3,641 research outputs found
Barrier Paradox in the Klein Zone
We study the solutions for a one-dimensional electrostatic potential in the
Dirac equation when the incoming wave packet exhibits the Klein paradox (pair
production). With a barrier potential we demonstrate the existence of multiple
reflections (and transmissions). The antiparticle solutions which are
necessarily localized within the barrier region create new pairs with each
reflection at the potential walls. Consequently we encounter a new paradox for
the barrier because successive outgoing wave amplitudes grow geometrically.Comment: 10 page
Contacts between the endoplasmic reticulum and other membranes in neurons
The cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells is compartmentalized by intracellular membranes that define subcellular organelles. One of these organelles, the endoplasmic reticulum, forms a continuous network of tubules and cisternae that extends throughout all cell compartments, including neuronal dendrites and axons. This network communicates with most other organelles by vesicular transport, and also by contacts that do not lead to fusion but allow cross-talk between adjacent bilayers. Though these membrane contacts have previously been observed in neurons, their distribution and abundance has not been systematically analyzed. Here, we have carried out such analysis. Our studies reveal new aspects of the internal structure of neurons and provide a critical complement to information about interorganelle communication emerging from functional and biochemical studies
A spatial model of autocatalytic reactions
Biological cells with all of their surface structure and complex interior
stripped away are essentially vesicles - membranes composed of lipid bilayers
which form closed sacs. Vesicles are thought to be relevant as models of
primitive protocells, and they could have provided the ideal environment for
pre-biotic reactions to occur. In this paper, we investigate the stochastic
dynamics of a set of autocatalytic reactions, within a spatially bounded
domain, so as to mimic a primordial cell. The discreteness of the constituents
of the autocatalytic reactions gives rise to large sustained oscillations, even
when the number of constituents is quite large. These oscillations are
spatio-temporal in nature, unlike those found in previous studies, which
consisted only of temporal oscillations. We speculate that these oscillations
may have a role in seeding membrane instabilities which lead to vesicle
division. In this way synchronization could be achieved between protocell
growth and the reproduction rate of the constituents (the protogenetic
material) in simple protocells.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Fermion-Fermion Bound State Condition for Scalar Exchanges
The condition for the existence of a bound state between two fermions
exchanging massive scalars is derived. For low scalar mass, we reproduce the
scalar field model result. The high scalar mass result exhibits a somewhat
different inequality condition
Remarks upon the mass oscillation formulas
The standard formula for mass oscillations is often based upon the
approximation and the hypotheses that neutrinos have been
produced with a definite momentum or, alternatively, with definite energy
. This represents an inconsistent scenario and gives an unjustified
reduction by a factor of two in the mass oscillation formulas. Such an
ambiguity has been a matter of speculations and mistakes in discussing flavour
oscillations. We present a series of results and show how the problem of the
factor two in the oscillation length is not a consequence of gedanken
experiments, i.e. oscillations in time. The common velocity scenario yields the
maximum simplicity.Comment: 9 pages, AMS-Te
Gallavotti-Cohen-Type symmetry related to cycle decompositions for Markov chains and biochemical applications
We slightly extend the fluctuation theorem obtained in \cite{LS} for sums of
generators, considering continuous-time Markov chains on a finite state space
whose underlying graph has multiple edges and no loop. This extended frame is
suited when analyzing chemical systems. As simple corollary we derive in a
different method the fluctuation theorem of D. Andrieux and P. Gaspard for the
fluxes along the chords associated to a fundamental set of oriented cycles
\cite{AG2}.
We associate to each random trajectory an oriented cycle on the graph and we
decompose it in terms of a basis of oriented cycles. We prove a fluctuation
theorem for the coefficients in this decomposition. The resulting fluctuation
theorem involves the cycle affinities, which in many real systems correspond to
the macroscopic forces. In addition, the above decomposition is useful when
analyzing the large deviations of additive functionals of the Markov chain. As
example of application, in a very general context we derive a fluctuation
relation for the mechanical and chemical currents of a molecular motor moving
along a periodic filament.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures. Correction
Non-supersymmetric extremal multicenter black holes with superpotentials
Using the superpotential approach we generalize Denef's method of deriving
and solving first-order equations describing multicenter extremal black holes
in four-dimensional N = 2 supergravity to allow non-supersymmetric solutions.
We illustrate the general results with an explicit example of the stu model.Comment: 17 pages, v2: some clarifications adde
Sequence randomness and polymer collapse transitions
Contrary to expectations based on Harris' criterion, chain disorder with
frustration can modify the universality class of scaling at the theta
transition of heteropolymers. This is shown for a model with random two-body
potentials in 2D on the basis of exact enumeration and accurate Monte Carlo
results. When frustration grows beyond a certain finite threshold, the
temperature below which disorder becomes relevant coincides with the theta one
and scaling exponents definitely start deviating from those valid for
homopolymers.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figure
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