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At least 1,549 records · Page 86

General properties of the radiation spectra from relativistic electrons moving in Langmuir turbulence

Using a numerical method, we examine the radiation spectra from relativistic electrons moving in Langmuir turbulence, which are expected to exist in high energy astrophysical objects. The spectral shape is characterized by the spatial scale λ, field strength σ, and frequency of the Langmuir waves, and in terms of frequency they are represented by ω{sub 0} = 2πc/λ, ω{sub st} = eσ/mc, and ω{sub p}, respectively. We normalize ω{sub st} and ω {sub p} by ω{sub 0} as a ≡ ω{sub st}/ω{sub 0} and b ≡ ω{sub p}/ω{sub 0}, and examine the spectral shape in the a–b plane. An earlier study based on the diffusive radiation in Langmuir turbulence (DRL) theory by Fleishman and Toptygin showed that the typical frequency is γ{sup 2}ω{sub p} and that the low frequency spectrum behaves as F {sub ω}∝ω{sup 1} for b > 1 irrespective of a. Here, we adopt the first principle numerical approach to obtain the radiation spectra in more detail. We generate Langmuir turbulence by superposing Fourier modes, injecting monoenergetic electrons, solving the equation of motion, and calculating the radiation spectra using a Lienard-Wiechert potential. We find different features from the DRL theory for a > b > 1. The peak frequency turns out to be γ{sup 2}ω{sub st}, which is higher than the γ{sup 2}ω{sub p} predicted by the DRL theory, and the spectral index of the low frequency region is not 1 but 1/3. This is because the typical deflection angle of electrons is larger than the angle of the beaming cone ∼1/γ. We call the radiation for this case 'wiggler radiation in Langmuir turbulence'.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Implementation of a pressure correction term in the CTF sub-channel code

CTF [1] is a modernized and improved version of the legacy subchannel code, COBRA-TF [2], that is being jointly developed and maintained by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and North Carolina State University. The code was adopted by ORNL for use in the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) in 2012 for aiding in addressing CASL challenge problems. Since that time, activities related to CTF have included implementing software quality assurance measures, implementing new features and models, performing validation and verification testing, establishing and supporting a CTF User Group, and developing the code for use in coupled applications [3, 4, 5]. CTF is applicable to single- and two-phase flows in light water reactor geometries at normal and accident operating conditions. The two-phase flow model consists of the six-equation two-phase flow model [6] augmented by equations for the droplet field and also includes appropriate source terms. This work focuses on the numerical stability of the six-equation two-phase flow model and is part of a recent eort to improve CTF capabilities for simulating flows in boiling nuclear reactors (BWRs). As it is of common knowledge among the thermodynamic community, the six-equation two-phase flow model is not strongly hyperbolic, meaning some of its eigenvalues are either not real or not distinct [7]. In a Cauchy sense and for an initial-value problem, strong hyperbolicity was found to be equivalent to well-posedness which ensures uniqueness of the solution in the space-time used. This concept is also of importance when designing high-order numerical methods and also when implementing boundary conditions that rely on real eigenvalues such as Riemann solvers. A tremendous amount of research is available in the literature on how to hyperbolize the six-equation two-phase flow model by adding ad hoc terms to the system of equations often referred to as virtual mass or interfacial pressure correction term. From a mathematical prospective, the main idea driving this approach is to add terms to the phasic momentum equation containing first-order partial derivatives of the unknowns to modify the Jacobian matrix and thus canceling the imaginary part of the eigenvalues.For this work it was chosen to implement a interfacial pressure correction (IPC) term on the same model as what was done for the CATHARE system code [8], that allows to recover a two-pressure formulation. In the following, the six-equation two-phase flow model is recalled along with the IPC term and its influence on the eigenvalues. Then, numerical results and convergence studies are presented for a water-faucet problem [9] at a pressure of 10 bar. Finally, conclusions and future work are addressed.

Delchini, Marco↗

Thermoelectric power of supported graphene - An iterative approach

Thermoelectric power, S, of graphene supported on SiO{sub 2} substrate is studied for 10K < T < 400K within the framework of Boltzmann transport formalism by an iterative method. Numerical calculations of diffusion thermopower, S{sub d}, as a function of temperature, are presented assuming the electrons to be scattered by impurities, vacancies, surface roughness, acoustic phonons, inelastic optical phonons and surface polar optical phonons. For the range of temperatures considered, S{sub d} is found to be dominated by impurities for T < 40K and by acoustic phonon and vacancy scatterings for T > 40K. The optical phonons are found to influence S{sub d} for T > 300K. Our calculations, assuming the drag component to be negligible, obtain good agreement with the recent experimental data.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Microstrata

Abstract Microstrata are the non-extremal analogues of superstrata: they are smooth, non-extremal (non-BPS) solitonic solutions to IIB supergravity whose deep-throat limits approximate black holes. Using perturbation theory and numerical methods, we construct families of solutions using a consistent truncation to three-dimensional supergravity. The most general families presented here involve two continuous parameters, or amplitudes, and four quantized parameters that set the angular momenta and energy levels. Our solutions are asymptotic to the vacuum of the D1-D5 system: AdS 3 ×S 3 × 𝕋 4 . Using holography, we show that the they are dual to multi-particle states in the D1-D5 CFT involving a large number of mutually non-BPS supergravitons and we determine the anomalous dimensions of these states from the binding energies in supergravity. These binding energies are uniformly negative and depend non-linearly on the amplitudes of the states. In one family of solutions, smoothness restricts some of the fields to lie on a special locus of the parameter space. Using precision holography we show that this special locus can be identified with the multi-particle states constructed via the standard OPE of the single-particle constituents. Our numerical analysis shows that microstrata are robust at large amplitudes and the solutions can be obtained to very high precision.

Physics↗

Chemical vapor infiltration of additively manufactured preforms: Pore-resolved simulations and experimental validation

The densification of additively manufactured porous preforms by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) is studied using pore-resolved simulations and experiments. Experimentally, 3D printed silicon carbide (SiC) preforms are subject to CVI synthesis using methyltrichlorosilane (MTS) precursor to obtain high purity SiC/SiC composites. Optical images of the cross sections of the processed preforms are analyzed to obtain the spatial porosity distribution. The numerical method is based on a level set formulation to capture the spatial distribution and time evolution of the pore scale microstructural characteristics. The coupled transport and kinetic effects are represented using a dimensionless Thiele modulus. Simulations are initialized using representative synthetic preform geometries comprising of packed particles based on the size distribution of the powder used for 3D printing. The simulation results are validated against the experimental observations in terms of total density and the distribution of residual porosity. The densification characteristics, porosity classification, concentration profiles, and structure functions are analyzed as functions of processing temperature and Thiele modulus.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Thermal Modelling of the in-Situ Consolidation of Automated Fiber Placement of Thermoplastic Composites

NASA is developing carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites processing methods under the Hi-rate Composites Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project. The in-situ consolidation automated fiber placement (AFP) of thermoplastics (ICAT) process has high potential to increase manufacturing throughput and lower costs as it combines the repeatability and fast lay down rates of AFP with the thermoformability of thermoplastic materials to achieve part consolidation out of the autoclave. Physics-based process models are employed in the ICAT process development to understand, fundamentally, the thermal response of the carbon fiber (CF)/polyaryletherketone (PAEK) material during the rapid heating and cooling associated with laser-assisted AFP. A one-dimensional (1-D) closed-form model was developed capable of predicting the temperature profile through-the-thickness of the tape material. In addition, a two-dimensional (2-D) model was developed to predict the heat transfer through-the-thickness and in the laydown x-direction of the AFP head motion. The solution of the Fourier heat-transfer equations in the 2-D model is approximated using the explicit finite difference numerical method. The temperature profile during placement of PAEK slit-tape materials at various laser target temperatures and placement speeds were measured during ICAT process development trials at Electroimpact®, Inc. †† and the resulting experimental data is compared with the predictions of the 1-D and 2-D models.

Thermoplastics↗

Thermal Modelling of the In-Situ Consolidation of Automated Fiber Placement Of Thermoplastic Composites

NASA is developing carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites processing methods under the Hi-rate Composites Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project. The in-situ consolidation automated fiber placement (AFP) of thermoplastics (ICAT) process has high potential to increase manufacturing throughput and lower costs as it combines the repeatability and fast lay down rates of AFP with the thermoformability of thermoplastic materials to achieve part consolidation out of the autoclave. Physics-based process models are employed in the ICAT process development to understand, fundamentally, the thermal response of the carbon fiber (CF)/polyaryletherketone (PAEK) material during the rapid heating and cooling associated with laser-assisted AFP. A one-dimensional (1-D) closed-form model was developed capable of predicting the temperature profile through-the-thickness of the tape material. In addition, a two-dimensional (2-D) model was developed to predict the heat transfer through-the-thickness and in the laydown x-direction of the AFP head motion. The solution of the Fourier heat-transfer equations in the 2-D model is approximated using the explicit finite difference numerical method. The temperature profile during placement of PAEK slit-tape materials at various laser target temperatures and placement speeds were measured during ICAT process development trials at Electroimpact®, Inc. †† and the resulting experimental data is compared with the predictions of the 1-D and 2-D models.

Christopher J. Stelter↗

Coherent structures and turbulent spectrum in solar wind plasmas

The present paper investigates the localization of a uniform plane kinetic Alfvén wave (KAW) due to the coupling with the density/magnetic field fluctuations associated with a magnetosonic wave propagating in the transverse direction, i.e., perpendicular to the background magnetic field. To gain the physical insight into this evolution, a simplified analytical model based on the Mathieu equation has also been studied. Numerical method has also been used to analyse the evolution of KAW. The magnetic fluctuation spectrum follows Kolmogorovian scaling above the proton gyroradius scalelength, which is regarded as the inertial range. Below this scale, a steepened spectrum has been obtained in the dispersive range with power law index ∼−2.5, which continues up to the dissipation range. Our results reveal that the proposed mechanism may be an interesting physical mechanism for transferring the energy from larger lengthscales to smaller lengthscales in the solar wind plasmas. Relevance of the present study with Cluster spacecraft observations has also been discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Insights from high-fidelity modeling of industrial rotary bell atomization

The global automotive industry sprayed over 2.6 billion liters of paint in 2018, much of which through electrostatic rotary bell atomization, a highly complex process involving the fluid mechanics of rapidly rotating thin films tearing apart into micrometer-thin filaments and droplets. Coating operations account for 65% of the energy usage in a typical automotive assembly plant, representing 10,000s of gigawatt-hours each year in the United States alone. Optimization of these processes would allow for improved robustness, reduced material waste, increased throughput, and significantly reduced energy usage. Here, we introduce a high-fidelity mathematical and algorithmic framework to analyze rotary bell atomization dynamics at industrially relevant conditions. Our approach couples laboratory experiment with the development of robust non-Newtonian fluid models; devises high-order accurate numerical methods to compute the coupled bell, paint, and gas dynamics; and efficiently exploits high-performance supercomputing architectures. These advances have yielded insight into key dynamics, including i) parametric trends in film, sheeting, and filament characteristics as a function of fluid rheology, delivery rates, and bell speed; ii) the impact of nonuniform film thicknesses on atomization performance; and iii) an understanding of spray composition via primary and secondary atomization. These findings result in coating design principles that are poised to improve energy- and cost-efficiency in a wide array of industrial and manufacturing settings.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Characterization Of Microwave Discharge Plasmas For Surface Processing

We have developed several diagnostic techniques to characterize two types of microwave (MW) discharge plasmas: a supersonic flowing argon MW discharge maintained in a cylindrical quartz cavity at frequency / = 2.45 GHz and a pulse repetitive MW discharge in air at f = 9.5 GHz. Low temperature MW discharges have been proven to possess attractive properties for plasma cleaning and etching of niobium surfaces of superconductive radio frequency (SRF) cavities. Plasma based surface modification technologies offer a promising alternative for etching and cleaning of SRF cavities. These technologies are low cost, environmentally friendly and easily controllable, and present a possible alternative to currently used acid based wet technologies, such as buffered chemical polishing (BCP), or electrochemical polishing (EP). In fact, weakly ionized, non-equilibrium, and low temperature gas discharges represent a powerful tool for surface processing due to the strong chemical reactivity of plasma radicals. Therefore, characterizing these discharges by applying non-perturbing, in situ measurement techniques is of vital importance. Optical emission spectroscopy has been employed to analyze the molecular structure and evaluate rotational and vibrational temperatures in these discharges. The internal plasma structure was studied by applying a tomographic numerical method based on the two-dimensional Radon formula. An automated optical measurement system has been developed for reconstruction of local plasma parameters. It was found that excited argon states are concentrated near the tube walls, thus confirming the assumption that the post discharge plasma is dominantly sustained by a travelling surface wave. Employing a laser induced fluorescence technique in combination with the time synchronization device allowed us to obtain time-resolved population densities of some excited atomic levels in argon. We have developed a technique for absolute measurements of electron density based on the time-resolved absolute intensity of a Nitrogen spectral band belonging to the Second Positive System, the kinetic model and the detailed particle balance of the iV2 (C3IIU) state. Measured electron density waveforms are in fair agreement with electron densities obtained using the Stark broadening technique. In addition, time dependent population densities of Ar I metastable and resonant levels were obtained by employing a kinetic model developed based on analysis of population density rates of excited Ar I p levels. Both the experimental results and numerical models for both types of gas discharges indicate that multispecies chemistry of gases plays an important role in understanding the dynamics and characterizing the properties of these discharges.

Nikolic, Milka↗

Structure and Stability of One-Dimensional Detonations in Ethylene-Air Mixtures

The propagation of one-dimensional detonations in ethylene-air mixtures is investigated numerically by solving the one-dimensional Euler equations with detailed finite-rate chemistry. The numerical method is based on a second-order spatially accurate total-variation-diminishing scheme and a point implicit, first-order-accurate, time marching algorithm. The ethylene-air combustion is modeled with a 20-species, 36-step reaction mechanism. A multi-level, dynamically adaptive grid is utilized, in order to resolve the structure of the detonation. Parametric studies over an equivalence ratio range of 0.5 less than phi less than 3 for different initial pressures and degrees of detonation overdrive demonstrate that the detonation is unstable for low degrees of overdrive, but the dynamics of wave propagation varies with fuel-air equivalence ratio. For equivalence ratios less than approximately 1.2 the detonation exhibits a short-period oscillatory mode, characterized by high-frequency, low-amplitude waves. Richer mixtures (phi greater than 1.2) exhibit a low-frequency mode that includes large fluctuations in the detonation wave speed; that is, a galloping propagation mode is established. At high degrees of overdrive, stable detonation wave propagation is obtained. A modified McVey-Toong short-period wave-interaction theory is in excellent agreement with the numerical simulations.

Yungster, S.↗

Application of the Continuum Damage Mechanics Wilshire-Cano-Stewart (WCS) Model

In this study, the applications of the continuum damage mechanics-based Wilshire-Cano-Stewart (WCS) model are explored to predict rupture time, minimum-creep-strain-rate (MCSR), damage, damage evolution, and creep deformation. Increase knowledge in manufacturing methods has pushed the limit of material science and the development of new materials. Conventional testing is required to qualify materials against creep which according to the ASME B&PV III code, 10,000+ hours of experiments are necessary for each heat before materials are put into service. This process is costly and not feasible for new materials. As an alternative, models have been employed to predict creep behaviors and reduce the amount of time necessary for material qualification. Many models have been developed to predict distinct creep behaviors and the question of which model is best remains. Amongst current models, the WCS model has emerge with the ability to predict multiple behaviors using an explicit analytical approach with the ability to predict long-term creep. In this study the novel continuum damage mechanics WCS is employed in multiple applications. The goals of the study are (a) to discuss and determine the framework of the WCS model and validated it mathematically and using parametric simulations, (b) applied the model to accelerated creep data to show the capabilities of the model with non-conventional data, and (c) applied a novel numerical method, the datum temperature method (DTM) to show the model extrapolations and interpolations capabilities with limited and reduce data sets. To accomplish these goals, data is gathered for alloy P91 and Inconel 718 to develop and post-audit validate the model. The benefits of using the WCS model is that it provides an explicit stress and temperature dependency ideal for extrapolations, the coupled equations are suitable for finite element analysis (FEA) implementation, and it follows an explicit calibration approach. The model also proves that it can be applied to accelerated testing data and using the DTM.

Cano, Jaime A↗

A New Formulation of Time Domain Boundary Integral Equation for Acoustic Wave Scattering in the Presence of a Uniform Mean Flow

It has been well-known that under the assumption of a constant uniform mean flow, the acoustic wave propagation equation can be formulated as a boundary integral equation, in both the time domain and the frequency domain. Compared with solving partial differential equations, numerical methods based on the boundary integral equation have the advantage of a reduced spatial dimension and, hence, requiring only a surface mesh. However, the constant uniform mean flow assumption, while convenient for formulating the integral equation, does not satisfy the solid wall boundary condition wherever the body surface is not aligned with the uniform mean flow. In this paper, we argue that the proper boundary condition for the acoustic wave should not have its normal velocity be zero everywhere on the solid surfaces, as has been applied in the literature. A careful study of the acoustic energy conservation equation is presented that shows such a boundary condition in fact leads to erroneous source or sink points on solid surfaces not aligned with the mean flow. A new solid wall boundary condition is proposed that conserves the acoustic energy and a new time domain boundary integral equation is derived. In addition to conserving the acoustic energy, another significant advantage of the new equation is that it is considerably simpler than previous formulations. In particular, tangential derivatives of the solution on the solid surfaces are no longer needed in the new formulation, which greatly simplifies numerical implementation. Furthermore, stabilization of the new integral equation by Burton-Miller type reformulation is presented. The stability of the new formulation is studied theoretically as well as numerically by an eigenvalue analysis. Numerical solutions are also presented that demonstrate the stability of the new formulation.

Hu, Fang↗

Quantifying local and global mass balance errors in physics-informed neural networks

Physics-informed neural networks (PINN) have recently become attractive for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) that describe physics laws. By including PDE-based loss functions, physics laws such as mass balance are enforced softly in PINN. This paper investigates how mass balance constraints are satisfied when PINN is used to solve the resulting PDEs. We investigate PINN’s ability to solve the 1D saturated groundwater flow equations (diffusion equations) for homogeneous and heterogeneous media and evaluate the local and global mass balance errors. We compare the obtained PINN’s solution and associated mass balance errors against a two-point finite volume numerical method and the corresponding analytical solution. We also evaluate the accuracy of PINN in solving the 1D saturated groundwater flow equation with and without incorporating hydraulic heads as training data. We demonstrate that PINN’s local and global mass balance errors are significant compared to the finite volume approach. Tuning the PINN’s hyperparameters, such as the number of collocation points, training data, hidden layers, nodes, epochs, and learning rate, did not improve the solution accuracy or the mass balance errors compared to the finite volume solution. Mass balance errors could considerably challenge the utility of PINN in applications where ensuring compliance with physical and mathematical properties is crucial.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

MULTI-DIMENSIONAL FEATURES OF NEUTRINO TRANSFER IN CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE

We study the multi-dimensional properties of neutrino transfer inside supernova cores by solving the Boltzmann equations for neutrino distribution functions in genuinely six-dimensional phase space. Adopting representative snapshots of the post-bounce core from other supernova simulations in three dimensions, we solve the temporal evolution to stationary states of neutrino distribution functions using our Boltzmann solver. Taking advantage of the multi-angle and multi-energy feature realized by the S {sub n} method in our code, we reveal the genuine characteristics of spatially three-dimensional neutrino transfer, such as nonradial fluxes and nondiagonal Eddington tensors. In addition, we assess the ray-by-ray approximation, turning off the lateral-transport terms in our code. We demonstrate that the ray-by-ray approximation tends to propagate fluctuations in thermodynamical states around the neutrino sphere along each radial ray and overestimate the variations between the neutrino distributions on different radial rays. We find that the difference in the densities and fluxes of neutrinos between the ray-by-ray approximation and the full Boltzmann transport becomes ∼20%, which is also the case for the local heating rate, whereas the volume-integrated heating rate in the Boltzmann transport is found to be only slightly larger (∼2%) than the counterpart in the ray-by-ray approximation due to cancellation among different rays. These results suggest that we should carefully assess the possible influences of various approximations in the neutrino transfer employed in current simulations of supernova dynamics. Detailed information on the angle and energy moments of neutrino distribution functions will be profitable for the future development of numerical methods in neutrino-radiation hydrodynamics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Hamiltonian Truncation Effective Theory

Hamiltonian truncation is a non-perturbative numerical method for calculating observables of a quantum field theory. The starting point for this method is to truncate the interacting Hamiltonian to a finite-dimensional space of states spanned by the eigenvectors of the free Hamiltonian H_0 H 0 with eigenvalues below some energy cutoff E_\text{max} E max . In this work, we show how to treat Hamiltonian truncation systematically using effective field theory methodology. We define the finite-dimensional effective Hamiltonian by integrating out the states above E_\text{max} E max . The effective Hamiltonian can be computed by matching a transition amplitude to the full theory, and gives corrections order by order as an expansion in powers of 1/E_\text{max} 1 / E max . The effective Hamiltonian is non-local, with the non-locality controlled in an expansion in powers of H_0/E_\text{max} H 0 / E max . The effective Hamiltonian is also non-Hermitian, and we discuss whether this is a necessary feature or an artifact of our definition. We apply our formalism to 2D \lambda\phi^4 λ ϕ 4 theory, and compute the the leading 1/E_\text{max}^2 1 / E max 2 corrections to the effective Hamiltonian. We show that these corrections nontrivially satisfy the crucial property of separation of scales. Numerical diagonalization of the effective Hamiltonian gives residual errors of order 1/E_\text{max}^3 1 / E max 3 , as expected by our power counting. We also present the power counting for 3D \lambda \phi^4 λ ϕ 4 theory and perform calculations that demonstrate the separation of scales in this theory.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Kolakoski sequence as an element to radiate giant forward and backward second harmonic signals

We propose a novel type of aperiodic one-dimensional photonic crystal structures which can be used for generating giant forward and backward second harmonic signals. The studied structure is formed by stacking together the air and nonlinear layers according to the Kolakoski self-generation scheme in which each nonlinear layer contains a pair of antiparallel 180° poled LiNbO{sub 3} crystal layers. For different generation stages of the structure, conversion efficiencies of forward and backward second harmonic waves have been calculated by nonlinear transfer matrix method. Numerical simulations show that conversion efficiencies in the Kolakoski-based multilayer are larger than the perfect ones for at least one order of magnitude. Especially for 33rd and 39th generation stages, forward second harmonic wave are 42 and 19 times larger, respectively. In this paper, we validate the strong fundamental field enhancement and localization within Kolakoski-based multilayer due to periodicity breaking which consequently leads to very strong radiation of backward and forward second harmonic signals. Following the applications of analogous aperiodic structures, we expect that Kolakosi-based multilayer can play a role in optical parametric devices such as multicolor second harmonic generators with high efficiency.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Scaling behavior and phase diagram of a PT-symmetric non-Hermitian Bose-Hubbard system

We study scaling behavior and phase diagram of a PT-symmetric non-Hermitian Bose-Hubbard model. In the free interaction case, using both analytical and numerical approaches, the metric operator for many-particle is constructed. The derived properties of the metric operator, similarity matrix and equivalent Hamiltonian reflect the fact that all the matrix elements change dramatically with diverging derivatives near the exceptional point. In the nonzero interaction case, it is found that even small on-site interaction can break the PT symmetry drastically. It is demonstrated that the scaling law can be established for the exceptional point in both small and large interaction limit. Based on perturbation and numerical methods, we also find that the phase diagram shows rich structure: there exist multiple regions of unbroken PT symmetry. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Generalization is done to many-particle sector of PT-symmetric non-Hermitian system. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The metric operator, similarity matrix and equivalent Hamiltonian possess diverging derivatives near the exceptional point. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The scaling law is established for the exceptional point of a PT-symmetric non-Hermitian Bose-Hubbard model. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The phase diagram shows that multiple regions of unbroken PT symmetry exist. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer It is shown that even small on-site interaction can break the PT symmetry drastically.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗