Ramsey numbers and adiabatic quantum computing

The graph-theoretic Ramsey numbers are notoriously difficult to calculate. In fact, for the two-color Ramsey numbers $R(m,n)$ with $m,n\geq 3$, only nine are currently known. We present a quantum algorithm for the computation of the Ramsey numbers $R(m,n)$. We show how the computation of $R(m,n)$ can be mapped to a combinatorial optimization problem whose solution can be found using adiabatic quantum evolution. We numerically simulate this adiabatic quantum algorithm and show that it correctly determines the Ramsey numbers R(3,3) and R(2,s) for $5\leq s\leq 7$. We then discuss the algorithm's experimental implementation, and close by showing that Ramsey number computation belongs to the quantum complexity class QMA.Comment: 4 pages, 1 table, no figures, published versio

Equilibrium states of the pressure function for products of matrices

Let $\{M_i\}_{i=1}^\ell$ be a non-trivial family of $d\times d$ complex matrices, in the sense that for any $n\in \N$, there exists $i_1... i_n\in \{1,..., \ell\}^n$ such that $M_{i_1}... M_{i_n}\neq {\bf 0}$. Let $P \colon (0,\infty)\to \R$ be the pressure function of $\{M_i\}_{i=1}^\ell$. We show that for each $q>0$, there are at most $d$ ergodic $q$-equilibrium states of $P$, and each of them satisfies certain Gibbs property.Comment: 12 pages. To appear in DCD

Sixty Years of Fractal Projections

Sixty years ago, John Marstrand published a paper which, among other things, relates the Hausdorff dimension of a plane set to the dimensions of its orthogonal projections onto lines. For many years, the paper attracted very little attention. However, over the past 30 years, Marstrand's projection theorems have become the prototype for many results in fractal geometry with numerous variants and applications and they continue to motivate leading research.Comment: Submitted to proceedings of Fractals and Stochastics

Selfsimilarity and growth in Birkhoff sums for the golden rotation

We study Birkhoff sums S(k,a) = g(a)+g(2a)+...+g(ka) at the golden mean rotation number a with periodic continued fraction approximations p(n)/q(n), where g(x) = log(2-2 cos(2 pi x). The summation of such quantities with logarithmic singularity is motivated by critical KAM phenomena. We relate the boundedness of log- averaged Birkhoff sums S(k,a)/log(k) and the convergence of S(q(n),a) with the existence of an experimentally established limit function f(x) = lim S([x q(n)])(p(n+1)/q(n+1))-S([x q(n)])(p(n)/q(n)) for n to infinity on the interval [0,1]. The function f satisfies a functional equation f(ax) + (1-a) f(x)= b(x) with a monotone function b. The limit lim S(q(n),a) for n going to infinity can be expressed in terms of the function f.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Large-q asymptotics of the random bond Potts model

We numerically examine the large-q asymptotics of the q-state random bond Potts model. Special attention is paid to the parametrisation of the critical line, which is determined by combining the loop representation of the transfer matrix with Zamolodchikov's c-theorem. Asymptotically the central charge seems to behave like c(q) = 1/2 log_2(q) + O(1). Very accurate values of the bulk magnetic exponent x_1 are then extracted by performing Monte Carlo simulations directly at the critical point. As q -> infinity, these seem to tend to a non-trivial limit, x_1 -> 0.192 +- 0.002.Comment: 9 pages, no figure

Recurrence in 2D Inviscid Channel Flow

I will prove a recurrence theorem which says that any $H^s$ ($s>2$) solution to the 2D inviscid channel flow returns repeatedly to an arbitrarily small $H^0$ neighborhood. Periodic boundary condition is imposed along the stream-wise direction. The result is an extension of an early result of the author [Li, 09] on 2D Euler equation under periodic boundary conditions along both directions

Generic Continuous Spectrum for Ergodic Schr"odinger Operators

We consider discrete Schr"odinger operators on the line with potentials generated by a minimal homeomorphism on a compact metric space and a continuous sampling function. We introduce the concepts of topological and metric repetition property. Assuming that the underlying dynamical system satisfies one of these repetition properties, we show using Gordon's Lemma that for a generic continuous sampling function, the associated Schr"odinger operators have no eigenvalues in a topological or metric sense, respectively. We present a number of applications, particularly to shifts and skew-shifts on the torus.Comment: 14 page

Magnetic critical behavior of two-dimensional random-bond Potts ferromagnets in confined geometries

We present a numerical study of 2D random-bond Potts ferromagnets. The model is studied both below and above the critical value $Q_c=4$ which discriminates between second and first-order transitions in the pure system. Two geometries are considered, namely cylinders and square-shaped systems, and the critical behavior is investigated through conformal invariance techniques which were recently shown to be valid, even in the randomness-induced second-order phase transition regime Q>4. In the cylinder geometry, connectivity transfer matrix calculations provide a simple test to find the range of disorder amplitudes which is characteristic of the disordered fixed point. The scaling dimensions then follow from the exponential decay of correlations along the strip. Monte Carlo simulations of spin systems on the other hand are generally performed on systems of rectangular shape on the square lattice, but the data are then perturbed by strong surface effects. The conformal mapping of a semi-infinite system inside a square enables us to take into account boundary effects explicitly and leads to an accurate determination of the scaling dimensions. The techniques are applied to different values of Q in the range 3-64.Comment: LaTeX2e file with Revtex, revised versio

(Non)Invariance of dynamical quantities for orbit equivalent flows

We study how dynamical quantities such as Lyapunov exponents, metric entropy, topological pressure, recurrence rates, and dimension-like characteristics change under a time reparameterization of a dynamical system. These quantities are shown to either remain invariant, transform according to a multiplicative factor or transform through a convoluted dependence that may take the form of an integral over the initial local values. We discuss the significance of these results for the apparent non-invariance of chaos in general relativity and explore applications to the synchronization of equilibrium states and the elimination of expansions

The Value of Information for Populations in Varying Environments

The notion of information pervades informal descriptions of biological systems, but formal treatments face the problem of defining a quantitative measure of information rooted in a concept of fitness, which is itself an elusive notion. Here, we present a model of population dynamics where this problem is amenable to a mathematical analysis. In the limit where any information about future environmental variations is common to the members of the population, our model is equivalent to known models of financial investment. In this case, the population can be interpreted as a portfolio of financial assets and previous analyses have shown that a key quantity of Shannon's communication theory, the mutual information, sets a fundamental limit on the value of information. We show that this bound can be violated when accounting for features that are irrelevant in finance but inherent to biological systems, such as the stochasticity present at the individual level. This leads us to generalize the measures of uncertainty and information usually encountered in information theory