223 research outputs found
Test of a periodic multipass-intracavity laser system for the TEXTOR multiposition Thomson scattering system
Randomly Charged Polymers, Random Walks, and Their Extremal Properties
Motivated by an investigation of ground state properties of randomly charged
polymers, we discuss the size distribution of the largest Q-segments (segments
with total charge Q) in such N-mers. Upon mapping the charge sequence to
one--dimensional random walks (RWs), this corresponds to finding the
probability for the largest segment with total displacement Q in an N-step RW
to have length L. Using analytical, exact enumeration, and Monte Carlo methods,
we reveal the complex structure of the probability distribution in the large N
limit. In particular, the size of the longest neutral segment has a
distribution with a square-root singularity at l=L/N=1, an essential
singularity at l=0, and a discontinuous derivative at l=1/2. The behavior near
l=1 is related to a another interesting RW problem which we call the "staircase
problem". We also discuss the generalized problem for d-dimensional RWs.Comment: 33 pages, 19 Postscript figures, RevTe
Statistical properties of charged interfaces
We consider the equilibrium statistical properties of interfaces submitted to
competing interactions; a long-range repulsive Coulomb interaction inherent to
the charged interface and a short-range, anisotropic, attractive one due to
either elasticity or confinement. We focus on one-dimensional interfaces such
as strings. Model systems considered for applications are mainly aggregates of
solitons in polyacetylene and other charge density wave systems, domain lines
in uniaxial ferroelectrics and the stripe phase of oxides. At zero temperature,
we find a shape instability which lead, via phase transitions, to tilted
phases. Depending on the regime, elastic or confinement, the order of the
zero-temperature transition changes. Thermal fluctuations lead to a pure
Coulomb roughening of the string, in addition to the usual one, and to the
presence of angular kinks. We suggest that such instabilities might explain the
tilting of stripes in cuprate oxides. The 3D problem of the charged wall is
also analyzed. The latter experiences instabilities towards various tilted
phases separated by a tricritical point in the elastic regime. In the
confinement regime, the increase of dimensionality favors either the melting of
the wall into a Wigner crystal of its constituent charges or a strongly
inclined wall which might have been observed in nickelate oxides.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figure
Equilibrium shapes of flat knots
We study the equilibrium shapes of prime and composite knots confined to two
dimensions. Using rigorous scaling arguments we show that, due to self-avoiding
effects, the topological details of prime knots are localised on a small
portion of the larger ring polymer. Within this region, the original knot
configuration can assume a hierarchy of contracted shapes, the dominating one
given by just one small loop. This hierarchy is investigated in detail for the
flat trefoil knot, and corroborated by Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Tightness of slip-linked polymer chains
We study the interplay between entropy and topological constraints for a
polymer chain in which sliding rings (slip-links) enforce pair contacts between
monomers. These slip-links divide a closed ring polymer into a number of
sub-loops which can exchange length between each other. In the ideal chain
limit, we find the joint probability density function for the sizes of segments
within such a slip-linked polymer chain (paraknot). A particular segment is
tight (small in size) or loose (of the order of the overall size of the
paraknot) depending on both the number of slip-links it incorporates and its
competition with other segments. When self-avoiding interactions are included,
scaling arguments can be used to predict the statistics of segment sizes for
certain paraknot configurations.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, REVTeX
Poloidal inhomogeneity of the particle fluctuation induced fluxes near of the LCFS at lower hybrid heating and improved confinement transition at the FT-2 tokamak
This paper deals with the new spectral and microturbulence experimental data
and their analysis, which show, that the radial electric field Er generated at
the LH heating (LHH) in the FT-2 is high enough to form the transport barriers.
The ETB is formed when LHH is switched off. The radial fluctuation-induced
EB drift flux densities near LCFS in SOL are measured at two different
poloidal angles. For this purpose two Langmuir probes located at low and high
field sides of the torus are used. Registration of the poloidal and radial
components of the electric field and density fluctuations at the same time
during one discharge permits to measure the poloidal asymmetry of the transport
reduction mechanism of the radial and poloidal particle fluxes in the SOL. The
absolute E(~) fluctuation levels show dependence on the sign of Er
shear. The modification of the microscale turbulence by the poloidal Er x B
rotation shear EB at the L - H transition near LCFS is also
studied by X-mode fluctuation Reflectometry. The new data were obtained by
spatial spectroscopic technique.Comment: 12th International Congress on Plasma Physics, 25-29 October 2004,
Nice (France
A multi-stage genome-wide association study of bladder cancer identifies multiple susceptibility loci.
We conducted a multi-stage, genome-wide association study of bladder cancer with a primary scan of 591,637 SNPs in 3,532 affected individuals (cases) and 5,120 controls of European descent from five studies followed by a replication strategy, which included 8,382 cases and 48,275 controls from 16 studies. In a combined analysis, we identified three new regions associated with bladder cancer on chromosomes 22q13.1, 19q12 and 2q37.1: rs1014971, (P = 8 × 10⁻¹²) maps to a non-genic region of chromosome 22q13.1, rs8102137 (P = 2 × 10⁻¹¹) on 19q12 maps to CCNE1 and rs11892031 (P = 1 × 10⁻⁷) maps to the UGT1A cluster on 2q37.1. We confirmed four previously identified genome-wide associations on chromosomes 3q28, 4p16.3, 8q24.21 and 8q24.3, validated previous candidate associations for the GSTM1 deletion (P = 4 × 10⁻¹¹) and a tag SNP for NAT2 acetylation status (P = 4 × 10⁻¹¹), and found interactions with smoking in both regions. Our findings on common variants associated with bladder cancer risk should provide new insights into the mechanisms of carcinogenesis
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