Oscillatory Bifurcation with Broken Translation Symmetry

The effect of distant endwalls on the bifurcation to traveling waves is considered. Previous approaches have treated the problem by assuming that it is a weak perturbation of the translation invariant problem. When the problem is formulated instead in a finite box of length L and the limit L→∞ is taken, one obtains amplitude equations that differ from the usual Ginzburg-Landau description by the presence of an additional nonlinear term. This formulation leads to a description in terms of the amplitudes of the primary box modes, which are odd and even parity standing waves. For large L, the equations that result take the form of a Hopf bifurcation with approximate D4 symmetry. These equations are able to describe, qualitatively, not only traveling and blinking states, but also asymmetrical blinking states and repeated transients, all of which have been observed in binary fluid convection experiments

Determinantal equations for secant varieties and the Eisenbud-Koh-Stillman conjecture

We address special cases of a question of Eisenbud on the ideals of secant varieties of Veronese re-embeddings of arbitrary varieties. Eisenbud's question generalizes a conjecture of Eisenbud, Koh and Stillman (EKS) for curves. We prove that set-theoretic equations of small secant varieties to a high degree Veronese re-embedding of a smooth variety are determined by equations of the ambient Veronese variety and linear equations. However this is false for singular varieties, and we give explicit counter-examples to the EKS conjecture for singular curves. The techniques we use also allow us to prove a gap and uniqueness theorem for symmetric tensor rank. We put Eisenbud's question in a more general context about the behaviour of border rank under specialisation to a linear subspace, and provide an overview of conjectures coming from signal processing and complexity theory in this context.Comment: 21 pages; presentation improved as suggested by the referees; To appear in Journal of London Mathematical Societ

Effect of Disorder on Synchronization in Prototype 2-D Josephson Arrays

We study the effects of quenched disorder on the dynamics of two-dimensional arrays of overdamped Josephson junctions. Disorder in both the junction critical currents and resistances is considered. Analytical results for small arrays are used to identify a physical mechanism which promotes frequency locking across each row of the array, and to show that no such locking mechanism exists between rows. The intrarow locking mechanism is surprisingly strong, so that a row can tolerate large amounts of disorder before frequency locking is destroyed

Oscillatory Doubly Diffusive Convection in a Finite Container

Oscillatory doubly diffusive convection in a large aspect ratio Hele-Shaw cell is considered. The partial differential equations are reduced via center-unstable manifold reduction to the normal form equations describing the interaction of even and odd parity standing waves near onset. These equations take the form of the equations for a Hopf bifurcation with approximate D4 symmetry, verifying the conclusions of the preceding paper [A.S. Landsberg and E. Knobloch, Phys. Rev. E53, 3579 (1996)]. In particular, the amplitude equations differ in the limit of large aspect ratios from the usual Ginzburg-Landau description in having additional nonlinear terms with O(1) coefficients. Numerical simulations of the amplitude equations for experimental parameter values are presented and compared with the results of recent experiments by Predtechensky et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 218 (1994); Phys. Fluids 6, 3923 (1994)]

Geometrical Phases and Symmetries in Dissipative Systems

A geometrical phase is constructed for dissipative dynamical systems possessing continuous symmetries. It emerges as the natural analog of the holonomy associated with the adiabatic variation of parameters in quantum-mechanical and classical Hamiltonian systems. In continuous media, the physical manifestation of this phase is a spatial shift of a wave pattern, typically a translation or rotation. An illustration associated with pattern formation in fluids is provided

Disorder-Induced Desynchronization in a 2x2 Circular Josephson Junction Array

Analytical results are presented which characterize the behavior of a dc-biased, two-dimensional circular array of overdamped Josephson junctions subject to increasing levels of disorder. It is shown that high levels of disorder can abruptly destroy the synchronous functioning of the array. We identify the transition boundary between synchronized and desynchronized behavior, along with the mechanism responsible for the loss of frequency locking. Comparisons with recent results for arrays with rectangular lattice geometries are described

Oscillatory Doubly Diffusive Convection in a Finite Container

Oscillatory doubly diffusive convection in a large aspect ratio Hele-Shaw cell is considered. The partial differential equations are reduced via center-unstable manifold reduction to the normal form equations describing the interaction of even and odd parity standing waves near onset. These equations take the form of the equations for a Hopf bifurcation with approximate D4 symmetry, verifying the conclusions of the preceding paper [A.S. Landsberg and E. Knobloch, Phys. Rev. E 53, 3579 (1996)]. In particular, the amplitude equations differ in the limit of large aspect ratios from the usual Ginzburg-Landau description in having additional nonlinear terms with O(1) coefficients. Numerical simulations of the amplitude equations for experimental parameter values are presented and compared with the results of recent experiments by Predtechensky et al. [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 218 (1994); Phys. Fluids 6, 3923 (1994)]

Hierarchical networks, power laws, and neuronal avalanches

We show that in networks with a hierarchical architecture, critical dynamical behaviors can emerge even when the underlying dynamical processes are not critical. This finding provides explicit insight into current studies of the brain\u27s neuronal network showing power-lawavalanches in neural recordings, and provides a theoretical justification of recent numerical findings. Our analysis shows how the hierarchical organization of a network can itself lead to power-law distributions of avalanche sizes and durations, scaling laws between anomalous exponents, and universal functions—even in the absence of self-organized criticality or critical points. This hierarchy-induced phenomenon is independent of, though can potentially operate in conjunction with, standard dynamical mechanisms for generating power laws