6,079 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
Kinetic and ion pairing contributions in the dielectric spectra of electrolyte aqueous solutions
Understanding dielectric spectra can reveal important information about the
dynamics of solvents and solutes from the dipolar relaxation times down to
electronic ones. In the late 1970s, Hubbard and Onsager predicted that adding
salt ions to a polar solution would result in a reduced dielectric permittivity
that arises from the unexpected tendency of solvent dipoles to align opposite
to the applied field. So far, this effect has escaped an experimental
verification, mainly because of the concomitant appearance of dielectric
saturation from which the Hubbard-Onsager decrement cannot be easily separated.
Here we develop a novel non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation approach
to determine this decrement accurately for the first time. Using a
thermodynamic consistent all-atom force field we show that for an aqueous
solution containing sodium chloride around 4.8 Mol/l, this effect accounts for
12\% of the total dielectric permittivity. The dielectric decrement can be
strikingly different if a less accurate force field for the ions is used. Using
the widespread GROMOS parameters, we observe in fact an {\it increment} of the
dielectric permittivity rather than a decrement. We can show that this
increment is caused by ion pairing, introduced by a too low dispersion force,
and clarify the microscopic connection between long-living ion pairs and the
appearance of specific features in the dielectric spectrum of the solution
Solar Coronal Structures and Stray Light in TRACE
Using the 2004 Venus transit of the Sun to constrain a semi-empirical
point-spread function for the TRACE EUV solar telescope, we have measured the
effect of stray light in that telescope. We find that 43% of 171A EUV light
that enters TRACE is scattered, either through diffraction off the entrance
filter grid or through other nonspecular effects. We carry this result forward,
via known-PSF deconvolution of TRACE images, to identify its effect on analysis
of TRACE data. Known-PSF deconvolution by this derived PSF greatly reduces the
effect of visible haze in the TRACE 171A images, enhances bright features, and
reveals that the smooth background component of the corona is considerably less
bright (and hence much more rarefied) than commonly supposed. Deconvolution
reveals that some prior conlclusions about the Sun appear to have been based on
stray light in the images. In particular, the diffuse background "quiet corona"
becomes consistent with hydrostatic support of the coronal plasma; feature
contrast is greatly increased, possibly affecting derived parameters such as
the form of the coronal heating function; and essentially all existing
differential emission measure studies of small features appear to be affected
by contamination from nearby features. We speculate on further implications of
stray light for interpretation of EUV images from TRACE and similar
instruments, and advocate deconvolution as a standard tool for image analysis
with future instruments such as SDO/AIA.Comment: Accepted by APJ; v2 reformatted to single-column format for online
readabilit
Numerical simulations of two dimensional magnetic domain patterns
I show that a model for the interaction of magnetic domains that includes a
short range ferromagnetic and a long range dipolar anti-ferromagnetic
interaction reproduces very well many characteristic features of
two-dimensional magnetic domain patterns. In particular bubble and stripe
phases are obtained, along with polygonal and labyrinthine morphologies. In
addition, two puzzling phenomena, namely the so called `memory effect' and the
`topological melting' observed experimentally are also qualitatively described.
Very similar phenomenology is found in the case in which the model is changed
to be represented by the Swift-Hohenberg equation driven by an external
orienting field.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Canonical sampling through velocity-rescaling
We present a new molecular dynamics algorithm for sampling the canonical
distribution. In this approach the velocities of all the particles are rescaled
by a properly chosen random factor. The algorithm is formally justified and it
is shown that, in spite of its stochastic nature, a quantity can still be
defined that remains constant during the evolution. In numerical applications
this quantity can be used to measure the accuracy of the sampling. We
illustrate the properties of this new method on Lennard-Jones and TIP4P water
models in the solid and liquid phases. Its performance is excellent and largely
independent on the thermostat parameter also with regard to the dynamic
properties
Semiclassical initial value calculations of collinear helium atom
Semiclassical calculations using the Herman-Kluk initial value treatment are
performed to determine energy eigenvalues of bound and resonance states of the
collinear helium atom. Both the configuration (where the classical motion
is fully chaotic) and the configuration (where the classical dynamics is
nearly integrable) are treated. The classical motion is regularized to remove
singularities that occur when the electrons collide with the nucleus. Very good
agreement is obtained with quantum energies for bound and resonance states
calculated by the complex rotation method.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to J. Phys.
Hemiparasitic plant impacts animal and plant communities across four trophic levels
1.Understanding the impact of species on community structure is a fundamental question in ecology. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that both sub-dominant species and parasites can have a disproportionately large impact.
2.Here we report the impacts of an organism that is both subdominant and parasitic, the hemiparasite Rhinanthus minor. Whilst the impact of parasitic angiosperms on their hosts and, to a lesser degree, co-existing plant species, have been well characterized, much less is known about their impacts on higher trophic levels.
3.We experimentally manipulated field densities of the hemiparasite Rhinanthus minor in a species rich grassland, comparing the plant and invertebrate communities in plots where it was removed, at natural densities or at enhanced densities.
4.Plots with natural and enhanced densities of R. minor had lower plant biomass than plots without the hemiparasite, but enhanced densities almost doubled the abundance of invertebrates within the plots across all trophic levels, with effects evident in herbivores, predators and detritivores.
5.The hemiparasite R. minor, despite being a sub-dominant and transient component within plant communities that it inhabits, has profound effects on four different trophic levels. These effects persist beyond the life of the hemiparasite,
emphasizing its role as a keystone species in grassland communitie
A Model for the Propagation of Sound in Granular Materials
This paper presents a simple ball-and-spring model for the propagation of
small amplitude vibrations in a granular material. In this model, the
positional disorder in the sample is ignored and the particles are placed on
the vertices of a square lattice. The inter-particle forces are modeled as
linear springs, with the only disorder in the system coming from a random
distribution of spring constants. Despite its apparent simplicity, this model
is able to reproduce the complex frequency response seen in measurements of
sound propagation in a granular system. In order to understand this behavior,
the role of the resonance modes of the system is investigated. Finally, this
simple model is generalized to include relaxation behavior in the force network
-- a behavior which is also seen in real granular materials. This model gives
quantitative agreement with experimental observations of relaxation.Comment: 21 pages, requires Harvard macros (9/91), 12 postscript figures not
included, HLRZ preprint 6/93, (replacement has proper references included
NVU dynamics. III. Simulating molecules at constant potential energy
This is the final paper in a series that introduces geodesic molecular
dynamics at constant potential energy. This dynamics is entitled NVU dynamics
in analogy to standard energy-conserving Newtonian NVE dynamics. In the first
two papers [Ingebrigtsen et al., J. Chem. Phys. 135, 104101 (2011); ibid,
104102 (2011)], a numerical algorithm for simulating geodesic motion of atomic
systems was developed and tested against standard algorithms. The conclusion
was that the NVU algorithm has the same desirable properties as the Verlet
algorithm for Newtonian NVE dynamics, i.e., it is time-reversible and
symplectic. Additionally, it was concluded that NVU dynamics becomes equivalent
to NVE dynamics in the thermodynamic limit. In this paper, the NVU algorithm
for atomic systems is extended to be able to simulate geodesic motion of
molecules at constant potential energy. We derive an algorithm for simulating
rigid bonds and test this algorithm on three different systems: an asymmetric
dumbbell model, Lewis-Wahnstrom OTP, and rigid SPC/E water. The rigid bonds
introduce additional constraints beyond that of constant potential energy for
atomic systems. The rigid-bond NVU algorithm conserves potential energy, bond
lengths, and step length for indefinitely long runs. The quantities probed in
simulations give results identical to those of Nose-Hoover NVT dynamics. Since
Nose-Hoover NVT dynamics is known to give results equivalent to those of NVE
dynamics, the latter results show that NVU dynamics becomes equivalent to NVE
dynamics in the thermodynamic limit also for molecular systems.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure
Emergence of time-horizon invariant correlation structure in financial returns by subtraction of the market mode
We investigate the emergence of a structure in the correlation matrix of
assets' returns as the time-horizon over which returns are computed increases
from the minutes to the daily scale. We analyze data from different stock
markets (New York, Paris, London, Milano) and with different methods. Result
crucially depends on whether the data is restricted to the ``internal''
dynamics of the market, where the ``center of mass'' motion (the market mode)
is removed or not. If the market mode is not removed, we find that the
structure emerges, as the time-horizon increases, from splitting a single large
cluster. In NYSE we find that when the market mode is removed, the structure of
correlation at the daily scale is already well defined at the 5 minutes
time-horizon, and this structure accounts for 80 % of the classification of
stocks in economic sectors. Similar results, though less sharp, are found for
the other markets. We also find that the structure of correlations in the
overnight returns is markedly different from that of intraday activity.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figure
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