2,046,729 research outputs found
Is there a prescribed parameter's space for the adiabatic geometric phase?
The Aharonov-Anandan and Berry phases are determined for the cyclic motions
of a non-relativistic charged spinless particle evolving in the superposition
of the fields produced by a Penning trap and a rotating magnetic field.
Discussion about the selection of the parameter's space and the relationship
between the Berry phase and the symmetry of the binding potential is given.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
A Criterion That Determines Fast Folding of Proteins: A Model Study
We consider the statistical mechanics of a full set of two-dimensional
protein-like heteropolymers, whose thermodynamics is characterized by the
coil-to-globular () and the folding () transition temperatures.
For our model, the typical time scale for reaching the unique native
conformation is shown to scale as , where
, is the number of residues, and scales
algebraically with . We argue that scales linearly with the inverse of
entropy of low energy non-native states, whereas is almost
independent of it. As , non-productive intermediates
decrease, and the initial rapid collapse of the protein leads to structures
resembling the native state. Based solely on {\it accessible} information,
can be used to predict sequences that fold rapidly.Comment: 10 pages, latex, figures upon reques
On the degeneracies of the mass-squared differences for three-neutrino oscillations
Using an algebraic formulation, we explore two well-known degeneracies
involving the mass-squared differences for three-neutrino oscillations assuming
CP symmetry is conserved. For vacuum oscillation, we derive the expression for
the mixing angles that permit invariance under the interchange of two
mass-squared differences. This symmetry is most easily expressed in terms of an
ascending mass order. This can be used to reduce the parameter space by one
half in the absence of the MSW effect. For oscillations in matter, we derive
within our formalism the known approximate degeneracy between the standard and
inverted mass hierarchies in the limit of vanishing . This is done
with a mass ordering that permits the map .
Our techniques allow us to translate mixing angles in this mass order
convention into their values for the ascending order convention. Using this
dictionary, we demonstrate that the vacuum symmetry and the approximate
symmetry invoked for oscillations in matter are distinctly different.Comment: 5 pages, revised manuscrip
Serendipitous Data Following a Severe Windstorm in an Old-Growth Pine Stand
Reliable dimensional data for old-growth pine-dominated forests in the Gulf Coastal Plain of Arkansas are hard to find, but sometimes unfortunate circumstances provide good opportunities to acquire this information. On July 11, 2013, a severe thunderstorm with high winds struck the Levi Wilcoxon Demonstration Forest (LWDF) near Hamburg, Arkansas. This storm uprooted or snapped dozens of large pines and hardwoods and provided an opportunity to more closely inspect these rare specimens. For instance, the largest tree killed in this event, a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), was 105 cm in diameter at breast height, 39.3 m tall, and if the tree had been sound would have yielded 3,803 board feet (Doyle log rule) of lumber. Gross board foot volume yield was also estimated from two other recently toppled large pines, an 85-cm-DBH loblolly and an 86-cm-DBH shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), which tallied 2,430 and 2,312 board feet Doyle, respectively. A number of the other wind thrown pines on the LWDF were sound enough to count their rings for a reasonable (± 2-5 years) estimate of their ages. The stump of the fallen national champion shortleaf pine had 168 rings, and counts from other pines toppled by this storm had from 68 to 198 rings. We also searched for a new champion shortleaf pine using a LiDAR canopy height model of the LWDF to narrow our search. This preliminary assessment produced a number of targets that exceeded 40 m in height; further field checking of the tallest of these trees found that these were loblolly pines up to about 44 m. We eventually found shortleaf pines between 37 and 41 m tall, with diameters of up to 85 cm, indicating that the LWDF could still contain the Arkansas state champion
Anharmonic effects in magnetoelastic chains
We describe a new mechanism leading to the formation of rational
magnetization plateau phases, which is mainly due to the anharmonic spin-phonon
coupling. This anharmonicity produces plateaux in the magnetization curve at
unexpected values of the magnetization without explicit magnetic frustration in
the Hamiltonian and without an explicit breaking of the translational symmetry.
These plateau phases are accompanied by magneto-elastic deformations which are
not present in the harmonic case.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Travelling waves in a tissue interaction model for skin pattern formation
Tissue interaction plays a major role in many morphogenetic processes, particularly those associated with skin organ primordia. We examine travelling wave solutions in a tissue interaction model for skin pattern formation which is firmly based on the known biology. From a phase space analysis we conjecture the existence of travelling waves with specific wave speeds. Subsequently, analytical approximations to the wave profiles are derived using perturbation methods. We then show numerically that such travelling wave solutions do exist and that they are in good agreement with our analytical results. Finally, the biological implications of our analysis are discussed
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