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This work investigates the influence of geometrical features of the Apollonian packing (AP) on the behavior of magnetic models. The proposed model differs from previous investigations on the Apollonian network (AN), where the magnetic coupling constants depend only on the properties of the network structure defined by the packing, but not on quantitative aspects of its geometry. In opposition to the exact scale invariance observed in the AN, the circle's sizes in the AP are scaled by different factors when one goes from one generation to the next, requiring a different approach for the evaluation of the model's properties. If the nearest-neighbors coupling constants are defined by J_{i,j}∼1/(r_{i}+r_{j})^{α}, where r_{i} indicates the radius of the circle i containing the node i, the results for the correlation length ξ indicate that the model's behavior depend on α. In the thermodynamic limit, the uniform model (α=0) is characterized by ξ→∞ for all T>0. Our results indicate that, on increasing α, the system changes to an uncorrelated pattern, with finite ξ at all T>0, at a value α_{c}≃0.743. For any fixed value of α, no finite temperature singularity in the specific heat is observed, indicating that changes in the magnetic ordering occur only when α is changed. This is corroborated by the results for the magnetization and magnetic susceptibility.

This works reports the use of a complex network approach to produce a phylogenetic classification tree of a simple evolutionary model. This approach has already been used to treat proteomic data of actual extant organisms, but an investigation of its reliability to retrieve a traceable evolutionary history is missing. The used evolutionary model includes key ingredients for the emergence of groups of related organisms by differentiation through random mutations and population growth, but purposefully omits other realistic ingredients that are not strictly necessary to originate an evolutionary history. This choice causes the model to depend only on a small set of parameters, controlling the mutation probability and the population of different species. Our results indicate that for a set of parameter values, the phylogenetic classification produced by the used framework reproduces the actual evolutionary history with a very high average degree of accuracy. This includes parameter values where the species originated by the evolutionary dynamics have modular structures. In the more general context of community identification in complex networks, our model offers a simple setting for evaluating the effects, on the efficiency of community formation and identification, of the underlying dynamics generating the network itself.

We investigate through numerical simulation the nonstationary flow of a Newtonian fluid through a two-dimensional channel filled with an array of circular obstacles of distinct sizes. The disks may rotate around their respective centers, modeling a nonstationary, inhomogeneous porous medium. Obstacle sizes and positions are defined by the geometry of an Apollonian packing (AP). To allow for fluid flow, the radii of the disks are uniformly reduced by a factor 0.6≤s≤0.8 for assemblies corresponding to the four first AP generations. The investigation is targeted to elucidate the main features of the rotating regime as compared to the fixed disk condition. It comprises the evaluation of the region of validity of Darcy's law as well as the study of the nonlinear hydraulic resistance as a function of the channel Reynolds number, the reduction factor s, and the AP generation. Depending on a combination of these factors, the resistance of rotating disks may be larger or smaller than that of the corresponding static case. We also analyze the flow redistribution in the interdisk channels as a result of the rotation pattern and characterize the angular velocity of the disks. Here, the striking feature is the emergence of a stable oscillatory behavior of the angular velocity for almost all disks that are inserted into the assemblies after the second generation.

An effective temperature θ, conjugated to a generalized entropy s(q), was introduced recently for a system of interacting particles. Since θ presents values much higher than those of typical room temperatures T≪θ, the thermal noise can be neglected (T/θ≃0) in these systems. Moreover, the consistency of this definition, as well as of a form analogous to the first law of thermodynamics, du=θds(q)+δW, were verified lately by means of a Carnot cycle, whose efficiency was shown to present the usual form, η=1-(θ(2)/θ(1)). Herein we explore further the heat contribution δQ=θds(q) by proposing a way for a heat exchange between two such systems, as well as its associated thermal equilibrium. As a consequence, the zeroth principle is also established. Moreover, we consolidate the first-law proposal by following the usual procedure for obtaining different potentials, i.e., applying Legendre transformations for distinct pairs of independent variables. From these potentials we derive the equation of state, Maxwell relations, and define response functions. All results presented are shown to be consistent with those of standard thermodynamics for T>0.

We consider an Ising model on the triangular Apollonian network (AN), with a thermalized distribution of vacant sites. The statistical problem is formulated in a grand canonical ensemble, in terms of the temperature T and a chemical potential μ associated with the concentration of active magnetic sites. We use a well-known transfer-matrix method, with a number of adaptations, to write recursion relations between successive generations of this hierarchical structure. We also investigate the analogous model on the diamond hierarchical lattice (DHL). From the numerical analysis of the recursion relations, we obtain various thermodynamic quantities. In the μ→∞ limit, we reproduce the results for the uniform models: in the AN, the system is magnetically ordered at all temperatures, while in the DHL there is a ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition at a finite value of T. Magnetic ordering, however, is shown to disappear for sufficiently large negative values of the chemical potential.

A thermodynamic formalism is developed for a system of interacting particles under overdamped motion, which has been recently analyzed within the framework of nonextensive statistical mechanics. It amounts to expressing the interaction energy of the system in terms of a temperature θ, conjugated to a generalized entropy s(q), with q = 2. Since θ assumes much higher values than those of typical room temperatures T ≪ θ, the thermal noise can be neglected for this system (T/θ ≃ 0). This framework is now extended by the introduction of a work term δW which, together with the formerly defined heat contribution (δ Q = θ ds(q)), allows for the statement of a proper energy conservation law that is analogous to the first law of thermodynamics. These definitions lead to the derivation of an equation of state and to the characterization of s(q) adiabatic and θ isothermic transformations. On this basis, a Carnot cycle is constructed, whose efficiency is shown to be η = 1-(θ(2)/θ(1)), where θ(1) and θ(2) are the effective temperatures of the two isothermic transformations, with θ(1)>θ(2). The results for a generalized thermodynamic description of this system open the possibility for further physical consequences, like the realization of a thermal engine based on energy exchanges gauged by the temperature θ.

This work analyzes a percolation model on the diamond hierarchical lattice (DHL), where the percolation transition is retarded by the inclusion of a probability of erasing specific connected structures. It has been inspired by the recent interest on the existence of other universality classes of percolation models. The exact scale invariance and renormalization properties of DHL leads to recurrence maps, from which analytical expressions for the critical exponents and precise numerical results in the limit of very large lattices can be derived. The critical exponents ν and β of the investigated model vary continuously as the erasing probability changes. An adequate choice of the erasing probability leads to the result ν=∞, like in some phase transitions involving vortex formation. The percolation transition is continuous, with β>0, but β can be as small as desired. The modified percolation model turns out to be equivalent to the Q→1 limit of a Potts model with specific long range interactions on the same lattice.

This work presents an approach to evaluate the exact value of the fractal dimension of the cutting path d(f)(CP) on hierarchical structures with finite order of ramification. Our approach is based on a renormalization group treatment of the universality class of watersheds. By making use of the self-similar property, we show that d(f)(CP) depends only on the average cutting path (CP) of the first generation of the structure. For the simplest Wheastone hierarchical lattice (WHL), we present a mathematical proof. For a larger WHL structure, the exact value of d(f)(CP) is derived based on a computer algorithm that identifies the length of all possible CP's of the first generation.

This work investigates the scaled height distribution, ρ(q), of irregular profiles that are grown based on two sets of local rules: those of the restricted solid on solid (RSOS) and ballistic deposition (BD) models. At each time step, these rules are respectively chosen with probability p and r=1-p. Large-scale Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the system behaves differently in three succeeding intervals of values of p: I(B) ≈ [0,0.75),I(T) ≈ (0.75,0.9), and I(R) ≈ (0.9,1.0]. In I(B), the ballistic character prevails: the growth velocity υ(∞) decreases with p in a linear way, and similar behavior is found for Γ(∞) (p), the amplitude of the t(1/3)-fluctuations, which is measured from the second-order height cumulant. The distribution of scaled height fluctuations follows the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble (GOE) Tracy-Widom (TW) distribution with resolution roughly close to 10(-4). The skewness and kurtosis of the computed distribution coincide with those for TW distribution. Similar results are observed in the interval I(R), with prevalent RSOS features. In this case, the skewness become negative. In the transition interval I(T), the system goes smoothly from one regime to the other: the height distribution becomes apparently Gaussian, which motivates us to identify this phenomenon as a transition from Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) behavior to Edwards-Wilkinson (EW) behavior back to KPZ behavior.

The q-state Potts model is studied on the Apollonian network with Monte Carlo simulations and the transfer matrix method. The spontaneous magnetization, correlation length, entropy, and specific heat are analyzed as a function of temperature for different number of states, q. Different scaling functions in temperature and q are proposed. A quantitative agreement is found between results from both methods. No critical behavior is observed in the thermodynamic limit for any number of states.

A dynamical programming approach is used to deal with the problem of controlling the directed abelian Dhar-Ramaswamy model on two-dimensional square lattice. Two strategies are considered to obtain explicit results to this task. First, the optimal solution of the problem is characterized by the solution of the Bellman equation obtained by numerical algorithms. Second, the solution is used as a benchmark to value how far from the optimum other heuristics that can be applied to larger systems are. This approach is the first attempt on the direction of schemes for controlling self-organized criticality that are based on optimization principles that consider explicitly a tradeoff between the size of the avalanches and the cost of intervention.

This work considers the flow of a Newtonian fluid in a two-dimensional channel filled with an array of obstacles of distinct sizes that models an inhomogeneous medium. Obstacle sizes and positions are defined by the geometry of an Apollonian packing (AP). The radii of the circles are uniformly reduced by a factor s<1 for assemblies corresponding to the five first AP generations. The region of validity of Darcy's law as a function of the channel Reynolds number is investigated for different values of s and the dependency of the flow pattern and permeability with respect to porosity is established. Our results show that the semiempirical Kozeny-Carman scaling relation is satisfied provided the effects of the apparent porosity and s-dependent formation factor are properly considered.

We introduce an external control to reduce the size of avalanches in some sandpile models exhibiting self-organized criticality. This rather intuitive approach seems to be missing in the vast literature on such systems. The control action, which amounts to triggering avalanches in sites that are near to become critical, reduces the probability of very large events, so that energy dissipation occurs most locally. The control is applied to a directed Abelian sandpile model driven by both uncorrelated and correlated depositions. The latter is essential to design an efficient and simple control heuristic, but has only small influence in the uncontrolled avalanche probability distribution. The proposed control seeks a trade-off between control cost and large event risk. Preliminary results hint that the proposed control works also for an undirected sandpile model.

A periodically forced two-dimensional cellular automata model is used to reproduce and analyze the complex spatiotemporal patterns observed in the transmission of vector infectious diseases. The system, which comprises three population levels, is introduced to describe complex features of the dynamics of the vector-transmitted dengue epidemics, known to be very sensitive to seasonal variables. The three coupled levels represent the human, the adult, and immature vector populations. The dynamics includes external seasonality forcing, human and mosquito mobility, and vector control effects. The model parameters, even if bounded to well-defined intervals obtained from reported data, can be selected to reproduce specific epidemic outbursts. In the current study, explicit results are obtained by comparison with actual data retrieved from the time series of dengue epidemics in two cities in Brazil. The results show fluctuations that are not captured by mean-field models. It also reveals the qualitative behavior of the spatiotemporal patterns of the epidemics. In the extreme situation of the absence of external periodic drive, the model predicts a completely distinct long-time evolution. The model is robust in the sense that it is able to reproduce the time series of dengue epidemics of different cities, provided that the forcing term takes into account the local rainfall modulation. Finally, an analysis is provided of the effect of the dependence between epidemics threshold and vector control actions, both in the presence and absence of human mobility factor.

This work considers an Ising model on the Apollonian network, where the exchange constant J(i,j) approximately 1/(k(i)k(j))(mu) between two neighboring spins (i,j) is a function of the degree k of both spins. Using the exact geometrical construction rule for the network, the thermodynamical and magnetic properties are evaluated by iterating a system of discrete maps that allows for very precise results in the thermodynamic limit. The results can be compared to the predictions of a general framework for spin models on scale-free networks, where the node distribution P(k) approximately k(-gamma) , with node-dependent interacting constants. We observe that, by increasing mu , the critical behavior of the model changes from a phase transition at T=infinity for a uniform system (mu=0) to a T=0 phase transition when mu=1 : in the thermodynamic limit, the system shows no true critical behavior at a finite temperature for the whole mu > or = 0 interval. The magnetization and magnetic susceptibility are found to present noncritical scaling properties.

This work investigates the scaling properties of fluctuations in the flux of individual agents with respect to their average flux in an interbank network. The analyzed data provide information on daily values of f(i)(asset), the credit provided by bank i in the interbank network, and f(i)(liab), the credit received by bank i from the other banks of the network. The investigation focuses on the scaling properties of the fluctuations in the raw data f(i)(asset), f(i)(liab), and f(R,i)(ext)(t) = f(i)(asset)-f(i)(liab), as well as on similar properties internal and external fluctuations f(i)(int) and f(i)(ext), which are derived according to a recently proposed methodology [M. Argollo de Menezes and A. L. Barabasi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 068701 (2004)]. Finally, a "rolling sampling" approach is introduced in order to deal with the nonstationarity of the fluxes. The results suggest that exponents are time varying, hinting that the considered interbank network is changing with time.

When the invasion percolation model is applied as a simplified model for the displacement of a viscous fluid by a less viscous one, the distribution of displaced mass follows two distinct universality classes, depending on the criteria used to stop the displacement. Here we study the distribution of mass for this process, in the case where four extraction wells are placed around a single injection well in the middle of a square lattice. Our analysis considers the limit where the pressure of the extraction well Pe is zero; in other words, an extraction well is capped as soon as less viscous fluid reaches that extraction well. Our results show that, as expected, the probability of stopping the production with small amounts of displaced mass is greatly reduced. We also investigate whether or not creating extra extraction wells is an efficient strategy. We show that the probability of increasing the amount of displaced fluid by adding an extra extraction well depends on the total recovered mass obtained before adding this well. The results presented here could be relevant to determine efficient strategies in oil exploration.

We investigate a set of directed sandpile models on the Apollonian network, which are inspired by the work of Dhar and Ramaswamy [Phys. Rev. Lett. 63, 1659 (1989)] on Euclidian lattices. They are characterized by a single parameter q , which restricts the number of neighbors receiving grains from a toppling node. Due to the geometry of the network, two- and three-point correlation functions are amenable to exact treatment, leading to analytical results for avalanche distributions in the limit of an infinite system for q=1,2 . The exact recurrence expressions for the correlation functions are numerically iterated to obtain results for finite-size systems when larger values of q are considered. Finally, a detailed description of the local flux properties is provided by a multifractal scaling analysis.

A concept of neighborhood in complex networks is addressed based on the criterion of the minimal number of steps to reach other vertices. This amounts to, starting from a given network R1, generating a family of networks Rl, l = 2, 3,... such that, the vertices that are l steps apart in the original R1, are only 1 step apart in Rl. The higher order networks are generated using Boolean operations among the adjacency matrices Ml that represent Rl. The families originated by the well known linear and the Erdös-Renyi networks are found to be invariant, in the sense that the spectra of Ml are the same, up to finite size effects. A further family originated from small world network is identified.

Thermodynamic and magnetic properties of Ising models defined on the triangular Apollonian network are investigated. This and other similar networks are inspired by the problem of covering a Euclidian domain with circles of maximal radii. Maps for the thermodynamic functions in two subsequent generations of the construction of the network are obtained by formulating the problem in terms of transfer matrices. Numerical iteration of this set of maps leads to very precise values for the thermodynamic properties of the model. Different choices for the coupling constants between only nearest neighbors along the lattice are taken into account. For both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic constants, long-range magnetic ordering is obtained. With exception of a size-dependent effective critical behavior of the correlation length, no evidence of asymptotic criticality was detected.

A numerically efficient transfer matrix (TM) approach is introduced to investigate the long-range Ising spin chain. Results obtained within this procedure are primarily used to verify the Tsallis scaling hypothesis for long-range systems with an alpha power-law decay of the interaction constants, both in the extensive (alpha>1) and nonextensive (alpha<1) regimes. Results for finite-size systems, taking into account all interactions between spins up to 24 sites apart, show that the conjecture is satisfied with a very good precision (less than 0.004%) for all temperature intervals. This TM procedure is further used to investigate several other thermodynamic and critical properties of this system, and it may also be extended to similar one-dimensional long-range systems.

We introduce a new family of networks, the Apollonian networks, that are simultaneously scale-free, small-world, Euclidean, space filling, and with matching graphs. These networks describe force chains in polydisperse granular packings and could also be applied to the geometry of fully fragmented porous media, hierarchical road systems, and area-covering electrical supply networks. Some of the properties of these networks, namely, the connectivity exponent, the clustering coefficient, and the shortest path are calculated and found to be particularly rich. The percolation, the electrical conduction, and the Ising models on such networks are also studied and found to be quite peculiar. Consequences for applications are also discussed.