large enough
that vortex reconnections take place and the vortex array is destabilized. The
eventual nonlinear saturation of the instability consists of a turbulent tangle
of quantized vortices which is strongly polarized. The computed results compare
well with the experiments. Finally we suggest a theoretical explanation for the
second instability which was observed at higher values of the axial flow
Correlated N-boson systems for arbitrary scattering length
We investigate systems of identical bosons with the focus on two-body
correlations and attractive finite-range potentials. We use a hyperspherical
adiabatic method and apply a Faddeev type of decomposition of the wave
function. We discuss the structure of a condensate as function of particle
number and scattering length. We establish universal scaling relations for the
critical effective radial potentials for distances where the average distance
between particle pairs is larger than the interaction range. The correlations
in the wave function restore the large distance mean-field behaviour with the
correct two-body interaction. We discuss various processes limiting the
stability of condensates. With correlations we confirm that macroscopic
tunneling dominates when the trap length is about half of the particle number
times the scattering length.Comment: 15 pages (RevTeX4), 11 figures (LaTeX), submitted to Phys. Rev. A.
Second version includes an explicit comparison to N=3, a restructured
manuscript, and updated figure
Au-Ag template stripped pattern for scanning probe investigations of DNA arrays produced by Dip Pen Nanolithography
We report on DNA arrays produced by Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN) on a novel
Au-Ag micro patterned template stripped surface. DNA arrays have been
investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunnelling
microscopy (STM) showing that the patterned template stripped substrate enables
easy retrieval of the DPN-functionalized zone with a standard optical
microscope permitting a multi-instrument and multi-technique local detection
and analysis. Moreover the smooth surface of the Au squares (abput 5-10
angstrom roughness) allows to be sensitive to the hybridization of the
oligonucleotide array with label-free target DNA. Our Au-Ag substrates,
combining the retrieving capabilities of the patterned surface with the
smoothness of the template stripped technique, are candidates for the
investigation of DPN nanostructures and for the development of label free
detection methods for DNA nanoarrays based on the use of scanning probes.Comment: Langmuir (accepted
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