A Class of Weakly Self-Avoiding Walks

We define a class of weakly self-avoiding walks on the integers by conditioning a simple random walk of length n to have a p-fold self-intersection local time smaller than n ^β , where 1<β<(p+1)/2. We show that the conditioned paths grow of order n ^α , where α=(p−β)/(p−1), and also prove a coarse large deviation principle for the order of growth.     

On the Uniqueness of Gravitational Centre

The dual volume of order α of a convex body A in R ⁿ is a function which assigns to every a ∈ A the mean value of α-power of distances of a from the boundary of A with respect to all directions. We prove that this function is strictly convex for α > n or α < 0 and strictly concave for 0 < α < n (for α = 0 and for α = n the function is constant). It implies that the dual volume of a convex body has the unique minimizer for α > n or α < 0 and has the unique maximizer for 0 < α < n. The gravitational centre of a convex body in R³ coincides with the maximizer of dual volume of order 2, thus it is unique.      

Spectrum of Non-Hermitian Heavy Tailed Random Matrices

Let (X _jk ) _j,k ≥ 1 be i.i.d. complex random variables such that |X _jk | is in the domain of attraction of an α-stable law, with 0 < α < 2. Our main result is a heavy tailed counterpart of Girko’s circular law. Namely, under some additional smoothness assumptions on the law of X _jk , we prove that there exist a deterministic sequence a _n ~ n ^1/α and a probability measure μ _α on \mathbbC{\mathbb{C}} depending only on α such that with probability one, the empirical distribution of the eigenvalues of the rescaled matrix (a_n^-1X_jk)_{1 ￡ j,k ￡ n}{(a_n^{-1}X_{jk})_{1\leq j,k\leq n}} converges weakly to μ _α as n → ∞. Our approach combines Aldous & Steele’s objective method with Girko’s Hermitization using logarithmic potentials. The underlying limiting object is defined on a bipartized version of Aldous’ Poisson Weighted Infinite Tree. Recursive relations on the tree provide some properties of μ _α . In contrast with the Hermitian case, we find that μ _α is not heavy tailed.     

Thermal Conductivity of the Toda Lattice with Conservative Noise

We study the thermal conductivity of the one dimensional Toda lattice perturbed by a stochastic dynamics preserving energy and momentum. The strength of the stochastic noise is controlled by a parameter γ. We show that heat transport is anomalous, and that the thermal conductivity diverges with the length n of the chain according to κ(n)∼n ^α , with 0<α≤1/2. In particular, the ballistic heat conduction of the unperturbed Toda chain is destroyed. Besides, the exponent α of the divergence depends on γ.     

Fractional Moment Bounds and Disorder Relevance for Pinning Models

We study the critical point of directed pinning/wetting models with quenched disorder. The distribution K(·) of the location of the first contact of the (free) polymer with the defect line is assumed to be of the form K(n) = n ^−α-1 L(n), with α ≥ 0 and L(·) slowly varying. The model undergoes a (de)-localization phase transition: the free energy (per unit length) is zero in the delocalized phase and positive in the localized phase. For α < 1/2 disorder is irrelevant: quenched and annealed critical points coincide for small disorder, as well as quenched and annealed critical exponents [3,28]. The same has been proven also for α = 1/2, but under the assumption that L(·) diverges sufficiently fast at infinity, a hypothesis that is not satisfied in the (1 + 1)-dimensional wetting model considered in [12,17], where L(·) is asymptotically constant. Here we prove that, if 1/2 < α < 1 or α > 1, then quenched and annealed critical points differ whenever disorder is present, and we give the scaling form of their difference for small disorder. In agreement with the so-called Harris criterion, disorder is therefore relevant in this case. In the marginal case α = 1/2, under the assumption that L(·) vanishes sufficiently fast at infinity, we prove that the difference between quenched and annealed critical points, which is smaller than any power of the disorder strength, is positive: disorder is marginally relevant. Again, the case considered in [12,17] is out of our analysis and remains open. The results are achieved by setting the parameters of the model so that the annealed system is localized, but close to criticality, and by first considering a quenched system of size that does not exceed the correlation length of the annealed model. In such a regime we can show that the expectation of the partition function raised to a suitably chosen power is small. We then exploit such an information to prove that the expectation of the same fractional power of the partition function goes to zero with the size of the system, a fact that immediately entails that the quenched system is delocalized.     

Efficiency of the Incomplete Enumeration Algorithm for Monte-Carlo Simulation of Linear and Branched Polymers

We study the efficiency of the incomplete enumeration algorithm for linear and branched polymers. There is a qualitative difference in the efficiency in these two cases. The average time to generate an independent sample of configuration of polymer with n monomers varies as n ² for linear polymers for large n, but as exp(cn ^α) for branched (undirected and directed) polymers, where 0<α<1. On the binary tree, our numerical studies for n of order 10⁴ gives α = 0.333±0.005. We argue that α =1/3 exactly in this case. An erratum to this article can be found at .     

On a possibility for observing the neutron electric polarizability

A new method is proposed for setting a lower or upper limit a α _n * on the neutron electric polarizability α _an . It is based on the fact that the real part of the s-wave scattering amplitude changes sign near the s-wave neutron resonance at E=E*. The methods consist of the observation of the energy behavior of the forward-backward scattering asymmetry ω ₁ which experiences a jump at E=E*. If the jump is such that dω ₁/dE>0, then α _n >α _n *, while if dω ₁/dE<0, then α _n <α _n *, and if dω ₁/dE∼0, then α _n ∼α _n *. Seven even-even nuclei are found with α _n * from 0.5 to 3.1 in 10⁻³ fm³. Some details of a possible experiment with ¹⁸²W are described. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 3, 171–174 (10 August 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

A random matrix approach to RNA folding with interaction

In the matrix model of RNA [G Vernizzi, H Orland and A Zee, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 168103 (2005)] we introduce external interactions on n bases in the action of the partition function where n ≤ L and L is the length of the polymer chain. The RNA structures found in the model can be separated into two regimes: (i) 0 ≤ α ≤ 1, n < L and 0 ≤ α < 1, n = L where unpaired and paired base structures exist and (ii) α = 1, n = L with only completely paired base structures. Figures for the genus distribution functions show differences at small lengths. We consider the situation when the strength of external perturbation is different on different bases in the polymer chain.     

A Replica-Coupling Approach to Disordered Pinning Models

We consider a renewal process τ = {τ ₀, τ ₁,...} on the integers, where the law of τ _i − τ _i-1 has a power-like tail P(τ _i − τ _i-1 = n) = n ^−(α+1) L(n) with α ≥ 0 and L(·) slowly varying. We then assign a random, n-dependent reward/penalty to the occurrence of the event that the site n belongs to τ. In such generality this class of problems includes, among others, (1 + d)-dimensional models of pinning of directed polymers on a one-dimensional random defect, (1 + 1)-dimensional models of wetting of disordered substrates, and the Poland-Scheraga model of DNA denaturation. By varying the average of the reward, the system undergoes a transition from a localized phase, where τ occupies a finite fraction of to a delocalized phase, where the density of τ vanishes. In absence of disorder (i.e., if the reward is independent of n), the transition is of first order for α > 1 and of higher order for α < 1. Moreover, for α ranging from 1 to 0, the transition ranges from first to infinite order. Presence of even an arbitrarily small (but extensive) amount of disorder is known to modify the order of transition as soon as α > 1/2 [11]. In physical terms, disorder is relevant in this situation, in agreement with the heuristic Harris criterion. On the other hand, for 0 < α < 1/2 it has been proven recently by K. Alexander [2] that, if disorder is sufficiently weak, critical exponents are not modified by randomness: disorder is irrelevant. In this work, generalizing techniques which in the framework of spin glasses are known as replica coupling and interpolation, we give a new, simpler proof of the main results of [2]. Moreover, we (partially) justify a small-disorder expansion worked out in [9] for α < 1/2, showing that it provides a free energy upper bound which improves the annealed one.     

Parking on a Random Tree

Consider an infinite tree with random degrees, i.i.d. over the sites, with a prescribed probability distribution with generating function G(s). We consider the following variation of Rényi’s parking problem, alternatively called blocking RSA (random sequential adsorption): at every vertex of the tree a particle (or “car”) arrives with rate one. The particle sticks to the vertex whenever the vertex and all of its nearest neighbors are not occupied yet. We provide an explicit expression for the so-called parking constant in terms of the generating function. That is, the occupation probability, averaged over dynamics and the probability distribution of the random trees converges in the large-time limit to (1−α ²)/2 with .     

Modeling 1/f noise using moving averages

A model of 1/f noise is considered, based on moving averages of ordern. The coefficientsα _k defining the model are calculated numerically using Seidel iteration which turns out to converge rapidly. The convergence is independent ofn which seems to be caused by the fact that the nonlinear problem solved is defined by a self-similar matrix. The coefficientsα _k appear to approach, with indefinitely growingn, valuesα _k =1/√k and thus the model has a kind of Fourier invariance. Physical interpretation of the invariance is suggested as well as of coefficientsα _k describing long-range correlations. Fractal sets of dimensiond=2.5 are proposed to play certain role in explaining the latter. This work was partly supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education of Slovak Republic (VEGA) under the Grant No. 1/3143/96 and by the Slovak Literary Fund.     

Convergence Radii for Eigenvalues of Tri-Diagonal Matrices

Consider a family of infinite tri-diagonal matrices of the form L + zB, where the matrix L is diagonal with entries L _kk  = k ², and the matrix B is off-diagonal, with nonzero entries B _k,k+1 = B _k+1,k  = k ^α , 0 ≤ α < 2. The spectrum of L + zB is discrete. For small |z| the nth eigenvalue E _n (z), E _n (0) = n ², is a well-defined analytic function. Let R _n be the convergence radius of its Taylor’s series about z = 0. It is proved that

Mid-infrared laser-absorption diagnostic for vapor-phase fuel mole fraction and liquid fuel film thickness

A novel two-wavelength mid-infrared laser-absorption diagnostic has been developed for simultaneous measurements of vapor-phase fuel mole fraction and liquid fuel film thickness. The diagnostic was demonstrated for time-resolved measurements of n-dodecane liquid films in the absence and presence of n-decane vapor at 25°C and 1 atm. Laser wavelengths were selected from FTIR measurements of the C–H stretching band of vapor n-decane and liquid n-dodecane near 3.4 μm (3000 cm⁻¹). n-Dodecane film thicknesses <20 μm were accurately measured in the absence of vapor, and simultaneous measurements of n-dodecane liquid film thickness and n-decane vapor mole fraction (300 ppm) were measured with <10% uncertainty for film thicknesses <10 μm. A potential application of the measurement technique is to provide accurate values of vapor mole fraction in combustion environments where strong absorption by liquid fuel or oil films on windows make conventional direct absorption measurements of the gas problematic.     

Metastable Behavior for Bootstrap Percolation on Regular Trees

We examine bootstrap percolation on a regular (b+1)-ary tree with initial law given by Bernoulli(p). The sites are updated according to the usual rule: a vacant site becomes occupied if it has at least θ occupied neighbors, occupied sites remain occupied forever. It is known that, when b>θ≥2, the limiting density q=q(p) of occupied sites exhibits a jump at some p _T=p _T(b,θ)∈(0,1) from q _T:=q(p _T)<1 to q(p)=1 when p>p _T. We investigate the metastable behavior associated with this transition. Explicitly, we pick p=p _T+h with h>0 and show that, as h ↓0, the system lingers around the “critical” state for time order h ^−1/2 and then passes to fully occupied state in time O(1). The law of the entire configuration observed when the occupation density is q∈(q _T,1) converges, as h ↓0, to a well-defined measure.     

Wave scattering through classically chaotic cavities in the presence of absorption: A maximum-entropy model

We present a maximum-entropy model for the transport of waves through a classically chaotic cavity in the presence of absorption. The entropy of the S-matrix statistical distribution is maximized, with the constraint 〈TrSS ^†〉 = αn: n is the dimensionality of S, and 0 ≤ α ≤ 1. For α = 1 the S-matrix distribution concentrates on the unitarity sphere and we have no absorption; for α = 0 the distribution becomes a delta function at the origin and we have complete absorption. For strong absorption our result agrees with a number of analytical calculations already given in the literature. In that limit, the distribution of the individual (angular) transmission and reflection coefficients becomes exponential — Rayleigh statistics — even for n = 1. For n ≫ 1 Rayleigh statistics is attained even with no absorption; here we extend the study to α<1. The model is compared with random-matrixtheory numerical simulations: it describes the problem very well for strong absorption, but fails for moderate and weak absorptions. The success of the model for strong absorption is understood in the light of a central-limit theorem. For weak absorption, some important physical constraint is missing in the construction of the model.     

Influence of Thomson effect on the resultant local Seebeck coefficient in thermoelectric composite materials

The resultant local Seebeck coefficient α _R (=α _S−α _T) at the interface of a thermoelement has not yet been measured, although it is an important factor governing the thermoelectric efficiency, where α _S is the local Seebeck coefficient and α _T is the one caused by the Thomson effect. It is shown in this paper that α _S, α _T, and α _R of the p- and n-type Cu/Bi–Te/Cu composites are obtained analytically and experimentally on the assumption that the local temperature of the composite on which the temperature difference ΔT is imposed varies linearly with changes in position along the composite. They were indeed estimated as a function of position from the local experimental data of R,ΔI,ΔT, and V generated by applying an additional current of ±I to the composite, where R is the electrical resistance and ΔI is a current generated by the composite. As a result, it was found that the absolute values of α _S at the hot interface of the p- and n-type composites are approximately 1.5 and 1.4 times higher than their lowest values in the middle region of the composite, respectively, while those of α _T are less than 8% of α _S all over the composite and are so small that the relation α _R≈α _S can be held. We thus succeeded in measuring α _R at the interfaces of the composite.     

Condensation of the Roots of Real Random Polynomials on the Real Axis

We introduce a family of real random polynomials of degree n whose coefficients a _k are symmetric independent Gaussian variables with variance , indexed by a real α≥0. We compute exactly the mean number of real roots 〈N _n 〉 for large n. As α is varied, one finds three different phases. First, for 0≤α<1, one finds that . For 1<α<2, there is an intermediate phase where 〈N _n 〉 grows algebraically with a continuously varying exponent, . And finally for α>2, one finds a third phase where 〈N _n 〉∼n. This family of real random polynomials thus exhibits a condensation of their roots on the real line in the sense that, for large n, a finite fraction of their roots 〈N _n 〉/n are real. This condensation occurs via a localization of the real roots around the values , 1≪k≤n.     

Existence and Modulation of Uniform Sliding States in Driven and Overdamped Particle Chains

In this paper we are mainly concerned with existence and modulation of uniform sliding states for particle chains with damping γ and external driving force F. If the on-site potential vanishes, then for each F > 0 there exist trivial uniform sliding states x _n (t) = n ω + ν t + α for which the particles are uniformly spaced with spacing ω > 0, the sliding velocity of each particle is ν = F/γ, and the phase α is arbitrary. If the particle chain with convex interaction potential is placed in a periodic on-site potential, we show under some conditions the existence of modulated uniform sliding states of the form

Universality of the REM for Dynamics of Mean-Field Spin Glasses

We consider a version of Glauber dynamics for a p-spin Sherrington– Kirkpatrick model of a spin glass that can be seen as a time change of simple random walk on the N-dimensional hypercube. We show that, for all p ≥ 3 and all inverse temperatures β > 0, there exists a constant γ _{β ,p}  > 0, such that for all exponential time scales, exp(γ N), with γ < γ _{β ,p} , the properly rescaled clock process (time-change process) converges to an α-stable subordinator where α = γ/β ² < 1. Moreover, the dynamics exhibits aging at these time scales with a time-time correlation function converging to the arcsine law of this α-stable subordinator. In other words, up to rescaling, on these time scales (that are shorter than the equilibration time of the system) the dynamics of p-spin models ages in the same way as the REM, and by extension Bouchaud’s REM-like trap model, confirming the latter as a universal aging mechanism for a wide range of systems. The SK model (the case p = 2) seems to belong to a different universality class.     

Antillatoxin is a sodium channel activator that displays unique efficacy in heterologously expressed rNa<Subscript>v</Subscript>1.2, rNa<Subscript>v</Subscript>1.4 and rNa<Subscript>v</Subscript>1.5 alpha subunits

Background  

Antillatoxin (ATX) is a structurally unique lipopeptide produced by the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula. ATX activates voltage-gated sodium channel α-subunits at an undefined recognition site and stimulates sodium influx in neurons. However, the pharmacological properties and selectivity of ATX on the sodium channel α-subunits were not fully characterized.