30,565 research outputs found
Epidemic model on a network: analysis and applications to COVID-19
We analyze an epidemic model on a network consisting of
susceptible-infected-recovered equations at the nodes coupled by diffusion
using a graph Laplacian. We introduce an epidemic criterion and examine
different vaccination/containment strategies: we prove that it is most
effective to vaccinate a node of highest degree. The model is also useful to
evaluate deconfinement scenarios and prevent a so-called second wave. The model
has few parameters enabling fitting to the data and the essential ingredient of
importation of infected; these features are particularly important for the
current COVID-19 epidemic
Surface-induced layer formation in polyelectrolytes
We analyze, by means of an RPA calculation, the conditions under which a
mixture of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes can micro-segregate in the
neighborhood of a charged surface creating a layered structure. A number of
stable layers can be formed if the surface is sufficiently strongly charged
even at temperatures at which the bulk of the mixture is homogeneous.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, revtex, epsf, psfi
Accelerating universes driven by bulk particles
We consider our universe as a 3d domain wall embedded in a 5d dimensional
Minkowski space-time. We address the problem of inflation and late time
acceleration driven by bulk particles colliding with the 3d domain wall. The
expansion of our universe is mainly related to these bulk particles. Since our
universe tends to be permeated by a large number of isolated structures, as
temperature diminishes with the expansion, we model our universe with a 3d
domain wall with increasing internal structures. These structures could be
unstable 2d domain walls evolving to fermi-balls which are candidates to cold
dark matter. The momentum transfer of bulk particles colliding with the 3d
domain wall is related to the reflection coefficient. We show a nontrivial
dependence of the reflection coefficient with the number of internal dark
matter structures inside the 3d domain wall. As the population of such
structures increases the velocity of the domain wall expansion also increases.
The expansion is exponential at early times and polynomial at late times. We
connect this picture with string/M-theory by considering BPS 3d domain walls
with structures which can appear through the bosonic sector of a
five-dimensional supergravity theory.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. D, 16 pages, 3 eps figures, minor changes and
references adde
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