2,475 research outputs found
Semiclassical ionization dynamics of the hydrogen molecular ion in an electric field of arbitrary orientation
Quasi-static models of barrier suppression have played a major role in our
understanding of the ionization of atoms and molecules in strong laser fields.
Despite their success, in the case of diatomic molecules these studies have so
far been restricted to fields aligned with the molecular axis. In this paper we
investigate the locations and heights of the potential barriers in the hydrogen
molecular ion in an electric field of arbitrary orientation. We find that the
barriers undergo bifurcations as the external field strength and direction are
varied. This phenomenon represents an unexpected level of intricacy even on
this most elementary level of the dynamics. We describe the dynamics of
tunnelling ionization through the barriers semiclassically and use our results
to shed new light on the success of a recent theory of molecular tunnelling
ionization as well as earlier theories that restrict the electric field to be
aligned with the molecular axis
2-D Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Induced Plasma Dynamics in the Near-Core Region of a Galaxy Cluster
We present results from numerical simulations of the cooling-core cluster
A2199 produced by the two-dimensional (2-D) resistive magnetohydrodynamics
(MHD) code MACH2. In our simulations we explore the effect of anisotropic
thermal conduction on the energy balance of the system. The results from
idealized cases in 2-D axisymmetric geometry underscore the importance of the
initial plasma density in ICM simulations, especially the near-core values
since the radiation cooling rate is proportional to . Heat conduction
is found to be non-effective in preventing catastrophic cooling in this
cluster. In addition we performed 2-D planar MHD simulations starting from
initial conditions deliberately violating both thermal balance and hydrostatic
equilibrium in the ICM, to assess contributions of the convective terms in the
energy balance of the system against anisotropic thermal conduction. We find
that in this case work done by the pressure on the plasma can dominate the
early evolution of the internal energy over anisotropic thermal conduction in
the presence of subsonic flows, thereby reducing the impact of the magnetic
field. Deviations from hydrostatic equilibrium near the cluster core may be
associated with transient activity of a central active galactic nucleus and/or
remnant dynamical activity in the ICM and warrant further study in three
dimensions.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Possible origins of macroscopic left-right asymmetry in organisms
I consider the microscopic mechanisms by which a particular left-right (L/R)
asymmetry is generated at the organism level from the microscopic handedness of
cytoskeletal molecules. In light of a fundamental symmetry principle, the
typical pattern-formation mechanisms of diffusion plus regulation cannot
implement the "right-hand rule"; at the microscopic level, the cell's
cytoskeleton of chiral filaments seems always to be involved, usually in
collective states driven by polymerization forces or molecular motors. It seems
particularly easy for handedness to emerge in a shear or rotation in the
background of an effectively two-dimensional system, such as the cell membrane
or a layer of cells, as this requires no pre-existing axis apart from the layer
normal. I detail a scenario involving actin/myosin layers in snails and in C.
elegans, and also one about the microtubule layer in plant cells. I also survey
the other examples that I am aware of, such as the emergence of handedness such
as the emergence of handedness in neurons, in eukaryote cell motility, and in
non-flagellated bacteria.Comment: 42 pages, 6 figures, resubmitted to J. Stat. Phys. special issue.
Major rewrite, rearranged sections/subsections, new Fig 3 + 6, new physics in
Sec 2.4 and 3.4.1, added Sec 5 and subsections of Sec
Intraband electron focusing in bilayer graphene
We propose an implementation of a valley selective electronic Veselago lens
in bilayer graphene. We demonstrate that in the presence of an appropriately
oriented potential step, low-energy electrons radiating from a point source can
be re-focused coherently within the same band. The phenomenon is due to the
trigonal warping of the band structure that leads to a negative refraction
index. We show that the interference pattern can be controlled by an external
mechanical strain.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Prediction of thickness limits of ideal polar ultrathin films
Competition between electronic and atomic reconstruction is a constantly
recurring theme in transition-metal oxides. We use density functional theory
calculations to study this competition for a model system consisting of a thin
film of the polar, infinite-layer structure ACuO2 (A=Ca, Sr, Ba) grown on a
nonpolar, perovskite SrTiO3 substrate. A transition from the bulk planar
structure to a chain-type thin film accompanied by substantial changes to the
electronic structure is predicted for a SrCuO2 film fewer than five unit cells
thick. An analytical model explains why atomic reconstruction becomes more
favorable than electronic reconstruction as the film becomes thinner, and
suggests that similar considerations should be valid for other polar films
A first principle (3+1) dimensional model for microtubule polymerization
In this paper we propose a microscopic model to study the polymerization of
microtubules (MTs). Starting from fundamental reactions during MT's assembly
and disassembly processes, we systematically derive a nonlinear system of
equations that determines the dynamics of microtubules in 3D. %coexistence with
tubulin dimers in a solution. We found that the dynamics of a MT is
mathematically expressed via a cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrodinger (NLS)
equation. Interestingly, the generic 3D solution of the NLS equation exhibits
linear growing and shortening in time as well as temporal fluctuations about a
mean value which are qualitatively similar to the dynamic instability of MTs
observed experimentally. By solving equations numerically, we have found
spatio-temporal patterns consistent with experimental observations.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures. Accepted in Physics Letters
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