On tidal capture of primordial black holes by neutron stars

The fraction of primordial black holes (PBHs) of masses $10^{17} - 10^{26}$ g in the total amount of dark matter may be constrained by considering their capture by neutron stars (NSs), which leads to the rapid destruction of the latter. The constraints depend crucially on the capture rate which, in turn, is determined by the energy loss by a PBH passing through a NS. Two alternative approaches to estimate the energy loss have been used in the literature: the one based on the dynamical friction mechanism, and another on tidal deformations of the NS by the PBH. The second mechanism was claimed to be more efficient by several orders of magnitude due to the excitation of particular oscillation modes reminiscent of the surface waves. We address this disagreement by considering a simple analytically solvable model that consists of a flat incompressible fluid in an external gravitational field. In this model, we calculate the energy loss by a PBH traversing the fluid surface. We find that the excitation of modes with the propagation velocity smaller than that of PBH is suppressed, which implies that in a realistic situation of a supersonic PBH the large contributions from the surface waves are absent and the above two approaches lead to consistent expressions for the energy loss.Comment: 7 page

Prompt Electromagnetic Transients from Binary Black Hole Mergers

Binary black hole (BBH) mergers provide a prime source for current and future interferometric GW observatories. Massive BBH mergers may often take place in plasma-rich environments, leading to the exciting possibility of a concurrent electromagnetic (EM) signal observable by traditional astronomical facilities. However, many critical questions about the generation of such counterparts remain unanswered. We explore mechanisms that may drive EM counterparts with magnetohydrodynamic simulations treating a range of scenarios involving equal-mass black-hole binaries immersed in an initially homogeneous fluid with uniform, orbitally aligned magnetic fields. We find that the time development of Poynting luminosity, which may drive jet-like emissions, is relatively insensitive to aspects of the initial configuration. In particular, over a significant range of initial values, the central magnetic field strength is effectively regulated by the gas flow to yield a Poynting luminosity of $10^{45}-10^{46} \rho_{-13} M_8^2 \, {\rm erg}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$, with BBH mass scaled to $M_8 \equiv M/(10^8 M_{\odot})$ and ambient density $\rho_{-13} \equiv \rho/(10^{-13} \, {\rm g} \, {\rm cm}^{-3})$. We also calculate the direct plasma synchrotron emissions processed through geodesic ray-tracing. Despite lensing effects and dynamics, we find the observed synchrotron flux varies little leading up to merger.Comment: 22 pages, 21 figures; additional reference + clarifying text added to match published versio

Constant-pressure sound waves in non-Hermitian disordered media

When waves impinge on a disordered material they are back-scattered and form a highly complex interference pattern. Suppressing any such distortions in the free propagation of a wave is a challenging task with many applications in a number of different disciplines. In a recent theoretical proposal, it was pointed out that both perfect transmission through disorder as well as a complete suppression of any variation in a wave intensity can be achieved by adding a continuous gain-loss distribution to the disorder. Here we show that this abstract concept can be implemented in a realistic acoustic system. Our prototype consists of an acoustic waveguide containing several inclusions that scatter the incoming wave in a passive configuration and provide the gain or loss when being actively controlled. Our measurements on this non-Hermitian acoustic metamaterial demonstrate unambiguously the creation of a reflectionless scattering wave state that features a unique form of discrete constant-amplitude pressure waves. In addition to demonstrating that gain-loss additions can turn localised systems into transparent ones, we expect our proof-of-principle demonstration to trigger interesting new developments not only in sound engineering, but also in other related fields such as in non-Hermitian photonics

Protein Mobility in the Cytoplasm of Escherichia coli

The rate of protein diffusion in bacterial cytoplasm may constrain a variety of cellular functions and limit the rates of many biochemical reactions in vivo. In this paper, we report noninvasive measurements of the apparent diffusion coefficient of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli. These measurements were made in two ways: by photobleaching of GFP fluorescence and by photoactivation of a red-emitting fluorescent state of GFP (M. B. Elowitz, M. G. Surette, P. E. Wolf, J. Stock, and S. Leibler, Curr. Biol. 7:809-812, 1997). The apparent diffusion coefficient, Da, of GFP in E. coli DH5alpha was found to be 7.7 ± 2.5 µm^2/s. A 72-kDa fusion protein composed of GFP and a cytoplasmically localized maltose binding protein domain moves more slowly, with Da of 2.5 ± 0.6 µm^2/s. In addition, GFP mobility can depend strongly on at least two factors: first, Da is reduced to 3.6 ± 0.7 µm^2/s at high levels of GFP expression; second, the addition to GFP of a small tag consisting of six histidine residues reduces Da to 4.0 ± 2.0 µm^2/s. Thus, a single effective cytoplasmic viscosity cannot explain all values of Da reported here. These measurements have implications for the understanding of intracellular biochemical networks

The evolution of wealth transmission in human populations: a stochastic model

Reproductive success and survival are influenced by wealth in human populations. Wealth is transmitted to offsprings and strategies of transmission vary over time and among populations, the main variation being how equally wealth is transmitted to children. Here we propose a model where we simulate both the dynamics of wealth in a population and the evolution of a trait that determines how wealth is transmitted from parents to offspring, in a darwinian context.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

High order vibration modes of glass embedded AgAu nanoparticles

High resolution low frequency Raman scattering measurements from embedded AgAu nanoparticles unveil efficient scattering by harmonics of both the quadrupolar and the spherical modes. Comparing the experimental data with theoretical calculations that account for both the embedding medium and the resonant Raman process enables a very complete description of the observed multiple components in terms of harmonics of both the quadrupolar and spherical modes, with a dominating Raman response from the former ones. It is found that only selected harmonics of the quadrupolar mode contribute significantly to the Raman spectra in agreement with earlier theoretical predictions.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Light-driven liquid crystalline nonlinear oscillator under optical periodic forcing

An all-optically driven strategy to govern a liquid crystalline collective molecular nonlinear oscillator is discussed. It does not require external feedbacks of any kind while the oscillator and a time-depending perturbation both are sustained by incident light. Various dynamical regimes such as frequency -locked, quasiperiodic, forced and chaotic are observed in agreement with a theoretical approach developed in the limit of the plane wave approximation.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Etudes des traitements fongicides appliqués aux bananes aprés récolte. III. Action de l'Imazalil

Matériel, méthodes et résultats de traitements fongicides appliqués aux bananes après récolte. L'Imazalil, fongicide systémique a été étudié pour résoudre le problème des souches de Fusarium résistantes aux benzimidazoles. Il a donné de bons résultats sous forme sulfate à 600 et 1000 ppm contre les pourritures du coussinet et pour la 2ème dose contre les pourritures des doigts. Côte-d'Ivoire, Camerou