@article{JavanainenHammarenMonticellietal.2013, author = {Javanainen, Matti and Hammaren, Henrik and Monticelli, Luca and Jeon, Jae-Hyung and Miettinen, Markus S. and Martinez-Seara, Hector and Metzler, Ralf and Vattulainen, Ilpo}, title = {Anomalous and normal diffusion of proteins and lipids in crowded lipid membranes}, series = {Faraday discussions}, volume = {161}, journal = {Faraday discussions}, number = {1}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1359-6640}, doi = {10.1039/c2fd20085f}, pages = {397 -- 417}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Lateral diffusion plays a crucial role in numerous processes that take place in cell membranes, yet it is quite poorly understood in native membranes characterized by, e.g., domain formation and large concentration of proteins. In this article, we use atomistic and coarse-grained simulations to consider how packing of membranes and crowding with proteins affect the lateral dynamics of lipids and membrane proteins. We find that both packing and protein crowding have a profound effect on lateral diffusion, slowing it down. Anomalous diffusion is observed to be an inherent property in both protein-free and protein-rich membranes, and the time scales of anomalous diffusion and the exponent associated with anomalous diffusion are found to strongly depend on packing and crowding. Crowding with proteins also has a striking effect on the decay rate of dynamical correlations associated with lateral single-particle motion, as the transition from anomalous to normal diffusion is found to take place at macroscopic time scales: while in protein-poor conditions normal diffusion is typically observed in hundreds of nanoseconds, in protein-rich conditions the onset of normal diffusion is tens of microseconds, and in the most crowded systems as large as milliseconds. The computational challenge which results from these time scales is not easy to deal with, not even in coarse-grained simulations. We also briefly discuss the physical limits of protein motion. Our results suggest that protein concentration is anything but constant in the plane of cell membranes. Instead, it is strongly dependent on proteins' preference for aggregation.}, language = {en} } @article{SliusarenkoSurkovGoncharetal.2013, author = {Sliusarenko, O. Yu. and Surkov, D. A. and Gonchar, V. Yu. and Chechkin, Aleksei V.}, title = {Stationary states in bistable system driven by Levy noise}, series = {European physical journal special topics}, volume = {216}, journal = {European physical journal special topics}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1951-6355}, doi = {10.1140/epjst/e2013-01736-0}, pages = {133 -- 138}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We study the properties of the probability density function (PDF) of a bistable system driven by heavy tailed white symmetric L,vy noise. The shape of the stationary PDF is found analytically for the particular case of the L,vy index alpha = 1 (Cauchy noise). For an arbitrary L,vy index we employ numerical methods based on the solution of the stochastic Langevin equation and space fractional kinetic equation. In contrast to the bistable system driven by Gaussian noise, in the L,vy case, the positions of maxima of the stationary PDF do not coincide with the positions of minima of the bistable potential. We provide a detailed study of the distance between the maxima and the minima as a function of the depth of the potential and the L,vy noise parameters.}, language = {en} } @article{LiBabuTurneretal.2013, author = {Li, Hongguang and Babu, Sukumaran Santhosh and Turner, Sarah T. and Neher, Dieter and Hollamby, Martin J. and Seki, Tomohiro and Yagai, Shiki and Deguchi, Yonekazu and M{\"o}hwald, Helmuth and Nakanishi, Takashi}, title = {Alkylated-C-60 based soft materials regulation of self-assembly and optoelectronic properties by chain branching}, series = {Journal of materials chemistry : C, Materials for optical and electronic devices}, volume = {1}, journal = {Journal of materials chemistry : C, Materials for optical and electronic devices}, number = {10}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {2050-7526}, doi = {10.1039/c3tc00066d}, pages = {1943 -- 1951}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Derivatization of fullerene (C-60) with branched aliphatic chains softens C-60-based materials and enables the formation of thermotropic liquid crystals and room temperature nonvolatile liquids. This work demonstrates that by carefully tuning parameters such as type, number and substituent position of the branched chains, liquid crystalline C-60 materials with mesophase temperatures suited for photovoltaic cell fabrication and room temperature nonvolatile liquid fullerenes with tunable viscosity can be obtained. In particular, compound 1, with branched chains, exhibits a smectic liquid crystalline phase extending from 84 degrees C to room temperature. Analysis of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells with a ca. 100 nm active layer of compound 1 and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as an electron acceptor and an electron donor, respectively, reveals an improved performance (power conversion efficiency, PCE: 1.6 + 0.1\%) in comparison with another compound, 10 (PCE: 0.5 + 0.1\%). The latter, in contrast to 1, carries linear aliphatic chains and thus forms a highly ordered solid lamellar phase at room temperature. The solar cell performance of 1 blended with P3HT approaches that of PCBM/P3HT for the same active layer thickness. This indicates that C-60 derivatives bearing branched tails are a promising class of electron acceptors in soft (flexible) photovoltaic devices.}, language = {en} } @article{MarwanSchinkelKurths2013, author = {Marwan, Norbert and Schinkel, Stefan and Kurths, J{\"u}rgen}, title = {Recurrence plots 25 years later -Gaining confidence in dynamical transitions}, series = {epl : a letters journal exploring the frontiers of physics}, volume = {101}, journal = {epl : a letters journal exploring the frontiers of physics}, number = {2}, publisher = {EDP Sciences}, address = {Mulhouse}, issn = {0295-5075}, doi = {10.1209/0295-5075/101/20007}, pages = {6}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Recurrence-plot-based time series analysis is widely used to study changes and transitions in the dynamics of a system or temporal deviations from its overall dynamical regime. However, most studies do not discuss the significance of the detected variations in the recurrence quantification measures. In this letter we propose a novel method to add a confidence measure to the recurrence quantification analysis. We show how this approach can be used to study significant changes in dynamical systems due to a change in control parameters, chaos-order as well as chaos-chaos transitions. Finally we study and discuss climate transitions by analysing a marine proxy record for past sea surface temperature. This paper is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the introduction of recurrence plots.}, language = {en} } @article{MenzelHeuerPuhlmannetal.2013, author = {Menzel, Ralf and Heuer, Axel and Puhlmann, Dirk and Dechoum, K. and Hillery, M. and Spaehn, M. J. A. and Schleich, W. P.}, title = {A two-photon double-slit experiment}, series = {Journal of modern optics}, volume = {60}, journal = {Journal of modern optics}, number = {1}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {0950-0340}, doi = {10.1080/09500340.2012.746400}, pages = {86 -- 94}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We employ a photon pair created by spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) where the pump laser is in the TEM01 mode to perform a Young's double-slit experiment. The signal photon illuminates the two slits and displays interference fringes in the far-field while the idler photon measured in the near-field in coincidence with the signal photon provides us with which-slit' information. We explain the results of these experiments with the help of an analytical expression for the second-order correlation function derived from an elementary model of SPDC. Our experiment emphasizes the crucial role of the mode function in the quantum theory of radiation.}, language = {en} } @article{BindschadlerNowickiAbeOuchietal.2013, author = {Bindschadler, Robert A. and Nowicki, Sophie and Abe-Ouchi, Ayako and Aschwanden, Andy and Choi, Hyeungu and Fastook, Jim and Granzow, Glen and Greve, Ralf and Gutowski, Gail and Herzfeld, Ute and Jackson, Charles and Johnson, Jesse and Khroulev, Constantine and Levermann, Anders and Lipscomb, William H. and Martin, Maria A. and Morlighem, Mathieu and Parizek, Byron R. and Pollard, David and Price, Stephen F. and Ren, Diandong and Saito, Fuyuki and Sato, Tatsuru and Seddik, Hakime and Seroussi, Helene and Takahashi, Kunio and Walker, Ryan and Wang, Wei Li}, title = {Ice-sheet model sensitivities to environmental forcing and their use in projecting future sea level (the SeaRISE project)}, series = {Journal of glaciology}, volume = {59}, journal = {Journal of glaciology}, number = {214}, publisher = {International Glaciological Society}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {0022-1430}, doi = {10.3189/2013JoG12J125}, pages = {195 -- 224}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Ten ice-sheet models are used to study sensitivity of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to prescribed changes of surface mass balance, sub-ice-shelf melting and basal sliding. Results exhibit a large range in projected contributions to sea-level change. In most cases, the ice volume above flotation lost is linearly dependent on the strength of the forcing. Combinations of forcings can be closely approximated by linearly summing the contributions from single forcing experiments, suggesting that nonlinear feedbacks are modest. Our models indicate that Greenland is more sensitive than Antarctica to likely atmospheric changes in temperature and precipitation, while Antarctica is more sensitive to increased ice-shelf basal melting. An experiment approximating the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's RCP8.5 scenario produces additional first-century contributions to sea level of 22.3 and 8.1 cm from Greenland and Antarctica, respectively, with a range among models of 62 and 14 cm, respectively. By 200 years, projections increase to 53.2 and 26.7 cm, respectively, with ranges of 79 and 43 cm. Linear interpolation of the sensitivity results closely approximates these projections, revealing the relative contributions of the individual forcings on the combined volume change and suggesting that total ice-sheet response to complicated forcings over 200 years can be linearized.}, language = {en} } @article{PattynPerichonDurandetal.2013, author = {Pattyn, Frank and Perichon, Laura and Durand, Gael and Favier, Lionel and Gagliardini, Olivier and Hindmarsh, Richard C. A. and Zwinger, Thomas and Albrecht, Torsten and Cornford, Stephen and Docquier, David and Furst, Johannes J. and Goldberg, Daniel and Gudmundsson, Gudmundur Hilmar and Humbert, Angelika and Huetten, Moritz and Huybrechts, Philippe and Jouvet, Guillaume and Kleiner, Thomas and Larour, Eric and Martin, Daniel and Morlighem, Mathieu and Payne, Anthony J. and Pollard, David and Rueckamp, Martin and Rybak, Oleg and Seroussi, Helene and Thoma, Malte and Wilkens, Nina}, title = {Grounding-line migration in plan-view marine ice-sheet models: results of the ice2sea MISMIP3d intercomparison}, series = {Journal of glaciology}, volume = {59}, journal = {Journal of glaciology}, number = {215}, publisher = {International Glaciological Society}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {0022-1430}, doi = {10.3189/2013JoG12J129}, pages = {410 -- 422}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Predictions of marine ice-sheet behaviour require models able to simulate grounding-line migration. We present results of an intercomparison experiment for plan-view marine ice-sheet models. Verification is effected by comparison with approximate analytical solutions for flux across the grounding line using simplified geometrical configurations (no lateral variations, no buttressing effects from lateral drag). Perturbation experiments specifying spatial variation in basal sliding parameters permitted the evolution of curved grounding lines, generating buttressing effects. The experiments showed regions of compression and extensional flow across the grounding line, thereby invalidating the boundary layer theory. Steady-state grounding-line positions were found to be dependent on the level of physical model approximation. Resolving grounding lines requires inclusion of membrane stresses, a sufficiently small grid size (<500 m), or subgrid interpolation of the grounding line. The latter still requires nominal grid sizes of <5 km. For larger grid spacings, appropriate parameterizations for ice flux may be imposed at the grounding line, but the short-time transient behaviour is then incorrect and different from models that do not incorporate grounding-line parameterizations. The numerical error associated with predicting grounding-line motion can be reduced significantly below the errors associated with parameter ignorance and uncertainties in future scenarios.}, language = {en} } @article{SchleussnerFeulner2013, author = {Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich and Feulner, G.}, title = {A volcanically triggered regime shift in the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean as a possible origin of the Little Ice Age}, series = {Climate of the past : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {9}, journal = {Climate of the past : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {3}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1814-9324}, doi = {10.5194/cp-9-1321-2013}, pages = {1321 -- 1330}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Among the climatological events of the last millennium, the Northern Hemisphere Medieval Climate Anomaly succeeded by the Little Ice Age are of exceptional importance. The origin of these regional climate anomalies remains a subject of debate and besides external influences like solar and volcanic activity, internal dynamics of the climate system might have also played a dominant role. Here, we present transient last millennium simulations of the fully coupled model of intermediate complexity Climber 3a forced with stochastically reconstructed wind-stress fields. Our results indicate that short-lived volcanic eruptions might have triggered a cascade of sea ice ocean feedbacks in the North Atlantic, ultimately leading to a persistent regime shift in the ocean circulation. We find that an increase in the Nordic Sea sea-ice extent on decadal timescales as a consequence of major volcanic eruptions in our model leads to a spin-up of the subpolar gyre and a weakened Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, eventually causing a persistent, basin-wide cooling. These results highlight the importance of regional climate feedbacks such as a regime shift in the subpolar gyre circulation for understanding the dynamics of past and future climate.}, language = {en} } @article{InalKoelschChiappisietal.2013, author = {Inal, Sahika and Koelsch, Jonas D. and Chiappisi, Leonardo and Janietz, Dietmar and Gradzielski, Michael and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter}, title = {Structure-related differences in the temperature-regulated fluorescence response of LCST type polymers}, series = {Journal of materials chemistry : C, Materials for optical and electronic devices}, volume = {1}, journal = {Journal of materials chemistry : C, Materials for optical and electronic devices}, number = {40}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {2050-7526}, doi = {10.1039/c3tc31304b}, pages = {6603 -- 6612}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We demonstrate new fluorophore-labelled materials based on acrylamide and on oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) bearing thermoresponsive polymers for sensing purposes and investigate their thermally induced solubility transitions. It is found that the emission properties of the polarity-sensitive (solvatochromic) naphthalimide derivative attached to three different thermoresponsive polymers are highly specific to the exact chemical structure of the macromolecule. While the dye emits very weakly below the LCST when incorporated into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) or into a polyacrylate backbone bearing only short OEG side chains, it is strongly emissive in polymethacrylates with longer OEG side chains. Heating of the aqueous solutions above their cloud point provokes an abrupt increase of the fluorescence intensity of the labelled pNIPAm, whereas the emission properties of the dye are rather unaffected as OEG-based polyacrylates and methacrylates undergo phase transition. Correlated with laser light scattering studies, these findings are ascribed to the different degrees of pre-aggregation of the chains at low temperatures and to the extent of dehydration that the phase transition evokes. It is concluded that although the temperature-triggered changes in the macroscopic absorption characteristics, related to large-scale alterations of the polymer chain conformation and aggregation, are well detectable and similar for these LCST-type polymers, the micro-environment provided to the dye within each polymer network differs substantially. Considering sensing applications, this finding is of great importance since the temperature-regulated fluorescence response of the polymer depends more on the macromolecular architecture than the type of reporter fluorophore.}, language = {en} } @article{NishikawaHardeeZhangetal.2013, author = {Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi and Hardee, P. and Zhang, B. and Dutan, I. and Medvedev, M. and Choi, E. J. and Min, K. W. and Niemiec, J. and Mizuno, Y. and Nordlund, Ake and Frederiksen, Jacob Trier and Sol, H. and Pohl, Martin and Hartmann, D. H.}, title = {Magnetic field generation in a jet-sheath plasma via the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability}, series = {Annales geophysicae}, volume = {31}, journal = {Annales geophysicae}, number = {9}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {0992-7689}, doi = {10.5194/angeo-31-1535-2013}, pages = {1535 -- 1541}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We have investigated the generation of magnetic fields associated with velocity shear between an unmagnetized relativistic jet and an unmagnetized sheath plasma. We have examined the strong magnetic fields generated by kinetic shear (Kelvin-Helmholtz) instabilities. Compared to the previous studies using counter-streaming performed by Alves et al. (2012), the structure of the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KKHI) of our jet-sheath configuration is slightly different, even for the global evolution of the strong transverse magnetic field. In our simulations the major components of growing modes are the electric field E-z, perpendicular to the flow boundary, and the magnetic field B-y, transverse to the flow direction. After the B-y component is excited, an induced electric field E-x, parallel to the flow direction, becomes significant. However, other field components remain small. We find that the structure and growth rate of KKHI with mass ratios m(i)/m(e) = 1836 and m(i)/m(e) = 20 are similar. In our simulations in the nonlinear stage is not as clear as in counter-streaming cases. The growth rate for a mildly-relativistic jet case (gamma(j) = 1.5) is larger than for a relativistic jet case (gamma(j) = 15).}, language = {en} } @article{CherstvyMetzler2013, author = {Cherstvy, Andrey G. and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Population splitting, trapping, and non-ergodicity in heterogeneous diffusion processes}, series = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies}, volume = {15}, journal = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies}, number = {46}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1463-9076}, doi = {10.1039/c3cp53056f}, pages = {20220 -- 20235}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We consider diffusion processes with a spatially varying diffusivity giving rise to anomalous diffusion. Such heterogeneous diffusion processes are analysed for the cases of exponential, power-law, and logarithmic dependencies of the diffusion coefficient on the particle position. Combining analytical approaches with stochastic simulations, we show that the functional form of the space-dependent diffusion coefficient and the initial conditions of the diffusing particles are vital for their statistical and ergodic properties. In all three cases a weak ergodicity breaking between the time and ensemble averaged mean squared displacements is observed. We also demonstrate a population splitting of the time averaged traces into fast and slow diffusers for the case of exponential variation of the diffusivity as well as a particle trapping in the case of the logarithmic diffusivity. Our analysis is complemented by the quantitative study of the space coverage, the diffusive spreading of the probability density, as well as the survival probability.}, language = {en} } @article{InalKoelschSellrieetal.2013, author = {Inal, Sahika and K{\"o}lsch, Jonas D. and Sellrie, Frank and Schenk, J{\"o}rg A. and Wischerhoff, Erik and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter}, title = {A water soluble fluorescent polymer as a dual colour sensor for temperature and a specific protein}, series = {Journal of materials chemistry : B, Materials for biology and medicine}, volume = {1}, journal = {Journal of materials chemistry : B, Materials for biology and medicine}, number = {46}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {2050-750X}, doi = {10.1039/c3tb21245a}, pages = {6373 -- 6381}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We present two thermoresponsive water soluble copolymers prepared via free radical statistical copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and of oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates (OEGMAs), respectively, with a solvatochromic 7-(diethylamino)-3-carboxy-coumarin (DEAC)-functionalized monomer. In aqueous solutions, the NIPAm-based copolymer exhibits characteristic changes in its fluorescence profile in response to a change in solution temperature as well as to the presence of a specific protein, namely an anti-DEAC antibody. This polymer emits only weakly at low temperatures, but exhibits a marked fluorescence enhancement accompanied by a change in its emission colour when heated above its cloud point. Such drastic changes in the fluorescence and absorbance spectra are observed also upon injection of the anti-DEAC antibody, attributed to the specific binding of the antibody to DEAC moieties. Importantly, protein binding occurs exclusively when the polymer is in the well hydrated state below the cloud point, enabling a temperature control on the molecular recognition event. On the other hand, heating of the polymer-antibody complexes releases a fraction of the bound antibody. In the presence of the DEAC-functionalized monomer in this mixture, the released antibody competitively binds to the monomer and the antibody-free chains of the polymer undergo a more effective collapse and inter-aggregation. In contrast, the emission properties of the OEGMA-based analogous copolymer are rather insensitive to the thermally induced phase transition or to antibody binding. These opposite behaviours underline the need for a carefully tailored molecular design of responsive polymers aimed at specific applications, such as biosensing.}, language = {en} } @article{BarbosaPfannesAnielskiGerhardtetal.2013, author = {Barbosa Pfannes, Eva Katharina and Anielski, Alexander and Gerhardt, Matthias and Beta, Carsten}, title = {Intracellular photoactivation of caged cGMP induces myosin II and actin responses in motile cells}, series = {Integrative biology}, volume = {5}, journal = {Integrative biology}, number = {12}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1757-9694}, doi = {10.1039/c3ib40109j}, pages = {1456 -- 1463}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Cyclic GMP (cGMP) is a ubiquitous second messenger in eukaryotic cells. It is assumed to regulate the association of myosin II with the cytoskeleton of motile cells. When cells of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum are exposed to chemoattractants or to increased osmotic stress, intracellular cGMP levels rise, preceding the accumulation of myosin II in the cell cortex. To directly investigate the impact of intracellular cGMP on cytoskeletal dynamics in a living cell, we released cGMP inside the cell by laser-induced photo-cleavage of a caged precursor. With this approach, we could directly show in a live cell experiment that an increase in intracellular cGMP indeed induces myosin II to accumulate in the cortex. Unexpectedly, we observed for the first time that also the amount of filamentous actin in the cell cortex increases upon a rise in the cGMP concentration, independently of cAMP receptor activation and signaling. We discuss our results in the light of recent work on the cGMP signaling pathway and suggest possible links between cGMP signaling and the actin system.}, language = {en} } @article{MenonLevermannScheweetal.2013, author = {Menon, Arathy and Levermann, Anders and Schewe, Jacob and Lehmann, J. and Frieler, Katja}, title = {Consistent increase in Indian monsoon rainfall and its variability across CMIP-5 models}, series = {Earth system dynamics}, volume = {4}, journal = {Earth system dynamics}, number = {2}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {2190-4979}, doi = {10.5194/esd-4-287-2013}, pages = {287 -- 300}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The possibility of an impact of global warming on the Indian monsoon is of critical importance for the large population of this region. Future projections within the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 3 (CMIP-3) showed a wide range of trends with varying magnitude and sign across models. Here the Indian summer monsoon rainfall is evaluated in 20 CMIP-5 models for the period 1850 to 2100. In the new generation of climate models, a consistent increase in seasonal mean rainfall during the summer monsoon periods arises. All models simulate stronger seasonal mean rainfall in the future compared to the historic period under the strongest warming scenario RCP-8.5. Increase in seasonal mean rainfall is the largest for the RCP-8.5 scenario compared to other RCPs. Most of the models show a northward shift in monsoon circulation by the end of the 21st century compared to the historic period under the RCP-8.5 scenario. The interannual variability of the Indian monsoon rainfall also shows a consistent positive trend under unabated global warming. Since both the long-term increase in monsoon rainfall as well as the increase in interannual variability in the future is robust across a wide range of models, some confidence can be attributed to these projected trends.}, language = {en} } @article{BassoQiuWirgesetal.2013, author = {Basso, Heitor Cury and Qiu, Xunlin and Wirges, Werner and Gerhard, Reimund}, title = {Temporal evolution of the re-breakdown voltage in small gaps from nanoseconds to milliseconds}, series = {Applied physics letters}, volume = {102}, journal = {Applied physics letters}, number = {1}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {0003-6951}, doi = {10.1063/1.4773518}, pages = {5}, year = {2013}, abstract = {A detailed understanding of electric breakdown in dielectrics is of scientific and technological interest. In gaseous dielectrics, a so-called re-breakdown is sometimes observed after extinction of the previous discharge. Although time-dependent re-breakdown voltage is essentially known, its behavior immediately after the previous discharge is not precisely understood. We present an electronic circuit for accurate measurements of the time-dependent re-breakdown voltage in small gaps from tens of nanoseconds to several milliseconds after the previous spark. Results from such experiments are compared with earlier findings, and relevant physical mechanisms such as heating of the gas, decay of the plasma, and ionization of excited atoms and molecules are discussed. It is confirmed that the thermal model is not valid at times below several microseconds.}, language = {en} } @article{SchulzBarkaiMetzler2013, author = {Schulz, Johannes H. P. and Barkai, Eli and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Aging effects and population splitting in single-particle trajectoryaverages}, series = {Physical review letters}, volume = {110}, journal = {Physical review letters}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {College Park}, issn = {0031-9007}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.020602}, pages = {5}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We study time averages of single particle trajectories in scale-free anomalous diffusion processes, in which the measurement starts at some time t(a) > 0 after initiation of the process at t = 0. Using aging renewal theory, we show that for such nonstationary processes a large class of observables are affected by a unique aging function, which is independent of boundary conditions or the external forces. Moreover, we discuss the implications of aging induced population splitting: with growing age ta of the process, an increasing fraction of particles remains motionless in a measurement of fixed duration. Consequences for single biomolecule tracking in live cells are discussed.}, language = {en} } @article{ArlenAuneBeilickeetal.2013, author = {Arlen, T. and Aune, T. and Beilicke, M. and Benbow, W. and Bouvier, A. and Buckley, J. H. and Bugaev, V. and Cesarini, A. and Ciupik, L. and Connolly, M. P. and Cui, W. and Dickherber, R. and Dumm, J. and Errando, M. and Falcone, A. and Federici, S. and Feng, Q. and Finley, J. P. and Finnegan, G. and Fortson, L. and Furniss, A. and Galante, N. and Gall, D. and Griffin, S. and Grube, J. and Gyuk, G. and Hanna, D. and Holder, J. and Humensky, T. B. and Kaaret, P. and Karlsson, N. and Kertzman, M. and Khassen, Y. and Kieda, D. and Krawczynski, H. and Krennrich, F. and Maier, G. and Moriarty, P. and Mukherjee, R. and Nelson, T. and de Bhroithe, A. O'Faolain and Ong, R. A. and Orr, M. and Park, N. and Perkins, J. S. and Pichel, A. and Pohl, Martin and Prokoph, H. and Quinn, J. and Ragan, K. and Reyes, L. C. and Reynolds, P. T. and Roache, E. and Saxon, D. B. and Schroedter, M. and Sembroski, G. H. and Staszak, D. and Telezhinsky, Igor O. and Tesic, G. and Theiling, M. and Tsurusaki, K. and Varlotta, A. and Vincent, S. and Wakely, S. P. and Weekes, T. C. and Weinstein, A. and Welsing, R. and Williams, D. A. and Zitzer, B. and Jorstad, S. G. and MacDonald, N. R. and Marscher, A. P. and Smith, P. S. and Walker, R. C. and Hovatta, T. and Richards, J. and Max-Moerbeck, W. and Readhead, A. and Lister, M. L. and Kovalev, Y. Y. and Pushkarev, A. B. and Gurwell, M. A. and Lahteenmaki, A. and Nieppola, E. and Tornikoski, M. and Jarvela, E.}, title = {Rapid TeV Gamma-Ray flaring of bl lacertae}, series = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics}, volume = {762}, journal = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics}, number = {2}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, organization = {VERITAS Collaboration}, issn = {0004-637X}, doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/762/2/92}, pages = {13}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We report on the detection of a very rapid TeV gamma-ray flare from BL Lacertae on 2011 June 28 with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). The flaring activity was observed during a 34.6 minute exposure, when the integral flux above 200 GeV reached (3.4 +/- 0.6) x 10(-6) photons m(-2) s(-1), roughly 125\% of the Crab Nebula flux measured by VERITAS. The light curve indicates that the observations missed the rising phase of the flare but covered a significant portion of the decaying phase. The exponential decay time was determined to be 13 +/- 4 minutes, making it one of the most rapid gamma-ray flares seen from a TeV blazar. The gamma-ray spectrum of BL Lacertae during the flare was soft, with a photon index of 3.6 +/- 0.4, which is in agreement with the measurement made previously by MAGIC in a lower flaring state. Contemporaneous radio observations of the source with the Very Long Baseline Array revealed the emergence of a new, superluminal component from the core around the time of the TeV gamma-ray flare, accompanied by changes in the optical polarization angle. Changes in flux also appear to have occurred at optical, UV, and GeV gamma-ray wavelengths at the time of the flare, although they are difficult to quantify precisely due to sparse coverage. A strong flare was seen at radio wavelengths roughly four months later, which might be related to the gamma-ray flaring activities. We discuss the implications of these multiwavelength results.}, language = {en} } @article{GodecMetzler2013, author = {Godec, Aljaz and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Finite-Time effects and ultraweak ergodicity breaking in superdiffusive dynamics}, series = {Physical review letters}, volume = {110}, journal = {Physical review letters}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {College Park}, issn = {0031-9007}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.020603}, pages = {5}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We study the ergodic properties of superdiffusive, spatiotemporally coupled Levy walk processes. For trajectories of finite duration, we reveal a distinct scatter of the scaling exponents of the time averaged mean squared displacement (delta x(2)) over bar around the ensemble value 3 - alpha (1 < alpha < 2) ranging from ballistic motion to subdiffusion, in strong contrast to the behavior of subdiffusive processes. In addition we find a significant dependence of the average of (delta x(2)) over bar over an ensemble of trajectories as a function of the finite measurement time. This so-called finite-time amplitude depression and the scatter of the scaling exponent is vital in the quantitative evaluation of superdiffusive processes. Comparing the long time average of the second moment with the ensemble mean squared displacement, these only differ by a constant factor, an ultraweak ergodicity breaking.}, language = {en} } @article{SchubertPreisBlakesleyetal.2013, author = {Schubert, Marcel and Preis, Eduard and Blakesley, James C. and Pingel, Patrick and Scherf, Ullrich and Neher, Dieter}, title = {Mobility relaxation and electron trapping in a donor/acceptor copolymer}, series = {Physical review : B, Condensed matter and materials physics}, volume = {87}, journal = {Physical review : B, Condensed matter and materials physics}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {College Park}, issn = {1098-0121}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevB.87.024203}, pages = {12}, year = {2013}, abstract = {To address the nature of charge transport and the origin of severe (intrinsic) trapping in electron-transporting polymers, transient and steady-state charge transport measurements have been conducted on the prototype donor/acceptor copolymer poly[2,7-(9,9-dialkyl-fluorene)-alt-5,5-(4',7'-di-2-thienyl-2',1',3'-benzothiadiazole)] (PFTBTT). A charge-generation layer technique is used to selectively address transport of the desired charge carrier type, to perform time-of-flight measurements on samples with < 200 nm thickness, and to combine the time-of-flight and the photocharge extraction by linearly increasing voltage (photo-CELIV) techniques to investigate charge carrier dynamics over a wide time range. Significant trapping of free electrons is observed in the bulk of dioctyl-substituted PFTBTT (alt-PF8TBTT), introducing a strong relaxation of the charge carrier mobility with time. We used Monte-Carlo simulation to simulate the measured transient data and found that all measurements can be modeled with a single parameter set, with the charge transport behavior determined by multiple trapping and detrapping of electrons in an exponential trap distribution. The influence of the concomitant mobility relaxation on the transient photocurrent characteristics in photo-CELIV experiments is discussed and shown to explain subtle features that were seen in former publications but were not yet assigned to electron trapping. Comparable studies on PFTBTT copolymers with chemical modifications of the side chains and backbone suggest that the observed electron trapping is not caused by a distinct chemical species but rather is related to interchain interactions.}, language = {en} } @article{BauerMetzler2013, author = {Bauer, Maximilian and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {In vivo facilitated diffusion model}, series = {PLoS one}, volume = {8}, journal = {PLoS one}, number = {1}, publisher = {PLoS}, address = {San Fransisco}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0053956}, pages = {8}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Under dilute in vitro conditions transcription factors rapidly locate their target sequence on DNA by using the facilitated diffusion mechanism. However, whether this strategy of alternating between three-dimensional bulk diffusion and one-dimensional sliding along the DNA contour is still beneficial in the crowded interior of cells is highly disputed. Here we use a simple model for the bacterial genome inside the cell and present a semi-analytical model for the in vivo target search of transcription factors within the facilitated diffusion framework. Without having to resort to extensive simulations we determine the mean search time of a lac repressor in a living E. coli cell by including parameters deduced from experimental measurements. The results agree very well with experimental findings, and thus the facilitated diffusion picture emerges as a quantitative approach to gene regulation in living bacteria cells. Furthermore we see that the search time is not very sensitive to the parameters characterizing the DNA configuration and that the cell seems to operate very close to optimal conditions for target localization. Local searches as implied by the colocalization mechanism are only found to mildly accelerate the mean search time within our model.}, language = {en} }