TY - JOUR A1 - Weber, Cornelia A1 - Frank, C. A1 - Bommel, Sebastian A1 - Rukat, Tammo A1 - Leitenberger, Wolfram A1 - Schäfer, Peter A1 - Schreiber, Frank A1 - Kowarik, Stefan T1 - Chain-length dependent growth dynamics of n-alkanes on silica investigated by energy-dispersive x-ray reflectivity in situ and in real-time JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - We compare the growth dynamics of the three n-alkanes C36H74, C40H82, and C44H90 on SiO2 using real-time and in situ energy-dispersive x-ray reflectivity. All molecules investigated align in an upright-standing orientation on the substrate and exhibit a transition from layer-by-layer growth to island growth after about 4 monolayers under the conditions employed. Simultaneous fits of the reflected intensity at five distinct points in reciprocal space show that films formed by longer n-alkanes roughen faster during growth. This behavior can be explained by a chain-length dependent height of the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier. Further x-ray diffraction measurements after growth indicate that films consisting of longer n-alkanes also incorporate more lying-down molecules in the top region. While the results reveal behavior typical for chain-like molecules, the findings can also be useful for the optimization of organic field effect transistors where smooth interlayers of n-alkanes without coexistence of two or more molecular orientations are required. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4719530 SN - 0021-9606 VL - 136 IS - 20 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Richter, Philipp T1 - Cold gas accretion by high-velocity clouds and their connection to QSO Absorption-line systems JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We combine H I 21 cm observations of the Milky Way, M31, and the local galaxy population with QSO absorption-line measurements to geometrically model the three-dimensional distribution of infalling neutral-gas clouds ("high-velocity clouds" (HVCs)) in the extended halos of low-redshift galaxies. We demonstrate that the observed distribution of HVCs around the Milky Way and M31 can be modeled by a radial exponential decline of the mean H I volume-filling factor in their halos. Our model suggests a characteristic radial extent of HVCs of R-halo similar to 50 kpc, a total H I mass in HVCs of similar to 10(8) M-circle dot, and a neutral-gas accretion rate of similar to 0.7 M-circle dot yr(-1) for M31/Milky-Way-type galaxies. Using a Holmberg-like luminosity scaling of the halo size of galaxies we estimate R-halo similar to 110 kpc for the most massive galaxies. The total absorption cross-section of HVCs at z approximate to 0 most likely is dominated by galaxies with total H I masses between 10(8.5) and 10(10) M-circle dot. Our model indicates that the H I disks of galaxies and their surrounding HVC population can account for 30%-100% of intervening QSO absorption-line systems with log N(H I) >= 17.5 at z approximate to 0. We estimate that the neutral-gas accretion rate density of galaxies at low redshift from infalling HVCs is dM(H) (I)/dt/dV approximate to 0.022 M-circle dot yr(-1) Mpc(-3), which is close to the measured star formation rate density in the local universe. HVCs thus may play an important role in the ongoing formation and evolution of galaxies. KW - Galaxy: halo KW - ISM: clouds KW - quasars: absorption lines Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/750/2/165 SN - 0004-637X VL - 750 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kollosche, Matthias A1 - Zhu, Jian A1 - Suo, Zhigang A1 - Kofod, Guggi T1 - Complex interplay of nonlinear processes in dielectric elastomers JF - Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics N2 - A combination of experiment and theory shows that dielectric elastomers exhibit complex interplay of nonlinear processes. Membranes of a dielectric elastomer are prepared in various states of prestretches by using rigid clamps and mechanical forces. Upon actuation by voltage, some membranes form wrinkles followed by snap-through instability, others form wrinkles without the snap-through instability, and still others fail by local instability without forming wrinkles. Membranes surviving these nonlinear processes are found to attain a constant dielectric strength, independent of the state of prestretches. Giant voltage-induced stretch of 3.6 is attained. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.85.051801 SN - 1539-3755 VL - 85 IS - 5 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Magdziarz, Marcin A1 - Metzler, Ralf A1 - Szczotka, Wladyslaw A1 - Zebrowski, Piotr T1 - Correlated continuous-time random walks in external force fields JF - Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics N2 - We study the anomalous diffusion of a particle in an external force field whose motion is governed by nonrenewal continuous time random walks with correlated waiting times. In this model the current waiting time T-i is equal to the previous waiting time Ti-1 plus a small increment. Based on the associated coupled Langevin equations the force field is systematically introduced. We show that in a confining potential the relaxation dynamics follows power-law or stretched exponential pattern, depending on the model parameters. The process obeys a generalized Einstein-Stokes-Smoluchowski relation and observes the second Einstein relation. The stationary solution is of Boltzmann-Gibbs form. The case of an harmonic potential is discussed in some detail. We also show that the process exhibits aging and ergodicity breaking. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.85.051103 SN - 1539-3755 SN - 1550-2376 VL - 85 IS - 5 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Amselem, Gabriel A1 - Theves, Matthias A1 - Bae, Albert J. A1 - Bodenschatz, Eberhard A1 - Beta, Carsten T1 - A stochastic description of dictyostelium chemotaxis JF - PLoS one N2 - Chemotaxis, the directed motion of a cell toward a chemical source, plays a key role in many essential biological processes. Here, we derive a statistical model that quantitatively describes the chemotactic motion of eukaryotic cells in a chemical gradient. Our model is based on observations of the chemotactic motion of the social ameba Dictyostelium discoideum, a model organism for eukaryotic chemotaxis. A large number of cell trajectories in stationary, linear chemoattractant gradients is measured, using microfluidic tools in combination with automated cell tracking. We describe the directional motion as the interplay between deterministic and stochastic contributions based on a Langevin equation. The functional form of this equation is directly extracted from experimental data by angle-resolved conditional averages. It contains quadratic deterministic damping and multiplicative noise. In the presence of an external gradient, the deterministic part shows a clear angular dependence that takes the form of a force pointing in gradient direction. With increasing gradient steepness, this force passes through a maximum that coincides with maxima in both speed and directionality of the cells. The stochastic part, on the other hand, does not depend on the orientation of the directional cue and remains independent of the gradient magnitude. Numerical simulations of our probabilistic model yield quantitative agreement with the experimental distribution functions. Thus our model captures well the dynamics of chemotactic cells and can serve to quantify differences and similarities of different chemotactic eukaryotes. Finally, on the basis of our model, we can characterize the heterogeneity within a population of chemotactic cells. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037213 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 7 IS - 5 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bauer, Maximilian A1 - Metzler, Ralf T1 - Generalized facilitated diffusion model for DNA-binding proteins with search and recognition states JF - Biophysical journal N2 - Transcription factors (TFs) such as the lac repressor find their target sequence on DNA at remarkably high rates. In the established Berg-von Hippel model for this search process, the TF alternates between three-dimensional diffusion in the bulk solution and one-dimensional sliding along the DNA chain. To overcome the so-called speed-stability paradox, in similar models the TF was considered as being present in two conformations (search state and recognition state) between which it switches stochastically. Combining both the facilitated diffusion model and alternating states, we obtain a generalized model. We explicitly treat bulk excursions for rodlike chains arranged in parallel and consider a simplified model for coiled DNA. Compared to previously considered facilitated diffusion models, corresponding to limiting cases of our generalized model, we surprisingly find a reduced target search rate. Moreover, at optimal conditions there is no longer an equipartition between the time spent by the protein on and off the DNA chain. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2012.04.008 SN - 0006-3495 VL - 102 IS - 10 SP - 2321 EP - 2330 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abouzar, Maryam H. A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Cherstvy, Andrey G. A1 - Pedraza, Angela M. A1 - Ingebrandt, Sven A1 - Schöning, Michael J. T1 - Label-free electrical detection of DNA by means of field-effect nanoplate capacitors experiments and modeling JF - Physica status solidi : A, Applications and materials science N2 - Label-free electrical detection of consecutive deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) hybridization/denaturation by means of an array of individually addressable field-effect-based nanoplate silicon-on-insulator (SOI) capacitors modified with gold nanoparticles (Au-NP) is investigated. The proposed device detects charge changes on Au-NP/DNA hybrids induced by the hybridization or denaturation event. DNA hybridization was performed in a high ionic-strength solution to provide a high hybridization efficiency. On the other hand, to reduce the screening of the DNA charge by counter ions and to achieve a high sensitivity, the sensor signal induced by the hybridization and denaturation events was measured in a low ionic-strength solution. High sensor signals of about 120, 90, and 80 mV were registered after the DNA hybridization, denaturation, and re-hybridization events, respectively. Fluorescence microscopy has been applied as reference method to verify the DNA immobilization, hybridization, and denaturation processes. An electrostatic charge-plane model for potential changes at the gate surface of a nanoplate field-effect sensor induced by the DNA hybridization has been developed taking into account both the Debye length and the distance of the DNA charge from the gate surface. KW - DNA KW - field-effect KW - gold nanoparticle KW - label-free detection KW - nanoplate capacitor Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201100710 SN - 1862-6300 VL - 209 IS - 5 SP - 925 EP - 934 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kempf, Sascha A1 - Srama, Ralf A1 - Grün, Eberhard A1 - Mocker, Anna A1 - Postberg, Frank A1 - Hillier, Jon K. A1 - Horanyi, Mihaly A1 - Sternovsky, Zoltan A1 - Abel, Bernd A1 - Beinsen, Alexander A1 - Thissen, Roland A1 - Schmidt, Jürgen A1 - Spahn, Frank A1 - Altobelli, Nicolas T1 - Linear high resolution dust mass spectrometer for a mission to the Galilean satellites JF - Planetary and space science N2 - The discovery of volcanic activity on Enceladus stands out amongst the long list of findings by the Cassini mission to Saturn. In particular the compositional analysis of Enceladus ice particles by Cassini's Cosmic Dust Analyser (CDA) (Srama et al., 2004) has proven to be a powerful technique for obtaining information about processes below the moon's ice crust. Small amounts of sodium salts embedded in the particles' ice matrices provide direct evidence for a subsurface liquid water reservoir, which is, or has been, in contact with the moon's rocky core (Postberg et al., 2009, 2011b). Jupiter's Galilean satellites Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto are also believed to have subsurface oceans and are therefore prime targets for future NASA and ESA outer Solar System missions. The Galilean moons are engulfed in tenuous dust clouds consisting of tiny pieces of the moons' surfaces (Kruger et al., 1999), released by hypervelocity impacts of micrometeoroids, which steadily bombard the surfaces of the moons. In situ chemical analysis of these grains by a high resolution dust spectrometer will provide spatially resolved mapping of the surface composition of Europa. Ganymede, and Callisto, meeting key scientific objectives of the planned missions. However, novel high-resolution reflectron-type dust mass spectrometers (Sternovsky et al., 2007; Srama et al., 2007) developed for dust astronomy missions (Gran et al., 2009) are probably not robust enough to be operated in the energetic radiation environment of the inner Jovian system. In contrast, CDA's linear spectrometer is much less affected by harsh radiation conditions because its ion detector is not directly facing out into space. The instrument has been continuously operated on Cassini for 11 years. In this paper we investigate the possibility of operating a CDA-like instrument as a high resolution impact mass spectrometer. We show that such an instrument is capable of reliably identifying traces of organic and inorganic materials in the ice matrix of ejecta expected to be generated from the surfaces of the Galilean moons. These measurements are complementary, and in some cases superior, compared to other traditional techniques such as infrared remote sensing or in situ ion or neutral mass spectrometers. KW - Europa KW - Ganymede KW - Callisto KW - Surface composition KW - Mass spectroscopy KW - Dust Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2011.12.019 SN - 0032-0633 VL - 65 IS - 1 SP - 10 EP - 20 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wendt, Martin A1 - Molaro, P. T1 - QSO 0347-383 and the invariance of m(p)/m(e) in the course of cosmic time JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context. The variation of the dimensionless fundamental physical constant mu = m(p)/m(e) - the proton to electron mass ratio - can be constrained via observation of Lyman and Werner lines of molecular hydrogen in the spectra of damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) in the line of sight to distant QSOs. Aims. Our intention is to maximize the possible precision of quasar absorption spectroscopy with regard to the investigation of the variation of the proton-to-electron mass-ratio mu. The demand for precision requires an understanding of the errors involved and effective techniques to handle present systematic errors. Methods. An analysis based on UVES high resolution data sets of QSO 0347-383 and its DLA is put forward and new approaches to some of the steps involved in the data analysis are introduced. We apply corrections for the observed offsets between discrete spectra and for the first time we find indications for inter-order distortions. Results. Drawing on VLT-UVES observations of QSO 0347-383 in 2009 our analysis yields Delta mu/mu = (4.3 +/- 7.2) x 10(-6) at z(abs) = 3.025. Conclusions. Current analyzes tend to underestimate the impact of systematic errors. Based on the scatter of the measured redshifts and the corresponding low significance of the redshift-sensitivity correlation we estimate the limit of accuracy of line position measurements to similar to 220 m s (1), consisting of roughly 150 m s (1) due to the uncertainty of the absorption line fit and about 150 m s (1) allocated to systematics related to instrumentation and calibration. KW - cosmology: observations KW - quasars: absorption lines KW - quasars: individual: QSO 0347-383 KW - early Universe Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201218862 SN - 0004-6361 VL - 541 IS - 3 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cherstvy, Andrey G. T1 - Critical polyelectrolyte adsorption under confinement Planar slit, cylindrical pore, and spherical cavity JF - Biopolymers N2 - We explore the properties of adsorption of flexible polyelectrolyte chains in confined spaces between the oppositely charged surfaces in three basic geometries. A method of approximate uniformly valid solutions for the Green function equation for the eigenfunctions of polymer density distributions is developed to rationalize the critical adsorption conditions. The same approach was implemented in our recent study for the inverse problem of polyelectrolyte adsorption onto a planar surface, and on the outer surface of rod-like and spherical obstacles. For the three adsorption geometries investigated, the theory yields simple scaling relations for the minimal surface charge density that triggers the chain adsorption, as a function of the Debye screening length and surface curvature. The encapsulation of polyelectrolytes is governed by interplay of the electrostatic attraction energy toward the adsorbing surface and entropic repulsion of the chain squeezed into a thin slit or small cavities. Under the conditions of surface-mediated confinement, substantially larger polymer linear charge densities are required to adsorb a polyelectrolyte inside a charged spherical cavity, relative to a cylindrical pore and to a planar slit (at the same interfacial surface charge density). Possible biological implications are discussed briefly in the end. KW - polymers KW - adsorption KW - electrostatics KW - confinement Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/bip.22023 SN - 0006-3525 VL - 97 IS - 5 SP - 311 EP - 317 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mari, A. A1 - Eisert, J. T1 - Opto- and electro-mechanical entanglement improved by modulation JF - New journal of physics : the open-access journal for physics N2 - One of the main milestones in the study of opto- and electromechanical systems is to certify entanglement between a mechanical resonator and an optical or microwave mode of a cavity field. In this work, we show how a suitable time-periodic modulation can help to achieve large degrees of entanglement, building upon the framework introduced in Mari and Eisert (2009 Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 213603). It is demonstrated that with suitable driving, the maximum degree of entanglement can be significantly enhanced, in a way exhibiting a nontrivial dependence on the specifics of the modulation. Such time-dependent driving might help to experimentally achieve entangled mechanical systems also in situations when quantum correlations are otherwise suppressed by thermal noise. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/14/7/075014 SN - 1367-2630 VL - 14 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cherstvy, Andrey G. A1 - Winkler, R. G. T1 - Polyelectrolyte adsorption onto oppositely charged interfaces image-charge repulsion and surface curvature JF - The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces & biophysical chemistry N2 - We analyze theoretically the influence of low-dielectric boundaries on the adsorption of flexible polyelectrolytes onto planar and spherical oppositely charged surfaces in electrolyte solutions. We rationalize to what extent polymer chains are depleted from adsorbing interfaces by repulsive image forces. We employ the WKB (Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin) quantum mechanical method for the Green function of the Edwards equation to determine the adsorption equilibrium. Scaling relations are determined for the critical adsorption strength required to initiate polymer adsorption onto these low-dielectric supports. Image-force repulsion shifts the equilibrium toward the desorbed state, demanding larger surface charge densities and polyelectrolyte linear charge densities for the adsorption to take place. The effect is particularly pronounced for a planar interface in a low-salt regime, where a dramatic change in the scaling behavior for the adsorption-desorption transition is predicted. For the adsorbed state, polymers with higher charge densities are displaced further from the interface by image-charge repulsions. We discuss relevant experimental evidence and argue about possible biological applications of the results. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/jp304980e SN - 1520-6106 VL - 116 IS - 32 SP - 9838 EP - 9845 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frasca, Mattia A1 - Bergner, Andre A1 - Kurths, Jürgen A1 - Fortuna, Luigi T1 - Bifurcations in a star-like network of Stuart-Landau oscillators JF - International journal of bifurcation and chaos : in applied sciences and engineering N2 - In this paper, we analytically study a star motif of Stuart-Landau oscillators, derive the bifurcation diagram and discuss the different forms of synchronization arising in such a system. Despite the parameter mismatch between the central node and the peripheral ones, an analytical approach independent of the number of units in the system has been proposed. The approach allows to calculate the separatrices between the regions with distinct dynamical behavior and to determine the nature of the different transitions to synchronization appearing in the system. The theoretical analysis is supported by numerical results. KW - Complex networks KW - synchronization KW - bifurcations Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218127412501738 SN - 0218-1274 VL - 22 IS - 7 PB - World Scientific CY - Singapore ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Guimaraes, Ana H. F. A1 - Albers, Nicole A1 - Spahn, Frank A1 - Seiss, Martin A1 - Vieira-Neto, Ernesto A1 - Brilliantov, Nikolai V. T1 - Aggregates in the strength and gravity regime Particles sizes in Saturn's rings JF - Icarus : international journal of solar system studies N2 - Particles in Saturn's main rings range in size from dust to kilometer-sized objects. Their size distribution is thought to be a result of competing accretion and fragmentation processes. While growth is naturally limited in tidal environments, frequent collisions among these objects may contribute to both accretion and fragmentation. As ring particles are primarily made of water ice attractive surface forces like adhesion could significantly influence these processes, finally determining the resulting size distribution. Here, we derive analytic expressions for the specific self-energy Q and related specific break-up energy Q(star) of aggregates. These expressions can be used for any aggregate type composed of monomeric constituents. We compare these expressions to numerical experiments where we create aggregates of various types including: regular packings like the face-centered cubic (fcc), Ballistic Particle Cluster Aggregates (BPCA), and modified BPCAs including e.g. different constituent size distributions. We show that accounting for attractive surface forces such as adhesion a simple approach is able to: (a) generally account for the size dependence of the specific break-up energy for fragmentation to occur reported in the literature, namely the division into "strength" and "gravity" regimes and (b) estimate the maximum aggregate size in a collisional ensemble to be on the order of a few tens of meters, consistent with the maximum particle size observed in Saturn's rings of about 10 m. KW - Collisional physics KW - Accretion KW - Planetary rings KW - Saturn, Rings Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2012.06.005 SN - 0019-1035 SN - 1090-2643 VL - 220 IS - 2 SP - 660 EP - 678 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gao, Feng A1 - Wang, Jianpu A1 - Blakesley, James C. A1 - Hwang, Inchan A1 - Li, Zhe A1 - Greenham, Neil C. T1 - Quantifying loss mechanisms in polymer Fullerene photovoltaic devices JF - dvanced energy materials KW - organic photovoltaics KW - recombination KW - bulk heterojunctions KW - loss mechanisms KW - drift-diffusion models Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201200073 SN - 1614-6832 VL - 2 IS - 8 SP - 956 EP - 961 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Barkai, Eli A1 - Garini, Yuval A1 - Metzler, Ralf T1 - Strange Kinetics of single molecules in living cells JF - Physics today Y1 - 2012 SN - 0031-9228 VL - 65 IS - 8 SP - 29 EP - 35 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhu, Jian A1 - Kollosche, Matthias A1 - Lu, Tongqing A1 - Kofod, Guggi A1 - Suo, Zhigang T1 - Two types of transitions to wrinkles in dielectric elastomers JF - Soft matter N2 - A membrane of a dielectric elastomer coated with compliant electrodes may form wrinkles as the applied voltage is ramped up. We present a combination of experiment and theory to investigate the transition to wrinkles using a clamped membrane subject to a constant force and a voltage ramp. Two types of transitions are identified. In type-I transition, the voltage-stretch curve is N-shaped, and flat and wrinkled regions coexist in separate areas of the membrane. The type-I transition progresses by nucleation of small wrinkled regions, followed by the growth of the wrinkled regions at the expense of the flat regions, until the entire membrane is wrinkled. By contrast, in type-II transition, the voltage-stretch curve is monotonic, and the entire flat membrane becomes wrinkled with no nucleation barrier. The two types of transitions are analogous to the first and the second order phase transitions. While the type-I transition is accompanied by a jump in the vertical displacement, type-II transition is accompanied by a continuous change in the vertical displacement. Such transitions may enable applications in muscle-like actuation and energy harvesting, where large deformation and large energy of conversion are desired. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c2sm26034d SN - 1744-683X VL - 8 IS - 34 SP - 8840 EP - 8846 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Risse, Sebastian A1 - Kussmaul, Björn A1 - Krüger, Hartmut A1 - Kofod, Guggi T1 - A versatile method for enhancement of electromechanical sensitivity of silicone elastomers JF - RSC Advances N2 - Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) draw their function from their dielectric and mechanical properties. The paper describes the fabrication and various properties of molecularly grafted silicone elastomer films. This was achieved by addition of high-dipole molecular co-substituents to off-the-shelf silicone elastomer kits, Elastosil RT 625 and Sylgard 184 by Wacker and Dow Corning, respectively. Strong push-pull dipoles were chemically grafted to both polymer networks during a one step film formation process. All manufactured films were characterized using (13) C-NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy, confirming a successful attachment of the dipoles to the silicone network. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results showed that grafted dipoles were distributed homogeneously throughout the material avoiding the formation of nano-scale aggregates. The permittivity increased with the amount of dipole at all frequencies, while the Young's modulus and electrical breakdown strength were reduced. Actuation strain measurements in the pure shear configuration independently confirmed the increase in electromechanical sensitivity. The ability to enhance electromechanical properties of off-the-shelf materials could strongly expand the range of actuator properties available to researchers and end-users. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c2ra21541a SN - 2046-2069 VL - 2 IS - 24 SP - 9029 EP - 9035 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Guetschow, Johannes A1 - Nesme, Vincent A1 - Werner, Reinhard F. T1 - Self-similarity of cellular automata on abelian groups JF - Journal of cellular automata N2 - It is well known that the spacetime diagrams of some cellular automata have a self-similar fractal structure: for instance Wolfram's rule 90 generates a Sierpinski triangle. Explaining the self-similarity of the spacetime diagrams of cellular automata is a well-explored topic, but virtually all of the results revolve around a special class of automata, whose typical features include irreversibility, an alphabet with a ring structure, a global evolution that is a ring homomorphism, and a property known as (weakly) p-Fermat. The class of automata that we study in this article has none of these properties. Their cell structure is weaker, as it does not come with a multiplication, and they are far from being p-Fermat, even weakly. However, they do produce self-similar spacetime diagrams, and we explain why and how. KW - fractal KW - abelian group KW - linear cellular automaton KW - substitution system KW - self-similarity Y1 - 2012 SN - 1557-5969 VL - 7 IS - 2 SP - 83 EP - 113 PB - Old City Publishing Science CY - Philadelphia ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Adamcik, Jozef A1 - Jeon, Jae-Hyung A1 - Karczewski, Konrad J. A1 - Metzler, Ralf A1 - Dietler, Giovanni T1 - Quantifying supercoiling-induced denaturation bubbles in DNA JF - Soft matter N2 - In both eukaryotic and prokaryotic DNA sequences of 30-100 base-pairs rich in AT base-pairs have been identified at which the double helix preferentially unwinds. Such DNA unwinding elements are commonly associated with origins for DNA replication and transcription, and with chromosomal matrix attachment regions. Here we present a quantitative study of local DNA unwinding based on extensive single DNA plasmid imaging. We demonstrate that long-lived single-stranded denaturation bubbles exist in negatively supercoiled DNA, at the expense of partial twist release. Remarkably, we observe a linear relation between the degree of supercoiling and the bubble size, in excellent agreement with statistical modelling. Furthermore, we obtain the full distribution of bubble sizes and the opening probabilities at varying salt and temperature conditions. The results presented herein underline the important role of denaturation bubbles in negatively supercoiled DNA for biological processes such as transcription and replication initiation in vivo. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c2sm26089a SN - 1744-683X VL - 8 IS - 33 SP - 8651 EP - 8658 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Modak, Sujoy Kumar A1 - Singleton, Douglas T1 - Inflation with a graceful exit and entrance driven by Hawking radiation JF - Physical review : D, Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology N2 - We present a model for cosmological inflation which has a natural "turn on'' and a natural "turn off'' mechanism. In our model inflation is driven by the Hawking-like radiation that occurs in Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) space-time. This Hawking-like radiation results in an effective negative pressure "fluid'' which leads to a rapid period of expansion in the very early Universe. As the Universe expands the FRW Hawking temperature decreases and the inflationary expansion turns off and makes a natural transition to the power-law expansion of a radiation dominated universe. The turn on mechanism is more speculative, but is based on the common hypothesis that in a quantum theory of gravity at very high temperatures/high densities Hawking radiation will stop. Applying this speculation to the very early Universe implies that the Hawking-like radiation of the FRW space-time will be turned off and therefore the inflation driven by this radiation will turn off. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.86.123515 SN - 1550-7998 VL - 86 IS - 12 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jeon, Jae-Hyung A1 - Monne, Hector Martinez-Seara A1 - Javanainen, Matti A1 - Metzler, Ralf T1 - Anomalous diffusion of phospholipids and cholesterols in a lipid bilayer and its origins JF - Physical review letters N2 - Combining extensive molecular dynamics simulations of lipid bilayer systems of varying chemical compositions with single-trajectory analyses, we systematically elucidate the stochastic nature of the lipid motion. We observe subdiffusion over more than 4 orders of magnitude in time, clearly stretching into the submicrosecond domain. The lipid motion depends on the lipid chemistry, the lipid phase, and especially the presence of cholesterol. We demonstrate that fractional Langevin equation motion universally describes the lipid motion in all phases, including the gel phase, and in the presence of cholesterol. The results underline the relevance of anomalous diffusion in lipid bilayers and the strong effects of the membrane composition. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.188103 SN - 0031-9007 VL - 109 IS - 18 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Körzdörfer, Thomas A1 - Parrish, Robert M. A1 - Marom, Noa A1 - Sears, John S. A1 - Sherrill, C. David A1 - Bredas, Jean-Luc T1 - Assessment of the performance of tuned range-separated hybrid density functionals in predicting accurate quasiparticle spectra JF - Physical review : B, Condensed matter and materials physics N2 - Long-range corrected hybrid functionals that employ a nonempirically tuned range-separation parameter have been demonstrated to yield accurate ionization potentials and fundamental gaps for a wide range of finite systems. Here, we address the question of whether this high level of accuracy is limited to the highest occupied/lowest unoccupied energy levels to which the range-separation parameter is tuned or whether it is retained for the entire valence spectrum. We examine several pi-conjugated molecules and find that orbitals of a different character and symmetry require significantly different range-separation parameters and fractions of exact exchange. This imbalanced treatment of orbitals of a different nature biases the resulting eigenvalue spectra. Thus, the existing schemes for the tuning of range-separated hybrid functionals, while providing for good agreement between the highest occupied energy level and the first ionization potential, do not achieve accuracy comparable to reliable G(0)W(0) computations for the entire quasiparticle spectrum. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.205110 SN - 1098-0121 VL - 86 IS - 20 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Berenstein, Igal A1 - Beta, Carsten T1 - Flow-induced transitions in bistable systems JF - Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics N2 - We studied transitions between spatiotemporal patterns that can be induced in a spatially extended nonlinear chemical system by a unidirectional flow in combination with constant inflow concentrations. Three different scenarios were investigated. (i) Under conditions where the system exhibited two stable fixed points, the propagation direction of trigger fronts could be reversed, so that domains of the less stable fixed point invaded the system. (ii) For bistability between a stable fixed point and a limit cycle we observed that above a critical flow velocity, the unstable focus at the center of the limit cycle could be stabilized. Increasing the flow speed further, a regime of damped flow-distributed oscillations was found and, depending on the boundary values at the inflow, finally the stable fixed point dominated. Similarly, also in the case of spatiotemporal chaos (iii), the unstable steady state could be stabilized and was replaced by the stable fixed point with increasing flow velocity. We finally outline a linear stability analysis that can explain part of our findings. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.056205 SN - 1539-3755 VL - 86 IS - 5 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chechkin, Aleksei V. A1 - Lenz, F. A1 - Klages, Rainer T1 - Normal and anomalous fluctuation relations for gaussian stochastic dynamics JF - Journal of statistical mechanics: theory and experiment N2 - We study transient work fluctuation relations (FRs) for Gaussian stochastic systems generating anomalous diffusion. For this purpose we use a Langevin approach by employing two different types of additive noise: (i) internal noise where the fluctuation dissipation relation of the second kind (FDR II) holds, and (ii) external noise without FDR II. For internal noise we demonstrate that the existence of FDR II implies the existence of the fluctuation dissipation relation of the first kind (FDR I), which in turn leads to conventional (normal) forms of transient work FRs. For systems driven by external noise we obtain violations of normal FRs, which we call anomalous FRs. We derive them in the long-time limit and demonstrate the existence of logarithmic factors in FRs for intermediate times. We also outline possible experimental verifications. KW - stochastic particle dynamics (theory) KW - fluctuations (theory) KW - stochastic processes (theory) KW - diffusion Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/2012/11/L11001 SN - 1742-5468 IS - 4 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gündelman, Eduardo A1 - Singleton, Douglas A1 - Yongram, N. T1 - A two measure model of dark energy and dark matter JF - Journal of cosmology and astroparticle physics N2 - In this work we construct a unified model of dark energy and dark matter. This is done with the following three elements: a gravitating scalar field, phi with a non-conventional kinetic term, as in the string theory tachyon; an arbitrary potential, V (phi); two measures - a metric measure (root-g) and a non-metric measure (Phi). The model has two interesting features: (i) For potentials which are unstable and would give rise to tachyonic scalar field, this model can stabilize the scalar field. (ii) The form of the dark energy and dark matter that results from this model is fairly insensitive to the exact form of the scalar field potential. KW - modified gravity KW - dark matter theory KW - dark energy theory Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2012/11/044 SN - 1475-7516 IS - 11 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mihoc, Carmen A1 - Schick, Daniel A1 - Lütgens, Matthias A1 - Lathe, Christian A1 - Burkel, Eberhard T1 - Formation of Al67Cu23Fe10 quasicrystals by microwave heating JF - International journal of materials research : Zeitschrift für Metallkunde N2 - The present work was carried out to compare the formation of single icosahedral phase during conventional heating and microwave processing. Al67Cu23Fe10 alloy powder was synthesized from high purity (99.9%) powder elements by mechanical alloying. Differential scanning calorimetry combined with in-situ synchrotron energy dispersive X-ray diffraction was used to identify the main solid state reactions and the phase evolution of the powders. Inductive microwave processing in the magnetic field anti-node was performed to obtain the quasicrystalline phase in only a few seconds. Due to the rapid cooling of the sample it was possible to stabilize the icosahedral phase against its competing quasicrystalline approximants. Laboratory X-ray diffraction analysis was used to characterise the atomic structure of the specimen and scanning electron microscopy was used to characterise the microstructure after the microwave processing. KW - Quasicrystals KW - Microwave processing KW - Mechanical alloying Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3139/146.110786 SN - 1862-5282 VL - 103 IS - 11 SP - 1340 EP - 1344 PB - Hanser CY - München ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Metzler, Ralf A1 - Jeon, Jae-Hyung T1 - The role of ergodicity in anomalous stochastic processes - analysis of single-particle trajectories JF - Physica scripta : an international journal for experimental and theoretical physics N2 - Single-particle experiments produce time series x(t) of individual particle trajectories, frequently revealing anomalous diffusion behaviour. Typically, individual x(t) are evaluated in terms of time-averaged quantities instead of ensemble averages. Here we discuss the behaviour of the time-averaged mean squared displacement of different stochastic processes giving rise to anomalous diffusion. In particular, we pay attention to the ergodic properties of these processes, i.e. the (non)equivalence of time and ensemble averages. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-8949/86/05/058510 SN - 0031-8949 VL - 86 IS - 5 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kaeonikhom, Chakkrit A1 - Singleton, Douglas A1 - Sushkov, Sergey V. A1 - Yongram, N. T1 - Dynamics of Dirac-Born-Infeld dark energy interacting with dark matter JF - Physical review : D, Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology N2 - We study the dynamics of Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) dark energy interacting with dark matter. The DBI dark energy model considered here has a scalar field with a nonstandard kinetic energy term, and has potential and brane tension that are power-law functions. The new feature considered here is an interaction between the DBI dark energy and dark matter through a phenomenological interaction between the DBI scalar field and the dark matter fluid. We analyze two different types of interactions between the DBI scalar field and the dark matter fluid. In particular we study the phase-space diagrams of and look for critical points of the phase space that are both stable and lead to accelerated, late-time expansion. In general we find that the interaction between the two dark components does not appear to give rise to late-time accelerated expansion. However, the interaction can make the critical points in the phase space of the system stable. Whether such stabilization occurs or not depends on the form of the interaction between the two dark components. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.86.124049 SN - 1550-7998 VL - 86 IS - 12 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Orgzall, Ingo A1 - Dietzel, Birgit A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Larrucea, Julen T1 - Ordering the amorphous - Structures in PBD LED materials JF - Journal of molecular structure N2 - The class of 2,5 disubstituted-1,3,4-oxadiazoles containing a biphenyl unit on one side is intensively used as electron transport materials to enhance the performance of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). In contrast to the ongoing research on these materials insights in their structure-property relationships are still incomplete. To overcome the structural tentativeness and ambiguities the crystal structures of 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole, that of the related compound 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole and of 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole are determined. A comparison with the results of GAUSSIAN03 calculations and similar compounds in the Cambridge Structural Database leads to a profound characterization. KW - OLED KW - PBD KW - Diphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole KW - Crystallization Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2012.04.040 SN - 0022-2860 VL - 1030 IS - 23 SP - 209 EP - 215 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kimber, Robin G. E. A1 - Wright, Edward N. A1 - O'Kane, Simon E. J. A1 - Walker, Alison B. A1 - Blakesley, James C. T1 - Mesoscopic kinetic Monte Carlo modeling of organic photovoltaic device characteristics JF - Physical review : B, Condensed matter and materials physics N2 - Measured mobility and current-voltage characteristics of single layer and photovoltaic (PV) devices composed of poly{9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-bis[N,N'-(4-butylphenyl)]bis(N,N'-phenyl-1,4-phenylene)diamine} (PFB) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT) have been reproduced by a mesoscopic model employing the kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) approach. Our aim is to show how to avoid the uncertainties common in electrical transport models arising from the need to fit a large number of parameters when little information is available, for example, a single current-voltage curve. Here, simulation parameters are derived from a series of measurements using a self-consistent "building-blocks" approach, starting from data on the simplest systems. We found that site energies show disorder and that correlations in the site energies and a distribution of deep traps must be included in order to reproduce measured charge mobility-field curves at low charge densities in bulk PFB and F8BT. The parameter set from the mobility-field curves reproduces the unipolar current in single layers of PFB and F8BT and allows us to deduce charge injection barriers. Finally, by combining these disorder descriptions and injection barriers with an optical model, the external quantum efficiency and current densities of blend and bilayer organic PV devices can be successfully reproduced across a voltage range encompassing reverse and forward bias, with the recombination rate the only parameter to be fitted, found to be 1 x 10(7) s(-1). These findings demonstrate an approach that removes some of the arbitrariness present in transport models of organic devices, which validates the KMC as an accurate description of organic optoelectronic systems, and provides information on the microscopic origins of the device behavior. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.235206 SN - 1098-0121 VL - 86 IS - 23 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Marom, Noa A1 - Caruso, Fabio A1 - Ren, Xinguo A1 - Hofmann, Oliver T. A1 - Körzdörfer, Thomas A1 - Chelikowsky, James R. A1 - Rubio, Angel A1 - Scheffler, Matthias A1 - Rinke, Patrick T1 - Benchmark of GW methods for azabenzenes JF - Physical review : B, Condensed matter and materials physics N2 - Many-body perturbation theory in the GW approximation is a useful method for describing electronic properties associated with charged excitations. A hierarchy of GW methods exists, starting from non-self-consistent G(0)W(0), through partial self-consistency in the eigenvalues and in the Green's function (scGW(0)), to fully self-consistent GW (scGW). Here, we assess the performance of these methods for benzene, pyridine, and the diazines. The quasiparticle spectra are compared to photoemission spectroscopy (PES) experiments with respect to all measured particle removal energies and the ordering of the frontier orbitals. We find that the accuracy of the calculated spectra does not match the expectations based on their level of self-consistency. In particular, for certain starting points G(0)W(0) and scGW(0) provide spectra in better agreement with the PES than scGW. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.245127 SN - 1098-0121 VL - 86 IS - 24 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eliazar, Iddo A1 - Metzler, Ralf T1 - The RARE model a generalized approach to random relaxation processes in disordered systems JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - This paper introduces and analyses a general statistical model, termed the RAndom RElaxations (RARE) model, of random relaxation processes in disordered systems. The model considers excitations that are randomly scattered around a reaction center in a general embedding space. The model's input quantities are the spatial scattering statistics of the excitations around the reaction center, and the chemical reaction rates between the excitations and the reaction center as a function of their mutual distance. The framework of the RARE model is versatile and a detailed stochastic analysis of the random relaxation processes is established. Analytic results regarding the duration and the range of the random relaxation processes, as well as the model's thermodynamic limit, are obtained in closed form. In particular, the case of power-law inputs, which turn out to yield stretched exponential relaxation patterns and asymptotically Paretian relaxation ranges, is addressed in detail. KW - chemical relaxation KW - Pareto analysis KW - reaction kinetics theory KW - reaction rate constants KW - stochastic processes Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4770266 SN - 0021-9606 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 137 IS - 23 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Berenstein, Igal T1 - Distinguishing similar patterns with different underlying instabilities Effect of advection on systems with Hopf, Turing-Hopf, and wave instabilities JF - Chaos : an interdisciplinary journal of nonlinear science N2 - Systems with the same local dynamics but different types of diffusive instabilities may show the same type of patterns. In this paper, we show that under the influence of advective flow the scenario of patterns that is formed at different velocities change; therefore, we propose the use of advective flow as a tool to uncover the underlying instabilities of a reaction-diffusion system. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4766591 SN - 1054-1500 VL - 22 IS - 4 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Isaeva, Olga B. A1 - Kuznetsov, Sergey P. A1 - Sataev, Igor R. T1 - A "saddle-node" bifurcation scenario for birth or destruction of a Smale-Williams solenoid JF - Chaos : an interdisciplinary journal of nonlinear science N2 - Formation or destruction of hyperbolic chaotic attractor under parameter variation is considered with an example represented by Smale-Williams solenoid in stroboscopic Poincare map of two alternately excited non-autonomous van der Pol oscillators. The transition occupies a narrow but finite parameter interval and progresses in such way that periodic orbits constituting a "skeleton" of the attractor undergo saddle-node bifurcation events involving partner orbits from the attractor and from a non-attracting invariant set, which forms together with its stable manifold a basin boundary of the attractor. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4766590 SN - 1054-1500 VL - 22 IS - 4 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kalimuthu, Palraj A1 - Leimkühler, Silke A1 - Bernhardt, Paul V. T1 - Low-potential amperometric enzyme biosensor for xanthine and hypoxanthine JF - Analytical chemistry N2 - The bacterial xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) from Rhodobacter capsulatus was immobilized on an edge-plane pyrolytic graphite (EPG) electrode to construct a hypoxanthine/xanthine biosensor that functions at physiological pH. Phenazine methosulfate (PMS) was used as a mediator which acts as an artificial electron-transfer partner for XDH. The enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of hypoxanthine to xanthine and also xanthine to uric acid by an oxidative hydroxylation mechanism. The present electrochemical biosensor was optimized in terms of applied potential and pH. The electrocatalytic oxidation response showed a linear dependence on the xanthine concentration ranging from 1.0 X 10(-5) to 1.8 X 10(-3) M with a correlation coefficient of 0.994. The modified electrode shows a very low detection limit for xanthine of 0.25 nM (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) using controlled potential amperometry. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/ac3025027 SN - 0003-2700 VL - 84 IS - 23 SP - 10359 EP - 10365 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mari, Andrea A1 - Eisert, Jens T1 - Positive wigner functions render classical simulation of quantum computation efficient JF - Physical review letters N2 - We show that quantum circuits where the initial state and all the following quantum operations can be represented by positive Wigner functions can be classically efficiently simulated. This is true both for continuous-variable as well as discrete variable systems in odd prime dimensions, two cases which will be treated on entirely the same footing. Noting the fact that Clifford and Gaussian operations preserve the positivity of the Wigner function, our result generalizes the Gottesman-Knill theorem. Our algorithm provides a way of sampling from the output distribution of a computation or a simulation, including the efficient sampling from an approximate output distribution in the case of sampling imperfections for initial states, gates, or measurements. In this sense, this work highlights the role of the positive Wigner function as separating classically efficiently simulable systems from those that are potentially universal for quantum computing and simulation, and it emphasizes the role of negativity of the Wigner function as a computational resource. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.230503 SN - 0031-9007 VL - 109 IS - 23 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Laflamme, S. A1 - Kollosche, Matthias A1 - Connor, Jerome J. A1 - Kofod, Guggi T1 - Soft capacitive sensor for structural health monitoring of large-scale systems JF - Structural control & health monitorin N2 - Structural integrity of infrastructures can be preserved if damage is diagnosed, localized, and repaired in time. During the past decade, there has been a considerable effort to automate the process of structural health monitoring, which is complicated by the inherent large size of civil structures. Hence, a need has arisen to develop new approaches that enable more effective health monitoring. In this paper, a new sensing technique for damage localization on large civil structures is proposed. Specifically, changes in strain are detected using a capacitance sensor built with a soft, stretchable dielectric polymer with attached stretchable metal film electrodes. A change in strain causes a measurable change in the capacitance of the sensor, which can be directly monitored when the sensor is fixed to a structure. The proposed method is shown here to permit an accurate detection of cracks. The proposed system deploys a layer of dielectric polymer on the surface of a structural element, and regularly monitors any change in capacitance, giving in turn information about the structural state. The smart material is composed of inexpensive silicone elastomers, which make the monitoring system a promising application for large surfaces. Results from tests conducted on small- scale specimens showed that the technology is capable of detecting cracks, and tests conducted on large- size specimens demonstrated that several sensor patches organized on a sensor sheet are capable of localizing a crack. The sensor strain also exhibits a high correlation with the loss of stiffness. KW - large-scale system KW - structural health monitoring KW - strain monitoring KW - capacitive sensor KW - dielectric polymer KW - stretchable sensor Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/stc.426 SN - 1545-2263 VL - 19 IS - 1 SP - 70 EP - 81 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Temirbayev, Amirkhan A. A1 - Zhanabaev, Zeinulla Zh. A1 - Tarasov, Stanislav B. A1 - Ponomarenko, Vladimir I. A1 - Rosenblum, Michael T1 - Experiments on oscillator ensembles with global nonlinear coupling JF - Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics N2 - We experimentally analyze collective dynamics of a population of 20 electronic Wien-bridge limit-cycle oscillators with a nonlinear phase-shifting unit in the global feedback loop. With an increase in the coupling strength we first observe formation and then destruction of a synchronous cluster, so that the dependence of the order parameter on the coupling strength is not monotonic. After destruction of the cluster the ensemble remains nevertheless coherent, i.e., it exhibits an oscillatory collective mode (mean field). We show that the system is now in a self-organized quasiperiodic state, predicted in Rosenblum and Pikovsky [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 064101 (2007)]. In this state, frequencies of all oscillators are smaller than the frequency of the mean field, so that the oscillators are not locked to the mean field they create and their dynamics is quasiperiodic. Without a nonlinear phase-shifting unit, the system exhibits a standard Kuramoto-like transition to a fully synchronous state. We demonstrate a good correspondence between the experiment and previously developed theory. We also propose a simple measure which characterizes the macroscopic incoherence-coherence transition in a finite-size ensemble. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.85.015204 SN - 1539-3755 VL - 85 IS - 1 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Berenstein, Igal A1 - Beta, Carsten T1 - Spatiotemporal chaos arising from standing waves in a reaction-diffusion system with cross-diffusion JF - The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr N2 - We show that quasi-standing wave patterns appear in the two-variable Oregonator model of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction when a cross-diffusion term is added, no wave instability is required in this case. These standing waves have a frequency that is half the frequency of bulk oscillations displayed in the absence of diffusive coupling. The standing wave patterns show a dependence on the systems size. Regular standing waves can be observed for small systems, when the system size is an integer multiple of half the wavelength. For intermediate sizes, irregular patterns are observed. For large sizes, the system shows an irregular state of spatiotemporal chaos, where standing waves drift, merge, and split, and also phase slips may occur. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3676577 SN - 0021-9606 VL - 136 IS - 3 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Salzmann, Ingo A1 - Heimel, Georg A1 - Duhm, Steffen A1 - Oehzelt, Martin A1 - Pingel, Patrick A1 - George, Benjamin M. A1 - Schnegg, Alexander A1 - Lips, Klaus A1 - Blum, Ralf-Peter A1 - Vollmer, Antje A1 - Koch, Norbert T1 - Intermolecular hybridization governs molecular electrical doping JF - Physical review letters N2 - Current models for molecular electrical doping of organic semiconductors are found to be at odds with other well-established concepts in that field, like polaron formation. Addressing these inconsistencies for prototypical systems, we present experimental and theoretical evidence for intermolecular hybridization of organic semiconductor and dopant frontier molecular orbitals. Common doping-related observations are attributed to this phenomenon, and controlling the degree of hybridization emerges as a strategy for overcoming the present limitations in the yield of doping-induced charge carriers. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.035502 SN - 0031-9007 VL - 108 IS - 3 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gupta, Ranjeeta A1 - Gupta, Ajay A1 - Leitenberger, Wolfram A1 - Rüffer, R. T1 - Mechanism of stress relaxation in nanocrystalline Fe-N thin films JF - Physical review : B, Condensed matter and materials physics N2 - The mechanism of stress relaxation in nanocrystalline Fe-N thin film has been studied. The as-deposited film possesses a strong in-plane compressive stress which relaxes with thermal annealing. Precise diffusion measurements using nuclear resonance reflectivity show that stress relaxation does not involve any long-range diffusion of Fe atoms. Rather, a redistribution of nitrogen atoms at various interstitial sites, as evidenced by conversion electron Mossbauer spectroscopy, is responsible for the relaxation of internal stresses. On the other hand, formation of the. gamma'-Fe4N phase at temperatures above 523 K involves long-range rearrangement of Fe atoms. The activation energy for Fe self-diffusion is found to be 0.38 +/- 0.04 eV. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.85.075401 SN - 1098-0121 VL - 85 IS - 7 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thompson, W. T. A1 - Kliem, Bernhard A1 - Toeroek, Tibor T1 - 3D reconstruction of a rotating erupting prominence JF - Solar physics : a journal for solar and solar-stellar research and the study of solar terrestrial physics N2 - A bright prominence associated with a coronal mass ejection (CME) was seen erupting from the Sun on 9 April 2008. This prominence was tracked by both the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) EUVI and COR1 telescopes, and was seen to rotate about the line of sight as it erupted; therefore, the event has been nicknamed the "Cartwheel CME." The threads of the prominence in the core of the CME quite clearly indicate the structure of a weakly to moderately twisted flux rope throughout the field of view, up to heliocentric heights of 4 solar radii. Although the STEREO separation was 48A degrees, it was possible to match some sharp features in the later part of the eruption as seen in the 304 line in EUVI and in the H alpha-sensitive bandpass of COR1 by both STEREO Ahead and Behind. These features could then be traced out in three-dimensional space, and reprojected into a view in which the eruption is directed toward the observer. The reconstructed view shows that the alignment of the prominence to the vertical axis rotates as it rises up to a leading-edge height of a parts per thousand aEuro parts per thousand 2.5 solar radii, and then remains approximately constant. The alignment at 2.5 solar radii differs by about 115A degrees from the original filament orientation inferred from H alpha and EUV data, and the height profile of the rotation, obtained here for the first time, shows that two thirds of the total rotation are reached within a parts per thousand aEuro parts per thousand 0.5 solar radii above the photosphere. These features are well reproduced by numerical simulations of an unstable moderately twisted flux rope embedded in external flux with a relatively strong shear field component. KW - Corona, active KW - Prominences, active KW - Coronal mass ejections KW - Initiation and propagation KW - Magnetic fields, corona Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-011-9868-5 SN - 0038-0938 VL - 276 IS - 1-2 SP - 241 EP - 259 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Malik, Nishant A1 - Zou, Y. A1 - Marwan, Norbert A1 - Kurths, Jürgen T1 - Dynamical regimes and transitions in plio-pleistocene Asian monsoon JF - epl : a letters journal exploring the frontiers of physics N2 - We propose a novel approach based on the fluctuation of similarity to identify regimes of distinct dynamical complexity in short time series. A statistical test is developed to estimate the significance of the identified transitions. Our method is verified by uncovering bifurcation structures in several paradigmatic models, providing more complex transitions compared with traditional Lyapunov exponents. In a real-world situation, we apply this method to identify millennial-scale dynamical transitions in Plio-Pleistocene proxy records of the South Asian summer monsoon system. We infer that many of these transitions are induced by the external forcing of the solar insolation and are also affected by internal forcing on Monsoonal dynamics, i.e., the glaciation cycles of the Northern Hemisphere and the onset of the Walker circulation. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/97/40009 SN - 0295-5075 VL - 97 IS - 4 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Mulhouse ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tonita, Aaryn T1 - Distributional sources for black hole initial data JF - Classical and quantum gravit N2 - Black hole initial data are usually produced using Bowen-York-type puncture initial data or by applying an excision boundary condition. The benefits of the Bowen-York initial data are the ability to specify the spin and momentum of the system as parameters of the initial data. In an attempt to extend these benefits to other formulations of the Einstein constraints, the puncture method is reformulated using distributions as source terms. It is shown how the Bowen-York puncture black hole initial data and the trumpet variation are generated by distributional sources. A heuristic argument is presented to argue that these sources are the general sources of spin and momentum. In order to clarify the meaning of other distributional sources, an exact family of initial data with generalized sources to the Hamiltonian constraint are studied; spinning trumpet black hole initial data and black hole initial data with higher order momentum sources are also studied. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0264-9381/29/1/015001 SN - 0264-9381 VL - 29 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Campbell, Earl T. A1 - Eisert, Jens T1 - Gaussification and entanglement distillation of continuous-variable systems a unifying picture JF - Physical review letters N2 - Distillation of entanglement using only Gaussian operations is an important primitive in quantum communication, quantum repeater architectures, and distributed quantum computing. Existing distillation protocols for continuous degrees of freedom are only known to converge to a Gaussian state when measurements yield precisely the vacuum outcome. In sharp contrast, non-Gaussian states can be deterministically converted into Gaussian states while preserving their second moments, albeit by usually reducing their degree of entanglement. In this work-based on a novel instance of a noncommutative central limit theorem-we introduce a picture general enough to encompass the known protocols leading to Gaussian states, and new classes of protocols including multipartite distillation. This gives the experimental option of balancing the merits of success probability against entanglement produced. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.020501 SN - 0031-9007 VL - 108 IS - 2 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Risse, Sebastian A1 - Kussmaul, Bjoern A1 - Krüger, Hartmut A1 - Kofod, Guggi T1 - Synergistic improvement of actuation properties with compatibilized high permittivity filler JF - Advanced functional materials N2 - Electroactive polymers can be used for actuators with many desirable features, including high electromechanical energy density, low weight, compactness, direct voltage control, and complete silence during actuation. These features may enable personalized robotics with much higher ability to delicately manipulate their surroundings than can be achieved with currently available actuators; however, much work is still necessary to enhance the electroactive materials. Electric field-driven actuator materials are improved by an increase in permittivity and by a reduction in stiffness. Here, a synergistic enhancement method based on a macromolecular plasticizing filler molecule with a combination of both high dipole moment and compatibilizer moieties, synthesized to simultaneously ensure improvement of electromechanical properties and compatibility with the host matrix is presented. Measurements show an 85% increase in permittivity combined with 290% reduction in mechanical stiffness. NMR measurements confirm the structure of the filler while DSC measurements confirm that it is compatible with the host matrix at all the mixture ratios investigated. Actuation strain measurements in the pure shear configuration display an increase in sensitivity to the electrical field of more than 450%, confirming that the filler molecule does not only improve dielectric and mechanical properties, it also leads to a synergistic enhancement of actuation properties by simple means. KW - allycyanide KW - silicone-based dielectric elastomer actuators KW - permittivity enhancement KW - compatibilized filler molecules Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201200320 SN - 1616-301X VL - 22 IS - 18 SP - 3958 EP - 3962 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Baushev, Anton N. A1 - Federici, S. A1 - Pohl, M. T1 - Spectral analysis of the gamma-ray background near the dwarf MilkyWay satellite Segue 1: Improved limits on the cross section of neutralino dark matter annihilation JF - Physical review : D, Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology N2 - The indirect detection of dark matter requires that dark matter annihilation products be discriminated from conventional astrophysical backgrounds. Here, we re-analyze GeV-band gamma-ray observations of the prominent Milky Way dwarf satellite galaxy Segue 1, for which the expected astrophysical background is minimal. We explicitly account for the angular extent of the conservatively expected gamma-ray signal and keep the uncertainty in the dark-matter profile external to the likelihood analysis of the gamma-ray data. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.86.063521 SN - 1550-7998 VL - 86 IS - 6 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thielemann-Kühn, Nele A1 - Hoffmann, P. A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - A versatile detector for total fluorescence and electron yield experiments JF - Review of scientific instruments : a monthly journal devoted to scientific instruments, apparatus, and techniques N2 - The combination of a non-coated silicon photodiode with electron repelling meshes makes a versatile detector for total fluorescence yield and electron yield techniques highly suitable for x-ray absorption spectroscopy. In particular, a copper mesh with a bias voltage allows to suppress or transmit the electron yield signal. The performance of this detection scheme has been characterized by near edge x-ray absorption fine structure studies of thermal oxidized silicon and sapphire. The results show that the new detector probes both electron yield and for a bias voltage exceeding the maximum photon energy the total fluorescence yield. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4754126 SN - 0034-6748 VL - 83 IS - 9 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Rui A1 - Kliem, Bernhard A1 - Toeroek, Tibor A1 - Liu, Chang A1 - Titov, Viacheslav S. A1 - Lionello, Roberto A1 - Linker, Jon A. A1 - Wang, Haimin T1 - Slow rise and partial eruption of a double-decker filament. I. observations and interpretation JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We study an active-region dextral filament that was composed of two branches separated in height by about 13 Mm, as inferred from three-dimensional reconstruction by combining SDO and STEREO-B observations. This "double-decker" configuration sustained for days before the upper branch erupted with a GOES-class M1.0 flare on 2010 August 7. Analyzing this evolution, we obtain the following main results. (1) During the hours before the eruption, filament threads within the lower branch were observed to intermittently brighten up, lift upward, and then merge with the upper branch. The merging process contributed magnetic flux and current to the upper branch, resulting in its quasi-static ascent. (2) This transfer might serve as the key mechanism for the upper branch to lose equilibrium by reaching the limiting flux that can be stably held down by the overlying field or by reaching the threshold of the torus instability. (3) The erupting branch first straightened from a reverse S shape that followed the polarity inversion line and then writhed into a forward S shape. This shows a transfer of left-handed helicity in a sequence of writhe-twist-writhe. The fact that the initial writhe is converted into the twist of the flux rope excludes the helical kink instability as the trigger process of the eruption, but supports the occurrence of the instability in the main phase, which is indeed indicated by the very strong writhing motion. (4) A hard X-ray sigmoid, likely of coronal origin, formed in the gap between the two original filament branches in the impulsive phase of the associated flare. This supports a model of transient sigmoids forming in the vertical flare current sheet. (5) Left-handed magnetic helicity is inferred for both branches of the dextral filament. (6) Two types of force-free magnetic configurations are compatible with the data, a double flux rope equilibrium and a single flux rope situated above a loop arcade. KW - Sun: coronal mass ejections (CMEs) KW - Sun: filaments, prominences KW - Sun: flares Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/756/1/59 SN - 0004-637X VL - 756 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER -