1,045 research outputs found
Why charges go to the surface: a generalized Thomson problem
We study a generalization of a Thomson problem of n particles confined to a
sphere and interacting by a 1/r^g potential. It is found that for g \le 1 the
electrostatic repulsion expels all the charges to the surface of the sphere.
However for g>1 and n>n_c(g) occupation of the bulk becomes energetically
favorable. It is curious to note that the Coulomb law lies exactly on the
interface between these two regimes
Ground state of a large number of particles on a frozen topography
Problems consisting in finding the ground state of particles interacting with
a given potential constrained to move on a particular geometry are surprisingly
difficult. Explicit solutions have been found for small numbers of particles by
the use of numerical methods in some particular cases such as particles on a
sphere and to a much lesser extent on a torus. In this paper we propose a
general solution to the problem in the opposite limit of a very large number of
particles M by expressing the energy as an expansion in M whose coefficients
can be minimized by a geometrical ansatz. The solution is remarkably universal
with respect to the geometry and the interaction potential. Explicit solutions
for the sphere and the torus are provided. The paper concludes with several
predictions that could be verified by further theoretical or numerical work.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, LaTeX fil
Heat transfer and Fourier's law in off-equilibrium systems
We study the most suitable procedure to measure the effective temperature in
off-equilibrium systems. We analyze the stationary current established between
an off-equilibrium system and a thermometer and the necessary conditions for
that current to vanish. We find that the thermometer must have a short
characteristic time-scale compared to the typical decorrelation time of the
glassy system to correctly measure the effective temperature. This general
conclusion is confirmed analyzing an ensemble of harmonic oscillators with
Monte Carlo dynamics as an illustrative example of a solvable model of a glass.
We also find that the current defined allows to extend Fourier's law to the
off-equilibrium regime by consistently defining effective transport
coefficients. Our results for the oscillator model explain why thermal
conductivities between thermalized and frozen degrees of freedom in structural
glasses are extremely small.Comment: 7 pages, REVTeX, 4 eps figure
AATF/Che-1-An RNA Binding Protein at the Nexus of DNA Damage Response and Ribosome Biogenesis
The DNA damage response (DDR) is a complex signaling network that is activated upon genotoxic stress. It determines cellular fate by either activating cell cycle arrest or initiating apoptosis and thereby ensures genomic stability. The Apoptosis Antagonizing Transcription Factor (AATF/Che-1), an RNA polymerase II-interacting transcription factor and known downstream target of major DDR kinases, affects DDR signaling by inhibiting p53-mediated transcription of pro-apoptotic genes and promoting cell cycle arrest through various pathways instead. Specifically, AATF was shown to inhibit p53 expression at the transcriptional level and repress its pro-apoptotic activity by direct binding to p53 protein and transactivation of anti-apoptotic genes. Solid and hematological tumors of various organs exploit this function by overexpressing AATF. Both copy number gains and high expression levels of AATF were associated with worse prognosis or relapse of malignant tumors. Recently, a number of studies have enabled insights into the molecular mechanisms by which AATF affects both DDR and proliferation. AATF was found to directly localize to sites of DNA damage upon laser ablation and interact with DNA repair proteins. In addition, depletion of AATF resulted in increased DNA damage and decrease of both proliferative activity and genotoxic tolerance. Interestingly, considering the role of ribosomal stress in the regulation of p53, more recent work established AATF as ribosomal RNA binding protein and enabled insights into its role as an important factor for rRNA processing and ribosome biogenesis. This Mini Review summarizes recent findings on AATF and its important role in the DDR, malignancy, and ribosome biogenesis
On a possible photon origin of the most-energetic AGASA events
In this work the ultra high energy cosmic ray events recorded by the AGASA
experiment are analysed. With detailed simulations of the extensive air showers
initiated by photons, the probabilities are determined of the photonic origin
of the 6 AGASA events for which the muon densities were measured and the
reconstructed energies exceeded 10^20 eV. On this basis a new, preliminary
upper limit on the photon fraction in cosmic rays above 10^20 eV is derived and
compared to the predictions of exemplary top-down cosmic-ray origin models.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables; presented at XIII ISVHECRI, Pylos,
Greec
Crystalline Order on a Sphere and the Generalized Thomson Problem
We attack generalized Thomson problems with a continuum formalism which
exploits a universal long range interaction between defects depending on the
Young modulus of the underlying lattice. Our predictions for the ground state
energy agree with simulations of long range power law interactions of the form
1/r^{gamma} (0 < gamma < 2) to four significant digits. The regime of grain
boundaries is studied in the context of tilted crystalline order and the
generality of our approach is illustrated with new results for square tilings
on the sphere.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figures Fig. 2 revised, improved Fig. 3, reference
typo fixe
Leptospiroses et lésions oculaires chez le Chien
Rossi Paul, Kolochine-Erber B., Berujon J. Leptospiroses et lésions oculaires chez le Chien. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 106 n°8, 1953. pp. 451-455
Universality of electron-positron distributions in extensive air showers
Using a large set of simulated extensive air showers, we investigate
universality features of electron and positron distributions in
very-high-energy cosmic-ray air showers. Most particle distributions depend
only on the depth of the shower maximum and the number of particles in the
cascade at this depth. We provide multi-dimensional parameterizations for the
electron-positron distributions in terms of particle energy, vertical and
horizontal momentum angle, lateral distance, and time distribution of the
shower front. These parameterizations can be used to obtain realistic
electron-positron distributions in extensive air showers for data analysis and
simulations of Cherenkov radiation, fluorescence signal, and radio emission.Comment: 13 pages, 22 figures, 1 tabl
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