152 research outputs found
Density functional approach for inhomogeneous star polymers
We propose microscopic density functional theory for inhomogeneous star
polymers. Our approach is based on fundamental measure theory for hard spheres,
and on Wertheim's first- and second-order perturbation theory for the
interparticle connectivity. For simplicity we consider a model in which all the
arms are of the same length, but our approach can be easily extended to the
case of stars with arms of arbitrary lengths.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitte
Two hard spheres in a pore: Exact Statistical Mechanics for different shaped cavities
The Partition function of two Hard Spheres in a Hard Wall Pore is studied
appealing to a graph representation. The exact evaluation of the canonical
partition function, and the one-body distribution function, in three different
shaped pores are achieved. The analyzed simple geometries are the cuboidal,
cylindrical and ellipsoidal cavities. Results have been compared with two
previously studied geometries, the spherical pore and the spherical pore with a
hard core. The search of common features in the analytic structure of the
partition functions in terms of their length parameters and their volumes,
surface area, edges length and curvatures is addressed too. A general framework
for the exact thermodynamic analysis of systems with few and many particles in
terms of a set of thermodynamic measures is discussed. We found that an exact
thermodynamic description is feasible based in the adoption of an adequate set
of measures and the search of the free energy dependence on the adopted measure
set. A relation similar to the Laplace equation for the fluid-vapor interface
is obtained which express the equilibrium between magnitudes that in extended
systems are intensive variables. This exact description is applied to study the
thermodynamic behavior of the two Hard Spheres in a Hard Wall Pore for the
analyzed different geometries. We obtain analytically the external work, the
pressure on the wall, the pressure in the homogeneous zone, the wall-fluid
surface tension, the line tension and other similar properties
Searching for Space Debris Elements with the “Pi of the Sky” System
The main purpose of the “Pi of the Sky” system is to investigate short timescale astrophysical phenomena (particularly gamma-ray bursts, optical transients and variable stars). Wide field, short exposures and full automation of the system, together with effective algorithms, give good prospects for effective identification of space debris elements. These objects can be a great danger for current and future space missions, and should be continuously monitored and cataloged. Algorithms for identifying optical transients (OT), designed for the “Pi of the Sky” experiment enable moving objects like planes, satellites and space debris elements to be identified. The algorithm verifies each OT candidate against a database of known satellites and is also able to automatically self-identify moving objects not present in this database. The data collected by the prototype in the Las Campanas Observatory enabled us to obtain a large sample of observations of moving objects. Some of these objects were identified as high-orbit geostationary (GEO) satellites, which shows that it is possible to observe even distant satellites with small aperture photo lenses. The analysis of the sample is still going on. The preliminary results and algorithms for automatic identification of moving objects will be described here
On the twin paradox in static spacetimes: I. Schwarzschild metric
Motivated by a conjecture put forward by Abramowicz and Bajtlik we reconsider
the twin paradox in static spacetimes. According to a well known theorem in
Lorentzian geometry the longest timelike worldline between two given points is
the unique geodesic line without points conjugate to the initial point on the
segment joining the two points. We calculate the proper times for static twins,
for twins moving on a circular orbit (if it is a geodesic) around a centre of
symmetry and for twins travelling on outgoing and ingoing radial timelike
geodesics. We show that the twins on the radial geodesic worldlines are always
the oldest ones and we explicitly find the conjugate points (if they exist)
outside the relevant segments. As it is of its own mathematical interest, we
find general Jacobi vector fields on the geodesic lines under consideration. In
the first part of the work we investigate Schwarzschild geometry.Comment: 18 pages, paper accepted for publication in Gen. Rel. Gra
Metric gravity theories and cosmology:II. Stability of a ground state in f(R) theories
A fundamental criterion of viability of any gravity theory is existence of a
stable ground-state solution being either Minkowski, dS or AdS space. Stability
of the ground state is independent of which frame is physical. In general, a
given theory has multiple ground states and splits into independent physical
sectors. All metric gravity theories with the Lagrangian being a function of
Ricci tensor are dynamically equivalent to Einstein gravity with a source and
this allows us to study the stability problem using methods developed in GR. We
apply these methods to f(R) theories. As is shown in 13 cases of Lagrangians
the stability criterion works simply and effectively whenever the curvature of
the ground state is determined. An infinite number of gravity theories have a
stable ground state and further viability criteria are necessary.Comment: A modified and expanded version of a second part of the paper which
previously appeared as gr-qc/0702097v1. The first, modified part is now
published as gr-qc/0702097v2 and as a separate paper in Class. Qu. Grav. The
present paper matches the published versio
Virial series for inhomogeneous fluids applied to the Lennard-Jones wall-fluid surface tension at planar and curved walls
We formulate a straightforward scheme of statistical mechanics for
inhomogeneous systems that includes the virial series in powers of the activity
for the grand free energy and density distributions. There, cluster integrals
formulated for inhomogeneous systems play a main role. We center on second
order terms that were analyzed in the case of hard-wall confinement, focusing
in planar, spherical and cylindrical walls. Further analysis was devoted to the
Lennard-Jones system and its generalization the 2k-k potential. For this
interaction potentials the second cluster integral was evaluated analytically.
We obtained the fluid-substrate surface tension at second order for the planar,
spherical and cylindrical confinement. Spherical and cylindrical cases were
analyzed using a series expansion in the radius including higher order terms.
We detected a dependence of the surface tension for the
standard Lennard-Jones system confined by spherical and cylindrical walls, no
matter if particles are inside or outside of the hard-walls. The analysis was
extended to bending and Gaussian curvatures, where exact expressions were also
obtained.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure
Inflation in Multidimensional Quantum Cosmology
We extend to multidimensional cosmology Vilenkin's prescription of tunnelling
from nothing for the quantum origin of the observable Universe. Our model
consists of a -dimensional spacetime of topology , with a scalar field (``chaotic inflaton'') for the
matter component. Einstein gravity and Casimir compactification are assumed.
The resulting minisuperspace is 3--dimensional. Patchwise we find an
approximate analytic solution of the Wheeler--DeWitt equation through which we
discuss the tunnelling picture and the probability of nucleation of the
classical Universe with compactifying extra dimensions. Our conclusion is that
the most likely initial conditions, although they do not lead to the
compactification of the internal space, still yield (power-law) inflation for
the outer space. The scenario is physically acceptable because the inner space
growth is limited to in 100 e-foldings of inflation, starting
from the Planck scale.Comment: RevTeX, 30 pages, 4 figures available via fax on request to
[email protected], submitted to Phys. Rev.
Molecular basis for the bifunctional Uba4-Urm1 sulfur-relay system in tRNA thiolation and ubiquitin-like conjugation.
The chemical modification of tRNA bases by sulfur is crucial to tune translation and to optimize protein synthesis. In eukaryotes, the ubiquitin-related modifier 1 (Urm1) pathway is responsible for the synthesis of 2-thiolated wobble uridine (U34 ). During the key step of the modification cascade, the E1-like activating enzyme ubiquitin-like protein activator 4 (Uba4) first adenylates and thiocarboxylates the C-terminus of its substrate Urm1. Subsequently, activated thiocarboxylated Urm1 (Urm1-COSH) can serve as a sulfur donor for specific tRNA thiolases or participate in ubiquitin-like conjugation reactions. Structural and mechanistic details of Uba4 and Urm1 have remained elusive but are key to understand the evolutionary branch point between ubiquitin-like proteins (UBL) and sulfur-relay systems. Here, we report the crystal structures of full-length Uba4 and its heterodimeric complex with its substrate Urm1. We show how the two domains of Uba4 orchestrate recognition, binding, and thiocarboxylation of the C-terminus of Urm1. Finally, we uncover how the catalytic domains of Uba4 communicate efficiently during the reaction cycle and identify a mechanism that enables Uba4 to protect itself against self-conjugation with its own product, namely activated Urm1-COSH
Graviton Spectra in String Cosmology
We propose to uncover the signature of a stringy era in the primordial
Universe by searching for a prominent peak in the relic graviton spectrum. This
feature, which in our specific model terminates an increase and
initiates an decrease, is induced during the so far overlooked
bounce of the scale factor between the collapsing deflationary era (or pre-Big
Bang) and the expanding inflationary era (or post-Big Bang). We evaluate both
analytically and numerically the frequency and the intensity of the peak and we
show that they may likely fall in the realm of the new generation of
interferometric detectors. The existence of a peak is at variance with
ordinarily monotonic (either increasing or decreasing) graviton spectra of
canonical cosmologies; its detection would therefore offer strong support to
string cosmology.Comment: 14 pages, RevTex source and 6 figures.p
Wetting transitions of Ne
We report studies of the wetting behavior of Ne on very weakly attractive
surfaces, carried out with the Grand Canonical Monte Carlo method. The Ne-Ne
interaction was taken to be of Lennard-Jones form, while the Ne-surface
interaction was derived from an ab initio calculation of Chizmeshya et al.
Nonwetting behavior was found for Li, Rb, and Cs in the temperature regime
explored (i.e., T < 42 K). Drying behavior was manifested in a depleted fluid
density near the Cs surface. In contrast, for the case of Mg (a more attractive
potential) a prewetting transition was found near T= 28 K. This temperature was
found to shift slightly when a corrugated potential was used instead of a
uniform potential. The isotherm shape and the density profiles did not differ
qualitatively between these cases.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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