405 research outputs found
Chaotic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Cosmology
We show that the dynamics of a spatially closed Friedmann - Robertson -
Walker Universe conformally coupled to a real, free, massive scalar field, is
chaotic, for large enough field amplitudes. We do so by proving that this
system is integrable under the adiabatic approximation, but that the
corresponding KAM tori break up when non adiabatic terms are considered. This
finding is confirmed by numerical evaluation of the Lyapunov exponents
associated with the system, among other criteria. Chaos sets strong limitations
to our ability to predict the value of the field at the Big Crunch, from its
given value at the Big Bang. (Figures available on request)Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure
An Analytical Approach to the Protein Designability Problem
We present an analytical method for determining the designability of protein
structures. We apply our method to the case of two-dimensional lattice
structures, and give a systematic solution for the spectrum of any structure.
Using this spectrum, the designability of a structure can be estimated. We
outline a heirarchy of structures, from most to least designable, and show that
this heirarchy depends on the potential that is used.Comment: 16 pages 4 figure
Modeling Core-Collapse Supernovae in 3-Dimensions
We present the first complete 3-dimensional simulations of the core-collapse
of a massive star from the onset of collapse to the resultant supernova
explosion. We compare the structure of the convective instabilities that occur
in 3-dimensional models with those of past 2-dimensional simulations. Although
the convective instabilities are clearly 3-dimensional in nature, we find that
both the size-scale of the flows and the net enhancement to neutrino heating
does not differ greatly between 2- and 3-dimensional models. The explosion
energy, explosion timescale, and remnant mass does not differ by more than 10%
between 2- and 3-dimensional simulations.Comment: 5 pages text, 3 separate figures (see http://qso.lanl.gov/~clf for
more info), accepted by Ap
Multi-Periodic Oscillations in Cepheids and RR Lyrae-Type Stars
Classical Cepheids and RR Lyrae-type stars are usually considered to be
textbook examples of purely radial, strictly periodic pulsators. Not all the
variables, however, conform to this simple picture. In this review I discuss
different forms of multi-periodicity observed in Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars,
including Blazhko effect and various types of radial and nonradial multi-mode
oscillations.Comment: Proceedings of the 20th Stellar Pulsation Conference Series: "Impact
of new instrumentation & new insights in stellar pulsations", 5-9 September
2011, Granada, Spai
Discovery of period doubling in BL Herculis stars of the OGLE survey. Observations and theoretical models
We report the discovery of a period doubling behaviour in a 2.4d BL
Herculis-type variable of the Galactic bulge. Another bulge BL Her-type star
(P=2.25d) is a strong period doubling candidate. Both objects have been
identified with the OGLE-III photometry. Possibility of period doubling in this
type of pulsators has been predicted almost twenty years ago by Buchler &
Moskalik. Our finding is the first observational confirmation of their
theoretical results.
Discovery of the first BL Herculis star showing the period doubling effect
motivates a new theoretical investigation with the state-of-the-art convective
pulsation codes. We present the results of initial model survey, specifically
aimed at studying the observed period-doubled BL Her variable. All of our
non-linear models have P=2.4d. The computations confirm that the period
doubling effect is caused by the 3:2 resonance between the fundamental mode and
the first overtone, as indicated by earlier radiative models of Buchler &
Moskalik. Comparison of the computed and the observed light curves allows to
constrain the parameters of the star, in particular its metallicity, which
appears to be high, Z is approximately 0.01. The recent evolutionary tracks put
also constraint on the mass of the star, which is close to M=0.50 solar masses.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Audition in vampire bats, Desmodus rotundus
1. Within the tonotopic organization of the inferior colliculus two frequency ranges are well represented: a frequency range within that of the echolocation signals from 50 to 100 kHz, and a frequency band below that of the echolocation sounds, from 10 to 35 kHz. The frequency range between these two bands, from about 40 to 50 kHz is distinctly underrepresented (Fig. 3B).
2. Units with BFs in the lower frequency range (10–25 kHz) were most sensitive with thresholds of -5 to -11 dB SPL, and units with BFs within the frequency range of the echolocation signals had minimal thresholds around 0 dB SPL (Fig. 1).
3. In the medial part of the rostral inferior colliculus units were encountered which preferentially or exclusively responded to noise stimuli. — Seven neurons were found which were only excited by human breathing noises and not by pure tones, frequency modulated signals or various noise bands. These neurons were considered as a subspeciality of the larger sample of noise-sensitive neurons. — The maximal auditory sensitivity in the frequency range below that of echolocation, and the conspicuous existence of noise and breathing-noise sensitive units in the inferior colliculus are discussed in context with the foraging behavior of vampire bats
Prediction of lethal and synthetically lethal knock-outs in regulatory networks
The complex interactions involved in regulation of a cell's function are
captured by its interaction graph. More often than not, detailed knowledge
about enhancing or suppressive regulatory influences and cooperative effects is
lacking and merely the presence or absence of directed interactions is known.
Here we investigate to which extent such reduced information allows to forecast
the effect of a knock-out or a combination of knock-outs. Specifically we ask
in how far the lethality of eliminating nodes may be predicted by their network
centrality, such as degree and betweenness, without knowing the function of the
system. The function is taken as the ability to reproduce a fixed point under a
discrete Boolean dynamics. We investigate two types of stochastically generated
networks: fully random networks and structures grown with a mechanism of node
duplication and subsequent divergence of interactions. On all networks we find
that the out-degree is a good predictor of the lethality of a single node
knock-out. For knock-outs of node pairs, the fraction of successors shared
between the two knocked-out nodes (out-overlap) is a good predictor of
synthetic lethality. Out-degree and out-overlap are locally defined and
computationally simple centrality measures that provide a predictive power
close to the optimal predictor.Comment: published version, 10 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables; supplement at
http://www.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/publications/supplements/11-01
Role of Secondary Motifs in Fast Folding Polymers: A Dynamical Variational Principle
A fascinating and open question challenging biochemistry, physics and even
geometry is the presence of highly regular motifs such as alpha-helices in the
folded state of biopolymers and proteins. Stimulating explanations ranging from
chemical propensity to simple geometrical reasoning have been invoked to
rationalize the existence of such secondary structures. We formulate a
dynamical variational principle for selection in conformation space based on
the requirement that the backbone of the native state of biologically viable
polymers be rapidly accessible from the denatured state. The variational
principle is shown to result in the emergence of helical order in compact
structures.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, 4 eps figure
Pulsational and evolutionary analysis of the double-mode RR Lyrae star BS Com
We derive the basic physical parameters of the field double-mode RR Lyrae
star BS Com from its observed periods and the requirement of consistency
between the pulsational and evolutionary constraints. By using the current
solar-scaled horizontal branch evolutionary models of Pietrinferni et al.
(2004) and our linear non-adiabatic purely radiative pulsational models, we get
M/M(Sun) = 0.698 +/- 0.004, log(L/L(Sun)) = 1.712 +/- 0.005, T(eff) = 6840 +/-
14 K, [Fe/H] = -1.67 +/- 0.01, where the errors are standard deviations
assuming uniform age distribution along the full range of uncertainty in age.
The last two parameters are in a good agreement with the ones derived from the
observed BVIc colours and the updated ATLAS9 stellar atmosphere models. We get
T(eff) = 6842 +/- 10 K, [Fe/H] = -1.58 +/- 0.11, where the errors are purely
statistical ones. It is remarkable that the derived parameters are nearly
independent of stellar age at early evolutionary stages. Later stages,
corresponding to the evolution toward the asymptotic giant branch are most
probably excluded because the required high temperatures are less likely to
satisfy the constraints posed by the colours. We also show that our conclusions
are only weakly sensitive to nonlinear period shifts predicted by current
hydrodynamical models.Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRAS on 2008 February 01. The paper
contains 4 figures and 8 table
Mean-Field HP Model, Designability and Alpha-Helices in Protein Structures
Analysis of the geometric properties of a mean-field HP model on a square
lattice for protein structure shows that structures with large number of switch
backs between surface and core sites are chosen favorably by peptides as unique
ground states. Global comparison of model (binary) peptide sequences with
concatenated (binary) protein sequences listed in the Protein Data Bank and the
Dali Domain Dictionary indicates that the highest correlation occurs between
model peptides choosing the favored structures and those portions of protein
sequences containing alpha-helices.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
- …