23,023 research outputs found
Effect of topology on dynamics of knots in polymers under tension
We use computer simulations to compare the dynamical behaviour of torus and
even-twist knots in polymers under tension. The knots diffuse through a
mechanism similar to reptation. Their friction coefficients grow linearly with
average knot length for both knot types. For similar complexity, however, the
torus knots diffuse faster than the even twist knots. The knot-length
auto-correlation function exhibits a slow relaxation time that can be linked to
a breathing mode. Its timescale depends on knot type, being typically longer
for torus than for even-twist knots. These differences in dynamical behaviour
are interpreted in terms of topological features of the knots.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure
Complex dynamics of knotted filaments in shear flow
Coarse-grained simulations are used to demonstrate that knotted filaments in
shear flow at zero Reynolds number exhibit remarkably rich dynamic behaviour.
For stiff filaments that are weakly deformed by the shear forces, the knotted
filaments rotate like rigid objects in the flow. But away from this regime the
interplay between between shear forces and the flexibility of the filament
leads to intricate regular and chaotic modes of motion that can be divided into
distinct families. The set of accessible mode families depends to first order
on a dimensionless number that relates the filament length, the elastic
modulus, the friction per unit length and the shear rate.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Orbits and origins of the young stars in the central parsec of the galaxy
We present new proper motions from the 10 m Keck telescopes for a puzzling population of massive, young stars located within a parsec of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center. Our proper motion measurements have uncertainties of only 0.07 mas yr^(â1) (3 km s^(â1) ), which is âł7 times better than previous proper motion measurements for these stars, and enables us to measure accelerations as low as 0.2 mas yr^(â2) (7 km s^(â1) yr^(â1) ). These measurements, along with stellar line-of-sight velocities from the literature, constrain the true orbit of each individual star and allow us to directly test the hypothesis that the massive stars reside in two stellar disks as has been previously proposed. Analysis of the stellar orbits reveals only one disk of young stars using a method that is capable of detecting disks containing at least 7 stars. The detected disk contains 50% (38 of 73) of the young stars, is inclined by ~115° from the plane of the sky, and is oriented at a position angle of âŒ100° East of North. The on-disk and off-disk populations have similar K-band luminosity functions and radial distributions that decrease at larger radii as â r^(â2). The disk has an out-of-the-disk velocity dispersion of 28±6 km s^(â1) , which corresponds to a half-opening angle of 7°±2° , and several candidate disk members have eccentricities greater than 0.2. Our findings suggest that the young stars may have formed in situ but in a more complex geometry than a simple thin circular disk
Dynamics of a two-mode Bose-Einstein condensate beyond mean-field theory
We study the dynamics of a two-mode Bose-Einstein condensate in the vicinity
of a mean-field dynamical instability. Convergence to mean-field theory (MFT),
with increasing total number of particles , is shown to be logarithmically
slow. Using a density matrix formalism rather than the conventional
wavefunction methods, we derive an improved set of equations of motion for the
mean-field plus the fluctuations, which goes beyond MFT and provides accurate
predictions for the leading quantum corrections and the quantum break time. We
show that the leading quantum corrections appear as decoherence of the reduced
single-particle quantum state; we also compare this phenomenon to the effects
of thermal noise. Using the rapid dephasing near an instability, we propose a
method for the direct measurement of scattering lengths.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, Phys. Rev. A 64, 0136XX (2001
High temperature onset of field-induced transitions in the spin-ice compound Dy2Ti2O7
We have studied the field-dependent ac magnetic susceptibility of single
crystals of Dy2Ti2O7 spin ice along the [111] direction in the temperature
range 1.8 K - 7 K. Our data reflect the onset of local spin ice order in the
appearance of different field regimes. In particular, we observe a prominent
feature at approximately 1.0 T that is a precursor of the low-temperature
metamagnetic transition out of field-induced kagome ice, below which the
kinetic constraints imposed by the ice rules manifest themselves in a
substantial frequency-dependence of the susceptibility. Despite the relatively
high temperatures, our results are consistent with a monopole picture, and they
demonstrate that such a picture can give physical insight to the spin ice
systems even outside the low-temperature, low-density limit where monopole
excitations are well-defined quasiparticles
Condensates beyond mean field theory: quantum backreaction as decoherence
We propose an experiment to measure the slow log(N) convergence to mean-field
theory (MFT) around a dynamical instability. Using a density matrix formalism,
we derive equations of motion which go beyond MFT and provide accurate
predictions for the quantum break-time. The leading quantum corrections appear
as decoherence of the reduced single-particle quantum state.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
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