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We present a submatrix update algorithm for the continuous-time auxiliary field method that allows the simulation of large lattice and impurity problems. The algorithm takes optimal advantage of modern CPU architectures by consistently using matrix instead of vector operations, resulting in a speedup of a factor of ≈ 8 and thereby allowing access to larger systems and lower temperature. We illustrate the power of our algorithm at the example of a cluster dynamical mean field simulation of the Néel transition in the three-dimensional Hubbard model, where we show momentum dependent self-energies for clusters with up to 100 sites.

We study the asymptotic properties of fracture strength distributions of disordered elastic media by a combination of renormalization group, extreme value theory, and numerical simulation. We investigate the validity of the 'weakest-link hypothesis' in the presence of realistic long-ranged interactions in the random fuse model. Numerical simulations indicate that the fracture strength is well described by the Duxbury-Leath-Beale (DLB) distribution which is shown to flow asymptotically to the Gumbel distribution. We explore the relation between the extreme value distributions and the DLB type asymptotic distributions, and show that the universal extreme value forms may not be appropriate to describe the non-universal low-strength tail.

We study the sample size dependence of the strength of disordered materials with a flaw, by numerical simulations of lattice models for fracture. We find a crossover between a regime controlled by the fluctuations due to disorder and another controlled by stress-concentrations, ruled by continuum fracture mechanics. The results are formulated in terms of a scaling law involving a statistical fracture process zone. Its existence and scaling properties are only revealed by sampling over many configurations of the disorder. The scaling law is in good agreement with experimental results obtained from notched paper samples.

We analyze the scaling of the crack roughness and of avalanche precursors in the two dimensional random fuse model by numerical simulations, employing large system sizes and extensive sample averaging. We find that the crack roughness exhibits anomalous scaling, as recently observed in experiments. The roughness exponents (ζ, ζ loc ) and the global width distributions are found to be universal with respect to the lattice geometry. Failure is preceded by avalanche precursors whose distribution follows a power law up to a cutoff size. While the characteristic avalanche size scales as s0 ∼ L D , with a universal fractal dimension D, the distribution exponent τ differs slightly for triangular and diamond lattices and, in both cases, it is larger than the mean-field (fiber bundle) value τ = 5/2.