165 research outputs found
Jacobi stability of the vacuum in the static spherically symmetric brane world models
We analyze the stability of the structure equations of the vacuum in the
brane world models, by using both the linear (Lyapunov) stability analysis, and
the Jacobi stability analysis, the Kosambi-Cartan-Chern (KCC) theory. In the
brane world models the four dimensional effective Einstein equations acquire
extra terms, called dark radiation and dark pressure, respectively, which arise
from the embedding of the 3-brane in the bulk. Generally, the spherically
symmetric vacuum solutions of the brane gravitational field equations, have
properties quite distinct as compared to the standard black hole solutions of
general relativity. We close the structure equations by assuming a simple
linear equation of state for the dark pressure. In this case the vacuum is
Jacobi stable only for a small range of values of the proportionality constant
relating the dark pressure and the dark radiation. The unstable trajectories on
the brane behave chaotically, in the sense that after a finite radial distance
it would be impossible to distinguish the trajectories that were very near each
other at an initial point. Hence the Jacobi stability analysis offers a
powerful method for constraining the physical properties of the vacuum on the
brane.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Gravitational radiation reaction in compact binary systems: Contribution of the quadrupole-monopole interaction
The radiation reaction in compact spinning binaries on eccentric orbits due
to the quadrupole-monopole interaction is studied. This contribution is of
second post-Newtonian order. As result of the precession of spins the magnitude
of the orbital angular momentum is not conserved. Therefore a proper
characterization of the perturbed radial motion is provided by the energy
and angular average . As powerful computing tools, the generalized
true and eccentric anomaly parametrizations are introduced. Then the secular
losses in energy and magnitude of orbital angular momentum together with the
secular evolution of the relative orientations of the orbital angular momentum
and spins are found for eccentric orbits by use of the residue theorem. The
circular orbit limit of the energy loss agrees with Poisson's earlier result.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Renormalized spin coefficients in the accumulated orbital phase for unequal mass black hole binaries
We analyze galactic black hole mergers and their emitted gravitational waves.
Such mergers have typically unequal masses with mass ratio of the order 1/10.
The emitted gravitational waves carry the inprint of spins and mass quadrupoles
of the binary components. Among these contributions, we consider here the
quasi-precessional evolution of the spins. A method of taking into account
these third post-Newtonian (3PN) effects by renormalizing (redefining) the 1.5
PN and 2PN accurate spin contributions to the accumulated orbital phase is
developed.Comment: 10 pages, to appear in Class. Quantum Grav. GWDAW13 Proceedings
Special Issue, v2: no typos conjectur
The structural basis of small molecule targetability of monomeric Tau protein
The therapeutic targeting of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) by small molecules has been a challenge
due to their heterogeneous conformational ensembles. A potential therapeutic strategy to alleviate
the aggregation of IDPs is to maintain them in their native monomeric state by small molecule binding.
This study investigates the structural basis of small molecule druggability of native monomeric Tau
whose aggregation is linked to the onset of Tauopathies such as Alzheimer’s disease. Initially, two available
monomeric conformational ensembles of a shorter Tau construct K18 (also termed Tau4RD) were
analyzed which revealed striking structural differences between the two ensembles, while similar number
of hot spots and small molecule binding sites were identified on monomeric Tau ensembles as on
tertiary folded proteins of similar size. Remarkably, some critical fibril forming sequence regions of Tau
(V306-K311, V275-K280) participated in hot spot formation with higher frequency compared to other
regions. As an example of small molecule binding to monomeric Tau, it was shown that methylene blue
(MB) bound to monomeric K18 and full-length Tau selectively with high affinity (Kd = 125.8 nM and
86.6 nM, respectively) with binding modes involving Cys291 and Cys322, previously reported to be
oxidized in the presence of MB. Overall, our results provide structure-based evidence that Tau can be a
viable drug target for small molecules and indicate that specific small molecules may be able to bind to
monomeric Tau and influence the way in which the protein interacts among itself and with other proteins
Density growth in Kantowski-Sachs cosmologies with cosmological constant
In this work the growth of density perturbations in Kantowski-Sachs
cosmologies with a positive cosmological constant is studied, using the 1+3 and
1+1+2 covariant formalisms. For each wave number we obtain a closed system for
scalars formed from quantities that are zero on the background and hence are
gauge-invariant. The solutions to this system are then analyzed both
analytically and numerically. In particular the effects of anisotropy and the
behaviour close to a bounce in the cosmic scale factor are considered. We find
that typically the density gradient in the bouncing directions experiences a
local maximum at or slightly after the bounce.Comment: 33 pages, 17 picture
Gravitational radiation reaction in compact binary systems: Contribution of the magnetic dipole-magnetic dipole interaction
We study the gravitational radiation reaction in compact binary systems
composed of neutron stars with spin and huge magnetic dipole moments
(magnetars). The magnetic dipole moments undergo a precessional motion about
the respective spins. At sufficiently high values of the magnetic dipole
moments, their interaction generates second post-Newtonian order contributions
both to the equations of motion and to the gravitational radiation escaping the
system. We parametrize the radial motion and average over a radial period in
order to find the secular contributions to the energy and magnitude of the
orbital angular momentum losses, in the generic case of \textit{eccentric}
orbits. Similarly as for the spin-orbit, spin-spin, quadrupole-monopole
interactions, here too we deduce the secular evolution of the relative
orientations of the orbital angular momentum and spins. These equations,
supplemented by the evolution equations for the angles characterizing the
orientation of the dipole moments form a first order differential system, which
is closed. The circular orbit limit of the energy loss agrees with Ioka and
Taniguchi's earlier result
Inflation and late time acceleration in braneworld cosmological models with varying brane tension
Braneworld models with variable brane tension introduce a new
degree of freedom that allows for evolving gravitational and cosmological
constants, the latter being a natural candidate for dark energy. We consider a
thermodynamic interpretation of the varying brane tension models, by showing
that the field equations with variable can be interpreted as
describing matter creation in a cosmological framework. The particle creation
rate is determined by the variation rate of the brane tension, as well as by
the brane-bulk energy-matter transfer rate. We investigate the effect of a
variable brane tension on the cosmological evolution of the Universe, in the
framework of a particular model in which the brane tension is an exponentially
dependent function of the scale factor. The resulting cosmology shows the
presence of an initial inflationary expansion, followed by a decelerating
phase, and by a smooth transition towards a late accelerated de Sitter type
expansion. The varying brane tension is also responsible for the generation of
the matter in the Universe (reheating period). The physical constraints on the
model parameters, resulted from the observational cosmological data, are also
investigated.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in European Physical
Journal
A compact multifunctional microfluidic platform for exploring cellular dynamics in real-time using electrochemical detection
Downscaling of microfluidic cell culture and detection devices for electrochemical monitoring has mostly focused on miniaturization of the microfluidic chips which are often designed for specific applications and therefore lack functional flexibility. We present a compact microfluidic cell culture and electrochemical analysis platform with in-built fluid handling and detection, enabling complete cell based assays comprising on-line electrode cleaning, sterilization, surface functionalization, cell seeding, cultivation and electrochemical real-time monitoring of cellular dynamics. To demonstrate the versatility and multifunctionality of the platform, we explored amperometric monitoring of intracellular redox activity in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and detection of exocytotically released dopamine from rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used in both applications for monitoring cell sedimentation and adhesion as well as proliferation in the case of PC12 cells. The influence of flow rate on the signal amplitude in the detection of redox metabolism as well as the effect of mechanical stimulation on dopamine release were demonstrated using the programmable fluid handling capability. The here presented platform is aimed at applications utilizing cell based assays, ranging from e.g. monitoring of drug effects in pharmacological studies, characterization of neural stem cell differentiation, and screening of genetically modified microorganisms to environmental monitoring
Swift follow-up observations of candidate gravitational-wave transient events
We present the first multi-wavelength follow-up observations of two candidate
gravitational-wave (GW) transient events recorded by LIGO and Virgo in their
2009-2010 science run. The events were selected with low latency by the network
of GW detectors and their candidate sky locations were observed by the Swift
observatory. Image transient detection was used to analyze the collected
electromagnetic data, which were found to be consistent with background.
Off-line analysis of the GW data alone has also established that the selected
GW events show no evidence of an astrophysical origin; one of them is
consistent with background and the other one was a test, part of a "blind
injection challenge". With this work we demonstrate the feasibility of rapid
follow-ups of GW transients and establish the sensitivity improvement joint
electromagnetic and GW observations could bring. This is a first step toward an
electromagnetic follow-up program in the regime of routine detections with the
advanced GW instruments expected within this decade. In that regime
multi-wavelength observations will play a significant role in completing the
astrophysical identification of GW sources. We present the methods and results
from this first combined analysis and discuss its implications in terms of
sensitivity for the present and future instruments.Comment: Submitted for publication 2012 May 25, accepted 2012 October 25,
published 2012 November 21, in ApJS, 203, 28 (
http://stacks.iop.org/0067-0049/203/28 ); 14 pages, 3 figures, 6 tables;
LIGO-P1100038; Science summary at
http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S6LVSwift/index.php ; Public access
area to figures, tables at
https://dcc.ligo.org/cgi-bin/DocDB/ShowDocument?docid=p110003
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