1,951 research outputs found
Fluctuating-friction molecular motors
We show that the correlated stochastic fluctuation of the friction
coefficient can give rise to long-range directional motion of a particle
undergoing Brownian random walk in a constant periodic energy potential
landscape. The occurrence of this motion requires the presence of two
additional independent bodies interacting with the particle via friction and
via the energy potential, respectively, which can move relative to each other.
Such three-body system generalizes the classical Brownian ratchet mechanism,
which requires only two interacting bodies. In particular, we describe a simple
two-level model of fluctuating-friction molecular motor that can be solved
analytically. In our previous work [M.K., L.M and D.P. 2000 J. Nonlinear Opt.
Phys. Mater. vol. 9, 157] this model has been first applied to understanding
the fundamental mechanism of the photoinduced reorientation of dye-doped liquid
crystals. Applications of the same idea to other fields such as molecular
biology and nanotechnology can however be envisioned. As an example, in this
paper we work out a model of the actomyosin system based on the
fluctuating-friction mechanism.Comment: to be published in J. Physics Condensed Matter
(http://www.iop.org/Journals/JPhysCM
Measurement of the neutron capture cross-section on argon
The use of argon as a detection and shielding medium for neutrino and dark
matter experiments has made the precise knowledge of the cross section for
neutron capture on argon an important design and operational parameter. Since
previous measurements were averaged over thermal spectra and have significant
disagreements, a differential measurement has been performed using a
Time-Of-Flight neutron beam and a 4 gamma spectrometer. A fit to the
differential cross section from \,eV, assuming a energy
dependence, yields \,mb.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; final version of the paper; added details and fix
reference
Perturbation Theory for Path Integrals of Stiff Polymers
The wormlike chain model of stiff polymers is a nonlinear -model in
one spacetime dimension in which the ends are fluctuating freely. This causes
important differences with respect to the presently available theory which
exists only for periodic and Dirichlet boundary conditions. We modify this
theory appropriately and show how to perform a systematic large-stiffness
expansions for all physically interesting quantities in powers of ,
where is the length and the persistence length of the polymer. This
requires special procedures for regularizing highly divergent Feynman integrals
which we have developed in previous work. We show that by adding to the
unperturbed action a correction term , we can calculate
all Feynman diagrams with Green functions satisfying Neumann boundary
conditions. Our expansions yield, order by order, properly normalized
end-to-end distribution function in arbitrary dimensions , its even and odd
moments, and the two-point correlation function
Renewal processes and fluctuation analysis of molecular motor stepping
We model the dynamics of a processive or rotary molecular motor using a
renewal processes, in line with the work initiated by Svoboda, Mitra and Block.
We apply a functional technique to compute different types of multiple-time
correlation functions of the renewal process, which have applications to
bead-assay experiments performed both with processive molecular motors, such as
myosin V and kinesin, and rotary motors, such as F1-ATPase
Spontaneous Oscillations of Collective Molecular Motors
We analyze a simple stochastic model to describe motor molecules which
cooperate in large groups and present a physical mechanism which can lead to
oscillatory motion if the motors are elastically coupled to their environment.
Beyond a critical fuel concentration, the non-moving state of the system
becomes unstable with respect to a mode with angular frequency omega. We
present a perturbative description of the system near the instability and
demonstrate that oscillation frequencies are determined by the typical
timescales of the motors.Comment: 11 pages, Revtex, 4 pages Figure
Thermal balance and comparison of gas and dust properties of dense clumps in the Hi-GAL survey
We present a comparative study of physical properties derived from gas and dust emission in a sample of 1068 dense Galactic clumps. The sources are selected from the cross-match of the Herschel Infrared Galactic Plane Survey with 16 catalogues of NH3 line emission in its lowest inversion (1,1) and (2,2) transitions. The sample covers a large range in masses and bolometric luminosities, with surface densities above Sigma = 0.1 g cm(-2) and with low virial parameters alpha < 1. The comparison between dust and gas properties shows an overall agreement between T-kin and T-dust at volumetric densities n greater than or similar to 1.2 x 10(4)cm(-3), and a median fractional abundance chi (NH3) = 1.46 x 10(-8). While the protostellar clumps in the sample have small differences between T-kin and T-dust, prestellar clumps have a median ratio T-kin/T-dust = 1.24, suggesting that these sources are thermally decoupled. A correlation is found between the evolutionary tracer L/M and the parameters T-kin/T-dust and chi(NH3) in prestellar sources and protostellar clumps with L/M < 1 L circle dot M circle dot-1 . In addition, a weak correlation is found between non-thermal velocity dispersion and the L/M parameter, possibly indicating an increase of turbulence with protostellar evolution in the interior of clumps. Finally, different processes are discussed to explain the differences between gas and dust temperatures in prestellar candidates, and the origin of non-thermal motions observed in the clumps.Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) [2017/23708-0]; Italian Ministero dell'Istruzione Universita e Ricerca through the grant Progetti Premiali 2012-iALMA [CUP C52I13000140001]; European Union [607380]This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]
Expression of Interest: The Atmospheric Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE)
Submitted for the January 2014 Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee meetingSubmitted for the January 2014 Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee meetingSubmitted for the January 2014 Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee meetingSubmitted for the January 2014 Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee meetingNeutron tagging in Gadolinium-doped water may play a significant role in reducing backgrounds from atmospheric neutrinos in next generation proton-decay searches using megaton-scale Water Cherenkov detectors. Similar techniques might also be useful in the detection of supernova neutrinos. Accurate determination of neutron tagging efficiencies will require a detailed understanding of the number of neutrons produced by neutrino interactions in water as a function of momentum transferred. We propose the Atmospheric Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE), designed to measure the neutron yield of atmospheric neutrino interactions in gadolinium-doped water. An innovative aspect of the ANNIE design is the use of precision timing to localize interaction vertices in the small fiducial volume of the detector. We propose to achieve this by using early production of LAPPDs (Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors). This experiment will be a first application of these devices demonstrating their feasibility for Water Cherenkov neutrino detectors
‘The smell of death and the smell of life’: authenticity, anxiety and perceptions of death at Varanasi’s cremation grounds
This paper contributes to an understanding of existential authenticity and existential anxiety in tourism studies through an investigation of tourists' perceptions of death, the Self, and "others" at the Hindu cremation grounds in Varanasi, India. Encounters with death at dark tourism sites serve as reminders of one's own mortality affecting one's attitude towards death, perception of self, and even challenging one's personal values. Existentialists assert that anxiety is a condition of existential authenticity, and therefore moments of the existentially authentic experience are not always pleasurable. This paper argues that confrontation with death, as exemplified by the Aghori rituals and the cremation grounds in Varanasi, offers tourists an opportunity to examine the inevitability that life will end and to engage with this existential predicament and anxiety in an embodied sense, thereby pushing some of them towards life changes in the pursuit of existential authenticity
Towards a Tetravalent Chemistry of Colloids
We propose coating spherical particles or droplets with anisotropic
nano-sized objects to allow micron-scale colloids to link or functionalize with
a four-fold valence, similar to the sp3 hybridized chemical bonds associated
with, e.g., carbon, silicon and germanium. Candidates for such coatings include
triblock copolymers, gemini lipids, metallic or semiconducting nanorods and
conventional liquid crystal compounds. We estimate the size of the relevant
nematic Frank constants, discuss how to obtain other valences and analyze the
thermal distortions of ground state configurations of defects on the sphere.Comment: Replaced to improve figures. 4 figures Nano Letter
- …