64,179 research outputs found
Development of fuel cell electrodes Semiannual report, 30 Jun. 1966 - 30 Dec. 1966
Fuel cell using circulating liquid electrolyte and water removal by transpiration through porous electrode
Status of Lattice QCD
Significant progress has recently been achieved in the lattice gauge theory
calculations required for extracting the fundamental parameters of the standard
model from experiment. Recent lattice determinations of such quantities as the
kaon parameter, the mass of the quark, and the strong coupling constant
have produced results and uncertainties as good or better than the best
conventional determinations. Many other calculations crucial to extracting the
fundamental parameters of the standard model from experimental data are
undergoing very active development. I review the status of such applications of
lattice QCD to standard model phenomenology, and discuss the prospects for the
near future.Comment: 20 pages, 8 embedded figures, uuencoded, 2 missing figures. (Talk
presented at the Lepton-Photon Symposium, Cornell University, Aug. 10-15,
1993.
An exactly solvable dissipative transport model
We introduce a class of one-dimensional lattice models in which a quantity,
that may be thought of as an energy, is either transported from one site to a
neighbouring one, or locally dissipated. Transport is controlled by a
continuous bias parameter q, which allows us to study symmetric as well as
asymmetric cases. We derive sufficient conditions for the factorization of the
N-body stationary distribution and give an explicit solution for the latter,
before briefly discussing physically relevant situations.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to J. Phys.
Massive Fields and the 2D String
The first massive level of closed bosonic string theory is studied.
Free-field equations are derived by imposing Weyl invariance on the world
sheet. A two-parameter solution to the equation of motion and constraints is
found in two dimensions with a flat linear-dilaton background. One-to-one
tachyon scattering is studied in this background. The results support Dhar,
Mandal and Wadia's proposal that 2D critical string theory corresponds to the
c=1 matrix model in which both sides of the Fermi sea are excited.Comment: 17 pages, Latex. V2: One ref added, minor rephrasing of the first
paragraph in Sec.3.1, typos in (56) and (57) correcte
Mapping vesicle shapes into the phase diagram: A comparison of experiment and theory
Phase-contrast microscopy is used to monitor the shapes of micron-scale
fluid-phase phospholipid-bilayer vesicles in aqueous solution. At fixed
temperature, each vesicle undergoes thermal shape fluctuations. We are able
experimentally to characterize the thermal shape ensemble by digitizing the
vesicle outline in real time and storing the time-sequence of images. Analysis
of this ensemble using the area-difference-elasticity (ADE) model of vesicle
shapes allows us to associate (map) each time-sequence to a point in the
zero-temperature (shape) phase diagram. Changing the laboratory temperature
modifies the control parameters (area, volume, etc.) of each vesicle, so it
sweeps out a trajectory across the theoretical phase diagram. It is a
nontrivial test of the ADE model to check that these trajectories remain
confined to regions of the phase diagram where the corresponding shapes are
locally stable. In particular, we study the thermal trajectories of three
prolate vesicles which, upon heating, experienced a mechanical instability
leading to budding. We verify that the position of the observed instability and
the geometry of the budded shape are in reasonable accord with the theoretical
predictions. The inability of previous experiments to detect the ``hidden''
control parameters (relaxed area difference and spontaneous curvature) make
this the first direct quantitative confrontation between vesicle-shape theory
and experiment.Comment: submitted to PRE, LaTeX, 26 pages, 11 ps-fi
Johnson-Kendall-Roberts theory applied to living cells
Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) theory is an accurate model for strong adhesion
energies of soft slightly deformable material. Little is known about the
validity of this theory on complex systems such as living cells. We have
addressed this problem using a depletion controlled cell adhesion and measured
the force necessary to separate the cells with a micropipette technique. We
show that the cytoskeleton can provide the cells with a 3D structure that is
sufficiently elastic and has a sufficiently low deformability for JKR theory to
be valid. When the cytoskeleton is disrupted, JKR theory is no longer
applicable
Criticality and Condensation in a Non-Conserving Zero Range Process
The Zero-Range Process, in which particles hop between sites on a lattice
under conserving dynamics, is a prototypical model for studying real-space
condensation. Within this model the system is critical only at the transition
point. Here we consider a non-conserving Zero-Range Process which is shown to
exhibit generic critical phases which exist in a range of creation and
annihilation parameters. The model also exhibits phases characterised by
mesocondensates each of which contains a subextensive number of particles. A
detailed phase diagram, delineating the various phases, is derived.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure, published versi
Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in a Non-Conserving Two-Species Driven Model
A two species particle model on an open chain with dynamics which is
non-conserving in the bulk is introduced. The dynamical rules which define the
model obey a symmetry between the two species. The model exhibits a rich
behavior which includes spontaneous symmetry breaking and localized shocks. The
phase diagram in several regions of parameter space is calculated within
mean-field approximation, and compared with Monte-Carlo simulations. In the
limit where fluctuations in the number of particles in the system are taken to
zero, an exact solution is obtained. We present and analyze a physical picture
which serves to explain the different phases of the model
Condensation Transitions in a One-Dimensional Zero-Range Process with a Single Defect Site
Condensation occurs in nonequilibrium steady states when a finite fraction of
particles in the system occupies a single lattice site. We study condensation
transitions in a one-dimensional zero-range process with a single defect site.
The system is analysed in the grand canonical and canonical ensembles and the
two are contrasted. Two distinct condensation mechanisms are found in the grand
canonical ensemble. Discrepancies between the infinite and large but finite
systems' particle current versus particle density diagrams are investigated and
an explanation for how the finite current goes above a maximum value predicted
for infinite systems is found in the canonical ensemble.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, revtex
Force dependent fragility in RNA hairpins
We apply Kramers theory to investigate the dissociation of multiple bonds
under mechanical force and interpret experimental results for the
unfolding/refolding force distributions of an RNA hairpin pulled at different
loading rates using laser tweezers. We identify two different kinetic regimes
depending on the range of forces explored during the unfolding and refolding
process. The present approach extends the range of validity of the two-states
approximation by providing a theoretical framework to reconstruct free-energy
landscapes and identify force-induced structural changes in molecular
transition states using single molecule pulling experiments. The method should
be applicable to RNA hairpins with multiple kinetic barriers.Comment: Latex file, 4 pages+3 figure
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