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At least 127 records · Page 7

Simulation of particle mixing by turbulent convective flows on the connection machine

Mixing of particles by chaotic flow fields was simulated on the Connection Machine. Each cell was assigned to the processor, and the coordinates of particles residing on the cell were kept in the local memory of the processor. This approach implies the exchange between the local memories, when a particle moves from one cell to another. Approximately 10 exp 5 particles were injected into a time-dependent flow field obtained by solving the nonlinear system of partial differential equations describing turbulent thermal convection. The flow field was calculated on a CRAY, and data were transferred to a CM-200 through a high-speed HIPPI channel.

Malevsky, A. V.↗

Replica symmetry breaking for the integrable two-site Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model

We analyze a two-body non-Hermitian two-site Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) model with the couplings of one site complex conjugated to the other site. This model, with no explicit coupling between the sites, shows an infinite number of second-order phase transitions, which is a consequence of the factorization of the partition function into a product over Matsubara frequencies. We calculate the quenched free energy in two different ways: first in terms of the single-particle energies and second by solving the Schwinger–Dyson equations of the two-site model. The first calculation can be done entirely in terms of a one-site model. The conjugate replica enters due to non-analyticities when Matsubara frequencies enter the spectral support of the coupling matrix. The second calculation is based on the replica trick of the two-site partition function. Both methods give the same result. The free-fermion partition function can also be rephrased as a matrix model for the coupling matrix. Up to minor details, this model is the random matrix model that describes the chiral phase transition of QCD, and the order parameter of the two-body model corresponds to the chiral condensate of QCD. Comparing to the corresponding four-body model, we are able to determine which features of the free energy are due to the chaotic nature of the four-body model. The high-temperature phase of both models is entropy dominated, and in both cases, the free energy is determined by the spectral density. The chaotic four-body SYK model has a low-temperature phase whose free energy is almost temperature-independent, signaling an effective gap of the theory even though the actual spectrum does not exhibit a gap. On the other hand, the low-temperature free energy of the two-body SYK model is not flat; in fact, it oscillates to arbitrarily low temperature. This indicates a less desirable feature that the entropy of the two-body model is not always positive in the low-temperature phase, which most likely is a consequence of the non-hermiticity.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Differential Flatness and Cooperative Tracking in the Lorenz System

In this paper the control of the Lorenz system for both stabilization and tracking problems is studied via feedback linearization and differential flatness. By using the Rayleigh number as the control, only variable physically tunable, a barrier in the controllability of the system is incidentally imposed. This is reflected in the appearance of a singularity in the state transformation. Composite controllers that overcome this difficulty are designed and evaluated. The transition through the manifold defined by such a singularity is achieved by inducing a chaotic response within a boundary layer that contains it. Outside this region, a conventional feedback nonlinear control is applied. In this fashion, the authority of the control is enlarged to the whole. state space and the need for high control efforts is mitigated. In addition, the differential parametrization of the problem is used to track nonlinear functions of one state variable (single tracking) as well as several state variables (cooperative tracking). Control tasks that lead to integrable and non-integrable differential equations for the nominal flat output in steady-state are considered. In particular, a novel numerical strategy to deal with the non-integrable case is proposed. Numerical results validate very well the control design.

Crespo, Luis G.↗

Spectral form factor of a quantum spin glass

It is widely expected that systems which fully thermalize are chaotic in the sense of exhibiting random-matrix statistics of their energy level spacings, whereas integrable systems exhibit Poissonian statistics. In this paper, we investigate a third class: spin glasses. These systems are partially chaotic but do not achieve full thermalization due to large free energy barriers. We examine the level spacing statistics of a canonical infinite-range quantum spin glass, the quantum p-spherical model, using an analytic path integral approach. We find statistics consistent with a direct sum of independent random matrices, and show that the number of such matrices is equal to the number of distinct metastable configurations — the exponential of the spin glass “complexity” as obtained from the quantum Thouless-Anderson-Palmer equations. We also consider the statistical properties of the complexity itself and identify a set of contributions to the path integral which suggest a Poissonian distribution for the number of metastable configurations. Our results show that level spacing statistics can probe the ergodicity-breaking in quantum spin glasses and provide a way to generalize the notion of spin glass complexity beyond models with a semi-classical limit.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A numerical simulation of finite-length Taylor-Couette flow

The processes leading to laminar-turbulent transition in finite-channel-length Taylor-Couette flow are investigated analytically, solving the unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations by spectral-collocation methods. A time-split algorithm, implementable in both axisymmetric and fully three-dimensional time-accurate versions, and an algorithm based on the staggered-mesh discretization of Bernardi and Maday (1986) are described in detail, and results obtained by applying the axisymmetric version of the first algorithm and a steady-state version of the second are presented graphically and compared with published experimental data. The feasibility of full three-dimensional simulations of the progression through chaotic states to turbulence under the constraints of Taylor-Couette flow is demonstrated.

Streett, C. L.↗

[?]Nonlinear Issues in the Aerothermochemistry of Gases and Materials and the Associated Physics and Dynamics of Interfaces

Our research and technology are focused on nonlinear issues in the aerothermochemistry of gases and materials and the associated physics and dynamics of interfaces. Our program is now organized to aggressively support the NASA Aeronautics Enterprise so as to: (a) develop a new generation of environmentally compatible, economic subsonic aircraft; (b) develop the technology base for an economically viable and environmentally compatible high-speed civil transport; (c) develop the technology options for new capabilities in high-performance aircraft; (d) develop hypersonic technologies for air-breathing flight; and (e) develop advanced concepts, understanding of physical phenomena, and theoretical, experimental, and computational tools for advanced aerospace systems. The implications from our research for aeronautical and aerospace technology have been both broad and deep. For example, using advanced computational techniques, we have determined exact solutions for the Schrodinger equation in electron-molecule scattering allowing us to evaluate atmospheric models important to reentry physics. We have also found a new class of exact solutions for the Navier Stokes equations. In experimental fluid dynamics, we have found explicit evidence of turbulence modification of droplet sizes in shock tube flow with condensation. We have developed a new diagnostic tool for the direct estimation of flow velocities at MHz sampling rates in quasi-one dimensional turbulent flow. This procedure suggests an unexpected confirmation of the possibility of 'natural' closure in Reynolds stresses with deep implications for the development of turbulent models. A transient increase is observed in both the spectral energy decay rate and the degree of chaotic complexity at the interface of a shock wave and a turbulent ionized gas. Even though the gas is apparently brought to rest by the shock wave, no evidence is found either of the expected relaminarization. A unique diamond-shaped nozzle has been designed for a detailed investigation of the effect of significant streamwise vorticity on the acoustic and IR characteristics of supersonic jets. Our results provide convincing evidence of the significant effect of vorticity on the far-field noise for the diamond jet as compared to the conventional round jets. We have found that the countercurrent shear layer mixes much more efficiently than conventional coflowing shear layers. We also developed the fluid thrust vectoring procedures which use counter flow to vector a jet. Our materials research has shown that the steep stress gradients at the fiber-matrix interface could be the primary cause of interface cracks after the processing of metallic and intermetallic matrix composites. New techniques have been evolved for: the microcharacterization of materials including microplastic strain and, point by point, the misorientation and plasticity for matrix composites; thermally induced stress measurements and load relaxation; the growth and characterization of metallic matrix composite interfaces; and for the growth of ferrite materials by pulsed laser deposition. The FAMU commitment to the HBCU Research Center also continues to be broad and deep.

Johnson, Joseph A., III↗

The Chaotic Long-Term X-Ray Variability of 4U 1705-44

The low-mass X-ray binary 4U1705-44 exhibits dramatic long-term X-ray time variability with a time-scale of several hundred days. The All-SkyMonitor (ASM) aboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and the Japanese Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) aboard the International Space Station together have continuously observed the source from 1995 December through 2014 May. The combined ASM-MAXI data provide a continuous time series over 50 times the length of the time-scale of interest. Topological analysis can help us identify 'fingerprints' in the phase space of a system unique to its equations of motion. The Birman-Williams theorem postulates that if such fingerprints are the same between two systems, then their equations of motion must be closely related. The phase-space embedding of the source light curve shows a strong resemblance to the double-welled non-linear Duffing oscillator. We explore a range of parameters for which the Duffing oscillator closely mirrors the time evolution of 4U1705-44. We extract low period, unstable periodic orbits from the 4U1705-44 and Duffing time series and compare their topological information. The Duffing and 4U1705-44 topological properties are identical, providing strong evidence that they share the same underlying template. This suggests that we can look to the Duffing equation to help guide the development of a physical model to describe the long-term X-ray variability of this and other similarly behaved X-ray binary systems.

Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE)↗

The dynamics of coorbital satellite systems

The dynamical behavior of N coorbital satellites moving with the same average mean motion around a primary has been studied both analytically and by numerical integrations for N from 2 to 9 satellites. Simplified dynamical equations are used to determine the different stationary configurations and their local stability against infinitesimal perturbations. The ring of equally spaced identical satellites is found to be locally unstable for N of six or less, while for N from two to eight there exists another stable compact stationary configuration with separations of 60 deg or less between adjacent satellites. For N of seven or more the equally spaced configuration becomes locally stable, and for N of nine or more it is the only stationary configuration. The motion becomes chaotic for large-amplitude perturbations. The chaotic motion fills a restricted region of phase space whose outer boundary is determined by the maximum velocity curve.

Salo, H.↗

Do chaotic field lines cause fast reconnection in coronal loops?

Over the past decade, Boozer has argued that three-dimensional (3D) magnetic reconnection fundamentally differs from two-dimensional reconnection due to the fact that the separation between any pair of neighboring field lines almost always increases exponentially over distance in a 3D magnetic field. According to Boozer, this feature makes 3D field-line mapping chaotic and exponentially sensitive to small non-ideal effects; consequently, 3D reconnection can occur without intense current sheets. We test Boozer's theory via ideal and resistive reduced magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the Boozer–Elder coronal loop model driven by sub-Alfvénic footpoint motions [A. H. Boozer and T. Elder, Phys. Plasmas 28, 062303 (2021)]. In this work, our simulation results significantly differ from their predictions. The ideal simulation shows that Boozer and Elder under-predict the intensity of current density due to missing terms in their reduced model equations. Furthermore, resistive simulations of varying Lundquist numbers show that the maximal current density scales linearly rather than logarithmically with the Lundquist number.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Three-dimensional fully spectral numerical method for mantle convection with depth-dependent properties

A semi-implicit fully spectral collocation method for the simulation of three-dimensional mantle convection with depth-dependent thermo-dynamic and transport properties is presented. The variable property Navier-Stokes equation expressed in terms of the primitive variable velocity and pressure is solved with the mass continuity and temperature equations. The periodic horizontal boundary conditions allow a Fourier expansion for the two horizontal directions. The stress-free, impermeable isothermal boundary conditions along with the depth dependent coefficients are handled with a Chebyshev expansion in the vertical direction. In the limit of an infinite Prandtl number appropriate to mantle convection, the inertial terms in the momentum equation are unimportant. In this case an explicit solution of a Poisson equation for pressure can be avoided; instead a fourth-order equation for vertical velocity can be solved. Simultaneous imposition of both impermeable and continuity boundary conditions during the vertical velocity evaluation is discussed. The pressure distributions on the top and bottom bounding planes were determined by means of an influence matrix technique. The numerical method employed here avoids time-splitting errors and enforces velocity boundary conditions and continuity over the entire domain, including the boundaries, to machine accuracy. Strongly time-dependent three-dimensional solutions up to a surface Rayleigh number of 1 x 10(exp 7) have been obtained. Strong upwellings, pulsating chaotically, are formed by the collective merging of cylindrical plumes.

Balachandar, S.↗

The applicability of Lyapunov characteristic numbers in the study of the stability of satellite orbits

It is pointed out that the Lyapunov Characteristic Numbers constitute a new tool for determining stability of trajectories of dynamical systems, or, even more generally, of solutions of systems of ordinary differential equations. In contrast with the characteristic exponents, which apply only to periodic solutions, the Lyapunov Characteristic Numbers apply to arbitrary nonperiodic solutions as well. A description is presented of the numerical experiments which have been made in order to investigate the practical value of the Lyapunov Characteristic Number and the Kolmogorov Entropy for the purpose of estimating the stability of trajectories and/or numerical integration methods in celestial mechanics. It is found that the Lyapunov Characteristic Numbers are extremely useful for the classification of the solutions of nonintegrable dynamical systems, especially in order to distinguish between quasi-periodic and chaotic solutions. However, the Lyapunov Characteristics Numbers do not appear to be useful for the purpose of evaluating numerical integration methods.

Broucke, R.↗

Predicting chaos for infinite dimensional dynamical systems: The Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation, a case study

The results of extensive computations are presented in order to accurately characterize transitions to chaos for the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation. In particular, the oscillatory dynamics in a window that supports a complete sequence of period doubling bifurcations preceding chaos is followed. As many as thirteen period doublings are followed and used to compute the Feigenbaum number for the cascade and so enable, for the first time, an accurate numerical evaluation of the theory of universal behavior of nonlinear systems, for an infinite dimensional dynamical system. Furthermore, the dynamics at the threshold of chaos exhibit a fractal behavior which is demonstrated and used to compute a universal scaling factor that enables the self-similar continuation of the solution into a chaotic regime.

Smyrlis, Yiorgos S.↗

A precision test of averaging in AdS/CFT

We reconsider the role of wormholes in the AdS/CFT correspondence. We focus on Euclidean wormholes that connect two asymptotically AdS or hyperbolic regions with $\mathbb{S}$ 1 × $\mathbb{S}$ d-1 boundary. There is no solution to Einstein’s equations of this sort, as the wormholes possess a modulus that runs to infinity. To find on-shell wormholes we must stabilize this modulus, which we can do by fixing the total energy on the two boundaries. Such a wormhole gives the saddle point approximation to a non-standard problem in quantum gravity, where we fix two asymptotic boundaries and constrain the common energy. Crucially the dual quantity does not factorize even when the bulk is dual to a single CFT, on account of the fixed energy constraint. From this quantity we extract a smeared version of the microcanonical spectral form factor. For a chaotic theory this quantity is self-averaging, i.e. well-approximated by averaging over energy windows, or over coupling constants. We go on to give a precision test involving the microcanonical spectral form factor where the two replicas have slightly different coupling constants. In chaotic theories this form factor is known to smoothly decay at a rate universally predicted in terms of one replica physics, provided that there is an average either over a window or over couplings. We compute the expected decay rate for holographic theories, and the form factor from a wormhole, and the two exactly agree for a wide range of two-derivative effective field theories in AdS. This gives a precision test of averaging in AdS/CFT. Our results interpret a number of confusing facts about wormholes and factorization in AdS and suggest that we should regard gravitational effective field theory as a mesoscopic description, analogous to semiclassical mesoscopic descriptions of quantum chaotic systems.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Out-of-time-ordered-correlators for the pure inverted quartic oscillator: classical chaos meets quantum stability

Out-of-time-ordered-correlators (OTOCs) have been suggested as a means to diagnose chaotic behavior in quantum mechanical systems. Recently, it was found that OTOCs display exponential growth for the inverted quantum harmonic oscillator, mirroring the fact that this system is classically and quantum mechanically unstable. In this work, I study OTOCs for the inverted anharmonic (pure quartic) oscillator in quantum mechanics, finding only oscillatory behavior despite the classically unstable nature of the system. For higher temperature, OTOCs seem to exhibit saturation consistent with a value of –2< x 2 > T < p 2 > T at late times. I provide analytic evidence from the spectral zeta-function and the WKB method as well as direct numerical solutions of the Schrödinger equation that the inverted quartic oscillator possesses a real and positive energy eigenspectrum, and normalizable wave-functions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Intraseasonal and Interannual Variability of Mars Present Climate

This is a Final Report for a Joint Research Interchange (JRI) between NASA Ames Research Center and San Jose State University, Department of Meteorology. The focus of this JRI has been to investigate the nature of intraseasonal and interannual variability of Mars'present climate. We have applied a three-dimensional climate model based on the full hydrostatic primitive equations to determine the spatial, but primarily, the temporal structures of the planet's large-scale circulation as it evolves during a given seasonal advance, and, over multi-annual cycles. The particular climate model applies simplified physical parameterizations and is computationally efficient. It could thus easily be integrated in a perpetual season or advancing season configuration, as well as over many Mars years. We have assessed both high and low-frequency components of the circulation (i.e., motions having periods of Omicron(2-10 days) or greater than Omicron(10 days), respectively). Results from this investigation have explored the basic issue whether Mars' climate system is naturally 'chaotic' associated with nonlinear interactions of the large-scale circulation-regardless of any allowance for year-to-year variations in external forcing mechanisms. Titles of papers presented at scientific conferences and a manuscript to be submitted to the scientific literature are provided. An overview of a areas for further investigation is also presented.

Hollingsworth, Jeffery L.↗

Properties of giant dipole resonances within an extended pairing model with a focus on spectral statistics

In this paper, we report on a study of the spectral features associated with dipole resonances in medium mass nuclei (E ≤ 12 MeV), as revealed in the framework of the spd-interacting boson model. The effect of pairing correlations on the theory follows from solutions obtained through an application of the Bethe Ansatz Equation. In general, calculated spectra around the critical point of the vibrational to γ-soft transitions appears to approach that of a Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble, while near the rotational and vibrational limits of the theory the spectra show more regular behavior. Specifically, the results reveal that the statistical features of the spectra are sensitive to the vector boson pairing strength, c p , in the transition region; that is, when c p is zero, or when the system approaches one of its dynamical symmetries limits the spectrum display regular features, while for stronger c p values, or when near to the critical phase transition region, the spectral feature show more chaotic behavior. Overall, our results indicate that the statistical features are governed by the interplay between dipole resonant energies, pairing correlations, and interactions between and among the single and vector bosons modes of the theory. As part of this work we also found out that chaoticity occurs when results were fit to a Berry-Robnik distribution. Throughout our analyses, we used experimentally known information about both positive and negative parity states. Our findings suggest that dipole resonances appear to be best-described by Poisson statistics for A ≈ 32-138 nuclei.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

On heat conduction in an irregular magnetic field. Part 1

Anisotropic heat conduction in a plasma embedded in a magnetic field with irregular, possibly chaotic, field lines is discussed. If the collisional mean free path exceeds the electron gyroradius, the heat conductivity is much larger along the field lines than across them, and this enhances the transport across a domain where good flux surfaces do not exist. Recognising that anisotropic heat conduction may be cast in a variational form, and by constructing increasingly sophisticated trial functions that are based on invariant and almost-invariant structures under the magnetic field-line flow, bounds are derived on this enhancement and on the temperature variation along the magnetic field. In this way, remarkably accurate approximations for the temperature can be rapidly constructed without solving the diffusion equation, even in the small perpendicular-diffusion limit when the solution for the temperature is dominated by the fractal structure the magnetic field lines.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Atmospheric Dynamics of the Outer Planets

The giant planets-Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune-are fluid objects. The winds are powered by absorbed sunlight, as on earth, and by internal heat left over from planetary formation. The main constituents of the atmospheres are hydrogen and helium. The clouds are made of ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, and water. All four giant planets are banded, with multiple zonal jet streams. Even Uranus, whose spin axis is tipped by 98deg relative to the orbit axis, shows latitudinal banding and zonal jets. Equator-to-pole temperature differences are close to zero. Wind speeds are larger than on earth and do not decrease with distance from the sun. Although the power/area at Neptune is only 1/20 that at Jupiter, the winds at Neptune are three times stronger. Stable vortices like the Great Red Spot of Jupiter and similar spots on Neptune come in all size ranges and exhibit a variety of behaviours including merging, orbiting, filament ejection, and oscillating in both shape and position. At least at cloud-top levels, 90% of the long-lived vortices are anticyclonic and sit in anticyclonic shear zones. Features in the cyclonic zones tend to be chaotic, with lifetimes of several days or less. These mesoscale eddies tend to have lightning in them, which suggests that they get their energy from moist convection. The rate of conversion of eddy kinetic energy into kinetic energy of the zonal jets is more than 10% of the power/area radiated by Jupiter. This fraction is more than an order of magnitude larger than on earth. Several lines of evidence now indicate that the winds at cloud-top levels are the surface manifestation of deep-rooted motions that extend into the interior and are presumably driven by internal heat.

Ingersoll, Andrew P.↗