Probing protein-protein interactions by dynamic force correlated spectroscopy (FCS)

We develop a formalism for single molecule dynamic force spectroscopy to map the energy landscape of protein-protein complex ($P_1$$P_2$). The joint distribution $P(\tau_1,\tau_2)$ of unbinding lifetimes $\tau_1$ and $\tau_2$ measurable in a compression-tension cycle, which accounts for the internal relaxation dynamics of the proteins under tension, shows that the histogram of $\tau_1$ is not Poissonian. The theory is applied to the forced unbinding of protein $P_1$, modeled as a wormlike chain, from $P_1$$P_2$. We propose a new class of experiments which can resolve the effect of internal protein dynamics on the unbinding lifetimes.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev. Let

An experimental investigation of the structural dynamics of a torsionally soft rotor in vacuum

An extensive data base of structural dynamic characteristics has been generated from an experimental program conducted on a torsionally soft two-bladed model helicopter rotor system. Measurements of vibratory strains for five modes of vibration were made at twenty-one locations on the two blades at speeds varying from 0 to 1000 RPM and for several combinations of precone, droop and flexure stiffness. Tests were conducted in vacuum under carefully controlled conditions using a unique excitation device with a system of piezoelectric crystals bonded to the blade surface near the root. Frequencies, strain mode shapes and dampings are extracted from the time histories and can be used to validate structural dynamics codes. The dynamics of the system are such that there is a clear tendency for the first torsion and second flap modes to couple within the speed range considered. Strain mode shapes vary significantly with speed and configuration. This feature is important in the calcualtion of aeroelastic instabilities. The tension axis tests confirmed that the modulus-weighted centroid for the nonhomogeneous airfoil is slightly off the mass centroid and validated previous static tests done to determine location of the tension axis

The good, the bad and the ugly .... of Horava gravity

I review the good, the bad and the ugly of the non-projectable versions of Horava gravity. I explain how this non-relativistic theory was constructed and why it was touted with such excitement as a quantum theory of gravity. I then review some of the issues facing the theory, explaining how strong coupling occurs and why this is such a problem for both phenomenology and the question of renormalisability. Finally I comment on possible violations of Equivalence Principle, and explain why these could be an issue for Blas et al's "healthy extension". This paper was presented as a talk at PASCOS 2010 in Valencia.Comment: 7 page

SED-inferred properties and morphology of Lyman-break galaxies at z∼1z\sim 1 in the CDF-S

After carefully cross-identifying a previously discovered GALEX-selected Lyman Break Galaxy (LBG) candidates one-to-one with their optical counterparts in the field of the CDF-S, we re-estimate their photometric redshifts using multi-wavelength data from UV, optical to NIR. We refine a new updated sample of 383 LBGs at 0.7\la z \la 1.4. Most LBGs are classified as starburst and irregular types. Ages spread from several Myr to 1.5Gyr. Their dust-corrected star formation rates (SFRs) and stellar masses ($M_*$) are from 4\my to 220\my and from 2.3\times 10^8 \msun to 4 \times 10^{11} \msun. The rest-frame FUV luminosity function of LBGs are presented. LBGs of irregular types mainly distribute along the "main sequence" of star forming galaxies while most LBGs of starburst types locate in the starburst region. A "downsizing" effect is clearly found and LBGs distribute in the "blue" cloud. HST images in F606W ($V$ band) and F850LP ($z$ band) are taken from the GEMS and GOODS-S surveys. SExtractor and GALFIT are applied to get their morphological parameters. A morphological sample of 142 LBGs with reliable results of \sersic and sizes in both bands is defined. We find that LBGs at $z\sim 1$ are dominated by disk-like galaxies. Correlations between photometric and morphological properties of LBGs are investigated. Strong correlations between their half-light radii and $M_*$, i.e., size-stellar mass relations, are found in both bands. Physical connections between correlations and the "downsizing" effect are discussed.Comment: 26 pages, 30 figures, 6 tables, accepted by MNRA

Electroweak Beautygenesis: From b {\to} s CP-violation to the Cosmic Baryon Asymmetry

We address the possibility that CP-violation in $B_s-\bar B_s$ mixing may help explain the origin of the cosmic baryon asymmetry. We propose a new baryogenesis mechanism - "Electroweak Beautygenesis" - explicitly showing that these two CP-violating phenomena can be sourced by a common CP-phase. As an illustration, we work in the Two-Higgs-Doublet model. Because the relevant CP-phase is flavor off-diagonal, this mechanism is less severely constrained by null results of electric dipole moment searches than other scenarios. We show how measurements of flavor observables by the D0, CDF, and LHCb collaborations test this scenario.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, 1 tabl

Convection and AGN Feedback in Clusters of Galaxies

A number of studies have shown that the convective stability criterion for the intracluster medium (ICM) is very different from the Schwarzchild criterion due to the effects of anisotropic thermal conduction and cosmic rays. Building on these studies, we develop a model of the ICM in which a central active galactic nucleus (AGN) accretes hot intracluster plasma at the Bondi rate and produces cosmic rays that cause the ICM to become convectively unstable. The resulting convection heats the intracluster plasma and regulates its temperature and density profiles. By adjusting a single parameter in the model (the size of the cosmic-ray acceleration region), we are able to achieve a good match to the observed density and temperature profiles in a sample of eight clusters. Our results suggest that convection is an important process in cluster cores. An interesting feature of our solutions is that the cooling rate is more sharply peaked about the cluster center than is the convective heating rate. As a result, in several of the clusters in our sample, a compact cooling flow arises in the central region with a size R that is typically a few kpc. The cooling flow matches onto a Bondi flow at smaller radii. The mass accretion rate in the Bondi flow is equal to, and controlled by, the rate at which mass flows in through the cooling flow. Our solutions suggest that the AGN regulates the mass accretion rate in these clusters by controlling R: if the AGN power rises above the equilibrium level, R decreases, the mass accretion rate drops, and the AGN power drops back down to the equilibrium level.Comment: 41 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Changes in this version: extended discussion of Bondi accretion in clusters, better mass model, new numerical solution

Structure in the nucleus of NGC 1068 at 10 microns

New 8 to 13 micron array camera images of the central kiloparsec of Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 resolve structure that is similar to that observed at visible and radio wavelengths. The images reveal an infrared source which is extended and asymmetric, with its long axis oriented at P.A. 33 deg. Maps of the spatial distribution of 8 to 13 micron color temperature and warm dust opacity are derived from the multiwavelength infrared images. The results suggest that there exist two pointlike luminosity sources in the central regions of NGC 1068, with the brighter source at the nucleus and the fainter one some 100 pc to the northeast. This geometry strengthens the possibility that the 10 micron emission observed from grains in the nucleus is powered by a nonthermal source. In the context of earlier visible and radio studies, these results considerably strengthen the case for jet induced star formation in NGC 1068