An alternative approach to Michaelis-Menten kinetics that is based on the renormalization group.

We apply to Michaelis-Menten kinetics an alternative approach to the study of Singularly Perturbed Differential Equations, that is based on the Renormalization Group (SPDERG). To this aim, we first rebuild the perturbation expansion for Michaelis-Menten kinetics, beyond the standard Quasi-Steady-State Approximation (sQSSA), determining the 2nd order contributions to the inner solutions, that are presented here for the first time to our knowledge. Our main result is that the SPDERG 2nd order uniform approximations reproduce the numerical solutions of the original problem in a better way than the known results of the perturbation expansion, even in the critical matching region.

Numerical study of a disordered model for DNA denaturation transition.

We numerically study a disordered version of the model for DNA denaturation transition consisting of two interacting self-avoiding walks in three dimensions, which undergoes a first order transition in the homogeneous case. The two possible values epsilonAT and epsilonGC of the interactions between base pairs are taken as quenched random variables distributed with equal probability along the chain. We measure quantities averaged over disorder such as the energy density, the specific heat, and the probability distribution of the loop lengths.

Numerical study of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model in a magnetic field.

We study numerically the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model as a function of the magnetic field h, with fixed temperature T=0.6T(c). We investigate the finite size scaling behavior of several quantities, such as the spin-glass susceptibility, searching for numerical evidences of the transition on the de Almeida-Thouless line.

Magnetic field chaos in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model.

We study the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model, both above and below the de Almeida-Thouless line, by using a modified version of the Parallel Tempering algorithm in which the system is allowed to move between different values of the magnetic field h. The behavior of the probability distribution of the overlap between two replicas at different values of the magnetic field h(0) and h(1) gives clear evidence for the presence of magnetic field chaos already for moderate system sizes, in contrast to the case of temperature chaos, which is not visible on system sizes that can currently be thermalized.