Although proteins generally fold to their thermodynamically most stable state, some metastable proteins populate higher free energy states. Conformational changes from metastable higher free energy states to lower free energy states with greater stability can then generate the work required to perform physiologically important functions. However, how metastable proteins fold to these higher fre...

We reveal the existence of two different crystalline phases, i.e., the metastable rock salt and the equilibrium zinc blende phase within the CdS-shell of PbS/CdS core/shell nanocrystals formed by cationic exchange. The chemical composition profile of the core/shell nanocrystals with different dimensions is determined by means of anomalous small-angle X-ray scattering with subnanometer resolutio...

We observe Arp 220, the nearest ultra-luminous infrared galaxy, over 4 GHz in the K and Ka bands, providingconstraints for the kinematics and morphology, and identifying molecular species on scales resolving both nuclei (0 6 or 230 pc). We detect multiple molecular species, including hydroxyl (OH P = = J F 9 2 4 4; 5 5 2 3 2 ) in both cores, andtentatively detect H2O(615-523) at ∼21.84 GHz in...

We review some aspects of current knowledge regarding the decay of metastable phases in many-particle systems. In particular we emphasize recent theoretical and computational developments and numerical results regarding homogeneous nucleation and growth in kinetic Ising and lattice-gas models. An introductory discussion of the droplet theory of homogeneous nucleation is followed by a discussion...

We discuss the physical basis of the statistical mechanics of self-gravitating systems. We show the correspondance between statistical mechanics methods based on the evaluation of the density of states and partition function and thermodynamical methods based on the maximization of a thermodynamical potential (entropy or free energy). We address the question of the thermodynamic limit of self-gr...

Capillarity approximation is used to study the free-energy landscape of nucleation when an intermediate metastable phase exists. The critical nucleus that corresponds to the saddle point of the free-energy landscape as well as the whole free-energy landscape can be studied using this capillarity approximation, and various scenarios of nucleation and growth can be elucidated. In this study, we c...

Latent heat release by equilibrium mineralogical transformations in an adiabatically subducting slab reversibly perturbs temperatures and pressures so as to conserve entropy. However, latent heats of metastable transformations in such a slab yield irreversible isobaric temperature changes which increase entropy despite adiabatic constraints. As a result, latent heat release by metastable exothe...

The steady-state nucleation rate and flux of composite nucleus at the saddle point is studied by extending the theory of binary nucleation. The Fokker-Planck equation that describes the nucleation flux is derived using the Master equation for the growth of the composite nucleus, which consists of the core of the final stable phase surrounded by a wetting layer of the intermediate metastable pha...

The dynamics of fast gas heating in a high power microwave discharge in air, is investigated in the framework of FDTD simulations of the Maxwell equations coupled with the fluid simulations of the plasma. It is shown that, an ultra-fast gas heating of the order of several 100 Kelvins occurs in less than 100 ns. The main role in the heating is played by the electron impact dissociation of , diss...

In typical charge and discharge cycling, electrodes may exhibit metastable phases with unusual ordering to repeatedly host and extract lithium-ion and electrons. This is a clear consequence of not enough time and/or energy available for such metastable phases to relax and transform into their equilibrium counterparts (1). Such metastable structures may exist only for a short duration, which mak...