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The concept of geometrical frustration has led to rich insights into condensed matter physics, especially as a mechansim to produce exotic low energy states of matter. Here we show that frustration provides a natural vehicle to generate…
The histone-DNA interaction in the nucleosome is a fundamental mechanism of genomic compaction and regulation, which remains largely unkown despite a growing structural knowledge of the complex. Here, we propose a framework for the…
We introduce a frustrated spin 1/2 Hamiltonian which is an extension of the two dimensional $J_1 - J_2$ Heisenberg model. The ground states of this model are exactly obtained at a first order quantum phase transition between two regions…
Advances in DNA nanotechnology have stimulated the search for simple motifs that can be used to control the properties of DNA nanostructures. One such motif, which has been used extensively in structures such as polyhedral cages,…
We study the phase behaviour and the collective dynamics of interacting paramagnetic colloids assembled above a honeycomb lattice of triangular shaped magnetic minima. A frustrated colloidal molecular crystal is realized when filling these…
The assembly of nanometer-sized building blocks into complex morphologies is not only of fundamental interest but also plays a key role in material science and nanotechnology. We show that the shape of self-assembled superstructures formed…
We investigate quantum order by disorder in a frustrated spin nanotube formed by wrapping a $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg model at 45$^\circ$ around a cylinder. Using Schwinger boson theory and Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG), we have…
We quantitatively describe the competition between the thermal fluctuations and the disorder using the Ginzburg -- Landau approach. Flux line lattice in type II superconductors undergoes a transition into three "disordered" phases: vortex…
Geometric frustration arises when lattice structure prevents simultaneous minimization of local interactions. It leads to highly degenerate ground states and, subsequently, complex phases of matter such as water ice, spin ice and frustrated…
Single-molecule experiments provide new insights into biological processes hitherto not accessible by measurements performed on bulk systems. We report on a study of the kinetics of a triple-branch DNA molecule with four conformational…
In this paper we extend the Gaussian self-consistent method to permit study of the equilibrium and kinetics of conformational transitions for heteropolymers with any given primary sequence. The kinetic equations earlier derived by us are…
Anomalous relaxation is one of the hallmarks of disordered systems. Following perturbation by an external source, many glassy, jammed and amorphous systems relax as a stretched or compressed exponential as a function of time. However,…
We investigate the dynamics of cellular solidification patterns using three-dimensional phase-field simulations. The cells can organize into stable hexagonal patterns or exhibit unsteady evolutions. We identify the relevant secondary…
We study the structure and elastic energy of the ground states of crystalline caps conforming to a spherical surface. These ground states consist of positive disclination defects in structures spanning from flat and weakly curved crystals…
This article analyzes modulated phases in liquid crystals, from the long-established cholesteric and blue phases to the recently discovered twist-bend, splay-bend, and splay nematic phases, as well as the twist-grain-boundary (TGB) and…
The macroscopic curvature of double helical DNA induced by regularly repeated adenine tracts is well-known but still puzzling. Its physical origin remains controversial even though it is perhaps the best-documented sequence modulation of…
With the rapidly expanded field of two-dimensional(2D) magnetic materials, the frustrated magnetic skyrmions are attracting growing interest recently. Here, based on hexagonal close-packed (HCP) lattice of $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg spins…
Short, partially complementary, single-stranded (ss)DNA strands can form nanostructures with a wide variety of shapes and mechanical properties. It is well known that semiflexible, linear dsDNA can undergo an isotropic to nematic (IN) phase…
We develop further a statistical model coupling denaturation and chain conformations in DNA (Palmeri J, Manghi M and Destainville N 2007 Phys. Rev. Lett. 99 088103). Our Discrete Helical Wormlike Chain model takes explicitly into account…
The thermodynamical stability of DNA minicircles is investigated by means of path integral techniques. Hydrogen bonds between base pairs on complementary strands can be broken by thermal fluctuations and temporary fluctuational openings…