8,020 research outputs found
Curvature-induced symmetry breaking in nonlinear Schrodinger models
We consider a curved chain of nonlinear oscillators and show that the
interplay of curvature and nonlinearity leads to a symmetry breaking when an
asymmetric stationary state becomes energetically more favorable than a
symmetric stationary state. We show that the energy of localized states
decreases with increasing curvature, i.e. bending is a trap for nonlinear
excitations. A violation of the Vakhitov-Kolokolov stability criterium is found
in the case where the instability is due to the softening of the Peierls
internal mode.Comment: 4 pages (LaTex) with 6 figures (EPS
The extra-tropical Northern Hemisphere temperature in the last two millennia: reconstructions of low-frequency variability
We present two new multi-proxy reconstructions of the extra-tropical Northern Hemisphere (30–90° N) mean temperature: a two-millennia long reconstruction reaching back to 1 AD and a 500-yr long reconstruction reaching back to 1500 AD. The reconstructions are based on compilations of 32 and 91 proxies, respectively, of which only little more than half pass a screening procedure and are included in the actual reconstructions. The proxies are of different types and of different resolutions (annual, annual-to-decadal, and decadal) but all have previously been shown to relate to local or regional temperature. We use a reconstruction method, LOCal (LOC), that recently has been shown to confidently reproduce low-frequency variability. Confidence intervals are obtained by an ensemble pseudo-proxy method that both estimates the variance and the bias of the reconstructions. The two-millennia long reconstruction shows a well defined Medieval Warm Period, with a peak warming ca. 950–1050 AD reaching 0.6 °C relative to the reference period 1880–1960 AD. The 500-yr long reconstruction confirms previous results obtained with the LOC method applied to a smaller proxy compilation; in particular it shows the Little Ice Age cumulating in 1580–1720 AD with a temperature minimum of −1.0 °C below the reference period. The reconstructed local temperatures, the magnitude of which are subject to wide confidence intervals, show a rather geographically homogeneous Little Ice Age, while more geographical inhomogeneities are found for the Medieval Warm Period. Reconstructions based on different subsets of proxies show only small differences, suggesting that LOC reconstructs 50-yr smoothed extra-tropical NH mean temperatures well and that low-frequency noise in the proxies is a relatively small problem
Discovery of TUG-770: a highly potent free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFA1/GPR40) agonist for treatment of type 2 diabetes
Free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFA1 or GPR40) enhances glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells and currently attracts high interest as a new target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We here report the discovery of a highly potent FFA1 agonist with favorable physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties. The compound efficiently normalizes glucose tolerance in diet-induced obese mice, an effect that is fully sustained after 29 days of chronic dosing
Models for energy and charge transport and storage in biomolecules
Two models for energy and charge transport and storage in biomolecules are
considered. A model based on the discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation with
long-range dispersive interactions (LRI's) between base pairs of DNA is offered
for the description of nonlinear dynamics of the DNA molecule. We show that
LRI's are responsible for the existence of an interval of bistability where two
stable stationary states, a narrow, pinned state and a broad, mobile state,
coexist at each value of the total energy. The possibility of controlled
switching between pinned and mobile states is demonstrated. The mechanism could
be important for controlling energy storage and transport in DNA molecules.
Another model is offered for the description of nonlinear excitations in
proteins and other anharmonic biomolecules. We show that in the highly
anharmonic systems a bound state of Davydov and Boussinesq solitons can exist.Comment: 12 pages (latex), 12 figures (ps
Stationary and moving breathers in a simplified model of curved alpha--helix proteins
The existence, stability and movability of breathers in a model for
alpha-helix proteins is studied. This model basically consists a chain of
dipole moments parallel to it. The existence of localized linear modes brings
about that the system has a characteristic frequency, which depends on the
curvature of the chain. Hard breathers are stable, while soft ones experiment
subharmonic instabilities that preserve, however the localization. Moving
breathers can travel across the bending point for small curvature and are
reflected when it is increased. No trapping of breathers takes place.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure
Theory of Activated Transport in Bilayer Quantum Hall Systems
We analyze the transport properties of bilayer quantum Hall systems at total
filling factor in drag geometries as a function of interlayer bias, in
the limit where the disorder is sufficiently strong to unbind meron-antimeron
pairs, the charged topological defects of the system. We compute the typical
energy barrier for these objects to cross incompressible regions within the
disordered system using a Hartree-Fock approach, and show how this leads to
multiple activation energies when the system is biased. We then demonstrate
using a bosonic Chern-Simons theory that in drag geometries, current in a
single layer directly leads to forces on only two of the four types of merons,
inducing dissipation only in the drive layer. Dissipation in the drag layer
results from interactions among the merons, resulting in very different
temperature dependences for the drag and drive layers, in qualitative agreement
with experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Numerical study of breathers in a bent chain of oscillators with long-range interaction
Most of the studies of breathers in networks of oscillators are limited to nextneighbour
interaction. However, long-range interaction becomes critical when
the geometry of the chain is taken into account, as the distance between
oscillators and, therefore, the coupling, depends on the shape of the system.
In this paper we analyse the existence and stability of breathers, i.e. localized
oscillations in a simple model for a bent chain of oscillators with long-range
interaction.European Union HPRN–CT–1999–0016
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