We explore the effects of a homogeneous external electric field on the static properties and dynamical behavior of two charged particles confined to a helix. In contrast to the field-free setup which provides a separation of the center-of-mass and relative motion, the existence of an external force perpendicular to the helix axis couples the center-of-mass to the relative degree of freedom leading to equilibria with a localized center of mass. By tuning the external field various fixed points are created and/or annihilated through different bifurcation scenarios. We provide a detailed analysis of these bifurcations based on which we demonstrate a robust state transfer between essentially arbitrary equilibrium configurations of the two charges that can be induced by making the external force time dependent.

We studied in-plane bistable alignments of nematic liquid crystals confined by two frustrated surfaces by means of Monte Carlo simulations of the Lebwohl-Lasher spin model. The surfaces are prepared with orientational checkerboard patterns, on which the director field is locally anchored to be planar yet orthogonal between the neighboring blocks. We found the director field in the bulk tends to be aligned along the diagonal axes of the checkerboard pattern, as reported experimentally [J.-H. Kim et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 78, 3055 (2001)]. The energy barrier between the two stable orientations is increased, when the system is brought to the isotropic-nematic transition temperature. Based on an elastic theory, we found that the bistability is attributed to the spatial modulation of the director field near the frustrated surfaces. As the block size is increased and/or the elastic modulus is reduced, the degree of the director inhomogeneity is increased, enlarging the energy barrier. We also found that the switching rate between the stable states is decreased when the block size is comparable to the cell thickness.

We study horizontal streaming excited by means of a low-frequency and low-intensity acoustic wave in 2D freely suspended films of thermotropic smectic liquid crystals. Acoustic pressure induces fast periodic transverse oscillations of the film, which produce in-plane stationary couples of vortices slowly rotating in opposite directions owing to hydrodynamic nonlinearity. The parameters of the vortices are measured using a new method, based on tracking solidlike disk-shaped islands. The horizontal motion occurs only when the amplitude of the acoustic pressure exceeds the threshold value, which can be explained by Bingham-like behavior of the smectic film. The measurements above threshold are in good agreement with existing theoretical predictions. We demonstrate experimentally that in-plane flow is well controlled by changing the acoustic pressure, excitation frequency, and geometry of the film. The observations open the way to using the phenomenon in nondisplay applications.

We present simulations of a three-dimensional percolation model studied recently by K. J. Schrenk et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 055701 (2016)], obtained with a new and more efficient algorithm. They confirm most of their results in spite of larger systems and higher statistics used in the present Rapid Communication, but we also find indications that the results do not yet represent the true asymptotic behavior. The model is obtained by replacing the isotropic holes in ordinary Bernoulli percolation by randomly placed and oriented cylinders, with the constraint that the cylinders are parallel to one of the three coordinate axes. We also speculate on possible generalizations.

By introducing a temporal change time scale ${\tau }_{\text{A}}\left(t\right)$ for the time-dependent system Hamiltonian, a general formulation of the Markovian quantum master equation is given to go well beyond the adiabatic regime. In appropriate situations, the framework is well justified even if ${\tau }_{\text{A}}\left(t\right)$ is faster than the decay time scale of the bath correlation function. An application to the dissipative Landau-Zener model demonstrates this general result. The findings are applicable to a wide range of fields, providing a basis for quantum control beyond the adiabatic regime.

We present a method for calculating analytically the thermal conductance of a classical harmonic lattice with both alternating masses and nearest-neighbor couplings when placed between individual Langevin reservoirs at different temperatures. The method utilizes recent advances in analytic diagonalization techniques for certain classes of tridiagonal matrices. It recovers the results from a previous method that was applicable for alternating on-site parameters only, and extends the applicability to realistic systems in which masses and couplings alternate simultaneously. With this analytic result in hand, we show that the thermal conductance is highly sensitive to the modulation of the couplings. This is due to the existence of topologically induced edge modes at the lattice-reservoir interface and is also a reflection of the symmetries of the lattice. We make a connection to a recent work that demonstrates thermal transport is analogous to chemical reaction rates in solution given by Kramers' theory [Velizhanin et al., Sci. Rep. 5, 17506 (2015)]. In particular, we show that the turnover behavior in the presence of edge modes prevents calculations based on single-site reservoirs from coming close to the natural—or intrinsic—conductance of the lattice. Obtaining the correct value of the intrinsic conductance through simulation of even a small lattice where ballistic effects are important requires quite large extended reservoir regions. Our results thus offer a route for both the design and proper simulation of thermal conductance of nanoscale devices.

We derive a Feynman-Kac formula for functionals of a stochastic hybrid system evolving according to a piecewise deterministic Markov process. We first derive a stochastic Liouville equation for the moment generator of the stochastic functional, given a particular realization of the underlying discrete Markov process; the latter generates transitions between different dynamical equations for the continuous process. We then analyze the stochastic Liouville equation using methods recently developed for diffusion processes in randomly switching environments. In particular, we obtain dynamical equations for the moment generating function, averaged with respect to realizations of the discrete Markov process. The resulting Feynman-Kac formula takes the form of a differential Chapman-Kolmogorov equation. We illustrate the theory by calculating the occupation time for a one-dimensional velocity jump process on the infinite or semi-infinite real line. Finally, we present an alternative derivation of the Feynman-Kac formula based on a recent path-integral formulation of stochastic hybrid systems.

A random walk model with a local probability of removal is solved exactly and shown to exhibit subdiffusive behavior with a mean square displacement the evolves as $\langle x^2\left(t\right)\rangle \sim t^{1/2}$ at late times. This model is shown to be well described by a diffusion equation with a sink term, which also describes the evolution of a pressure or temperature field in a leaky environment. For this reason a number of physical processes are shown to exhibit anomalous diffusion. The presence of the sink term is shown to change the late time behavior of the field from $1/t^{1/2}$ to $1/t^{3/2}$.

We show that by exploiting multi-Lorentzian fits of the self-dynamic structure factor at various wave vectors it is possible to carefully perform the $Q\to 0$ extrapolation required to determine the spectrum $Z\left(\omega \right)$ of the velocity autocorrelation function of a liquid. The smooth $Q$ dependence of the fit parameters makes their extrapolation to $Q=0$ a simple procedure from which $Z\left(\omega \right)$ becomes computable, with the great advantage of solving the problems related to resolution broadening of either experimental or simulated self-spectra. Determination of a single-particle property like the spectrum of the velocity autocorrelation function turns out to be crucial to understanding the whole dynamics of the liquid. In fact, we demonstrate a clear link between the collective mode frequencies and the shape of the frequency distribution $Z\left(\omega \right)$. In the specific case considered in this work, i.e., liquid Au, analysis of $Z\left(\omega \right)$ revealed the presence, along with propagating sound waves, of lower frequency modes that were not observed before by means of dynamic structure factor measurements. By exploiting ab initio simulations for this liquid metal we could also calculate the transverse current-current correlation spectra and clearly identify the transverse nature of the above mentioned less energetic modes. Evidence of propagating transverse excitations has actually been reported in various works in the recent literature. However, in some cases, like the present one, these modes are difficult to detect in density fluctuation spectra. We show here that the analysis of the single-particle dynamics is able to unveil their presence in a very effective way. The properties here shown to characterize $Z\left(\omega \right)$, and the information in it contained therefore allow us to identify it with the density of states (DoS) of the liquid. We demonstrate that only nonhydrodynamic modes contribute to the DoS, thus establishing its purely microscopic origin. Finally, as a by-product of this work, we provide our estimate of the self-diffusion coefficient of liquid gold just above melting.

Motivated by numerous experiments on Bose-Einstein condensed atoms which have been performed in tight trapping potentials of various geometries [elongated and/or toroidal (annular)], we develop a general method which allows us to reduce the corresponding three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation for the order parameter into an effectively one-dimensional equation, taking into account the interactions (i.e., treating the width of the transverse profile variationally) and the curvature of the trapping potential. As an application of our model we consider atoms which rotate in a toroidal trapping potential. We evaluate the state of lowest energy for a fixed value of the angular momentum within various approximations of the effectively one-dimensional model and compare our results with the full solution of the three-dimensional problem, thus getting evidence for the accuracy of our model.

We investigate the universality class of the finite-temperature phase transition of the two-dimensional Ising model with the algebraically decaying ferromagnetic long-range interaction, $J_{ij}={|{\vec{r}}_i-{\vec{r}}_j|}^{-(d+\sigma )}$, where $d$ (=2) is the dimension of the system and $\sigma$ is the decay exponent, by means of the order-$N$ cluster-algorithm Monte Carlo method. In particular, we focus on the upper and lower critical decay exponents, the boundaries between the mean-field-universality, intermediate, and short-range-universality regimes. At the critical decay exponents, it is found that the standard Binder ratio of magnetization at the critical temperature exhibits extremely slow convergence as a function of the system size. We propose more effective physical quantities, namely the combined Binder ratio and the self-combined Binder ratio, both of which cancel the leading finite-size corrections of the conventional Binder ratio. Utilizing these techniques, we clearly demonstrate that in two dimensions, the lower and upper critical decay exponents are $\sigma =1$ and 7/4, respectively, contrary to the recent Monte Carlo and renormalization-group studies [M. Picco, arXiv:1207.1018; T. Blanchard et al., Europhys. Lett. 101, 56003 (2013)].

Using Monte Carlo simulation methods in the grand-canonical ensemble, we have studied the phase behavior of three-dimensional symmetric binary mixtures of Lennard-Jones particles. We have also elucidated the effects of geometric and energetic nonadditivity on the phase behavior. Phase diagrams for several systems have been evaluated. We have demonstrated that in completely miscible mixtures the geometrical nonadditivity (negative as well as positive) stabilizes a liquid phase leading to a gradual increase of the critical temperature. The mechanism leading to such behavior is different when the system shows negative and positive geometrical nonadditivity. In the case of systems with negative energetic nonadditivity, which may exhibit demixing transition in the liquid phase, their phase behavior is also strongly affected by the geometric non-additivity. The systems with negative geometric nonadditivity have been demonstrated to show reentrant miscibility, while those with positive geometric nonadditivity show enhanced tendency toward mixing at sufficiently high temperatures. We have evaluated phase diagrams for several systems.

We study the asymptotic dynamics of arbitrary linear quantum open systems that are periodically driven while coupled with generic bosonic reservoirs. We obtain exact results for the heat flowing from each reservoir, and these results are valid beyond the weak-coupling or Markovian approximations. We prove the validity of the dynamical third law of thermodynamics (Nernst unattainability principle), showing that the ultimate limit for cooling is imposed by a fundamental heating mechanism that dominates at low temperatures, namely the nonresonant creation of excitation pairs in the reservoirs induced by the driving field. This quantum effect, which is missed in the weak-coupling approximation, restores the unattainability principle, the validity of which was recently challenged.

Hybrid dynamical systems characterized by discrete switching of smooth dynamics have been used to model various rhythmic phenomena. However, the phase reduction theory, a fundamental framework for analyzing the synchronization of limit-cycle oscillations in rhythmic systems, has mostly been restricted to smooth dynamical systems. Here we develop a general phase reduction theory for weakly perturbed limit cycles in hybrid dynamical systems that facilitates analysis, control, and optimization of nonlinear oscillators whose smooth models are unavailable or intractable. On the basis of the generalized theory, we analyze injection locking of hybrid limit-cycle oscillators by periodic forcing and reveal their characteristic synchronization properties, such as ultrafast and robust entrainment to the periodic forcing and logarithmic scaling at the synchronization transition. We also illustrate the theory by analyzing the synchronization dynamics of a simple physical model of biped locomotion.

We introduce the concept of network susceptibilities quantifying the response of the collective dynamics of a network to small parameter changes. We distinguish two types of susceptibilities: vertex susceptibilities and edge susceptibilities, measuring the responses due to changes in the properties of units and their interactions, respectively. We derive explicit forms of network susceptibilities for oscillator networks close to steady states and offer example applications for Kuramoto-type phase-oscillator models, power grid models, and generic flow models. Focusing on the role of the network topology implies that these ideas can be easily generalized to other types of networks, in particular those characterizing flow, transport, or spreading phenomena. The concept of network susceptibilities is broadly applicable and may straightforwardly be transferred to all settings where networks responses of the collective dynamics to topological changes are essential.

We study antisymmetric components of matrices characterizing pair interactions in multistrategy evolutionary games. Based on the dyadic decomposition of matrices we distinguish cyclic and starlike hierarchical dominance in the appropriate components. In the symmetric matrix games the strengths of these elementary components are determined. The general features and intrinsic symmetries of these interactions are represented by directed graphs. It is found that the variation of a single matrix component modifies simultaneously the strengths of two starlike hierarchical basis games and many other independent rock-paper-scissors type cyclic basis games. The application of the related concepts is illustrated by discussing the three-strategy voluntary prisoner's dilemma.

In this work, we propose a scheme that provides an analytical estimate for the time-dependent degree distribution of some networks. This scheme maps the problem into a random walk in degree space, and then we choose the paths that are responsible for the dominant contributions. The method is illustrated on the dynamical versions of the Erdős-Rényi and Watts-Strogatz graphs, which were introduced as static models in the original formulation. We have succeeded in obtaining an analytical form for the dynamics Watts-Strogatz model, which is asymptotically exact for some regimes.

For many power-limited networks, such as wireless sensor networks and mobile ad hoc networks, maximizing the network lifetime is the first concern in the related designing and maintaining activities. We study the network lifetime from the perspective of network science. In our model, nodes are initially assigned a fixed amount of energy moving in a square area and consume the energy when delivering packets. We obtain four different traffic regimes: no, slow, fast, and absolute congestion regimes, which are basically dependent on the packet generation rate. We derive the network lifetime by considering the specific regime of the traffic flow. We find that traffic congestion inversely affects network lifetime in the sense that high traffic congestion results in short network lifetime. We also discuss the impacts of factors such as communication radius, node moving speed, routing strategy, etc., on network lifetime and traffic congestion.