For two canonical examples of driven mesoscopic systems-a harmonically trapped Brownian particle and a quantum dot-we numerically determine the finite-time protocols that optimize the compromise between the standard deviation and the mean of the dissipated work. In the case of the oscillator, we observe a collection of protocols that smoothly trade off between average work and its fluctuations. However, for the quantum dot, we find that as we shift the weight of our optimization objective from average work to work standard deviation, there is an analog of a first-order phase transition in protocol space: two distinct protocols exchange global optimality with mixed protocols akin to phase coexistence. As a result, the two types of protocols possess qualitatively different properties and remain distinct even in the infinite duration limit: optimal-work-fluctuation protocols never coalesce with the minimal-work protocols, which therefore never become quasistatic.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.180605 | DOI Listing |
ACS Macro Lett
January 2025
The Bio-Med-Chem Doctoral School of the University of Lodz and Lodz Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Banacha 12/16, Lodz 90-237, Poland.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, 198504, Russia.
Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and density functional theory (DFT), an experimental and theoretical study of changes in the electronic structure (dispersion dependencies) and corresponding modification of the energy band gap at the Dirac point (DP) for topological insulator (TI) [Formula: see text] have been carried out with gradual replacement of magnetic Mn atoms by non-magnetic Ge atoms when concentration of the latter was varied from 10% to 75%. It was shown that when Ge concentration increases, the bulk band gap decreases and reaches zero plateau in the concentration range of 45-60% while trivial surface states (TrSS) are present and exhibit an energy splitting of 100 and 70 meV in different types of measurements. It was also shown that TSS disappear from the measured band dispersions at a Ge concentration of about 40%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
January 2025
Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Street Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, São José do Rio Preto 15054-000, Brazil. Electronic address:
In response to the growing need to expand the knowledge base on novel, more sustainable protein sources, this study investigated the effectiveness of cowpea protein concentrate (CPC) as a natural emulsifying agent, examining the relationships between pH (3-11), oil concentration (2-10 %), and emulsion stability. pH and oil concentration significantly impacted droplet size distribution, with uniformity decreasing in the order of pH 9 > pH 11 > pH 7, which was attributed to droplet coalescence and flocculation. As evidenced by circular dichroism, alkalinity induced a slight increase in the beta-sheet content of CPC, while simultaneously reducing the alpha-helix content.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Colloid Interface Sci
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Dielectric and Electrolyte Functional Material Hebei Province, School of Resources and Materials, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066004, PR China. Electronic address:
J Biol Inorg Chem
January 2025
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
Lipid nanoparticles formed with copolymers are a new and increasingly powerful tool for studying membrane proteins, but the extent to which these systems affect the physical properties of the membrane is not completely understood. This is critical to understanding the caveats of these new systems and screening for structural and functional artifacts that might be caused in the membrane proteins they are used to study. To better understand these potential effects, the fluid properties of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine lipid bilayers were examined by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy with spin-labeled reporter lipids in either liposomes or incorporated into nanoparticles with the copolymers diisobutylene-maleic acid or styrene maleic acid.
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