309 research outputs found
Quantum Charge Transport and Conformational Dynamics of Macromolecules
We study the dynamics of quantum excitations inside macromolecules which can
undergo conformational transitions. In the first part of the paper, we use the
path integral formalism to rigorously derive a set of coupled equations of
motion which simultaneously describe the molecular and quantum transport
dynamics, and obey the fluctuation/dissipation relationship. We also introduce
an algorithm which yields the most probable molecular and quantum transport
pathways in rare, thermally-activated reactions. In the second part of the
paper, we apply this formalism to simulate the propagation of a charge during
the collapse of a polymer from an initial stretched conformation to a final
globular state. We find that the charge dynamics is quenched when the chain
reaches a molten globule state. Using random matrix theory we show that this
transition is due to an increase of quantum localization driven by dynamical
disorder.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure
Conservation law of operator current in open quantum systems
We derive a fundamental conservation law of operator current for master
equations describing reduced quantum systems. If this law is broken, the
temporal integral of the current operator of an arbitrary system observable
does not yield in general the change of that observable in the evolution. We
study Lindblad-type master equations as examples and prove that the application
of the secular approximation during their derivation results in a violation of
the conservation law. We show that generally any violation of the law leads to
artificial corrections to the complete quantum dynamics, thus questioning the
accuracy of the particular master equation.Comment: 5 pages, final versio
Adaptive Resolution Molecular Dynamics Simulation: Changing the Degrees of Freedom on the Fly
We present a new adaptive resolution technique for efficient particle-based
multiscale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The presented approach is
tailor-made for molecular systems where atomistic resolution is required only
in spatially localized domains whereas a lower mesoscopic level of detail is
sufficient for the rest of the system. Our method allows an on-the-fly
interchange between a given molecule's atomic and coarse-grained level of
description, enabling us to reach large length and time scales while spatially
retaining atomistic details of the system. The new approach is tested on a
model system of a liquid of tetrahedral molecules. The simulation box is
divided into two regions: one containing only atomistically resolved
tetrahedral molecules, the other containing only one particle coarse-grained
spherical molecules. The molecules can freely move between the two regions
while changing their level of resolution accordingly. The coarse-grained and
the atomistically resolved systems have the same statistical properties at the
same physical conditions.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, 5 table
Exact Results for the One-Dimensional Self-Organized Critical Forest-Fire Model
We present the analytic solution of the self-organized critical (SOC)
forest-fire model in one dimension proving SOC in systems without conservation
laws by analytic means. Under the condition that the system is in the steady
state and very close to the critical point, we calculate the probability that a
string of neighboring sites is occupied by a given configuration of trees.
The critical exponent describing the size distribution of forest clusters is
exactly and does not change under certain changes of the model
rules. Computer simulations confirm the analytic results.Comment: 12 pages REVTEX, 2 figures upon request, dro/93/
Relaxation kinetics of biological dimer adsorption models
We discuss the relaxation kinetics of a one-dimensional dimer adsorption
model as recently proposed for the binding of biological dimers like kinesin on
microtubules. The non-equilibrium dynamics shows several regimes: irreversible
adsorption on short time scales, an intermediate plateau followed by a
power-law regime and finally exponential relaxation towards equilibrium. In all
four regimes we give analytical solutions. The algebraic decay and the scaling
behaviour can be explained by mapping onto a simple reaction-diffusion model.
We show that there are several possibilities to define the autocorrelation
function and that they all asymptotically show exponential decay, however with
different time constants. Our findings remain valid if there is an attractive
interaction between bound dimers.Comment: REVTeX, 6 pages, 5 figures; to appear in Europhys. Letters; a Java
applet showing the simulation is accessible at
http://www.ph.tum.de/~avilfan/rela
Non-Markovian dynamics for bipartite systems
We analyze the appearance of non-Markovian effects in the dynamics of a
bipartite system coupled to a reservoir, which can be described within a class
of non-Markovian equations given by a generalized Lindblad structure. A novel
master equation, which we term quantum Bloch-Boltzmann equation, is derived,
describing both motional and internal states of a test particle in a quantum
framework. When due to the preparation of the system or to decoherence effects
one of the two degrees of freedom is amenable to a classical treatment and not
resolved in the final measurement, though relevant for the interaction with the
reservoir, non-Markovian behaviors such as stretched exponential or power law
decay of coherences can be put into evidence.Comment: published version, 15 pages, revtex, no figure
Investigating Biological Matter with Theoretical Nuclear Physics Methods
The internal dynamics of strongly interacting systems and that of
biomolecules such as proteins display several important analogies, despite the
huge difference in their characteristic energy and length scales. For example,
in all such systems, collective excitations, cooperative transitions and phase
transitions emerge as the result of the interplay of strong correlations with
quantum or thermal fluctuations. In view of such an observation, some
theoretical methods initially developed in the context of theoretical nuclear
physics have been adapted to investigate the dynamics of biomolecules. In this
talk, we review some of our recent studies performed along this direction. In
particular, we discuss how the path integral formulation of the molecular
dynamics allows to overcome some of the long-standing problems and limitations
which emerge when simulating the protein folding dynamics at the atomistic
level of detail.Comment: Prepared for the proceedings of the "XII Meeting on the Problems of
Theoretical Nuclear Physics" (Cortona11
Critical sound attenuation in a diluted Ising system
The field-theoretic description of dynamical critical effects of the
influence of disorder on acoustic anomalies near the temperature of the
second-order phase transition is considered for three-dimensional Ising-like
systems. Calculations of the sound attenuation in pure and dilute Ising-like
systems near the critical point are presented. The dynamical scaling function
for the critical attenuation coefficient is calculated. The influence of
quenched disorder on the asymptotic behaviour of the critical ultrasonic
anomalies is discussed.Comment: 12 RevTeX pages, 4 figure
Crossover from Percolation to Self-Organized Criticality
We include immunity against fire as a new parameter into the self-organized
critical forest-fire model. When the immunity assumes a critical value,
clusters of burnt trees are identical to percolation clusters of random bond
percolation. As long as the immunity is below its critical value, the
asymptotic critical exponents are those of the original self-organized critical
model, i.e. the system performs a crossover from percolation to self-organized
criticality. We present a scaling theory and computer simulation results.Comment: 4 pages Revtex, two figures included, to be published in PR
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