Damage-spreading in the Bak-Sneppen model without noise

We study the behavior under perturbations in the, recently introduced, Bak-Sneppen model with deterministic updating. We focus our attention on the damage-spreading features and show that the value of the growth exponent for the distance, , coincides with that of the random updating Bak-Sneppen model. Moreover, we generalize this analysis by considering a broader set of initial perturbations for which the value of is preserved. Received: 24 June 1998 / Accepted: 9 July 1998     

Buckling in a solid Langmuir monolayer: light scattering measurements and elastic model

Above a surface pressure threshold , we detect a buckled state in the low temperature solid phase of a phospholipid monolayer spread at the air-formamide interface. Stable ripples are observed with a Brewster angle microscope, and light scattering provides measurements mNm^-1, wavelength m and amplitude of a few nm for the deformation. A model, coupling the monolayer thickness and elongation, and consistent with the monolayer texture, is also presented. Received: 18 August 1997 / Revised: 9 December 1997 / Accepted: 29 January 1998     

Application of B-splines finite basis sets to relativistic two-photon decay rates of level in hydrogenic ions

A theoretical study of the one- and two-photon spontaneous emission rates from the 2 s1/2 state of one-electron ions is presented. High-precision values of the relativistic emission rates for ions with nuclear charge Z up to 100 are obtained through the use of finite basis sets for the Dirac equation constructed from B-splines. Furthermore, we analyze the influence of the inclusion of quantum electrodynamics corrections in the initial and final state energies. Received: 6 January 1998 / Accepted: 31 March 1998     

Spinodal decomposition of an ABv model alloy: Patterns at unstable surfaces

We develop mean-field kinetic equations for a lattice gas model of a binary alloy with vacancies (ABv model) in which diffusion takes place by a vacancy mechanism. These equations are applied to the study of phase separation of finite portions of an unstable mixture immersed in a stable vapor. Due to a larger mobility of surface atoms, the most unstable modes of spinodal decomposition are localized at the vapor-mixture interface. Simulations show checkerboard-like structures at the surface or surface-directed spinodal waves. We determine the growth rates of bulk and surface modes by a linear stability analysis and deduce the relation between the parameters of the model and the structure and length scale of the surface patterns. The thickness of the surface patterns is related to the concentration fluctuations in the initial state. Received 28 October 1998     

The segregation of poly(styrene-b-isoprene) diblock copolymers to the surface of a polystyrene melt: the effect of the ratio of block lengths

The effect of the ratio of block lengths on the interfacial partitioning of poly(styrene-block-1,4 isoprene) diblock copolymers from their mixtures with polystyrene homopolymer melt is investigated utilizing a series of copolymers with almost constant molecular weight but different compositions. The concentration profile of the copolymer is measured directly using the nuclear reaction analysis technique; a segregation of the diblock is found at both the air/polymer surface, due to the lower surface energy of polyisoprene, and at the substrate/polymer interface. No significant effect of the block length ratio on the free-surface excess was observed. The block molecular weights have apparently led to dangling chain conformations in the non-overlapping mushroom and in the overlapping mushroom regimes whereas the brush regime was not accessible; no indications of a real border between the two former regimes was found. Received: 20 July 1998 / Received in final form and Accepted: 11 September 1998     

Effects of finite thickness on interfacial widths in confined thin films of coexisting phases

The capillary broadening of a 2-phase interface is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. When a binary mixture in a thin film with thickness D segregates into two coexisting phases the interface between the two phases may form parallel to the substrate due to preferential surface attraction of one of the components. We show that the interfacial profile (of intrinsic width w₀) is broadened due to capillary waves, which lead to fluctuations, of correlation length of the local interface positions in the directions parallel to the confining walls. We postulate that acts as an upper cutoff for the spectrum of capillary waves on the interface, so that the effective mean square interfacial width w varies as . In the limit of large D this yields or respectively for the case of short- or long-range forces between walls and the interface. We used the Nuclear Reaction Analysis depth profiling technique, to investigate this broadening effect directly in two binary polymer mixtures. Our results reveal that the interfacial width indeed increases with film thickness D, though the observed interfacial width is lower than the predicted w. This is probably due to surface tension effects imposed by the confining surfaces which are not taken into account in our model. Received: 19 February 1998 / Received in final form: 2 September 1998 / Accepted: 8 September 1998     

Logarithmic islanding in submonolayer epitaxial growth

We investigate submonolayer epitaxial growth with a fixed monomer flux and irreversible aggregation of adatom islands due to an effective island diffusion, with a diffusivity for an mass k island proportional to . For , there is a steady state, while for , continuously evolving logarithmic islanding occurs in which the island density grows extremely slowly, as . In the latter regime, the island size distribution exhibits complex, but universal, multiple-scale mass dependence which we account for theoretically. Received: 3 June 1998 / Accepted: 13 July 1998     

Nuclear fusion in charge-asymmetric muonic molecules

Nuclear fusion reactions in hydrogen-lithium muonic molecules, (where h=p,d,t) are considered and fusion rates from rotational states J=0 of the molecules are presented. Results obtained depend on the isotopic composition of the molecules and range between and . The upper limit for fusion rates from rotational states J=0 of hydrogen-helium muonic molecules, and , equal , is also found. Received: 4 December 1997 / Revised: 30 April 1998 / Accepted: 7 May 1998     

Island distance in one-dimensional epitaxial growth

The typical island distance in submonolayer epitaxial growth depends on the growth conditions via an exponent . This exponent is known to depend on the substrate dimensionality, the dimension of the islands, and the size i^* of the critical nucleus for island formation. In this paper we study the dependence of on i^* in one-dimensional epitaxial growth. We derive that for and confirm this result by computer simulations. Received: 26 May 1998 / Accepted: 23 June 1998     

Ascending air bubbles in protein solutions

We report measurements of the ascending velocity of air bubbles in protein (bovine serum albumin) solutions. We show that, because of the protein molecules adsorbed on their surface, the terminal ascending velocity of bubbles is strongly reduced compared to the terminal velocity in pure water: protein- covered bubbles behave hydrodynamically as solid spheres. From the evolution of the ascending velocity with time, we can derive the amount of protein needed to immobilize the bubble interface which is 0.5 mg m^-2, i.e. only one fifth of the amount adsorbed at equilibrium in the range of used bulk concentrations. Received: 6 March 1998 / Revised and accepted: 6 May 1998     

Interface polarons in a heterojunction with triangular bending-band

The interface polaron states in a heterojunction are discussed by considering an energy-band bending near the interface and the influence of an image potential. The ground state energy and the effective mass of a polaron are variationally calculated. The numerical results for the GaAs/ heterojunction are given. It is shown that even though the influences from bulk longitudinal optical (LO) phonons are more important for the heterojunctions with lower Al composition, the contributions from two branches of interface optical (IO) phonons are not negligible. For the heterojunctions with higher Al composition, both the influences from LO phonons and two branches of IO phonons are important. The band-bending plays an important role for the interface localization of polarons, but the influence of the image potential is not essential. Received: 4 November 1997 / Revised and Accepted: 9 March 1998     

Damage-spreading in the parallel Bak-Sneppen model

We study the behavior under perturbations of the Parallel Bak-Sneppen model (PBS) in 1+1 dimension, which has been shown to belong to the universality class of Directed Percolation (DP) in 1+1 dimensions [#!SD96!#]. We focus our attention on the damage-spreading features of the PBS model with both random and deterministic updating, which are studied and compared to the known results for the extremal Bak-Sneppen model (BS) and for DP. For both random and deterministic updating, we observe a power law growth of the Hamming distance. In addition, we compute analytically the asymptotic plateau reached by the distance after the growing phase. Received: 24 September 1998 / Revised: 17 November 1998 / Accepted: 19 November 1998     

Well-defined Co clusters embedded in an Ag matrix: A model system for the giant magnetoresistance in granular films

Well-defined granular Co/Ag films have been prepared by the co-deposition of in-beam prepared Co clusters and Ag atoms. In this way we were able to study the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) as a function of mean Co cluster size for a fixed Co cluster volume fraction v_cl as well as a function of v_cl for a fixed . Mean Co cluster size has been varied between and 6.9 nm, Co cluster volume fraction between 5 and 43%. The GMR was measured in-situ at T=4.2 K in magnetic fields 1.2 T. The analysis of the GMR data obtained from these studies clearly shows that spin-dependent scattering at the Co-cluster/Ag-matrix interface is the only relevant scattering mechanism causing the GMR in our well-defined samples. Received: 21 April 1998 / Received in final form: 17 May 1998 / Accepted: 18 May 1998     

Free energy of semiflexible polymers and structure of interfaces

The free energy of semiflexible polymers is calculated as a functional of the compositional scalar order parameter and the orientational order parameter of second-rank tensor S_ij on the basis of a microscopic model of wormlike chains with variable segment lengths. We use a density functional theory and a gradient expansion to evaluate the entropic part of the free energy, which is given in a power series of .The interaction term of the free energy is derived with a random phase approximation. For the rigid rod limit, the nematic-isotropic transition point is given by , N and w being the degree of polymerization and the anisotropic interaction parameter, respectively, and the degree of ordering at the transition point is 0.33448. We also find that the contour length of polymer chains becomes larger in a nematic phase than in an isotropic phase. Interface profiles are obtained numerically for some typical cases. In the neighborhood of isotropic-isotropic interfaces, polymer chains tend to align parallel to the interface on the polymer-rich side and perpendicular on the poor side. When an isotropic region and a nematic region coexist, orientational order parallel to the interface is preferred in the nematic region. Received: 28 May 1998 / Revised: 12 August 1998 / Accepted: 8 September 1998     

I. Formation and rise of a bubble stream in a viscous liquid

The continuous emission of gas bubbles from a single ejection orifice immersed in a viscous fluid is considered. We first present a semi empirical model of spherical bubble growth under constant flow conditions to predict the bubble volume at the detachment stage. In a second part, we propose a physical model to describe the rise velocity of in-line interacting bubbles and we derive an expression for the net viscous force acting on the surrounding fluid. Experimental results for air/water-glycerol systems are presented for a wide range of fluid viscosity and compared with theoretical predictions. An imagery technique was used to determine the bubble size and rise velocity. The effects of fluid viscosity, gas flow rate, orifice diameter and liquid depth on the bubble stream dynamic were analyzed. We have further studied the effect of large scale recirculation flow and the influence of a neighbouring bubble stream on the bubble growth and rising velocity. Received: 23 July 1997 / Revised: 16 December 1997 / Accepted: 11 May 1998     

Undulation instability in two-dimensional foams of magnetic fluid

Two-dimensional magnetic fluid foams are cellular structures whose framework is made of magnetic fluid. The features of these equilibrated patterns are driven by a control parameter: the amplitude of the applied magnetic field. When the latter is rapidly increased, an instability occurs: the walls between cells undulate. Such an instability has also been observed in other 2D cellular structures, which exist for instance in Langmuir monolayers or in magnetic garnets thin films. In this paper we give a theoretical analysis of this instability, the issues of which are shown to be well confirmed by experiments and numerical simulations. Received: 13 October 1997 / Received in final form: 28 January 1998 / Accepted: 9 March 1998     

Bending of charged flexible membranes due to the presence of macroions

We investigate the bending of flexible charged membranes due to the presence of rigid rodlike macroions in the framework of the Debye-Hückel approximation. When the macroions are fixed in space at some distance from the bilayer the membrane bends towards them; we calculate the exact deformation profile. On the other hand a macroion which is adsorbed on the membrane causes a deflection of the bilayer. Finally, we consider swollen lamellar polyanion/charged-lipid complexes where the macroions are intercalated between charged lipid bilayers. We predict the occurrence of a double adsorption (pinching effect) of the macroion for sufficiently flexible membranes. Received: 9 February 1998 / Revised: 9 June 1998 / Accepted: 2 July 1998     

Geometrical and quantal fragmentation of optical response in

By comparing quantal and semi-classical calculations of optical response, we work out the part of the splitting of the plasmon spectra which is exclusively due to geometrical effects. We apply the analysis to the test case which exhibits an interesting geometry with strong prolate quadrupole deformation and a pronounced asymmetry in addition. We find a new type of resonance splitting which is due to geometrical effects but goes beyond the simple and well known deformation splitting. Received: 6 April 1998 / Accepted: 24 April 1998     

Electron-phonon scattering in an asymmetric double barrier resonant tunneling structure

We calculate the electron-phonon scattering rate for an asymmetric double barrier resonant tunneling structure based on dielectric continuum theory, including all phonon modes, and show that interface phonons contribute much more to the scattering rate than do bulk-like LO phonons for incident energies which are approximately within an order of magnitude of the Fermi energy. The maximum scattering rate occurs for incident electron energies near the quantum well resonance. Subband nonparabolicity has a significant influence on electron-phonon scattering in these structures. We show that the relaxation time is comparable to the dwell time of electrons in the quantum well for a typical resonant tunneling structure. Received: 23 December 1997 / Revised: 24 March 1998 / Accepted: 9 March 1998