424 research outputs found
Entropic Elasticity of Phantom Percolation Networks
A new method is used to measure the stress and elastic constants of purely
entropic phantom networks, in which a fraction of neighbors are tethered by
inextensible bonds. We find that close to the percolation threshold the
shear modulus behaves as , where the exponent in two
dimensions, and in three dimensions, close to the corresponding
values of the conductivity exponent in random resistor networks. The components
of the stiffness tensor (elastic constants) of the spanning cluster follow a
power law , with an exponent and 2.6 in two and
three dimensions, respectively.Comment: submitted to the Europhys. Lett., 7 pages, 5 figure
Globular Structures of a Helix-Coil Copolymer: Self-Consistent Treatment
A self-consistent field theory was developed in the grand-canonical ensemble
formulation to study transitions in a helix-coil multiblock globule. Helical
and coil parts are treated as stiff rods and self-avoiding walks of variable
lengths correspondingly. The resulting field-theory takes, in addition to the
conventional Zimm-Bragg (B.H. Zimm, I.K. Bragg, J. Chem. Phys. 31, 526 (1959))
parameters, also three-dimensional interaction terms into account. The
appropriate differential equations which determine the self-consistent fields
were solved numerically with finite element method. Three different phase
states are found: open chain, amorphous globule and nematic liquid-crystalline
(LC) globule. The LC-globule formation is driven by the interplay between the
hydrophobic helical segments attraction and the anisotropic globule surface
energy of an entropic nature. The full phase diagram of the helix-coil
copolymer was calculated and thoroughly discussed. The suggested theory shows a
clear interplay between secondary and tertiary structures in globular
homopolypeptides.Comment: 26 pages, 30 figures, corrected some typo
Current large deviations in a driven dissipative model
We consider lattice gas diffusive dynamics with creation-annihilation in the
bulk and maintained out of equilibrium by two reservoirs at the boundaries.
This stochastic particle system can be viewed as a toy model for granular gases
where the energy is injected at the boundary and dissipated in the bulk. The
large deviation functional for the particle currents flowing through the system
is computed and some physical consequences are discussed: the mechanism for
local current fluctuations, dynamical phase transitions, the
fluctuation-relation
Algebraic Correlation Function and Anomalous Diffusion in the HMF model
In the quasi-stationary states of the Hamiltonian Mean-Field model, we
numerically compute correlation functions of momenta and diffusion of angles
with homogeneous initial conditions. This is an example, in a N-body
Hamiltonian system, of anomalous transport properties characterized by non
exponential relaxations and long-range temporal correlations. Kinetic theory
predicts a striking transition between weak anomalous diffusion and strong
anomalous diffusion. The numerical results are in excellent agreement with the
quantitative predictions of the anomalous transport exponents. Noteworthy, also
at statistical equilibrium, the system exhibits long-range temporal
correlations: the correlation function is inversely proportional to time with a
logarithmic correction instead of the usually expected exponential decay,
leading to weak anomalous transport properties
Características físico-químicas de meis produzidos por espécies de meliponíneos.
Além da abelhas Africanizadas (Apis mellifera L.), as abelhas indígenas sem ferrão ou meliponíneos (Meliponinae) são potenciais produtoras de mel. Esse produto apresenta carcterísticas distintas do mel produzido pelas abelhas do gênero Apis, sendo muito apreciado pelos consumidores. Entretanto, são escassos os dados científicos a respeito da composição desse mel na literatura nacional e internacional. A proposta deste trabalho é avaliar as características físico-químicas do mel produzido por meliponíneos. As análises físico-químico foram realizadas de acordo com as técnicas descritas pela AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemists), e pela European Honey Comission, conforme recomendado pela CAC (Codex Alimentarius Comission). Os resultados obtidos reforçam a necessidade do desenvolvimento de um padrão próprio para os méis de abelhas sem ferrão, incluindo critérios microbiológicos.Disponível também em: Cadernos de Agroecologia, V. 5, n.1, 2010
Damped finite-time-singularity driven by noise
We consider the combined influence of linear damping and noise on a dynamical
finite-time-singularity model for a single degree of freedom. We find that the
noise effectively resolves the finite-time-singularity and replaces it by a
first-passage-time or absorbing state distribution with a peak at the
singularity and a long time tail. The damping introduces a characteristic
cross-over time. In the early time regime the probability distribution and
first-passage-time distribution show a power law behavior with scaling exponent
depending on the ratio of the non linear coupling strength to the noise
strength. In the late time regime the behavior is controlled by the damping.
The study might be of relevance in the context of hydrodynamics on a nanometer
scale, in material physics, and in biophysics.Comment: 9 pages, 4 eps-figures, revtex4 fil
Dynamical analysis and constraints for the HD 196885 system
The HD\,196885 system is composed of a binary star and a planet orbiting the
primary. The orbit of the binary is fully constrained by astrometry, but for
the planet the inclination with respect to the plane of the sky and the
longitude of the node are unknown. Here we perform a full analysis of the
HD\,196885 system by exploring the two free parameters of the planet and
choosing different sets of angular variables. We find that the most likely
configurations for the planet is either nearly coplanar orbits (prograde and
retrograde), or highly inclined orbits near the Lidov-Kozai equilibrium points,
i = 44^{\circ} or i = 137^{\circ} . Among coplanar orbits, the retrograde ones
appear to be less chaotic, while for the orbits near the Lidov-Kozai
equilibria, those around \omega= 270^{\circ} are more reliable, where \omega_k
is the argument of pericenter of the planet's orbit with respect to the
binary's orbit.
From the observer's point of view (plane of the sky) stable areas are
restricted to (I1, \Omega_1) \sim (65^{\circ}, 80^{\circ}),
(65^{\circ},260^{\circ}), (115^{\circ},80^{\circ}), and
(115^{\circ},260^{\circ}), where I1 is the inclination of the planet and
\Omega_1 is the longitude of ascending node.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. A&A Accepte
Viscoelasticity near the gel-point: a molecular dynamics study
We report on extensive molecular dynamics simulations on systems of soft
spheres of functionality f, i.e. particles that are capable of bonding
irreversibly with a maximum of f other particles. These bonds are randomly
distributed throughout the system and imposed with probability p. At a critical
concentration of bonds, p_c approximately equal to 0.2488 for f=6, a gel is
formed and the shear viscosity \eta diverges according to \eta ~ (p_c-p)^{-s}.
We find s is approximately 0.7 in agreement with some experiments and with a
recent theoretical prediction based on Rouse dynamics of phantom chains. The
diffusion constant decreases as the gel point is approached but does not
display a well-defined power law.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Scale-free center-of-mass displacement correlations in dense polymer solutions and melts without topological constraints and momentum conservation: A bond-fluctuation model study
By Monte Carlo simulations of a variant of the bond-fluctuation model without
topological constraints we examine the center-of-mass (COM) dynamics of polymer
melts in dimensions. Our analysis focuses on the COM displacement
correlation function \CN(t) \approx \partial_t^2 \MSDcmN(t)/2, measuring the
curvature of the COM mean-square displacement \MSDcmN(t). We demonstrate that
\CN(t) \approx -(\RN/\TN)^2 (\rhostar/\rho) \ f(x=t/\TN) with being the
chain length (), \RN\sim N^{1/2} the typical chain size,
\TN\sim N^2 the longest chain relaxation time, the monomer density,
\rhostar \approx N/\RN^d the self-density and a universal function
decaying asymptotically as with where for and for . We
argue that the algebraic decay N \CN(t) \sim - t^{-5/4} for t \ll \TN
results from an interplay of chain connectivity and melt incompressibility
giving rise to the correlated motion of chains and subchains.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure
Fluctuations in granular gases
A driven granular material, e.g. a vibrated box full of sand, is a stationary
system which may be very far from equilibrium. The standard equilibrium
statistical mechanics is therefore inadequate to describe fluctuations in such
a system. Here we present numerical and analytical results concerning energy
and injected power fluctuations. In the first part we explain how the study of
the probability density function (pdf) of the fluctuations of total energy is
related to the characterization of velocity correlations. Two different regimes
are addressed: the gas driven at the boundaries and the homogeneously driven
gas. In a granular gas, due to non-Gaussianity of the velocity pdf or lack of
homogeneity in hydrodynamics profiles, even in the absence of velocity
correlations, the fluctuations of total energy are non-trivial and may lead to
erroneous conclusions about the role of correlations. In the second part of the
chapter we take into consideration the fluctuations of injected power in driven
granular gas models. Recently, real and numerical experiments have been
interpreted as evidence that the fluctuations of power injection seem to
satisfy the Gallavotti-Cohen Fluctuation Relation. We will discuss an
alternative interpretation of such results which invalidates the
Gallavotti-Cohen symmetry. Moreover, starting from the Liouville equation and
using techniques from large deviation theory, the general validity of a
Fluctuation Relation for power injection in driven granular gases is
questioned. Finally a functional is defined using the Lebowitz-Spohn approach
for Markov processes applied to the linear inelastic Boltzmann equation
relevant to describe the motion of a tracer particle. Such a functional results
to be different from injected power and to satisfy a Fluctuation Relation.Comment: 40 pages, 18 figure
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