Diffusion-limited coagulation in the presence of particle input: Exact results in one dimension

Anomalous finite-size scaling in higher-order processes with absorbing states

Here we study standard and higher-order birth-death processes on fully connected networks, within the perspective of large-deviation theory [also referred to as the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) method in some contexts]. We obtain a general expression for the leading and next-to-leading terms of the stationary probability distribution of the fraction of "active" sites as a function of parameters and network size N. We reproduce several results from the literature and, in particular, we derive all the moments of the stationary distribution for the q-susceptible-infected-susceptible (q-SIS) model, i.e., a high-order epidemic model requiring q active ("infected") sites to activate an additional one. We uncover a very rich scenario for the fluctuations of the fraction of active sites, with nontrivial finite-size-scaling properties. In particular, we show that the variance-to-mean ratio diverges at criticality for [1≤q≤3], with a maximal variability at q=2, confirming that complex-contagion processes can exhibit peculiar scaling features including wild variability. Moreover, the leading order in a large-deviation approach does not suffice to describe them: next-to-leading terms are essential to capture the intrinsic singularity at the origin of systems with absorbing states. Some possible extensions of this work are also discussed.

One-dimensional irreversible aggregation with dynamics of a totally asymmetric simple exclusion process

We define and study one-dimensional model of irreversible aggregation of particles obeying a discrete-time kinetics, which is a special limit of the generalized Totally Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process (gTASEP) on open chains. The model allows for clusters of particles to translate as a whole entity one site to the right with the same probability as single particles do. A particle and a cluster, as well as two clusters, irreversibly aggregate whenever they become nearest neighbors. Nonequilibrium stationary phases appear under the balance of injection and ejection of particles. By extensive Monte Carlo simulations it is established that the phase diagram in the plane of the injection-ejection probabilities consists of three stationary phases: a multiparticle (MP) one, a completely filled (CF) phase, and a "mixed" (MP+CF) one. The transitions between these phases are: an unusual transition between MP and CF with jump discontinuity in both the bulk density and the current, a conventional first-order transition with a jump in the bulk density between MP and MP+CF, and a continuous clustering-type transition from MP to CF, which takes place throughout the MP+CF phase between them. By the data collapse method a finite-size scaling function for the current and bulk density is obtained near the unusual phase transition line. A diverging correlation length, associated with that transition, is identified and interpreted as the size of the largest cluster. The model allows for a future extension to account for possible cluster fragmentation.

Non-Classical Reaction Kinetics: Experiments

It has been well established by theory and simulations that the reaction rates of diffusion-limited reactions can be affected by the spatial dimension in which they occur. The types of reactions A + B → C, A + A → A, and A + C→, C have been shown, theoretically and/or by simulation, to exhibit non-classical reaction kinetics in low and fractal dimensions. We present here experimental results from several 1D and fractal systems.

An A+B → C type reaction was experimentally investigated in a long, thin capillary tube in which the reactants, A and B, are initially segregated. This initial segregation of reactants means that the net diffusion is along the length of the capillary only, making the system effectively 1D and allowing some of the properties of the resulting reaction front to be studied. The reaction rate of excitonic fusion, A + A →A, as well as trapping, A + C→ C, reactions were observed via phosphorescence(P) and delayed fluorescence(F) of naphthalene within the channels of Vycor glass, in isotopically mixed naphthalene crystals and in the isolated chains of dilute polymer blends. In these experiments, the non-classical kinetics are measured in terms of the heterogeneity exponent, h, from the equation: Rate ∼ F =; kt-hpn,, which gives the time dependence of the rate coefficient. Classically h =; 0, while h =; 1/2 in 1D, as well as in the fractal dimensions discussed here, for A + A → A as well as A + C →C type reactions.

Coagulation reactions in low dimensions: Revisiting subdiffusive A+A reactions in one dimension

We present a theory for the coagulation reaction A+A-->A for particles moving subdiffusively in one dimension. Our theory is tested against numerical simulations of the concentration of A particles as a function of time ("anomalous kinetics") and of the interparticle distribution function as a function of interparticle distance and time. We find that the theory captures the correct behavior asymptotically and also at early times, and that it does so whether the particles are nearly diffusive or very subdiffusive. We find that, as in the normal diffusion problem, an interparticle gap responsible for the anomalous kinetics develops and grows with time. This corrects an earlier claim to the contrary on our part.

Reaction front in an A+B-->C reaction-subdiffusion process

We study the reaction front for the process A+B-->C in which the reagents move subdiffusively. Our theoretical description is based on a fractional reaction-subdiffusion equation in which both the motion and the reaction terms are affected by the subdiffusive character of the process. We design numerical simulations to check our theoretical results, describing the simulations in some detail because the rules necessarily differ in important respects from those used in diffusive processes. Comparisons between theory and simulations are on the whole favorable, with the most difficult quantities to capture being those that involve very small numbers of particles. In particular, we analyze the total number of product particles, the width of the depletion zone, the production profile of product and its width, as well as the reactant concentrations at the center of the reaction zone, all as a function of time. We also analyze the shape of the product profile as a function of time, in particular, its unusual behavior at the center of the reaction zone.

Generalized empty-interval method applied to a class of one-dimensional stochastic models

In this work we study, on a finite and periodic lattice, a class of one-dimensional (bimolecular and single-species) reaction-diffusion models that cannot be mapped onto free-fermion models. We extend the conventional empty-interval method, also called interparticle distribution function (IPDF) method, by introducing a string function, which is simply related to relevant physical quantities. As an illustration, we specifically consider a model that cannot be solved directly by the conventional IPDF method and that can be viewed as a generalization of the voter model and/or as an epidemic model. We also consider the reversible diffusion-coagulation model with input of particles and determine other reaction-diffusion models that can be mapped onto the latter via suitable similarity transformations. Finally we study the problem of the propagation of a wave front from an inhomogeneous initial configuration and note that the mean-field scenario predicted by Fisher's equation is not valid for the one-dimensional (microscopic) models under consideration.

Solution of a one-dimensional stochastic model with branching and coagulation reactions

We solve a one-dimensional stochastic model of interacting particles on a chain. Particles can have branching and coagulation reactions; they can also appear on an empty site and disappear spontaneously. This model, which can be viewed as an epidemic model and/or as a generalization of the voter model, is treated analytically beyond the conventional solvable situations. With help of a suitably chosen string function, which is simply related to the density and the noninstantaneous two-point correlation functions of the particles, exact expressions of the density and of the noninstantaneous two-point correlation functions, as well as the relaxation spectrum are obtained on a finite and periodic lattice.

Subdiffusion-limited A+A reactions

We consider the coagulation dynamics A+A-->A and A+A <==> A and the annihilation dynamics A+A-->0 for particles moving subdiffusively in one dimension. This scenario combines the "anomalous kinetics" and "anomalous diffusion" problems, each of which leads to interesting dynamics separately and to even more interesting dynamics in combination. Our analysis is based on the fractional diffusion equation.

Exact density profile of a stochastic reaction-diffusion process

We calculate exactly the time dependent density profile of a one-dimensional stochastic reaction-diffusion process of hard-core particles subjected to the reactions AA <--> OO and AO <--> OA. The solution is based on the fundamental property that the evolution operator, defined over an appropriate vector space, transforms vectors with n kinks into vectors with n or n+2 kinks, only. In this space, a basis vector is represented by a string of plus and minus signs and a kink is defined as a pair of opposite signs. The exact time dependent profiles are calculated for the cases of uncorrelated initial states that are translational invariant as well as initial states that are inhomogeneous in space.