740 research outputs found
Uniaxial and biaxial soft deformations of nematic elastomers
We give a geometric interpretation of the soft elastic deformation modes of
nematic elastomers, with explicit examples, for both uniaxial and biaxial
nematic order. We show the importance of body rotations in this non-classical
elasticity and how the invariance under rotations of the reference and target
states gives soft elasticity (the Golubovic and Lubensky theorem). The role of
rotations makes the Polar Decomposition Theorem vital for decomposing general
deformations into body rotations and symmetric strains. The role of the square
roots of tensors is discussed in this context and that of finding explicit
forms for soft deformations (the approach of Olmsted).Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, RevTex, AmsTe
Direct observation of t2g orbital ordering in magnetite
Using soft-x-ray diffraction at the site-specific resonances in the Fe L23
edge, we find clear evidence for orbital and charge ordering in magnetite below
the Verwey transition. The spectra show directly that the (001/2) diffraction
peak (in cubic notation) is caused by t2g orbital ordering at octahedral Fe2+
sites and the (001) by a spatial modulation of the t2g occupation.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Phase Diagram of Spinless Fermions on an Anisotropic Triangular Lattice at Half-filling
The strong coupling phase diagram of the spinless fermions on the anisotropic
triangular lattice at half-filling is presented. The geometry of inter-site
Coulomb interactions rules the phase diagram. Unconventional charge ordered
phases are detected which are the recently reported pinball liquid and the
striped chains. Both are induced by the quantum dynamics out of classical
disordered states and afford extremely correlated metallic states and the
particular domain wall-type of excitations, respectively. The disorder once
killed by the quantum effect revives at the finite temperature, which is
discussed in the terms of the organic -ET.Comment: 4pages 6figure
High-energy photoemission on Fe3O4: Small polaron physics and the Verwey transition
We have studied the electronic structure and charge ordering (Verwey)
transition of magnetite (Fe3O4) by soft x-ray photoemission. Due to the
enhanced probing depth and the use of different surface preparations we are
able to distinguish surface and volume effects in the spectra. The pseudogap
behavior of the intrinsic spectra and its temperature dependence give evidence
for the existence of strongly bound small polarons consistent with both dc and
optical conductivity. Together with other recent structural and theoretical
results our findings support a picture in which the Verwey transition contains
elements of a cooperative Jahn-Teller effect, stabilized by local Coulomb
interaction
Abrupt grain boundary melting in ice
The effect of impurities on the grain boundary melting of ice is investigated
through an extension of Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory, in which we
include retarded potential effects in a calculation of the full frequency
dependent van der Waals and Coulombic interactions within a grain boundary. At
high dopant concentrations the classical solutal effect dominates the melting
behavior. However, depending on the amount of impurity and the surface charge
density, as temperature decreases, the attractive tail of the dispersion force
interaction begins to compete effectively with the repulsive screened Coulomb
interaction. This leads to a film-thickness/temperature curve that changes
depending on the relative strengths of these interactions and exhibits a
decrease in the film thickness with increasing impurity level. More striking is
the fact that at very large film thicknesses, the repulsive Coulomb interaction
can be effectively screened leading to an abrupt reduction to zero film
thickness.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur
Motor skill learning in the middle-aged: limited development of motor chunks and explicit sequence knowledge
The present study examined whether middle-aged participants, like young adults, learn movement patterns by preparing and executing integrated sequence representations (i.e., motor chunks) that eliminate the need for external guidance of individual movements. Twenty-four middle-aged participants (aged 55–62) practiced two fixed key press sequences, one including three and one including six key presses in the discrete sequence production task. Their performance was compared with that of 24 young adults (aged 18–28). In the middle-aged participants motor chunks as well as explicit sequence knowledge appeared to be less developed than in the young adults. This held especially with respect to the unstructured 6-key sequences in which most middle-aged did not develop independence of the key-specific stimuli and learning seems to have been based on associative learning. These results are in line with the notion that sequence learning involves several mechanisms and that aging affects the relative contribution of these mechanisms
Polymer Induced Bundling of F-actin and the Depletion Force
The inert polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) induces a "bundling" phenomenon
in F-actin solutions when its concentration exceeds a critical onset value C_o.
Over a limited range of PEG molecular weight and ionic strength, C_o can be
expressed as a function of these two variables. The process is reversible, but
hysteresis is also observed in the dissolution of the bundles, with ionic
strength having a large influence. Additional actin filaments are able to join
previously formed bundles. Little, if any, polymer is associated with the
bundle structure.
Continuum estimates of the Asakura-Oosawa depletion force, Coulomb repulsion,
and van der Waals potential are combined for a partial explanation of the
bundling effect and hysteresis. Conjectures are presented concerning the
apparent limit in bundle size
Poisson-Boltzmann Theory of Charged Colloids: Limits of the Cell Model for Salty Suspensions
Thermodynamic properties of charge-stabilised colloidal suspensions are
commonly modeled by implementing the mean-field Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theory
within a cell model. This approach models a bulk system by a single macroion,
together with counterions and salt ions, confined to a symmetrically shaped,
electroneutral cell. While easing solution of the nonlinear PB equation, the
cell model neglects microion-induced correlations between macroions, precluding
modeling of macroion ordering phenomena. An alternative approach, avoiding
artificial constraints of cell geometry, maps a macroion-microion mixture onto
a one-component model of pseudo-macroions governed by effective interactions.
In practice, effective-interaction models are usually based on linear screening
approximations, which can accurately describe nonlinear screening only by
incorporating an effective (renormalized) macroion charge. Combining charge
renormalization and linearized PB theories, in both the cell model and an
effective-interaction (cell-free) model, we compute osmotic pressures of highly
charged colloids and monovalent microions over a range of concentrations. By
comparing predictions with primitive model simulation data for salt-free
suspensions, and with predictions of nonlinear PB theory for salty suspensions,
we chart the limits of both the cell model and linear-screening approximations
in modeling bulk thermodynamic properties. Up to moderately strong
electrostatic couplings, the cell model proves accurate in predicting osmotic
pressures of deionized suspensions. With increasing salt concentration,
however, the relative contribution of macroion interactions grows, leading
predictions of the cell and effective-interaction models to deviate. No
evidence is found for a liquid-vapour phase instability driven by monovalent
microions. These results may guide applications of PB theory to soft materials.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, special issue of Journal of Physics: Condensed
Matter on "Classical density functional theory methods in soft and hard
matter
Theory of orientational ordering in colloidal molecular crystals
Freezing of charged colloids on square or triangular two-dimensional periodic
substrates has been recently shown to realize a rich variety of orientational
orders. We propose a theoretical framework to analyze the corresponding
structures. A fundamental ingredient is that a non spherical charged object in
an electrolyte creates a screened electrostatic potential that is anisotropic
at any distance. Our approach is in excellent agreement with the known
experimental and numerical results, and explains in simple terms the reentrant
orientational melting observed in these so called colloidal molecular crystals.
We also investigate the case of a rectangular periodic substrate and predict an
unusual phase transition between orientationnaly ordered states, as the aspect
ratio of the unit cell is changed.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
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