1,849 research outputs found
Dynamics and Efficiency of Brownian Rotors
Brownian rotors play an important role in biological systems and in future
nano-technological applications. However the mechanisms determining their
dynamics, efficiency and performance remain to be characterized. Here the F0
portion of the F-ATP synthase is considered as a paradigm of a Brownian rotor.
In a generic analytical model we analyze the stochastic rotation of F0-like
motors as a function of the driving free energy difference and of the free
energy profile the rotor is subjected to. The latter is composed of the rotor
interaction with its surroundings, of the free energy of chemical transitions,
and of the workload. The dynamics and mechanical efficiency of the rotor
depends on the magnitude of its stochastic motion driven by the free energy
energy difference and its rectification on the reaction-diffusion path. We
analyze which free energy profiles provide maximum flow and how their
arrangement on the underlying reaction-diffusion path affects rectification and
-- by this -- the efficiency.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, pdflatex, JCP in pres
Thermal production of the meson in the channel
Recent measurements of the pi^+pi^- invariant mass distribution at RHIC show
a shifted peak for the rho meson in 100A GeV in peripheral Au + Au and even in
p + p collisions. A recent theoretical study based on a picture of in-medium
production rates of pions, showed that a large shift could result from a
combination of the Boltzmann factor and the collisional broadening of the rho.
Here we argue that the two-pion density of states is the appropriate quantity
if one assumes a sudden break-up of the system. Methods for calculating the
density of states which include Bose effects are derived. The resulting
invariant mass distributions are significantly enhanced at lower masses and the
rho peak is shifted downward by ~ 35 MeV.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Thermodynamics of Competitive Molecular Channel Transport: Application to Artificial Nuclear Pores
In an analytical model channel transport is analyzed as a function of key parameters, determining efficiency and selectivity of particle transport in a competitive molecular environment. These key parameters are the concentration of particles, solvent-channel exchange dynamics, as well as particle-in-channel- and interparticle interaction. These parameters are explicitly related to translocation dynamics and channel occupation probability. Slowing down the exchange dynamics at the channel ends, or elevating the particle concentration reduces the in-channel binding strength necessary to maintain maximum transport. Optimized in-channel interaction may even shift from binding to repulsion. A simple equation gives the interrelation of access dynamics and concentration at this transition point. The model is readily transferred to competitive transport of different species, each of them having their individual in-channel affinity. Combinations of channel affinities are determined which differentially favor selectivity of certain species on the cost of others. Selectivity for a species increases if its in-channel binding enhances the species' translocation probablity when compared to that of the other species. Selectivity increases particularly for a wide binding site, long channels, and fast access dynamics. Recent experiments on competitive transport of in-channel binding and inert molecules through artificial nuclear pores serve as a paradigm for our model. It explains qualitatively and quantitatively how binding molecules are favored for transport at the cost of the transport of inert molecules
Two Rare Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables with Extreme Cyclotron Features Identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Two newly identified magnetic cataclysmic variables discovered in the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), SDSSJ155331.12+551614.5 and SDSSJ132411.57+032050.5,
have spectra showing highly prominent, narrow, strongly polarized cyclotron
humps with amplitudes that vary on orbital periods of 4.39 and 2.6 hrs,
respectively. In the former, the spacing of the humps indicates the 3rd and 4th
harmonics in a magnetic field of ~60 MG. The narrowness of the cyclotron
features and the lack of strong emission lines imply very low temperature
plasmas and very low accretion rates, so that the accreting area is heated by
particle collisions rather than accretion shocks. The detection of rare systems
like these exemplifies the ability of the SDSS to find the lowest accretion
rate close binaries.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, vol. 583,
February 1, 2003; slight revisions and additions in response to referee's
comments; 17 pages, 6 figures, AASTeX v4.
Isospin Physics in Heavy-Ion Collisions at Intermediate Energies
In nuclear collisions induced by stable or radioactive neutron-rich nuclei a
transient state of nuclear matter with an appreciable isospin asymmetry as well
as thermal and compressional excitation can be created. This offers the
possibility to study the properties of nuclear matter in the region between
symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter. In this review, we discuss
recent theoretical studies of the equation of state of isospin-asymmetric
nuclear matter and its relations to the properties of neutron stars and
radioactive nuclei. Chemical and mechanical instabilities as well as the
liquid-gas phase transition in asymmetric nuclear matter are investigated. The
in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross sections at different isospin states are
reviewed as they affect significantly the dynamics of heavy ion collisions
induced by radioactive beams. We then discuss an isospin-dependent transport
model, which includes different mean-field potentials and cross sections for
the proton and neutron, and its application to these reactions. Furthermore, we
review the comparisons between theoretical predictions and available
experimental data. In particular, we discuss the study of nuclear stopping in
terms of isospin equilibration, the dependence of nuclear collective flow and
balance energy on the isospin-dependent nuclear equation of state and cross
sections, the isospin dependence of total nuclear reaction cross sections, and
the role of isospin in preequilibrium nucleon emissions and subthreshold pion
production.Comment: 101 pages with embedded epsf figures, review article for
"International Journal of Modern Physics E: Nuclear Physics". Send request
for a hard copy to 1/author
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog I. Early Data Release
We present the first edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar
Catalog. The catalog consists of the 3814 objects (3000 discovered by the SDSS)
in the initial SDSS public data release that have at least one emission line
with a full width at half maximum larger than 1000 km/s, luminosities brighter
than M_i^* = -23, and highly reliable redshifts. The area covered by the
catalog is 494 square degrees; the majority of the objects were found in SDSS
commissioning data using a multicolor selection technique. The quasar redshifts
range from 0.15 to 5.03. For each object the catalog presents positions
accurate to better than 0.2" rms per coordinate, five band (ugriz) CCD-based
photometry with typical accuracy of 0.05 mag, radio and X-ray emission
properties, and information on the morphology and selection method. Calibrated
spectra of all objects in the catalog, covering the wavelength region 3800 to
9200 Angstroms at a spectral resolution of 1800-2100, are also available. Since
the quasars were selected during the commissioning period, a time when the
quasar selection algorithm was undergoing frequent revisions, the sample is not
homogeneous and is not intended for statistical analysis.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, accepted by A
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Biomarker discovery and redundancy reduction towards classification using a multi-factorial MALDI-TOF MS T2DM mouse model dataset
Diabetes like many diseases and biological processes is not mono-causal. On the one hand multifactorial studies with complex experimental design are required for its comprehensive analysis. On the other hand, the data from these studies often include a substantial amount of redundancy such as proteins that are typically represented by a multitude of peptides. Coping simultaneously with both complexities (experimental and technological) makes data analysis a challenge for Bioinformatics
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