11,844 research outputs found
Two-Dimensional Spectroscopy of Extended Molecular Systems: Applications to Energy Transport and Relaxation in an α-Helix
A simulation study of the coupled dynamics of amide I and amide II vibrations in an α-helix dissolved in water shows that two-dimensional (2D) infrared spectroscopy may be used to disentangle the energy transport along the helix through each of these modes from the energy relaxation between them. Time scales for both types of processes are obtained. Using polarization-dependent 2D spectroscopy is an important ingredient in the method we propose. The method may also be applied to other two-band systems, both in the infrared (collective vibrations) and the visible (excitons) parts of the spectrum.
Finite Element Flow Simulations of the EUROLIFT DLR-F11 High Lift Configuration
This paper presents flow simulation results of the EUROLIFT DLR-F11
multi-element wing configuration, obtained with a highly scalable finite
element solver, PHASTA. This work was accomplished as a part of the 2nd high
lift prediction workshop. In-house meshes were constructed with increasing mesh
density for analysis. A solution adaptive approach was used as an alternative
and its effectiveness was studied by comparing its results with the ones
obtained with other meshes. Comparisons between the numerical solution obtained
with unsteady RANS turbulence model and available experimental results are
provided for verification and discussion. Based on the observations, future
direction for adaptive research and simulations with higher fidelity turbulence
models is outlined.Comment: 52nd Aerospace Sciences Meetin
Domain wall structure in magnetic bilayers with perpendicular anisotropy
We study the magnetic domain wall structure in magnetic bilayers (two
ultrathin ferromagnetic layers separated by a non magnetic spacer) with
perpendicular magnetization. Combining magnetic force and ballistic electron
emission microscopies, we are able to reveal the details of the magnetic
structure of the wall with a high spatial accuracy. In these layers, we show
that the classical Bloch wall observed in single layers transforms into
superposed N\'eel walls due to the magnetic coupling between the ferromagnetic
layers. Quantitative agreement with micromagnetic calculations is achieved.Comment: Author adresses AB, SR, JM and AT: Laboratoire de Physique des
Solides, CNRS, Universit\'e Paris Sud, UMR 8502, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France ML
: Laboratoire PMTM, Institut Galil\'ee, CNRS, Universit\'e Paris-13, UPR
9001, 93430 Villetaneuse, Franc
Neural mechanisms of resistance to peer influence in early adolescence
During the shift from a parent-dependent child to a fully autonomous adult, peers take on a significant role in shaping the adolescent’s behaviour. Peer-derived influences are not always positive, however. Here we explore neural correlates of inter-individual differences in the probability of resisting peer influence in early adolescence. Using functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI), we found striking differences between 10-year old children with high and low resistance to peer influence in their brain activity during observation of angry hand-movements and angry facial expressions: compared with subjects with low resistance to peer influence, individuals with high resistance showed a highly coordinated brain activity in neural systems underlying perception of action and decision making. These findings suggest that the probability of resisting peer influence depends on neural interactions during observation of emotion-laden actions
Bond breaking in vibrationally excited methane on transition metal catalysts
The role of vibrational excitation of a single mode in the scattering of
methane is studied by wave packet simulations of oriented CH4 and CD4 molecules
from a flat surface. All nine internal vibrations are included. In the
translational energy range from 32 up to 128 kJ/mol we find that initial
vibrational excitations enhance the transfer of translational energy towards
vibrational energy and increase the accessibility of the entrance channel for
dissociation. Our simulations predict that initial vibrational excitations of
the asymmetrical stretch (nu_3) and especially the symmetrical stretch (nu_1)
modes will give the highest enhancement of the dissociation probability of
methane.Comment: 4 pages REVTeX, 2 figures (eps), to be published in Phys. Rev. B.
(See also arXiv:physics.chem-ph/0003031). Journal version at
http://publish.aps.org/abstract/PRB/v61/p1565
An EPTAS for Scheduling on Unrelated Machines of Few Different Types
In the classical problem of scheduling on unrelated parallel machines, a set
of jobs has to be assigned to a set of machines. The jobs have a processing
time depending on the machine and the goal is to minimize the makespan, that is
the maximum machine load. It is well known that this problem is NP-hard and
does not allow polynomial time approximation algorithms with approximation
guarantees smaller than unless PNP. We consider the case that there
are only a constant number of machine types. Two machines have the same
type if all jobs have the same processing time for them. This variant of the
problem is strongly NP-hard already for . We present an efficient
polynomial time approximation scheme (EPTAS) for the problem, that is, for any
an assignment with makespan of length at most
times the optimum can be found in polynomial time in the
input length and the exponent is independent of . In particular
we achieve a running time of , where
denotes the input length. Furthermore, we study three other problem
variants and present an EPTAS for each of them: The Santa Claus problem, where
the minimum machine load has to be maximized; the case of scheduling on
unrelated parallel machines with a constant number of uniform types, where
machines of the same type behave like uniformly related machines; and the
multidimensional vector scheduling variant of the problem where both the
dimension and the number of machine types are constant. For the Santa Claus
problem we achieve the same running time. The results are achieved, using mixed
integer linear programming and rounding techniques
Network theory approach for data evaluation in the dynamic force spectroscopy of biomolecular interactions
Investigations of molecular bonds between single molecules and molecular
complexes by the dynamic force spectroscopy are subject to large fluctuations
at nanoscale and possible other aspecific binding, which mask the experimental
output. Big efforts are devoted to develop methods for effective selection of
the relevant experimental data, before taking the quantitative analysis of bond
parameters. Here we present a methodology which is based on the application of
graph theory. The force-distance curves corresponding to repeated pulling
events are mapped onto their correlation network (mathematical graph). On these
graphs the groups of similar curves appear as topological modules, which are
identified using the spectral analysis of graphs. We demonstrate the approach
by analyzing a large ensemble of the force-distance curves measured on:
ssDNA-ssDNA, peptide-RNA (system from HIV1), and peptide-Au surface. Within our
data sets the methodology systematically separates subgroups of curves which
are related to different intermolecular interactions and to spatial
arrangements in which the molecules are brought together and/or pulling speeds.
This demonstrates the sensitivity of the method to the spatial degrees of
freedom, suggesting potential applications in the case of large molecular
complexes and situations with multiple binding sites
Detection of Emission from the CN Radical in the Cloverleaf Quasar at z=2.56
We report the detection of CN(N=3-2) emission towards the Cloverleaf quasar
(z=2.56) based on observations with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer.
This is the first clear detection of emission from this radical at high
redshift. CN emission is a tracer of dense molecular hydrogen gas (n(H2) > 10^4
cm^{-3}) within star-forming molecular clouds, in particular in regions where
the clouds are affected by UV radiation. The HCN/CN intensity ratio can be used
as a diagnostic for the relative importance of photodissociation regions (PDRs)
in a source, and as a sensitive probe of optical depth, the radiation field,
and photochemical processes. We derive a lensing-corrected CN(N=3-2) line
luminosity of L'(CN(3-2) = (4.5 +/- 0.5) x 10^9 K km/s pc^2. The ratio between
CN luminosity and far-infrared luminosity falls within the scatter of the same
relationship found for low-z (ultra-) luminous infrared galaxies. Combining our
new results with CO(J=3-2) and HCN(J=1-0) measurements from the literature and
assuming thermal excitation for all transitions, we find a CO/CN luminosity
ratio of 9.3 +/- 1.9 and a HCN/CN luminosity ratio of 0.95 +/- 0.15. However,
we find that the CN(N=3-2) line is likely only subthermally excited, implying
that those ratios may only provide upper limits for the intrinsic 1-0 line
luminosity ratios. We conclude that, in combination with other molecular gas
tracers like CO, HCN, and HCO+, CN is an important probe of the physical
conditions and chemical composition of dense molecular environments at high
redshift.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, to appear in ApJ (accepted May 23, 2007
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