764 research outputs found
Reaction Pathways Based on the Gradient of the Mean First-Passage Time
Finding representative reaction pathways is necessary for understanding
mechanisms of molecular processes, but is considered to be extremely
challenging. We propose a new method to construct reaction paths based on mean
first-passage times. This approach incorporates information of all possible
reaction events as well as the effect of temperature. The method is applied to
exemplary reactions in a continuous and in a discrete setting. The suggested
approach holds great promise for large reaction networks that are completely
characterized by the method through a pathway graph.Comment: v2; 4 pages including 5 figure
Noise Dressing of Financial Correlation Matrices
We show that results from the theory of random matrices are potentially of
great interest to understand the statistical structure of the empirical
correlation matrices appearing in the study of price fluctuations. The central
result of the present study is the remarkable agreement between the theoretical
prediction (based on the assumption that the correlation matrix is random) and
empirical data concerning the density of eigenvalues associated to the time
series of the different stocks of the S&P500 (or other major markets). In
particular the present study raises serious doubts on the blind use of
empirical correlation matrices for risk management.Comment: Latex (Revtex) 3 pp + 2 postscript figures (in-text
Universality for orthogonal and symplectic Laguerre-type ensembles
We give a proof of the Universality Conjecture for orthogonal (beta=1) and
symplectic (beta=4) random matrix ensembles of Laguerre-type in the bulk of the
spectrum as well as at the hard and soft spectral edges. Our results are stated
precisely in the Introduction (Theorems 1.1, 1.4, 1.6 and Corollaries 1.2, 1.5,
1.7). They concern the appropriately rescaled kernels K_{n,beta}, correlation
and cluster functions, gap probabilities and the distributions of the largest
and smallest eigenvalues. Corresponding results for unitary (beta=2)
Laguerre-type ensembles have been proved by the fourth author in [23]. The
varying weight case at the hard spectral edge was analyzed in [13] for beta=2:
In this paper we do not consider varying weights.
Our proof follows closely the work of the first two authors who showed in
[7], [8] analogous results for Hermite-type ensembles. As in [7], [8] we use
the version of the orthogonal polynomial method presented in [25], [22] to
analyze the local eigenvalue statistics. The necessary asymptotic information
on the Laguerre-type orthogonal polynomials is taken from [23].Comment: 75 page
Lateral Segregation of Photosystem I in Cyanobacterial Thylakoids
Photosystem I (PSI) is the dominant photosystem in cyanobacteria and it plays a pivotal role in cyanobacterial metabolism. Despite its biological importance, the native organisation of PSI in cyanobacterial thylakoid membranes is poorly understood. Here, we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to show that ordered, extensive macromolecular arrays of PSI complexes are present in thylakoids from Thermosynechococcus (T.) elongatus, Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 and Synechocystis sp PCC 6803. Hyperspectral confocal fluorescence microscopy (HCFM) and three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM) of Synechocystis sp PCC 6803 cells visualise PSI domains within the context of the complete thylakoid system. Crystallographic and AFM data were used to build a structural model of a membrane landscape comprising 96 PSI trimers and 27,648 chlorophyll a molecules. Rather than facilitating inter-trimer energy transfer the close associations between PSI primarily maximise packing efficiency; short-range interactions with Complex I and cytochrome b6f are excluded from these regions of the membrane, so PSI turnover is sustained by long-distance diffusion of the electron donors at the membrane surface. Elsewhere, PSI-photosystem II (PSII) contact zones provide sites for docking phycobilisomes and the formation of megacomplexes. PSI-enriched domains in cyanobacteria might foreshadow the partitioning of PSI into stromal lamellae in plants, similarly sustained by long-distance diffusion of electron carriers
Role of quantum coherence in chromophoric energy transport
The role of quantum coherence and the environment in the dynamics of
excitation energy transfer is not fully understood. In this work, we introduce
the concept of dynamical contributions of various physical processes to the
energy transfer efficiency. We develop two complementary approaches, based on a
Green's function method and energy transfer susceptibilities, and quantify the
importance of the Hamiltonian evolution, phonon-induced decoherence, and
spatial relaxation pathways. We investigate the Fenna-Matthews-Olson protein
complex, where we find a contribution of coherent dynamics of about 10% and of
relaxation of 80%.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, included static disorder, correlated environmen
Distribution of entanglement in light-harvesting complexes and their quantum efficiency
Recent evidence of electronic coherence during energy transfer in
photosynthetic antenna complexes has reinvigorated the discussion of whether
coherence and/or entanglement has any practical functionality for these
molecular systems. Here we investigate quantitative relationships between the
quantum yield of a light-harvesting complex and the distribution of
entanglement among its components. Our study focusses on the entanglement yield
or average entanglement surviving a time scale comparable to the average
excitation trapping time. As a prototype system we consider the
Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) protein of green sulphur bacteria and show that
there is an inverse relationship between the quantum efficiency and the average
entanglement between distant donor sites. Our results suggest that longlasting
electronic coherence among distant donors might help modulation of the
lightharvesting function.Comment: Version accepted for publication in NJ
A Random Matrix Model for Color Superconductivity at Zero Chemical Potential
We discuss random matrix models for the spontaneous breaking of both chiral
and color symmetries at zero chemical potential and finite temperature.
Exploring different Lorentz and gauge symmetric color structures of the random
matrix interactions, we find that spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking is
always thermodynamically preferred over diquark condensation. Stable diquark
condensates appear only as SU(2) rotated chiral condensates, which do not
represent an independent thermodynamic phase. Our analysis is based on general
symmetry arguments and hence suggests that no stable and independent diquark
phase can form in QCD with two flavors at zero quark chemical potential.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure, uses ReVTeX and epsf.st
Pseudo-unitary symmetry and the Gaussian pseudo-unitary ensemble of random matrices
Employing the currently discussed notion of pseudo-Hermiticity, we define a
pseudo-unitary group. Further, we develop a random matrix theory which is
invariant under such a group and call this ensemble of pseudo-Hermitian random
matrices as the pseudo-unitary ensemble. We obtain exact results for the
nearest-neighbour level spacing distribution for (2 X 2) PT-symmetric
Hamiltonian matrices which has a novel form, s log (1/s) near zero spacing.
This shows a level repulsion in marked distinction with an algebraic form in
the Wigner surmise. We believe that this paves way for a description of varied
phenomena in two-dimensional statistical mechanics, quantum chromodynamics, and
so on.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX, submitted to the Physical Review Letters
on August 20, 200
Staggered Fermions and Gauge Field Topology
Based on a large number of smearing steps, we classify SU(3) gauge field
configurations in different topological sectors. For each sector we compare the
exact analytical predictions for the microscopic Dirac operator spectrum of
quenched staggered fermions. In all sectors we find perfect agreement with the
predictions for the sector of topological charge zero, showing explicitly that
the smallest Dirac operator eigenvalues of staggered fermions at presently
realistic lattice couplings are insensitive to gauge field topology. On the
smeared configurations, eigenvalues clearly separate out from the rest
on configurations of topological charge , and move towards zero in
agreement with the index theorem.Comment: LaTeX, 10 page
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