834 research outputs found
3-dimensional Gravity from the Turaev-Viro Invariant
We study the -deformed su(2) spin network as a 3-dimensional quantum
gravity model. We show that in the semiclassical continuum limit the
Turaev-Viro invariant obtained recently defines naturally regularized
path-integral la Ponzano-Regge, In which a contribution from
the cosmological term is effectively included. The regularization dependent
cosmological constant is found to be , where
. We also discuss the relation to the Euclidean Chern-Simons-Witten
gravity in 3-dimension.Comment: 11page
Polymer Release out of a Spherical Vesicle through a Pore
Translocation of a polymer out of curved surface or membrane is studied via
mean first passage time approach. Membrane curvature gives rise to a constraint
on polymer conformation, which effectively drives the polymer to the outside of
membrane where the available volume of polymer conformational fluctuation is
larger. Considering a polymer release out of spherical vesicle, polymer
translocation time is changed to the scaling behavior for
, from for , where is the polymer contour
length and , are vesicle radius and polymer radius of gyration
respectively. Also the polymer capture into a spherical budd is studied and
possible apparatus for easy capture is suggested.Comment: 14 pages RevTeX, 6 postscript figures, published in Phys. Rev. E 57,
730 (1998
Quantum Zeno Effect Explains Magnetic-Sensitive Radical-Ion-Pair Reactions
Chemical reactions involving radical-ion pairs are ubiquitous in biology,
since not only are they at the basis of the photosynthetic reaction chain, but
are also assumed to underlie the biochemical magnetic compass used by avian
species for navigation. Recent experiments with magnetic-sensitive radical-ion
pair reactions provided strong evidence for the radical-ion-pair
magnetoreception mechanism, verifying the expected magnetic sensitivities and
chemical product yield changes. It is here shown that the theoretical
description of radical-ion-pair reactions used since the 70's cannot explain
the observed data, because it is based on phenomenological equations masking
quantum coherence effects. The fundamental density matrix equation derived here
from basic quantum measurement theory considerations naturally incorporates the
quantum Zeno effect and readily explains recent experimental observations on
low- and high-magnetic-field radical-ion-pair reactions.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Binding pathway of retinal to bacterio-opsin: a prediction by molecular dynamics simulations
Formation of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) from apoprotein and retinal has been studied experimentally, but the actual pathway, including the point of entry, is little understood. Molecular dynamics simulations provide a surprisingly clear prediction. A window between bR helices E and F in the transmembrane part of the protein can be identified as an entry point for retinal. Steered molecular dynamics, performed by applying a series of external forces in the range of 200–1000 pN over a period of 0.2 ns to retinal, allows one to extract this chromophore from bR once the Schiff base bond to Lys216 is cleaved. Extraction proceeds until the retinal tail forms a hydrogen bond network with Ala144, Met145, and Ser183 side groups lining the exit/entry window. The manipulation induces a distortion with a fitted root mean square deviation of coordinates (ignoring retinal, water, and hydrogen atoms) of less than 1.9 A by the time the retinal carbonyl reaches the protein surface. The forces needed to extract retinal are due to friction and do not indicate significant potential barriers. The simulations therefore suggest a pathway for the binding of retinal. Water molecules are found to play a crucial role in the binding process
Fluctuation-Driven Molecular Transport in an Asymmetric Membrane Channel
Channel proteins, that selectively conduct molecules across cell membranes,
often exhibit an asymmetric structure. By means of a stochastic model, we argue
that channel asymmetry in the presence of non-equilibrium fluctuations, fueled
by the cell's metabolism as observed recently, can dramatically influence the
transport through such channels by a ratchet-like mechanism. For an
aquaglyceroporin that conducts water and glycerol we show that a previously
determined asymmetric glycerol potential leads to enhanced inward transport of
glycerol, but for unfavorably high glycerol concentrations also to enhanced
outward transport that protects a cell against poisoning.Comment: REVTeX4, 4 pages, 3 figures; Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Let
Symmetric angular momentum coupling, the quantum volume operator and the 7-spin network: a computational perspective
A unified vision of the symmetric coupling of angular momenta and of the
quantum mechanical volume operator is illustrated. The focus is on the quantum
mechanical angular momentum theory of Wigner's 6j symbols and on the volume
operator of the symmetric coupling in spin network approaches: here, crucial to
our presentation are an appreciation of the role of the Racah sum rule and the
simplification arising from the use of Regge symmetry. The projective geometry
approach permits the introduction of a symmetric representation of a network of
seven spins or angular momenta. Results of extensive computational
investigations are summarized, presented and briefly discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, presented at ICCSA 2014, 14th International
Conference on Computational Science and Application
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