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The interplay between the topological and geometrical properties of a polymer ring can be clarified by establishing the entanglement trapped in any portion (arc) of the ring. The task requires to close the open arcs into a ring, and the resulting topological state may depend on the specific closure scheme that is followed. To understand the impact of this ambiguity in contexts of practical interest, such as knot localization in a ring with non trivial topology, we apply various closure schemes to model ring polymers. The rings have the same length and topological state (a trefoil knot) but have different degree of compactness. The comparison suggests that a novel method, termed the minimally-interfering closure, can be profitably used to characterize the arc entanglement in a robust and computationally-efficient way. This closure method is finally applied to the knot localization problem which is tackled using two different localization schemes based on top-down or bottom-up searches., Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to Progress of Theoretical Physics

We investigate the switching dynamics of multistable nematic liquid crystal devices. In particular we identify a remarkably simple 2-dimensional (2D) device which exploits hybrid alignment at the surfaces to yield a bistable response. We also consider a 3-dimensional (3D) tristable nematic device with patterned anchoring, recently implemented in practice, and discuss how the director and disclination patterns change during switching., Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures

We review a dynamical approach to non-equilibrium MD (D-NEMD). We show how, using a proper simulation setup, is possible to treat interesting cases in which the initial condition is a stationary non-equilibrium state produced by a suitable dynamical system. We then extend the class of non-equilibrium phenomena that can be studied by atomistic simulations to the case of complex initial conditions consisting in assigning a macroscopic value of a scalar or vector observable or a field. We illustrate the functioning of this method by applying it to the relaxation of an interface between two immiscible liquids. We have shown that our method generate unbiased results while this might not be the case for the often used short time average approach.

We investigated the relative stability of the amorphous vs crystalline nanoparticles of size ranging between 0.8 and 1.8 nm. We found that, at variance from bulk systems, at low T small nanoparticles are amorphous and they undergo to an amorphous-to-crystalline phase transition at high T. On the contrary, large nanoparticles recover the bulk-like behavior: crystalline at low T and amorphous at high T. We also investigated the structure of crystalline nanoparticles, providing evidence that they are formed by an ordered core surrounded by a disordered periphery. Furthermore, we also provide evidence that the details of the structure of the crystalline core depend on the size of the nanoparticle, Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

The transient 500 s X-ray pulsar MAXI J1409-619 was discovered by the slit cameras aboard MAXI on October 17, 2010, and soon after accurately localized by Swift. We found that the source position was serendipitously observed in 2000 during BeppoSAX observations of the Galactic plane. Two sources are clearly detected in the MECS: one is consistent with the position of IGR J14043-6148 and the other one with that of MAXI J1409-619. We report on the analysis of this archival BeppoSAX/MECS observation integrated with newly analyzed observation from ASCA and a set of high-energy observations obtained from the offset fields of the BeppoSAX/PDS instrument. For the ON-source observation, the 1.8-100 keV spectrum is fit by an absorbed power law with a photon index Gamma = 0.87_{-0.19}^{+0.29}, corresponding to 2-10 and 15-100 keV unabsorbed fluxes of 2.7E-12 and 4E-11 erg/cm2/s, respectively, and a 2-10 keV luminosity of 7E+34 erg/s for a 15 kpc distance. For a PDS offset field observation, performed about one year later and showing a 15-100 keV flux of 7E-11 erg/cm2/s, we clearly pinpoint three spectral absorption features at 44, 73, and 128 keV, resolved both in the spectral fit and in the Crab ratio. We interpret these not harmonically spaced features as due to cyclotron resonances. The fundamental energy of 44 +/- 3 keV corresponds to a magnetic field strength at the neutron star surface of 3.8E12 (1+z) G, where z is the gravitational redshift. We discuss the nature of the source in the light of its possible counterpart., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures. Expanded and revised version accepted for publication in ApJ Main Journal

The transverse electron scattering response function of 3He was recently studied by us in the quasi-elastic peak region for momentum transfers q between 500 and 700 MeV/c. Those results, obtained using the Active Nucleon Breit frame (ANB), are here supplemented by calculations in the laboratory, Breit and ANB frames using the two-fragment model discussed in our earlier work on the frame dependence of the the longitudinal response function R_L(q,omega). We find relatively frame independent results and good agreement with experiment especially for the lower momentum transfers. This agreement occurs when we neglect an omega-dependent piece of the one-body current relativistic correction. An inclusion of this term leads however to a rather pronounced frame dependence at q=700 MeV/c. A discussion of this term is given here. This report also includes a correction to our previous ANB results for R_T(q,omega)., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

The emission process responsible for the so-called "prompt" emission of gamma-ray bursts is still unknown. A number of empirical models fitting the typical spectrum still lack a satisfactory interpretation. A few GRB spectral catalogues derived from past and present experiments are known in the literature and allow to tackle the issue of spectral properties of gamma-ray bursts on a statistical ground. We extracted and studied the time-integrated photon spectra of the 200 brightest GRBs observed with the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor which flew aboard the BeppoSAX mission (1996-2002) to provide an independent statistical characterisation of GRB spectra. The spectra were fit with three models: a simple power-law, a cut-off power law or a Band function. The typical photon spectrum of a bright GRB consists of a low-energy index around 1.0 and a peak energy of the nuFnu spectrum E_p~240 keV in agreement with previous results on a sample of bright CGRO/BATSE bursts. Spectra of ~35% of GRBs can be fit with a power-law with a photon index around 2, indicative of peak energies either close to or outside the GRBM energy boundaries. We confirm the correlation between E_p and fluence, with a logarithmic dispersion of 0.13 around the power-law with index 0.21+-0.06. The low-energy and peak energy distributions are not yet explained in the current literature. The capability of measuring time-resolved spectra over a broadband energy range, ensuring precise measurements of parameters such as E_p, will be crucial for future experiments (abridged)., Comment: 28 pages, 20 figures, 3 tables, accepted to A&A

In the thermodynamic limit, the time evolution of isolated long-range interacting systems is properly described by the Vlasov equation. This equation admits non-equilibrium dynamically stable stationary solutions characterized by a zero order parameter. We show that the presence of external noise sources, like for instance a heat bath, can induce at a specific time a dynamical phase transition marked by a non-zero order parameter. This transition corresponds to a restoring of the full ergodic properties of the system and may be used as a distinctive experimental signature of the existence of non-equilibrium Vlasov-stable states. In particular, we evidence for the first time a regime characterized by an order parameter pulse. Our analytical results are corroborated by numerical simulations of a paradigmatic long-range model., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

A different formulation of the effective interaction hyperspherical harmonics (EIHH) method, suitable for non-local potentials, is presented. The EIHH method for local interactions is first shortly reviewed to point out the problems of an extension to non-local potentials. A viable solution is proposed and, as an application, results on the ground-state properties of 4- and 6-nucleon systems are presented. One finds a substantial acceleration in the convergence rate of the hyperspherical harmonics series. Perspectives for an application to scattering cross sections, via the Lorentz transform method are discussed., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, to be published in the Proceedings of the International Nuclear Physics Conference, Vancouver, 2010

We study knotted polymers in equilibrium with an array of obstacles which models confinement in a gel or immersion in a melt. We find a crossover in both the geometrical and the topological behavior of the polymer. When the polymers' radius of gyration, $R_G$, and that of the region containing the knot, $R_{G,k}$, are small compared to the distance b between the obstacles, the knot is weakly localised and $R_G$ scales as in a good solvent with an amplitude that depends on knot type. In an intermediate regime where $R_G > b > R_{G,k}$, the geometry of the polymer becomes branched. When $R_{G,k}$ exceeds b, the knot delocalises and becomes also branched. In this regime, $R_G$ is independent of knot type. We discuss the implications of this behavior for gel electrophoresis experiments on knotted DNA in weak fields., Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures

We estimate by Monte Carlo simulations the configurational entropy of $N$-steps polygons in the cubic lattice with fixed knot type. By collecting a rich statistics of configurations with very large values of $N$ we are able to analyse the asymptotic behaviour of the partition function of the problem for different knot types. Our results confirm that, in the large $N$ limit, each prime knot is localized in a small region of the polygon, regardless of the possible presence of other knots. Each prime knot component may slide along the unknotted region contributing to the overall configurational entropy with a term proportional to $\ln N$. Furthermore, we discover that the mere existence of a knot requires a well defined entropic cost that scales exponentially with its minimal length. In the case of polygons with composite knots it turns out that the partition function can be simply factorized in terms that depend only on prime components with an additional combinatorial factor that takes into account the statistical property that by interchanging two identical prime knot components in the polygon the corresponding set of overall configuration remains unaltered. Finally, the above results allow to conjecture a sequence of inequalities for the connective constants of polygons whose topology varies within a given family of composite knot types.

Integral transform approaches are numerous in many fields of physics, but in most cases limited to the use of the Laplace kernel. However, it is well known that the inversion of the Laplace transform is very problematic, so that the function related to the physical observable is in most cases unaccessible. The great advantage of kernels of bell-shaped form has been demonstrated in few-body nuclear systems. In fact the use of the Lorentz kernel has allowed to overcome the stumbling block of the ab initio description of reactions to the full continuum of systems of more than three particles. The problem of finding kernels of similar form, applicable to many-body problems deserves particular attention. If this search were successful the integral transform approach might represent the only viable ab initio access to many observables that are not calculable directly., Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, contribution to J. Phys G, Special Issue, Focus Section: Open Problems in Nuclear Structure

In this series of lectures it is illustrated how one can study the strong dynamics of nuclei by means of the electroweak probe. In particular, the most important steps to derive the cross sections in first order perturbation theory are reviewed. In the derivation the focus is put on the main ingredients entering the hadronic part (response functions), i.e. the initial and final states of the system and the operators relevant for the reaction. Emphasis is put on the electromagnetic interaction with few-nucleon systems. The Lorentz integral transform method to calculate the response functions ab initio is described. A few examples of the comparison between theoretical and experimental results are shown. The dependence of the response functions on the nuclear interaction and in particular on three-body forces is emphasized., Comment: Lectures given at the International Scientific Meeting on Nuclear Physics, La Rabida, Huelva (Spain), July 4-10, 2009

The transverse electron scattering response function of 3He is studied in the quasi-elastic peak region for momentum transfers between 500 and 700 MeV/c. A conventional description of the process leads to results at a substantial variation with experiment. To improve the results, the present calculation is done in a reference frame (the ANB or Active Nucleon Breit frame) which diminishes the influence of relativistic effects on nuclear states. The laboratory frame response function is then obtained via a kinematics transformation. In addition, a one-body nuclear current operator is employed that includes all leading order relativistic corrections. Multipoles of this operator are listed. It is shown that the use of the ANB frame leads to a sizable shift of the quasi-elastic peak to lower energy and, contrary to the relativistic current, also to an increase of the peak height. The additionally considered meson exchange current contribution is quite small in the peak region. In comparison with experiment one finds an excellent agreement of the peak positions. The peak height agrees well with experiment for the lowest considered momentum transfer (500 MeV/c), but tends to be too high for higher momentum transfer (10% at 700 MeV/c)., Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures

The role of the topology and its relation with the geometry of biopolymers under different physical conditions is a nontrivial and interesting problem. Aiming at understanding this issue for a related simpler system, we use Monte Carlo methods to investigate the interplay between writhe and knotting of ring polymers in good and poor solvents. The model that we consider is interacting self-avoiding polygons on the simple cubic lattice. For polygons with fixed knot type we find a writhe distribution whose average depends on the knot type but is insensitive to the length $N$ of the polygon and to solvent conditions. This "topological contribution" to the writhe distribution has a value that is consistent with that of ideal knots. The standard deviation of the writhe increases approximately as $\sqrt{N}$ in both regimes and this constitutes a geometrical contribution to the writhe. If the sum over all knot types is considered, the scaling of the standard deviation changes, for compact polygons, to $\sim N^{0.6}$. We argue that this difference between the two regimes can be ascribed to the topological contribution to the writhe that, for compact chains, overwhelms the geometrical one thanks to the presence of a large population of complex knots at relatively small values of $N$. For polygons with fixed writhe we find that the knot distribution depends on the chosen writhe, with the occurrence of achiral knots being considerably suppressed for large writhe. In general, the occurrence of a given knot thus depends on a nontrivial interplay between writhe, chain length, and solvent conditions., Comment: 10 pages, accepted in J.Chem.Phys

A detailed study of the 4He longitudinal response function R_L(\omega,q) is performed at different kinematics, with particular emphasis on the role of three-nucleon forces. The effects shown are the results of an ab initio calculation where the full four-body continuum dynamics is considered via the Lorentz integral transform method. The contributions of the various multipoles to the longitudinal response function are analyzed and integral properties of the response are discussed in addition. The Argonne V18 nucleon-nucleon interaction and two different three-nucleon force models (Urbana IX, Tucson-Melbourne') are used. At lower momentum transfer (q<= 200$ MeV/c) three-nucleon forces play an important role. One even finds a dependence of R_L on the three-nucleon force model itself with differences up to 10%. Thus a Rosenbluth separation of the inclusive electron scattering cross section of 4He at low momentum transfer would be of high value in view of a discrimination between different three-nucleon force models., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

The Lorentz integral transform method is briefly reviewed. The issue of the inversion of the transform, and in particular its ill-posedness, is addressed. It is pointed out that the mathematical term ill-posed is misleading and merely due to a historical misconception. In this connection standard regularization procedures for the solution of the integral transform problem are presented. In particular a recent one is considered in detail and critical comments on it are provided. In addition a general remark concerning the concept of the Lorentz integral transform as a method with a controlled resolution is made., Comment: 10 pages, this version has been made more self-contained

The threshold transverse response functions R_T(q,omega) for 3He and 3H are calculated using the AV18 nucleon-nucleon potential, the UrbanaIX three-body force, and the Coulomb potential. Final states are completely taken into account via the Lorentz integral transform technique. Consistent two-body pi- and rho-meson exchange currents as deduced using the Arenh\"ovel-Schwamb technique are included. The convergence of the method is shown and a comparison of the corresponding MEC contribution is made to that of a consistent MEC for the meson theoretical r-space BonnA potential. The response R_T is calculated in the threshold region at q=174, 324, and 487 MeV/c and compared with available data. The strong MEC contributions in the threshold region are nicely confirmed by the data at q=324 and 487 MeV/c although some differences between theoretical and experimental results remain. A comparison is also made with other calculations, where the same theoretical input is used. The agreement is generally rather good, but leaves also some space for further improvement., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures

An ab-initio calculation of the 4He(e,e') inelastic longitudinal response function R_L is presented. Realistic two- and three-body forces are used. The four-body continuum dynamics is treated rigorously with the help of the Lorentz integral transform. The three-nucleon force reduces the quasi-elastic peak height by about 10% for momentum transfers q between 300 and 500 MeV/c. Experimental data are well described, but not sufficiently precise to resolve this effect. The reduction due to the three-nucleon force increases significantly at lower q reaching up to about 40% at q=100 MeV/c. However, at such q values data are missing., Comment: to appear on the conference proceedings of PANIC08, Eilat, November, 2008