2,891 research outputs found
Correlations in Systems of Complex Directed Macromolecules
An ensemble of directed macromolecules on a lattice is considered, where the
constituting molecules are chosen as a random sequence of N different types.
The same type of molecules experiences a hard-core (exclusion) interaction. We
study the robustness of the macromolecules with respect to breaking and
substituting individual molecules, using a 1/N expansion. The properties depend
strongly on the density of macromolecules. In particular, the macromolecules
are robust against breaking and substituting at high densities.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Non-equilibrium Phase-Ordering with a Global Conservation Law
In all dimensions, infinite-range Kawasaki spin exchange in a quenched Ising
model leads to an asymptotic length-scale
at because the kinetic coefficient is renormalized by the broken-bond
density, . For , activated kinetics recovers the
standard asymptotic growth-law, . However, at all temperatures,
infinite-range energy-transport is allowed by the spin-exchange dynamics. A
better implementation of global conservation, the microcanonical Creutz
algorithm, is well behaved and exhibits the standard non-conserved growth law,
, at all temperatures.Comment: 2 pages and 2 figures, uses epsf.st
Implications of a High Angular Resolution Image of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect in RXJ1347-1145
The most X-ray luminous cluster known, RXJ1347-1145 (z=0.45), has been the
object of extensive study across the electromagnetic spectrum. We have imaged
the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) at 90 GHz (3.3 mm) in RXJ1347-1145 at 10"
resolution with the 64-pixel MUSTANG bolometer array on the Green Bank
Telescope (GBT), confirming a previously reported strong, localized enhancement
of the SZE 20" to the South-East of the center of X-ray emission. This
enhancement of the SZE has been interpreted as shock-heated (> 20 keV) gas
caused by an ongoing major (low mass-ratio) merger event. Our data support this
interpretation. We also detect a pronounced asymmetry in the projected cluster
pressure profile, with the pressure just east of the cluster core ~1.6 times
higher than just to the west. This is the highest resolution image of the SZE
made to date.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Precision control of thermal transport in cryogenic single-crystal silicon devices
We report on the diffusive-ballistic thermal conductance of multi-moded
single-crystal silicon beams measured below 1 K. It is shown that the phonon
mean-free-path is a strong function of the surface roughness
characteristics of the beams. This effect is enhanced in diffuse beams with
lengths much larger than , even when the surface is fairly smooth, 5-10
nm rms, and the peak thermal wavelength is 0.6 m. Resonant phonon
scattering has been observed in beams with a pitted surface morphology and
characteristic pit depth of 30 nm. Hence, if the surface roughness is not
adequately controlled, the thermal conductance can vary significantly for
diffuse beams fabricated across a wafer. In contrast, when the beam length is
of order , the conductance is dominated by ballistic transport and is
effectively set by the beam area. We have demonstrated a uniformity of 8%
in fractional deviation for ballistic beams, and this deviation is largely set
by the thermal conductance of diffuse beams that support the
micro-electro-mechanical device and electrical leads. In addition, we have
found no evidence for excess specific heat in single-crystal silicon membranes.
This allows for the precise control of the device heat capacity with normal
metal films. We discuss the results in the context of the design and
fabrication of large-format arrays of far-infrared and millimeter wavelength
cryogenic detectors
Observations of M87 and Hydra A at 90 GHz
This paper presents new observations of the AGNs M87 and Hydra A at 90 GHz
made with the MUSTANG bolometer array on the Green Bank Telescope at 8.5"
resolution. A spectral analysis is performed combining this new data and
archival VLA data on these objects at longer wavelengths. This analysis can
detect variations in spectral index and curvature expected from energy losses
in the radiating particles. M87 shows only weak evidence for steepening of the
spectrum along the jet suggesting either re-acceleration of the relativistic
particles in the jet or insufficient losses to affect the spectrum at 90 GHz.
The jets in Hydra A show strong steepening as they move from the nucleus
suggesting unbalanced losses of the higher energy relativistic particles. The
difference between these two sources may be accounted for by the different
lengths over which the jets are observable, 2 kpc for M87 and 45 kpc for Hydra
A.Comment: 11 pages, submitted to Ap
Differential geometry, Palatini gravity and reduction
The present article deals with a formulation of the so called (vacuum)
Palatini gravity as a general variational principle. In order to accomplish
this goal, some geometrical tools related to the geometry of the bundle of
connections of the frame bundle are used. A generalization of
Lagrange-Poincar\'e reduction scheme to these types of variational problems
allows us to relate it with the Einstein-Hilbert variational problem. Relations
with some other variational problems for gravity found in the literature are
discussed.Comment: 28 pages, no figures. (v3) Remarks, discussion and references adde
MUSTANG: 90 GHz Science with the Green Bank Telescope
MUSTANG is a 90 GHz bolometer camera built for use as a facility instrument
on the 100 m Robert C. Byrd Green Bank radio telescope (GBT). MUSTANG has an 8
by 8 focal plane array of transition edge sensor bolometers read out using
time-domain multiplexed SQUID electronics. As a continuum instrument on a large
single dish MUSTANG has a combination of high resolution (8") and good
sensitivity to extended emission which make it very competitive for a wide
range of galactic and extragalactic science. Commissioning finished in January
2008 and some of the first science data have been collected.Comment: 9 Pages, 5 figures, Presented at the SPIE conference on astronomical
instrumentation in 200
Detecting Population III stars through observations of near-IR cosmic infrared background anisotropies
Following the successful mapping of the last scattering surface by WMAP and
balloon experiments, the epoch of the first stars, when Population III stars
formed, is emerging as the next cosmological frontier. It is not clear what
these stars' properties were, when they formed or how long their era lasted
before leading to the stars and galaxies we see today. We show that these
questions can be answered with the current and future measurements of the
near-IR cosmic infrared background (CIB). Theoretical arguments suggest that
Population III stars were very massive and short-lived stars that formed at
at rare peaks of the density field in the cold-dark-matter
Universe. Because Population III stars probably formed individually in small
mini-halos, they are not directly accessible to current telescopic studies. We
show that these stars left a strong and measurable signature via their
contribution to the CIB anisotropies for a wide range of their formation
scenarios. The excess in the recently measured near-IR CIB anisotropies over
that from normal galaxies can be explained by contribution from early
Population III stars. These results imply that Population III were indeed very
massive stars and their epoch started at and lasted past z\lsim
13. We show the importance of accurately measuring the CIB anisotropies
produced by Population III with future space-based missions.Comment: Ap.J., in press. (Replaced with accepted version
A high-affinity interaction with ADP-actin monomers underlies the mechanism and in vivo function of Srv2/cyclase-associated protein
Cyclase-associated protein (CAP), also called Srv2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a conserved actin monomer-binding protein that promotes cofilin-dependent actin turnover in vitro and in vivo. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying this function. Here, we show that S. cerevisiae CAP binds with strong preference to ADP-G-actin (K-d 0.02 muM) compared with ATP-G-actin (K-d 1.9 muM) and competes directly with cofilin for binding ADP-G-actin. Further, CAP blocks actin monomer addition specifically to barbed ends of filaments, in contrast to profilin, which blocks monomer addition to pointed ends of filaments. The actin-binding domain of CAP is more extensive than previously suggested and includes a recently solved beta-sheet structure in the C-terminus of CAP and adjacent sequences. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we define evolutionarily conserved residues that mediate binding to ADP-G-actin and demonstrate that these activities are required for CAP function in vivo in directing actin organization and polarized cell growth. Together, our data suggest that in vivo CAP competes with cofilin for binding ADP-actin monomers, allows rapid nucleotide exchange to occur on actin, and then because of its 100-fold weaker binding affinity for ATP-actin compared with ADP-actin, allows other cellular factors such as profilin to take the handoff of ATP-actin and facilitate barbed end assembly
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