1,439 research outputs found
Thermal denaturation of fluctuating finite DNA chains: the role of bending rigidity in bubble nucleation
Statistical DNA models available in the literature are often effective models
where the base-pair state only (unbroken or broken) is considered. Because of a
decrease by a factor of 30 of the effective bending rigidity of a sequence of
broken bonds, or bubble, compared to the double stranded state, the inclusion
of the molecular conformational degrees of freedom in a more general mesoscopic
model is needed. In this paper we do so by presenting a 1D Ising model, which
describes the internal base pair states, coupled to a discrete worm like chain
model describing the chain configurations [J. Palmeri, M. Manghi, and N.
Destainville, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 088103 (2007)]. This coupled model is
exactly solved using a transfer matrix technique that presents an analogy with
the path integral treatment of a quantum two-state diatomic molecule. When the
chain fluctuations are integrated out, the denaturation transition temperature
and width emerge naturally as an explicit function of the model parameters of a
well defined Hamiltonian, revealing that the transition is driven by the
difference in bending (entropy dominated) free energy between bubble and
double-stranded segments. The calculated melting curve (fraction of open base
pairs) is in good agreement with the experimental melting profile of
polydA-polydT. The predicted variation of the mean-square-radius as a function
of temperature leads to a coherent novel explanation for the experimentally
observed thermal viscosity transition. Finally, the influence of the DNA strand
length is studied in detail, underlining the importance of finite size effects,
even for DNA made of several thousand base pairs.Comment: Latex, 28 pages pdf, 9 figure
Radiative transition rates and collision strengths for Si II
Aims. This work reports radiative transition rates and electron impact
excitation collision strengths for levels of the 3s23p, 3s3p2, 3s24s, and 3s23d
configurations of Siii. Methods. The radiative data were computed using the
Thomas-Fermi-Dirac-Amaldi central potential, but with the modifications
introduced by Bautista (2008) that account for the effects of electron-electron
interactions. We also introduce new schemes for the optimization of the
variational parameters of the potential. Additional calculations were carried
out with the Relativistic Hartree-Fock and the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock
methods. Collision strengths in LS-coupling were calculated in the close
coupling approximation with the R-matrix method. Then, fine structure collision
strengths were obtained by means of the intermediate-coupling frame
transformation (ICFT) method which accounts for spin-orbit coupling effects.
Results. We present extensive comparisons between the results of different
approximations and with the most recent calculations and experiment available
in the literature. From these comparisons we derive a recommended set of gf-
values and radiative transition rates with their corresponding estimated
uncertainties. We also study the effects of different approximations in the
representation of the target ion on the electron-impact collision strengths.
Our most accurate set of collision strengths were integrated over a Maxwellian
distribution of electron energies and the resulting effective collision
strengths are given for a wide range of temperatures. Our results present
significant differences from recent calculations with the B-spline
non-orthogonal R-matrix method. We discuss the sources of the differences.Comment: 6 figures, 5 tables within text, 2 electronic table
Nitrogen K-shell photoabsorption
Reliable atomic data have been computed for the spectral modeling of the
nitrogen K lines, which may lead to useful astrophysical diagnostics. Data sets
comprise valence and K-vacancy level energies, wavelengths, Einstein
-coefficients, radiative and Auger widths and K-edge photoionization cross
sections. An important issue is the lack of measurements which are usually
employed to fine-tune calculations so as to attain spectroscopic accuracy. In
order to estimate data quality, several atomic structure codes are used and
extensive comparisons with previous theoretical data have been carried out. In
the calculation of K photoabsorption with the Breit--Pauli -matrix method,
both radiation and Auger damping, which cause the smearing of the K edge, are
taken into account. This work is part of a wider project to compute atomic data
in the X-ray regime to be included in the database of the popular {\sc xstar}
modeling code
Mere Exposure Alters Category Learning of Novel Objects
We investigated how mere exposure to complex objects with correlated or uncorrelated object features affects later category learning of new objects not seen during exposure. Correlations among pre-exposed object dimensions influenced later category learning. Unlike other published studies, the collection of pre-exposed objects provided no information regarding the categories to be learned, ruling out unsupervised or incidental category learning during pre-exposure. Instead, results are interpreted with respect to statistical learning mechanisms, providing one of the first demonstrations of how statistical learning can influence visual object learning
A Quantitative Comparison of Opacities Calculated Using the Distorted- Wave and -Matrix Methods
The present debate on the reliability of astrophysical opacities has reached
a new climax with the recent measurements of Fe opacities on the Z-machine at
the Sandia National Laboratory \citep{Bailey2015}. To understand the
differences between theoretical results, on the one hand, and experiments on
the other, as well as the differences among the various theoretical results,
detailed comparisons are needed. Many ingredients are involved in the
calculation of opacities; deconstructing the whole process and comparing the
differences at each step are necessary to quantify their importance and impact
on the final results. We present here such a comparison using the two main
approaches to calculate the required atomic data, the -Matrix and
distorted-wave methods, as well as sets of configurations and coupling schemes
to quantify the effects on the opacities for the and ions.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Use of nanofiltration membrane technology for ceramic industry wastewater treatment
A study has been undertaken of an advanced wastewater treatment approach using polymer nanofiltration membranes, in
an attempt to obtain water of sufficient quality to allow it to be reused in the same production process or, alternatively, to be
discharged without any problems. The study has initially focused on the removal of organic matter (reduction of COD) and
the most representative ions present in the wastewater, such as Na+
, Mg2+, Cl-
, and SO4
2-
.
In a first part of the study, with a view to optimising the experimental phase, a simulation has been performed of the
nanofiltration process using the NanoFlux software. Among other things, the simulation allows the most suitable membranes
to be selected as a function of the permeate flow rate and desired level of retention in the substances to be removed. The
subsequent experimentation was carried out in a laboratory tangential filtration system that works with flat membranes.
It was found that retention values of about 90% were obtained for the studied substances, with a good permeate flow rate,
using low operating pressures. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the studied technology and its potential as a
treatment for improving ceramic industry wastewater qualit
Decay Properties of K-Vacancy States in Fe X-Fe XVII
We report extensive calculations of the decay properties of fine-structure
K-vacancy levels in Fe X-Fe XVII. A large set of level energies, wavelengths,
radiative and Auger rates, and fluorescence yields has been computed using
three different standard atomic codes, namely Cowan's HFR, AUTOSTRUCTURE and
the Breit-Pauli R-matrix package. This multi-code approach is used to the study
the effects of core relaxation, configuration interaction and the Breit
interaction, and enables the estimate of statistical accuracy ratings. The
K-alpha and KLL Auger widths have been found to be nearly independent of both
the outer-electron configuration and electron occupancy keeping a constant
ratio of 1.53+/-0.06. By comparing with previous theoretical and measured
wavelengths, the accuracy of the present set is determined to be within 2 mA.
Also, the good agreement found between the different radiative and Auger data
sets that have been computed allow us to propose with confidence an accuracy
rating of 20% for the line fluorescence yields greater than 0.01. Emission and
absorption spectral features are predicted finding good correlation with
measurements in both laboratory and astrophysical plasmas.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to A&A. Electronic Table 3-4 available
at http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/users/palmeri/patrick.htm
Atomic data for the K-vacancy states of Fe XXIV
As part of a project to compute improved atomic data for the spectral
modeling of iron K lines, we report extensive calculations and comparisons of
atomic data for K-vacancy states in Fe XXIV. The data sets include: (i) energy
levels, line wavelengths, radiative and Auger rates; (ii) inner-shell electron
impact excitation rates and (iii) fine structure inner-shell photoionization
cross sections. The calculations of energy levels and radiative and Auger rates
have involved a detailed study of orbital representations, core relaxation,
configuration interaction, relativistic corrections, cancellation effects and
semi-empirical corrections. It is shown that a formal treatment of the Breit
interaction is essential to render the important magnetic correlations that
take part in the decay pathways of this ion. As a result, the accuracy of the
present A-values is firmly ranked at better than 10% while that of the Auger
rates at only 15%. The calculations of collisional excitation and
photoionization cross sections take into account the effects of radiation and
spectator Auger dampings. In the former, these effects cause significant
attenuation of resonances leading to a good agreement with a simpler method
where resonances are excluded. In the latter, resonances converging to the K
threshold display symmetric profiles of constant width that causes edge
smearing.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics 200
Simplified primary energy models for the selection of Electron Beam Melting over turning in the production of titanium alloys components
Over the last years two factors have deeply affected research in Manufacturing: the growing interest around Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes and the need to reduce the anthropogenic environmental impact. As result, a large papers concerning the environmental impact performance of AM compared to conventional processes have been published. Specifically, very complex models accounting for the impact of each life cycle stage of AMed components have been released. Results revealed that AM, at present, guarantees energy savings only within some domains, and the potential saving depends on several factors: product complexity, eco-properties of the material, energy intensity of the material deposition, light-weighting enabled by AM approaches and extent of the use phase. Above all, the result of the comparative analysis depends both on the considered factors and on the selected system boundaries. The already proposed models are very complex and many inventory data are needed, this could make them unapplicable at industrial level. In the presented paper, simplified models are proposed and the performances of these are quantified with varying the analyzed scenario (considered factors and selected system boundary). Results revealed that, for given scenarios, simplified models characterized by low computational effort, can provide reliable results. Guidelines for the implementation of different models with varying the system boundary are provided for the cumulative energy comparison of Electron Beam Melting and conventional turning for the production of titanium alloys components
HD 65949: Rosetta Stone or Red Herring
HD 65949 is a late B star with exceptionally strong Hg II at 3984[A], but it
is not a typical HgMn star. The Re II spectrum is of extraordinary strength.
Abundances, or upper limits are derived here for 58 elements based on a model
with Teff = 13100K, and log(g) = 4.0. Even-Z elements through nickel show minor
deviations from solar abundances. Anomalies among the odd-Z elements through
copper are mostly small. Beyond the iron peak, a huge scatter is found. The
abundance pattern of the heaviest elements resembles the N=126 r-process peak
of solar material, though not in detail. We find a significant correlation of
the abundance excesses with second ionization potentials for elements with Z >
30. This indicates the relevance of photospheric or near-photospheric
processes. We explore a model with mass accretion of exotic material followed
by the more commonly accepted differentiation by diffusion. That model leads to
a number of predictions which challenge future work.
Likely primary and secondary masses are near 3.3 and 1.6 M(solar), with a
separation of ca. 0.25 AU. New atomic structure calculations are presented in
two appendices.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS: 16 pages, 5 figure
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