Symmetry

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Open AccessArticle

Nuclei, Primes and the Random Matrix Connection

by Frank W. K. Firk and Steven J. Miller

Symmetry 2009, 1(1), 64-105; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym1010064 - 20 Sep 2009

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 9597

In this article, we discuss the remarkable connection between two very different fields, number theory and nuclear physics. We describe the essential aspects of these fields, the quantities studied, and how insights in one have been fruitfully applied in the other. The exciting branch of modern mathematics – random matrix theory – provides the connection between the two fields. We assume no detailed knowledge of number theory, nuclear physics, or random matrix theory; all that is required is some familiarity with linear algebra and probability theory, as well as some results from complex analysis. Our goal is to provide the inquisitive reader with a sound overview of the subjects, placing them in their historical context in a way that is not traditionally given in the popular and technical surveys. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers: Symmetry Concepts and Applications)

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149 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Stochastic Poisson Structure

by Rémi Léandre

Symmetry 2009, 1(1), 55-63; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym1010055 - 20 Aug 2009

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5550

Abstract

We define a Poisson structure on the Nualart-Pardoux test algebra associated to the path space of a finite dimensional Lie algebra. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers: Symmetry Concepts and Applications)

926 KiB

Open AccessReview

Symmetry-Break in Voronoi Tessellations

by Valerio Lucarini

Symmetry 2009, 1(1), 21-54; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym1010021 - 20 Aug 2009

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 8283

Abstract

We analyse in a common framework the properties of the Voronoi tessellations resulting from regular 2D and 3D crystals and those of tessellations generated by Poisson distributions of points, thus joining on symmetry breaking processes and the approach to uniform random distributions of seeds. We perturb crystalline structures in 2D and 3D with a spatial Gaussian noise whose adimensional strength is α and analyse the statistical properties of the cells of the resulting Voronoi tessellations using an ensemble approach. In 2D we consider triangular, square and hexagonal regular lattices, resulting into hexagonal, square and triangular tessellations, respectively. In 3D we consider the simple cubic (SC), body-centred cubic (BCC), and face-centred cubic (FCC) crystals, whose corresponding Voronoi cells are the cube, the truncated octahedron, and the rhombic dodecahedron, respectively. In 2D, for all values α>0, hexagons constitute the most common class of cells. Noise destroys the triangular and square tessellations, which are structurally unstable, as their topological properties are discontinuous in α=0. On the contrary, the honeycomb hexagonal tessellation is topologically stable and, experimentally, all Voronoi cells are hexagonal for small but finite noise with α<0.12. Basically, the same happens in the 3D case, where only the tessellation of the BCC crystal is topologically stable even against noise of small but finite intensity. In both 2D and 3D cases, already for a moderate amount of Gaussian noise (α>0.5), memory of the specific initial unperturbed state is lost, because the statistical properties of the three perturbed regular tessellations are indistinguishable. When α>2, results converge to those of Poisson-Voronoi tessellations. In 2D, while the isoperimetric ratio increases with noise for the perturbed hexagonal tessellation, for the perturbed triangular and square tessellations it is optimised for specific value of noise intensity. The same applies in 3D, where noise degrades the isoperimetric ratio for perturbed FCC and BCC lattices, whereas the opposite holds for perturbed SCC lattices. This allows for formulating a weaker form of the Kelvin conjecture. By analysing jointly the statistical properties of the area and of the volume of the cells, we discover that also the cells shape heavily fluctuates when noise is introduced in the system. In 2D, the geometrical properties of n-sided cells change with α until the Poisson-Voronoi limit is reached for α>2; in this limit the Desch law for perimeters is shown to be not valid and a square root dependence on n is established, which agrees with exact asymptotic results. Anomalous scaling relations are observed between the perimeter and the area in the 2D and between the areas and the volumes of the cells in 3D: except for the hexagonal (2D) and FCC structure (3D), this applies also for infinitesimal noise. In the Poisson-Voronoi limit, the anomalous exponent is about 0.17 in both the 2D and 3D case. A positive anomaly in the scaling indicates that large cells preferentially feature large isoperimetric quotients. As the number of faces is strongly correlated with the sphericity (cells with more faces are bulkier), in 3D it is shown that the anomalous scaling is heavily reduced when we perform power law fits separately on cells with a specific number of faces. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers: Symmetry Concepts and Applications)

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190 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Group Theory to Obtain Eigenvalues of Nonsymmetric Systems by Symmetry Averaging

by Marion L. Ellzey, Jr.

Symmetry 2009, 1(1), 10-20; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym1010010 - 06 Aug 2009

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 6278

Abstract

If the Hamiltonian in the time independent Schrödinger equation, HΨ = EΨ, is invariant under a group of symmetry transformations, the theory of group representations can help obtain the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of H. A finite group that is not a symmetry group of H is nevertheless a symmetry group of an operator H_sym projected from H by the process of symmetry averaging. In this case H = H_sym + H_R where H_R is the nonsymmetric remainder. Depending on the nature of the remainder, the solutions for the full operator may be obtained by perturbation theory. It is shown here that when H is represented as a matrix [H] over a basis symmetry adapted to the group, the reduced matrix elements of [H_sym] are simple averages of certain elements of [H], providing a substantial enhancement in computational efficiency. A series of examples are given for the smallest molecular graphs. The first is a two vertex graph corresponding to a heteronuclear diatomic molecule. The symmetrized component then corresponds to a homonuclear system. A three vertex system is symmetry averaged in the first case to C_sand in the second case to the nonabelian C_3v. These examples illustrate key aspects of the symmetry-averaging process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers: Symmetry Concepts and Applications)

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180 KiB

Open AccessCommentary

Symmetry at the Foundation of Science and Nature

by Joe Rosen

Symmetry 2009, 1(1), 3-9; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym1010003 - 05 Jun 2009

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 8186

Abstract

This article demonstrates that science is founded on symmetry and that Nature must have symmetry at its foundation. Full details are given in the book: Rosen, J. Symmetry Rules: How Science and Nature Are Founded on Symmetry; Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 2008. Full article

164 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Symmetry – An International and Interdisciplinary Scientific Open Access Journal

by Shu-Kun Lin

Symmetry 2009, 1(1), 1-2; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym1010001 - 05 Jun 2009

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5592

Abstract

As the publisher of MDPI journals, I am pleased to launch Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994), an international and interdisciplinary open access scientific journal. Twenty years ago, a journal entitled Symmetry – An Interdisciplinary and International Journal was launched by VCH Publishers, Inc. in New York, with Professor Istvan Hargittai as Editor-in-Chief. I submitted a paper which was processed by Professor Sven J. Cyvin from The University of Trondheim – The Norwegian Institute of Technology. The paper was accepted and scheduled for publication in the printed issue 4 of volume 1, 1990. I still keep a copy of the galley proofs. However, the publication of this journal was terminated after just the release of the first issue of volume 1, and this paper was finally published elsewhere [1]. [...] Full article

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Symmetry, Volume 1, Issue 1 (September 2009) – 6 articles , Pages 1-105

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