arXiv subjects

Heiko Rieger

Publications and source records attributed to Heiko Rieger.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Haldane Insulator in the 1D Nearest-Neighbor Extended Bose-Hubbard Model with Cavity-Mediated Long-Range Interactions

In the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model with on-site and nearest neighbor interactions, a gapped phase characterized by an exotic non-local order parameter emerges, the Haldane insulator. Bose-Hubbard models with cavity-mediated global range interactions display phase diagrams, which are very similar to those with nearest neighbor repulsive interactions, but the Haldane phase remains elusive there. Here we study the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor and cavity-mediated global-range interactions and scrutinize the existence of a Haldane Insulator phase. With the help of extensive quantum Monte-Carlo simulations we find that in the Bose-Hubbard model with only cavity-mediated global-range interactions no Haldane phase exists. For a combination of both interactions, the Haldane Insulator phase shrinks rapidly with increasing strength of the cavity-mediated global-range interactions. Thus, in spite of the otherwise very similar behavior the mean-field like cavity-mediated interactions strongly suppress the non-local order favored by nearest neighbor repulsion in some regions of the phase diagram.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Flocking and reorientation transition in the 4-state active Potts model

We study the active 4-state Potts model (APM) on the square lattice in which active particles have four internal states corresponding to the four directions of motion. A local alignment rule inspired by the ferromagnetic 4-state Potts model and self-propulsion via biased diffusion according to the internal particle states leads to flocking at high densities and low noise. We compute the phase diagram of the APM and explore the flocking dynamics in the region, in which the high-density (liquid) phase coexists with the low-density (gas) phase and forms a fluctuating band of coherently moving particles. As a function of the particle self-propulsion velocity, a novel reorientation transition of the phase-separated profiles from transversal to longitudinal band motion is revealed, which is absent in the Vicsek model and the active Ising model. We further construct a coarse-grained hydrodynamic description of the model which validates the results for the microscopic model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Stochastic model of T Cell repolarization during target elimination (I)

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (T) and natural killer (NK) cells are the main cytotoxic killer cells of the human body to eliminate pathogen-infected or tumorigenic cells (i.e. target cells). Once a NK or T cell has identified a target cell, they form a tight contact zone, the immunological synapse (IS). One then observes repolarization of the cell involving the rotation of the microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton and a movement of the microtubule organizing center (MTOC) to a position that is just underneath the plasma membrane at the IS. Concomitantly a massive relocation of organelles attached to MTs is observed, including the Golgi apparatus, lytic granules and mitochondria. Since the mechanism of this relocation is still elusive we devise a theoretical model for the molecular motor driven motion of the MT cytoskeleton confined between membrane and nucleus. We analyze scenarios currently discussed in the literature, the cortical sliding and the capture-shrinkage mechanisms, and compare quantitative predictions about the spatio-temporal evolution of MTOC position and MT cytoskeleton morphology with experiments. The model predicts the experimentally observed biphasic nature of the process due to an interplay between MT cytoskeleton geometry and motor forces and confirms the dominance of the capture-shrinkage over the cortical sliding mechanism when MTOC and IS are initially diametrically opposed. We also find that the two mechanisms act synergistically, reducing the resources necessary for repositioning. The localization of dyneins in the pSMAC facilitates their interaction with the MTs. Our model also opens a way to infer details of the dynein distribution from the experimentally observed features of the MT cytoskeleton dynamics. In a subsequent publication, we will address the issue of general initial configurations and situations in which the T cell established two immunological synapses.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2019

Reentrant Random Quantum Ising Antiferromagnet

We consider the quantum Ising chain with uniformly distributed random antiferromagnetic couplings $(1 \le J_i \le 2)$ and uniformly distributed random transverse fields ($Γ_0 \le Γ_i \le 2Γ_0$) in the presence of a homogeneous longitudinal field, $h$. Using different numerical techniques (DMRG, combinatorial optimisation and strong disorder RG methods) we explore the phase diagram, which consists of an ordered and a disordered phase. At one end of the transition line ($h=0,Γ_0=1$) there is an infinite disorder quantum fixed point, while at the other end ($h=2,Γ_0=0$) there is a classical random first-order transition point. Close to this fixed point, for $h>2$ and $Γ_0>0$ there is a reentrant ordered phase, which is the result of quantum fluctuations by means of an order through disorder phenomenon.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2019

The effect of disorder on the phase diagrams of hard-core lattice bosons with cavity-mediated long-range and nearest-neighbor interactions

We use quantum Monte Carlo simulations with the worm algorithm to study the phase diagram of a two-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model with cavity-mediated long-range interactions and uncorrelated disorder in the hard-core limit. Our study shows the system is in a supersolid phase at weak disorder and a disordered solid phase at stronger disorder. Due to long-range interactions, a large region of metastable states exists in both clean and disordered systems. By comparing the phase diagrams for both clean and disordered systems, we find that disorder suppresses metastable states and superfluidity. We compare these results with the phase diagram of the extended Bose-Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor interactions. Here, the supersolid phase does not exist even at weak disorder. We identify two kinds of glassy phases: a Bose glass phase and a disordered solid phase. The glassy phases intervene between the density-wave and superfluid phases as the Griffiths phase of the Bose-Hubbard model. The disordered solid phase intervenes between the density-wave and Bose glass phases since both have a finite structure factor.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2019

Computational models for active matter

A variety of computational models have been developed to describe active matter at different length and time scales. The diversity of the methods and the challenges in modeling active matter---ranging from molecular motors and cytoskeletal filaments over artificial and biological swimmers on microscopic to groups of animals on macroscopic scales---mainly originate from their out-of-equilibrium character, multiscale nature, nonlinearity, and multibody interactions. In the present review, various modeling approaches and numerical techniques are addressed, compared, and differentiated to illuminate the innovations and current challenges in understanding active matter. The complexity increases from minimal microscopic models of dry active matter toward microscopic models of active matter in fluids. Complementary, coarse-grained descriptions and continuum models are elucidated. Microscopic details are often relevant and strongly affect collective behaviors, which implies that the selection of a proper level of modeling is a delicate choice, with simple models emphasizing universal properties and detailed models capturing specific features. Finally, current approaches to further advance the existing models and techniques to cope with real-world applications, such as complex media and biological environments, are discussed.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

Phase diagrams of the disordered Bose-Hubbard model with cavity-mediated long-range and nearest-neighbor interactions

Recent experiments with ultracold atoms in an optical lattice have realized cavity-mediated long-range interaction and observed the emergence of a supersolid phase and a density wave phase in addition to Mott insulator and superfluid phases. Here we consider theoretically the effect of uncorrelated disorder on the phase diagram of this system and study the two-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model with cavity-mediated long-range interactions and uncorrelated diagonal disorder. We also study the phase diagram of the extended Bose-Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor interactions in the presence of uncorrelated diagonal disorder. The extended Bose-Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor interactions has been realized in the experiment using dipolar interaction recently. With the help of quantum Monte Carlo simulations using the worm algorithm, we determine the phase diagram of those two models. We compare the phase diagrams of cavity-mediated long-range interactions with nearest-neighbor interactions. We show that two kinds of Bose glass phases exist: one with and one without density wave order. We also find that weak disorder enhances the supersolid phase.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2019

The narrow escape problem in a circular domain with radial piecewise constant diffusivity

The stochastic motion of particles in living cells is often spatially inhomogeneous with a higher effective diffusivity in a region close to the cell boundary due to active transport along actin filaments. As a first step to understand the consequence of the existence of two compartments with different diffusion constant for stochastic search problems we consider here a Brownian particle in a circular domain with different diffusion constants in the inner and the outer shell. We focus on the narrow escape problem and compute the mean first passage time (MFPT) for Brownian particles starting at some pre-defined position to find a small region on the outer reflecting boundary. For the annulus geometry we find that the MFPT can be minimized for a specific value of the width of the outer shell. In contrast for the two-shell geometry we show that the MFPT depends monotonously on all model parameters, in particular on the outer shell width. Moreover we find that the distance between the starting point and the narrow escape region which maximizes the MFPT depends discontinuously on the ratio between inner and outer diffusivity.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2019

Capillary action in scalar active matter

We study the capacity of active matter to rise in thin tubes against gravity and other related phenomena, like, wetting of vertical plates and spontaneous imbibition, where a wetting liquid is drawn into a porous medium. This capillary action or capillarity is well known in classical fluids and originates from attractive interactions between the liquid molecules and the container walls, and from the attraction of the liquid molecules among each other. We observe capillarity in a minimal model for scalar active matter with purely repulsive interactions, where an effective attraction emerges due to slowdown during collisions between active particles and between active particles and walls. Simulations indicate that the capillary rise in thin tubes is approximately proportional to the active sedimentation length $λ$ and that the wetting height of a vertical plate grows superlinear with $λ$. In a disordered porous medium the imbibition height scales as $\langle h\rangle\proptoλϕ_m$, where $ϕ_m$ is its packing fraction.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

Fine-grained simulations of the microenvironment of vascularized tumours

One of many important features of the tumour microenvironment is that it is a place of active Darwinian selection where different tumour clones become adapted to the variety of ecological niches that make up the microenvironment. These evolutionary processes turn the microenvironment into a powerful source of tumour heterogeneity and contribute to the development of drug resistance in cancer. Here, we describe a computational tool to study the ecology of the microenvironment and report results about the ecology of the tumour microenvironment and its evolutionary dynamics.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2019

Search and capture efficiency of dynamic microtubules for centrosome relocation during IS formation

Upon contact with antigen presenting cells (APCs) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (T cells) establish a highly organized contact zone denoted as immunological synapse (IS). The formation of the IS implies relocation of the microtubule organizing center (MTOC) towards the contact zone, which necessitates a proper connection between MTOC and IS via dynamic microtubules (MTs). The efficiency of the MTs finding the IS within relevant time scale is, however, still illusive. We investigate how MTs search the three-dimensional constrained cellular volume for the IS and bind upon encounter to dynein anchored at the IS cortex. The search efficiency is estimated by calculating the time required for the MTs to reach the dynein-enriched region of the IS. In this study, we develop simple mathematical and numerical models incorporating relevant components of a cell and propose an optimal search strategy. Using the mathematical model, we have quantified the average search time for a wide range of model parameters and proposed an optimized set of values leading to the minimum capture time. Our results show that search times are minimal when the IS formed at the nearest or at the farthest sites on the cell surface, with respect to the perinuclear MTOC. The search time increases monotonically away from these two specific sites and are maximal at an intermediate position near the equator of the cell. We observed that search time strongly depends on the number of searching MTs and distance of the MTOC from the nuclear surface.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2019

Reaction-diffusion model for STIM-ORAI interaction: the role of ROS and mutations

Release of $Ca^{2+}$ from endoplasmatic retriculum (ER) $Ca^{2+}$ stores causes stromal interaction molecules (STIM) in the ER membrane and ORAI proteins in the plasma membrane (PM) to interact and form the $Ca^{2+}$ release activated $Ca^{2+}$ (CRAC) channels, which represent a major $Ca^{2+}$ entry route in non-excitable cells and thus control various cell functions. It is experimentally possible to mutate ORAI1 proteins and therefore modify, especially block, the $Ca^{2+}$ influx into the cell. On the basis of the model of Hoover and Lewis (2011) [Hoover P J and Lewis R S, 2011], we formulate a reaction-diffusion model to quantify the STIM1-ORAI1 interaction during CRAC channel formation and analyze different ORAI1 channel stoichiometries and different ratios of STIM1 and ORAI1 in comparison with experimental data. We incorporate the inhibition of ORAI1 channels by ROS into our model and calculate its contribution to the CRAC channel amplitude. We observe a large decrease of the CRAC channel amplitude evoked by mutations of ORAI1 proteins.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2018

Quantum relaxation and metastability of lattice bosons with cavity-induced long-range interactions

The coupling of cold atoms to the radiation field within a high-finesse optical resonator, an optical cavity, induces long-range interactions which can compete with an underlying optical lattice. The interplay between short- and long-range interactions gives rise to new phases of matter including supersolidity (SS) and density waves (DW), and interesting quantum dynamics. Here it is shown that for hard-core bosons in one dimension the ground state phase diagram and the quantum relaxation after sudden quenches can be calculated exactly in the thermodynamic limit. Remanent DW order is observed for quenches from a DW ground state into the superfluid (SF) phase below a dynamical transition line. After sufficiently strong SF to DW quenches beyond a static metastability line DW order emerges on top of remanent SF order, giving rise to a dynamically generated supersolid state.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2018

Quantum XX-model with competing short- and long-range interactions: Phases and phase transitions in and out of equilibrium

We consider the quantum XX-model in the presence of competing nearest-neighbour and global-range interactions, which is equivalent to a Bose-Hubbard model with cavity mediated global range interactions in the hard core boson limit. Using fermionic techniques the problem is solved exactly in one dimension in the thermodynamic limit. The ground state phase diagram consists of two ordered phases: ferromagnetic (F) and antiferromagnetic (AF), as well as an XY-phase having quasi-long-range order. We have also studied quantum relaxation after sudden quenches. Quenching from the AF phase to the XY region remanent AF order is observed below a dynamical transition line. In the opposite quench, from the XY region to the AF-phase beyond a static metastability line AF order arises on top of remanent XY quasi-long-range order, which corresponds to dynamically generated supersolid state in the equivalent Bose-Hubbard model with hard-core bosons.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Spatial cytoskeleton organization supports targeted intracellular transport

The efficiency of intracellular cargo transport from specific source to target locations is strongly dependent upon molecular motor-assisted motion along the cytoskeleton. Radial transport along microtubules and lateral transport along the filaments of the actin cortex underneath the cell membrane are characteristic for cells with a centrosome. The interplay between the specific cytoskeleton organization and the motor performance realizes a spatially inhomogeneous intermittent search strategy. In order to analyze the efficiency of such intracellular search strategies we formulate a random velocity model with intermittent arrest states. We evaluate efficiency in terms of mean first passage times for three different, frequently encountered intracellular transport tasks: i) the narrow escape problem, which emerges during cargo transport to a synapse or other specific region of the cell membrane, ii) the reaction problem, which considers the binding time of two particles within the cell, and iii) the reaction-escape problem, which arises when cargo must be released at a synapse only after pairing with another particle. Our results indicate that cells are able to realize efficient search strategies for various intracellular transport tasks economically through a spatial cytoskeleton organization that involves only a narrow actin cortex rather than a cell body filled with randomly oriented actin filaments.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2016

Test of quantum thermalization in the two-dimensional transverse-field Ising model

We study the quantum relaxation of the two-dimensional transverse-field Ising model after global quenches with a real-time variational Monte Carlo method and address the question whether this non-integrable, two-dimensional system thermalizes or not. We consider both interaction quenches in the paramagnetic phase and field quenches in the ferromagnetic phase and compare the time-averaged probability distributions of non-conserved quantities like magnetization and correlation functions to the thermal distributions according to the canonical Gibbs ensemble obtained with quantum Monte Carlo simulations at temperatures defined by the excess energy in the system. We find that the occurrence of thermalization crucially depends on the quench parameters: While after the interaction quenches in the paramagnetic phase thermalization can be observed, our results for the field quenches in the ferromagnetic phase show clear deviations from the thermal system. These deviations increase with the quench strength and become especially clear comparing the shape of the thermal and the time-averaged distributions, the latter ones indicating that the system does not completely lose the memory of its initial state even for strong quenches. We discuss our results with respect to a recently formulated theorem on generalized thermalization in quantum systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2016

Run-and-pause dynamics of cytoskeletal motor proteins

Cytoskeletal motor proteins are involved in major intracellular transport processes which are vital for maintaining appropriate cellular function. The motor exhibits distinct states of motility: active motion along filaments, and effectively stationary phase in which it detaches from the filaments and performs passive diffusion in the vicinity of the detachment point due to cytoplasmic crowding. The transition rates between motion and pause phases are asymmetric in general, and considerably affected by changes in environmental conditions which influences the efficiency of cargo delivery to specific targets. By considering the motion of molecular motor on a single filament as well as a dynamic filamentous network, we present an analytical model for the dynamics of self-propelled particles which undergo frequent pause phases. The interplay between motor processivity, structural properties of filamentous network, and transition rates between the two states of motility drastically changes the dynamics: multiple transitions between different types of anomalous diffusive dynamics occur and the crossover time to the asymptotic diffusive or ballistic motion varies by several orders of magnitude. We map out the phase diagrams in the space of transition rates, and address the role of initial conditions of motion on the resulting dynamics.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2016

Spatial Organization of the Cytoskeleton enhances Cargo Delivery to Specific Target Areas on the Plasma Membrane of Spherical Cells

Intracellular transport is vital for the proper functioning and survival of a cell. Cargo (proteins, vesicles, organelles, etc.) is transferred from its place of creation to its target locations via molecular motor assisted transport along cytoskeletal filaments. The transport efficiency is strongly affected by the spatial organization of the cytoskeleton, which constitutes an inhomogeneous, complex network. In cells with a centrosome microtubules grow radially from the central microtubule organizing center towards the cell periphery whereas actin filaments form a dense meshwork, the actin cortex, underneath the cell membrane with a broad range of orientations. The emerging ballistic motion along filaments is frequently interrupted due to constricting intersection nodes or cycles of detachment and reattachment processes in the crowded cytoplasm. In order to investigate the efficiency of search strategies established by the cell's specific spatial organization of the cytoskeleton we formulate a random velocity model with intermittent arrest states. With extensive computer simulations we analyze the dependence of the mean first passage times for narrow escape problems on the structural characteristics of the cytoskeleton, the motor properties and the fraction of time spent in each state. We find that an inhomogeneous architecture with a small width of the actin cortex constitutes an efficient intracellular search strategy.

physics.bio-ph↗