2,431 research outputs found
Action-derived molecular dynamics in the study of rare events
We present a practical method to generate classical trajectories with fixed
initial and final boundary conditions. Our method is based on the minimization
of a suitably defined discretized action. The method finds its most natural
application in the study of rare events. Its capabilities are illustrated by
non-trivial examples. The algorithm lends itself to straightforward
parallelization, and when combined with molecular dynamics (MD) it promises to
offer a powerful tool for the study of chemical reactions.Comment: 7 Pages, 4 Figures (3 in color), submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Biorthogonal quantum mechanics
The Hermiticity condition in quantum mechanics required for the characterization of (a) physical observables and (b) generators of unitary motions can be relaxed into a wider class of operators whose eigenvalues are real and whose eigenstates are complete. In this case, the orthogonality of eigenstates is replaced by the notion of biorthogonality that defines the relation between the Hilbert space of states and its dual space. The resulting quantum theory, which might appropriately be called 'biorthogonal quantum mechanics', is developed here in some detail in the case for which the Hilbert-space dimensionality is finite. Specifically, characterizations of probability assignment rules, observable properties, pure and mixed states, spin particles, measurements, combined systems and entanglements, perturbations, and dynamical aspects of the theory are developed. The paper concludes with a brief discussion on infinite-dimensional systems. © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd
Security governance and networks: New theoretical perspectives in transatlantic security
The end of the Cold War has not only witnessed the rise of new transnational threats such as terrorism, crime, proliferation and civil war; it has also seen the growing role of non-state actors in the provision of security in Europe and North America. Two concepts in particular have been used to describe these transformations: security governance and networks. However, the differences and potential theoretical utility of these
two concepts for the study of contemporary security have so far been under-examined. This article seeks to address this gap. It proposes that security governance can help to explain the transformation of Cold War security structures, whereas network analysis is particularly useful for understanding the relations and interactions between public and private actors in the making and implementation of national and international security policies
On contractions of classical basic superalgebras
We define a class of orthosymplectic and unitary
superalgebras which may be obtained from and
by contractions and analytic continuations in a similar way as the
special linear, orthogonal and the symplectic Cayley-Klein algebras are
obtained from the corresponding classical ones. Casimir operators of
Cayley-Klein superalgebras are obtained from the corresponding operators of the
basic superalgebras. Contractions of and are regarded as
an examples.Comment: 15 pages, Late
Accountability, Strategy, and International Non-Governmental Organizations
Increased prominence and greater influence expose international non-governmental development and environmental organizations (INGOs) to increased demands for accountability from a wide variety of stakeholdersdonors, beneficiaries, staffs, and partners among others. This paper focuses on developing the concept of INGO accountability, first as an abstract concept and then as a strategic idea with very different implications for different INGO strategies. We examine those implications for INGOs that emphasize service delivery, capacity-building, and policy influence. We propose that INGOs committed to service delivery may owe more accountability to donors and service regulators; capacity-building INGOs may be particularly obligated to clients whose capacities are being enhanced; and policy influence INGOs may be especially accountable to political constituencies and to influence targets. INGOs that are expanding their activities to include new initiatives may need to reorganize their accountability systems to implement their strategies effectively. This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 7. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers
Human Monoclonal Antibodies to a Novel Cluster of Conformational Epitopes on HCV E2 with Resistance to Neutralization Escape in a Genotype 2a Isolate
The majority of broadly neutralizing antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) are against conformational epitopes on the E2 glycoprotein. Many of them recognize overlapping epitopes in a cluster, designated as antigenic domain B, that contains residues G530 and D535. To gain information on other regions that will be relevant for vaccine design, we employed yeast surface display of antibodies that bound to genotype 1a H77C E2 mutant proteins containing a substitution either at Y632A (to avoid selecting non-neutralizing antibodies) or D535A. A panel of nine human monoclonal antibodies (HMAbs) was isolated and designated as HC-84-related antibodies. Each HMAb neutralized cell culture infectious HCV (HCVcc) with genotypes 1â6 envelope proteins with varying profiles, and each inhibited E2 binding to the viral receptor CD81. Five of these antibodies neutralized representative genotypes 1â6 HCVcc. Epitope mapping identified a cluster of overlapping epitopes that included nine contact residues in two E2 regions encompassing aa418â446 and aa611â616. Effect on virus entry was measured using H77C HCV retroviral pseudoparticles, HCVpp, bearing an alanine substitution at each of the contact residues. Seven of ten mutant HCVpp showed over 90% reduction compared to wild-type HCVpp and two others showed approximately 80% reduction. Interestingly, four of these antibodies bound to a linear E2 synthetic peptide encompassing aa434â446. This region on E2 has been proposed to elicit non-neutralizing antibodies in humans that interfere with neutralizing antibodies directed at an adjacent E2 region from aa410â425. The isolation of four HC-84 HMAbs binding to the peptide, aa434â446, proves that some antibodies to this region are to highly conserved epitopes mediating broad virus neutralization. Indeed, when HCVcc were passaged in the presence of each of these antibodies, virus escape was not observed. Thus, the cluster of HC-84 epitopes, designated as antigenic domain D, is relevant for vaccine design for this highly diverse virus
The Eliashberg Function of Amorphous Metals
A connection is proposed between the anomalous thermal transport properties
of amorphous solids and the low-frequency behavior of the Eliashberg function.
By means of a model calculation we show that the size and frequency dependence
of the phonon mean-free-path that has been extracted from measurements of the
thermal conductivity in amorphous solids leads to a sizeable linear region in
the Eliashberg function at small frequencies. Quantitative comparison with
recent experiments gives very good agreement.Comment: 4pp., REVTeX, 1 uuencoded ps fig. Original posting had a corrupted
raw ps fig appended. Published as PRB 51, 689 (1995
On two-dimensional Bessel functions
The general properties of two-dimensional generalized Bessel functions are
discussed. Various asymptotic approximations are derived and applied to analyze
the basic structure of the two-dimensional Bessel functions as well as their
nodal lines.Comment: 25 pages, 17 figure
Transnational social capital: the socioâspatialities of civil society
Civil society remains a contested concept, but one that is widely embedded in global development processes. Transnationalism within civil society scholarship is often described dichotomously, either through hierarchical dependency relations or as a more amorphous networked global civil society. These two contrasting spatial imaginaries produce very particular ideas about how transnational relations contribute to civil society. Drawing on empirical material from research with civil society organizations in Barbados and Grenada, in this article I contend that civil society groups use forms of transnational social capital in their work. This does not, however, resonate with the horizontal relations associated with grassroots globalization or vertical chains of dependence. These social relations are imbued with power and agency and are entangled in situated historical, geographical and personal contexts. I conclude that the diverse transnational social relations that are part of civil society activity offer hope and possibilities for continued civil society action in these unexpected spatial arrangements
Projective Hilbert space structures at exceptional points
A non-Hermitian complex symmetric 2x2 matrix toy model is used to study
projective Hilbert space structures in the vicinity of exceptional points
(EPs). The bi-orthogonal eigenvectors of a diagonalizable matrix are
Puiseux-expanded in terms of the root vectors at the EP. It is shown that the
apparent contradiction between the two incompatible normalization conditions
with finite and singular behavior in the EP-limit can be resolved by
projectively extending the original Hilbert space. The complementary
normalization conditions correspond then to two different affine charts of this
enlarged projective Hilbert space. Geometric phase and phase jump behavior are
analyzed and the usefulness of the phase rigidity as measure for the distance
to EP configurations is demonstrated. Finally, EP-related aspects of
PT-symmetrically extended Quantum Mechanics are discussed and a conjecture
concerning the quantum brachistochrone problem is formulated.Comment: 20 pages; discussion extended, refs added; bug correcte
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