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M Mézard

Publications and source records attributed to M Mézard.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Analytic and algorithmic solution of random satisfiability problems.

We study the satisfiability of random Boolean expressions built from many clauses with K variables per clause (K-satisfiability). Expressions with a ratio alpha of clauses to variables less than a threshold alphac are almost always satisfiable, whereas those with a ratio above this threshold are almost always unsatisfiable. We show the existence of an intermediate phase below alphac, where the proliferation of metastable states is responsible for the onset of complexity in search algorithms. We introduce a class of optimization algorithms that can deal with these metastable states; one such algorithm has been tested successfully on the largest existing benchmark of K-satisfiability.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Hairpin formation and elongation of biomolecules.

We introduce a model of thermalized conformations in space of RNA-or single stranded DNA-molecules, which includes the possibility of hairpin formation. This model contains the usual secondary structure information, but extends it to the study of one element of the ternary structure, namely the end-to-end distance. The computed force-elongation characteristics are in good agreement with some recent measurements on single stranded DNA molecules.

DNA, Single-Stranded↗
PubMed1999

Wandering of a contact line at thermal equilibrium.

We reconsider the problem of the solid-liquid-vapor contact-line on a disordered substrate, in the collective pinning regime. We perform a replica variational calculation which confirms the scaling behavior obtained from Larkin-Imry-Ma-like arguments and provides a quantitative prediction for the correlation function of the line. This prediction is in good agreement with experimental findings for the case of superfluid helium on a caesium substrate.

Journal Article↗