Synchronized states of one dimensional long-range systems induced by inelastic collisions. (11th November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Joyce, Michael; Morand, Jules; Viot, Pascal
• Is Part Of: Journal of physics. Volume 52:Number 49(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-11-11
• Subjects: long range interaction -- synchronisation -- long-living states; Mathematical physics -- Periodicals; Statistical physics -- Periodicals; Quantum theory -- Periodicals; Matter -- Properties -- Periodicals; 530.105
• DOI: 10.1088/1751-8121/ab5032
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-8113

Abstract

Abstract: We report results of numerical experiments which show that a family of simple one dimensional particle systems with long-range interactions, when subjected to a certain class of inelastic interaction, evolve towards states which are highly ordered in phase space, displaying particle motions which are periodic and synchronized in relative phase. For the case of a self-gravitating system, the resulting states show a remarkable stability when the inelastic interactions are turned off, with the phase space order persisting on the longest times we simulate, and much longer than the time-scale expected for relaxation of non-equilibrium states of this long-range system to thermal equilibrium. This appears to provide a novel example of ergodicity breaking in long-range systems. We propose some simple heuristic arguments which predict reasonably well properties of the synchronized states. We enlarge our study to a broader class of long-range interacting systems, where the phenomenon of synchronisation is still present, but only for systems less than a critical size. We conclude with a discussion of avenues for further investigation.