42 research outputs found
Collaborative virtual 3D environment for internet-accessible physics experiments
Immersive 3D worlds have increasingly raised the interest of researchers and practitioners for various learning and training settings over the last decade. These virtual worlds can provide multiple communication channels between users and improve presence and awareness in the learning process. Consequently virtual 3D environments facilitate collaborative learning and training scenarios. In this paper we focus on the integration of internet accessible physics experiments (iLabs) combined with the TEALsim 3D simulation toolkit in Project Wonderland, Sun's toolkit for creating collaborative 3D virtual worlds. Within such a collaborative environment these tools provide the opportunity for teachers and students to work together as avatars as they control actual equipment, visualize physical phenomenon generated by the experiment, and discuss the results. In particular we will outline the steps of integration, future goals, as well as the value of a collaboration space in Wonderland's virtual world
How the Replica-Symmetry-Breaking Transition Looks Like in Finite-Size Simulations
Finite-size effects in the mean-field Ising spin glass and the mean-field
three-state Potts glass are investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. In the
thermodynamic limit, each model is known to exhibit a continuous phase
transition into the ordered state with a full and a one-step replica-symmetry
breaking (RSB), respectively. In the Ising case, Binder parameter g calculated
for various finite sizes remains positive at any temperature and crosses at the
transition point, while in the Potts case g develops a negative dip without
showing a crossing in the g>0 region. By contrast, non-self averaging
parameters always remain positive and show a clear crossing at the transition
temperature in both cases. Our finding suggests that care should be taken in
interpreting the numerical data of the Binder parameter, particularly when the
system exhibits a one-step-like RSB.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Nonequilibrium phase transition in a model for social influence
We present extensive numerical simulations of the Axelrod's model for social
influence, aimed at understanding the formation of cultural domains. This is a
nonequilibrium model with short range interactions and a remarkably rich
dynamical behavior. We study the phase diagram of the model and uncover a
nonequilibrium phase transition separating an ordered (culturally polarized)
phase from a disordered (culturally fragmented) one. The nature of the phase
transition can be continuous or discontinuous depending on the model
parameters. At the transition, the size of cultural regions is power-law
distributed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Models of competitive learning: complex dynamics, intermittent conversions and oscillatory coarsening
We present two models of competitive learning, which are respectively
interfacial and cooperative learning. This learning is outcome-related, so that
spatially and temporally local environments influence the conversion of a given
site between one of two different types. We focus here on the behavior of the
models at coexistence, which yields new critical behavior and the existence of
a phase involving a novel type of coarsening which is oscillatory in nature.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Exact Results for a Three-Body Reaction-Diffusion System
A system of particles hopping on a line, singly or as merged pairs, and
annihilating in groups of three on encounters, is solved exactly for certain
symmetrical initial conditions. The functional form of the density is nearly
identical to that found in two-body annihilation, and both systems show
non-mean-field, ~1/t**(1/2) instead of ~1/t, decrease of particle density for
large times.Comment: 10 page
Model of Cluster Growth and Phase Separation: Exact Results in One Dimension
We present exact results for a lattice model of cluster growth in 1D. The
growth mechanism involves interface hopping and pairwise annihilation
supplemented by spontaneous creation of the stable-phase, +1, regions by
overturning the unstable-phase, -1, spins with probability p. For cluster
coarsening at phase coexistence, p=0, the conventional structure-factor scaling
applies. In this limit our model falls in the class of diffusion-limited
reactions A+A->inert. The +1 cluster size grows diffusively, ~t**(1/2), and the
two-point correlation function obeys scaling. However, for p>0, i.e., for the
dynamics of formation of stable phase from unstable phase, we find that
structure-factor scaling breaks down; the length scale associated with the size
of the growing +1 clusters reflects only the short-distance properties of the
two-point correlations.Comment: 12 page
The Glassy Potts Model
We introduce a Potts model with quenched, frustrated disorder, that enjoys of
a gauge symmetry that forbids spontaneous magnetization, and allows the glassy
phase to extend from down to T=0. We study numerical the 4 dimensional
model with states. We show the existence of a glassy phase, and we
characterize it by studying the probability distributions of an order
parameter, the binder cumulant and the divergence of the overlap
susceptibility. We show that the dynamical behavior of the system is
characterized by aging.Comment: 4 pages including 4 (color) ps figures (all on page 4
Coarsening and persistence in a class of stochastic processes interpolating between the Ising and voter models
We study the dynamics of a class of two dimensional stochastic processes,
depending on two parameters, which may be interpreted as two different
temperatures, respectively associated to interfacial and to bulk noise. Special
lines in the plane of parameters correspond to the Ising model, voter model and
majority vote model. The dynamics of this class of models may be described
formally in terms of reaction diffusion processes for a set of coalescing,
annihilating, and branching random walkers. We use the freedom allowed by the
space of parameters to measure, by numerical simulations, the persistence
probability of a generic model in the low temperature phase, where the system
coarsens. This probability is found to decay at large times as a power law with
a seemingly constant exponent . We also discuss the
connection between persistence and the nature of the interfaces between
domains.Comment: Late
Impact of Space Weather on Climate and Habitability of Terrestrial Type Exoplanets
The current progress in the detection of terrestrial type exoplanets has
opened a new avenue in the characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres and in
the search for biosignatures of life with the upcoming ground-based and space
missions. To specify the conditions favorable for the origin, development and
sustainment of life as we know it in other worlds, we need to understand the
nature of astrospheric, atmospheric and surface environments of exoplanets in
habitable zones around G-K-M dwarfs including our young Sun. Global environment
is formed by propagated disturbances from the planet-hosting stars in the form
of stellar flares, coronal mass ejections, energetic particles, and winds
collectively known as astrospheric space weather. Its characterization will
help in understanding how an exoplanetary ecosystem interacts with its host
star, as well as in the specification of the physical, chemical and biochemical
conditions that can create favorable and/or detrimental conditions for
planetary climate and habitability along with evolution of planetary internal
dynamics over geological timescales. A key linkage of (astro) physical,
chemical, and geological processes can only be understood in the framework of
interdisciplinary studies with the incorporation of progress in heliophysics,
astrophysics, planetary and Earth sciences. The assessment of the impacts of
host stars on the climate and habitability of terrestrial (exo)planets will
significantly expand the current definition of the habitable zone to the
biogenic zone and provide new observational strategies for searching for
signatures of life. The major goal of this paper is to describe and discuss the
current status and recent progress in this interdisciplinary field and to
provide a new roadmap for the future development of the emerging field of
exoplanetary science and astrobiology.Comment: 206 pages, 24 figures, 1 table; Review paper. International Journal
of Astrobiology (2019
Spin-photon interface and spin-controlled photon switching in a nanobeam waveguide
Access to the electron spin is at the heart of many protocols for integrated
and distributed quantum-information processing [1-4]. For instance, interfacing
the spin-state of an electron and a photon can be utilized to perform quantum
gates between photons [2,5] or to entangle remote spin states [6-9].
Ultimately, a quantum network of entangled spins constitutes a new paradigm in
quantum optics [1]. Towards this goal, an integrated spin-photon interface
would be a major leap forward. Here we demonstrate an efficient and optically
programmable interface between the spin of an electron in a quantum dot and
photons in a nanophotonic waveguide. The spin can be deterministically prepared
with a fidelity of 96\%. Subsequently the system is used to implement a
"single-spin photonic switch", where the spin state of the electron directs the
flow of photons through the waveguide. The spin-photon interface may enable
on-chip photon-photon gates [2], single-photon transistors [10], and efficient
photonic cluster state generation [11]