Dynamic force spectroscopy of DNA hairpins. II. Irreversibility and dissipation

We investigate irreversibility and dissipation in single molecules that cooperatively fold/unfold in a two state manner under the action of mechanical force. We apply path thermodynamics to derive analytical expressions for the average dissipated work and the average hopping number in two state systems. It is shown how these quantities only depend on two parameters that characterize the folding/unfolding kinetics of the molecule: the fragility and the coexistence hopping rate. The latter has to be rescaled to take into account the appropriate experimental setup. Finally we carry out pulling experiments with optical tweezers in a specifically designed DNA hairpin that shows two-state cooperative folding. We then use these experimental results to validate our theoretical predictions.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figure

Systematic study of magnetic linear dichroism and birefringence in (Ga,Mn)As

Magnetic linear dichroism and birefringence in (Ga,Mn)As epitaxial layers is investigated by measuring the polarization plane rotation of reflected linearly polarized light when magnetization lies in the plane of the sample. We report on the spectral dependence of the rotation and ellipticity angles in a broad energy range of 0.12-2.7 eV for a series of optimized samples covering a wide range on Mn-dopings and Curie temperatures and find a clear blue shift of the dominant peak at energy exceeding the host material band gap. These results are discussed in the general context of the GaAs host band structure and also within the framework of the k.p and mean-field kinetic-exchange model of the (Ga,Mn)As band structure. We find a semi-quantitative agreement between experiment and theory and discuss the role of disorder-induced non-direct transitions on magneto-optical properties of (Ga,Mn)As.Comment: 18 page

A family case of fertile human 45,X,psu dic(15;Y) males

We report on a familial case including four male probands from three generations with a 45,X,psu dic(15;Y)(p11.2;q12) karyotype. 45,X is usually associated with a female phenotype and only rarely with maleness, due to translocation of small Y chromosomal fragments to autosomes. These male patients are commonly infertile because of missing azoospermia factor regions from the Y long arm. In our familial case we found a pseudodicentric translocation chromosome, that contains almost the entire chromosomes 15 and Y. The translocation took place in an unknown male ancestor of our probands and has no apparent effect on fertility and phenotype of the carrier. FISH analysis demonstrated the deletion of the pseudoautosomal region 2 (PAR2) from the Y chromosome and the loss of the nucleolus organizing region (NOR) from chromosome 15. The formation of the psu dic(15;Y) chromosome is a reciprocal event to the formation of the satellited Y chromosome (Yqs). Statistically, the formation of 45,X,psu dic(15;Y) (p11.2;q12) is as likely as the formation of Yqs. Nevertheless, it has not been described yet. This can be explained by the dicentricity of this translocation chromosome that usually leads to mitotic instability and meiotic imbalances. A second event, a stable inactivation of one of the two centromeres is obligatory to enable the transmission of the translocation chromosome and thus a stably reduced chromosome number from father to every son in this family

Transverse-momentum-dependent Multiplicities of Charged Hadrons in Muon-Deuteron Deep Inelastic Scattering

A semi-inclusive measurement of charged hadron multiplicities in deep inelastic muon scattering off an isoscalar target was performed using data collected by the COMPASS Collaboration at CERN. The following kinematic domain is covered by the data: photon virtuality $Q^{2}>1$ (GeV/$c$)$^2$, invariant mass of the hadronic system $W > 5$ GeV/$c^2$, Bjorken scaling variable in the range $0.003 < x < 0.4$, fraction of the virtual photon energy carried by the hadron in the range $0.2 < z < 0.8$, square of the hadron transverse momentum with respect to the virtual photon direction in the range 0.02 (GeV/$c)^2 < P_{\rm{hT}}^{2} < 3$ (GeV/$c$)$^2$. The multiplicities are presented as a function of $P_{\rm{hT}}^{2}$ in three-dimensional bins of $x$, $Q^2$, $z$ and compared to previous semi-inclusive measurements. We explore the small-$P_{\rm{hT}}^{2}$ region, i.e. $P_{\rm{hT}}^{2} < 1$ (GeV/$c$)$^2$, where hadron transverse momenta are expected to arise from non-perturbative effects, and also the domain of larger $P_{\rm{hT}}^{2}$, where contributions from higher-order perturbative QCD are expected to dominate. The multiplicities are fitted using a single-exponential function at small $P_{\rm{hT}}^{2}$ to study the dependence of the average transverse momentum $\langle P_{\rm{hT}}^{2}\rangle$ on $x$, $Q^2$ and $z$. The power-law behaviour of the multiplicities at large $P_{\rm{hT}}^{2}$ is investigated using various functional forms. The fits describe the data reasonably well over the full measured range.Comment: 28 pages, 20 figure

Corrigendum to "Transverse extension of partons in the proton probed in the sea-quark range by measuring the DVCS cross section" [Phys. Lett. B 793 (2019) 188]

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Light isovector resonances in π-p →π-π-π+p at 190 GeV/c

We have performed the most comprehensive resonance-model fit of π-π-π+ states using the results of our previously published partial-wave analysis (PWA) of a large data set of diffractive-dissociation events from the reaction π-+p→π-π-π++precoil with a 190 GeV/c pion beam. The PWA results, which were obtained in 100 bins of three-pion mass, 0.5<2.5 GeV/c2, and simultaneously in 11 bins of the reduced four-momentum transfer squared, 0.1<1.0 (GeV/c)2, are subjected to a resonance-model fit using Breit-Wigner amplitudes to simultaneously describe a subset of 14 selected waves using 11 isovector light-meson states with JPC=0-+, 1++, 2++, 2-+, 4++, and spin-exotic 1-+ quantum numbers. The model contains the well-known resonances π(1800), a1(1260), a2(1320), π2(1670), π2(1880), and a4(2040). In addition, it includes the disputed π1(1600), the excited states a1(1640), a2(1700), and π2(2005), as well as the resonancelike a1(1420). We measure the resonance parameters mass and width of these objects by combining the information from the PWA results obtained in the 11 t′ bins. We extract the relative branching fractions of the ρ(770)π and f2(1270)π decays of a2(1320) and a4(2040), where the former one is measured for the first time. In a novel approach, we extract the t′ dependence of the intensity of the resonances and of their phases. The t′ dependence of the intensities of most resonances differs distinctly from the t′ dependence of the nonresonant components. For the first time, we determine the t′ dependence of the phases of the production amplitudes and confirm that the production mechanism of the Pomeron exchange is common to all resonances. We have performed extensive systematic studies on the model dependence and correlations of the measured physical parameters

Multiplicities of charged kaons from deep-inelastic muon scattering off an isoscalar target

Precise measurements of charged-kaon multiplicities in deep inelastic scattering were performed. The results are presented in three-dimensional bins of the Bjorken scaling variable x, the relative virtual-photon energy y, and the fraction z of the virtual-photon energy carried by the produced hadron. The data were obtained by the COMPASS Collaboration by scattering 160 GeV muons off an isoscalar 6LiD target. They cover the kinematic domain View the MathML source in the photon virtuality, 0.0045 GeV/c2 in the invariant mass of the hadronic system. The results from the sum of the z -integrated K+ and K 12 multiplicities at high x point to a value of the non-strange quark fragmentation function larger than obtained by the earlier DSS fit

Measurement of P T -weighted Sivers asymmetries in leptoproduction of hadrons

The transverse spin asymmetries measured in semi-inclusive leptoproduction of hadrons, when weighted with the hadron transverse momentum PT , allow for the extraction of important transverse-momentumdependent distribution functions. In particular, the weighted Sivers asymmetries provide direct information on the Sivers function, which is a leading-twist distribution that arises from a correlation between the transverse momentum of an unpolarised quark in a transversely polarised nucleon and the spin of the nucleon. Using the high-statistics data collected by the COMPASS Collaboration in 2010 with a transversely polarised proton target, we have evaluated two types of PT -weighted Sivers asymmetries, which are both proportional to the product of the first transverse moment of the Sivers function and of the fragmentation function. The results are compared to the standard unweighted Sivers asymmetries and used to extract the first transverse moments of the Sivers distributions for u and d quark

Collins and Sivers transverse-spin asymmetries in inclusive muoproduction of ρ0\rho^0 mesons

The production of vector mesons in deep inelastic scattering is an interesting yet scarsely explored channel to study the transverse spin structure of the nucleon and the related phenomena. The COMPASS collaboration has performed the first measurement of the Collins and Sivers asymmetries for inclusively produced $\rho^0$ mesons. The analysis is based on the data set collected in deep inelastic scattering in $2010$ using a $160\,\,\rm{GeV}/c$ $\mu^+$ beam impinging on a transversely polarized $\rm{NH}_3$ target. The $\rho^{0}$ mesons are selected from oppositely charged hadron pairs, and the asymmetries are extracted as a function of the Bjorken-$x$ variable, the transverse momentum of the pair and the fraction of the energy $z$ carried by the pair. Indications for positive Collins and Sivers asymmetries are observed