Genera of curves on a very general surface in P3P^3

In this paper we consider the question of determining the geometric genera of irreducible curves lying on a very general surface $S$ of degree $d$ at least 5 in $\mathbb{P}^3$ (the cases $d \leqslant 4$ are well known). We introduce the set $Gaps(d)$ of all non-negative integers which are not realized as geometric genera of irreducible curves on $S$. We prove that $Gaps(d)$ is finite and, in particular, that $Gaps(5)= \{0,1,2\}$. The set $Gaps(d)$ is the union of finitely many disjoint and separated integer intervals. The first of them, according to a theorem of Xu, is $Gaps_0(d):=[0, \frac{d(d-3)}{2} - 3]$. We show that the next one is $Gaps_1(d):= [\frac{d^2-3d+4}{2}, d^2-2d-9]$ for all $d \geqslant 6$.Comment: 16 page

Aging phenomena in nonlinear dissipative chains: Application to polymer

We study energy relaxation in a phenomenological model for polymer built from rheological considerations: a one dimensional nonlinear lattice with dissipative couplings. These couplings are well known in polymer's community to be possibly responsible of beta-relaxation (as in Burger's model). After thermalisation of this system, the extremities of the chain are put in contact with a zero-temperature reservoir, showing the existence of surprising quasi-stationary states with non zero energy when the dissipative coupling is high. This strange behavior, due to long-lived nonlinear localized modes, induces stretched exponential laws. Furthermore, we observe a strong dependence on the waiting time tw after the quench of the two-time intermediate correlation function C(tw+t,tw). This function can be scaled onto a master curve, similar to the case of spin or Lennard-Jones glasses.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure

Prym varieties and the canonical map of surfaces of general type

Let X be a smooth complex surface of general type such that the image of the canonical map $\phi$ of X is a surface $\Sigma$ and that $\phi$ has degree $\delta\geq 2$. Let $\epsilon\colon S\to \Sigma$ be a desingularization of $\Sigma$ and assume that the geometric genus of S is not zero. Beauville has proved that in this case S is of general type and $\epsilon$ is the canonical map of S. Beauville has also constructed the only infinite series of examples $\phi:X\to \Sigma$ with the above properties that was known up to now. Starting from his construction, we define a {\em good generating pair}, namely a pair $(h:V\to W, L)$ where h is a finite morphism of surfaces and L is a nef and big line bundle of W satisfying certain assumptions. We show that by applying a construction analogous to Beauville's to a good generating pair one obtains an infinite series of surfaces of general type whose canonical map is 2-to-1 onto a canonically embedded surface. In this way we are able to construct more infinite series of such surfaces. In addition, we show that good generating pairs have bounded invariants and that there exist essentially only 2 examples with $\dim |L|>1$. The key fact that we exploit for obtaining these results is that the Albanese variety P of V is a Prym variety and that the fibre of the Prym map over P has positive dimension.Comment: 40 pages, LaTeX 2.0

On the geometric genus of reducible surfaces and degenerations of surfaces to unions of planes

In this paper we study some properties of degenerations of surfaces whose general fibre is a smooth projective surface and whose central fibre is a reduced, connected surface $X \subset IP^r$, $r \geq 3$, which is assumed to be a union of smooth projective surfaces, in particular of planes. Our original motivation has been a series of papers of G. Zappa which appeared in the 1940-50's regarding degenerations of scrolls to unions of planes. Here, we present a first set of results on the subject; other aspects are still work in progress and will appear later. We first study the geometry and the combinatorics of a surface like $X$, considered as a reduced, connected surface on its own; then we focus on the case in which X is the central fibre of a degeneration of relative dimension two over the complex unit disk. In this case, we deduce some of the intrinsic and extrinsic invariants of the general fibre from the ones of its central fibre. In the particular case of $X$ a central fibre of a semistable degeneration, i.e. $X$ has only global normal crossing singularities and the total space of the degeneration is smooth, some of the above invariants can be also computed by topological methods (i.e., the Clemens-Schmid exact sequence). Our results are more general, not only because the computations are independent on the fact that $X$ is the central fibre of a degeneration, but also because the degeneration is not semistable in general.Comment: latex2e, 26 pages, 11 figure

Work fluctuation theorems for harmonic oscillators

The work fluctuations of an oscillator in contact with a thermostat and driven out of equilibrium by an external force are studied experimentally and theoretically within the context of Fluctuation Theorems (FTs). The oscillator dynamics is modeled by a second order Langevin equation. Both the transient and stationary state fluctuation theorems hold and the finite time corrections are very different from those of a first order Langevin equation. The periodic forcing of the oscillator is also studied; it presents new and unexpected short time convergences. Analytical expressions are given in all cases

Special scrolls whose base curve has general moduli

In this paper we study the Hilbert scheme of smooth, linearly normal, special scrolls under suitable assumptions on degree, genus and speciality.Comment: Latex2e, shorter versio

On the classification of OADP varieties

The main purpose of this paper is to show that OADP varieties stand at an important crossroad of various main streets in different disciplines like projective geometry, birational geometry and algebra. This is a good reason for studying and classifying them. Main specific results are: (a) the classification of all OADP surfaces (regardless to their smoothness); (b) the classification of a relevant class of normal OADP varieties of any dimension, which includes interesting examples like lagrangian grassmannians. Following [PR], the equivalence of the classification in (b) with the one of quadro-quadric Cremona transformations and of complex, unitary, cubic Jordan algebras are explained.Comment: 13 pages. Dedicated to Fabrizio Catanese on the occasion of his 60th birthday. To appear in a special issue of Science in China Series A: Mathematic

Fluctuation theorems for harmonic oscillators

We study experimentally the thermal fluctuations of energy input and dissipation in a harmonic oscillator driven out of equilibrium, and search for Fluctuation Relations. We study transient evolution from the equilibrium state, together with non equilibrium steady states. Fluctuations Relations are obtained experimentally for both the work and the heat, for the stationary and transient evolutions. A Stationary State Fluctuation Theorem is verified for the two time prescriptions of the torque. But a Transient Fluctuation Theorem is satisfied for the work given to the system but not for the heat dissipated by the system in the case of linear forcing. Experimental observations on the statistical and dynamical properties of the fluctuation of the angle, we derive analytical expressions for the probability density function of the work and the heat. We obtain for the first time an analytic expression of the probability density function of the heat. Agreement between experiments and our modeling is excellent

Generalized fluctuation relation and effective temperatures in a driven fluid

By numerical simulation of a Lennard-Jones like liquid driven by a velocity gradient \gamma we test the fluctuation relation (FR) below the (numerical) glass transition temperature T_g. We show that, in this region, the FR deserves to be generalized introducing a numerical factor X(T,\gamma)<1 that defines an ``effective temperature'' T_{FR}=T/X. On the same system we also measure the effective temperature T_{eff}, as defined from the generalized fluctuation-dissipation relation, and find a qualitative agreement between the two different nonequilibrium temperatures.Comment: Version accepted for publication on Phys.Rev.E; major changes, 1 figure adde