Thermodynamics of polymer adsorption to a flexible membrane

We analyze the structural behavior of a single polymer chain grafted to an attractive, flexible surface. Our model is composed of a coarse-grained bead-and-spring polymer and a tethered membrane. By means of extensive parallel tempering Monte Carlo simulations it is shown that the system exhibits a rich phase behavior ranging from highly ordered, compact to extended random coil structures and from desorbed to completely adsorbed or even partially embedded conformations. These findings are summarized in a pseudophase diagram indicating the predominant class of conformations as a function of the external parameters temperature and polymer-membrane interaction strength. By comparison with adsorption to a stiff membrane surface it is shown that the flexibility of the membrane gives rise to qualitatively new behavior such as stretching of adsorbed conformations

Classical GR as a topological theory with linear constraints

We investigate a formulation of continuum 4d gravity in terms of a constrained topological (BF) theory, in the spirit of the Plebanski formulation, but involving only linear constraints, of the type used recently in the spin foam approach to quantum gravity. We identify both the continuum version of the linear simplicity constraints used in the quantum discrete context and a linear version of the quadratic volume constraints that are necessary to complete the reduction from the topological theory to gravity. We illustrate and discuss also the discrete counterpart of the same continuum linear constraints. Moreover, we show under which additional conditions the discrete volume constraints follow from the simplicity constraints, thus playing the role of secondary constraints. Our analysis clarifies how the discrete constructions of spin foam models are related to a continuum theory with an action principle that is equivalent to general relativity.Comment: 4 pages, based on a talk given at the Spanish Relativity Meeting 2010 (ERE2010, Granada, Spain

Classical GR as a topological theory with linear constraints

We investigate a formulation of continuum 4d gravity in terms of a constrained topological (BF) theory, in the spirit of the Plebanski formulation, but involving only linear constraints, of the type used recently in the spin foam approach to quantum gravity. We identify both the continuum version of the linear simplicity constraints used in the quantum discrete context and a linear version of the quadratic volume constraints that are necessary to complete the reduction from the topological theory to gravity. We illustrate and discuss also the discrete counterpart of the same continuum linear constraints. Moreover, we show under which additional conditions the discrete volume constraints follow from the simplicity constraints, thus playing the role of secondary constraints. Our analysis clarifies how the discrete constructions of spin foam models are related to a continuum theory with an action principle that is equivalent to general relativity.Comment: 4 pages, based on a talk given at the Spanish Relativity Meeting 2010 (ERE2010, Granada, Spain

Classical GR as a topological theory with linear constraints

We investigate a formulation of continuum 4d gravity in terms of a constrained topological (BF) theory, in the spirit of the Plebanski formulation, but involving only linear constraints, of the type used recently in the spin foam approach to quantum gravity. We identify both the continuum version of the linear simplicity constraints used in the quantum discrete context and a linear version of the quadratic volume constraints that are necessary to complete the reduction from the topological theory to gravity. We illustrate and discuss also the discrete counterpart of the same continuum linear constraints. Moreover, we show under which additional conditions the discrete volume constraints follow from the simplicity constraints, thus playing the role of secondary constraints. Our analysis clarifies how the discrete constructions of spin foam models are related to a continuum theory with an action principle that is equivalent to general relativity.Comment: 4 pages, based on a talk given at the Spanish Relativity Meeting 2010 (ERE2010, Granada, Spain

Primordial nucleosynthesis as a probe of fundamental physics parameters

We analyze the effect of variation of fundamental couplings and mass scales on primordial nucleosynthesis in a systematic way. The first step establishes the response of primordial element abundances to the variation of a large number of nuclear physics parameters, including nuclear binding energies. We find a strong influence of the n-p mass difference (for the 4He abundance), of the nucleon mass (for deuterium) and of A=3,4,7 binding energies (for 3He, 6Li and 7Li). A second step relates the nuclear parameters to the parameters of the Standard Model of particle physics. The deuterium, and, above all, 7Li abundances depend strongly on the average light quark mass hat{m} \equiv (m_u+m_d)/2. We calculate the behaviour of abundances when variations of fundamental parameters obey relations arising from grand unification. We also discuss the possibility of a substantial shift in the lithium abundance while the deuterium and 4He abundances are only weakly affected.Comment: v2: 34 pages, 2 figures, typo in last GUT scenario corrected, added discussion and graph of nonlinear behaviour in GUT scenarios, added short section discussing binding of dineutron and 8Be, refs added, conclusions unaltered. Accepted for publication, Phys. Rev.

Levantamento do nematóide das galhas (Meloidogyne spp.) em arroz irrigado na região Sul do Brasil.

bitstream/item/30488/1/boletim-87.pd

Stability of Localized Wave Fronts in Bistable Systems

Localized wave fronts are a fundamental feature of biological systems from cell biology to ecology. Here, we study a broad class of bistable models subject to self-activation, degradation, and spatially inhomogeneous activating agents. We determine the conditions under which wave-front localization is possible and analyze the stability thereof with respect to extrinsic perturbations and internal noise. It is found that stability is enhanced upon regulating a positional signal and, surprisingly, also for a low degree of binding cooperativity. We further show a contrasting impact of self-activation to the stability of these two sources of destabilization. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.03810

Program transformations using temporal logic side conditions

This paper describes an approach to program optimisation based on transformations, where temporal logic is used to specify side conditions, and strategies are created which expand the repertoire of transformations and provide a suitable level of abstraction. We demonstrate the power of this approach by developing a set of optimisations using our transformation language and showing how the transformations can be converted into a form which makes it easier to apply them, while maintaining trust in the resulting optimising steps. The approach is illustrated through a transformational case study where we apply several optimisations to a small program