Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT:In this thesis we discuss some of the anomalies present in systems with long-range interactions, for instance negative speci c heat and negative magnetic susceptibility, and show how they can be related to the convexity properties of the thermodynamic potentials and nonequivalence of ensembles. We also discuss the possibility of engineering long-range quantum spin systems with cold atoms in optical lattices to experimentally verify the existence of nonequivalence of ensembles. We then formulate an expression for the density of states when the energy and magnetisation correspond to a pair of non-commuting operators. Finally we analytically compute the entropy s( ;m) as a function of energy, , and magnetisation, m, for the anisotropic Heisenberg model with Curie-Weiss type interactions. The results show that the entropy is non-concave in terms of magnetisation under certain circumstances which in turn indicates that the microcanonical and canonical ensembles are not equivalent and that the magnetic susceptibility is negative. After making an appropriate change of variables we show that a second-order phase transition can be present at negative temperatures in the microcanonical ensemble which cannot be represented in the canonical ensemble. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie tesis bespreek ons van die onverwagte eienskappe wat sisteme met lang afstand wisselwerkings kan openbaar, byvoorbeeld negatiewe spesi eke warmte en negatiewe magnetiese suseptibiliteit. Ons dui ook die ooreenkoms tussen hierdie gedrag en die konveksiteit van die termodinamiese potensiale en nie-ekwivalente ensembles aan. Hierna bespreek ons die moontlikheid om lang afstand kwantum spin sisteme te realiseer met koue atome in 'n optiese rooster. Daarna wys ons hoe dit moontlik is om 'n uitdrukking vir die digtheid van toestande te formuleer vir sisteme waar die energie en magnetisasie ooreenstem met operatore wat nie met mekaar kommuteer nie. Uiteindelik bepaal ons die entropie, s( ;m), in terme van die energie, , en magnetisasie, m, vir die anisotropiese Heisenberg model met Curie-Weiss tipe interaksies. Die resultate wys dat die entropie onder sekere omstandighede nie konkaaf in terme van magnetisasie is nie. Dit, op sy beurt, dui aan dat die mikrokanoniese en kanoniese ensembles nie ekwivalent is nie en dat die magnetiese suseptibiliteit negatief kan wees. Nadat ons 'n toepaslike transformasie van veranderlikes maak, wys ons dat 'n tweede orde fase-oorgang by negatiewe temperature kan plaasvind in die mikrokanoniese ensemble wat nie verteenwoordig kan word in die kanoniese ensemble nie.

We compare the transition barrier that accompanies a first-order phase transition in the canonical and microcanonical ensemble. This is directly encoded in the probability distributions of standard Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations and a proper microcanonical sampling technique. For the example of droplet formation, we find that in both ensembles the transition barrier scales as expected but that the barrier is much smaller in the microcanonical ensemble. In addition its growth with system size is weaker which will enhance this difference for larger systems. We provide an intuitive physical explanation for this observation

Submitted by (ana.araujo@ufrpe.br) on 2016-07-05T16:55:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Evert Elvis Batista Almeida.pdf: 8214568 bytes, checksum: 34db767d9a38f53b7b60aaf92ca37a20 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-05T16:55:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Evert Elvis Batista Almeida.pdf: 8214568 bytes, checksum: 34db767d9a38f53b7b60aaf92ca37a20 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-26 / We applied a non-supervisioned data clustering technique based on a map of the problem into an inhomogeneous granular magnet problem. The physical behavior of the magnet is studied through the usual Monte Carlo method. Each data item is described by a set of numerical attributes, interpreted as points in a multiple-dimensional Euclidian space. The mapping consists in associating a Potts spin to each data point. The physical system is described by a disordered Potts Hamiltonian with several states with an exponentially decaying interaction among spins. The magnet reaches a superparamagnetic state at high temperatures in which the spins in certain grains are strongly correlated whereas the grains are loosely linked. In this way, each grain corresponds to a group or cluster. We implemented the method in a microcanonical ensemble where the conserved total energy is the control parameter. The temperature is calculated during the simulation and, besides thermodynamic stable states, it is possible to sample unstable and metastable state as well. We work with three artificial multiple-dimensional data set and a four-dimensional real data set. We obtained good results in all cases and discuss some issues concerning the microcanonical implementation of the superparamagnetic data clustering. / Aplicamos um método não supervisionado de agrupamento de dados para identificar padrões em vários conjuntos dados. A técnica baseia-se em um mapeamento do problema em um sistema magnético granular heterogêneo, cujo comportamento é investigado através de métodos Monte Carlo comumente empregado no campo da física estatística. Cada objeto é descrito por um conjunto de atributos de valores numéricos, interpretados como um ponto em um espaço euclidiano de dimensão apropriada. O mapeamento consiste em associar a cada item do conjunto, um ponto no espaço, um spin de Potts. O sistema físico é descrito por um hamiltoniano de Potts de muitos estados, no qual a interação entre os spins decai exponencialmente com a distância entre eles. Itens semelhantes, próximos, interagem fortemente enquanto que aqueles mais distantes entre si interagem apenas fracamente. O magneto atinge um estado superparamagnético para temperaturas suficientemente altas, no qual os spins de alguns grãos permanecem fortemente correlacionados, porém, os grãos estão fracamente ligados entre si. Cada grão corresponde a um grupo. Implementamos o método no ensemble microcanônico, no qual a energia total é conservada e constitui o parâmetro de controle. Nesse caso, a temperatura é calculada ao longo do processo e podemos acessar estados termodinamicamente estáveis, metaestáveis, bem como, instáveis. Trabalhamos com três conjuntos artificiais de dados, em duas e três dimensões, e um conjunto de dados reais com quatro dimensões. O desempenho do método foi satisfatório em todos os casos investigados.