Coherent and Incoherent Dynamic Structure Function of the Free Fermi Gas

A detailed calculation of the coherent and incoherent dynamic structure functions of the free Fermi gas, starting from their expressions in terms of the one- and semi-diagonal two-body density matrices, is derived and discussed. Their behavior and evolution with the momentum transfer is analyzed, and particular attention is devoted to the contributions that both functions present at negative energies. Finally, an analysis of the energy weighted sum rules satisfied by both responses is also performed. Despite of the simplicity of the model, some of the conclusions can be extended to realistic systems.Comment: LaTeX, 3 figure

Final state effects on superfluid 4^{\bf 4}He in the deep inelastic regime

A study of Final State Effects (FSE) on the dynamic structure function of superfluid $^4$He in the Gersch--Rodriguez formalism is presented. The main ingredients needed in the calculation are the momentum distribution and the semidiagonal two--body density matrix. The influence of these ground state quantities on the FSE is analyzed. A variational form of $\rho_2$ is used, even though simpler forms turn out to give accurate results if properly chosen. Comparison to the experimental response at high momentum transfer is performed. The predicted response is quite sensitive to slight variations on the value of the condensate fraction, the best agreement with experiment being obtained with $n_0=0.082$. Sum rules of the FSE broadening function are also derived and commented. Finally, it is shown that Gersch--Rodriguez theory produces results as accurate as those coming from other more recent FSE theories.Comment: 20 pages, RevTex 3.0, 11 figures available upon request, to be appear in Phys. Rev.

Kinetic barriers in RNA unzipping

We consider a simple model for the unfolding of RNA tertiary structure under dynamic loading. The opening of such a structure is regarded as a two step process, each corresponding to the overcoming of a single energy barrier. The resulting two-barrier energy landscape accounts for the dependence of the unfolding kinetics on the pulling rate. Furthermore at intermediate force, the two barriers cannot be distinguished by the analysis of the opening kinetic, which turns out to be dominated by a single macro-barrier, whose properties depend non-trivially on the two single barriers. Our results suggest that in pulling experiments on RNA molecule containing tertiary structures, the details of the single kinetic barriers can only be obtained using a low pulling rate value, or in the high force regime.Comment: to appear on Eur. Phys. J.

Beyond the binary collision approximation for the large-qq response of liquid 4^4He

We discuss corrections to the linear response of a many-body system beyond the binary collision approximation. We first derive for smooth pair interactions an exact expression of the response $\propto 1/q^2$, considerably simplifying existing forms and present also the generalization for interactions with a strong, short-range repulsion. We then apply the latter to the case of liquid $^4$He. We display the numerical influence of the $1/q^2$ correction around the quasi-elastic peak and in the low-intensity wings of the response, far from that peak. Finally we resolve an apparent contradiction in previous discussions around the fourth order cumulant expansion coefficient. Our results prove that the large-$q$ response of liquid $^4$He can be accurately understood on the basis of a dynamical theory.Comment: 19 p. Figs. available on reques

Scaling in many-body systems and proton structure function

The observation of scaling in processes in which a weakly interacting probe delivers large momentum ${\bf q}$ to a many-body system simply reflects the dominance of incoherent scattering off target constituents. While a suitably defined scaling function may provide rich information on the internal dynamics of the target, in general its extraction from the measured cross section requires careful consideration of the nature of the interaction driving the scattering process. The analysis of deep inelastic electron-proton scattering in the target rest frame within standard many-body theory naturally leads to the emergence of a scaling function that, unlike the commonly used structure functions $F_1$ and $F_2$, can be directly identified with the intrinsic proton response.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Proceedings of the 11th Conference on Recent Progress in Many-Body Theories, Manchester, UK, July 9-13 200

Characterization of Tertiary Folding of RNA by Circular Dichroism and Urea

CD spectroscopy can be used to monitor RNA tertiary folding transitions that may not be observable by absorbance spectroscopy. With the use of computer‐controlled titrators, data can be acquired rapidly, and accurate thermodynamic properties can be obtained over a wide variety of conditions. Thus, CD spectroscopy provides a useful complement to site‐resolved or chemical modification methods.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143699/1/cpnc1105.pd

Protein folding mediated by solvation: water expelling and formation of the hydrophobic core occurs after the structure collapse

The interplay between structure-search of the native structure and desolvation in protein folding has been explored using a minimalist model. These results support a folding mechanism where most of the structural formation of the protein is achieved before water is expelled from the hydrophobic core. This view integrates water expulsion effects into the funnel energy landscape theory of protein folding. Comparisons to experimental results are shown for the SH3 protein. After the folding transition, a near-native intermediate with partially solvated hydrophobic core is found. This transition is followed by a final step that cooperatively squeezes out water molecules from the partially hydrated protein core.Comment: Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 2002, Vol.99. 685-69

Momentum distributions in ^3He-^4He liquid mixtures

We present variational calculations of the one-body density matrices and momentum distributions for ^3He-^4He mixtures in the zero temperature limit, in the framework of the correlated basis functions theory. The ground-state wave function contains two- and three-body correlations and the matrix elements are computed by (Fermi)Hypernetted Chain techniques. The dependence on the ^3He concentration (x_3) of the ^4He condensate fraction $(n_0^{(4)})$ and of the ^3He pole strength (Z_F) is studied along the P=0 isobar. At low ^3He concentration, the computed ^4He condensate fraction is not significantly affected by the ^3He statistics. Despite of the low x_3 values, Z_F is found to be quite smaller than that of the corresponding pure ^3He because of the strong ^3He-^4He correlations and of the overall, large total density \rho. A small increase of $n_0^{(4)}$ along x_3 is found, which is mainly due to the decrease of \rho respect to the pure ^4He phase.Comment: 23 pages, 7 postscript figures, Revte