Gravitational caustics in an atom laser

Typically discussed in the context of optics, caustics are envelopes of classical trajectories (rays) where the density of states diverges, resulting in pronounced observable features such as bright points, curves, and extended networks of patterns. Here, we generate caustics in the matter waves of an atom laser, providing a striking experimental example of catastrophe theory applied to atom optics in an accelerated (gravitational) reference frame. We showcase caustics formed by individual attractive and repulsive potentials, and present an example of a network generated by multiple potentials. Exploiting internal atomic states, we demonstrate fluid-flow tracing as another tool of this flexible experimental platform. The effective gravity experienced by the atoms can be tuned with magnetic gradients, forming caustics analogous to those produced by gravitational lensing. From a more applied point of view, atom optics affords perspectives for metrology, atom interferometry, and nanofabrication. Caustics in this context may lead to quantum innovations as they are an inherently robust way of manipulating matter waves.

A Look at the Spatial Confining Effect on the Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MEP)—A Case Study of the HF and BrCN Molecules

In this theoretical study, we report on the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) of titled molecules confined by repulsive potentials of cylindrical symmetry mimicking a topology. Our calculations show that the spatial restriction significantly changes the picture of the MEP of molecules in a quantitative and qualitative sense. In particular, the drastic changes in the MEP as a function of the strength of spatial confinement are observed for the BrCN molecule. This preliminary study is the first step in the investigation of the behavior of the MEP of molecular systems under orbital compression.

Look at the Spatial Confining Effect on the Molecular Electrostatic Potential (Mep). A Case Study of the Hf and Brcn Molecules

In this theoretical study we report on molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) of titled molecules confined by repulsive potentials of cylindrical symmetry mimicking a topology. Our calculations show that the spatial restriction significantly changes the picture of MEP of molecules in quantitative and qualitative sense. In particular, the drastic changes of MEP as a function of the strength of spatial confinement are observed for the BrCN molecule. This preliminary study is the first step in the investigations of the behavior of MEP of molecular systems under the orbital compression.

Second Virial Coefficient of Low-density Lithium-7 (7Li) Gas in the Temperature Range 1 K40000 K and Beyond

The second virial coefficient B for low-dense 7Lithium (7Li) gas is calculated over a wide temperature range 1 K40000 K. In the ‘high’-T limit (600 K45000 K), the classical coefficient, Bcl, and the contribution of the first quantum-mechanical correction, Bqc, are computed from standard expressions, using a suitable binary potential. The classical coefficient, Bcl, together with the Boyle temperature, TB, are determined and their values are in good agreement with previous results. In addition, the interface between the classical and quantum regimes is systematically investigated. Furthermore, the calculation of the quantum-mechanical second virial coefficient, Bq, is evaluated using the Beth-Uhlenbeck formula in the temperature range 1 K500 K. A positive value of Bq indicates that the net interaction energy is repulsive, implying that the short-range repulsive forces dominate the long-range attractive forces. However, quite the opposite occurs for negative values of Bq, which are indicative of net attractive interaction. The general behavior of Bq is similar to the potential energy itself, such that the long-range attractive and the short-range repulsive potentials can be deduced from the measurements of Bq. Keywords: Second virial coefficient, Low-density Lithium-7 Gas, Short-range repulsive forces, Long-range attractive forces. PACS: 51.30.+i.

The role of host cell glycans on virus infectivity: The SARS-CoV-2 case

Long and complex chains of sugars, called glycans, often coat both the cell and protein surface. Glycans both modulate specific interactions and protect cells. On the cell surface, these sugars form a cushion known as the glycocalyx. Here, we show that Heparan Sulfate (HS) chains - part of the glycocalyx - and other glycans - expressed on the surface of both host and virus proteins - have a critical role in modulating both attractive and repulsive potentials during viral infection. We analyse the SARS-CoV-2 virus, modelling its spike proteins binding to HS chains and two key entry receptors, ACE2 and TMPRSS2. We include the volume exclusion effect imposed on the HS chains impose during virus insertion into glycocalyx and the steric repulsion caused by changes in the conformation of the ACE2 glycans involved in binding to the spike. We then combine all these interactions, showing that the interplay of all these components is critical to the behaviour of the virus. We show that the virus tropism depends on the combinatorial expression of both HS chains and receptors. Finally, we demonstrate that when both HS chains and entry receptors express at high density, steric effects dominate the interaction, preventing infection.

Coarse graining of a Fokker–Planck equation with excluded volume effects preserving the gradient flow structure

The propagation of gradient flow structures from microscopic to macroscopic models is a topic of high current interest. In this paper, we discuss this propagation in a model for the diffusion of particles interacting via hard-core exclusion or short-range repulsive potentials. We formulate the microscopic model as a high-dimensional gradient flow in the Wasserstein metric for an appropriate free-energy functional. Then we use the JKO approach to identify the asymptotics of the metric and the free-energy functional beyond the lowest order for single particle densities in the limit of small particle volumes by matched asymptotic expansions. While we use a propagation of chaos assumption at far distances, we consider correlations at small distance in the expansion. In this way, we obtain a clear picture of the emergence of a macroscopic gradient structure incorporating corrections in the free-energy functional due to the volume exclusion.