65 research outputs found
Revisiting the slow dynamics of a silica melt using Monte Carlo simulations
We implement a standard Monte Carlo algorithm to study the slow, equilibrium
dynamics of a silica melt in a wide temperature regime, from 6100 K down to
2750 K. We find that the average dynamical behaviour of the system is in
quantitative agreement with results obtained from molecular dynamics
simulations, at least in the long-time regime corresponding to the
alpha-relaxation. By contrast, the strong thermal vibrations related to the
Boson peak present at short times in molecular dynamics are efficiently
suppressed by the Monte Carlo algorithm. This allows us to reconsider silica
dynamics in the context of mode-coupling theory, because several shortcomings
of the theory were previously attributed to thermal vibrations. A mode-coupling
theory analysis of our data is qualitatively correct, but quantitative tests of
the theory fail, raising doubts about the very existence of an avoided
singularity in this system. We discuss the emergence of dynamic heterogeneity
and report detailed measurements of a decoupling between translational
diffusion and structural relaxation, and of a growing four-point dynamic
susceptibility. Dynamic heterogeneity appears to be less pronounced than in
more fragile glass-forming models, but not of a qualitatively different nature.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures; to be published in Phys. Rev.
Achieving high visibility in subcarrier wave quantum key distribution system
We study influence of quantum signal polarization distortions in the optical fiber on the interference pattern visibility in a subcarrier wave quantum key distribution system. An optical scheme of the polarization compensation unit is suggested, and dynamics of the QBER depending on the unit architecture is explored
Free-space subcarrier wave quantum communication
We experimentally demonstrate quantum communication in 10 dB loss outdoor atmospheric channel with 5 kbit/s bitrate using subcarrier wave coding method. Free-space link was organized by telescoping system with symmetric fiber-optic collimators
The evolution of vibrational excitations in glassy systems
The equations of the mode-coupling theory (MCT) for ideal liquid-glass
transitions are used for a discussion of the evolution of the
density-fluctuation spectra of glass-forming systems for frequencies within the
dynamical window between the band of high-frequency motion and the band of
low-frequency-structural-relaxation processes. It is shown that the strong
interaction between density fluctuations with microscopic wave length and the
arrested glass structure causes an anomalous-oscillation peak, which exhibits
the properties of the so-called boson peak. It produces an elastic modulus
which governs the hybridization of density fluctuations of mesoscopic wave
length with the boson-peak oscillations. This leads to the existence of
high-frequency sound with properties as found by X-ray-scattering spectroscopy
of glasses and glassy liquids. The results of the theory are demonstrated for a
model of the hard-sphere system. It is also derived that certain schematic MCT
models, whose spectra for the stiff-glass states can be expressed by elementary
formulas, provide reasonable approximations for the solutions of the general
MCT equations.Comment: 50 pages, 17 postscript files including 18 figures, to be published
in Phys. Rev.
Multiple glass transitions in star polymer mixtures: Insights from theory and simulations
The glass transition in binary mixtures of star polymers is studied by mode
coupling theory and extensive molecular dynamics computer simulations. In
particular, we have explored vitrification in the parameter space of size
asymmetry and concentration of the small star polymers at
fixed concentration of the large ones. Depending on the choice of parameters,
three different glassy states are identified: a single glass of big polymers at
low and low , a double glass at high and low
, and a novel double glass at high and high which is
characterized by a strong localization of the small particles. At low
and high there is a competition between vitrification and phase
separation. Centered in the -plane, a liquid lake shows up
revealing reentrant glass formation. We compare the behavior of the dynamical
density correlators with the predictions of the theory and find remarkable
agreement between the two.Comment: 15 figures, to be published in Macromolecule
Conformational and Structural Relaxations of Poly(ethylene oxide) and Poly(propylene oxide) Melts: Molecular Dynamics Study of Spatial Heterogeneity, Cooperativity, and Correlated Forward-Backward Motion
Performing molecular dynamics simulations for all-atom models, we
characterize the conformational and structural relaxations of poly(ethylene
oxide) and poly(propylene oxide) melts. The temperature dependence of these
relaxation processes deviates from an Arrhenius law for both polymers. We
demonstrate that mode-coupling theory captures some aspects of the glassy
slowdown, but it does not enable a complete explanation of the dynamical
behavior. When the temperature is decreased, spatially heterogeneous and
cooperative translational dynamics are found to become more important for the
structural relaxation. Moreover, the transitions between the conformational
states cease to obey Poisson statistics. In particular, we show that, at
sufficiently low temperatures, correlated forward-backward motion is an
important aspect of the conformational relaxation, leading to strongly
nonexponential distributions for the waiting times of the dihedrals in the
various conformational statesComment: 13 pages, 13 figure
Eco-epidemiological analysis of rickettsial seropositivity in rural areas of Colombia: A multilevel approach
ABSTARCT: Rickettsiosis is a re-emergent infectious disease without epidemiological surveillance in Colombia. This disease is generally undiagnosed and several deadly outbreaks have been reported in the country in the last decade. The aim of this study is to analyze the eco-epidemiological aspects of rickettsial seropositivity in rural areas of Colombia where outbreaks of the disease were previously reported. A cross-sectional study, which included 597 people living in 246 households from nine hamlets in two municipalities of Colombia, was conducted from November 2015 to January 2016. The survey was conducted to collect sociodemographic and household characteristics (exposure) data. Blood samples were collected to determine the rickettsial seropositivity in humans, horses and dogs (IFA, cut-off = 1/128). In addition, infections by rickettsiae were detected in ticks from humans and animals by real-time PCR targeting gltA and ompA genes. Data was analyzed by weighted multilevel clog-log regression model using three levels (person, household and hamlets) and rickettsial seropositivity in humans was the main outcome. Overall prevalence of rickettsial seropositivity in humans was 25.62% (95%CI 22.11-29.12). Age in years (PR = 1.01 95%CI 1.01-1.02) and male sex (PR = 1.65 95%CI 1.43-1.90) were risk markers for rickettsial seropositivity. Working outdoors (PR = 1.20 95%CI 1.02-1.41), deforestation and forest fragmentation for agriculture use (PR = 1.75 95%CI 1.51-2.02), opossum in peridomiciliary area (PR = 1.56 95%CI 1.37-1.79) and a high proportion of seropositive domestic animals in the home (PR20-40% vs 40% vs <20% = 3.14 95%CI 2.43-4.04) were associated with rickettsial seropositivity in humans. This study showed the presence of Rickettsia antibodies in human populations and domestic animals. In addition, different species of rickettsiae were detected in ticks collected from humans and animals. Our results highlighted the role of domestic animals as sentinels of rickettsial infection to identify areas at risk of transmission, and the importance of preventive measures aimed at curtailing deforestation and the fragmentation of forests as a way of reducing the risk of transmission of emergent and re-emergent pathogens
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