General criterion for harmonicity
Statistical Mechanics
2017-10-11 v2
Abstract
Inspired by Kubo-Anderson Markov processes, we introduce a new class of transfer matrices whose largest eigenvalue is determined by a simple explicit algebraic equation. Applications include the free energy calculation for various equilibrium systems and a general criterion for perfect harmonicity, i.e., a free energy that is exactly quadratic in the external field. As an illustration, we construct a "perfect spring", namely a polymer with non-Gaussian, exponentially distributed sub-units which nevertheless remains harmonic until it is fully stretched. This surprising discovery is confirmed by Monte Carlo and Langevin simulations.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1703.00769,
title = {General criterion for harmonicity},
author = {Karel Proesmans and Hans Vandebroek and Christian Van den Broeck},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1703.00769},
year = {2017}
}