arXiv subjects

Rahul Marathe

Publications and source records attributed to Rahul Marathe.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Single-cell-level distributions and relationships can differentiate cell-division and growth models

Complex interactions among regulatory molecules determine the rules underlying cell growth and division in microbial cells. While the governing molecular network may not always be obvious, it is well known that correlations among certain physiological quantities measured in experiments, such as birth-size, division-size, division-time, and division-added-size, can differentiate among various cell-division models, such as Timer, Sizer, and Adder. Here we show that, apart from these correlations, which we extend for the case of stochastic single-cell growth and stochastic asymmetric partitioning, probability distributions of these quantities and statistical relationships between them can also be used to differentiate between these division models. Interestingly, we show that these quantities can not only differentiate the division models, but also distinguish among the single-cell growth paradigms, such as linear and exponential growth. We then demonstrate this differentiability among various division and growth models by comparing our analytical results with published experimental data. We further show that these results remain valid even when the growth rate of a cell is correlated with the growth rate of cells from previous generations in the lineage.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2026

Poisson-shot-noise hybrid machines: efficiency and quasistatic divergence

We study stochastic models of a microscopic active heat engine, comprised of an overdamped Brownian particle trapped in a harmonic potential, and in simultaneous contact with thermal (passive) and athermal (active) baths. The interaction with the active bath is modeled as a stochastic force described by Poisson shot-noise (PSN) having a specified amplitude distribution. With analytical calculations and numerical simulations, we study the thermodynamic performance of the machine to quasistatic cyclic protocols analogous to those running two-stroke and Stirling-like engines. For specific parameter ranges, the thermodynamic behavior is that of a $\textit{hybrid machine}$, simultaneously operating as a heat engine with respect to the passive/active baths and as a refrigerator with respect to the passive/active baths. Focusing on the parameter region where the overall performance is such of an engine, we show that the average total extracted work per cycle divided by average total heat intake from the cold baths per cycle may surpass the Carnot efficiency associated with the temperature of the passive baths. Applying the second law for active heat engines, we focus on a bona fide efficiency (bounded by Carnot's efficiency) that incorporates an information-theoretic metric $\mathcal{I}-$ which we call $\textit{quasistatic divergence}-$ quantifying how distinguishable are the engine's statistics in the quasistatic limit with respect to a continually changing equilibrium distribution. We analyze, with theory and numerical simulations, how the PSN shot rate and the degree of non-Gaussianity in the particle position distribution influence the efficiency of the engine, and explore the correlation between non-Gaussianity and efficiency. Our findings reveal optimal PSN shot rates maximizing the engine's efficiency and an intriguing non-bijective relation between efficiency and kurtosis

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2025

On distinguishability among cell-division models based on population and single-cell-level distributions

It is well known that the different cell-division models, such as Timer, Sizer, and Adder, can be distinguished based on the correlations between different single-cell-level quantities such as birth-size, division-time, division-size, and division-added-size. Here, we show that other statistical properties of these quantities can also be used to distinguish between them. Additionally, the statistical relationships and different correlation patterns can also differentiate between the different types of single-cell growth, such as linear and exponential. Further, we demonstrate that various population-level distributions, such as age, size, and added-size distributions, are indistinguishable across different models of cell division despite them having different division rules and correlation patterns. Moreover, this indistinguishability is robust to stochasticity in growth rate and holds for both exponential and linear growth. Finally, we show that our theoretical predictions are corroborated by simulations and supported by existing single-cell experimental data.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2025

Intermediate chiral edge states in quantum Hall Josephson junctions

A transfer-matrix-based theoretical framework is developed to study transport in superconductor-quantum Hall-Superconductor (SQHS) Josephson junctions modulated by local potential barriers in the quantum-Hall regime. The method allows one to evaluate the change in the conductivity of such SQHS Josephson junctions contributed by the intermediate chiral edge states (ICES) induced by these local potential barriers at their electrostatic boundaries at specific electron filling-fractions. It is particularly demonstrated how these ICES created at different Landau levels (LL) overlap with each other through intra- and inter-LL ICES mixing with the change in strength and width of the potential barriers. This results in different mechanisms for forming Landau bands when an array of such potential barriers are present. It is also demonstrated that our theoretical framework can be extended to study the lattice effect in a bounded domain in such SQHS Josephson junctions by simultaneously submitting the normal region to a transverse magnetic field and periodic potential.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Modified Quantum Wheatstone Bridge based on current circulation

We investigate a simple fermionic system designed to detect an unknown hopping rate between two sites by analyzing current circulation. The system exploits geometric asymmetry and utilizes the connection between the additional energy degeneracy point (AEDP) and current circulation for precise parameter detection. In the low-temperature, low-bias regime, with baths chemical potentials aligned near the degenerate energy, we find that a balanced Wheatstone bridge condition emerges when the direction of current circulation reverses, providing a direct means to determine the unknown hopping strength. We further examine the impact of environmental interactions, demonstrating that the device remains functional under moderately strong dephasing and particle losses, though extreme environmental effects eventually degrade performance. Extending the analysis to general operating conditions, we show that the device continues to function effectively at higher voltages and temperatures. Finally, an analysis of the quantum Fisher information qualitatively supports our findings, revealing a sharp increase in the coherence contribution and a corresponding decrease in the population contribution near the AEDP. Our results highlight geometric asymmetry as a robust and practical tool for quantum metrology.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Optimal constrained control for generally damped Brownian heat engines

Optimization of cyclic stochastic heat engines, a topic spanning decades of research, commonly assumes fixed control or response parameters at discrete points in the cycle-a limitation that often leads to experimentally impractical protocols. We overcome this with a general algorithm, adapted from optimal control theory, that optimizes full-cycle dynamics under realistic constraints, such as stiffness and temperature bounds, across diverse systems. Unlike geometric or mass transport methods, which rely on fixed endpoints and are unsuitable for unconstrained cycles, our approach simultaneously tunes both cycle time and control variations. Applied to a generally damped Brownian particle in a harmonic potential-an experimentally relevant case-our method is validated in the overdamped regime and extended to arbitrary damping rates. As damping decreases, maximum power vanishes and cycle time diverges; at fixed cycle times, efficiency follows a similar trend, with optimal protocols exhibiting non-monotonic complexity. Notably, optimizing temperature profiles-often overlooked-significantly enhances efficiency in intermediate damping regimes. Our work establishes the first systematic framework for optimizing cyclic stochastic processes under experimental constraints, broadening the scope of power and efficiency optimization in nonequilibrium thermodynamics.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2024

Optimizing power and efficiency of a single spin heat engine

We study the behavior of a single spin in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field utilizing Glauber dynamics. We engineer the system to function as an engine by changing the magnetic field according to specific protocols. Subsequently, we analyze the engine's performance using various protocols and stochastic thermodynamics to compute average values of crucial quantities for quantifying engine performance. In the longtime limit of the engine cycle, we derive exact analytical expressions for work, heat, and efficiency in terms of a generalized protocol. We then analyze the model in terms of optimization of efficiency and power. Additionally, we use different protocols and employ a gradient descent algorithm to best fit those to obtain optimal efficiency and then optimal power for a finite cycle time. All the protocols converge to the piece-wise constant protocol during efficiency optimization. We then explore a more general approach using the variational principle to determine the optimal protocols for optimizing power and efficiency. During the optimization process for both power and efficiency, the net entropy production decreases, which enhances the engine's performance. This approach demonstrates the superior optimization of efficiency and power in this system compared to the gradient descent algorithm.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2024

Magnetically modulated superconductor-graphene-superconductor (SGS) Josephson junctions and their tunability

Graphene-based Josephson junctions played an important role in various quantum devices from their inception. Magnetic tunnel junctions or vertical devices were also made out of graphene by exposing the graphene layer to localised pattern of strong magnetic field created by hard ferromagnetic material. By combining the essence of these different methods for constructing graphene based junctions, in this work we propose that the temperature-dependent Josephson current in such junctions can be tuned by exposing the graphene regions to a combination of highly localised non-uniform magnetic field, dubbed as magnetic barrier, and spatially modulated gate voltage. Within the framework of Dirac-Bogoliubov-de-Gennes (DBDG) theory, we show by explicit calculation that in such magnetically modulated Josephson Junctions, the band structure of graphene gets significantly altered, which results in the change of the Andreev reflections in such junctions. This leads to a significant modulation of the Josephson current. We numerically evaluated the Josephson current as a function of the strength of the magnetic barrier and the gate voltage and discussed the practical consequences of such controlling of Josephson currents.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Electronic analogue of Fourier optics with mass-less Dirac fermions scattered by quantum dot lattice

The field of electron optics exploits the analogy between the movement of electrons or charged quasiparticles, primarily in two-dimensional materials subjected to electric and magnetic (EM) fields and the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a dielectric medium with varied refractive index. We significantly extend this analogy by introducing an electronic analogue of Fourier optics dubbed as Fourier electron optics (FEO) with massless Dirac fermions (MDF), namely the charge carriers of single-layer graphene under ambient conditions, by considering their scattering from a two-dimensional quantum dot lattice (TDQDL) treated within Lippmann-Schwinger formalism. By considering the scattering of MDF from TDQDL with a defect region, as well as the moir\'{e} pattern of twisted TDQDLs, we establish an electronic analogue of Babinet's principle in optics. Exploiting the similarity of the resulting differential scattering cross-section with the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern, we construct a dictionary for such FEO. Subsequently, we evaluate the resistivity of such scattered MDF using the Boltzmann approach as a function of the angle made between the direction of propagation of these charge-carriers and the symmetry axis of the dot-lattice, and Fourier analyze them to show that the spatial frequency associated with the angle-resolved resistivity gets filtered according to the structural changes in the dot lattice, indicating wider applicability of FEO of MDF.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Current circulation near additional energy degeneracy points in quadratic Fermionic networks

We study heat and particle current circulation (CC) in quadratic Fermionic systems analysed using a general dissipative Lindbladian master equation. It was observed in an earlier study (Upadhyay et al. Phys. Rev. E 107, 034120 (2023)), that CC occurs near the additional energy degeneracy point (AEDP) in Fermionic systems which have some form of asymmetry. We find general analytical expression to support this observation for quadratic Fermionic networks. We then apply these ideas to the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model with periodic boundary conditions and a tight binding model with unequal hopping strengths in the upper and lower branches. In both these cases, we find the specific conditions required for observing CC and study the behavior of these currents with various system parameters. We find that having unequal number of Fermionic sites in the upper and lower branches is enough for generating CC in the SSH model. However, this asymmetry is not adequate for the tight-binding model and we require unequal hopping strengths in the upper and lower branches to induce CC in this model. We also compare our results with the exact results obtained via the Non-Equilibrium Green Function (NEGF) formalism, and observe that the relationship between AEDP and CC also holds for the exact results. Finally, we observe that for certain system parameters, the onset point of particle and heat CC are not the same. Based on all these observations, we describe how carefully examining the energy spectrum of the system gives a great deal of information about the possibility and behavior of CC in Fermionic systems with asymmetries.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

Effect of Andreev Processes on the Goos-H\"anchen (GH) shift in the Graphene-Superconductor-Graphene (GSG) junctions

In this article, we study the transport properties of Graphene-Superconductor-Graphene (GSG) heterojunction where the superconducting region is created in the middle of a graphene sheet, as contrasted to widely studied transport properties through a Superconductor-Graphene-Superconductor (SGS) type of Josephson junction. We particularly analyse in detail the Goos-H\"anchen shift of the electron and the hole at the GS interface in such a junction, due to normal as well as Andreev reflection, using a transfer matrix-based approach. Additionally, we evaluate the normalised differential conductance as a function of bias voltage that characterises the transport through such junction and point out how they are influenced by Andreev and normal reflection. In the subsequent parts of the article we demonstrate how the GH shift for both electron and hole changes with the width of the superconducting region. The behavior of the differential conductance in such junctions as a function of the bias voltage in the region, dominated by Andreev and normal reflection, is also presented and analysed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Signature of topology via heat transfer analysis in the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model

In this work, we explore the potential of thermodynamics as a tool for identifying the topological phase transition. Specifically, we focus on a one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) chain sandwiched between two fermionic baths. To investigate distinctive thermodynamic signatures associated with the topological phase, we employ heat flow analysis. Our results, derived using a global master equation, unveil a significant suppression of heat flow as we transition from the trivial to the topological phase. This decline in heat flow can be attributed to the reduction in transmission coefficients of non-zero energy modes within the topological phase. It may serve as an indicator of a phase transition. Furthermore, we investigate the heat flow asymmetry to search for phase transition indicators. Interestingly, no asymmetry is observed when employing fermionic baths. However, upon substituting fermionic baths with bosonic ones, we report a non-zero heat flow asymmetry. For the SSH model with a few fermionic sites, this asymmetry is more pronounced in the topological phase compared to the trivial phase. Therefore, the observed behavior of the heat diode provides an additional means of distinguishing between the topological and trivial phases. Finally, we delve into the contributions from both bulk and edge effects in heat flow and rectification to explore the impact of small system sizes on our findings.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

Brownian particle in a Poisson-shot-noise active bath: exact statistics, effective temperature, and inference

We study the dynamics of an overdamped Brownian particle in a thermal bath that contains a dilute solution of active particles. The particle moves in a harmonic potential and experiences Poisson shot-noise kicks with specified amplitude distribution due to moving active particles in the bath. From the Fokker-Planck equation for the particle dynamics we derive the stationary solution for the displacement distribution along with the moments characterizing mean, variance, skewness, and kurtosis, as well as finite time first and second moments. We also compute an effective temperature through the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and show that equipartition theorem holds for all zero-mean kick distributions, including those leading to non-Gaussian stationary statistics. For the case of Gaussian-distributed active kicks we find a re-entrant behaviour from non-Gaussian to Gaussian stationary states and a heavy-tailed leptokurtic distribution across a wide range of parameters as seen in recent experimental studies. Further analysis reveals statistical signatures of the irreversible dynamics of the particle displacement in terms of the time asymmetry of cross-correlation functions. Fruits of our work is the development of a compact inference scheme that may allow experimentalists to extract the rate and moments of underlying shot-noise solely from the statistics of the particle position.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

Revisiting Andreev processes in superconductor-graphene-superconductor (SGS) Josephson junctions: Comparison with experimental results

In view of the recent progress in experiments on charge transport through various Josephson junctions made out of graphene, we have made a careful comparison between the theory and some of the available experimental results. Within the framework of a transfer matrix approach, we have first analytically derived the spectrum of Andreev bound states (ABS) in a superconductor -graphene-superconductor (SGS) junction for a wide range of experimentally relevant parameters. We have particularly considered the case of monolayer graphene (MLG). The theoretical results can account for both the retro Andreev reflection (RAR) and the specular Andreev reflection (SAR) in the relevant parameter range. Using the ABS spectrum we have evaluated the current through such junctions and the junction conductance from the analytically derived expressions at different bias voltages for a range of other system parameters directly taken from the experimental works. These theoretical results have then been compared with experimental results. Evaluated current and the conductance show scaling behaviour with change in the junction length and agree well with the experimental results. In the relevant parameter regime where the SAR process is dominant, the calculated values of the current and the conductivity have been found much lower than the corresponding values observed when the RAR process is dominant.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Exploring outputs from concatenated stochastic heat engines

Recent works on the concatenation of two simple heat engines have shown that it may lead to non-monotonic variations in the efficiency and power with parameters like driving amplitudes and asymmetries in cycle periods. Motivated by this study, we investigate the effect of the concatenation between two stochastic heat engines where colloidal particles have been trapped in harmonic potentials. The stiffness parameters of each engine are varied cyclically, but with different cycle periods, with a common thermal bath that acts as a sink for the first engine but as a source for the second. We consider two types of protocols, first where the trap strength undergoes sudden jumps, and the second where it varies linearly with time. In both we find several non-trivial effects, like the the non-monotonic functional dependence of the engine outputs on several parameters used in the setup. For a protocol that varies linearly with time, the concatenation leads to enhanced output power as compared to a single effective engine, in a suitable range of parameters. It has been shown that the output from the combined system shows a peak with respect to the asymmetry in cycle times of the engines that have been concatenated. A general relation of the efficiency of an arbitrary number of concatenated engines driven quasistatically has been provided.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2022

Heat current magnification in Classical and Quantum spin networks

We investigate heat current magnification due to asymmetry in the number of spins in two-branched classical and quantum spin systems. We begin by studying the classical Ising like spin models using Q2R and CCA dynamics and show that just the difference in the number of spins is not enough and some other source of asymmetry is required to observe heat current magnification. Unequal spin--spin interaction strength in the upper and lower branch is employed as a source of this asymmetry and it proves adequate for generating current magnification in both the models. Suitable physical motivation is then provided for current magnification in these systems, along with ways to control and manipulate magnification through various system parameters. We also study a five spin Quantum system with modified Heisenberg XXZ interaction and preserved magnetisation using the Redfield master equation. We show that it is possible to generate current magnification in this model by the asymmetry in the number of spins only. Our results indicate that the onset of current magnification is accompanied by a dip in the total current flowing through the system. On analysis it is revealed that this dip might occur because of the intersection of two non-degenerate energy levels for certain values of the asymmetry parameter in the modified XXZ model. We deduce that the additional degeneracy and the ergodic constraint due to fixed magnetisation in the system are the main reasons for current magnification and other atypical behaviors observed. We then use the concept of `ergotropy' to support these findings. Finally, for both the classical and quantum models, we see that current magnification is only observed when temperature gradient and intra-system interaction strength have similar order of energy.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2022

A Brownian cyclic engine operating in a viscoelastic active suspension

We investigate a model for a Stirling-like engine consisting of a passive Brownian particle confined by a harmonic potential and interacting with a suspension of active Brownian particles that self-propel in a viscous solvent, which cyclically operates under isothermal conditions by means of temporal variations of the trap stiffness and the self-propulsion speed of the active particles. We derive an effective stochastic equation of motion of the trapped Brownian particle, which includes a friction memory kernel as well as thermal and active fluctuating forces due to its coupling with the active suspension, from which we analytically compute the efficiency of the engine in the quasi-static limit. We find that, on average, the engine is capable to produce mechanical work with an efficiency that depends on the interplay between the different time-scales of the system, where the general effect of the ensuing viscoelasticity of the active suspension is to reduce the quasi-static efficiency of the Brownian engine, as compared to the case of a system with instantaneous friction. Nevertheless, there are regions in the parameters space of the system where such memory effects are negligible in the performance of the engine, thus effectively behaving as in contact with an inert viscous bath working at two different temperatures related to the propulsion speed of the active particles.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

Exactly solvable model of a passive Brownian heat engine and its comparison with active engines

We perform an extensive analysis of passive as well as active micro-heat engines with different single-particle stochastic models. Using stochastic thermodynamics we calculate thermodynamic work, heat, entropy production and efficiency of passive and active Brownian heat engines analytically as well as numerically and compare them. We run the heat engines with a protocol for which the average thermodynamic quantities are calculated exactly for an arbitrary cycle time. We also discuss about the group of protocols for which exact non-quasistatic calculations can be done, completely in the passive engine case and partially in the active engines. We obtain detailed thermodynamics of non-quasistatic (i.e. powerful) single-particle micro heat engines. The quasistatic (i.e. zero power) limit of the results is obtained by taking long (infinite) cycle time. We also study the distributions of position of the confined particle in both passive and active engines. We compare their characteristics in terms of the parameter that measures the competition between the active persistence in the particle position (due to active noises) and the harmonic confinement. We also calculate excess kurtosis that measures the non-Gaussianity of these distributions. Our analysis shows that efficiency of such thermal machine can be enhanced or reduced depending on the activity present in the model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗