967 research outputs found
Entropic transport - A test bed for the Fick-Jacobs approximation
Biased diffusive transport of Brownian particles through irregularly shaped,
narrow confining quasi-one-dimensional structures is investigated. The
complexity of the higher dimensional diffusive dynamics is reduced by means of
the so-called Fick-Jacobs approximation, yielding an effective one-dimensional
stochastic dynamics. Accordingly, the elimination of transverse, equilibrated
degrees of freedom stemming from geometrical confinements and/or bottlenecks
cause entropic potential barriers which the particles have to overcome when
moving forward noisily. The applicability and the validity of the reduced
kinetic description is tested by comparing the approximation with Brownian
dynamics simulations in full configuration space. This non-equilibrium
transport in such quasi-one-dimensional irregular structures implies for
moderate-to-strong bias a characteristic violation of the Sutherland-Einstein
fluctuation-dissipation relation.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures ; Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A (2009), in pres
Entropic Stochastic Resonance
We present a novel scheme for the appearance of Stochastic Resonance when the
dynamics of a Brownian particle takes place in a confined medium. The presence
of uneven boundaries, giving rise to an entropic contribution to the potential,
may upon application of a periodic driving force result in an increase of the
spectral amplification at an optimum value of the ambient noise level. This
Entropic Stochastic Resonance (ESR), characteristic of small-scale systems, may
constitute a useful mechanism for the manipulation and control of
single-molecules and nano-devices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Embedded-Cluster Calculations in a Numeric Atomic Orbital Density-Functional Theory Framework
We integrate the all-electron electronic structure code FHI-aims into the
general ChemShell package for solid-state embedding (QM/MM) calculations. A
major undertaking in this integration is the implementation of pseudopotential
functionality into FHI-aims to describe cations at the QM/MM boundary through
effective core potentials and therewith prevent spurious overpolarization of
the electronic density. Based on numeric atomic orbital basis sets, FHI-aims
offers particularly efficient access to exact exchange and second order
perturbation theory, rendering the established QM/MM setup an ideal tool for
hybrid and double-hybrid level DFT calculations of solid systems. We illustrate
this capability by calculating the reduction potential of Fe in the
Fe-substituted ZSM-5 zeolitic framework and the reaction energy profile for
(photo-)catalytic water oxidation at TiO2(110).Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Simple Stabilized Radio-Frequency Transfer with Optical Phase Actuation
We describe and experimentally evaluate a stabilized radio-frequency transfer
technique that employs optical phase sensing and optical phase actuation. This
technique can be achieved by modifying existing stabilized optical frequency
equipment and also exhibits advantages over previous stabilized radio-frequency
transfer techniques in terms of size and complexity. We demonstrate the
stabilized transfer of a 160 MHz signal over an 166 km fiber optical link,
achieving an Allan deviation of 9.7x10^-12 Hz/Hz at 1 s of integration, and
3.9x10^-1414 Hz/Hz at 1000 s. This technique is being considered for
application to the Square Kilometre Array SKA1-low radio telescope.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Optics Letter
Entropically-induced asymmetric passage times of charged tracers across corrugated channels
We analyze the diffusion of charged and neutral tracers suspended in an electrolyte embedded in a channel of varying cross section. Making use of systematic approximations, the diffusion equation governing the motion of tracers is mapped into an effective 1D equation describing the dynamics along the longitudinal axis of the channel where its varying-section is encoded as an effective entropic potential. This simplified approach allows us to characterize tracer diffusion under generic confinement by measuring their mean first passage time (MFPT). In particular, we show that the interplay between geometrical confinement and electrostatic interactions strongly affect the MFTP of tracers across corrugated channels hence leading to alternative means to control tracers translocation across charged pores. Finally, our results show that the MFPTs of a charged tracer in opposite directions along an asymmetric channel may differ We expect our results to be relevant for biological as well synthetic devices whose dynamics is controlled by the detection of diluted tracer
Density of mechanisms within the flexibility window of zeolites
By treating idealized zeolite frameworks as periodic mechanical trusses, we
show that the number of flexible folding mechanisms in zeolite frameworks is
strongly peaked at the minimum density end of their flexibility window. 25 of
the 197 known zeolite frameworks exhibit an extensive flexibility, where the
number of unique mechanisms increases linearly with the volume when long
wavelength mechanisms are included. Extensively flexible frameworks therefore
have a maximum in configurational entropy, as large crystals, at their lowest
density. Most real zeolites do not exhibit extensive flexibility, suggesting
that surface and edge mechanisms are important, likely during the nucleation
and growth stage. The prevalence of flexibility in real zeolites suggests that,
in addition to low framework energy, it is an important criterion when
searching large databases of hypothetical zeolites for potentially useful
realizable structures.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
On the elastic constants of the zeolite chlorosodalite
The use of force-field based molecular modeling to predict the elastic constants of the zeolite chlorosodalite is described. Theoretical predictions of the on-axis and off-axis elastic constants strongly suggest that an error exists in the published elastic constants of the material. When the previous experimental data are corrected by transposing the published directional ultrasound velocities, excellent agreement is observed between the off-axis plots of sodalite produced by experiment and modeling. Further confirmation of the prediction is supplied by considering the Zener ratios of other inorganic materials that possess cubic symmetry. ©2006 American Institute of Physics
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Do Leaf Cutting Ants Cut Undetected? Testing the Effect of Ant-Induced Plant Defences on Foraging Decisions in Atta colombica
Leaf-cutting ants (LCAs) are polyphagous, yet highly selective herbivores. The factors that govern their selection of food plants, however, remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that the induction of anti-herbivore defences by attacked food plants, which are toxic to either ants or their mutualistic fungus, should significantly affect the ants' foraging behaviour. To test this “induced defence hypothesis,” we used lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), a plant that emits many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) upon herbivore attack with known anti-fungal or ant-repellent effects. Our results provide three important insights into the foraging ecology of LCAs. First, leaf-cutting by Atta ants can induce plant defences: Lima bean plants that were repeatedly exposed to foraging workers of Atta colombica over a period of three days emitted significantly more VOCs than undamaged control plants. Second, the level to which a plant has induced its anti-herbivore defences can affect the LCAs' foraging behaviour: In dual choice bioassays, foragers discriminated control plants from plants that have been damaged mechanically or by LCAs 24 h ago. In contrast, strong induction levels of plants after treatment with the plant hormone jasmonic acid or three days of LCA feeding strongly repelled LCA foragers relative to undamaged control plants. Third, the LCA-specific mode of damaging leaves allows them to remove larger quantities of leaf material before being recognized by the plant: While leaf loss of approximately 15% due to a chewing herbivore (coccinelid beetle) was sufficient to significantly increase VOC emission levels after 24 h, the removal of even 20% of a plant's leaf area within 20 min by LCAs did not affect its VOC emission rate after 24 h. Taken together, our results support the “induced defence hypothesis” and provide first empirical evidence that the foraging behaviour of LCAs is affected by the induction of plant defence responses
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