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Attention in the literature has increasingly turned to the issue of the dependence on ensemble and boundary conditions of fluctuation-induced forces. We have recently investigated this problem in the one-dimensional Ising model with periodic and antiperiodic boundary conditions (Annals of Physics {\bf 459}, 169533 (2023)). Significant variations of the behavior of Casimir and Helmholtz forces was observed, depending on both ensemble and boundary conditions. Here we extend our study by considering the problem in the important case of Dirichlet (also termed free, or missing neighbors) boundary conditions. The advantage of the mathematical formulation of the problem in terms of Chebyshev polynomials is demonstrated and, in this approach, expressions for the partition functions in the canonical and the grand canonical ensembles are presented. We prove analytically that the Casimir force is attractive for all values of temperature and external ordering field, while the Helmholtz force can be both attractive and repulsive., Comment: All noticed misprints have been corrected. 20 LaTeX pages, 6 pdf figures

Recently, attention has turned to the issue of the ensemble dependence of fluctuation induced forces. As a noteworthy example, in $O(n)$ systems the statistical mechanics underlying such forces can be shown to differ in the constant $\vec{M}$ magnetic canonical ensemble (CE) from those in the widely-studied constant $\vec{h}$ grand canonical ensemble (GCE). Here, the counterpart of the Casimir force in the GCE is the \textit{Helmholtz} force in the CE. Given the difference between the two ensembles for finite systems, it is reasonable to anticipate that these forces will have, in general, different behavior for the same geometry and boundary conditions. Here we present some exact results for both the Casimir and the Helmholtz force in the case of the one-dimensional Ising model subject to periodic and antiperiodic boundary conditions and compare their behavior. We note that the Ising model has recently being solved in Phys.Rev. E {\bf 106} L042103(2022), using a combinatorial approach, for the case of fixed value $M$ of its order parameter. Here we derive exact result for the partition function of the one-dimensional Ising model of $N$ spins and fixed value $M$ using the transfer matrix method (TMM); earlier results obtained via the TMM were limited to $M=0$ and $N$ even. As a byproduct, we derive several specific integral representations of the hypergeometric function of Gauss. Using those results, we rigorously derive that the free energies of the CE and grand GCE are related to each other via Legendre transformation in the thermodynamic limit, and establish the leading finite-size corrections for the canonical case, which turn out to be much more pronounced than the corresponding ones in the case of the GCE., Comment: 35 pages, 7 figures. The derivations in Appendix C are further simplified and all noticed typos are fixed

We have measured the temperature driven denaturing, or melting transition in poly d(A)-poly d(T) DNA oligomers of various lengths in different buffer conditions. Our findings are in clear disagreement with two state, reaction kinetics model, and we find that the so-called zipper model, where denaturing proceeds through opening of the duplex at the ends describes well the temperature dependence of the average number of open base pairs. Analysis of the length dependence of the transition parameters however suggest that bubble formation is important and that the transition, in the thermodynamic limit, is continuous, albeit close to first order., Comment: 4 pages, revtex file, 3 eps figures

We propose a model Hamiltonian for charge transfer along the DNA double helix with temperature driven fluctuations in the base pair positions acting as the rate limiting factor for charge transfer between neighboring base pairs. We compare the predictions of the model with the recent work of J.K. Barton and A.H. Zewail (Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA, {\bf 96}, 6014 (1999)) on the unusual two-stage charge transfer of DNA., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

We present results relevant to the equilibrium organization of DNA strands of arbitrary length interacting with a spherical organizing center, suggestive of DNA-histone complexation in nucleosomes. We obtain a rich phase diagram in which a wrapping state is transformed into a complex multi-leafed, rosette structure as the adhesion energy is reduced. The statistical mechanics of the "melting" of a rosette can be mapped into an exactly soluble one-dimensional many-body problem., Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures in a pdf file

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A new field-theoretical crossover equation-of-state model provides a bridge between the asymptotic behavior close to a liquid-gas critical point and the expected mean field behavior farther away.

We present high-resolution measurements of the isothermal susceptibility of pure 3He near the liquid-gas critical point.

An extention of standard results for the acoustic force on an object in a single-mode resonant chamber yields predictions for the onset of oscillational instabilities when objects are levitated or positioned in these chambers. The authors' results are consistent with those of experimental investigators. The present approach accounts for the effects of time delays in the response of a cavity to the motion of an object inside of it. Quantitative features of the instabilities are investigated. The experimental conditions required for sample stability, saturation of sample oscillations, hysteretic effects, and the loss of ability to levitate are discussed.