A simple method to synthesize worm-like AlN nanowires and its field emission studies

The worm-like AlN nanowires are fabricated by the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on Si substrates through using Al powder and N₂ as precursors, CaF₂ as fluxing medium, Au as catalyst, respectively. The as-grown worm-like AlN nanowires each have a polycrystalline and hexagonal wurtzite structure. Their diameters are about 300 nm, and the lengths are over 10 μm. The growth mechanism of worm-like AlN nanowires is discussed. Hydrogen plasma plays a very important role in forming the polycrystalline structure and rough surfaces of worm-like AlN nanowires. The worm-like AlN nanowires exhibit an excellent field-emission (FE) property with a low turn-on field of 4.5 V/μm at a current density of 0.01 mA/cm² and low threshold field of 9.9 V/μm at 1 mA/cm². The emission current densities of worm-like AlN nanowires each have a good stability. The enhanced FE properties of worm-like AlN nanowires may be due to their polycrystalline and rough structure with nanosize and high aspect ratio. The excellent FE properties of worm-like AlN nanowires can be explained by a grain boundary conduction mechanism. The results demonstrate that the worm-like AlN nanowires prepared by the proposed simple and the PECVD method possesses the potential applications in photoelectric and field-emission devices.     

Simulations of nematic homopolymer melts using particle-based models with interactions expressed through collective variables

We develop a hybrid Monte Carlo approach for modelling nematic liquid crystals of homopolymer melts. The polymer architecture is described with a discrete worm-like chain model. A quadratic density functional accounts for the limited compressibility of the liquid, while an additional quadratic functional of the local orientation tensor of the segments captures the nematic ordering. The approach can efficiently address large systems parametrized according to volumetric and conformational properties, representative of real polymeric materials. The results of the simulations regarding the influence of the molecular weight on the isotropic-nematic transition are compared to predictions from a Landau-de Gennes free energy expansion. The formation of the nematic phase is addressed within Rouse-like dynamics, realized using the current model.     

Probing DNA and RNA single molecules with a double optical tweezer

A double-tweezer setup is used to induce mechanical stress in systems of molecular biology. A double strand of DNA is first stretched and the data is compared to precedent experiments to check the experimental setup. Then a short foldable fragment of RNA is probed; the typical unfolding/refolding hysteresis behaviour of this kind of construction is shown and followed by a study of its elasticity and a comparison to a worm-like chain model. Eventually, we describe the unfolding of a larger RNA structure, which unfolds by multiple steps. We show that this unfolding is not reversible and that it presents numerous unfolding pathways.     

Harmonically Confined, Semiflexible Polymer in a Channel: Response to a Stretching Force and Spatial Distribution of the Endpoints

We consider an inextensible, semiflexible polymer or worm-like chain which is confined in the transverse direction by a parabolic potential and subject to a longitudinal force at the ends, so that the polymer is stretched out and backfolding is negligible. Simple analytic expressions for the partition function, valid in this regime, are obtained for chains of arbitrary length with a variety of boundary conditions at the ends. The spatial distribution of the end points is also analyzed.     

Elasticity transition and loop formation in vibrated bead chains: A simulation of polymer chains

By measuring the distribution function of the end-to-end distance, we find that strongly shaken bead chains exhibit many properties, such as the rigid-rod-to-Gaussian chain transition, scaling, fast drop of loop formation probability in the short-chain regime, and enhancement of loop formation probability for kinked chains, of long-chain polymers. Though there is difference in local details between our chains and the worm-like chains, our results are consistent with recent calculations based on the worm-like chain model in many respects.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of AFM studies of a single polymer chain

Single polymer chain force-extension behavior measured by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was interpreted by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation performed by applying a bead-spring (coarse-graining) model in which the bond potential function between adjacent beads is described by a worm-like chain (WLC) model. Simulation results indicate that caution should be applied when interpreting experimental AFM data, because the data vary depending on the point of AFM tip-polymer chain attachment. This approach offers an effective way for eventual analysis of the mechanical behavior of complex polymer networks.     

Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulation of a Red Blood Cell

A worm-like chain model based on a spectrin network is employed to study the biomechanics of red blood cells. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations are performed to obtain a stable configuration free of external loadings. We also discuss the influence of two parameters： the average bending modulus and the persistence length. The change in shape of a malaria-infected red blood cell can contribute to the change in its molecular-based structure. As the persistence length of the membrane network in the infected red blood cell decreases, the deformability decreases and the biconcave shape is destroyed. The numerical results are comparable with previously reported experimental results. The coarse-grained model can be used to study the relationship between macro-mechanical properties and molecular-scale structures of cells.     

Self-assembling and phase coexistence of SW trimers as complex amphiphile analogues. I. Simulations

We analyse by discrete molecular dynamics the self-assembly of SW trimer particles that contain a different number of attractive and repulsive spheres. They also have different geometries: linear, obtuse, rectangular and equilateral. We identify that some of these molecules exhibit liquid–vapour equilibria while others do not. For all of them, we show the morphological phase diagram built up from the different supra-molecular structures formed by each type of trimer. We simulated 14 different systems with a total of 321 states. The main features of the supra-molecular structures depend only on the composition and geometry of the trimer: triple SW trimers do not form supra-structures, double SW trimers and single SW trimers form monolayers, bilayers and worm-like micelles. The liquid–vapour coexistence properties are also exhibited. These trimers can be used to model complex amphiphiles beyond the standard ones, such as the Gemini and the Bola surfactants as well as colloidal particles.     

The Pearcey Process

The extended Airy kernel describes the space-time correlation functions for the Airy process, which is the limiting process for a polynuclear growth model. The Airy functions themselves are given by integrals in which the exponents have a cubic singularity, arising from the coalescence of two saddle points in an asymptotic analysis. Pearcey functions are given by integrals in which the exponents have a quartic singularity, arising from the coalescence of three saddle points. A corresponding Pearcey kernel appears in a random matrix model and a Brownian motion model for a fixed time. This paper derives an extended Pearcey kernel by scaling the Brownian motion model at several times, and a system of partial differential equations whose solution determines associated distribution functions. We expect there to be a limiting nonstationary process consisting of infinitely many paths, which we call the Pearcey process, whose space-time correlation functions are expressible in terms of this extended kernel.     

Isotropic-to-nematic transition in melt of polydisperse semi-flexible homopolymers

The isotropic-to-nematic phase transition in a melt of semi-flexible homopolymers with length polydispersity have been considered within the Landau–de Gennes approach. The number of monomer units in chain is assumed to be a random variable distributed by the Schulz–Zimm distribution; the stiffness of macromolecules has been taken into account within discrete worm-like chain model. It was found that increase of polydispersity yields the increase of the temperature of the isotropic–nematic transition.     

High spin limits and non-abelian T-duality

The action of the non-abelian T-dual of the WZW model is related to an appropriate gauged WZW action via a limiting procedure. We extend this type of equivalence to other σ-models with non-abelian isometries and their non-abelian T-duals, focusing on Principal Chiral models. We reinforce and refine this equivalence by arguing that the non-abelian T-duals are the effective backgrounds describing states of an appropriate parent theory corresponding to divergently large highest weight representations. The proof involves carrying out a subtle limiting procedure in the group representations and relating them to appropriate limits in the corresponding backgrounds. We illustrate the general method by providing several non-trivial examples.     

Preparation of entangled squeezed states and quantification of their entanglement

We propose a scheme for generating bipartite and multipartite entangled squeezed states via the Jaynes－Cummings model with large detuning. Bipartite entanglement of these entangled states is quantified by the concurrence. We also use the N-tangle to compute multipartite entanglement of these multipartite entangled squeezed states. Finally we discuss two limiting cases which arise from r→∞ and r→0, in which the multipartite entangled squeezed state reduces correspondingly into an N-qubit Greenberger－Horne－Zeilinger state and an N-qubit W state.     

Generic dissipation of entanglement

We find states for a multi-level system which are stable under a very general model of dissipation, one which is governed simply by generic rate parameters; in general such stable states are not entangled. We exhibit such a state explicitly for a two-qubit system. We then specialize to a more physical model of dissipation, one which is governed by pure dephasing. In such a case it is possible, by choice of the dephasing rates, to have a stable, and limiting, entangled state under the evolution governed by the free hamiltonian and pure decoherence. We exhibit such a choice explicitly which has a stable and limiting two-qubit state of maximum entanglement (Bell state).     

Exact dynamics of an infinite-atom Dicke maser model

We study the dynamics of the Dicke maser model in the limit as the number of atoms becomes infinite and the coupling constant between the atoms and the radiation field goes to zero. We find that the limiting Hamiltonian is integrable and obtain an explicit closed form for the unitary time evolution operators. As a corollary we show that in the limit the radiation emitted by the model is coherent in the sense by Glauber.     

Temperature-induced micelle transition of gemini surfactant in aqueous solution

The viscosity and morphology of gemini surfactant in aqueous solution at various temperatures are investigated by rheometer and transmission electron microscopy with a freeze fracture replication technique. The viscosity of 18-3-18 or 16-3-16 reaches its maximum when the solution temperature is near the Krafft temperature of the surfactant. The morphology of a gemini surfactant in aqueous solution is strongly influenced by the temperature: vesicles or sphere-like aggregates are formed in the dilute solution of 18-3-18 under 25 °C environment; when the solution temperature goes up to 50 °C, such aggregates will transit to worm-like micelles with the length of each from 100 nm to 400 nm; meanwhile, the increase of concentration may lead to the formation of network; however, the worm-like micelles or network will transit to vesicles or sphere-like aggregates again when the temperature reaches 80 °C.     

Time-dependent thermal lensing and Kerr nonlinearity in CS2 with CO2-laser radiation

We report on optical limiting and z-scan in CS₂ as a function of the pulse duration of 10 µm TEA CO₂-laser radiation. We present a comprehensive and simple model for the shape of a laser pulse transmitted through this limiting device. For the first time, we propose the use of an optical limiting device for beam shaping.     

Scaling Limits for Multi-species Statistical Mechanics Mean-Field Models

We study the limiting thermodynamic behavior of the normalized sums of spins in multi-species Curie-Weiss models. We find sufficient conditions for the limiting random vector to be Gaussian (or to have an exponential distribution of higher order) and compute the covariance matrix in terms of model parameters.     

A local-world heterogeneous model of wireless sensor networks with node and link diversity

In this paper, we present a novel local-world model of wireless sensor networks (WSN) with two kinds of nodes: sensor nodes and sink nodes, which is different from other models with identical nodes and links. The model balances energy consumption by limiting the connectivity of sink nodes to prolong the life of the network. How the proportion of sink nodes, different energy distribution and the local-world scale would affect the topological structure and network performance are investigated. We find that, using mean-field theory, the degree distribution is obtained as an integral with respect to the proportion of sink nodes and energy distribution. We also show that, the model exhibits a mixed connectivity correlation which is greatly distinct from general networks. Moreover, from the perspective of the efficiency and the average hops for data processing, we find some suitable range of the proportion p of sink nodes would make the network model have optimal performance for data processing.     

Electric dipolar interaction assisted growth of single crystalline organic thin films

We report on a forest-like-to-desert-like pattern evolution in the growth of an organic thin film observed by using an atomic force microscope. We use a modified diffusion limited aggregation model to simulate the growth process and are able to reproduce the experimental patterns. The energy of electric dipole interaction is calculated and determined to be the driving force for the pattern formation and evolution. Based on these results, single crystalline films are obtained by enhancing the electric dipole interaction while limiting effects of other growth parameters.