Raul Rechtman

The lattice Boltzmann equation for natural convection in a two-dimensional cavity with a partially heated wall

The lattice Boltzmann equation method in two dimensions was used to analyse natural convective flows. The method was validated with experiments in an open cavity with one of the vertical walls divided into two parts, the lower part conductive, the upper part and all the other walls adiabatic. An upward thermal boundary layer formed near the conductive wall. This layer gave way to a wall plume. The numerical results compared well with experiments in the laminar (Ra =2 .0 × 10 9 ) and transition (Ra =4 .9 × 10 9 ) regimes. The behaviour of the starting plume was numerically studied for Rayleigh numbers Ra from 10 6 to 4.9 × 10 9 . The wall plume grows in three stages: in the first with constant acceleration, in the second with constant ascending velocity and in the third with negative acceleration due to the presence of the top boundary layer. The acceleration of the first stage and the velocity of the second both scale with the Rayleigh number.

SYNCHRONIZATION AND MAXIMUM LYAPUNOV EXPONENTS OF CELLULAR AUTOMATA

We study the synchronization of totalistic one dimensional cellular automata (CA). The CA with a non zero synchronization threshold exhibit complex non periodic space time patterns and conversely. This synchronization transition is related to directed percolation. We study also the maximum Lyapunov exponent for CA, defined in analogy with continuous dynamical systems as the exponential rate of expansion of the linear map induced by the evolution rule of CA, constructed with the aid of the Boolean derivatives. The synchronization threshold is strongly correlated to the maximum Lyapunov exponent and we propose approximate relations between these quantities. The value of this threshold can be used to parametrize the space time complexity of CA.

Some facts of life

We study the statistics of the time evolution of the Game of Life. We recognize three different time regimes of which the most interesting one is the long time glider regime, which has properties typical of a critical state. We introduce mean field approximations able to give some insights on the time evolution of the density of the density of living cells. Extended simulations are reported which deal with the evolution of the density, damage spreading and the measurements of a finite size exponent. A simple dynamical model explains some aspects of the asymptotic glider regime. We study also the dependence of the asymptotic density on the initial density both analytically and numerically.

Sensitive dependence on initial conditions for cellular automata

The property of sensitive dependence on intial conditions is the basis of a rigorous mathematical construction of local maximum Lyapunov exponents for cellular automata. The maximum Lyapunov exponent is given by the fastest average velocity of either the left or right propagating damage fronts. Deviations from the long term behavior of the finite time Lyapunov exponents due to generation of information are quantified and could be used for the characterization of the space time complexity of cellular automata. (c) 1997 American Institute of Physics.

Thermodynamic entropy and chaos in a discrete hydrodynamical system.

We show that the thermodynamic entropy density is proportional to the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) of a discrete hydrodynamical system, a deterministic two-dimensional lattice gas automaton. The definition of the LLE for cellular automata is based on the concept of Boolean derivatives and is formally equivalent to that of continuous dynamical systems. This relation is justified using a Markovian model. In an irreversible process with an initial density difference between both halves of the system, we find that Boltzmanns H function is linearly related to the expansion factor of the LLE although the latter is more sensitive to the presence of traveling waves.

Total Energy Balance Method for Venting Electric Clothes Dryers

A total energy balance method for venting electric tumbler dryers was developed and the experimental methodology and calculation details are provided in this article. The energy to evaporate the water in the load; the energy to heat the water, textile, and dryer; energy losses by convection and radiation; and the energy not used in the process were considered to calculate the total output energy. This method was applied to a domestic venting electric tumble dryer. The results of the method suggested areas of improvement. The maximum difference between the measured total input and the calculated total output energies was 2.6%, indicating the accuracy of the method.

Dynamics of an acoustically levitated particle using the lattice Boltzmann method

When the acoustic force inside a cavity balances the gravitational force on a particle the result is known as acoustic levitation. Using the lattice Boltzmann equation method we find the acoustic force acting on a rounded particle for two different single-axis acoustic levitators in two dimensions, the first with plane waves, the second with a rounded reflector that enhances the acoustic force. With no gravitational force, a particle oscillates around a pressure node; in the presence of gravity the oscillation is shifted a small vertical distance below the pressure node. This distance increases linearly as the density ratio between the solid particle and fluid grows. For both cavities, the particle oscillates with the frequency of the sound source and its harmonics and in some cases there is a much smaller second dominant frequency. When the momentum of the acoustic source changes, the oscillation around the average vertical position can have both frequencies mentioned above. However, if this quantity is large enough, the oscillations of the particle are aperiodic in the cavity with a rounded reflector.

Synchronization universality classes and stability of smooth coupled map lattices

We study two problems related to spatially extended systems: the dynamical stability and the universality classes of the replica synchronization transition. We use a simple model of one-dimensional coupled map lattices and show that chaotic behavior implies that the synchronization transition belongs to the multiplicative noise universality class, while stable chaos implies that the synchronization transition belongs to the directed percolation universality class.

Control of cellular automata

We study the problem of master-slave synchronization and control of totalistic cellular automata. The synchronization mechanism is that of setting a fraction of sites of the slave system equal to those of the master one (pinching synchronization). The synchronization observable is the distance between the two configurations. We present three control strategies that exploit local information (the number of nonzero first-order Boolean derivatives) in order to choose the sites to be synchronized. When no local information is used, we speak of simple pinching synchronization. We find the critical properties of control and discuss the best control strategy compared with simple synchronization.

Topological bifurcations in a model society of reasonable contrarians.

People are often divided into conformists and contrarians, the former tending to align to the majority opinion in their neighborhood and the latter tending to disagree with that majority. In practice, however, the contrarian tendency is rarely followed when there is an overwhelming majority with a given opinion, which denotes a social norm. Such reasonable contrarian behavior is often considered a mark of independent thought and can be a useful strategy in financial markets. We present the opinion dynamics of a society of reasonable contrarian agents. The model is a cellular automaton of Ising type, with antiferromagnetic pair interactions modeling contrarianism and plaquette terms modeling social norms. We introduce the entropy of the collective variable as a way of comparing deterministic (mean-field) and probabilistic (simulations) bifurcation diagrams. In the mean-field approximation the model exhibits bifurcations and a chaotic phase, interpreted as coherent oscillations of the whole society. However, in a one-dimensional spatial arrangement one observes incoherent oscillations and a constant average. In simulations on Watts-Strogatz networks with a small-world effect the mean-field behavior is recovered, with a bifurcation diagram that resembles the mean-field one but where the rewiring probability is used as the control parameter. Similar bifurcation diagrams are found for scale-free networks, and we are able to compute an effective connectivity for such networks.