arXiv subjects

Bert Van Schaeybroeck

Publications and source records attributed to Bert Van Schaeybroeck.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Dynamic and thermodynamic contributions to future extreme-rainfall intensification: a case study for Belgium

Extreme precipitation is projected to become more frequent and more intense due to climate change and associated thermodynamical effects, but the local response of atmospheric circulation under future climate scenarios remains uncertain due mainly to dynamical differences. In this study, we outline a methodology for a regional assessment of future extreme precipitation based on the Lamb Weather Type classification and to evaluate future changes in weather patterns. While anticyclonic days occur most frequently over Belgium, extreme rainfall is mostly associated with days of cyclonic, westerly and south-westerly weather patterns. GCMs from CMIP6 are first selected based on their reliability in representing local atmospheric circulation patterns during days with extreme rainfall days. It was found that for our case study over Belgium, the future (end-of-the-century SSP3-7.0) changes in intensity and likelihood of rainfall extremes can be primarily attributed to thermodynamic factors, with minimal contribution from changes in atmospheric dynamics. Both intensity and probability of extreme rainfall increase for all seasons. While extreme-rainfall probabilities mostly increase in fall and winter, the associated intensity changes are dominated by positive changes in spring and summer. Additionally, the weather patterns that are historically associated with extreme rainfall, disproportionally contribute to these changes, especially to thermodynamic changes. More specifically, robust changes arise from an increased extreme-rainfall occurrence probability in case of cyclonic, south-westerly and westerly circulation types.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2022

Interface potential and line tension for Bose-Einstein condensate mixtures near a hard wall

Within Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) theory we derive the interface potential V (l) which describes the interaction between the interface separating two demixed Bose-condensed gases and an optical hard wall at a distance l. Previous work revealed that this interaction gives rise to extraordinary wetting and prewetting phenomena. Calculations that explore non-equilibrium properties by using l as a constraint provide a thorough explanation for this behavior. We find that at bulk two-phase coexistence, V (l) for both complete wetting and partial wetting is monotonic with exponential decay. Remarkably, at the first-order wetting phase transition, V(l) is independent of l. This anomaly explains the infinite continuous degeneracy of the grand potential reported earlier. As a physical application, using V(l) we study the three-phase contact line where the interface meets the wall under a contact angle theta. Employing an interface displacement model we calculate the structure of this inhomogeneity and its line tension tau. Contrary to what happens at a usual first-order wetting transition in systems with short-range forces, tau does not approach a nonzero positive constant for theta going to zero, but instead approaches zero (from below) as would be expected for a critical wetting transition. This hybrid character of tau is a consequence of the absence of a barrier in V(l) at wetting. For a typical V(l) we provide a conjecture for the exact line tension within GP theory.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Statistical Postprocessing for Weather Forecasts -- Review, Challenges and Avenues in a Big Data World

Statistical postprocessing techniques are nowadays key components of the forecasting suites in many National Meteorological Services (NMS), with for most of them, the objective of correcting the impact of different types of errors on the forecasts. The final aim is to provide optimal, automated, seamless forecasts for end users. Many techniques are now flourishing in the statistical, meteorological, climatological, hydrological, and engineering communities. The methods range in complexity from simple bias corrections to very sophisticated distribution-adjusting techniques that incorporate correlations among the prognostic variables. The paper is an attempt to summarize the main activities going on this area from theoretical developments to operational applications, with a focus on the current challenges and potential avenues in the field. Among these challenges is the shift in NMS towards running ensemble Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) systems at the kilometer scale that produce very large datasets and require high-density high-quality observations; the necessity to preserve space time correlation of high-dimensional corrected fields; the need to reduce the impact of model changes affecting the parameters of the corrections; the necessity for techniques to merge different types of forecasts and ensembles with different behaviors; and finally the ability to transfer research on statistical postprocessing to operations. Potential new avenues will also be discussed.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2015

Interfacial tension and wall energy of a Bose-Einstein condensate binary mixture: triple-parabola approximation

Accurate and useful analytic approximations are developed for order parameter profiles and interfacial tensions of phase-separated binary mixtures of Bose-Einstein condensates. The pure condensates 1 and 2, each of which contains a particular species of atoms, feature healing lengths $ξ_1$ and $ξ_2$. The inter-atomic interactions are repulsive. In particular, the effective inter-species repulsive interaction strength is $K$. A triple-parabola approximation (TPA) is proposed, to represent closely the energy density featured in Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) theory. This TPA allows us to define a model, which is a handy alternative to the full GP theory, while still possessing a simple analytic solution. The TPA offers a significant improvement over the recently introduced double-parabola approximation (DPA). In particular, a more accurate amplitude for the wall energy (of a single condensate) is derived and, importantly, a more correct expression for the interfacial tension (of two condensates) is obtained, which describes better its dependence on $K$ in the strong segregation regime, while also the interface profiles undergo a qualitative improvement.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Critical wetting, first-order wetting and prewetting phase transitions in binary mixtures of Bose-Einstein condensates

An ultralow-temperature binary mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates adsorbed at an optical wall can undergo a wetting phase transition in which one of the species excludes the other from contact with the wall. Interestingly, while hard-wall boundary conditions entail the wetting transition to be of first order, using Gross-Pitaevskii theory we show that first-order wetting as well as critical wetting can occur when a realistic exponential optical wall potential (evanescent wave) with a finite turn-on length $λ$ is assumed. The relevant surface excess energies are computed in an expansion in $λ/ξ_i$, where $ξ_i$ is the healing length of condensate $i$. Experimentally, the wetting transition may best be approached by varying the interspecies scattering length $a_{12}$ using Feshbach resonances. In the hard-wall limit, $λ\rightarrow 0$, exact results are derived for the prewetting and first-order wetting phase boundaries.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Static interfacial properties of Bose-Einstein condensate mixtures

Interfacial profiles and interfacial tensions of phase-separated binary mixtures of Bose-Einstein condensates are studied theoretically. The two condensates are characterized by their respective healing lengths $ξ_1$ and $ξ_2$ and by the inter-species repulsive interaction $K$. An exact solution to the Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equations is obtained for the special case $ξ_2/ξ_1 = 1/2$ and $K = 3/2$. Furthermore, applying a double-parabola approximation (DPA) to the energy density featured in GP theory allows us to define a DPA model, which is much simpler to handle than GP theory but nevertheless still captures the main physics. In particular, a compact analytic expression for the interfacial tension is derived that is useful for all $ξ_1, ξ_2$ and $K$. An application to wetting phenomena is presented for condensates adsorbed at an optical wall. The wetting phase boundary obtained within the DPA model nearly coincides with the exact one in GP theory.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2014

Degree-dependent network growth: From preferential attachment to explosive percolation

We present a simple model of network growth and solve it by writing down the dynamic equations for its macroscopic characteristics like the degree distribution and degree correlations. This allows us to study carefully the percolation transition using a generating functions theory. The model considers a network with a fixed number of nodes wherein links are introduced using degree-dependent linking probabilities $p_k$. To illustrate the techniques and support our findings using Monte-Carlo simulations, we introduce the exemplary linking rule $p_k$ proportional to $k^{-α}$, with $α$ between -1 and plus infinity. This parameter may be used to interpolate between different regimes. For negative $α$, links are most likely attached to high-degree nodes. On the other hand, in case $α>0$, nodes with low degrees are connected and the model asymptotically approaches a process undergoing explosive percolation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

Trapped Two-Dimensional Fermi Gases with Population Imbalance

We study population imbalanced Fermi mixtures under quasi-two-dimensional confinement at zero temperature. Using mean-field theory and the local-density approximation, we study the ground state configuration throughout the BEC-BCS crossover. We find the trapped system to be either fully normal or to consist of a superfluid core surrounded by a normal shell, which is itself either fully or partially polarized. Upon changing the trap imbalance, the trap configuration may undergo continuous transitions between the different ground states. Finally, we argue that thermal equilibration throughout the trap will be considerably slowed down at low temperatures when a superfluid phase is present.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2010

Percolation on bipartite scale-free networks

Recent studies introduced biased (degree-dependent) edge percolation as a model for failures in real-life systems. In this work, such process is applied to networks consisting of two types of nodes with edges running only between nodes of unlike type. Such bipartite graphs appear in many social networks, for instance in affiliation networks and in sexual contact networks in which both types of nodes show the scale-free characteristic for the degree distribution. During the depreciation process, an edge between nodes with degrees k and q is retained with probability proportional to (kq)^(-alpha), where alpha is positive so that links between hubs are more prone to failure. The removal process is studied analytically by introducing a generating functions theory. We deduce exact self-consistent equations describing the system at a macroscopic level and discuss the percolation transition. Critical exponents are obtained by exploiting the Fortuin-Kasteleyn construction which provides a link between our model and a limit of the Potts model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2009

Biased Percolation on Scale-free Networks

Biased (degree-dependent) percolation was recently shown to provide new strategies for turning robust networks fragile and vice versa. Here we present more detailed results for biased edge percolation on scale-free networks. We assume a network in which the probability for an edge between nodes $i$ and $j$ to be retained is proportional to $(k_ik_j)^{-α}$ with $k_i$ and $k_j$ the degrees of the nodes. We discuss two methods of network reconstruction, sequential and simultaneous, and investigate their properties by analytical and numerical means. The system is examined away from the percolation transition, where the size of the giant cluster is obtained, and close to the transition, where nonuniversal critical exponents are extracted using the generating functions method. The theory is found to agree quite well with simulations. By introducing an extension of the Fortuin-Kasteleyn construction, we find that biased percolation is well described by the $q\to 1$ limit of the $q$-state Potts model with inhomogeneous couplings.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2009

Normal-Superfluid Interface for Polarized Fermion Gases

Recent experiments on imbalanced fermion gases have proved the existence of a sharp interface between a superfluid and a normal phase. We show that, at the lowest experimental temperatures, a temperature difference between N and SF phase can appear as a consequence of the blocking of energy transfer across the interface. Such blocking is a consequence of the existence of a SF gap, which causes low-energy normal particles to be reflected from the N-SF interface. Our quantitative analysis is based on the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov-de Gennes formalism, which allows us to give analytical expressions for the thermodynamic properties and characterize the possible interface scattering regimes, including the case of unequal masses. Our central result is that the thermal conductivity is exponentially small at the lowest experimental temperatures.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2009

Weakly Interacting Bose Mixtures at Finite Temperature

Motivated by the recent experiments on Bose-Einstein mixtures with tunable interactions we study repulsive weakly interacting Bose mixtures at finite temperature. We obtain phase diagrams using Hartree-Fock theory which are directly applicable to experimentally trapped systems. Almost all features of the diagrams can be characterized using simple physical insights. Our work reveals two surprising effects which are dissimilar to a system at zero temperature. First of all, no pure phases exist, that is, at each point in the trap, particles of both species are always present. Second, even for very weak interspecies repulsion when full mixing is expected, condensate particles of both species may be present in a trap without them being mixed.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2009

Trapped Phase-Segregated Bose-Fermi Mixtures and their Collective Excitations

Recent progress in the field of ultracold gases has allowed the creation of phase-segregated Bose-Fermi systems. We present a theoretical study of their collective excitations at zero temperature. As the fraction of fermion to boson particle number increases, the collective mode frequencies take values between those for a fully bosonic and those for a fully fermionic cloud, with damping in the intermediate region. This damping is caused by fermions which are resonantly driven at the interface.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2008

Collective Excitations of Harmonically Trapped Ideal Gases

We theoretically study the collective excitations of an ideal gas confined in an isotropic harmonic trap. We give an exact solution to the Boltzmann-Vlasov equation; as expected for a single-component system, the associated mode frequencies are integer multiples of the trapping frequency. We show that the expressions found by the scaling ansatz method are a special case of our solution. Our findings, however, are most useful in case the trap contains more than one phase: we demonstrate how to obtain the oscillation frequencies in case an interface is present between the ideal gas and a different phase.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2008

Interface Tension of Bose-Einstein Condensates

Motivated by recent observations of phase-segregated binary Bose-Einstein condensates, we propose a method to calculate the excess energy due to the interface tension of a trapped configuration. By this method one should be able to numerically reproduce the experimental data by means of a simple Thomas-Fermi approximation, combined with interface excess terms and the Laplace equation. Using the Gross-Pitaevskii theory, we find expressions for the interface excesses which are accurate in a very broad range of the interspecies and intraspecies interaction parameters. We also present finite-temperature corrections to the interface tension which, aside from the regime of weak segregation, turn out to be small.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2008

Collective Excitations of Trapped Imbalanced Fermion Gases

We present a theoretical study of the collective excitations of a trapped imbalanced fermion gas at unitarity, when the system consists of a superfluid core and a normal outer shell. We formulate the relevant boundary conditions and treat the normal shell both hydrodynamically and collisionlessly. For an isotropic trap, we calculate the mode frequencies as a function of trap polarization. Out-of-phase modes with frequencies below the trapping frequency are obtained for the case of a hydrodynamic normal shell. For the collisionless case, we calculate the monopole mode frequencies, and find that all but the lowest mode may be damped.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2007

Normal-Superfluid Interface Scattering For Polarized Fermion Gases

We argue that, for the recent experiments with imbalanced fermion gases, a temperature difference may occur between the normal (N) and the gapped superfluid (SF) phase. Using the mean-field formalism, we study particle scattering off the N-SF interface from the deep BCS to the unitary regime. We show that the thermal conductivity across the interface drops exponentially fast with increasing $h/k_B T$, where $h$ is the chemical potential imbalance. This implies a blocking of thermal equilibration between the N and the SF phase. We also provide a possible mechanism for the creation of gap oscillations (FFLO-like states) as seen in recent studies on these systems.

cond-mat.other↗