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M J de Oliveira

Publications and source records attributed to M J de Oliveira.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Fluctuation-dissipation theorem and the linear Glauber model.

We obtain exact expressions for the two-time autocorrelation and response functions of the -dimensional linear Glauber model. Although this linear model does not obey detailed balance in dimensions d > or = 2, we show that the usual form of the fluctuation-dissipation ratio still holds in the stationary regime. In the transient regime, we show the occurrence of aging, with a special limit of the fluctuation-dissipation ratio, x(infinity) = 1/2, for a quench at the critical point.

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Thermodynamic behavior of a polymer with interacting bonds on a square lattice.

Using the transfer matrix technique, finite-size scaling, phenomenological renormalization group, and conformal invariance ideas, the thermodynamic behavior of a polymer with interacting bonds on a square lattice has been studied. In this model, one monomer that belongs to the polymer has an activity x=e(beta(mu)), while the interactions between bonds of the polymer that are located on opposite edges of elementary squares of the lattice have a statistical weight y=e(-beta(epsilon)), where epsilon is the interaction energy. Next, the phase diagram of the model in the (x,y) plane was found, which shows three phases, two of them being polymerized. Furthermore, the densities of occupied sites and of bond interactions in each phase were calculated, in order to determine the nature of the transitions between the phases. The results obtained are consistent with a second-order transition line between the nonpolymerized and the regular polymerized phase and a first-order transition between the nonpolymerized and the dense polymerized phase. The boundary between both polymerized phases may be of first or second order, and thus evidence for a tricritical point is found.

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Nonequilibrium model for the contact process in an ensemble of constant particle number.

We introduce and analyze numerically a nonequilibrium model with a conserved dynamics which is a realization of the contact process in an ensemble of constant particle number. The model possesses just one process in which particles jump around landing only on empty sites next to an existing particle. Particles are not allowed to land on a vacant site surrounded by empty sites. In contrast with the ordinary contact process, the present model does not have an absorbing state. In spite of lacking an absorbing state, the model displays properties that, in the thermodynamic limit, are identical to those of the ordinary contact process.

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Emergence of cooperation among interacting individuals.

We study the evolution of interacting individuals located on the sites of a regular lattice. The individuals play a two action game in which the players either cooperate or defect with respect to a certain issue. The main rule of the game is that a player does not change his action when he and his opponent have held the same action in the previous round. Numerical simulations performed on a square lattice show a stationary state in which the lattice has a finite number of cooperators and defectors and two frozen states, one full of cooperators and the other full of defectors.

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Exact density profile of a stochastic reaction-diffusion process.

We calculate exactly the time dependent density profile of a one-dimensional stochastic reaction-diffusion process of hard-core particles subjected to the reactions AA <--> OO and AO <--> OA. The solution is based on the fundamental property that the evolution operator, defined over an appropriate vector space, transforms vectors with n kinks into vectors with n or n+2 kinks, only. In this space, a basis vector is represented by a string of plus and minus signs and a kink is defined as a pair of opposite signs. The exact time dependent profiles are calculated for the cases of uncorrelated initial states that are translational invariant as well as initial states that are inhomogeneous in space.

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Mechanisms underlying the vecuronium-induced tetanic fade in the isolated rat muscle.

The cellular mechanisms underlying the effects of vecuronium on the tetanic contraction were studied in vitro with a combination of myographic and electrophysiologic techniques. We used the isolated sciatic nerve extensor digitorum longus muscle preparation of the rat. Indirect twitches were evoked at 0.1 Hz pulses and tetani at 50 Hz pulses. Trains of end-plate potentials were generated at 50 Hz. The electrophysiological variables used in the analysis of the end-plate potentials were: amplitude, tetanic run-down, quantal size and quantal content. The myographic study demonstrated that vecuronium at 0.4 microM caused tetanic fade, but left the twitch unaffected. Regarding electrophysiology, vecuronium (0.4 microM) decreased the amplitude of end-plate potentials and increased their tetanic run-down. These changes were due to significant reductions in both the quantal content of the end-plate potentials and the quantal size. It is concluded that vecuronium has both pre- and postsynaptic effects at the neuromuscular junction, and that it induces fade of the tetanic contraction via a summation of these effects.

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