A statistical analysis of the eigenfrequencies of two sets of superconducting microwave billiards, one with mushroomlike shape and the other from the family of the Limaçon billiards, is presented. These billiards have mixed regular-chaotic dynamics but different structures in their classical phase spaces. The spectrum of each billiard is represented as a time series where the level order plays the role of time. Two most important findings follow from the time series analysis. First, the spectra can be characterized by two distinct relaxation lengths. This is a prerequisite for the validity of the superstatistical approach, which is based on the folding of two distribution functions. Second, the shape of the resulting probability density function of the so-called superstatistical parameter is reasonably approximated by an inverse ${\chi }^2$ distribution. This distribution is used to compute nearest-neighbor spacing distributions and compare them with those of the resonance frequencies of billiards with mixed dynamics within the framework of superstatistics. The obtained spacing distribution is found to present a good description of the experimental ones and is of the same or even better quality as a number of other spacing distributions, including the one from Berry and Robnik. However, in contrast to other approaches toward a theoretical description of spectral properties of systems with mixed dynamics, superstatistics also provides a description of properties of the eigenfunctions in terms of a superstatistical generalization of the Porter-Thomas distribution. Indeed, the inverse ${\chi }^2$ parameter distribution is found suitable for the analysis of experimental resonance strengths in the Limaçon billiards within the framework of superstatistics.

In this paper, linear hydrodynamic stability analysis is used to study the response of a capillary jet and a coflowing fluid to both axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric perturbations. The temporal analysis revealed that nonaxisymmetric perturbations were damped (or overdamped) within the region of parameter space explored, which involved equal velocities for the jet and focusing fluid. It is explained how an extension to a spatiotemporal analysis implies that those perturbations can yield no transition from convective (jetting) to absolute (whipping) instability for that parameter region. This result provides a theoretical explanation for the absence of that kind of transition in most experimental results in the literature.

We study the general problem of how to search efficiently for targets randomly located on defective lattice networks—i.e., regular lattices which have some fraction of its nodes randomly removed. We consider large but finite triangular lattices and assume for the search dynamics that the walker chooses steps lengths ${\ell }_j$ from the power-law distribution $P\left({\ell }_j\right)\sim {\ell }_j^{-\mu }$, with the exponent $\mu$ regulating the strategy of the search process. At each step ${\ell }_j$, the searcher moves in straight lines and constantly looks within a detection radius of vision $r_v$ for the targets along the way. If there is contact with a defect, the movement stops and a new step length is chosen. Hence, the presence of defects decreases the efficiency of the overall process. We study numerically how three different aspects of the lattice influence the optimization of the search efficiency: (i) the type of boundary conditions, (ii) the concentration of targets and defects, and (iii) the category or class of search—destructive, nondestructive, or regenerative. Motivated by the results, we develop a type of mean-field model for the problem and obtain an analytical approximation for the search efficiency function. Finally we discuss, in the context of searches, how defective lattices compare with perfect lattices and with continuous environments.

The antiferromagnetic Ising model in small-world networks generated from two-dimensional regular lattices has been studied. The disorder introduced by long-range connections causes frustration, which gives rise to a spin-glass phase at low temperature. Monte Carlo simulations have been carried out to study the paramagnetic to spin-glass transition, as a function of the rewiring probability $p$, which measures the disorder strength. The transition temperature $T_c$ goes down for increasing disorder, and saturates to a value $T_c\approx 1.7J$ for $p>0.4$, $J$ being the antiferromagnetic coupling. For small $p$ and at low temperature, the energy increases linearly with $p$. In the strong-disorder limit $p\to 1$, this model is equivalent to a short-range $\pm J$ spin glass in random networks.

An experimental and theoretical study is carried out of the flow of granular material in cylinders with different cross-sectional shapes rotated about their axes. The flow of particles in such geometries is confined to a shallow layer at the free surface. The length and thickness of the layer shrink and expand periodically with rotation of the cylinder, resulting in chaotic advection and improved mixing of passive tracers. Experimental results obtained by flow visualization are reported for quasi-two-dimensional mixers half filled with glass beads. A depth-averaged flow model to predict the time-varying layer thickness profile is presented, along with a perturbation solution in terms of a small parameter $k$, which is the ratio of the maximum layer thickness to the half length of the layer $\left(L\right)$, at the cross-section orientation when the length is minimum. To the lowest order $\left[O\left(k^0\right)\right]$, the model predicts that the layer profiles scaled with $L\left(\theta \right)$ at different mixer orientation angles $\left(\theta \right)$ are identical and the same as that for a circle. The measured layer thickness profiles averaged over different orientations of noncircular mixers match reasonably well with the theory, but the standard deviations are larger for the noncircular cylinders compared to the circle. The $O\left(k\right)$ perturbation solution and the full theory both predict that the scaled layer thickness varies periodically; the deviations are proportional to the rate of change of the length with orientation. The perturbation solution gives results close to those from the numerical solution except at cylinder orientations when the length of the flowing layer changes sharply. The measured variation of the scaled midlayer thickness with orientation for all geometries is well predicted by the theory.

Jarzynski’s equation (JE) has been known to relate free energy change of a system to statistical distribution of work done on the system for an arbitrary process. In the present work, we first establish the validity condition of JE for boundary switching processes. The validity condition of JE is examined for an example of spontaneous irreversible processes, for which, obviously, JE does not hold. We find that the free energy difference between two configurational states with different phase-space volume cannot be correctly estimated by JE for any adiabatic boundary switching process.

We study stochastic processes that generate nongrowing complex networks without self-loops and multiple edges (simple graphs). The work concentrates on understanding and formulation of constraints which keep the rewiring stochastic processes within the class of simple graphs. To formulate these constraints a different concept of wedge distribution (paths of length 2) is introduced and its relation to degree-degree correlation is studied. The analysis shows that the constraints, together with edge selection rules, do not even allow the formulation of a closed master equation in the general case. We also introduce a particular stochastic process which does not contain edge selection rules, but which, we believe, can provide some insight into the complexities of simple graphs.

We present an extension of the continuous damage fiber bundle model to describe the gradual degradation of highly heterogeneous materials under an increasing external load. The breaking of a fiber in the model is preceded by a sequence of partial failure events occurring at random threshold values. In order to capture the subsequent propagation and arrest of cracks, furthermore, the disorder of the number of degradation steps of material constituents, the failure thresholds of single fibers, are sorted into ascending order and their total number is a Poissonian distributed random variable over the fibers. Analytical and numerical calculations showed that the failure process of the system is governed by extreme value statistics, which has a substantial effect on the macroscopic constitutive behavior and on the microscopic bursting activity as well.

We study theoretically and numerically the irreversible $A+B\to 0$ reaction-diffusion process of initially separated reactants occupying the regions of lengths $L_A$, $L_B$ comparable with the diffusion length ($L_A,L_B\sim \sqrt{Dt}$, here $D$ is the diffusion coefficient of the reactants). It is shown that the process can be divided into two stages in time. For $t⪡L^2∕D$ the front characteristics are described by the well-known power-law dependencies on time, whereas for $t>L^2∕D$ these are well-approximated by exponential laws. The reaction-diffusion process of about 0.5 of initial quantities of reactants is described by the obtained exponential laws. Our theoretical predictions show good agreement with numerical simulations.

We use both analytical theory and numerical simulations to study the image force on a charged particle moving parallel to a two-dimensional strongly coupled Yukawa system. Special attention is paid to the effects of strong correlation and nonlinear response in the Yukawa system on the dependences of the image force on the particle velocity and its distance from the Yukawa system. Those effects are elucidated by comparing the results obtained from a Brownian dynamics simulation with those from linear-dielectric-response theories based on both the quasilocalized charge approximation and the standard Vlasov random phase approximation.

In this paper, we discuss the possibility of using x-ray Compton scattering as a probe of the outer electronic structure of ions immersed in warm dense matter. It is proposed that the x-ray free-electron lasers currently under construction will provide an ideal tool for this, with the main pulse being used to create a uniform well-defined sample and the third harmonic providing a clean monochromatic probe. We model the plasma photon scatter spectrum by combining self-consistent finite-temperature electronic structure calculations with molecular dynamics simulations of the ion-ion structure factor. In particular, we present bound-free Compton profiles that are more accurate that those obtained using form factor or impulse approximations.

Studies of the nonlinear dielectric effect (NDE), describing changes of the dielectric permittivity induced by a strong electric field, in normal and supercooled liquid nitrobenzene are presented. An unusual increase of the stationary NDE, portrayed by the critical-like relation $\sim {\left(T-T^{+}\right)}^{-1}$, was obtained. Nitrobenzene samples solidified at $T_S\approx T^{+}+2\text{K}$, approximately 10 K below the reported melting temperature $T_m\approx 278\text{K}$. The anomalous increase of the NDE coincided with a slow relaxation process, detected in time-resolved measurements. The results presented offer a reinterpretation of the classical description by Piekara and Piekara [A. Piekara and B. Piekara, C. R. Hebd. Seances Acad. Sci. 203, 852 (1936)] of a positive sign contribution to the NDE in liquids. It is suggested that the obtained anomaly may be associated with the appearance of local quasinematic structures. This is supported by a speculative link to a general model for liquid-liquid transitions [H. Tanaka, Phys. Rev. E 62, 6968 (2000)] and a phenomenological model originally developed for the self-focusing of laser beams [J. Hanus, Phys. Rev. 178, 420 (1969)]. The case of the isotropic-nematic transition in liquid crystalline materials is also recalled. The NDE results reported here are related neither to the glass transition phenomenon nor to the recently developed concept of a second liquid-liquid transition.

Plants, algae, and their derivatives (paper, textiles, etc.) are complex systems that are chiefly composed of a web of cellulose fibers. The arrangement of solvents within the polymeric structure is of great importance since cellulose degradation is strongly influenced by water accessibility and external agents. In this paper we develop a model that is able to deconvolve the scattering contributions of both polymeric structures and solvent clusters trapped along the polymeric fibers. The surface morphology of cellulose fibers and the spatial distribution of water-filled pores and their dimensions have been recovered from small angle neutron scattering and atomic force microscopy data in function with paper degradation. In addition to providing a boost to the effort to preserve cellulose-supported material (included cultural heritage), the relevance of our model resides in the exploitation of a large number of biopolymer networks that are known to share structures similar to that of cellulose.

Hair cells perform the mechanoelectrical transduction of sound signals in the auditory and vestibular systems of vertebrates. The part of the hair cell essential for this transduction is the so-called hair bundle. In vitro experiments on hair cells from the sacculus of the American bullfrog have shown that the hair bundle comprises active elements capable of producing periodic deflections like a relaxation oscillator. Recently, a continuous nonlinear stochastic model of the hair bundle motion [Nadrowski et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101, 12195 (2004)] has been shown to reproduce the experimental data in stochastic simulations faithfully. Here, we demonstrate that a binary filtering of the hair bundle's deflection (experimental data and continuous hair bundle model) does not change significantly the spectral statistics of the spontaneous as well as the periodically driven hair bundle motion. We map the continuous hair bundle model to the FitzHugh-Nagumo model of neural excitability and discuss the bifurcations between different regimes of the system in terms of the latter model. Linearizing the nullclines and assuming perfect time-scale separation between the variables we can map the FitzHugh-Nagumo system to a simple two-state model in which each of the states corresponds to the two possible values of the binary-filtered hair bundle trajectory. For the two-state model, analytical expressions for the power spectrum and the susceptibility can be calculated [Lindner and Schimansky-Geier, Phys. Rev. E 61, 6103 (2000)] and show the same features as seen in the experimental data as well as in simulations of the continuous hair bundle model.

Atomic-resolution diffraction imaging of biological particles using x-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) at 1 Å wavelength requires a detailed understanding of the photon-induced damage processes. We discuss how several aspects of existing continuum damage models can be tested during early operation of XFELs at lower x-ray energies in the range of 0.8–5 keV and low fluences, focusing particularly on macroscopic collective effects such as particle charging, expansion, and average ionization of nanospheres.

Two-dimensional Born-Infeld electrostatic fields behaving as the superposition of two pointlike charges in the linearized (Maxwellian) limit are investigated by means of a nonholomorphic mapping of the complex plane. The changes in the Coulombian interaction between two charges in Born-Infeld theory are computed. Remarkably, the force between equal charges goes to zero as they approach each other.

We study how the two-point density correlation properties of a point particle distribution are modified when each particle is divided, by a stochastic process, into an equal number of identical “daughter” particles. We consider generically that there may be nontrivial correlations in the displacement fields describing the positions of the different daughters of the same “mother” particle and then treat separately the cases in which there are, or are not, correlations also between the displacements of daughters belonging to different mothers. For both cases exact formulas are derived relating the structure factor (power spectrum) of the daughter distribution to that of the mothers. An application of these results is that they give explicit algorithms for generating, starting from regular lattice arrays, stochastic particle distributions with an arbitrarily high degree of large-scale uniformity. Such distributions are of interest, in particular, in the context of studies of self-gravitating systems in cosmology.

A formal derivation of linear hydrodynamics for a granular fluid is given. The linear response to small spatial perturbations of a homogeneous reference state is studied in detail, using methods of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. A transport matrix for macroscopic excitations in the fluid is defined in terms of the response functions. An expansion in the wave vector to second order allows identification of all phenomenological susceptibilities and transport coefficients through Navier-Stokes order in terms of appropriate time correlation functions. The transport coefficients in this representation are the generalization to granular fluids of the familiar Helfand and Green-Kubo relations for normal fluids. The analysis applies to a variety of collision rules. Important differences in both the analysis and results from those for normal fluids are identified and discussed. A scaling limit is described corresponding to the conditions under which idealized inelastic hard sphere models can apply. Further details and interpretation are provided in the paper following this one, by specialization to the case of smooth, inelastic hard spheres with constant coefficient of restitution.

In the preceding paper, linear response methods have been applied to obtain formally exact expressions for the parameters of Navier-Stokes order hydrodynamics. The analysis there is general, applying to both normal and granular fluids with a wide range of collision rules. Those results are specialized here to the case of smooth, inelastic, hard spheres with constant coefficient of normal restitution, for further elaboration. Explicit expressions for the cooling rate, pressure, and transport coefficients are given and compared with the corresponding expressions for a system of elastic hard spheres. The scope of the results for further analytical explorations and possible numerical evaluation is discussed.

Numerical models of mesoscale DNA dynamics relevant to in vivo scenarios require methods that incorporate important features of the intracellular environment, while maintaining computational tractability. Because the explicit inclusion of ions leads to electrostatic calculations that scale as the square of the number of charged particles, such models typically handle these calculations using low-potential, mean-field approaches, rather than by considering the discrete interactions of ions. This allows approximation of the long-range, screened self-repulsion of DNA, but is unable to capture detailed electrostatic phenomena, such as short-range attractions mediated by ion-ion correlations. Here, we develop a dynamical model of explicitly double-stranded, sequence-specific DNA in a bulk environment consisting of other polyions and explicitly represented counterions and coions. DNA is represented as two interwound chains of charged Stokes spheres, and ions as free, monovalently charged Stokes spheres. Brownian dynamics simulations performed at salt concentrations of 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 mM demonstrate this model captures anticipated behaviors of the system, including increasing compaction of the polyion by the ionic atmosphere with increasing ionic strength. The decay of the distance dependence of the ion concentrations as one moves away from the polyion approaches their equilibrium values in quantitative agreement with predictions of Poisson-Boltzmann theory. The simulation results also demonstrate quantitative agreement with experimental measurements of the persistence length of B-DNA, which increases significantly at low ionic strengths. The model also captures behaviors intimating the importance of explicitly representing ionic and polyionic structure. These include penetration of the polyion interior by both coions and counterions, and counterion-mediated accumulation of coions near the surface of the polyion. Such phenomena are likely to play an important role in the formation of alternative DNA secondary structures, suggesting the present methods will prove valuable to dynamic models of superhelical stress-induced DNA structural transitions.