Semiflexible Chains under Tension

A functional integral formalism is used to derive the extension of a stiff chain subject to an external force. The force versus extension curves are calculated using a meanfield approach in which the hard constraint $u^2(s)=1$ is replaced by a global constraint $= 1$ where $u(s)$ is the tangent vector describing the chain and $s$ is the arc length. The theory ``quantitatively'' reproduces the experimental results for DNA that is subject to a constant force. We also treat the problems of a semiflexible chain in a nematic field. In the limit of weak nematic field strength our treatment reproduces the exact results for chain expansion parallel to the director. When the strength of nematic field is large, a situation in which there are two equivalent minima in the free energy, the intrinsically meanfield approach yields incorrect results for the dependence of the persistence length on the nematic field.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure available upon request, submitted to J. Chem. Phy

Persistence Length of Flexible Polyelectrolyte Chains

We calculate the dependence of the electrostatic persistence length, l_e, of weakly charged flexible polyelectrolyte chains using a self-consistent variational theory. The variation of l_e with \kappa, the inverse Debye screening length, is controlled by the parameter l_0 l_B/A^2, where l_0 is the bare persistence length, l_B is the Bjerrum length, and A is the mean distance between charges along the chain. Several distinct regimes for the dependence of l_e on \kappa emerge depending on the value of l_0 l_B/A^2. We show that when l_0 l_B /A^2 << 1 we recover the classical result, l_e \propto \kappa^{-2}. For intermediate values of l_0 l_B /A^2, l_e \propto \kappa^{-1}. In this regime one can also get l_e \propto \kappa^{-y} with y < 1 depending on the strength of the Coulomb interaction. Qualitative comparisons between our theory and simulations as well as other theories are presented.Comment: 25 pages, Latex, figure available upon reques

Neutrino reactions on 138^{138}La and 180^{180}Ta via charged and neutral currents by the Quasi-particle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA)

Cosmological origins of the two heaviest odd-odd nuclei, $^{138}$La and $^{180}$Ta, are believed to be closely related to the neutrino-process. We investigate in detail neutrino-induced reactions on the nuclei. Charged current (CC) reactions, $^{138}$Ba$(\nu_e, e^{-}) ^{138}$La and $^{180}$Hf$(\nu_e, e^{-}) ^{180}$Ta, are calculated by the standard Quasi-particle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA) with neutron-proton pairing as well as neutron-neutron, proton-proton pairing correlations. For neutral current (NC) reactions, $^{139}$La$(\nu \nu^{'}) ^{139}${La}$^*$ and $^{181}$Ta$(\nu, \nu^{'}) ^{181}$Ta$^*$, we generate ground and excited states of odd-even target nuclei, $^{139}$La and $^{181}$Ta, by operating one quasi-particle to even-even nuclei, $^{138}$Ba and $^{180}$Hf, which are assumed as the BCS ground state. Numerical results for CC reactions are shown to be consistent with recent semi-empirical data deduced from the Gamow-Teller strength distributions measured in the ($^{3}$He, t) reaction. Results for NC reactions are estimated to be smaller by a factor about 4 $\sim$ 5 rather than those by CC reactions. Finally, cross sections weighted by the incident neutrino flux in the core collapsing supernova are presented for further applications to the network calculations for relevant nuclear abundances

Estimates of isospin breaking contributions to baryon masses

We estimate the isospin breaking contributions to the baryon masses which we analyzed recently using a loop expansion in the heavy baryon approximation to chiral effective field theory. To one loop, the isospin breaking corrections come from the effects of the $d, u$ quark mass difference, the Coulomb and magnetic moment interactions, and effective point interactions attributable to color-magnetic effects. The addition of the first meson loop corrections introduces new structure. We estimate the resulting low-energy, long-range contributions to the mass splittings by regularizing the loop integrals using connections to dynamical models for finite-size baryons. We find that the resulting contributions to the isospin breaking corrections are of the right general size, have the correct sign pattern, and agree with the experimental values within the margin of error.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures; changed title and conten

Finite Size Polyelectrolyte Bundles at Thermodynamic Equilibrium

We present the results of extensive computer simulations performed on solutions of monodisperse charged rod-like polyelectrolytes in the presence of trivalent counterions. To overcome energy barriers we used a combination of parallel tempering and hybrid Monte Carlo techniques. Our results show that for small values of the electrostatic interaction the solution mostly consists of dispersed single rods. The potential of mean force between the polyelectrolyte monomers yields an attractive interaction at short distances. For a range of larger values of the Bjerrum length, we find finite size polyelectrolyte bundles at thermodynamic equilibrium. Further increase of the Bjerrum length eventually leads to phase separation and precipitation. We discuss the origin of the observed thermodynamic stability of the finite size aggregates

Exact dynamical structure factor of the degenerate Haldane-Shastry model

The dynamical structure factor $S(q,\omega)$ of the K-component (K = 2,3,4) spin chain with the 1/r^2 exchange is derived exactly at zero temperature for arbitrary size of the system. The result is interpreted in terms of a free quasi-particle picture which is generalization of the spinon picture in the SU(2) case; the excited states consist of K quasi-particles each of which is characterized by a set of K-1 quantum numbers. Divergent singularities of $S(q,\omega)$ at the spectral edges are derived analytically. The analytic result is checked numerically for finite systems.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Combinatorial interpretation of Haldane-Wu fractional exclusion statistics

Assuming that the maximal allowed number of identical particles in state is an integer parameter, q, we derive the statistical weight and analyze the associated equation which defines the statistical distribution. The derived distribution covers Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein ones in the particular cases q = 1 and q -> infinity (n_i/q -> 1), respectively. We show that the derived statistical weight provides a natural combinatorial interpretation of Haldane-Wu fractional exclusion statistics, and present exact solutions of the distribution equation.Comment: 8 pages, 2 eps-figure

Spin-Charge Separation at Finite Temperature in the Supersymmetric t-J Model with Long-Range Interactions

Thermodynamics is derived rigorously for the 1D supersymmetric {\it t-J} model and its SU($K,1$) generalization with inverse-square exchange. The system at low temperature is described in terms of spinons, antispinons, holons and antiholons obeying fractional statistics. They are all free and make the spin susceptibility independent of electron density, and the charge susceptibility independent of magnetization. Thermal spin excitations responsible for the entropy of the SU($K,1$) model are ascribed to free para-fermions of order $K-1$.Comment: 10 pages, REVTE