We study zero-temperature Glauber dynamics for Ising-like spin variable models in quenched random networks with random zero-magnetization initial conditions. In particular, we focus on the absorbing states of finite systems. While it has quite often been observed that Glauber dynamics lets the system be stuck into an absorbing state distinct from its ground state in the thermodynamic limit, very little is known about the likelihood of each absorbing state. In order to explore the variety of absorbing states, we investigate the probability distribution profile of the active link density after saturation as the system size $N$ and $\langle k\rangle$ vary. As a result, we find that the distribution of absorbing states can be split into two self-averaging peaks whose positions are determined by $\langle k\rangle$, one slightly above the ground state and the other farther away. Moreover, we suggest that the latter peak accounts for a nonvanishing portion of samples when $N$ goes to infinity while $\langle k\rangle$ stays fixed. Finally, we discuss the possible implications of our results on opinion dynamics models.

We study a reaction-diffusion process that involves two species of atoms, immobile and diffusing. We start with only immobile atoms uniformly distributed throughout the entire space. Diffusing atoms are injected at the origin by a source that is turned on at time $t=0$. When a diffusing atom collides with an immobile atom, the two atoms form an immobile stable molecule. The region occupied by molecules is asymptotically spherical with radius growing as $t^{1/d}$ in $d⩾2$ dimensions. We investigate the survival probability that a diffusing atom has not become a part of a molecule during the time interval $t$ after its injection. We show that, asymptotically, the survival probability (i) saturates in one dimension, (ii) vanishes algebraically with time in two dimensions (with exponent being a function of the dimensionless flux and determined as a zero of a confluent hypergeometric function), and (iii) exhibits a stretched exponential decay in three dimensions.

Each oscillator in a linear chain (a string) interacts with a local Ising spin in contact with a thermal bath. These spins evolve according to Glauber dynamics. Below a critical temperature, there appears an equilibrium, time-independent, rippled state in the string that is accompanied by a nonzero spin polarization. On the other hand, the system is shown to form “metastable,” nonequilibrium long-lived ripples in the string for slow spin relaxation. The system vibrates rapidly about these quasistationary states, which can be described as snapshots of a coarse-grained stroboscopic map. For moderate observation times, ripples are observed irrespective of the final thermodynamically stable state (rippled or not). Interestingly, the system can be considered as a “minimal” model to understand rippling in clamped graphene sheets.

We analyze a kinetic Ising model with suppressed bulk noise, which is a prominent representative of the generalized voter model phase transition. On the one hand, we discuss the model in the context of social systems and opinion formation in the presence of a tunable social temperature. On the other hand, we characterize the abrupt phase transition. The system shows nonequilibrium dynamics in the presence of absorbing states. We slightly change the system to get a stationary-state model variant exhibiting the same kind of phase transition. Using a Fokker-Planck description and comparing to mean-field calculations, we investigate the phase transition, finite-size effects, and the effect of the absorbing states resulting in a dynamic slowing down.

By means of contact dynamic simulations, we investigate the contact network topology and force chains in two-dimensional packings of elongated particles subjected to biaxial shearing. The morphology of large packings of elongated particles in quasistatic equilibrium is complex due to the combined effects of local nematic ordering of the particles and orientations of contacts between particles. The effect of elongation on shear behavior and dilatancy was investigated in detail in a previous paper [Azéma and Radjai, Phys. Rev. E 81, 051304 (2010)]. Here, we show how particle elongation affects force distributions and force-fabric anisotropy via various local structures allowed by steric exclusions and the requirement of force balance. We find that the force distributions become increasingly broader as particles become more elongated. Interestingly, the weak force network transforms from a passive stabilizing agent with respect to strong force chains to an active force-transmitting network for the whole system. The strongest force chains are carried by side-side contacts oriented along the principal stress direction.

We study an ideal granular aggregate consisting of elastic spherical particles, isotropic in stress and anisotropic in the contact network. Because of the contact anisotropy, a confining pressure applied at zero deviatoric stress, produces shear strain as well as volume strain. Our goal is to predict the coordination number $k$, the average number of contacts per particle, and the magnitude of the contact anisotropy $\varepsilon$, from knowledge of the elastic moduli of the aggregate. We do this through a theoretical model based upon the well known effective medium theory. However, rather than focusing on the moduli, we consider their ratios over the moduli of an equivalent isotropic state. We observe good agreement between numerical simulation and theory.

We give a general phenomenological description of the steady-state 1D front propagation problem in two cases: the solidification of a pure material and the isothermal solidification of two-component dilute alloys. The solidification of a pure material is controlled by the heat transport in the bulk and the interface kinetics. The isothermal solidification of two-component alloys is controlled by the diffusion in the bulk and the interface kinetics. We find that the condition of positive-definiteness of the symmetric Onsager matrix of interface kinetic coefficients still allows an arbitrary sign of the slope of the velocity-concentration line near the solidus in the alloy problem or of the velocity-temperature line in the case of solidification of a pure material. This result offers a very simple and elegant way to describe the interesting phenomenon of a possible non-single-value behavior of velocity versus concentration that has previously been discussed by different approaches. We also discuss the relation of this Onsager approach to the thin-interface limit of the phase-field description.

The phase transition occurring when a single polymer chain adsorbed at a planar solid surface is mechanically desorbed is analyzed in two statistical ensembles. In the force ensemble, a constant force applied to the nongrafted end of the chain (that is grafted at its other end) is used as a given external control variable. In the $z$-ensemble, the displacement $z$ of this nongrafted end from the surface is taken as the externally controlled variable. Basic thermodynamic parameters, such as the adsorption energy, exhibit a very different behavior as a function of these control parameters. In the thermodynamic limit of infinite chain length the desorption transition with the force as a control parameter clearly is discontinuous, while in the $z$-ensemble continuous variations are found. However, one should not be misled by a too-naive application of the Ehrenfest criterion to consider the transition as a continuous transition: rather, one traverses a two-phase coexistence region, where part of the chain is still adsorbed and the other part desorbed and stretched. Similarities with and differences from two-phase coexistence at vapor-liquid transitions are pointed out. The rounding of the singularities due to finite chain length is illustrated by exact calculations for the nonreversal random walk model on the simple cubic lattice. A new concept of local order parameter profiles for the description of the mechanical desorption of adsorbed polymers is suggested. This concept give evidence for both the existence of two-phase coexistence within single polymer chains for this transition and the anomalous character of this two-phase coexistence. Consequences for the proper interpretation of experiments performed in different ensembles are briefly mentioned.

We consider a system of two identical linearly coupled Lorenz oscillators presenting synchronization of chaotic motion for a specified range of the coupling strength. We verify the existence of global synchronization and antisynchronization attractors with intermingled basins of attraction such that the basin of one attractor is riddled with holes belonging to the basin of the other attractor and vice versa. We investigated this phenomenon by verifying the fulfillment of the mathematical requirements for intermingled basins and obtained scaling laws that characterize quantitatively the riddling of both basins in this system.

We analyze numerically the dynamical generation of quantum entanglement in a system of two interacting particles, started in a coherent separable state, for decreasing values of $\hslash$. As $\hslash \to 0$ the entanglement entropy, computed at any finite time, converges to a finite nonzero value. The limit law that rules the time dependence of entropy is well reproduced by purely classical computations. Its general features can be explained by simple classical arguments, which expose the different ways entanglement is generated in systems that are classically chaotic or regular.

We present a method for numerically building a vortex knot state in the superfluid wave function of a Bose-Einstein condensate. We integrate in time the governing Gross-Pitaevskii equation to determine evolution and shape preservation of the two (topologically) simplest vortex knots which can be wrapped over a torus. We find that the velocity of a vortex knot depends on the ratio of poloidal and toroidal radius: for smaller ratio, the knot travels faster. Finally, we show how vortex knots break up into vortex rings.

Flagellar bundling is an important aspect of locomotion in bacteria such as Escherichia coli. To study the hydrodynamic behavior of helical flagella, we present a computational model that is based on the geometry of the bacterial flagellar filament at the micrometer scale. We consider two model flagella, each of which has a rotary motor at its base with the rotation rate of the motor set at 100 Hz. Bundling occurs when both flagella are left-handed helices turning counterclockwise (when viewed from the nonmotor end of the flagellum looking back toward the motor) or when both flagella are right-handed helices turning clockwise. Helical flagella of the other combinations of handedness and rotation direction do not bundle.

The autocorrelation function of pattern fluctuation is used to study soft-mode turbulence (SMT), a spatiotemporal chaos observed in homeotropic nematics. We show that relaxation near the electroconvection threshold deviates from the exponential. To describe this relaxation, we propose a compressed exponential appearing in dynamics of glass-forming liquids. Our findings suggest that coherent motion contributes to SMT dynamics. We also confirmed that characteristic time is inversely proportional to electroconvection's control parameter.

By generating the specifics of a network structure only when needed (on-the-fly), we derive a simple stochastic process that exactly models the time evolution of susceptible-infectious dynamics on finite-size networks. The small number of dynamical variables of this birth-death Markov process greatly simplifies analytical calculations. We show how a dual analytical description, treating large scale epidemics with a Gaussian approximation and small outbreaks with a branching process, provides an accurate approximation of the distribution even for rather small networks. The approach also offers important computational advantages and generalizes to a vast class of systems.

We compare dynamic mean-field and dynamic cavity methods to describe the stationary states of dilute kinetic Ising models. We compute dynamic mean-field theory by expanding in interaction strength to third order, and we compare to the exact dynamic mean-field theory for fully asymmetric networks. We show that in diluted networks, the dynamic cavity method generally predicts magnetizations of individual spins better than both first-order (“naive”) and second-order (“TAP”) dynamic mean-field theory.

We consider two complementary polymer strands of length $L$ attached by a common-end monomer. The two strands bind through complementary monomers and at low temperatures form a double-stranded conformation (zipping), while at high temperature they dissociate (unzipping). This is a simple model of DNA (or RNA) hairpin formation. Here we investigate the dynamics of the strands at the equilibrium critical temperature $T=T_c$ using Monte Carlo Rouse dynamics. We find that the dynamics is anomalous, with a characteristic time scaling as $\tau \sim L^{2.26\left(2\right)}$, exceeding the Rouse time $\sim L^{2.18}$. We investigate the probability distribution function, velocity autocorrelation function, survival probability, and boundary behavior of the underlying stochastic process. These quantities scale as expected from a fractional Brownian motion with a Hurst exponent $H=0.44\left(1\right)$. We discuss similarities to and differences from unbiased polymer translocation.

We investigate a model with an extended $\text{O}\left(2\right)$ symmetry in two and three dimensions, using the combination of extensive Monte Carlo simulations and the finite-size scaling. On this basis, we establish rich phase diagrams, which are constituted by $\text{O}\left(2\right)$ critical lines. From various prospectives, the ordered states on the phase diagrams can be classified into intraspecies and interspecies correlated phases, quasi-long-range and long-range ordered phases, or ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases. We furthermore show that the dimensionality effect acts on not only the ordering property, but also the topological structure of the phase diagram.

In order to derive the reciprocity relations, Onsager formulated a relation between thermal equilibrium fluctuations and relaxation widely known as regression hypothesis. It is shown in the present work how such a relation can be extended to finite and isolated classical systems. This extension is derived from the fluctuation-dissipation theorem for the microcanonical ensemble. The results are exemplified with a nonintegrable system in order to motivate possible applications to dynamical systems and statistical mechanics of finite systems.

We describe the unusual electro-optic response of a biaxial bent-core liquid crystal molecule that exhibits an anticlinic, antiferroelectric smectic phase (Sm-$C_A{P}_A$) with a molecular tilt angle close to 45°. In the ground state, the sample shows very low birefringence. A weak applied electric field distorts the antiferroelectric ground state, inducing a small azimuthal reorientation of the molecules on the tilt cone. This results in only a modest increase in the birefringence but an anomalously large (∼40°) analog rotation of the extinction direction. This unusual electro-optic response is shown to be a consequence of the molecular biaxiality.