The rise and fall of structure in physics : polaritonic photonic crystals, melting, and min-protein oscillations

This thesis is a compilation of theoretical and computational work in condensed matter physics related to three topics in structure development. First, I study photonic crystals composed of polaritonic media, focusing on the unique features of the band structures and Bloch states in dispersive media with and without losses. I discuss three novel localization phenomena in these structures: node switching, flux expulsion, and negative effective permeability. Second, I examine the importance of surface interfaces to melting using density functional theory. I demonstrate that single-layer coatings of Gallium Arsenide on Germanium and vice versa have a huge impact on the substrate melting temperature, causing superheating and induced melting, respectively. Finally, I develop reaction-diffusion and stochastic models of the Min-protein oscillations in bacteria that reproduce all main experimental observations. These models explain the origin of instability that ultimately causes dynamic pattern formation and have successfully been used to predict nucleotide binding rates in E. coli. In round cells, I provide evidence that oscillations can be used as a general mechanism for protein targeting and detecting the cell's geometry.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Huang, Kerwyn Casey, 1979-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• John D. Joannopoulos.

• Physics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28642

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/28642