27,845 research outputs found
Effective interactions between star polymers
We study numerically the effective pair potential between star polymers with
equal arm lengths and equal number of arms. The simulations were done for
the soft core Domb-Joyce model on the simple cubic lattice, to minimize
corrections to scaling and to allow for an unlimited number of arms. For the
sampling, we used the pruned-enriched Rosenbluth method (PERM). We find that
the potential is much less soft than claimed in previous papers, in particular
for . While we verify the logarithmic divergence of , with
being the distance between the two cores, predicted by Witten and Pincus, we
find for that the Mayer function is hardly distinguishable from that for
a Gaussian potential.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Dragging a polymer chain into a nanotube and subsequent release
We present a scaling theory and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation results for a
flexible polymer chain slowly dragged by one end into a nanotube. We also
describe the situation when the completely confined chain is released and
gradually leaves the tube. MC simulations were performed for a self-avoiding
lattice model with a biased chain growth algorithm, the pruned-enriched
Rosenbluth method. The nanotube is a long channel opened at one end and its
diameter is much smaller than the size of the polymer coil in solution. We
analyze the following characteristics as functions of the chain end position
inside the tube: the free energy of confinement, the average end-to-end
distance, the average number of imprisoned monomers, and the average stretching
of the confined part of the chain for various values of and for the number
of monomers in the chain, . We show that when the chain end is dragged by a
certain critical distance into the tube, the polymer undergoes a
first-order phase transition whereby the remaining free tail is abruptly sucked
into the tube. This is accompanied by jumps in the average size, the number of
imprisoned segments, and in the average stretching parameter. The critical
distance scales as . The transition takes place when
approximately 3/4 of the chain units are dragged into the tube. The theory
presented is based on constructing the Landau free energy as a function of an
order parameter that provides a complete description of equilibrium and
metastable states. We argue that if the trapped chain is released with all
monomers allowed to fluctuate, the reverse process in which the chain leaves
the confinement occurs smoothly without any jumps. Finally, we apply the theory
to estimate the lifetime of confined DNA in metastable states in nanotubes.Comment: 13pages, 14figure
A review of Monte Carlo simulations of polymers with PERM
In this review, we describe applications of the pruned-enriched Rosenbluth
method (PERM), a sequential Monte Carlo algorithm with resampling, to various
problems in polymer physics. PERM produces samples according to any given
prescribed weight distribution, by growing configurations step by step with
controlled bias, and correcting "bad" configurations by "population control".
The latter is implemented, in contrast to other population based algorithms
like e.g. genetic algorithms, by depth-first recursion which avoids storing all
members of the population at the same time in computer memory. The problems we
discuss all concern single polymers (with one exception), but under various
conditions: Homopolymers in good solvents and at the point, semi-stiff
polymers, polymers in confining geometries, stretched polymers undergoing a
forced globule-linear transition, star polymers, bottle brushes, lattice
animals as a model for randomly branched polymers, DNA melting, and finally --
as the only system at low temperatures, lattice heteropolymers as simple models
for protein folding. PERM is for some of these problems the method of choice,
but it can also fail. We discuss how to recognize when a result is reliable,
and we discuss also some types of bias that can be crucial in guiding the
growth into the right directions.Comment: 29 pages, 26 figures, to be published in J. Stat. Phys. (2011
Sagnac Interferometer Enhanced Particle Tracking in Optical Tweezers
A setup is proposed to enhance tracking of very small particles, by using
optical tweezers embedded within a Sagnac interferometer. The achievable
signal-to-noise ratio is shown to be enhanced over that for a standard optical
tweezers setup. The enhancement factor increases asymptotically as the
interferometer visibility approaches 100%, but is capped at a maximum given by
the ratio of the trapping field intensity to the detector saturation threshold.
For an achievable visibility of 99%, the signal-to-noise ratio is enhanced by a
factor of 200, and the minimum trackable particle size is 2.4 times smaller
than without the interferometer
Reversible Embedding to Covers Full of Boundaries
In reversible data embedding, to avoid overflow and underflow problem, before
data embedding, boundary pixels are recorded as side information, which may be
losslessly compressed. The existing algorithms often assume that a natural
image has little boundary pixels so that the size of side information is small.
Accordingly, a relatively high pure payload could be achieved. However, there
actually may exist a lot of boundary pixels in a natural image, implying that,
the size of side information could be very large. Therefore, when to directly
use the existing algorithms, the pure embedding capacity may be not sufficient.
In order to address this problem, in this paper, we present a new and efficient
framework to reversible data embedding in images that have lots of boundary
pixels. The core idea is to losslessly preprocess boundary pixels so that it
can significantly reduce the side information. Experimental results have shown
the superiority and applicability of our work
Rational Approximate Symmetries of KdV Equation
We construct one-parameter deformation of the Dorfman Hamiltonian operator
for the Riemann hierarchy using the quasi-Miura transformation from topological
field theory. In this way, one can get the approximately rational symmetries of
KdV equation and then investigate its bi-Hamiltonian structure.Comment: 14 pages, no figure
Spectral Properties of Statistical Mechanics Models
The full spectrum of transfer matrices of the general eight-vertex model on a
square lattice is obtained by numerical diagonalization. The eigenvalue spacing
distribution and the spectral rigidity are analyzed. In non-integrable regimes
we have found eigenvalue repulsion as for the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble in
random matrix theory. By contrast, in integrable regimes we have found
eigenvalue independence leading to a Poissonian behavior, and, for some points,
level clustering. These first examples from classical statistical mechanics
suggest that the conjecture of integrability successfully applied to quantum
spin systems also holds for classical systems.Comment: 4 pages, 1 Revtex file and 4 postscript figures tarred, gzipped and
uuencode
Biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic synthesis of the Celebes and Sulu Seas, Leg 124
During ODP Leg 124, late middle Eocene to Quaternary sediment sequences were recovered from 13 holes
drilled at five sites in the Celebes and Sulu basins. Paleomagnetic measurements and biostratigraphic studies using
calcareous nannofossils, planktonic and benthic foraminifers, radiolarians, and diatoms were completed and
summarized here. Two Neogene sediment sections recovered in the Sulu Basin yielded excellent core recoveries
and magnetic reversal records, allowing direct magnetobiostratigraphic correlations for the Pliocene and Quaternary
at Site 768 and for the middle Miocene to Quaternary at Site 769. The interpolated ages of biohorizons are not
consistent between sites and only a few of them are in good agreement with previous calibrations. The differences
may be the results of redeposition by turbidity currents and selective dissolution of key fossils
Collapsing lattice animals and lattice trees in two dimensions
We present high statistics simulations of weighted lattice bond animals and
lattice trees on the square lattice, with fugacities for each non-bonded
contact and for each bond between two neighbouring monomers. The simulations
are performed using a newly developed sequential sampling method with
resampling, very similar to the pruned-enriched Rosenbluth method (PERM) used
for linear chain polymers. We determine with high precision the line of second
order transitions from an extended to a collapsed phase in the resulting
2-dimensional phase diagram. This line includes critical bond percolation as a
multicritical point, and we verify that this point divides the line into two
different universality classes. One of them corresponds to the collapse driven
by contacts and includes the collapse of (weakly embeddable) trees, but the
other is {\it not yet} bond driven and does not contain the Derrida-Herrmann
model as special point. Instead it ends at a multicritical point where a
transition line between two collapsed phases (one bond-driven and the other
contact-driven) sparks off. The Derrida-Herrmann model is representative for
the bond driven collapse, which then forms the fourth universality class on the
transition line (collapsing trees, critical percolation, intermediate regime,
and Derrida-Herrmann). We obtain very precise estimates for all critical
exponents for collapsing trees. It is already harder to estimate the critical
exponents for the intermediate regime. Finally, it is very difficult to obtain
with our method good estimates of the critical parameters of the
Derrida-Herrmann universality class. As regards the bond-driven to
contact-driven transition in the collapsed phase, we have some evidence for its
existence and rough location, but no precise estimates of critical exponents.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figures, 1 tabl
Quantum limited particle sensing in optical tweezers
Particle sensing in optical tweezers systems provides information on the
position, velocity and force of the specimen particles. The conventional
quadrant detection scheme is applied ubiquitously in optical tweezers
experiments to quantify these parameters. In this paper we show that quadrant
detection is non-optimal for particle sensing in optical tweezers and propose
an alternative optimal particle sensing scheme based on spatial homodyne
detection. A formalism for particle sensing in terms of transverse spatial
modes is developed and numerical simulations of the efficacy of both quadrant
and spatial homodyne detection are shown. We demonstrate that an order of
magnitude improvement in particle sensing sensitivity can be achieved using
spatial homodyne over quadrant detection.Comment: Submitted to Biophys
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