3,016 research outputs found
Minimal model for active nematics: quasi-long-range order and giant fluctuations
We propose a minimal microscopic model for active nematic particles similar
in spirit to the Vicsek model for self-propelled polar particles. In two
dimensions, we show that this model exhibits a Kosterlitz-Thouless-like
transition to quasi-long-range orientational order and that in this
non-equilibrium context, the ordered phase is characterized by giant density
fluctuations, in agreement with the predictions of Ramaswamy {\it et al.}
[Europhys. Lett. {\bf 62}, 196 (2003)].Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. 4 pages, 4 figure
Effects of photoperiod extension on clock gene and neuropeptide RNA expression in the SCN of the Soay sheep
In mammals, changing daylength (photoperiod) is the main synchronizer of seasonal functions. The photoperiodic information is transmitted through the retino-hypothalamic tract to the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), site of the master circadian clock. To investigate effects of day length change on the sheep SCN, we used in-situ hybridization to assess the daily temporal organization of expression of circadian clock genes (Per1, Per2, Bmal1 and Fbxl21) and neuropeptides (Vip, Grp and Avp) in animals acclimated to a short photoperiod (SP; 8h of light) and at 3 or 15 days following transfer to a long photoperiod (LP3, LP15, respectively; 16h of light), achieved by an acute 8-h delay of lights off. We found that waveforms of SCN gene expression conformed to those previously seen in LP acclimated animals within 3 days of transfer to LP. Mean levels of expression for Per1-2 and Fbxl21 were nearly 2-fold higher in the LP15 than in the SP group. The expression of Vip was arrhythmic and unaffected by photoperiod, while, in contrast to rodents, Grp expression was not detectable within the sheep SCN. Expression of the circadian output gene Avp cycled robustly in all photoperiod groups with no detectable change in phasing. Overall these data suggest that synchronizing effects of light on SCN circadian organisation proceed similarly in ungulates and in rodents, despite differences in neuropeptide gene expression
Absorbing Phase Transitions of Branching-Annihilating Random Walks
The phase transitions to absorbing states of the branching-annihilating
reaction-diffusion processes mA --> (m+k)A, nA --> (n-l)A are studied
systematically in one space dimension within a new family of models. Four
universality classes of non-trivial critical behavior are found. This provides,
in particular, the first evidence of universal scaling laws for pair and
triplet processes.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Field-Trial of Machine Learning-Assisted Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) Networking with SDN
We demonstrated, for the first time, a machine-learning method to assist the
coexistence between quantum and classical communication channels.
Software-defined networking was used to successfully enable the key generation
and transmission over a city and campus network
Absorbing states and elastic interfaces in random media: two equivalent descriptions of self-organized criticality
We elucidate a long-standing puzzle about the non-equilibrium universality
classes describing self-organized criticality in sandpile models. We show that
depinning transitions of linear interfaces in random media and absorbing phase
transitions (with a conserved non-diffusive field) are two equivalent languages
to describe sandpile criticality. This is so despite the fact that local
roughening properties can be radically different in the two pictures, as
explained here. Experimental implications of our work as well as promising
paths for future theoretical investigations are also discussed.Comment: 4 pages. 2 Figure
Chaos in computer performance
Modern computer microprocessors are composed of hundreds of millions of
transistors that interact through intricate protocols. Their performance during
program execution may be highly variable and present aperiodic oscillations. In
this paper, we apply current nonlinear time series analysis techniques to the
performances of modern microprocessors during the execution of prototypical
programs. Our results present pieces of evidence strongly supporting that the
high variability of the performance dynamics during the execution of several
programs display low-dimensional deterministic chaos, with sensitivity to
initial conditions comparable to textbook models. Taken together, these results
show that the instantaneous performances of modern microprocessors constitute a
complex (or at least complicated) system and would benefit from analysis with
modern tools of nonlinear and complexity science
Onset of collective and cohesive motion
We study the onset of collective motion, with and without cohesion, of groups
of noisy self-propelled particles interacting locally. We find that this phase
transition, in two space dimensions, is always discontinuous, including for the
minimal model of Vicsek et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 75},1226 (1995)] for
which a non-trivial critical point was previously advocated. We also show that
cohesion is always lost near onset, as a result of the interplay of density,
velocity, and shape fluctuations.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
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