From Flux Pinning to DNA Sequence Alignment:
Novel Applications of Localizaiton in a Random Environment
Terrence Hwa
Abstract
       
One of the first problems a student of quantum mechanics solves
is the localization of a particle to a potential well. The simple
physics underlying the localization phenomenon has been exploited
in a number of novel technological applications. This article
reviews two such applications: flux pinning in high-T c superconductors,
and similarity search in DNA sequence alignment. The usual competition
between the potential energy gain and kinetic energy cost that
drives the localization-delocalization transition is replaced
here by similar competitions between energy and entropy in one
case, and correlated and random energies in another. Understanding
of such processes can lead to enhanced performance of superconductors
and improved algorithms for similarity searches.
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