Motion of a massive microsphere bound to a spherical vesicle

We study the motion of a small solid particle (a few micrometers in size) attached to the membrane of a spherical giant lipid vesicle. By means of optical manipulation, the particle is first brought near the top of the vesicle, and released. We determine the friction experienced by the particle moving along the vesicle surface under the action of gravity. From experiments with latex and glass beads, we check that SOPC membranes are fluid at room temperature (static shear modulus u = 0) and estimate the shear viscosity of SOPC bilayers: nm = 3 * 10^(-6) surface poise

Motion of a massive particle attached to a spherical interface: statistical properties of the particle path

We have studied the motion of a Brownian particle on a spherical interface under gravity, with the aim of setting up a protocol to measure the friction (f) felt by such a particle in experimental conditions. Our analysis is based on the Schmoluchowski equation for particle motion. Essentially we derive a practical criterion to find f from the average particle path. Our statements are illustrated by a few experimental and numerical examples. Numerical paths are obtained by computer simulation and experimental paths are those of micrometre-sized latex or glass particles attached to spherical giant lipid (SOPC) vesicles. From experimental values of f, we estimate the surface shear viscosity of SOPC bilayers to be in the range 3-8×10^(-6) Poise

Grain Alignment and Polarized Emission from Magnetized T Tauri Disks

The structure of magnetic fields within protostellar disks may be studied via polarimetry provided that grains are aligned in respect to magnetic field within the disks. We explore alignment of dust grains by radiative torque in T Tauri disks and provide predictions for polarized emission for disks viewed at different wavelengths and viewing angles. We show that the alignment is especially efficient in outer part of the disks. In the presence of magnetic field, these aligned grains produce polarized emission in infrared wavelengths. We consider a simple model of an accretion disk and provide predictions for polarization that should be available to both instruments that do not resolve the disks and future instruments that will resolve the disks. As the surface magnetic field and the bulk magnetic field play different roles for the disk dynamics, we consider separately the contributions that arises from the surface areas of the disk and its interior. We find that the polarized emission drops for wavelengths shorter than $\sim 10 \mu m$. Between $\sim 10 \mu m$ and $\sim 100 \mu m$, the polarized emission is dominated by the emission from the surface layer of the disks and the degree of polarization can be as large as $\sim 10$ for unresolved disks. The degree of polarization is around 2-3 % level at wavelengths larger than $\sim100\mu m$.Comment: 17 pages; accepted by ApJ; discussion on scattering has been adde

Photonic crystals of coated metallic spheres

It is shown that simple face-centered-cubic (fcc) structures of both metallic and coated metallic spheres are ideal candidates to achieve a tunable complete photonic bandgap (CPBG) for optical wavelengths using currently available experimental techniques. For coated microspheres with the coating width to plasma wavelength ratio $l_c/\lambda_p \leq 10$ and the coating and host refractive indices $n_c$ and $n_h$, respectively, between 1 and 1.47, one can always find a sphere radius $r_s$ such that the relative gap width $g_w$ (gap width to the midgap frequency ratio) is larger than 5% and, in some cases, $g_w$ can exceed 9%. Using different coatings and supporting liquids, the width and midgap frequency of a CPBG can be tuned considerably.Comment: 14 pages, plain latex, 3 ps figures, to appear in Europhys. Lett. For more info on this subject see http://www.amolf.nl/research/photonic_materials_theory/moroz/moroz.htm

Interacting Growth Walk - a model for hyperquenched homopolymer glass?

We show that the compact self avoiding walk configurations, kinetically generated by the recently introduced Interacting Growth Walk (IGW) model, can be considered as members of a canonical ensemble if they are assigned random values of energy. Such a mapping is necessary for studying the thermodynamic behaviour of this system. We have presented the specific heat data for the IGW, obtained from extensive simulations on a square lattice; we observe a broad hump in the specific heat above the $\theta$-point, contrary to expectation.Comment: 4 figures; Submitted to PR

Postnatal cerebellar development in a mouse

The cerebellum is a part of the central nervous system, which plays an important role in cognitive functions, discriminative sensibility, and the coordination of voluntary movements. Its development takes place in two stages: prenatal and postnatal. The cerebellar germ originates from the rhombic lip. There are two major groups of cells: glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons, which are generated at different spatial-temporal intervals. In the postnatal period, Purkinje cells and their synaptic contacts undergo the most significant development. Another key point is the formation of anchoring centers and the foliation of the brain.The cerebellum is a part of the central nervous system, which plays an important role in cognitive functions, discriminative sensibility, and the coordination of voluntary movements. Its development takes place in two stages: prenatal and postnatal. The cerebellar germ originates from the rhombic lip. There are two major groups of cells: glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons, which are generated at different spatial-temporal intervals. In the postnatal period, Purkinje cells and their synaptic contacts undergo the most significant development. Another key point is the formation of anchoring centers and the foliation of the brain

Metallo-dielectric diamond and zinc-blende photonic crystals

It is shown that small inclusions of a low absorbing metal can have a dramatic effect on the photonic band structure. In the case of diamond and zinc-blende photonic crystals, several complete photonic band gaps (CPBG's) can open in the spectrum, between the 2nd-3rd, 5th-6th, and 8th-9th bands. Unlike in the purely dielectric case, in the presence of small inclusions of a low absorbing metal the largest CPBG for a moderate dielectric constant (epsilon<=10) turns out to be the 2nd-3rd CPBG. The 2nd-3rd CPBG is the most important CPBG, because it is the most stable against disorder. For a diamond and zinc-blende structure of nonoverlapping dielectric and metallo-dielectric spheres, a CPBG begins to decrease with an increasing dielectric contrast roughly at the point where another CPBG starts to open--a kind of gap competition. A CPBG can even shrink to zero when the dielectric contrast increases further. Metal inclusions have the biggest effect for the dielectric constant 2<=epsilon<=12, which is a typical dielectric constant at near infrared and in the visible for many materials, including semiconductors and polymers. It is shown that one can create a sizeable and robust 2nd-3rd CPBG at near infrared and visible wavelengths even for a photonic crystal which is composed of more than 97% low refractive index materials (n<=1.45, i.e., that of silica glass or a polymer). These findings open the door for any semiconductor and polymer material to be used as genuine building blocks for the creation of photonic crystals with a CPBG and significantly increase the possibilities for experimentalists to realize a sizeable and robust CPBG in the near infrared and in the visible. One possibility is a construction method using optical tweezers, which is analyzed here.Comment: 25 pp, 23 figs, RevTex, to appear in Phys Rev B. For more information look at http://www.amolf.nl/research/photonic_materials_theory/moroz/moroz.htm

Absence of molecular mobility on nano-second time scales in amorphous ice phases

High-resolution neutron backscattering techniques are exploited to study the elastic and quasi-elastic response of the high-density amorphous (HDA), the low-density amorphous (LDA) and the crystalline ice Ic upon temperature changes. Within the temperature ranges of their structural stability (HDA at T > 80 K, LDA at T > 135 K, ice Ic at T < 200 K) the Debye-Waller factors and mean-square displacements characterise all states as harmonic solids. During the transformations HDA->LDA (T ~ 100 K), LDA->Ic (T ~ 150K) and the supposed glass transition with Tg ~ 135 K no relaxation processes can be detected on a time scale t < 4 ns. It can be concluded from coherent scattering measurements (D_2O) that LDA starts to recrystallise into ice Ic at T ~ 135 K, i.e. at the supposed Tg. In the framework of the Debye model of harmonic solids HDA reveals the highest Debye temperature among the studied ice phases, which is in full agreement with the lowest Debye level in the generalised density of states derived from time-of-flight neutron scattering experiments. The elastic results at low T indicate the presence of an excess of modes in HDA, which do not obey the Bose statistics