arXiv subjects

Grégory Schehr

Publications and source records attributed to Grégory Schehr.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Multicritical edge statistics for the momenta of fermions in non-harmonic traps

We compute the joint statistics of the momenta $p_i$ of $N$ non-interacting fermions in a trap, near the Fermi edge, with a particular focus on the largest one $p_{\max}$. For a $1d$ harmonic trap, momenta and positions play a symmetric role and hence, the joint statistics of momenta is identical to that of the positions. In particular, $p_{\max}$, as $x_{\max}$, is distributed according to the Tracy-Widom distribution. Here we show that novel "momentum edge statistics" emerge when the curvature of the potential vanishes, i.e. for "flat traps" near their minimum, with $V(x) \sim x^{2n}$ and $n>1$. These are based on generalisations of the Airy kernel that we obtain explicitly. The fluctuations of $p_{\max}$ are governed by new universal distributions determined from the $n$-th member of the second Painlevé hierarchy of non-linear differential equations, with connections to multicritical random matrix models. Finite temperature extensions and possible experimental signatures in cold atoms are discussed.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Fluctuations of observables for free fermions in a harmonic trap at finite temperature

We study a system of 1D noninteracting spinless fermions in a confining trap at finite temperature. We first derive a useful and general relation for the fluctuations of the occupation numbers valid for arbitrary confining trap, as well as for both canonical and grand canonical ensembles. Using this relation, we obtain compact expressions, in the case of the harmonic trap, for the variance of certain observables of the form of sums of a function of the fermions' positions, $\mathcal{L}=\sum_n h(x_n)$. Such observables are also called linear statistics of the positions. As anticipated, we demonstrate explicitly that these fluctuations do depend on the ensemble in the thermodynamic limit, as opposed to averaged quantities, which are ensemble independent. We have applied our general formalism to compute the fluctuations of the number of fermions $\mathcal{N}_+$ on the positive axis at finite temperature. Our analytical results are compared to numerical simulations. We discuss the universality of the results with respect to the nature of the confinement.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2016

Non-equilibrium fluctuations of a semi-flexible filament driven by active cross-linkers

The cytoskeleton is an inhomogeneous network of semi-flexible filaments, which are involved in a wide variety of active biological processes. Although the cytoskeletal filaments can be very stiff and embedded in a dense and cross-linked network, it has been shown that, in cells, they typically exhibit significant bending on all length scales. In this work we propose a model of a semi-flexible filament deformed by different types of cross-linkers for which one can compute and investigate the bending spectrum. Our model allows to couple the evolution of the deformation of the semi-flexible polymer with the stochastic dynamics of linkers which exert transversal forces onto the filament. We observe a $q^{-2}$ dependence of the bending spectrum for some biologically relevant parameters and in a certain range of wavenumbers $q$. However, generically, the spatially localized forcing and the non-thermal dynamics both introduce deviations from the thermal-like $q^{-2}$ spectrum.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2014

Phase transitions and edge scaling of number variance in Gaussian random matrices

We consider $N\times N$ Gaussian random matrices, whose average density of eigenvalues has the Wigner semi-circle form over $[-\sqrt{2},\sqrt{2}]$. For such matrices, using a Coulomb gas technique, we compute the large $N$ behavior of the probability $\mathcal{P}_{\scriptscriptstyle N,L}(N_L)$ that $N_L$ eigenvalues lie within the box $[-L,L]$. This probability scales as $\mathcal{P}_{\scriptscriptstyle N,L}(N_L=κ_L N)\approx\exp\left(-β N^2 ψ_L(κ_L)\right)$, where $β$ is the Dyson index of the ensemble and $ψ_L(κ_L)$ is a $β$-independent rate function that we compute exactly. We identify three regimes as $L$ is varied: (i) $\, N^{-1}\ll L<\sqrt{2}$ (bulk), (ii) $\ L\sim\sqrt{2}$ on a scale of $\mathcal{O}(N^{-{2}/{3}})$ (edge) and (iii) $\ L > \sqrt{2}$ (tail). We find a dramatic non-monotonic behavior of the number variance $V_N(L)$ as a function of $L$: after a logarithmic growth $\propto \ln (N L)$ in the bulk (when $L \sim {\cal O}(1/N)$), $V_N(L)$ decreases abruptly as $L$ approaches the edge of the semi-circle before it decays as a stretched exponential for $L > \sqrt{2}$. This "drop-off" of $V_N(L)$ at the edge is described by a scaling function $\tilde V_β$ which smoothly interpolates between the bulk (i) and the tail (iii). For $β= 2$ we compute $\tilde V_2$ explicitly in terms of the Airy kernel. These analytical results, verified by numerical simulations, directly provide for $β=2$ the full statistics of particle-number fluctuations at zero temperature of 1d spinless fermions in a harmonic trap.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

Index Distribution of Cauchy Random Matrices

Using a Coulomb gas technique, we compute analytically the probability $\mathcal{P}_β^{(C)}(N_+,N)$ that a large $N\times N$ Cauchy random matrix has $N_+$ positive eigenvalues, where $N_+$ is called the index of the ensemble. We show that this probability scales for large $N$ as $\mathcal{P}_β^{(C)}(N_+,N)\approx \exp\left[-βN^2 ψ_C(N_+/N)\right]$, where $β$ is the Dyson index of the ensemble. The rate function $ψ_C(κ)$ is computed in terms of single integrals that are easily evaluated numerically and amenable to an asymptotic analysis. We find that the rate function, around its minimum at $κ=1/2$, has a quadratic behavior modulated by a logarithmic singularity. As a consequence, the variance of the index scales for large $N$ as $\mathrm{Var}(N_+)\sim σ_C\ln N$, where $σ_C=2/(βπ^2)$ is twice as large as the corresponding prefactor in the Gaussian and Wishart cases. The analytical results are checked by numerical simulations and against an exact finite $N$ formula which, for $β=2$, can be derived using orthogonal polynomials.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2008

Slow relaxation, dynamic transitions and extreme value statistics in disordered systems

We show that the dynamics of simple disordered models, like the directed Trap Model and the Random Energy Model, takes place at a coexistence point between active and inactive dynamical phases. We relate the presence of a dynamic phase transition in these models to the extreme value statistics of the associated random energy landscape.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗