3,196 research outputs found
Modelling Molecular Motors as Folding-Unfolding Cycles
We propose a model for motor proteins based on a hierarchical Hamiltonian
that we have previously introduced to describe protein folding. The proposed
motor model has high efficiency and is consistent with a linear load-velocity
response. The main improvement with respect to previous models is that this
description suggests a connection between folding and function of allosteric
proteins.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX, 2 Postscript figures, replaced due to LaTeX proble
Coherent Control for a Two-level System Coupled to Phonons
The interband polarizations induced by two phase-locked pulses in a
semiconductor show strong interference effects depending on the time tau_1
separating the pulses. The four-wave mixing signal diffracted from a third
pulse delayed by tau is coherently controlled by tuning tau_1. The four-wave
mixing response is evaluated exactly for a two-level system coupled to a single
LO phonon. In the weak coupling regime it shows oscillations with the phonon
frequency which turn into sharp peaks at multiples of the phonon period for a
larger coupling strength. Destructive interferences between the two
phase-locked pulses produce a splitting of the phonon peaks into a doublet. For
fixed tau but varying tau_1 the signal shows rapid oscillations at the
interband-transition frequency, whose amplitude exhibits bursts at multiples of
the phonon period.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTex, content change
Gel-Electrophoresis and Diffusion of Ring-Shaped DNA
A model for the motion of ring-shaped DNA in a gel is introduced and studied
by numerical simulations and a mean-field approximation. The ring motion is
mediated by finger-shaped loops (hernias) that move in an amoeba-like fashion
around the gel obstructions. This constitutes an extension of previous
reptation tube treatments. It is shown that tension is essential for describing
the dynamics in the presence of hernias. It is included in the model as long
range interactions over stretched DNA regions. The mobility of ring-shaped DNA
is found to saturate much as in the well-studied case of linear DNA.
Experiments in polymer gels, however, show that the mobility drops
exponentially with the DNA ring size. This is commonly attributed to
dangling-ends in the gel that can impale the ring. The predictions of the
present model are expected to apply to artificial 2D obstacle arrays (W.D.
Volkmuth, R.H. Austin, Nature 358,600 (1992)) which have no dangling-ends. In
the zero-field case an exact solution of the model steady-state is obtained,
and quantities such as the average ring size are calculated. An approximate
treatment of the ring dynamics is given, and the diffusion coefficient is
derived. The model is also discussed in the context of spontaneous symmetry
breaking in one dimension.Comment: 8 figures, LaTeX, Phys. Rev. E - in pres
Equidistribution of Heegner Points and Ternary Quadratic Forms
We prove new equidistribution results for Galois orbits of Heegner points
with respect to reduction maps at inert primes. The arguments are based on two
different techniques: primitive representations of integers by quadratic forms
and distribution relations for Heegner points. Our results generalize one of
the equidistribution theorems established by Cornut and Vatsal in the sense
that we allow both the fundamental discriminant and the conductor to grow.
Moreover, for fixed fundamental discriminant and variable conductor, we deduce
an effective surjectivity theorem for the reduction map from Heegner points to
supersingular points at a fixed inert prime. Our results are applicable to the
setting considered by Kolyvagin in the construction of the Heegner points Euler
system
Exploring AI Futures Through Role Play
We present an innovative methodology for studying and teaching the impacts of
AI through a role play game. The game serves two primary purposes: 1) training
AI developers and AI policy professionals to reflect on and prepare for future
social and ethical challenges related to AI and 2) exploring possible futures
involving AI technology development, deployment, social impacts, and
governance. While the game currently focuses on the inter relations between
short --, mid and long term impacts of AI, it has potential to be adapted for a
broad range of scenarios, exploring in greater depths issues of AI policy
research and affording training within organizations. The game presented here
has undergone two years of development and has been tested through over 30
events involving between 3 and 70 participants. The game is under active
development, but preliminary findings suggest that role play is a promising
methodology for both exploring AI futures and training individuals and
organizations in thinking about, and reflecting on, the impacts of AI and
strategic mistakes that can be avoided today.Comment: Accepted to AIE
The subconvexity problem for \GL_{2}
Generalizing and unifying prior results, we solve the subconvexity problem
for the -functions of \GL_{1} and \GL_{2} automorphic representations
over a fixed number field, uniformly in all aspects. A novel feature of the
present method is the softness of our arguments; this is largely due to a
consistent use of canonically normalized period relations, such as those
supplied by the work of Waldspurger and Ichino--Ikeda.Comment: Almost final version to appear in Publ. Math IHES. References
updated
Effects of Parton Intrinsic Transverse Momentum on Photon Production in Hard-Scattering Processes
We calculate the photon production cross section arising from the hard
scattering of partons in nucleon-nucleon collisions by taking into account the
intrinsic parton transverse momentum distribution and the next-to-leading-order
contributions. As first pointed out by Owens, the inclusion of the intrinsic
transverse momentum distribution of partons leads to an enhancement of photon
production cross section in the region of photon transverse momenta of a few
GeV/c for nucleon-nucleon collisions at a center-of-mass energy of a few tens
of GeV. The enhancement increases as decreases. Such an enhancement
is an important consideration in the region of photon momenta under
investigation in high-energy heavy-ion collisions.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, in LaTex, revised to include ananlytic
evaluation of the hard-scattering integra
Multiple timescales in a model for DNA denaturation dynamics
The denaturation dynamics of a long double-stranded DNA is studied by means
of a model of the Poland-Scheraga type. We note that the linking of the two
strands is a locally conserved quantity, hence we introduce local updates that
respect this symmetry. Linking dissipation via untwist is allowed only at the
two ends of the double strand. The result is a slow denaturation characterized
by two time scales that depend on the chain length . In a regime up to a
first characteristic time the chain embodies an
increasing number of small bubbles. Then, in a second regime, bubbles coalesce
and form entropic barriers that effectively trap residual double-stranded
segments within the chain, slowing down the relaxation to fully molten
configurations, which takes place at . This scenario is
different from the picture in which the helical constraints are neglected.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Quantum heat transfer through an atomic wire
We studied the phononic heat transfer through an atomic dielectric wire with
both infinite and finite lengths by using a model Hamiltonian approach. At low
temperature under ballistic transport, the thermal conductance contributed by
each phonon branch of a uniform and harmonic chain cannot exceed the well-known
value which depends linearly on temperature but is material independent. We
predict that this ballistic thermal conductance will exhibit stepwise behavior
as a function of temperature. By performing numerical calculations on a more
realistic system, where a small atomic chain is placed between two reservoirs,
we also found resonance modes, which should also lead to the stepwise behavior
in the thermal conductance.Comment: 14 pages, 2 separate figure
Collective dynamics in crystalline polymorphs of ZnCl: potential modelling and inelastic neutron scattering study
We report a phonon density of states measurement of -ZnCl using
the coherent inelastic neutron scattering technique and a lattice dynamical
calculation in four crystalline phases of ZnCl using a transferable
interatomic potential. The model calculations agree reasonably well with the
available experimental data on the structures, specific heat, Raman frequencies
and their pressure variation in various crystalline phases. The calculated
results have been able to provide a fair description of the vibrational as well
as the thermodynamic properties of ZnCl in all its four phases.Comment: Accepted in J. Phys.: Condens. Matte
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