Mechanochemical enzymes and protein machines as hydrodynamic force dipoles: The active dimer model

Mechanochemically active enzymes change their shapes within every turnover cycle. Therefore, they induce circulating flows in the solvent around them and behave as oscillating hydrodynamic force dipoles. Because of non-equilibrium fluctuating flows collectively generated by the enzymes, mixing in the solution and diffusion of passive particles within it are expected to get enhanced. Here, we investigate the intensity and statistical properties of such force dipoles in the minimal active dimer model of a mechanochemical enzyme. In the framework of this model, novel estimates for hydrodynamic collective effects in solution and in lipid bilayers under rapid rotational diffusion are derived, and available experimental and computational data is examined

Developing Cloud Chambers with High School Students

The result and outcome of the \textit{cloud chamber project}, which aims to develop a cloud chamber useful for science education is reported in detail. A project includes both three high school students and a teacher as a part of Super Science High School (SSH) program in our school. We develop a dry-ice-free cloud chamber using salt and ice (or snow). Technical details of the chamber are described. We also argue how the project have affected student's cognition, motivation, academic skills and behavior. The research project has taken steps of professional researchers, i.e., in planning research, applying fund, writing a paper and giving a talk in conferences. From interviews with students, we have learnt that such style of scientific activity is very effective in promoting student's motivation for learning science.Comment: 9 pages, accepted to the proceedings of APPC12 - the 12th Asia Pacific Physics Conferenc

Production of the pentaquark Θ+\Theta^+ in npnp scattering

We study $np\to \Lambda\Theta^{+}$ and $np\to \Sigma^{0}\Theta^{+}$ processes for both of the positive and negative parities of the $\Theta^{+}$. Employing the effective chiral Lagrangians for the $KNY$ and $K^*NY$ interactions, we calculate differential cross sections as well as total cross sections for the $np\to \Sigma^0 \Theta^+$ and $np\to \Lambda\Theta^+$ reactions. The total cross sections for the positive-parity $\Theta^+$ turn out to be approximately ten times larger than those for the negative parity $\Theta^+$ in the range of the CM energy $\sqrt{s}_{\rm th}\le \sqrt{s}\le 3.5 {\rm GeV}$. The results are rather sensitive to the mechanism of $K$ exchanges in the $t$ -- channel.Comment: 9 pages and 11 figure

Exotic Tetraquark ud bar[s] bar[s] of J^P=0^+ in the QCD Sum Rule

We study a QCD sum rule analysis for an exotic tetraquark ud bar[s] bar[s] of J^P=0^+ and I = 1. We construct q q bar[q] bar[q] currents in a local product form and find that there are five independent currents for this channel. Due to high dimensional nature of the current, it is not easy to form a good sum rule when using a single current. This means that we do not find any sum rule window to extract reliable results, due to the insufficient convergence of the OPE and to the exceptional important role of QCD continuum. Then we examine sum rules by using currents of linear combinations of two currents among the independent ones. We find two reasonable cases that predict a mass of the tetraquark around 1.5 GeV.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, revised versio

Baryons with U_L(3)*U_R(3) Chiral Symmetry IV: Interactions with Chiral (8,1)+(1,8) Vector and Axial-vector Mesons and Anomalous Magnetic Moments

We construct all SU_L(3)*SU_R(3) chirally invariant anomalous magnetic, i.e. involving a Pauli tensor and one-derivative, interactions of one chiral-[(8,1)+(1,8)] meson field with chiral-[(6,3)+(3,6)], [(3,\bar3)+(\bar3,3)], and [(8,1)+(1,8)] baryon fields and their "mirror" images. We find strong chiral selection rules: e.g. there is only one off-diagonal chirally symmetric anomalous magnetic interaction between J=1/2 fields belonging to the [(6,3)+(3,6)] and the [(3,\bar3)+(\bar3,3)] chiral multiplets. We also study the chiral selection rules for the anomalous magnetic interactions of the [(3,\bar3)+(\bar3,3)] and the [(8,1)+(1,8)] baryon fields. Again, no diagonal and only one off-diagonal chiral SU_L(3)*SU_R(3) interaction of this type is allowed, that turns out also to conserve the U_A(1) symmetry. We calculate the F/D ratios for the baryons' anomalous magnetic moments predicted by these interactions in the SU(3) symmetry limit and find that only the [(6,3)+(3,6)]-[(3,\bar3)+(\bar3,3)] one, reproduces F/D=1/3, in close proximity to the value extracted from experiment.Comment: 16 pages, 2 tables, accepted by PR

Exotic mesons with hidden charm and bottom near thresholds

We study heavy hadron spectroscopy near heavy meson thresholds. We employ heavy pseudoscalar meson P and heavy vector meson P* as effective degrees of freedom and consider meson exchange potentials between them. All possible composite states which can be constructed from the P and P* mesons are studied up to the total angular momentum J <= 2. We consider, as exotic states, isosinglet states with exotic J^{PC} quantum numbers and isotriplet states. We solve numerically the Schr\"odinger equation with channel-couplings for each state. We found B(*)barB(*) molecule states for I^G(J^{PC}) = 1^+(1^{+-}) correspond to the masses of twin resonances Zb(10610) and Zb(10650). We predict several possible B(*)barB(*) bound and/or resonant states in other channels. On the other hand, there are no B(*)barB(*) bound and/or resonant states whose quantum numbers are exotic.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of The 5th International Workshop on Charm Physics (Charm 2012

Chiral symmetry breaking and stability of strangelets

We discuss the stability of strangelets by considering dynamical chiral symmetry breaking and confinement. We use a $U(3)_{L} \times U(3)_{R}$ symmetric Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model for chiral symmetry breaking supplemented by a boundary condition for confinement. It is shown that strangelets with baryon number $A < 2 \times 10^{3}$ can stably exist. For the observables, we obtain the masses and the charge-to-baryon number ratios of the strangelets. These quantities are compared with the observed data of the exotic particles.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Chiral Sigma Model with Pion Mean Field in Finite Nuclei

The properties of infinite matter and finite nuclei are studied by using the chiral sigma model in the framework of the relativistic mean field theory. We reconstruct an extended chiral sigma model in which the omega meson mass is generated dynamically by the sigma condensation in the vacuum in the same way as the nucleon mass. All the parameters of chiral sigma model are essentially fixed from the hadron properties in the free space. In nuclear matter, the saturation property comes out right, but the incompressibility is too large and the scalar and vector potentials are about a half of the phenomenological ones, respectively. This fact is reflected to the properties of finite nuclei. We calculate N = Z even-even mass nuclei between N = 16 and N = 34. The extended chiral sigma model without the pion mean field leads to the result that the magic number appears at N = 18 instead of N = 20 and the magic number does not appear at N = 28 due to the above mentioned nuclear matter properties. The latter problem, however, could be removed by the introduction of the finite pion mean field with the appearance of the magic number at N = 28. We find that the energy differences between the spin-orbit partners are reproduced by the finite pion mean field which is completely a different mechanism from the standard spin-orbit interaction.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures. Prog. Theor. Phys. to be publishe