arXiv subjects

Hans-Karl Janssen

Publications and source records attributed to Hans-Karl Janssen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

Attacks and Infections in Percolation Processes

We discuss attacks and infections at propagating fronts of percolation processes based on the extended general epidemic process. The scaling behavior of the number of the attacked and infected sites in the long time limit at the ordinary and tricritical percolation transitions is governed by specific composite operators of the field-theoretic representation of this process. We calculate corresponding critical exponents for tricritical percolation in mean-field theory and for ordinary percolation to 1-loop order. Our results agree well with the available numerical data.

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arXiv2016

Directed Percolation with a Conserved Field and the Depinning Transition

Conserved directed-percolation (C-DP) and the depinning transition of a disordered elastic interface belong to the same universality class as has been proven very recently by Le Doussal and Wiese [Phys. Rev. Lett.~\textbf{114}, 110601 (2015)] through a mapping of the field theory for C-DP onto that of the quenched Edwards-Wilkinson model. Here, we present an alternative derivation of the C-DP field theoretic functional, starting with the coherent state path integral formulation of the C-DP and then applying the Grassberger-transformation, that avoids the disadvantages of the so-called Doi-shift. We revisit the aforementioned mapping with focus on a specific term in the field theoretic functional that has been problematic in the past when it came to assessing its relevance. We show that this term is redundant in the sense of the renormalization group.

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arXiv2016

First-order phase transitions in outbreaks of co-infectious diseases and the extended general epidemic process

In co-infections, positive feedback between multiple diseases can accelerate outbreaks. In a recent letter Chen, Ghanbarnejad, Cai, and Grassberger (CGCG) introduced a spatially homogeneous mean-field model system for such co-infections, and studied this system numerically with focus on the possible existence of discontinuous phase transitions. We show that their model coincides in mean-field theory with the homogenous limit of the extended general epidemic process (EGEP). Studying the latter analytically, we argue that the discontinuous transition observed by CGCG is basically a spinodal phase transition and not a first-order transition with phase-coexistence. We derive the conditions for this spinodal transition along with predictions for important quantities such as the magnitude of the discontinuity. We also shed light on a true first-order transition with phase-coexistence by discussing the EGEP with spatial inhomogeneities.

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arXiv2014

Driven surface diffusion with detailed balance and elastic phase transitions

Driven surface diffusion occurs, for example, in molecular beam epitaxy when particles are deposited under an oblique angle. Elastic phase transitions happen when normal modes in crystals become soft due to the vanishing of certain elastic constants. We show that these seemingly entirely disparate systems fall under appropriate conditions into the same universality class. We derive the field theoretic Hamiltonian for this universality class, and we use renormalized field theory to calculate critical exponents and logarithmic corrections for several experimentally relevant quantities.

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arXiv2012

Scaling exponents for a monkey on a tree - fractal dimensions of randomly branched polymers

We study asymptotic properties of diffusion and other transport processes (including self-avoiding walks and electrical conduction) on large randomly branched polymers using renormalized dynamical field theory. We focus on the swollen phase and the collapse transition, where loops in the polymers are irrelevant. Here the asymptotic statistics of the polymers is that of lattice trees, and diffusion on them is reminiscent of the climbing of a monkey on a tree. We calculate a set of universal scaling exponents including the diffusion exponent and the fractal dimension of the minimal path to 2-loop order and, where available, compare them to numerical results.

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arXiv2011

Linear Polymers in Disordered Media - the shortest, the longest and the mean(est) SAW on percolation clusters

Long linear polymers in strongly disordered media are well described by self-avoiding walks (SAWs) on percolation clusters. The length-distribution of these SAWs encompasses to distinct averages, viz. the averages over cluster- and SAW-conformations. For the latter average, there are two basic options, one being static and one being kinetic. It is well known for static averaging that if the disorder of the underlying medium is weak, differences to the ordered case appear merely in non-universal quantities. Using dynamical field theory, we show that the same holds true for kinetic averaging. For strong disorder, i.e., the medium being close to the percolation point, we employ a field theory for the nonlinear random resistor network in conjunction with a real-world interpretation of Feynman diagrams, and we calculate the scaling exponents for the shortest, the longest and the mean or average SAW to 2-loop order. In addition, we calculate to 2-loop order the entire family of multifractal exponents that governs the moments of the the statistical weights of the elementary constituents (bonds or sites of the underlying fractal cluster) contributing to the SAWs. Our RG analysis reveals that kinetic averaging leads to renormalizability whereas static averaging does not, and hence, we argue that the latter does not lead to a well-defined scaling limit. We discuss the possible implications of this finding for experiments and numerical simulations which have produced wide-spread results for the exponent of the average SAW. To corroborate our results, we also study the well-known Meir-Harris model for SAWs on percolation clusters. We demonstrate that this model leads back to 2-loop order to the renormalizable real world formulation with kinetic averaging if the replica limit is consistently performed at the first possible instant of the calculation.

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arXiv2011

The collapse transition of randomly branched polymers -renormalized field theory

We present a minimal dynamical model for randomly branched isotropic polymers, and we study this model in the framework of renormalized field theory. For the swollen phase, we show that our model provides a route to understand the well established dimensional-reduction results from a different angle. For the collapse $θ$-transition, we uncover a hidden Becchi-Rouet-Stora super-symmetry, signaling the sole relevance of tree-configurations. We correct the long-standing 1-loop results for the critical exponents, and we push these results on to 2-loop order. For the collapse $θ^{\prime}$-transition, we find a runaway of the renormalization group flow, which lends credence to the possibility that this transition is a fluctuation-induced first-order transition. Our dynamical model allows us to calculate for the first time the fractal dimension of the shortest path on randomly branched polymers in the swollen phase as well as at the collapse transition and related fractal dimensions.

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arXiv2009

Fresh look at randomly branched polymers

We develop a new, dynamical field theory of isotropic randomly branched polymers, and we use this model in conjunction with the renormalization group (RG) to study several prominent problems in the physics of these polymers. Our model provides an alternative vantage point to understand the swollen phase via dimensional reduction. We reveal a hidden Becchi-Rouet-Stora (BRS) symmetry of the model that describes the collapse ($θ$-)transition to compact polymer-conformations, and calculate the critical exponents to 2-loop order. It turns out that the long-standing 1-loop results for these exponents are not entirely correct. A runaway of the RG flow indicates that the so-called $θ^\prime$-transition could be a fluctuation induced first order transition.

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arXiv2009

Renormalized field theory of collapsing directed randomly branched polymers

We present a dynamical field theory for directed randomly branched polymers and in particular their collapse transition. We develop a phenomenological model in the form of a stochastic response functional that allows us to address several interesting problems such as the scaling behavior of the swollen phase and the collapse transition. For the swollen phase, we find that by choosing model parameters appropriately, our stochastic functional reduces to the one describing the relaxation dynamics near the Yang-Lee singularity edge. This corroborates that the scaling behavior of swollen branched polymers is governed by the Yang-Lee universality class as has been known for a long time. The main focus of our paper lies on the collapse transition of directed branched polymers. We show to arbitrary order in renormalized perturbation theory with $\varepsilon$-expansion that this transition belongs to the same universality class as directed percolation.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2009

Distribution functions in percolation problems

Percolation clusters are random fractals whose geometrical and transport properties can be characterized with the help of probability distribution functions. Using renormalized field theory, we determine the asymptotic form of various of such distribution functions in the limits where certain scaling variables become small or large. Our study includes the pair-connection probability, the distributions of the fractal masses of the backbone, the red bonds and the shortest, the longest and the average self-avoiding walk between any two points on a cluster, as well as the distribution of the total resistance in the random resistor network. Our analysis draws solely on general, structural features of the underlying diagrammatic perturbation theory, and hence our main results are valid to arbitrary loop order.

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arXiv2008

Field theory of directed percolation with long-range spreading

It is well established that the phase transition between survival and extinction in spreading models with short-range interactions is generically associated with the directed percolation (DP) universality class. In many realistic spreading processes, however, interactions are long ranged and well described by Lévy-flights, i.e., by a probability distribution that decays in $d$ dimensions with distance $r$ as $r^{-d-σ}$. We employ the powerful methods of renormalized field theory to study DP with such long range, Lévy-flight spreading in some depth. Our results unambiguously corroborate earlier findings that there are four renormalization group fixed points corresponding to, respectively, short-range Gaussian, Lévy Gaussian, short-range DP and Lévy DP, and that there are four lines in the $(σ, d)$ plane which separate the stability regions of these fixed points. When the stability line between short-range DP and Lévy DP is crossed, all critical exponents change continuously. We calculate the exponents describing Lévy DP to second order in $ε$-expansion, and we compare our analytical results to the results of existing numerical simulations. Furthermore, we calculate the leading logarithmic corrections for several dynamical observables.

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arXiv2007

Finite-size scaling of directed percolation in the steady state

Recently, considerable progress has been made in understanding finite-size scaling in equilibrium systems. Here, we study finite-size scaling in non-equilibrium systems at the instance of directed percolation (DP), which has become the paradigm of non-equilibrium phase transitions into absorbing states, above, at and below the upper critical dimension. We investigate the finite-size scaling behavior of DP analytically and numerically by considering its steady state generated by a homogeneous constant external source on a d-dimensional hypercube of finite edge length L with periodic boundary conditions near the bulk critical point. In particular, we study the order parameter and its higher moments using renormalized field theory. We derive finite-size scaling forms of the moments in a one-loop calculation. Moreover, we introduce and calculate a ratio of the order parameter moments that plays a similar role in the analysis of finite size scaling in absorbing nonequilibrium processes as the famous Binder cumulant in equilibrium systems and that, in particular, provides a new signature of the DP universality class. To complement our analytical work, we perform Monte Carlo simulations which confirm our analytical results.

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arXiv2007

Scaling behavior of linear polymers in disordered media

Folklore has, that the universal scaling properties of linear polymers in disordered media are well described by the statistics of self-avoiding walks Folklore has, that the universal scaling properties of linear polymers in disordered media are well described by the statistics of self-avoiding walks (SAWs) on percolation clusters and their critical exponent $ν_{\text{SAW}}$, with SAW implicitly referring to \emph{average} SAW. Hitherto, static averaging has been commonly used, e.g. in numerical simulations, to determine what the \emph{average} SAW is. We assert that only kinetic, rather than static, averaging can lead to asymptotic scaling behavior and corroborate our assertion by heuristic arguments and a renormalizable field theory. Moreover, we calculate to two-loop order $ν_{\text{SAW}}$, the exponent $ν_{\text{max}}$ for the longest SAW, and a new family of multifractal exponents $ν^{(α)}$.

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arXiv2006

Strongly anisotropic roughness in surfaces driven by an oblique particle flux

Using field theoretic renormalization, an MBE-type growth process with an obliquely incident influx of atoms is examined. The projection of the beam on the substrate plane selects a "parallel" direction, with rotational invariance restricted to the transverse directions. Depending on the behavior of an effective anisotropic surface tension, a line of second order transitions is identified, as well as a line of potentially first order transitions, joined by a multicritical point. Near the second order transitions and the multicritical point, the surface roughness is strongly anisotropic. Four different roughness exponents are introduced and computed, describing the surface in different directions, in real or momentum space. The results presented challenge an earlier study of the multicritical point.

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arXiv2005

Survival and Percolation Probabilities in the Field Theory of Growth Models

Survival and percolation probabilities are most important quantities in the theory and in the application of growth models with spreading. We construct field theoretical expressions for these probabilities which are feasible for perturbation expansions. The outstanding role of the absorbing noise is stressed to obtain survival probabilities monotonic decreasing with time. We briefly consider some fundamental growth models equipped with absorbing noise which are representations of known universality classes of spreading phenomena. The critical scaling properties of their survival and percolation and probabilities are stated. In an appendix we consider shortly the renormalized field theory of compact directed percolation.

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arXiv2004

Transport properties of directed percolation clusters at the upper critical dimension

We study the transport properties of directed percolation clusters at the upper critical dimension $d_{c} = 4+1$, where critical fluctuations induce logarithmic corrections to the leading (mean-field) scaling behavior. Employing field theory and renormalization group methods we calculate these logarithmic corrections up to and including the next to leading correction for a variety of observables, viz. the connectivity, i.e., the probability that two given points are connected, the average two-point resistance and some of the fractal masses describing percolation clusters. Furthermore, we study logarithmic corrections for the multifractal moments of the current distribution on directed percolation clusters.

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arXiv2004

Pair Contact Process with Diffusion: Failure of Master Equation Field Theory

We demonstrate that the `microscopic' field theory representation, directly derived from the corresponding master equation, fails to adequately capture the continuous nonequilibrium phase transition of the Pair Contact Process with Diffusion (PCPD). The ensuing renormalization group (RG) flow equations do not allow for a stable fixed point in the parameter region that is accessible by the physical initial conditions. There exists a stable RG fixed point outside this regime, but the resulting scaling exponents, in conjunction with the predicted particle anticorrelations at the critical point, would be in contradiction with the positivity of the equal-time mean-square particle number fluctuations. We conclude that a more coarse-grained effective field theory approach is required to elucidate the critical properties of the PCPD.

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arXiv2004

The Field Theory Approach to Percolation Processes

We review the field theory approach to percolation processes. Specifically, we focus on the so-called simple and general epidemic processes that display continuous non-equilibrium active to absorbing state phase transitions whose asymptotic features are governed respectively by the directed (DP) and dynamic isotropic percolation (dIP) universality classes. We discuss the construction of a field theory representation for these Markovian stochastic processes based on fundamental phenomenological considerations, as well as from a specific microscopic reaction-diffusion model realization. Subsequently we explain how dynamic renormalization group (RG) methods can be applied to obtain the universal properties near the critical point in an expansion about the upper critical dimensions d_c = 4 (DP) and 6 (dIP). We provide a detailed overview of results for critical exponents, scaling functions, crossover phenomena, finite-size scaling, and also briefly comment on the influence of long-range spreading, the presence of a boundary, multispecies generalizations, coupling of the order parameter to other conserved modes, and quenched disorder.

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