Search results for "Statistical physics"
showing 10 items of 1402 documents
Critical phenomena at surfaces
1990
Abstract The presence of free surfaces adds a rich and interesting complexity to critical phenomena associated with phase transitions occurring in bulk materials. We shall review Monte Carlo computer simulation studies of surface critical behavior in simple cubic Ising- and XY-models with nearest-neighbor interactions J in the bulk and Js at the surface. These studies allow the identification of various critical exponents and critical amplitude ratios involving both the critical behavior of local quantities and of surface excess corrections to the bulk. We consider both the “ordinary” transition (surface criticality controlled by the bulk) and the “special transition” (a multicritical point…
Haldane Model at finite temperature
2019
We consider the Haldane model, a 2D topological insulator whose phase is defined by the Chern number. We study its phases as temperature varies by means of the Uhlmann number, a finite temperature generalization of the Chern number. Because of the relation between the Uhlmann number and the dynamical transverse conductivity of the system, we evaluate also the conductivity of the model. This analysis does not show any sign of a phase transition induced by the temperature, nonetheless it gives a better understanding of the fate of the topological phase with the increase of the temperature, and it provides another example of the usefulness of the Uhlmann number as a novel tool to study topolog…
Mode-coupling theory for multiple decay channels
2013
We investigate the properties of a class of mode-coupling equations for the glass transition where the density mode decays into multiple relaxation channels. We prove the existence and uniqueness of the solutions for Newtonian as well as Brownian dynamics and demonstrate that they fulfill the requirements of correlation functions, in the latter case the solutions are purely relaxational. Furthermore, we construct an effective mode-coupling functional which allows to map the theory to the case of a single decay channel, such that the covariance principle found for the mode-coupling theory for simple liquids is properly generalized. This in turn allows establishing the maximum theorem stating…
Entropy flux in non-equilibrium thermodynamics
2004
Abstract An important problem in thermodynamics is the link between the entropy flux and the heat flux, for phenomena far from equilibrium. As an illustration we consider here the case of a rigid heat conductor subject to heating. The expression of the entropy flux is determined by the expressions of the evolution equations of the basic variables. It is shown that the coefficient relating entropy and heat fluxes differs far from equilibrium from the inverse of the non-equilibrium temperature θ . The particular case in which these two quantities are identical is examined in detail. A simple but intuitive physical illustration of the results is proposed. A comparison with information theory i…
Statistical mechanics characterization of spatio-compositional inhomogeneity
2009
On the basis of a model system of pillars built of unit cubes, a two-component entropic measure for the multiscale analysis of spatio-compositional inhomogeneity is proposed. It quantifies the statistical dissimilarity per cell of the actual configurational macrostate and the theoretical reference one that maximizes entropy. Two kinds of disorder compete: i) the spatial one connected with possible positions of pillars inside a cell (the first component of the measure), ii) the compositional one linked to compositions of each local sum of their integer heights into a number of pillars occupying the cell (the second component). As both the number of pillars and sum of their heights are conser…
Kardar–Parisi–Zhang scaling in kinetic roughening of fire fronts
1999
Abstract We show that the roughening of fire fronts in slow combustion of paper [7] follows the scaling predictions of the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation with thermal noise. By improved experimental accuracy it is now possible to observe the short-time and short-range correlations of the interfaces. These do not adhere to any standard picture, and in particular, do not seem to be related to any of the existing models of front propagation in the presence of quenched disorder.
Monte Carlo study of asymmetric 2D XY model
1997
Employing the Polyakov-Susskind approximation in a field theoretical treatment, the t-J model for strongly correlated electrons in two dimensions has recently been shown to map effectively onto an asymmetric two-dimensional classical XY model. The critical temperature at which charge-spin separation occurs in the t-J model is determined by the location of the phase transitions of this effective model. Here we report results of Monte Carlo simulations which map out the complete phase diagram in the two-dimensional parameter space and also shed some light on the critical behaviour of the transitions.
The distribution of velocities in an ensemble of accelerated particles on a surface
2016
An ensemble of particles diffusing with acceleration on a surface is considered as a 2D billiard system. The process of the finite-time diffusion of particles is studied using the balance equation. The probability distribution functions of the velocity and lifetime of particles are obtained analytically and by means of numerical simulations. A thermodynamic interpretation of the process is discussed. The effective temperature and entropy obey the relationship for an ideal gas.
Dynamical block analysis in a non-equilibrium system
1991
Abstract We present molecular dynamics simulation results of quenches into the unstable region of a two-dimensional Lennard-Jones system. The evolution of the system from the non-equilibrium state into equilibrium was analyzed with a dynamical block analysis. This can lead to a new approach in the study of non-equilibrium phenomena. We show that with such an analysis one can obtain results on the dynamic evolution as the system evolves, consistent with those obtained from and analysis of the pair-distribution function, structure factor and excess energy. The simulations were carried out on the parallel computer of the condensed matter theory group at the University of Mainz.
Monte Carlo investigations of phase transitions: status and perspectives
2000
Using the concept of finite-size scaling, Monte Carlo calculations of various models have become a very useful tool for the study of critical phenomena, with the system linear dimension as a variable. As an example, several recent studies of Ising models are discussed, as well as the extension to models of polymer mixtures and solutions. It is shown that using appropriate cluster algorithms, even the scaling functions describing the crossover from the Ising universality class to the mean-field behavior with increasing interaction range can be described. Additionally, the issue of finite-size scaling in Ising models above the marginal dimension (d*=4) is discussed.