Enhanced Dispersion Interaction in Confined Geometry

Enhanced dispersion interaction in confined geometry.

The dispersion interaction between two pointlike particles confined in a dielectric slab between two plates of another dielectric medium is studied within a continuum (Lifshitz) theory. The retarded (Casimir-Polder) interaction at large interparticle distances is found to be strongly enhanced as the mismatch between the dielectric permittivities of the two media is increased. The large-distance...

Polymers in Confined Geometry

First of all I have to thank Prof. Dr. Erwin Frey arousing my interest in biological physics and giving me the opportunity to write my diploma thesis in his groups at the Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin. Also for very interesting discussions—and some nice chats in between—and the huge amount of help by writing this thesis. A big thanks to the small Italian.. . please, don't kick me.. . That is, a ...

Amoeboid motion in confined geometry.

Many eukaryotic cells undergo frequent shape changes (described as amoeboid motion) that enable them to move forward. We investigate the effect of confinement on a minimal model of amoeboid swimmer. A complex picture emerges: (i) The swimmer's nature (i.e., either pusher or puller) can be modified by confinement, thus suggesting that this is not an intrinsic property of the swimmer. This swimmi...

Distinctive fluctuations in a confined geometry.

Spurred by recent theoretical predictions [Phys. Rev. E 69, 035102(R) (2004)10.1103/PhysRevE.69.035102; Surf. Sci. Lett. 598, L355 (2005)10.1016/j.susc.2005.09.023], we find experimentally using STM line scans that the fluctuations of the step bounding a facet exhibit scaling properties distinct from those of isolated steps or steps on vicinal surfaces. The correlation functions go as t0.15 +/-...

Quantum phase slips in a confined geometry