arXiv subjects

W. Zhong

Publications and source records attributed to W. Zhong.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2019

Approximate dynamical eigenmodes of the Ising model with local spin-exchange moves

We establish that the Fourier modes of the magnetization serve as the dynamical eigenmodes for the two-dimensional Ising model at the critical temperature with local spin-exchange moves, i.e., Kawasaki dynamics. We obtain the dynamical scaling properties for these modes, and use them to calculate the time evolution of two dynamical quantities for the system, namely the autocorrelation function and the mean-square deviation of the line magnetizations. At intermediate times $1 \lesssim t \lesssim L^{z_c}$, where $z_c=4-η=15/4$ is the dynamical critical exponent of the model, we find that the line magnetization undergoes anomalous diffusion. Following our recent work on anomalous diffusion in spin models, we demonstrate that the Generalized Langevin Equation (GLE) with a memory kernel consistently describes the anomalous diffusion, verifying the corresponding fluctuation-dissipation theorem with the calculation of the force autocorrelation function.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

GeV-TeV $γ$-ray energy spectral break of BL Lac objects

In this paper, we compile the very-high-energy and high-energy spectral indices of 43 BL Lac objects from the literature. Based on a simple math model, $ΔΓ_{obs}=α{\rm{z}}+β$, we present evidence for the origin of an observed spectral break that is denoted by the difference between the observed very-high-energy and high-energy spectral indices, $ΔΓ_{obs}$. We find by linear regression analysis that $α\ne 0$ and $β\ne 0$. These results suggest that the extragalactic background light attenuation and the intrinsic curvature dominate on the GeV-TeV $γ$-ray energy spectral break of BL Lac objects. We argue that the extragalactic background light attenuation is an exclusive explanation for the redshift evolution of the observed spectral break.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Hybrid-Entanglement in Continuous Variable Systems

Entanglement is one of the most fascinating features arising from quantum-mechanics and of great importance for quantum information science. Of particular interest are so-called hybrid-entangled states which have the intriguing property that they contain entanglement between different degrees of freedom (DOFs). However, most of the current continuous variable systems only exploit one DOF and therefore do not involve such highly complex states. We break this barrier and demonstrate that one can exploit squeezed cylindrically polarized optical modes to generate continuous variable states exhibiting entanglement between the spatial and polarization DOF. We show an experimental realization of these novel kind of states by quantum squeezing an azimuthally polarized mode with the help of a specially tailored photonic crystal fiber.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2004

Estimation of Regularization Parameters in Multiple-Image Deblurring

We consider the estimation of the regularization parameter for the simultaneous deblurring of multiple noisy images via Tikhonov regularization. We approach the problem in three ways. We first reduce the problem to a single-image deblurring for which the regularization parameter can be estimated through a classic generalized cross-validation (GCV) method. A modification of this function is used for correcting the undersmoothing typical of the original technique. With a second method, we minimize an average least-squares fit to the images and define a new GCV function. In the last approach, we use the classical $GCV$ on a single higher-dimensional image obtained by concatanating all the images into a single vector. With a reliable estimator of the regularization parameter, one can fully exploit the excellent computational characteristics typical of direct deblurring methods, which, especially for large images, makes them competitive with the more flexible but much slower iterative algorithms. The performance of the techniques is analyzed through numerical experiments. We find that under the independent homoscedastic and Gaussian assumptions made on the noise, the three approaches provide almost identical results with the first single image providing the practical advantage that no new software is required and the same image can be used with other deblurring algorithms.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1997

First-principles theory of structural phase transitions for perovskites: competing instabilities

We extend our previous first-principles theory for perovskite ferroelectric phase transitions to treat also antiferrodistortive phase transitions. Our approach involves construction of a model Hamiltonian from a Taylor expansion, first-principles calculations to determine expansion parameters, and Monte Carlo simulations to study the resulting system. We apply this approach to three cubic perovskite compounds, SrTiO3, CaTiO3, and NaNbO3, that are known to undergo antiferrodistortive phase transitions. We calculate their transition sequences and transition temperatures at the experimental lattice constants. For SrTiO3, we find our results agree well with experiment. For more complicated compounds like CaTiO3 and NaNbO3, which can have many different structures with very similar energy, the agreement is somewhat less.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv1995

Effect of quantum fluctuations on structural phase transitions in SrTiO_3 and BaTiO_3

Using path-integral Monte Carol simulations and an ab initio effective Hamiltonian, we study the effects of quantum fluctuations on structural phase transitions in the cubic perovskite compounds SrTiO3 and BaTiO3. We find quantum fluctuations affect ferroelectric (FE) transitions more strongly than antiferrodistortive (AFD) ones, even though the effective mass of a single FE local mode is larger. For SrTiO3 we find that the quantum fluctuations suppress the FE transition completely, and reduce the AFD transition temperature from 130K to 110K. For BaTiO3, quantum fluctuations do not affect the order of the transition, but do reduce the transition temperature by 35-50 K. The implications of the calculations are discussed.

mtrl-th↗

arXiv1995

First-principles investigation of 180-degree domain walls in BaTiO_3

We present a first-principles study of 180-degree ferroelectric domain walls in tetragonal barium titanate. The theory is based on an effective Hamiltonian that has previously been determined from first-principles ultrasoft-pseudopotential calculations. Statistical properties are investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. We compute the domain-wall energy, free energy, and thickness, analyze the behavior of the ferroelectric order parameter in the interior of the domain wall, and study its spatial fluctuations. An abrupt reversal of the polarization is found, unlike the gradual rotation typical of the ferromagnetic case.

mtrl-th↗

arXiv1995

Chemical Hardness, Linear Response, and Pseudopotential Transferability

We propose a systematic method of analyzing pseudopotential transferability based on linear-response properties of the free atom, including self-consistent chemical hardness and polarizability. Our calculation of hardness extends the approach of Teter\cite{teter} not only by including self-consistency, but also by generalizing to non-diagonal hardness matrices, thereby allowing us to test for transferability to non-spherically symmetric environments. We apply the method to study the transferability of norm-conserving pseudopotentials for a variety of elements in the Periodic Table. We find that the self-consistent corrections are frequently significant, and should not be neglected. We prove that the partial-core correction improves the pseudopotential hardness of alkali metals considerably. We propose a quantity to represent the average hardness error and calculate this quantity for many representative elements as a function of pseudopotential cutoff radii. We find that the atomic polarizabilities are usually well reproduced by the norm-conserving pseudopotentials. Our results provide useful guidelines for making optimal choices in the pseudopotential generation procedure.

mtrl-th↗

arXiv1995

First-principles theory of ferroelectric phase transitions for perovskites: The case of BaTiO3

We carry out a completely first-principles study of the ferroelectric phase transitions in BaTiO$_3$. Our approach takes advantage of two features of these transitions: the structural changes are small, and only low-energy distortions are important. Based on these observations, we make systematically improvable approximations which enable the parameterization of the complicated energy surface. The parameters are determined from first-principles total-energy calculations using ultra-soft pseudopotentials and a preconditioned conjugate-gradient scheme. The resulting effective Hamiltonian is then solved by Monte Carlo simulation. The calculated phase sequence, transition temperatures, latent heats, and spontaneous polarizations are all in good agreement with experiment. We find the transitions to be intermediate between order-disorder and displacive character. We find all three phase transitions to be of first order. The roles of different interactions are discussed.

mtrl-th↗

arXiv1994

Phase transitions in BaTiO$_3$ from first principles

We develop a first-principles scheme to study ferroelectric phase transitions for perovskite compounds. We obtain an effective Hamiltonian which is fully specified by first-principles ultra-soft pseudopotential calculations. This approach is applied to BaTiO$_3$, and the resulting Hamiltonian is studied using Monte Carlo simulations. The calculated phase sequence, transition temperatures, latent heats, and spontaneous polarizations are all in good agreement with experiment. The order-disorder vs.\ displacive character of the transitions and the roles played by different interactions are discussed.

cond-mat↗