11,113 research outputs found
Electrostatic attraction between cationic-anionic assemblies with surface compositional heterogeneities
Electrostatics plays a key role in biomolecular assembly. Oppositely charged
biomolecules, for instance, can co-assembled into functional units, such as DNA
and histone proteins into nucleosomes and actin-binding protein complexes into
cytoskeleton components, at appropriate ionic conditions. These
cationic-anionic co-assemblies often have surface charge heterogeneities that
result from the delicate balance between electrostatics and packing
constraints. Despite their importance, the precise role of surface charge
heterogeneities in the organization of cationic-anionic co-assemblies is not
well understood. We show here that co-assemblies with charge heterogeneities
strongly interact through polarization of the domains. We find that this leads
to symmetry breaking, which is important for functional capabilities, and
structural changes, which is crucial in the organization of co-assemblies. We
determine the range and strength of the attraction as a function of the
competition between the steric and hydrophobic constraints and electrostatic
interactions.Comment: JCP June/200
Photon spectra from WIMP annihilation
If the present dark matter in the Universe annihilates into Standard Model
particles, it must contribute to the fluxes of cosmic rays that are detected on
the Earth, and in particular, to the observed gamma ray fluxes. The magnitude
of such contribution depends on the particular dark matter candidate, but
certain features of the produced photon spectra may be analyzed in a rather
model-independent fashion. In this work we provide the complete photon spectra
coming from WIMP annihilation into Standard Model particle-antiparticle pairs
obtained by extensive Monte Carlo simulations. We present results for each
individual annihilation channel and provide analytical fitting formulae for the
different spectra for a wide range of WIMP masses.Comment: 23 pages, 37 figures and 23 table
Focusing of geodesic congruences in an accelerated expanding Universe
We study the accelerated expansion of the Universe through its consequences
on a congruence of geodesics. We make use of the Raychaudhuri equation which
describes the evolution of the expansion rate for a congruence of timelike or
null geodesics. In particular, we focus on the space-time geometry contribution
to this equation. By straightforward calculation from the metric of a
Robertson-Walker cosmological model, it follows that in an accelerated
expanding Universe the space-time contribution to the Raychaudhuri equation is
positive for the fundamental congruence, favoring a non-focusing of the
congruence of geodesics. However, the accelerated expansion of the present
Universe does not imply a tendency of the fundamental congruence to diverge. It
is shown that this is in fact the case for certain congruences of timelike
geodesics without vorticity. Therefore, the focusing of geodesics remains
feasible in an accelerated expanding Universe. Furthermore, a negative
contribution to the Raychaudhuri equation from space-time geometry which is
usually interpreted as the manifestation of the attractive character of gravity
is restored in an accelerated expanding Robertson-Walker space-time at high
speeds.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. Final version changed to match published version
in JCAP. References updated. Conclusions unchange
Attractive Interactions Between Rod-like Polyelectrolytes: Polarization, Crystallization, and Packing
We study the attractive interactions between rod-like charged polymers in
solution that appear in the presence of multi-valence counterions. The
counterions condensed to the rods exhibit both a strong transversal
polarization and a longitudinal crystalline arrangement. At short distances
between the rods, the fraction of condensed counterions increases, and the
majority of these occupy the region between the rods, where they minimize their
repulsive interactions by arranging themselves into packing structures. The
attractive interaction is strongest for multivalent counterions. Our model
takes into account the hard-core volume of the condensed counterions and their
angular distribution around the rods. The hard core constraint strongly
suppresses longitudinal charge fluctuations.Comment: 4 figures, uses revtex, psfig and epsf. The new version contains a
different introduction, and the bibliography has been expande
The effects of intrinsic noise on the behaviour of bistable cell regulatory systems under quasi-steady state conditions
We analyse the effect of intrinsic fluctuations on the properties of bistable
stochastic systems with time scale separation operating under1 quasi-steady
state conditions. We first formulate a stochastic generalisation of the
quasi-steady state approximation based on the semi-classical approximation of
the partial differential equation for the generating function associated with
the Chemical Master Equation. Such approximation proceeds by optimising an
action functional whose associated set of Euler-Lagrange (Hamilton) equations
provide the most likely fluctuation path. We show that, under appropriate
conditions granting time scale separation, the Hamiltonian can be re-scaled so
that the set of Hamilton equations splits up into slow and fast variables,
whereby the quasi-steady state approximation can be applied. We analyse two
particular examples of systems whose mean-field limit has been shown to exhibit
bi-stability: an enzyme-catalysed system of two mutually-inhibitory proteins
and a gene regulatory circuit with self-activation. Our theory establishes that
the number of molecules of the conserved species are order parameters whose
variation regulates bistable behaviour in the associated systems beyond the
predictions of the mean-field theory. This prediction is fully confirmed by
direct numerical simulations using the stochastic simulation algorithm. This
result allows us to propose strategies whereby, by varying the number of
molecules of the three conserved chemical species, cell properties associated
to bistable behaviour (phenotype, cell-cycle status, etc.) can be controlled.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in the Journal of
Chemical Physic
Electron and Phonon Temperature Relaxation in Semiconductors Excited by Thermal Pulse
Electron and phonon transient temperatures are analyzed in the case of
nondegenerate semiconductors. An analytical solution is obtained for
rectangular laser pulse absorption. It is shown that thermal diffusion is the
main energy relaxation mechanism in the phonon subsystem. The mechanism depends
on the correlation between the sample length and the electron cooling length in
an electron subsystem. Energy relaxation occurs by means of the electron
thermal diffusion in thin samples (), and by means of the electron-phonon
energy interaction in thick samples (). Characteristic relaxation times are
obtained for all the cases, and analysis of these times is made. Electron and
phonon temperature distributions in short and long samples are qualitatively
and quantitatively analyzed for different correlations between the laser pulse
duration and characteristic times.Comment: 33 pages, 16 figure
Commensurate Itinerant Antiferromagnetism in BaFe2As2: 75As-NMR Studies on a Self-Flux Grown Single Crystal
We report results of 75As nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments on a
self-flux grown single crystal of BaFe2As2. A first-order antiferromagnetic
(AF) transition near 135 K was detected by the splitting of NMR lines, which is
accompanied by simultaneous structural transition as evidenced by a sudden
large change of the electric field gradient tensor at the As site. The NMR
results lead almost uniquely to the stripe spin structure in the AF phase. The
data of spin-lattice relaxation rate indicate development of anisotropic spin
fluctuations of the stripe-type with decreasing temperature in the paramagnetic
phase.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
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