Saddles and softness in simple model liquids

We report a numerical study of saddles properties of the potential energy landscape for soft spheres with different softness, i.e. different power n of the interparticle repulsive potential. We find that saddle-based quantities rescale into master curves once energies and temperatures are scaled by mode-coupling temperature T_MCT, confirming and generalizing previous findings obtained for Lennard-Jones like models.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figure

Landscapes and Fragilities

The concept of fragility provides a possibility to rank different supercooled liquids on the basis of the temperature dependence of dynamic and/or thermodynamic quantities. We recall here the definitions of kinetic and thermodynamic fragility proposed in the last years and discuss their interrelations. At the same time we analyze some recently introduced models for the statistical properties of the potential energy landscape. Building on the Adam-Gibbs relation, which connects structural relaxation times to configurational entropy, we analyze the relation between statistical properties of the landscape and fragility. We call attention to the fact that the knowledge of number, energy depth and shape of the basins of the potential energy landscape may not be sufficient for predicting fragility. Finally, we discuss two different possibilities for generating strong behavior.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures; accepted version, minor correction

On the return period and design in a multivariate framework

Abstract. Calculating return periods and design quantiles in a multivariate environment is a difficult problem: this paper tries to make the issue clear. First, we outline a possible way to introduce a consistent theoretical framework for the calculation of the return period in a multi-dimensional environment, based on Copulas and the Kendall's measure. Secondly, we introduce several approaches for the identification of suitable design events: these latter quantities are of utmost importance in practical applications, but their calculation is yet limited, due to the lack of an adequate theoretical environment where to embed the problem. Throughout the paper, a case study involving the behavior of a dam is used to illustrate the new concepts outlined in this work

The Star Formation Law in Nearby Galaxies on Sub-Kpc Scales

(Abridged) We present a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between star formation rate surface density (SFR SD) and gas surface density (gas SD) at sub-kpc resolution in a sample of 18 nearby galaxies. We use high resolution HI data from THINGS, CO data from HERACLES and BIMA SONG, 24 micron data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, and UV data from GALEX. We target 7 spiral galaxies and 11 late-type/dwarf galaxies and investigate how the star formation law differs between the H2-dominated centers of spiral galaxies, their HI-dominated outskirts and the HI-rich late-type/dwarf galaxies. We find that a Schmidt-type power law with index N=1.0+-0.2 relates the SFR SD and the H2 SD across our sample of spiral galaxies, i.e., that H2 forms stars at a constant efficiency in spirals. The average molecular gas depletion time is ~2*10^9 yrs. We interpret the linear relation and constant depletion time as evidence that stars are forming in GMCs with approximately uniform properties and that the H2 SD may be more a measure of the filling fraction of giant molecular clouds than changing conditions in the molecular gas. The relationship between total gas SD and SFR SD varies dramatically among and within spiral galaxies. Most galaxies show little or no correlation between the HI SD and the SFR SD. As a result, the star formation efficiency (SFE = SFR SD / gas SD) varies strongly across our sample and within individual galaxies. We show that in spirals the SFE is a clear function of radius, while the dwarf galaxies in our sample display SFEs similar to those found in the outer optical disks of the spirals. Another general feature of our sample is a sharp saturation of the HI SD at ~9 M_sol/pc^2 in both the spiral and dwarf galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in the AJ special THINGS issue. For a high-resolution version visit: http://www.mpia.de/THINGS/Publications.htm

Dynamics of uniaxial hard ellipsoids

We study the dynamics of monodisperse hard ellipsoids via a new event-driven molecular dynamics algorithm as a function of volume fraction $\phi$ and aspect ratio $X_0$. We evaluate the translational $D_{trans}$ and the rotational $D_{rot}$ diffusion coefficient and the associated isodiffusivity lines in the $\phi-X_0$ plane. We observe a decoupling of the translational and rotational dynamics which generates an almost perpendicular crossing of the $D_{trans}$ and $D_{rot}$ isodiffusivity lines. While the self intermediate scattering function exhibits stretched relaxation, i.e. glassy dynamics, only for large $\phi$ and $X_0 \approx 1$, the second order orientational correlator $C_2(t)$ shows stretching only for large and small $X_0$ values. We discuss these findings in the context of a possible pre-nematic order driven glass transition.Comment: accepted by Phys. Rev. Let

PINK1 homozygous W437X mutation in a patient with apparent dominant transmission of parkinsonism.

We analyzed the PINK1 gene in 58 patients with early-onset Parkinsonism and detected the homozygous mutation W437X in 1 patient. The clinical phenotype was characterized by early onset (22 years of age), good re- sponse to levodopa, early fluctuations and dyskinesias, and psychiatric symptoms. The mother, heterozygote for W437X mutation, was affected by Parkinson’s disease and 3 further relatives were reported affected, according to an autosomal dominant transmission

Linac4 DTL Prototype: Theoretical Model, Simulation and Low Energy Measurements

A one meter long hot prototype of the LINAC4 DTL, built in a collaboration with INFN Legnaro, was delivered to CERN in 2008. It was then copper plated at CERN is and is presently prepared for high-power testing at the CERN test stand in SM18. In this paper we present 2D/3D simulations and the first RF low-power measurements to verify the electromagnetic properties of the cavity and to tune it before the high-power RF tests. In particular, the influence of the post couplers was studied in order to guarantee stabilization of the accelerating field during operation. We present an equivalent circuit model of the DTL, together with a comparison of 3D simulations and measurement results for the hot model

Dynamical and photometric imprints of feedback processes on the early evolution of E/S0 galaxies

We show that the observed Velocity Dispersion Function of E/S0 galaxies matches strikingly well the distribution function of virial velocities of massive halos virializing at z > 1.5, as predicted by the standard hierarchical clustering scenario in a \LambdaCDM cosmology, for a constant ratio sigma/V_vir = 0.55 \pm 0.05, close to the value expected at virialization if it typically occurred at z > 3. This strongly suggests that dissipative processes and later merging events had little impact on the matter density profile. Adopting the above sigma/V_vir ratio, the observed relationships between photometric and dynamical properties which define the fundamental plane of elliptical galaxies, such as the luminosity-sigma (Faber-Jackson) and the luminosity-effective radius relations, as well as the M_BH-sigma relation, are nicely reproduced. Their shapes turn out to be determined by the mutual feedback of star-formation (and supernova explosions)and nuclear activity, along the lines discussed by Granato et al. (2004). To our knowledge, this is the first semi-analytic model for which simultaneous fits of the fundamental plane relations and of the epoch-dependent luminosity function of spheroidal galaxies have been presented.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Ap

Clustering of concurrent flood risks via Hazard Scenarios

The study of multiple effects of a number of variables, and the assessment of the corresponding environmental risks, may require the adoption of suitable multivariate models when the variables at play are dependent, as it often happens in environmental studies. In this work, the flood risks in a given region are investigated, in order to identify specific spatial sub-regions (clusters) where the floods show a similar behavior with respect to suitable multivariate) criteria. The reason of the work is three-fold, and the outcomes have deep implications in the hydrological practice: (i) such a regionalization (as it is called in hydrology) may provide useful indications for deciding which gauge stations have a similar (stochastic) behavior; (ii) the spatial clustering may represent a valuable tool for investigating ungauged basins present in a given ‘‘homogeneous’’ Region; (iii) the estimate of extreme design values may be improved by using all the observations collected in a cluster (instead of only single-station data). For this purpose, a Copulabased Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering algorithm – a key tool in geosciences for the analysis of the dependence information – is proposed. The procedure is illustrated via a case study involving the Po river basin, the largest Italian one. A comparison with a previous attempt to cluster the gauge stations present in the same spatial region is also carried out. The sub-regions picked out by the clustering procedure outlined here agree with previous results obtained via heuristic hydrological and meteorological reasonings, and identify spatial areas characterized by similar flood regimes

Scaling of dynamics with the range of interaction in short-range attractive colloids

We numerically study the dependence of the dynamics on the range of interaction $\Delta$ for the short-range square well potential. We find that, for small $\Delta$, dynamics scale exactly in the same way as thermodynamics, both for Newtonian and Brownian microscopic dynamics. For interaction ranges from a few percent down to the Baxter limit, the relative location of the attractive glass line and the liquid-gas line does not depend on $\Delta$. This proves that in this class of potentials, disordered arrested states (gels) can be generated only as a result of a kinetically arrested phase separation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure