5,434 research outputs found
The inverse cascade and nonlinear alpha-effect in simulations of isotropic helical hydromagnetic turbulence
A numerical model of isotropic homogeneous turbulence with helical forcing is
investigated. The resulting flow, which is essentially the prototype of the
alpha^2 dynamo of mean-field dynamo theory, produces strong dynamo action with
an additional large scale field on the scale of the box (at wavenumber k=1;
forcing is at k=5). This large scale field is nearly force-free and exceeds the
equipartition value. As the magnetic Reynolds number R_m increases, the
saturation field strength and the growth rate of the dynamo increase. However,
the time it takes to built up the large scale field from equipartition to its
final super-equipartition value increases with magnetic Reynolds number. The
large scale field generation can be identified as being due to nonlocal
interactions originating from the forcing scale, which is characteristic of the
alpha-effect. Both alpha and turbulent magnetic diffusivity eta_t are
determined simultaneously using numerical experiments where the mean-field is
modified artificially. Both quantities are quenched in a R_m-dependent fashion.
The evolution of the energy of the mean field matches that predicted by an
alpha^2 dynamo model with similar alpha and eta_t quenchings. For this model an
analytic solution is given which matches the results of the simulations. The
simulations are numerically robust in that the shape of the spectrum at large
scales is unchanged when changing the resolution from 30^3 to 120^3 meshpoints,
or when increasing the magnetic Prandtl number (viscosity/magnetic diffusivity)
from 1 to 100. Increasing the forcing wavenumber to 30 (i.e. increasing the
scale separation) makes the inverse cascade effect more pronounced, although it
remains otherwise qualitatively unchanged.Comment: 21 pages, 26 figures, ApJ (accepted
DNA Double Strand Break Repair and Its Control by Nucleosome Remodeling
DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are repaired in eukaryotes by one of several cellular mechanisms. The decision-making process controlling DSB repair takes place at the step of DNA end resection, the nucleolytic processing of DNA ends, which generates singlestranded DNA overhangs. Dependent on the length of the overhang, a corresponding DSB repair mechanism is engaged. Interestingly, nucleosomes—the fundamental unit of
chromatin—influence the activity of resection nucleases and nucleosome remodelers have emerged as key regulators of DSB repair. Nucleosome remodelers share a common
enzymatic mechanism, but for global genome organization specific remodelers have been shown to exert distinct activities. Specifically, different remodelers have been found to slide and evict, position or edit nucleosomes. It is an open question whether the same
remodelers exert the same function also in the context of DSBs. Here, we will review recent advances in our understanding of nucleosome remodelers at DSBs: to what extent nucleosome sliding, eviction, positioning and editing can be observed at DSBs and how
these activities affect the DSB repair decision
Protocell Communication Through the Eyes of Synthetic Organic Chemists
The bottom-up fabrication of synthetic cells (protocells) from molecules and materials, is a major challenge of modern chemistry. A significant breakthrough has been the engineering of protocells capable of chemical communication using bio- derived molecules and ex situ stabilised cell machineries. These, however, suffer from short shelf-lives, high costs, and require mild aqueous conditions. In this Concept Article we analyse the chemistry at the heart of protocell communication to highlight new opportunities for synthetic chemists in protocell engineer- ing. Specifically, we (i) categorise the main bio-derived chemical communication machineries in enzyme cascades, DNA strand displacement, and gene-mediated communication; (ii) review the chemistries of these signal transduction machineries; and (iii) introduce new types of bio-inspired, fully synthetic artificial enzymes to replace their natural counterparts. Developing protocells that incorporate synthetic analogues of bio-derived signal transduction machineries will improve the robustness, stability, and versatility of protocells, and broaden their applications to highly strategic fields such as photocatalysis and fine chemicals production
Flame front propagation IV: Random Noise and Pole-Dynamics in Unstable Front Propagation II
The current paper is a corrected version of our previous paper
arXiv:adap-org/9608001. Similarly to previous version we investigate the
problem of flame propagation. This problem is studied as an example of unstable
fronts that wrinkle on many scales. The analytic tool of pole expansion in the
complex plane is employed to address the interaction of the unstable growth
process with random initial conditions and perturbations. We argue that the
effect of random noise is immense and that it can never be neglected in
sufficiently large systems. We present simulations that lead to scaling laws
for the velocity and acceleration of the front as a function of the system size
and the level of noise, and analytic arguments that explain these results in
terms of the noisy pole dynamics.This version corrects some very critical
errors made in arXiv:adap-org/9608001 and makes more detailed description of
excess number of poles in system, number of poles that appear in the system in
unit of time, life time of pole. It allows us to understand more correctly
dependence of the system parameters on noise than in arXiv:adap-org/9608001Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures,revised, version accepted for publication in
journal "Combustion, Explosion and Shock Waves". arXiv admin note:
substantial text overlap with arXiv:nlin/0302021, arXiv:adap-org/9608001,
arXiv:nlin/030201
A novel type of intermittency in a nonlinear dynamo in a compressible flow
The transition to intermittent mean--field dynamos is studied using numerical
simulations of isotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence driven by a helical
flow. The low-Prandtl number regime is investigated by keeping the kinematic
viscosity fixed while the magnetic diffusivity is varied. Just below the
critical parameter value for the onset of dynamo action, a transient
mean--field with low magnetic energy is observed. After the transition to a
sustained dynamo, the system is shown to evolve through different types of
intermittency until a large--scale coherent field with small--scale turbulent
fluctuations is formed. Prior to this coherent field stage, a new type of
intermittency is detected, where the magnetic field randomly alternates between
phases of coherent and incoherent large--scale spatial structures. The
relevance of these findings to the understanding of the physics of mean--field
dynamo and the physical mechanisms behind intermittent behavior observed in
stellar magnetic field variability are discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figure
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