No Arabic abstract
For a model long-range interacting system of classical Heisenberg spins, we study how fluctuations, such as those arising from having a finite system size or through interaction with the environment, affect the dynamical process of relaxation to Boltzmann-Gibbs equilibrium. Under deterministic spin precessional dynamics, we unveil the full range of quasistationary behavior observed during relaxation to equilibrium, whereby the system is trapped in nonequilibrium states for times that diverge with the system size. The corresponding stochastic dynamics, modeling interaction with the environment and constructed in the spirit of the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, however shows a fast relaxation to equilibrium on a size-independent timescale and no signature of quasistationarity, provided the noise is strong enough. Similar fast relaxation is also seen in Glauber Monte Carlo dynamics of the model, thus establishing the ubiquity of what has been reported earlier in particle dynamics (hence distinct from the spin dynamics considered here) of long-range interacting systems, that quasistationarity observed in deterministic dynamics is washed away by fluctuations induced through contact with the environment.
We study instabilities and relaxation to equilibrium in a long-range extension of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou (FPU) oscillator chain by exciting initially the lowest Fourier mode. Localization in mode space is stronger for the long-range FPU model. This allows us to uncover the sporadic nature of instabilities, i.e., by varying initially the excitation amplitude of the lowest mode, which is the control parameter, instabilities occur in narrow amplitude intervals. Only for sufficiently large values of the amplitude, the system enters a permanently unstable regime. These findings also clarify the long-standing problem of the relaxation to equilibrium in the short-range FPU model. Because of the weaker localization in mode space of this latter model, the transfer of energy is retarded and relaxation occurs on a much longer time-scale.
In self-gravitating stars, two dimensional or geophysical flows and in plasmas, long range interactions imply a lack of additivity for the energy; as a consequence, the usual thermodynamic limit is not appropriate. However, by contrast with many claims, the equilibrium statistical mechanics of such systems is a well understood subject. In this proceeding, we explain briefly the classical approach to equilibrium and non equilibrium statistical mechanics for these systems, starting from first principles. We emphasize recent and new results, mainly a classification of equilibrium phase transitions, new unobserved equilibrium phase transition, and out of equilibrium phase transitions. We briefly discuss what we consider as challenges in this field.
This work is dedicated to the study of a supersymmetric quantum spherical spin system with short-range interactions. We examine the critical properties both a zero and finite temperature. The model undergoes a quantum phase transition at zero temperature without breaking supersymmetry. At finite temperature the supersymmetry is broken and the system exhibits a thermal phase transition. We determine the critical dimensions and compute critical exponents. In particular, we find that the model is characterized by a dynamical critical exponent $z=2$. We also investigate properties of correlations in the one-dimensional lattice. Finally, we explore the connection with a nonrelativistic version of the supersymmetric $O(N)$ nonlinear sigma model and show that it is equivalent to the system of spherical spins in the large $N$ limit.
A class of non-local contact processes is introduced and studied using mean-field approximation and numerical simulations. In these processes particles are created at a rate which decays algebraically with the distance from the nearest particle. It is found that the transition into the absorbing state is continuous and is characterized by continuously varying critical exponents. This model differs from the previously studied non-local directed percolation model, where particles are created by unrestricted Levy flights. It is motivated by recent studies of non-equilibrium wetting indicating that this type of non-local processes play a role in the unbinding transition. Other non-local processes which have been suggested to exist within the context of wetting are considered as well.
We study two dimensional stripe forming systems with competing repulsive interactions decaying as $r^{-alpha}$. We derive an effective Hamiltonian with a short range part and a generalized dipolar interaction which depends on the exponent $alpha$. An approximate map of this model to a known XY model with dipolar interactions allows us to conclude that, for $alpha <2$ long range orientational order of stripes can exist in two dimensions, and establish the universality class of the models. When $alpha geq 2$ no long-range order is possible, but a phase transition in the KT universality class is still present. These two different critical scenarios should be observed in experimentally relevant two dimensional systems like electronic liquids ($alpha=1$) and dipolar magnetic films ($alpha=3$). Results from Langevin simulations of Coulomb and dipolar systems give support to the theoretical results.