arXiv subjects

L. Pietronero

Publications and source records attributed to L. Pietronero.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2000

Fractal Cosmology in an Open Universe

The clustering of galaxies is well characterized by fractal properties, with the presence of an eventual cross-over to homogeneity still a matter of considerable debate. In this letter we discuss the cosmological implications of a fractal distribution of matter, with a possible cross-over to homogeneity at an undetermined scale R_{homo}. Contrary to what is generally assumed, we show that, even when R_{homo} -> \infty, this possibility can be treated consistently within the framework of the expanding universe solutions of Friedmann. The fractal is a perturbation to an open cosmology in which the leading homogeneous component is the cosmic background radiation (CBR). This cosmology, inspired by the observed galaxy distributions, provides a simple explanation for the recent data which indicate the absence of deceleration in the expansion (q_o \approx 0). Correspondingly the `age problem' is also resolved. Further we show that the model can be extended back from the curvature dominated arbitrarily deep into the radiation dominated era, and we discuss qualitatively the modifications to the physics of the anisotropy of the CBR, nucleosynthesis and structure formation.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1999

Anomalous impurity effects in nonadiabatic superconductors

We show that, in contrast with the usual electron-phonon Migdal-Eliashberg theory, the critical temperature Tc of an isotropic s-wave nonadiabatic superconductor is strongly reduced by the presence of diluted non-magnetic impurities. Our results suggest that the recently observed Tc-suppression driven by disorder in K3C60 [Phys. Rev. B vol.55, 3866 (1997)] and in Nd(2-x)CexCuO(4-delta) [Phys. Rev. B vol.58, 8800 (1998)] could be explained in terms of a nonadiabatic electron-phonon coupling. Moreover, we predict that the isotope effect on Tc has an impurity dependence qualitatively different from the one expected for anisotropic superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1999

Pauli susceptibility of nonadiabatic Fermi liquids

The nonadiabatic regime of the electron-phonon interaction leads to behaviors of some physical measurable quantities qualitatively different from those expected from the Migdal-Eliashberg theory. Here we identify in the Pauli paramagnetic susceptibility $χ$ one of such quantities and show that the nonadiabatic corrections reduce $χ$ with respect to its adiabatic limit. We show also that the nonadiabatic regime induces an isotope dependence of $χ$, which in principle could be measured.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1999

Fractal Growth with Quenched Disorder

In this lecture we present an overview of the physics of irreversible fractal growth process, with particular emphasis on a class of models characterized by {\em quenched disorder}. These models exhibit self-organization, with critical properties developing spontaneously, without the fine tuning of external parameters. This situation is different from the usual critical phenomena, and requires the introduction of new theoretical methods. Our approach to these problems is based on two concepts, the Fixed Scale Transformation, and the quenched-stochastic transformation, or Run Time Statistics (RTS), which maps a dynamics with quenched disorder into a stochastic process. These methods, combined together, allow us to understand the self-organized nature of models with quenched disorder and to compute analytically their critical exponents. In addition, it is also possible characterize mathematically the origin of the dynamics by {\em avalanches} and compare it with the {\em continuous growth} of other fractal models. A specific application to Invasion Percolation will be discussed. Some possible relations to glasses will also be mentioned.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1999

Comment on the paper ``The ESO Slice Project galaxy redshift survey: V. Evidence for a D=3 sample dimensionality''

In a recent analysis of number counts in the ESP survey Scaramella et al. (1998) claim to find evidence for a cross-over to homogeneity at large scales, and against a fractal behaviour with dimension $D \approx 2$. In this comment we note firstly that, if such a cross-over exists as described by the authors, the scale characterizing it is ~ 100 - 300 Mpc/h. This invalidates the ``standard'' analysis of the same catalogue given elsewhere by the authors which results in a ``correlation length'' of only r_0 = 4 Mpc/h. Furthermore we show that the evidences for a cross-over to homogeneity rely on the choice of cosmological model, and most crucially on the so called K corrections. We show that the D ~ 3 behaviour seen in the K-corrected data of Scaramella et al. is in fact unstable, increasing systematically towards D=4 as a function of the absolute magnitude limit. This behaviour can be quantitatively explained as the effect of an unphysical K-correction in the relevant range of red-shift (z ~ 0.1- 0.3). A more consistent interpretation of the number counts is that D is in the range 2 - 2.5, depending on the cosmological model, consistent with the continuation of the fractal D ~ 2 behaviour observed at scales up to ~100 Mpc/h. This implies a smaller K-correction. Given, however, the uncertainty in the effect of intrinsic fluctuations on the number counts statistic, and its sensitivity on these large scales to the uncertain K corrections, we conclude that it is premature to put a definitive constraint on the galaxy distribution using the ESP data alone.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1999

Scale Invariant Dynamics of Surface Growth

We describe in detail and extend a recently introduced nonperturbative renormalization group (RG) method for surface growth. The scale invariant dynamics which is the key ingredient of the calculation is obtained as the fixed point of a RG transformation relating the representation of the microscopic process at two different coarse-grained scales. We review the RG calculation for systems in the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class and compute the roughness exponent for the strong coupling phase in dimensions from 1 to 9. Discussions of the approximations involved and possible improvements are also presented. Moreover, very strong evidence of the absence of a finite upper critical dimension for KPZ growth is presented. Finally, we apply the method to the linear Edwards-Wilkinson dynamics where we reproduce the known exact results, proving the ability of the method to capture qualitatively different behaviors.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1999

Renormalization group study of one-dimensional systems with roughening transitions

A recently introduced real space renormalization group technique, developed for the analysis of processes in the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class, is generalized and tested by applying it to a different family of surface growth processes. In particular, we consider a growth model exhibiting a rich phenomenology even in one dimension. It has four different phases and a directed percolation related roughening transition. The renormalization method reproduces extremely well all the phase diagram, the roughness exponents in all the phases and the separatrix among them. This proves the versatility of the method and elucidates interesting physical mechanisms.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1998

The Uneven Distribution of Numbers in Nature

Suppose you look at today's stock prices and bet on the value of the first digit. One could guess that a fair bet should correspond to the frequency of $1/9 = 11.11%$ for each digit from 1 to 9. This is by no means the case, and one can easily observe a strong prevalence of the small values over the large ones. The first three integers 1,2 and 3 alone have globally a frequency of 60% while the other six values 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 appear only in 40% of the cases. This situation is actually much more general than the stock market and it occurs in a variety of number catalogs related to natural phenomena. The first observation of this property traces back to S. Newcomb in 1881 but a more precise account was given by F. Benford in 1938. In this note we illustrate these observations with the enlightening specific example of the stock market. We also identify the general mechanism for the origin of this uneven distribution in the multiplicative nature of fluctuations in economics and in many natural phenomena. This provides a natural explanation for the ubiquitous presence of the Benford's law in many different phenomena with the common element that their fluctuations refer to a fraction of their values. This brings us close to the problem of the spontaneous origin of scale invariant properties in various phenomena which is a debated question at the frontier of different fields.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1998

Generalized Dielectric Breakdown Model

We propose a generalized version of the Dielectric Breakdown Model (DBM) for generic breakdown processes. It interpolates between the standard DBM and its analog with quenched disorder, as a temperature like parameter is varied. The physics of other well known fractal growth phenomena as Invasion Percolation and the Eden model are also recovered for some particular parameter values. The competition between different growing mechanisms leads to new non-trivial effects and allows us to better describe real growth phenomena. Detailed numerical and theoretical analysis are performed to study the interplay between the elementary mechanisms. In particular, we observe a continuously changing fractal dimension as temperature is varied, and report an evidence of a novel phase transition at zero temperature in absence of an external driving field; the temperature acts as a relevant parameter for the ``self-organized'' invasion percolation fixed point. This permits us to obtain new insight into the connections between self-organization and standard phase transitions.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1998

Isotope effect on $m^*$ in high-T_c materials due to the breakdown of Migdal's theorem

We show that the inclusion of effects beyond Migdal's limit in the electron-phonon interaction naturally leads to an isotope effect for the effective mass $m^{*}$ of the charge carriers even much before reaching the polaron limit. This is the situation already considered in our approach to nonadiabatic superconductivity. Such a result provides a scenario different from the polaronic one for the interpretation of the recently observed isotope effect on $m^{*}$ in YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6+x}$ and La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

High dimensional behavior of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang growth dynamics

We investigate analytically the large dimensional behavior of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) dynamics of surface growth using a recently proposed non-perturbative renormalization for self-affine surface dynamics. Within this framework, we show that the roughness exponent $α$ decays not faster than $α\sim 1/d$ for large $d$. This implies the absence of a finite upper critical dimension.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1998

Non perturbative renormalization group approach to surface growth

We present a recently introduced real space renormalization group (RG) approach to the study of surface growth. The method permits us to obtain the properties of the KPZ strong coupling fixed point, which is not accessible to standard perturbative field theory approaches. Using this method, and with the aid of small Monte Carlo calculations for systems of linear size 2 and 4, we calculate the roughness exponent in dimensions up to d=8. The results agree with the known numerical values with good accuracy. Furthermore, the method permits us to predict the absence of an upper critical dimension for KPZ contrarily to recent claims. The RG scheme is applied to other growth models in different universality classes and reproduces very well all the observed phenomenology and numerical results. Intended as a sort of finite size scaling method, the new scheme may simplify in some cases from a computational point of view the calculation of scaling exponents of growth processes.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1998

The physical origin of the electron-phonon vertex correction

The electron-phonon vertex correction has a complex structure both in momentum and frequency. We explain this structure on the basis of physical considerations and we show how the vertex correction can be decomposed into two terms with different physical origins. In particular, the first term describes the lattice polarization induced by the electrons and it is essentially a single-electron process whereas the second term is governed by the particle-hole excitations due to the exchange part of the phonon-mediated electron-electron interaction. We show that by weakening the influence of the exchange interaction the vertex takes mostly positive values giving rise to an enhanced effective coupling in the scattering with phonons. This weakening of the exchange interaction can be obtained by lowering the density of the electrons, or by considering only long-ranged (small q) electron-phonon couplings. These findings permit to understand why in the High-Tc materials the small carrier density and the long ranged electron-phonon interaction may play a positive role in enhancing Tc.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

Nonadiabatic pairing effects for tight-binding electrons interacting with phonons

The nonadiabatic electron-phonon corrections for the superconducting pairing are investigated for a specific tight-binding model corresponding to a 2d square lattice. This permits to investigate the role of various specific properties like the band filling, nesting effects and a realistic van Hove singularity on the superconducting effective pairing beyond Migdal's limit. The main results are: (i) Starting from a momentum independent electron-phonon coupling the nonadiabatic effects lead to an effective pairing which is strongly dependent on frequency and momentum. (ii) If instead the electron-phonon coupling is mainly forward (as due to correlation effects) the resulting pairing results to be strongly enhanced. These results confirm but also extend the simplified scheme used up to now to compute these properties. In this respect our results link the nonadiabatic effects to the specific properties of realistic materials.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

Non-perturbative renormalization of the KPZ growth dynamics

We introduce a non-perturbative renormalization approach which identifies stable fixed points in any dimension for the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang dynamics of rough surfaces. The usual limitations of real space methods to deal with anisotropic (self-affine) scaling are overcome with an indirect functional renormalization. The roughness exponent $α$ is computed for dimensions $d=1$ to 8 and it results to be in very good agreement with the available simulations. No evidence is found for an upper critical dimension. We discuss how the present approach can be extended to other self-affine problems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1998

Role of the superconducting gap opening on vertex corrections

The nonadiabatic effects due to the breakdown of Migdal's theorem in high-$T_c$ superconductors are strongly affected by the opening of the superconducting gap. Here we report how the momentum-frequency dependence of vertex corrections is modified by the gap. A general effect is that the positive region of the vertex corrections is increased leading to an enhancement of their relevance. This has a number of physical consequences that we discuss in details in relation to specific experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

Comment on the paper by L. Guzzo "Is the Universe homogeneous ?"

This comment is in response to the paper by L. Guzzo recently appeared in ``New Astronomy'' related to our work. The subject of the discussion concerns the correlation properties of galaxy distribution in the available 3-d samples. There is a general agreement that galaxy structures exhibit fractal properties, at least up to some scale. However the presence of an eventual crossover towards homogenization, as well as the exact value of the fractal dimension, are still matter of debate. Here we briefly summarize our point of view by discussing three main topics. The first one is methodological, i.e. we clarify which are the correct methods to detect the real correlations properties of the 3-d galaxy distribution. Then we discuss the results of the analysis of several samples in two ranges of scales. In the first range of scale, below $100 ÷200 \hmp$, the statistical quality of the data is rather good, and we find that galaxy distribution has fractal properties with $D \approx2$. At larger distances the statistical robustness of the present data is weaker, but, we show that there is evidence for a continuation of the fractal behavior, without any tendency towards homogenization.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1997

A Hierarchical Model of Slow Constrained Dynamics

We introduce a new simple hierarchically constrained model of slow relaxation. The configurational energy has a simple form as there is no coupling among the spins defining the system; the associated stationary distribution is an equilibrium, Gibbsian one. However, due to the presence of hierarchical constraints in the dynamics the system is found to relax to its equilibrium distribution in an extremely slow fashion when suddenly cooled from an initial temperature, $T_0$, to a final one $T_f$. The relaxation curve in that case can be fit by an stretched exponential curve. On the other hand the relaxation function is found to be exponential when $T_f >T_0$, with characteristic times depending on both $T_f$ and $T_0$, with characteristic times obeying an Arrhenius law. Numerical results as well as some analytical studies are presented. In particular we introduce a simple equation that captures the essence of the slow relaxation.

cond-mat↗