arXiv subjects

Ronald Dickman

Publications and source records attributed to Ronald Dickman.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Driven lattice gas with nearest-neighbor exclusion: shear-like drive

We present Monte Carlo simulations of the lattice gas with nearest-neighbor exclusion and Kawasaki (hopping) dynamics, under the influence of a nonuniform drive, on the square lattice. The drive, which favors motion along the +$x$ and inhibits motion in the opposite direction, varies linearly with $y$, mimicking the velocity profile of laminar flow between parallel plates with distinct velocities. We study two drive configurations and associated boundary conditions: (1) a linear drive profile, with rigid walls at the layers with zero and maximum bias, and (2) a symmetric (piecewise linear) profile with periodic boundaries. The transition to a sublattice-ordered phase occurs at a density of about 0.298, lower than in equilibrium ($ρ_c \simeq 0.37$), but somewhat higher than in the uniformly driven case at maximal bias ($ρ_c \simeq 0.272$). For smaller global densities ($ρ\leq 0.33$), particles tend to accumulate in the low-drive region. Above this density we observe a surprising reversal in the density profile, with particles migrating to the high-drive region and forming structures similar to force chains in granular systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

Recoiling DNA Molecule: Simulation & Experiment

Single molecule DNA experiments often generate data from force versus extension measurements involving the tethering of a microsphere to one end of a single DNA molecule while the other is attached to a substrate. We show that the persistence length of single DNA molecules can also be measured based on the recoil dynamics of these DNA-microsphere complexes if appropriate corrections are made to the friction coefficient of the microsphere in the vicinity of the substrate. Comparison between computer simulated recoil curves, generated from the corresponding Langevin equation, and experimental recoils is used to assure the validity of data analysis.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2004

Quasi-stationary simulation of the contact process

We review a recently devised Monte Carlo simulation method for the direct study of quasi-stationary properties of stochastic processes with an absorbing state. The method is used to determine the static correlation function and the interparticle gap-length distribution in the critical one-dimensional contact process. We also find evidence for power-law decay of the interparticle distance distribution in the two-particle subspace.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

Absorbing-state phase transitions with extremal dynamics

Extremal dynamics represents a path to self-organized criticality in which the order parameter is tuned to a value of zero. The order parameter is associated with a phase transition to an absorbing state. Given a process that exhibits a phase transition to an absorbing state, we define an ``extremal absorbing" process, providing the link to the associated extremal (nonabsorbing) process. Stationary properties of the latter correspond to those at the absorbing-state phase transition in the former. Studying the absorbing version of an extremal dynamics model allows to determine certain critical exponents that are not otherwise accessible. In the case of the Bak-Sneppen (BS) model, the absorbing version is closely related to the "$f$-avalanche" introduced by Paczuski, Maslov and Bak [Phys. Rev. E {\bf 53}, 414 (1996)], or, in spreading simulations to the "BS branching process" also studied by these authors. The corresponding nonextremal process belongs to the directed percolation universality class. We revisit the absorbing BS model, obtaining refined estimates for the threshold and critical exponents in one dimension. We also study an extremal version of the usual contact process, using mean-field theory and simulation. The extremal condition slows the spread of activity and modifies the critical behavior radically, defining an ``extremal directed percolation" universality class of absorbing-state phase transitions. Asymmetric updating is a relevant perturbation for this class, even though it is irrelevant for the corresponding nonextremal class.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

Asymmetric dynamics and critical behavior in the Bak-Sneppen model

We investigate, using mean-field theory and simulation, the effect of asymmetry on the critical behavior and probability density of Bak-Sneppen models. Two kinds of anisotropy are investigated: (i) different numbers of sites to the left and right of the central (minimum) site are updated and (ii) sites to the left and right of the central site are renewed in different ways. Of particular interest is the crossover from symmetric to asymmetric scaling for weakly asymmetric dynamics, and the collapse of data with different numbers of updated sites but the same degree of asymmetry. All non-symmetric rules studied fall, independent of the degree of asymmetry, in the same universality class. Conversely, symmetric variants reproduce the exponents of the original model. Our results confirm the existence of two symmetry-based universality classes for extremal dynamics.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

How to simulate the quasi-stationary state

For a large class of processes with an absorbing state, statistical properties of the surviving sample attain time-independent values in the quasi-stationary (QS) regime. We propose a practical simulation method for studying quasi-stationary properties, based on the equation of motion governing the QS distribution. The method is tested in applications to the contact process. At the critical point, our method is about an order of magnitude more efficient than conventional simulation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

Revisiting the critical behavior of nonequilibrium models in Short-time Monte Carlo Simulations

We analyze two alternative methods for determining the exponent $z$ of the contact process (CP) and Domany-Kinzel (DK) cellular automaton in Monte Carlo Simulations. One method employs mixed initial conditions, as proposed for magnetic models [Phys. Lett. A. \textbf{298}, 325 (2002)]; the other is based on the growth of the moment ratio $m(t)=< ρ^{2}(t)> /< ρ(t)> ^{2}$ starting with all sites occupied. The methods provide reliable estimates for $z$ using the short time dynamics of the process. Estimates of $ν_{||}$ are obtained using a method suggested by Grassberger.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

Asymptotic behavior of the order parameter in a stochastic sandpile

We derive the first four terms in a series for the order paramater (the stationary activity density rho) in the supercritical regime of a one-dimensional stochastic sandpile; in the two-dimensional case the first three terms are reported. We reorganize the pertubation theory for the model, recently derived using a path-integral formalism [R. Dickman e R. Vidigal, J. Phys. A 35, 7269 (2002)], to obtain an expansion for stationary properties. Since the process has a strictly conserved particle density p, the Fourier mode N^{-1} psi_{k=0} -> p, when the number of sites N -> infinity, and so is not a random variable. Isolating this mode, we obtain a new effective action leading to an expansion for rho in the parameter kappa = 1/(1+4p). This requires enumeration and numerical evaluation of more than 200 000 diagrams, for which task we develop a computational algorithm. Predictions derived from this series are in good accord with simulation results. We also discuss the nature of correlation functions and one-site reduced densities in the small-kappa (large-p) limit.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

On singular probability densities generated by extremal dynamics

Extremal dynamics is the mechanism that drives the Bak-Sneppen model into a (self-organized) critical state, marked by a singular stationary probability density $p(x)$. With the aim of understanding this phenomenon, we study the BS model and several variants via mean-field theory and simulation. In all cases, we find that $p(x)$ is singular at one or more points, as a consequence of extremal dynamics. Furthermore we show that the extremal barrier $x_i$ always belongs to the `prohibited' interval, in which $p(x)=0$. Our simulations indicate that the Bak-Sneppen universality class is robust with regard to changes in the updating rule: we find the same value for the exponent $π$ for all variants. Mean-field theory, which furnishes an exact description for the model on a complete graph, reproduces the character of the probability distribution found in simulations. For the modified processes mean-field theory takes the form of a functional equation for $p(x)$.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

On the thresholds, probability densities, and critical exponents of Bak-Sneppen-like models

We report a simple method to accurately determine the threshold and the exponent $ν$ of the Bak-Sneppen model and also investigate the BS universality class. For the random-neighbor version of the BS model, we find the threshold $x^*=0.33332(3)$, in agreement with the exact result $x^*=1/3$ given by mean-field theory. For the one-dimensional original model, we find $x^*=0.6672(2)$ in good agreement with the results reported in the literature; for the anisotropic BS model we obtain $x^*=0.7240(1)$. We study the finite size effect $x^*(L)-x^*(L \to \infty) \propto L^{-ν}$, observed in a system with $L$ sites, and find $ν= 1.00(1)$ for the random-neighbor version, $ν= 1.40(1)$ for the original model, and $ν=1.58(1)$ for the anisotropic case. Finally, we discuss the effect of defining the extremal site as the one which minimizes a general function $f(x)$, instead of simply $f(x)=x$ as in the original updating rule. We emphasize that models with extremal dynamics have singular stationary probability distributions $p(x)$. Our simulations indicate the existence of two symmetry-based universality classes.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

Quasi-Stationary Distributions for Models of Heterogeneous Catalysis

We construct the quasi-stationary (QS) distribution for two models of heterogeneous catalysis having two absorbing states: the ZGB model for the oxidation of CO, and a version with noninstantaneous reactions. Using a mean-field-like approximation, we study the quasi-stationary surface coverages, moment ratios and the lifetime of the QS state. We also derive an improved, consistent one-site mean-field theory for the ZGB model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2003

Fractal rain distributions and chaotic advection

Localized rain events have been found to follow power-law distributions over several decades, suggesting parallels between precipitation and seismic activity [O. Peters et al., PRL 88, 018701 (2002)]. Similar power laws can be generated by treating raindrops as passive tracers advected by the velocity field of a two-dimensional system of point vortices [R. Dickman, PRL 90, 108701 (2003)]. Here I review observational and theoretical aspects of fractal rain distributions and chaotic advection, and present new results on tracer distributions in the vortex model.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2003

Series expansion for a stochastic sandpile

Using operator algebra, we extend the series for the activity density in a one-dimensional stochastic sandpile with fixed particle density p, the first terms of which were obtained via perturbation theory [R. Dickman and R. Vidigal, J. Phys. A35, 7269 (2002)]. The expansion is in powers of the time; the coefficients are polynomials in p. We devise an algorithm for evaluating expectations of operator products and extend the series to O(t^{16}). Constructing Pade approximants to a suitably transformed series, we obtain predictions for the activity that compare well against simulations, in the supercritical regime.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2003

Variable survival exponents in history-dependent random walks: hard movable reflector

We review recent studies demonstrating a nonuniversal (continuously variable) survival exponent for history-dependent random walks, and analyze a new example, the hard movable partial reflector. These processes serve as a simplified models of infection in a medium with a history-dependent susceptibility, and for spreading in systems with an infinite number of absorbing configurations. The memory may take the form of a history-dependent step length, or be the result of a partial reflector whose position marks the maximum distance the walker has ventured from the origin. In each case, a process with memory is rendered Markovian by a suitable expansion of the state space. Asymptotic analysis of the probability generating function shows that, for large t, the survival probability decays as S(t) \sim t^{-delta}, where δvaries with the parameters of the model. We report new results for a hard partial reflector, i.e., one that moves forward only when the walker does. When the walker tries to jump to the site R occupied by the reflector, it is reflected back with probability r, and stays at R with probability 1-r; only in the latter case does the reflector move (R \to R+1). For this model, delta = 1/2(1-r), and becomes arbitrarily large as r approaches 1. This prediction is confirmed via iteration of the transfer matrix, which also reveals slowly-decaying corrections to scaling.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2003

Avalanche exponents and corrections to scaling for a stochastic sandpile

We study distributions of dissipative and nondissipative avalanches in Manna's stochastic sandpile, in one and two dimensions. Our results lead to the following conclusions: (1) avalanche distributions, in general, do not follow simple power laws, but rather have the form $P(s) \sim s^{-τ_s} (\ln s)^γ f(s/s_c)$, with $f$ a cutoff function; (2) the exponents for sizes of dissipative avalanches in two dimensions differ markedly from the corresponding values for the Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld (BTW) model, implying that the BTW and Manna models belong to distinct universality classes; (3) dissipative avalanche distributions obey finite size scaling, unlike in the BTW model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2002

Asymptotic analysis of a random walk with a history-dependent step length

We study an unbiased, discrete time random walk on the nonnegative integers, with the origin absorbing. The process has a history-dependent step length: the walker takes steps of length v while in a region which has been visited before, and steps of length n when entering a region that has never been visited. The process provides a simplified model of spreading in systems with an infinite number of absorbing configurations. Asymptotic analysis of the probability generating function shows that, for large t, the survival probability decays as S(t) \sim t^{-delta}, with delta = v/2n. Our expression for the decay exponent is in agreement with results obtained via numerical iteration of the transition matrix.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2002

Rain, power laws, and advection

Localized rain events have been found to follow power-law size and duration distributions over several decades, suggesting parallels between precipitation and seismic activity [O. Peters et al., PRL 88, 018701 (2002)]. Similar power laws are generated by treating rain as a passive tracer undergoing advection in a velocity field generated by a two-dimensional system of point vortices.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2002

Generic slow relaxation in a stochastic sandpile

Simulations of a stochastic fixed-energy sandpile in one and two dimensions reveal slow relaxation of the order parameter, even far from the critical point. The decay of the activity is best described by a stretched-exponential form. The persistence probability (for a site not to have toppled up to time t), also exhibits stretched-exponential relaxation. The results suggest a connection between sandpile models and structural glasses.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗