1,175 research outputs found
Actively stressed marginal networks
We study the effects of motor-generated stresses in disordered three
dimensional fiber networks using a combination of a mean-field, effective
medium theory, scaling analysis and a computational model. We find that motor
activity controls the elasticity in an anomalous fashion close to the point of
marginal stability by coupling to critical network fluctuations. We also show
that motor stresses can stabilize initially floppy networks, extending the
range of critical behavior to a broad regime of network connectivities below
the marginal point. Away from this regime, or at high stress, motors give rise
to a linear increase in stiffness with stress. Finally, we demonstrate that our
results are captured by a simple, constitutive scaling relation highlighting
the important role of non-affine strain fluctuations as a susceptibility to
motor stress.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Magnetic anisotropy of vicinal (001) fcc Co films: role of crystal splitting and structure relaxation in step-decoration effect
The uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy (UIP-MA) constant is calculated for
a single step on the (001) surface of fcc Co() films. The calculations are
done for both an undecorated step and the step decorated with one or more, up
to 7, Cu wires. Our objective is to explain the mechanisms by which the
decoration decreases the UIP-MA constant, which is the effect observed
experimentally for ultrathin Co films deposited on vicinal (001) Cu surfaces
and can lead to reorientation of magnetization within the film plane.
Theoretical calculations performed with a realistic tight-binding model show
that the step decoration changes the UIP-MA constant significantly only if the
splitting between the on-site energies of various -orbitals is included for
atoms located near the step edge. The local relaxation of atomic structure
around the step is also shown to have a significant effect on the shift of the
UIP-MA constant. The influence of these two relevant factors is analyzed
further by examining individual contributions to the UIP-MA constant from atoms
around the step. The magnitude of the obtained UIP-MA shift agrees well with
experimental data. It is also found that an additional shift due to possible
charge transfer between Cu and Co atoms is very small.Comment: 12 pages,9 figures, RevTeX, submitted to Physical Review B version 3:
additions to content version 2: minor correction
Spin 1 inversion: a Majorana tensor force for deuteron alpha scattering
We demonstrate, for the first time, successful S-matrix to potential
inversion for spin one projectiles with non-diagonal yielding a
interaction. The method is a generalization of the
iterative-perturbative, IP, method. We present a test case indicating the
degree of uniqueness of the potential. The method is adapted, using established
procedures, into direct observable to potential inversion, fitting ,
, , and for d + alpha scattering over
a range of energies near 10 MeV. The interaction which we find is
very different from that proposed elsewhere, both real and imaginary parts
being very different for odd and even parity channels.Comment: 7 pages Revtex, 4 ps figure
n-atic Order and Continuous Shape Changes of Deformable Surfaces of Genus Zero
We consider in mean-field theory the continuous development below a
second-order phase transition of -atic tangent plane order on a deformable
surface of genus zero with order parameter . Tangent plane order expels Gaussian curvature. In addition, the total
vorticity of orientational order on a surface of genus zero is two. Thus, the
ordered phase of an -atic on such a surface will have vortices of
strength , zeros in its order parameter, and a nonspherical
equilibrium shape. Our calculations are based on a phenomenological model with
a gauge-like coupling between and curvature, and our analysis follows
closely the Abrikosov treatment of a type II superconductor just below
.Comment: REVTEX, 12 page
Buckling and force propagation along intracellular microtubules
Motivated by recent experiments showing the compressive buckling of microtubules in cells, we study theoretically the mechanical response of and force propagation along elastic filaments embedded in a non-linear elastic medium. We find that embedded microtubules buckle when their compressive load exceeds a critical value
Barrier and internal wave contributions to the quantum probability density and flux in light heavy-ion elastic scattering
We investigate the properties of the optical model wave function for light
heavy-ion systems where absorption is incomplete, such as Ca
and O around 30 MeV incident energy. Strong focusing effects
are predicted to occur well inside the nucleus, where the probability density
can reach values much higher than that of the incident wave. This focusing is
shown to be correlated with the presence at back angles of a strong enhancement
in the elastic cross section, the so-called ALAS (anomalous large angle
scattering) phenomenon; this is substantiated by calculations of the quantum
probability flux and of classical trajectories. To clarify this mechanism, we
decompose the scattering wave function and the associated probability flux into
their barrier and internal wave contributions within a fully quantal
calculation. Finally, a calculation of the divergence of the quantum flux shows
that when absorption is incomplete, the focal region gives a sizeable
contribution to nonelastic processes.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures. RevTeX file. To appear in Phys. Rev. C. The
figures are only available via anonynous FTP on
ftp://umhsp02.umh.ac.be/pub/ftp_pnt/figscat
Multiple light scattering in nematic liquid crystals
We present a rigorous treatment of the diffusion approximation for multiple
light scattering in anisotropic random media, and apply it to director
fluctuations in a nematic liquid crystal. For a typical nematic material, 5CB,
we give numerical values of the diffusion constants and .
We also calculate the temporal autocorrelation function measured in Diffusing
Wave Spectroscopy.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX, 1 postscript figure, to be published in Phys. Rev. E
(Rapid Communication
Bi-defects of Nematic Surfactant Bilayers
We consider the effects of the coupling between the orientational order of
the two monolayers in flat nematic bilayers. We show that the presence of a
topological defect on one bilayer generates a nontrivial orientational texture
on both monolayers. Therefore, one cannot consider isolated defects on one
monolayer, but rather associated pairs of defects on either monolayer, which we
call bi-defects. Bi-defects generally produce walls, such that the textures of
the two monolayers are identical outside the walls, and different in their
interior. We suggest some experimental conditions in which these structures
could be observed.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, 3 figure
New Results in the Analysis of the O+Si Elastic Scattering by Modifying the Optical Potential
The elastic scattering of the O+Si system has been analyzed
with a modified potential within the framework of the optical model over a wide
energy range in the laboratory system from 29.0 to 142.5 MeV. This system has
been extensively studied over the years and a number of serious problems has
remained unsolved: The explanation of the anomalous large angle scattering
data; the out-of-phase problem between theoretical predictions and experimental
data; the reproduction of the oscillatory structure near the Coulomb barrier;
the consistent description of angular distributions together with the
excitation functions data are just some of these problems. We propose the use
of a modified potential method to explain these problems over this wide energy
range. This new method consistently improves the agreement with the
experimental data and achieves a major improvement on all the previous Optical
model calculations for this system.Comment: 19 pages with 8 figure
Theory of Cylindrical Tubules and Helical Ribbons of Chiral Lipid Membranes
We present a general theory for the equilibrium structure of cylindrical
tubules and helical ribbons of chiral lipid membranes. This theory is based on
a continuum elastic free energy that permits variations in the direction of
molecular tilt and in the curvature of the membrane. The theory shows that the
formation of tubules and helical ribbons is driven by the chirality of the
membrane. Tubules have a first-order transition from a uniform state to a
helically modulated state, with periodic stripes in the tilt direction and
ripples in the curvature. Helical ribbons can be stable structures, or they can
be unstable intermediate states in the formation of tubules.Comment: 43 pages, including 12 postscript figures, uses REVTeX 3.0 and
epsf.st
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