Pattern formation during diffusion limited transformations in solids

We develop a description of diffusion limited growth in solid-solid transformations, which are strongly influenced by elastic effects. Density differences and structural transformations provoke stresses at interfaces, which affect the phase equilibrium conditions. We formulate equations for the interface kinetics similar to dendritic growth and study the growth of a stable phase from a metastable solid in both a channel geometry and in free space. We perform sharp interface calculations based on Green's function methods and phase field simulations, supplemented by analytical investigations. For pure dilatational transformations we find a single growing finger with symmetry breaking at higher driving forces, whereas for shear transformations the emergence of twin structures can be favorable. We predict the steady state shapes and propagation velocities, which can be higher than in conventional dendritic growth.Comment: submitted to Philosophical Magazin

Counterion density profiles at charged flexible membranes

Counterion distributions at charged soft membranes are studied using perturbative analytical and simulation methods in both weak coupling (mean-field or Poisson-Boltzmann) and strong coupling limits. The softer the membrane, the more smeared out the counterion density profile becomes and counterions pentrate through the mean-membrane surface location, in agreement with anomalous scattering results. Membrane-charge repulsion leads to a short-scale roughening of the membrane.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Community Beat: Revealing the Hidden Rhythms of a Neighbourhood

We live our lives in world of hidden rhythms, but many of these rhythms were socially constructed many years ago and may no longer be best serving us. In this paper we present our concept for an interactive public display that aims to make people aware of some of these hidden rhythms and help us question how we make use of our time. We raise a number of design decisions to bring this concept to reality, and a number of research questions arising out of it

Эволюция информационных технологий и их роль в развитии экономики и общества

In Russia there is a problem of formation of information economy is one of the most pressing problems of our time. The information economy is needed for further stable development of the country and the subsequent introduction of Russia into the global economy

One-dimensional metallic behavior of the stripe phase in La2−x_{2-x}Srx_xCuO4_4

Using an exact diagonalization method within the dynamical mean-field theory we study stripe phases in the two-dimensional Hubbard model. We find a crossover at doping $\delta\simeq 0.05$ from diagonal stripes to vertical site-centered stripes with populated domain walls, stable in a broad range of doping, $0.05<\delta<0.17$. The calculated chemical potential shift $\propto -\delta^2$ and the doping dependence of the magnetic incommensurability are in quantitative agreement with the experimental results for doped La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$. The electronic structure shows one-dimensional metallic behavior along the domain walls, and explains the suppression of spectral weight along the Brillouin zone diagonal.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Field theoretic description of charge regulation interaction

In order to find the exact form of the electrostatic interaction between two proteins with dissociable charge groups in aqueous solution, we have studied a model system composed of two macroscopic surfaces with charge dissociation sites immersed in a counterion-only ionic solution. Field-theoretic representation of the grand canonical partition function is derived and evaluated within the mean-field approximation, giving the Poisson-Boltzmann theory with the Ninham-Parsegian boundary condition. Gaussian fluctuations around the mean-field are then analyzed in the lowest order correction that we calculate analytically and exactly, using the path integral representation for the partition function of a harmonic oscillator with time-dependent frequency. The first order (one loop) free energy correction gives the interaction free energy that reduces to the zero-frequency van der Waals form in the appropriate limit but in general gives rise to a mono-polar fluctuation term due to charge fluctuation at the dissociation sites. Our formulation opens up the possibility to investigate the Kirkwood-Shumaker interaction in more general contexts where their original derivation fails.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, submitted to EPJ

Quantum signatures in laser-driven relativistic multiple-scattering

The dynamics of an electronic Dirac wave packet evolving under the influence of an ultra-intense laser pulse and an ensemble of highly charged ions is investigated numerically. Special emphasis is placed on the evolution of quantum signatures from single to multiple scattering events. We quantify the occurrence of quantum relativistic interference fringes in various situations and stress their significance in multiple-particle systems, even in the relativistic range of laser-matter interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX, revtex

Solar Orbiter, a High-Resolution Mission to the Sun and Inner Heliosphere

Solar Orbiter will provide, at very high spatial (35 km pixel size) and temporal resolution, novel observations of the solar atmosphere and unexplored inner heliosphere, which will be made in the heliosynchronous segments of the orbits at heliocentric distances near 45 solar radii and out of the ecliptic plane at high heliographic latitudes up to 38°. The Solar Orbiter will achieve its wide-ranging scientific aims with a suite of sophisticated instruments through an innovative orbit design

Partially Annealed Disorder and Collapse of Like-Charged Macroions

Charged systems with partially annealed charge disorder are investigated using field-theoretic and replica methods. Charge disorder is assumed to be confined to macroion surfaces surrounded by a cloud of mobile neutralizing counterions in an aqueous solvent. A general formalism is developed by assuming that the disorder is partially annealed (with purely annealed and purely quenched disorder included as special cases), i.e., we assume in general that the disorder undergoes a slow dynamics relative to fast-relaxing counterions making it possible thus to study the stationary-state properties of the system using methods similar to those available in equilibrium statistical mechanics. By focusing on the specific case of two planar surfaces of equal mean surface charge and disorder variance, it is shown that partial annealing of the quenched disorder leads to renormalization of the mean surface charge density and thus a reduction of the inter-plate repulsion on the mean-field or weak-coupling level. In the strong-coupling limit, charge disorder induces a long-range attraction resulting in a continuous disorder-driven collapse transition for the two surfaces as the disorder variance exceeds a threshold value. Disorder annealing further enhances the attraction and, in the limit of low screening, leads to a global attractive instability in the system.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figure