Search results for "Monte Carlo method"
showing 10 items of 1234 documents
First-order and tricritical wetting transitions in the two-dimensional Ising model caused by interfacial pinning at a defect line
2014
We present a study of the critical behavior of the Blume-Capel model with three spin states (S=±1,0) confined between parallel walls separated by a distance L where competitive surface magnetic fields act. By properly choosing the crystal field (D), which regulates the density of nonmagnetic species (S=0), such that those impurities are excluded from the bulk (where D=) except in the middle of the sample [where DM(L/2)≠], we are able to control the presence of a defect line in the middle of the sample and study its influence on the interface between domains of different spin orientations. So essentially we study an Ising model with a defect line but, unlike previous work where defect lines …
Monte Carlo studies of polymer interdiffusion and spinodal decomposition: A review
1991
Abstract Putting a layer of polymer A on top of a layer of polymer B, the broadening of the interfacial profile is observed in the framework of a lattice model (‘bond fluctuation method’). The interdiffusion constant is studied as a function of chain length, vacancy concentration, and interaction energy between unlike monomers, and a comparison with pertinent theoretical predictions is made. A lattice model where polymers are represented as self-avoiding walks on a simple cubic lattice is used to model ‘spinodal decomposition’, i.e. phase separation by ‘uphill diffusion’ in the unstable part of the phase diagram of a polymer mixture. For chain lengths N ≤ 32, the linearized Cahn-like theory…
Simulating spin models on GPU
2010
Over the last couple of years it has been realized that the vast computational power of graphics processing units (GPUs) could be harvested for purposes other than the video game industry. This power, which at least nominally exceeds that of current CPUs by large factors, results from the relative simplicity of the GPU architectures as compared to CPUs, combined with a large number of parallel processing units on a single chip. To benefit from this setup for general computing purposes, the problems at hand need to be prepared in a way to profit from the inherent parallelism and hierarchical structure of memory accesses. In this contribution I discuss the performance potential for simulating…
First-order interface localization-delocalization transition in thin Ising films using Wang-Landau sampling
2004
Using extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we study the interface localization- delocalization transition of a thin Ising film with antisymmetric competing walls for a set of parameters where the transition is strongly first-order. This is achieved by estimating the density of states (DOS) of the model by means of Wang-Landau sampling (WLS) in the space of energy, using both, single-spin-flip as well as N-fold way updates. From the DOS we calculate canonical averages related to the configurational energy, like the internal energy, the specific heat, as well as the free energy and the entropy. By sampling microcanonical averages during simulations we also compute thermodynamic quantities relat…
Cross Correlations in Scaling Analyses of Phase Transitions
2008
Thermal or finite-size scaling analyses of importance sampling Monte Carlo time series in the vicinity of phase transition points often combine different estimates for the same quantity, such as a critical exponent, with the intent to reduce statistical fluctuations. We point out that the origin of such estimates in the same time series results in often pronounced cross-correlations which are usually ignored even in high-precision studies, generically leading to significant underestimation of statistical fluctuations. We suggest to use a simple extension of the conventional analysis taking correlation effects into account, which leads to improved estimators with often substantially reduced …
Finite-size effects in dynamics of zero-range processes
2010
The finite-size effects prominent in zero-range processes exhibiting a condensation transition are studied by using continuous-time Monte Carlo simulations. We observe that, well above the thermodynamic critical point, both static and dynamic properties display fluid-like behavior up to a density {\rho}c (L), which is the finite-size counterpart of the critical density {\rho}c = {\rho}c (L \rightarrow \infty). We determine this density from the cross-over behavior of the average size of the largest cluster. We then show that several dynamical characteristics undergo a qualitative change at this density. In particular, the size distribution of the largest cluster at the moment of relocation,…
Transitions between imperfectly ordered crystalline structures: A phase switch Monte Carlo study
2012
A model for two-dimensional colloids confined laterally by ``structured boundaries'' (i.e., ones that impose a periodicity along the slit) is studied by Monte Carlo simulations. When the distance $D$ between the confining walls is reduced at constant particle number from an initial value ${D}_{0}$, for which a crystalline structure commensurate with the imposed periodicity fits, to smaller values, a succession of phase transitions to imperfectly ordered structures occur. These structures have a reduced number of rows parallel to the boundaries (from $n$ to $n\ensuremath{-}1$ to $n\ensuremath{-}2$, etc.) and are accompanied by an almost periodic strain pattern, due to ``soliton staircases'' …
A Monte Carlo study comparing PIV, ULS and DWLS in the estimation of dichotomous confirmatory factor analysis
2012
We conducted a Monte Carlo study to investigate the performance of the polychoric instrumental variable estimator (PIV) in comparison to unweighted least squares (ULS) and diagonally weighted least squares (DWLS) in the estimation of a confirmatory factor analysis model with dichotomous indicators. The simulation involved 144 conditions (1,000 replications per condition) that were defined by a combination of (a) two types of latent factor models, (b) four sample sizes (100, 250, 500, 1,000), (c) three factor loadings (low, moderate, strong), (d) three levels of non-normality (normal, moderately, and extremely non-normal), and (e) whether the factor model was correctly specified or misspecif…
A Stochastic Approach to Quantum Statistics Distributions: Theoretical Derivation and Monte Carlo Modelling
2009
Abstract. We present a method aimed at a stochastic derivation of the equilibrium distribution of a classical/quantum ideal gas in the framework of the canonical ensemble. The time evolution of these ideal systems is modelled as a series of transitions from one system microstate to another one and thermal equilibrium is reached via a random walk in the single-particle state space. We look at this dynamic process as a Markov chain satisfying the condition of detailed balance and propose a variant of the Monte Carlo Metropolis algorithm able to take into account indistinguishability of identical quantum particles. Simulations performed on different two-dimensional (2D) systems are revealed to…
Bayesian regularization for flexible baseline hazard functions in Cox survival models.
2019
Fully Bayesian methods for Cox models specify a model for the baseline hazard function. Parametric approaches generally provide monotone estimations. Semi-parametric choices allow for more flexible patterns but they can suffer from overfitting and instability. Regularization methods through prior distributions with correlated structures usually give reasonable answers to these types of situations. We discuss Bayesian regularization for Cox survival models defined via flexible baseline hazards specified by a mixture of piecewise constant functions and by a cubic B-spline function. For those "semi-parametric" proposals, different prior scenarios ranging from prior independence to particular c…