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Gregory Berkolaiko

Publications and source records attributed to Gregory Berkolaiko.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
arXiv2015

Inequivalent Factorizations of Permutations

Two factorizations of a permutation into products of cycles are equivalent if one can be obtained from the other by repeatedly interchanging adjacent disjoint factors. This paper studies the enumeration of equivalence classes under this relation. We obtain closed form expressions for generating series of inequivalent minimal transitive factorizations of permutations having up to three cycles, and also of permutations with four cycles when factors are restricted to be transpositions. Our derivations rely on a new correspondence between inequivalent factorizations and acyclic alternating digraphs. Strong similarities between the enumerative results derived here and analogous ones for "ordinary" factorizations suggest that a unified theory remains to be discovered. We also establish connections between inequivalent factorizations and other well-studied classes of permutation factorizations. In particular, a relationship with monotone factorizations allows us to recover an exact counting formula for the latter due to Goulden, Guay-Paquet and Novak.

math.CO↗
arXiv2015

Anomalous nodal count and singularities in the dispersion relation of honeycomb graphs

We study the nodal count of the so-called bi-dendral graphs and show that it exhibits an anomaly: the nodal surplus is never equal to 0 or $β$, the first Betti number of the graph. According to the nodal-magnetic theorem, this means that bands of the magnetic spectrum (dispersion relation) of such graphs do not have maxima or minima at the "usual" symmetry points of the fundamental domain of the reciprocal space of magnetic parameters. In search of the missing extrema we prove a necessary condition for a smooth critical point to happen inside the reciprocal fundamental domain. Using this condition, we identify the extrema as the singularities in the dispersion relation of the maximal abelian cover of the graph (the honeycomb graph being an important example). In particular, our results show that the anomalous nodal count is an indication of the presence of the conical points in the dispersion relation of the maximal universal cover. Also, we discover that the conical points are present in the dispersion relation of graphs with much less symmetry than was required in previous investigations.

math-ph↗
arXiv2014

Vakhitov-Kolokolov and energy vanishing conditions for linear instability of solitary waves in models of classical self-interacting spinor fields

We study the linear stability of localized modes in self-interacting spinor fields, analyzing the spectrum of the operator corresponding to linearization at solitary waves. Following the generalization of the Vakhitov--Kolokolov approach, we show that the bifurcation of real eigenvalues from the origin is completely characterized by the Vakhitov--Kolokolov condition $dQ/dω=0$ and by the vanishing of the energy functional. We give the numerical data on the linear stability in the generalized Gross--Neveu model and the generalized massive Thirring model in the charge-subcritical, critical, and supercritical cases, showing the agreement with the Vakhitov--Kolokolov and the energy vanishing conditions.

math-ph↗
arXiv2013

Universality of the momentum band density of periodic networks

The momentum spectrum of a periodic network (quantum graph) has a band-gap structure. We investigate the relative density of the bands or, equivalently, the probability that a randomly chosen momentum belongs to the spectrum of the periodic network. We show that this probability exhibits universal properties. More precisely, the probability to be in the spectrum does not depend on the edge lengths (as long as they are generic) and is also invariant within some classes of graph topologies.

math-ph↗
arXiv2012

On spectral stability of solitary waves of nonlinear Dirac equation on a line

We study the spectral stability of solitary wave solutions to the nonlinear Dirac equation in one dimension. We focus on the Dirac equation with cubic nonlinearity, known as the Soler model in (1+1) dimensions and also as the massive Gross-Neveu model. Presented numerical computations of the spectrum of linearization at a solitary wave show that the solitary waves are spectrally stable. We corroborate our results by finding explicit expressions for several of the eigenfunctions. Some of the analytic results hold for the nonlinear Dirac equation with generic nonlinearity.

math-ph↗
arXiv2012

Critical partitions and nodal deficiency of billiard eigenfunctions

The paper addresses the the number of nodal domains for eigenfunctions of Schrödinger operators with Dirichlet boundary conditions in bounded domains. In dimension one, the $n$th eigenfunction has $n$ nodal domains. The Courant Theorem claims that in any dimension, the number of nodal domains of the $n$th eigenfunction cannot exceed $n$. However, in dimensions higher than 1 the equality can hold for only finitely many eigenfunctions. Thus, a "nodal deficiency" arises. Examples are known of eigenfunctions with arbitrarily large index $n$ that have just two nodal domains. It was suggested in the recent years to look at the partitions of the domain, rather than eigenfunctions. It was shown in a recent paper by Helffer, Hoffmann-Ostenhof and Terracini that (under some natural conditions) bipartite partitions minimizing the maximum of the ground-state energies in sub-domains of the partition, correspond to the "Courant sharp" eigenfunctions, i.e. to those with zero nodal deficiency. In this paper, the authors show, under some genericity conditions, among the bipartite equipartitions, the nodal ones correspond exactly to the critical points of an analogous functional, with the nodal deficiency being equal to the Morse index at this point. This explains, in particular, why all the minimal partitions must be Courant sharp.

math-ph↗
arXiv2012

Universality in chaotic quantum transport: The concordance between random matrix and semiclassical theories

Electronic transport through chaotic quantum dots exhibits universal, system independent, properties, consistent with random matrix theory. The quantum transport can also be rooted, via the semiclassical approximation, in sums over the classical scattering trajectories. Correlations between such trajectories can be organized diagrammatically and have been shown to yield universal answers for some observables. Here, we develop the general combinatorial treatment of the semiclassical diagrams, through a connection to factorizations of permutations. We show agreement between the semiclassical and random matrix approaches to the moments of the transmission eigenvalues. The result is valid for all moments to all orders of the expansion in inverse channel number for all three main symmetry classes (with and without time reversal symmetry and spin-orbit interaction) and extends to nonlinear statistics. This finally explains the applicability of random matrix theory to chaotic quantum transport in terms of the underlying dynamics as well as providing semiclassical access to the probability density of the transmission eigenvalues.

nlin.CD↗
arXiv2011

Nodal count of graph eigenfunctions via magnetic perturbation

We establish a connection between the stability of an eigenvalue under a magnetic perturbation and the number of zeros of the corresponding eigenfunction. Namely, we consider an eigenfunction of discrete Laplacian on a graph and count the number of edges where the eigenfunction changes sign (has a "zero"). It is known that the $n$-th eigenfunction has $n-1+s$ such zeros, where the "nodal surplus" $s$ is an integer between 0 and the number of cycles on the graph. We then perturb the Laplacian by a weak magnetic field and view the $n$-th eigenvalue as a function of the perturbation. It is shown that this function has a critical point at the zero field and that the Morse index of the critical point is equal to the nodal surplus $s$ of the $n$-th eigenfunction of the unperturbed graph.

math-ph↗
arXiv2011

Stability of nodal structures in graph eigenfunctions and its relation to the nodal domain count

The nodal domains of eigenvectors of the discrete Schrodinger operator on simple, finite and connected graphs are considered. Courant's well known nodal domain theorem applies in the present case, and sets an upper bound to the number of nodal domains of eigenvectors: Arranging the spectrum as a non decreasing sequence, and denoting by $ν_n$ the number of nodal domains of the $n$'th eigenvector, Courant's theorem guarantees that the nodal deficiency $n-ν_n$ is non negative. (The above applies for generic eigenvectors. Special care should be exercised for eigenvectors with vanishing components.) The main result of the present work is that the nodal deficiency for generic eigenvectors equals to a Morse index of an energy functional whose value at its relevant critical points coincides with the eigenvalue. The association of the nodal deficiency to the stability of an energy functional at its critical points was recently discussed in the context of quantum graphs [arXiv:1103.1423] and Dirichlet Laplacian in bounded domains in $R^d$ [arXiv:1107.3489]. The present work adapts this result to the discrete case. The definition of the energy functional in the discrete case requires a special setting, substantially different from the one used in [arXiv:1103.1423,arXiv:1107.3489] and it is presented here in detail.

math-ph↗
arXiv2011

Transport moments beyond the leading order

For chaotic cavities with scattering leads attached, transport properties can be approximated in terms of the classical trajectories which enter and exit the system. With a semiclassical treatment involving fine correlations between such trajectories we develop a diagrammatic technique to calculate the moments of various transport quantities. Namely, we find the moments of the transmission and reflection eigenvalues for systems with and without time reversal symmetry. We also derive related quantities involving an energy dependence: the moments of the Wigner delay times and the density of states of chaotic Andreev billiards, where we find that the gap in the density persists when subleading corrections are included. Finally, we show how to adapt our techniques to non-linear statistics by calculating the correlation between transport moments. In each setting, the answer for the $n$-th moment is obtained for arbitrary $n$ (in the form of a moment generating function) and for up to the three leading orders in terms of the inverse channel number. Our results suggest patterns which should hold for further corrections and by matching with the low order moments available from random matrix theory we derive likely higher order generating functions.

nlin.CD↗
arXiv2011

The density of states of chaotic Andreev billiards

Quantum cavities or dots have markedly different properties depending on whether their classical counterparts are chaotic or not. Connecting a superconductor to such a cavity leads to notable proximity effects, particularly the appearance, predicted by random matrix theory, of a hard gap in the excitation spectrum of quantum chaotic systems. Andreev billiards are interesting examples of such structures built with superconductors connected to a ballistic normal metal billiard since each time an electron hits the superconducting part it is retroreflected as a hole (and vice-versa). Using a semiclassical framework for systems with chaotic dynamics, we show how this reflection, along with the interference due to subtle correlations between the classical paths of electrons and holes inside the system, are ultimately responsible for the gap formation. The treatment can be extended to include the effects of a symmetry breaking magnetic field in the normal part of the billiard or an Andreev billiard connected to two phase shifted superconductors. Therefore we are able to see how these effects can remold and eventually suppress the gap. Furthermore the semiclassical framework is able to cover the effect of a finite Ehrenfest time which also causes the gap to shrink. However for intermediate values this leads to the appearance of a second hard gap - a clear signature of the Ehrenfest time.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2011

On the connection between the number of nodal domains on quantum graphs and the stability of graph partitions

Courant theorem provides an upper bound for the number of nodal domains of eigenfunctions of a wide class of Laplacian-type operators. In particular, it holds for generic eigenfunctions of quantum graph. The theorem stipulates that, after ordering the eigenvalues as a non decreasing sequence, the number of nodal domains $ν_n$ of the $n$-th eigenfunction satisfies $n\ge ν_n$. Here, we provide a new interpretation for the Courant nodal deficiency $d_n = n-ν_n$ in the case of quantum graphs. It equals the Morse index --- at a critical point --- of an energy functional on a suitably defined space of graph partitions. Thus, the nodal deficiency assumes a previously unknown and profound meaning --- it is the number of unstable directions in the vicinity of the critical point corresponding to the $n$-th eigenfunction. To demonstrate this connection, the space of graph partitions and the energy functional are defined and the corresponding critical partitions are studied in detail.

math-ph↗
arXiv2010

Dynamics of nodal points and the nodal count on a family of quantum graphs

We investigate the properties of the zeros of the eigenfunctions on quantum graphs (metric graphs with a Schrödinger-type differential operator). Using tools such as scattering approach and eigenvalue interlacing inequalities we derive several formulas relating the number of the zeros of the n-th eigenfunction to the spectrum of the graph and of some of its subgraphs. In a special case of the so-called dihedral graph we prove an explicit formula that only uses the lengths of the edges, entirely bypassing the information about the graph's eigenvalues. The results are explained from the point of view of the dynamics of zeros of the solutions to the scattering problem.

math-ph↗
arXiv2010

Semiclassical gaps in the density of states of chaotic Andreev billiards

The connection of a superconductor to a chaotic ballistic quantum dot leads to interesting phenomena, most notably the appearance of a hard gap in its excitation spectrum. Here we treat such an Andreev billiard semiclassically where the density of states is expressed in terms of the classical trajectories of electrons (and holes) that leave and return to the superconductor. We show how classical orbit correlations lead to the formation of the hard gap, as predicted by random matrix theory in the limit of negligible Ehrenfest time $\tE$, and how the influence of a finite $\tE$ causes the gap to shrink. Furthermore, for intermediate $\tE$ we predict a second gap below $E=π\hbar /2\tE$ which would presumably be the clearest signature yet of $\tE$-effects.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2010

Moments of the Wigner delay times

The Wigner time delay is a measure of the time spent by a particle inside the scattering region of an open system. For chaotic systems, the statistics of the individual delay times (whose average is the Wigner time delay) are thought to be well described by random matrix theory. Here we present a semiclassical derivation showing the validity of random matrix results. In order to simplify the semiclassical treatment, we express the moments of the delay times in terms of correlation functions of scattering matrices at different energies. In the semiclassical approximation, the elements of the scattering matrix are given in terms of the classical scattering trajectories, requiring one to study correlations between sets of such trajectories. We describe the structure of correlated sets of trajectories and formulate the rules for their evaluation to the leading order in inverse channel number. This allows us to derive a polynomial equation satisfied by the generating function of the moments. Along with showing the agreement of our semiclassical results with the moments predicted by random matrix theory, we infer that the scattering matrix is unitary to all orders in the semiclassical approximation.

nlin.CD↗
arXiv2007

A lower bound for nodal count on discrete and metric graphs

According to a well-know theorem by Sturm, a vibrating string is divided into exactly N nodal intervals by zeros of its N-th eigenfunction. Courant showed that one half of Sturm's theorem for the strings applies to the theory of membranes: N-th eigenfunction cannot have more than N domains. He also gave an example of a eigenfunction high in the spectrum with a minimal number of nodal domains, thus excluding the existence of a non-trivial lower bound. An analogue of Sturm's result for discretizations of the interval was discussed by Gantmacher and Krein. The discretization of an interval is a graph of a simple form, a chain-graph. But what can be said about more complicated graphs? It has been known since the early 90s that the nodal count for a generic eigenfunction of the Schrodinger operator on quantum trees (where each edge is identified with an interval of the real line and some matching conditions are enforced on the vertices) is exact too: zeros of the N-th eigenfunction divide the tree into exactly N subtrees. We discuss two extensions of this result in two directions. One deals with the same continuous Schrodinger operator but on general graphs (i.e. non-trees) and another deals with discrete Schrodinger operator on combinatorial graphs (both trees and non-trees). The result that we derive applies to both types of graphs: the number of nodal domains of the N-th eigenfunction is bounded below by N-L, where L is the number of links that distinguish the graph from a tree (defined as the dimension of the cycle space or the rank of the fundamental group of the graph). We also show that if it the genericity condition is dropped, the nodal count can fall arbitrarily far below the number of the corresponding eigenfunction.

math-ph↗
arXiv2006

Form factor expansion for large graphs: a diagrammatic approach

The form factor of a quantum graph is a function measuring correlations within the spectrum of the graph. It can be expressed as a double sum over the periodic orbits on the graph. We propose a scheme which allows one to evaluate the periodic orbit sum for a special family of graphs and thus to recover the expression for the form factor predicted by the Random Matrix Theory. The scheme, although producing the expected answer, undercounts orbits of a certain structure, raising doubts about an analogous summation recently proposed for quantum billiards.

nlin.CD↗