Nonlinear driven response of a phase-field crystal in a periodic pinning potential

We study numerically the phase diagram and the response under a driving force of the phase field crystal model for pinned lattice systems introduced recently for both one- and two-dimensional systems. The model describes the lattice system as a continuous density field in the presence of a periodic pinning potential, allowing for both elastic and plastic deformations of the lattice. We first present results for phase diagrams of the model in the absence of a driving force. The nonlinear response to a driving force on an initially pinned commensurate phase is then studied via overdamped dynamic equations of motion for different values of mismatch and pinning strengths. For large pinning strength the driven depinning transitions are continuous, and the sliding velocity varies with the force from the threshold with power-law exponents in agreement with analytical predictions. Transverse depinning transitions in the moving state are also found in two dimensions. Surprisingly, for sufficiently weak pinning potential we find a discontinuous depinning transition with hysteresis even in one dimension under overdamped dynamics. We also characterize structural changes of the system in some detail close to the depinning transition

Striped, honeycomb, and twisted moire patterns in surface adsorption systems with highly degenerate commensurate ground states

Atomistically thin adsorbate layers on surfaces with a lattice mismatch display complex spatial patterns and ordering due to strain-driven self-organization. In this work, a general formalism to model such ultrathin adsorption layers that properly takes into account the competition between strain and adhesion energy of the layers is presented. The model is based on the amplitude expansion of the two-dimensional phase field crystal (PFC) model, which retains atomistic length scales but allows relaxation of the layers at diffusive time scales. The specific systems considered here include cases where both the film and the adsorption potential can have either honeycomb (H) or triangular (T) symmetry. These systems include the so-called (1 × 1), (√3 × √3) R30∘, (2 × 2), (√7 × √7) R19.1∘, and other higher order states that can contain a multitude of degenerate commensurate ground states. The relevant phase diagrams for many combinations of the H and T systems are mapped out as a function of adhesion strength and misfit strain. The coarsening patterns in some of these systems is also examined. The predictions are in good agreement with existing experimental data for selected strained ultrathin adsorption layers

Commensurate-incommensurate transition and domain wall dynamics of adsorbed overlayers on a honeycomb substrate

© EPLA, 2016.We introduce an effective one-mode phase-field crystal model for studying the commensurate-incommensurate transition and domain wall dynamics of the ( √ 3×√3)R30 phase found in systems such as Xe/Pt(111), or Xe and Kr on graphite. The model allows us to study large systems where the domain walls can be separated over large macroscopic distances and at the same time incorporate the microscopic details of the domain wall structures. The resulting phase diagram shows that an intermediate stripe incommensurate phase always separates the commensurate phase from the honeycomb incommensurate phases. The energy of the domain wall crossing is investigated. We also find that near a step edge, the domain walls tend to align perpendicularly to the step edge, in agreement with recent experimental observations

Nonlinear response and dynamical transitions in a phase field crystal model for adsorbed overlayers

The nonlinear response and sliding friction behavior of a phase-field crystal model for driven adsorbed atomic layers is determined numerically. The model describes the layer as a continuous density field coupled to the pinning potential of the substrate and under an external driving force. Dynamical equations which take into account both thermal fluctuations and inertial effects are used for numerical simulations of commensurate and incommensurate layers. At low temperatures, the velocity response of an initially commensurate layer shows hysteresis with dynamical melting and freezing transitions at different critical forces. The main features of the sliding friction behavior are similar to the results obtained previously from molecular dynamics simulations of particle models. However, the dynamical transitions correspond to nucleations of stripes rather than closed domains.Peer reviewe

Neurofilament ELISA validation

Contains fulltext : 89601.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Neurofilament proteins (Nf) are highly specific biomarkers for neuronal death and axonal degeneration. As these markers become more widely used, an inter-laboratory validation study is required to identify assay criteria for high quality performance. METHODS: The UmanDiagnostics NF-light (R)enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assays (ELISA) for the neurofilament light chain (NfL, 68kDa) was used to test the intra-assay and inter-laboratory coefficient of variation (CV) between 35 laboratories worldwide on 15 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. Critical factors, such as sample transport and storage, analytical delays, reaction temperature and time, the laboratories' accuracy and preparation of standards were documented and used for the statistical analyses. RESULTS: The intra-laboratory CV averaged 3.3% and the inter-laboratory CV 59%. The results from the test laboratories correlated with those from the reference laboratory (R=0.60, p<0.0001). Correcting for critical factors improved the strength of the correlation. Differences in the accuracy of standard preparation were identified as the most critical factor. Correcting for the error introduced by variation in the protein standards improved the correlation to R=0.98, p<0.0001 with an averaged inter-laboratory CV of 14%. The corrected overall inter-rater agreement was subtantial (0.6) according to Fleiss' multi-rater kappa and Gwet's AC1 statistics. CONCLUSION: This multi-center validation study identified the lack of preparation of accurate and consistent protein standards as the main reason for a poor inter-laboratory CV. This issue is also relevant to other protein biomarkers based on this type of assay and will need to be solved in order to achieve an acceptable level of analytical accuracy. The raw data of this study is available online