Search results for "Statistica"
showing 10 items of 5969 documents
Phase separation of symmetrical polymer mixtures in thin-film geometry
1995
Monte Carlo simulations of the bond fluctuation model of symmetrical polymer blends confined between two “neutral” repulsive walls are presented for chain lengthNA=NB=32 and a wide range of film thicknessD (fromD=8 toD=48 in units of the lattice spacing). The critical temperaturesTc(D) of unmixing are located by finite-size scaling methods, and it is shown that\(T_c (\infty ) - T_c (D) \propto D^{ - {1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 {v_3 }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {v_3 }}} \), wherev3≈0.63 is the correlation length exponent of the three-dimensional Ising model universality class. Contrary to this result, it is argued that the critical behavior of the films is ruled by two-dimensi…
Nucleation pathway and kinetics of phase-separating active Brownian particles
2016
Suspensions of purely repulsive but self-propelled Brownian particles might undergo phase separation, a phenomenon that strongly resembles the phase separation of passive particles with attractions. Here we employ computer simulations to study the nucleation kinetics and the microscopic pathway active Brownian disks take in two dimensions when quenched from the homogeneous suspension to propulsion speeds beyond the binodal. We find the same qualitative behavior for the nucleation rate as a function of density as for a passive suspension undergoing liquid-vapor separation, suggesting that the scenario of an effective free energy also extends to the kinetics of phase separation. We study the …
Critical end point behaviour in a binary fluid mixture
1997
We consider the liquid-gas phase boundary in a binary fluid mixture near its critical end point. Using general scaling arguments we show that the diameter of the liquid-gas coexistence curve exhibits singular behaviour as the critical end point is approached. This prediction is tested by means of extensive Monte-Carlo simulations of a symmetrical Lennard-Jones binary mixture within the grand canonical ensemble. The simulation results show clear evidence for the proposed singularity, as well as confirming a previously predicted singularity in the coexistence chemical potential [Fisher and Upton, Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 2402 (1990)]. The results suggest that the observed singularities, particula…
Monte carlo studies of phase transitions in polymer blends and block copolymer melts
1994
The unmixing transition of both symmetrical polymer blends AB (i.e. chain lengthsNA=NB=N) and asymmetrical ones (NB/NA=2,3) is studied by large-scale Monte Carlo simulations of the bond fluctuation model. Combination of semi-grand-canonical simulation techniques, «histogram reweighting» and finitesize scaling allows an accurate location of the coexistence curve in the critical region. The variation of the critical temperature with chain length (N) is studied and compared to theoretical predictions. For the symmetrical case, use of chain lengths up toN=512 allows a rough estimation of crossover scaling functions for the crossover from Ising to mean-field exponents. The order-disorder transit…
Exponential Relaxation out of Nonequilibrium
1989
Simulation results are presented for a quench from a disordered state to a state below the coexistence curve. The model which we consider is the Ising model but with the dynamics governed by the Swendsen-Wang transition probabilities. We show that the resulting domain growth has an exponential instead of a power law behaviour and that the system is non-self-averaging while in nonequilibrium. The simulations were carried out on a parallel computer with up to 128 processors.
Liquid-vapour phase behaviour of a symmetrical binary fluid mixture
1998
Using Monte-Carlo simulation and mean field calculations, we study the liquid-vapour phase diagram of a square well binary fluid mixture as a function of a parameter $\delta$ measuring the relative strength of interactions between particles of dissimilar and similar species. The results reveal a rich variety of liquid-vapour coexistence behaviour as $\delta$ is tuned. Specifically, we uncover critical end point behaviour, a triple point involving a vapour and two liquids of different density, and tricritical behaviour. For a certain range of $\delta$, the mean field calculations also predict a `hidden' (metastable) liquid-vapour binodal.
The droplet evaporation/condensation transition in a finite volume
2003
A fluid in the NVT ensemble at T less than the critical temperature T_c and rho = N/V somewhat in excess of rho_coex (density of the saturated gas in the gas-liquid transition) is considered. For V->infinity, a macroscopic liquid droplet coexists with surrounding saturated gas according to the lever rule. For finite V, droplets can only exist if they exceed a minimum size. A (rounded) first order transition of the system occurs when the droplet evaporates into the supersaturated gas.Simulation evidence for this transition is given for a Lennard-Jones model and interpreted by a phenomenological theory. At the transition, the chemical potential difference mu_t-mu_coex scales like L^(-d/(d+…
Self-assembly of bioelastomeric structures from solutions: Mean-field critical behavior and Flory-Huggins free energy of interactions
1993
Elastic and quasi-elastic light scattering studies were performed on aqueous solutions of poly (Val-Pro-Gly-Gly), a representative synthetic bioelastomer that differs from the previously studied poly (Val-Pro-Gly-Val-Gly) by the deletion of the hydrophobic Val in position four. When the spinodal line was approached from the region of thermodynamic stability, the intensity of light scattered by fluctuations, and the related lifetime and correlation length, were observed to diverge with mean-field critical exponents for both systems. Fitting of the experimental data allowed determining the spinodal and binodal (coexistence) lines that characterize the phase diagrams of the two systems, and it…
The Extracellular Vesicles of the Helminth Pathogen, Fasciola hepatica : Biogenesis Pathways and Cargo Molecules Involved in Parasite Pathogenesis
2015
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by parasites have important roles in establishing and maintaining infection. Analysis of the soluble and vesicular secretions of adult Fasciola hepatica has established a definitive characterisation of the total secretome of this zoonotic parasite. Fasciola secretes at least two sub-populations of EVs that differ according to size, cargo molecules and site of release from the parasite. The larger EVs are released from the specialised cells that line the parasite gastrodermus and contain the zymogen of the 37 kDa cathepsin L peptidase that performs a digestive function. The smaller exosome-like vesicle population originate from multivesicular bodies with…
Biogenic Selenium Nanoparticles: A Fine Characterization to Unveil Their Thermodynamic Stability
2021
Among the plethora of available metal(loid) nanomaterials (NMs), those containing selenium are interesting from an applicative perspective, due to their high biocompatibility. Microorganisms capable of coping with toxic Se-oxyanions generate mostly Se nanoparticles (SeNPs), representing an ideal and green alternative over the chemogenic synthesis to obtain thermodynamically stable NMs. However, their structural characterization, in terms of biomolecules and interactions stabilizing the biogenic colloidal solution, is still a black hole that impairs the exploitation of biogenic SeNP full potential. Here, spherical and thermodynamically stable SeNPs were produced by a metal(loid) tolerant Mic…