The gravity-driven instability of a thin liquid film located underneath a soft solid material is considered. The equations and boundary conditions governing the solid deformation are systematically converted from a Lagrangian representation to an Eulerian representation, which is the natural framework for describing the liquid motion. This systematic conversion reveals that the continuity-of-velocity boundary condition at the liquid-solid interface is more complicated than has previously been assumed, even in the small-strain limit. We then make clear the conditions under which the commonly used simplified version of this boundary condition is valid. The small-strain approximation, lubrication theory, and linear stability analysis are applied to derive an expression for the growth rate of small-amplitude perturbations. Asymptotic analysis reveals that the coupling between the liquid and solid manifests itself as a lower effective liquid-air interfacial tension that leads to larger instability growth rates. Although this suggests that it is more difficult to maintain a stable liquid coating underneath a soft solid, the effect is expected to be weak for cases of practical interest.

The wakefield, or ion focus, formed by ions streaming past dust particles trapped in the plasma sheath leads to two types of instabilities: the Schweigert instability in multilayer systems and the mode-coupling instability that already appears in single-layer dust systems. Here, a model is presented that treats both types of instability in a common description. The parameter space for the onset of the instabilities is determined. A new variant of the mode-coupling instability is found to arise from the interaction among the layers. For weak confinement, all instabilities continuously merge into each other. For stronger confinement of the dust mainly the Schweigert type of instability is observed.

The inhomogeneity of multiplicative white noise leads to various coupling modes between deterministic and stochastic forces. We investigate the phase transition induced by the variation of the coupling mode through manipulating its characteristic parameter continuously. Even when the noise strength is fixed, an increase of this parameter can enhance or inhibit the symmetry-breaking state. We also propose a scheme to implement these phase transitions experimentally. Our result demonstrates that the coupling mode previously considered to be a mathematical convention serves as an additional quantity leading to physically observable phase transitions. This observation provides a mechanism to control the effect of noise without regulating the noise strength.

A method for the study of the ground states of lattice-gas models or equivalent spin models with extended-range interactions is proposed. It is shown that effect of longer-range interactions can be studied in terms of the solution of the ground-state problem for a model with short-range interactions. The method is applied to explain the emergence of fractional magnetization plateaus in $\mathrm{TmB}{}_4$ regarded as a strong Ising magnet on the Shastry-Sutherland lattice with long-range interactions.

We show that the main forbidden interval theorems of stochastic resonance hold for a correlation performance measure. Earlier theorems held only for performance measures based on mutual information or the probability of error detection. Forbidden interval theorems ensure that a threshold signal detector benefits from deliberately added noise if the average noise does not lie in an interval that depends on the threshold value. We first show that this result holds for correlation for all finite-variance noise and for all forms of infinite-variance stable noise. A second forbidden-interval theorem gives necessary and sufficient conditions for a local noise benefit in a bipolar signal system when the noise comes from a location-scale family. A third theorem gives a general condition for a local noise benefit for arbitrary signals with finite second moments and for location-scale noise. This result also extends forbidden intervals to forbidden bands of parameters. A fourth theorem gives necessary and sufficient conditions for a local noise benefit when both the independent signal and noise are normal. A final theorem derives necessary and sufficient conditions for forbidden bands when using arrays of threshold detectors for arbitrary signals and location-scale noise.

A general achievable upper bound of extractable work under feedback control is given, where nonequilibrium equalities are generalized so as to be applicable to error-free measurements. The upper bound involves a term which arises from the part of the process whose information becomes unavailable and is related to the weight of the singular part of the reference probability measure. The obtained upper bound of extractable work is more stringent than the hitherto known one and sets a general achievable bound for a given feedback protocol. Guiding principles of designing the optimal protocol are also suggested. Examples are presented to illustrate our general results.

We discuss the non-self-averaging phenomena in the critical point of weakly disordered Ising ferromagnet. In terms of the renormalized replica Ginzburg-Landau Hamiltonian in dimensions $D<4$, we derive an explicit expression for the probability distribution function (PDF) of the critical free-energy fluctuations. In particular, using known fixed-point values for the renormalized coupling parameters, we obtain the universal curve for such PDF in the dimension $D=3$. It is demonstrated that this function is strongly asymmetric: its left tail is much slower than the right one.

We consider simple systems driven multiplicatively by white shot noise, which appear in the modeling of the dynamics of soil nutrients and contaminants. The dynamics of these systems is analyzed in two ways: solving a hierarchy of linear ordinary differential equations for the moments, which gives a time scale of convergence of the stationary probability density function; and characterizing the crossing properties, such as the mean first-passage time and the mean frequency of level crossing. These results are readily applicable to the study of geophysical systems, such as the problem of accumulation of salt in the root zone, i.e., soil salinization.

The rheological behavior of a dilute suspension of vesicles in linear shear flow at a finite concentration is analytically examined. In the quasispherical limit, two coupled nonlinear equations that describe the vesicle orientation in the flow and its shape evolution were derived [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 028104 (2006)] and serve here as a starting point. Of special interest is to provide, for the first time, an exact analytical prediction of the time-dependent effective viscosity ${\eta }_{\mathrm{eff}}$ and normal stress differences $N_1$ and $N_2.$ Our results shed light on the effect of the viscosity ratio $\lambda$ (defined as the inner over the outer fluid viscosities) as the main controlling parameter. It is shown that ${\eta }_{\mathrm{eff}},N_1$, and $N_2$ either tend to a steady state or describe a periodic time-dependent rheological response, previously reported numerically and experimentally. In particular, the shear viscosity minimum and the cusp singularities of ${\eta }_{\mathrm{eff}},N_1$, and $N_2$ at the tumbling threshold are brought to light. We also report on rheology properties for an arbitrary linear flow. We were able to obtain a constitutive law in a closed form relating the stress tensor to the strain rate tensor. It is found that the resulting constitutive markedly contrasts with classical laws known for other complex fluids, such as emulsions, capsule suspensions, and dilute polymer solutions (Oldroyd B model). We highlight the main differences between our law and classical laws.

We present a crowding-based model to predict the shear viscosity of suspensions of rigid bimodal-sized particles. In this model, the mutual crowding factor is defined to explicitly account for the change in the amount of fluid trapped in the interstices formed by particles upon mixing particles with two different sizes. Through this factor, we cancel the effect of size interference by mapping the bimodal suspensions to a suspension of noninterfering size ratio. This approach provides a set of decorrelated particle fractions that depend on crowding and size distribution. The shear viscosity of the resultant suspension is then directly estimated based on the viscosity of corrected components using a stiffening function that accounts for the self-crowding in each size class individually. We tested the proposed model against published experiments over a wide range of particle volume fractions, and we observe an excellent agreement.

Helmholtz free energies of the dominant binary crystalline solids found in the Cu-Zr system at high temperatures close to the melting curve are calculated. Our theoretical approach combines fundamental measure density functional theory (applied to the hard-sphere reference system) and a perturbative approach to include the attractive interactions. The studied crystalline solids are Cu(fcc), ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{51}{\mathrm{Zr}}_{14}$($\beta$), CuZr(B2), ${\mathrm{CuZr}}_2$(C11b), Zr(hcp), and Zr(bcc). The calculated Helmholtz free energies of crystalline solids are in good agreement with results from molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations. Using the same perturbation approach, the liquid phase free energies are calculated as a function of composition and temperature, from which the melting curve of the entire composition range of this system can be obtained. Phase diagrams are determined in this way for two leading embedded atom method potentials, and the results are compared with experimental data. Theoretical melting temperatures are compared both with experimental values and with values obtained directly from MD simulations at several compositions.

An atomic force microscope was used to scribe a polyimide-coated substrate with complex patterns that serve as an alignment template for a nematic liquid crystal. By employing a sufficiently large density of scribe lines, two-dimensional topological defect arrays of arbitrary defect strength were patterned on the substrate. When used as the master surface of a liquid crystal cell, in which the opposing slave surface is treated for planar degenerate alignment, the liquid crystal adopts the pattern's alignment with a disclination line emanating at the defect core on one surface and terminating at the other surface.

The activation of a ${\text{K}}^{+}$ channel sensor in two sequential stages during a voltage clamp may be described as the translocation of a Brownian particle in an energy landscape with two large barriers between states. A solution of the Smoluchowski equation for a square-well approximation to the potential function of the S4 voltage sensor satisfies a master equation and has two frequencies that may be determined from the forward and backward rate functions. When the higher-frequency terms have small amplitude, the solution reduces to the relaxation of a rate equation, where the derived two-state rate functions are dependent on the relative magnitude of the forward rates ($\alpha$ and $\gamma$) and the backward rates ($\beta$ and $\delta$) for each stage. In particular, the voltage dependence of the Hodgkin-Huxley rate functions for a ${\text{K}}^{+}$ channel may be derived by assuming that the rate functions of the first stage are large relative to those of the second stage—$\alpha \gg \gamma$ and $\beta \gg \delta$. For a Shaker IR ${\text{K}}^{+}$ channel, the first forward and backward transitions are rate limiting ($\alpha <\gamma$ and $\delta \ll \beta$), and for an activation process with either two or three stages, the derived two-state rate functions also have a voltage dependence that is of a similar form to that determined for the squid axon. The potential variation generated by the interaction between a two-stage ${\text{K}}^{+}$ ion channel and a noninactivating ${\text{Na}}^{+}$ ion channel is determined by the master equation for ${\text{K}}^{+}$ channel activation and the ionic current equation when the ${\text{Na}}^{+}$ channel activation time is small, and if $\beta \ll \delta$ and $\alpha \ll \gamma$, the system may exhibit a small amplitude oscillation between spikes, or mixed-mode oscillation, in which the slow closed state modulates the ${\text{K}}^{+}$ ion channel conductance in the membrane.

We consider a general multicomponent (2+1)-dimensional long-wave–short-wave resonance interaction (LSRI) system with arbitrary nonlinearity coefficients, which describes the nonlinear resonance interaction of multiple short waves with a long wave in two spatial dimensions. The general multicomponent LSRI system is shown to be integrable by performing the Painlevé analysis. Then we construct the exact bright multisoliton solutions by applying the Hirota's bilinearization method and study the propagation and collision dynamics of bright solitons in detail. Particularly, we investigate the head-on and overtaking collisions of bright solitons and explore two types of energy-sharing collisions as well as standard elastic collision. We have also corroborated the obtained analytical one-soliton solution by direct numerical simulation. Also, we discuss the formation and dynamics of resonant solitons. Interestingly, we demonstrate the formation of resonant solitons admitting breather-like (localized periodic pulse train) structure and also large amplitude localized structures akin to rogue waves coexisting with solitons. For completeness, we have also obtained dark one- and two-soliton solutions and studied their dynamics briefly.

An analytical model to study the perturbation flow that evolves between a rippled piston and a shock is presented. Two boundary conditions are considered: rigid and free surface. Any time a corrugated shock is launched inside a fluid, pressure, velocity, density, and vorticity perturbations are generated downstream. As the shock separates, the pressure field decays in time and a quiescent velocity field emerges in the space in front of the piston. Depending on the boundary conditions imposed at the driving piston, either tangential or normal velocity perturbations evolve asymptotically on its surface. The goal of this work is to present explicit analytical formulas to calculate the asymptotic velocities at the piston. This is done in the important physical limits of weak and strong shocks. An approximate formula for any shock strength is also discussed for both boundary conditions.

Mathematical, particularly, asymptotic properties of the random-phase approximation, Mermin approximation, and extended Mermin-type approximation of the coupled plasma dielectric function are analyzed within the method of moments. These models are generalized for two-component plasmas. Some drawbacks and advantages of the above models are pointed out. The two-component plasma stopping power is shown to be enhanced with respect to that of the electron fluid.

The ability for reactive constituents to mix is often the key limiting factor for the completion of reactions across a huge range of scales in a variety of media. In flowing systems, deformation and shear enhance mixing by bringing constituents into closer proximity, thus increasing reaction potential. Accurately quantifying this enhanced mixing is key to predicting reactions and typically is done by observing or simulating scalar transport. To eliminate this computationally expensive step, we use a Lagrangian stochastic framework to derive the enhancement to reaction potential by calculating the collocation probability of particle pairs in a heterogeneous flow field accounting for deformations. We relate the enhanced reaction potential to three well known flow topology metrics and demonstrate that it is best correlated to (and asymptotically linear with) one: the largest eigenvalue of the (right) Cauchy-Green tensor.

We analyze the phase transitions that emerge from the recursive design of certain hyperbolic networks that includes, for instance, a discontinuous (“explosive”) transition in ordinary percolation. To this end, we solve the $q$-state Potts model in the analytic continuation for noninteger $q$ with the real-space renormalization group. We find exact expressions for this one-parameter family of models that describe the dramatic transformation of the transition. In particular, this variation in $q$ shows that the discontinuous transition is generic in the regime $q<2$ that includes percolation. A continuous ferromagnetic transition is recovered in a singular manner only for the Ising model, $q=2$. For $q>2$ the transition immediately transforms into an infinitely smooth order parameter of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type.

We characterize the structure of maximally random jammed (MRJ) sphere packings by computing the Minkowski functionals (volume, surface area, and integrated mean curvature) of their associated Voronoi cells. The probability distribution functions of these functionals of Voronoi cells in MRJ sphere packings are qualitatively similar to those of an equilibrium hard-sphere liquid and partly even to the uncorrelated Poisson point process, implying that such local statistics are relatively structurally insensitive. This is not surprising because the Minkowski functionals of a single Voronoi cell incorporate only local information and are insensitive to global structural information. To improve upon this, we introduce descriptors that incorporate nonlocal information via the correlation functions of the Minkowski functionals of two cells at a given distance as well as certain cell-cell probability density functions. We evaluate these higher-order functions for our MRJ packings as well as equilibrium hard spheres and the Poisson point process. It is shown that these Minkowski correlation and density functions contain visibly more information than the corresponding standard pair-correlation functions. We find strong anticorrelations in the Voronoi volumes for the hyperuniform MRJ packings, consistent with previous findings for other pair correlations [A. Donev et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 090604 (2005)], indicating that large-scale volume fluctuations are suppressed by accompanying large Voronoi cells with small cells, and vice versa. In contrast to the aforementioned local Voronoi statistics, the correlation functions of the Voronoi cells qualitatively distinguish the structure of MRJ sphere packings (prototypical glasses) from that of not only the Poisson point process but also the correlated equilibrium hard-sphere liquids. Moreover, while we did not find any perfect icosahedra (the locally densest possible structure in which a central sphere contacts 12 neighbors) in the MRJ packings, a preliminary Voronoi topology analysis indicates the presence of strongly distorted icosahedra.