Paper detail

Exact results for a toy model exhibiting dynamic criticality

In this article we discuss an exactly solvable, one-dimensional, periodic toy charge density wave model introduced in [D.C. Kaspar, M. Mungan, EPL {\bf 103}, 46002 (2013)]. In particular, driving the system with a uniform force, we show that the depinning threshold configuration is an explicit function of the underlying disorder, as is the evolution from the negative threshold to the positive threshold, the latter admitting a description in terms of record sequences. This evolution is described by an avalanche algorithm, which identifies a sequence of static configurations that are stable at successively stronger forcing, and is useful both for analysis and simulation. We focus in particular on the behavior of the polarization $P$, which is related to the cumulative avalanche size, as a function of the threshold force minus the current force $(F_{\mathrm{th}} - F)$, as this has been the focus of several prior numerical and analytical studies of CDW systems. The results presented are rigorous, with exceptions explicitly indicated, and show that the depinning transition in this model is indeed a dynamic critical phenomenon.