8,309 research outputs found
Self-organization of atoms in a cavity field: threshold, bistability and scaling laws
We present a detailed study of the spatial self-organization of laser-driven
atoms in an optical cavity, an effect predicted on the basis of numerical
simulations [P. Domokos and H. Ritsch, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 253003 (2002)] and
observed experimentally [A. T. Black et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 203001
(2003)]. Above a threshold in the driving laser intensity, from a uniform
distribution the atoms evolve into one of two stable patterns that produce
superradiant scattering into the cavity. We derive analytic formulas for the
threshold and critical exponent of this phase transition from a mean-field
approach. Numerical simulations of the microscopic dynamics reveal that, on
laboratory timescale, a hysteresis masks the mean-field behaviour. Simple
physical arguments explain this phenomenon and provide analytical expressions
for the observable threshold. Above a certain density of the atoms a limited
number of ``defects'' appear in the organized phase, and influence the
statistical properties of the system. The scaling of the cavity cooling
mechanism and the phase space density with the atom number is also studied.Comment: submitted to PR
Equilibrium and dynamical properties of two dimensional self-gravitating systems
A system of N classical particles in a 2D periodic cell interacting via
long-range attractive potential is studied. For low energy density a
collapsed phase is identified, while in the high energy limit the particles are
homogeneously distributed. A phase transition from the collapsed to the
homogeneous state occurs at critical energy U_c. A theoretical analysis within
the canonical ensemble identifies such a transition as first order. But
microcanonical simulations reveal a negative specific heat regime near .
The dynamical behaviour of the system is affected by this transition : below
U_c anomalous diffusion is observed, while for U > U_c the motion of the
particles is almost ballistic. In the collapsed phase, finite -effects act
like a noise source of variance O(1/N), that restores normal diffusion on a
time scale diverging with N. As a consequence, the asymptotic diffusion
coefficient will also diverge algebraically with N and superdiffusion will be
observable at any time in the limit N \to \infty. A Lyapunov analysis reveals
that for U > U_c the maximal exponent \lambda decreases proportionally to
N^{-1/3} and vanishes in the mean-field limit. For sufficiently small energy,
in spite of a clear non ergodicity of the system, a common scaling law \lambda
\propto U^{1/2} is observed for any initial conditions.Comment: 17 pages, Revtex - 15 PS Figs - Subimitted to Physical Review E - Two
column version with included figures : less paper waste
Supramolecular structure in the membrane of Staphylococcus aureus
The fundamental processes of life are organized and based on common basic principles. Molecular organizers, often interacting with the membrane, capitalize on cellular polarity to precisely orientate essential processes. The study of organisms lacking apparent polarity or known cellular organizers (e.g., the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus) may enable the elucidation of the primal organizational drive in biology. How does a cell choose from infinite locations in its membrane? We have discovered a structure in the S. aureus membrane that organizes processes indispensable for life and can arise spontaneously from the geometric constraints of protein complexes on membranes. Building on this finding, the most basic cellular positioning system to optimize biological processes, known molecular coordinators could introduce further levels of complexity.
All life demands the temporal and spatial control of essential biological functions. In bacteria, the recent discovery of coordinating elements provides a framework to begin to explain cell growth and division. Here we present the discovery of a supramolecular structure in the membrane of the coccal bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, which leads to the formation of a large-scale pattern across the entire cell body; this has been unveiled by studying the distribution of essential proteins involved in lipid metabolism (PlsY and CdsA). The organization is found to require MreD, which determines morphology in rod-shaped cells. The distribution of protein complexes can be explained as a spontaneous pattern formation arising from the competition between the energy cost of bending that they impose on the membrane, their entropy of mixing, and the geometric constraints in the system. Our results provide evidence for the existence of a self-organized and nonpercolating molecular scaffold involving MreD as an organizer for optimal cell function and growth based on the intrinsic self-assembling properties of biological molecules
Dynamics in binary cluster crystals
As a result of the application of coarse-graining procedures to describe
complex fluids, the study of systems consisting of particles interacting
through bounded, repulsive pair potentials has become of increasing interest in
the last years. A well known example is the so-called Generalized Exponential
Model (GEM-), for which the interaction between particles is described by
the potential . Interactions with
lead to the formation of a novel phase of soft matter consisting of cluster
crystals. Recent studies on the phase behavior of binary mixtures of GEM-
particles have provided evidence for the formation of novel kinds of alloys,
depending on the cross interactions between the two species. This work aims to
study the dynamic behavior of such binary mixtures by means of extensive
molecular dynamics simulations, and in particular to investigate the effect of
the addition of non-clustering particles on the dynamic scenario of
one-component cluster crystals. Analogies and differences with the
one-component case are revealed and discussed by analyzing self- and collective
dynamic correlators.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, submitted to JSTA
Random solids and random solidification: What can be learned by exploring systems obeying permanent random constraints?
In many interesting physical settings, such as the vulcanization of rubber,
the introduction of permanent random constraints between the constituents of a
homogeneous fluid can cause a phase transition to a random solid state. In this
random solid state, particles are permanently but randomly localized in space,
and a rigidity to shear deformations emerges. Owing to the permanence of the
random constraints, this phase transition is an equilibrium transition, which
confers on it a simplicity (at least relative to the conventional glass
transition) in the sense that it is amenable to established techniques of
equilibrium statistical mechanics. In this Paper I shall review recent
developments in the theory of random solidification for systems obeying
permanent random constraints, with the aim of bringing to the fore the
similarities and differences between such systems and those exhibiting the
conventional glass transition. I shall also report new results, obtained in
collaboration with Weiqun Peng, on equilibrium correlations and
susceptibilities that signal the approach of the random solidification
transition, discussing the physical interpretation and values of these
quantities both at the Gaussian level of approximation and, via a
renormalization-group approach, beyond.Comment: Paper presented at the "Unifying Concepts in Glass Physics" workshop,
International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy (September
15-18, 1999
Spectral Properties of the k-Body Embedded Gaussian Ensembles of Random Matrices for Bosons
We consider spinless Bosons distributed over degenerate
single-particle states and interacting through a -body random interaction
with Gaussian probability distribution (the Bosonic embedded -body
ensembles). We address the cases of orthogonal and unitary symmetry in the
limit of infinite matrix dimension, attained either as or as . We derive an eigenvalue expansion for the second moment of the
many-body matrix elements of these ensembles. Using properties of this
expansion, the supersymmetry technique, and the binary correlation method, we
show that in the limit the ensembles have nearly the same
spectral properties as the corresponding Fermionic embedded ensembles. Novel
features specific for Bosons arise in the dense limit defined as
with both and fixed. Here we show that the ensemble is not ergodic, and
that the spectral fluctuations are not of Wigner-Dyson type. We present
numerical results for the dense limit using both ensemble unfolding and
spectral unfolding. These differ strongly, demonstrating the lack of ergodicity
of the ensemble. Spectral unfolding shows a strong tendency towards
picket-fence type spectra. Certain eigenfunctions of individual realizations of
the ensemble display Fock-space localization.Comment: Minor corrections; figure 5 slightly modified (30 pages, 6 figs
- …