460 research outputs found
Entropy and Temperature of a Static Granular Assembly
Granular matter is comprised of a large number of particles whose collective
behavior determines macroscopic properties such as flow and mechanical
strength. A comprehensive theory of the properties of granular matter,
therefore, requires a statistical framework. In molecular matter, equilibrium
statistical mechanics, which is founded on the principle of conservation of
energy, provides this framework. Grains, however, are small but macroscopic
objects whose interactions are dissipative since energy can be lost through
excitations of the internal degrees of freedom. In this work, we construct a
statistical framework for static, mechanically stable packings of grains, which
parallels that of equilibrium statistical mechanics but with conservation of
energy replaced by the conservation of a function related to the mechanical
stress tensor. Our analysis demonstrates the existence of a state function that
has all the attributes of entropy. In particular, maximizing this state
function leads to a well-defined granular temperature for these systems.
Predictions of the ensemble are verified against simulated packings of
frictionless, deformable disks. Our demonstration that a statistical ensemble
can be constructed through the identification of conserved quantities other
than energy is a new approach that is expected to open up avenues for
statistical descriptions of other non-equilibrium systems.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Maternal inheritance on reproductive traits in Brangus-Ibagé cattle.
A influência da herança citoplasmática sobre características reprodutivas foi investigada em bovinos Brangus-Ibagé (3/8 Nelore x 5/8 Aberdeen Angus). Os efeitos genéticos aditivos foram responsáveis por 12% ± 11% da variação fenotípica observada no primeiro intervalo entre partos, mas esta contribuição decresceu para zero quando todos os intervalos entre partos (IEP) foram considerados. A herdabilidade da idade para o primeiro parto (IPP, em dias) foi estimada em 0,19 ± 0,09. A linhagem mitocondrial teve um efeito negligenciável na variância fenotípica do intervalo entre partos (0,0 ± 0,02), peso do terneiro ao nascer (0,0 ± 0,01) e peso da vaca ao parto (0,0 ± 0,01). No entanto, para a idade ao primeiro parto, a linhagem mitocondrial contribuiu com 0,15 ± 0,07 da variação total. O peso da vaca ao parto teve efeito linear significante em IEP e IPP. Três mutações na região D-loop do mtDNA afetaram significantemente o IEP (T C nos sítios 16.113 e 16.119) ou o peso do terneiro ao nascer (T C no sítio 16.113). As variantes C diminuíram o intervalo entre partos (29 e 32 dias, respectivamente) e aumentaram o peso do terneiro (0,6kg). Embora os efeitos sejam pequenos, a seleção de fêmeas portadoras dessas mutações poderia melhorar o desempenho reprodutivo e o desenvolvimento deste rebanho
Energy-stable discretization of the one-dimensional two-fluid model
In this paper we present a complete framework for the energy-stable
simulation of stratified incompressible flow in channels, using the
one-dimensional two-fluid model. Building on earlier energy-conserving work on
the basic two-fluid model, our new framework includes diffusion, friction, and
surface tension. We show that surface tension can be added in an
energy-conserving manner, and that diffusion and friction have a strictly
dissipative effect on the energy.
We then propose spatial discretizations for these terms such that a
semi-discrete model is obtained that has the same conservation properties as
the continuous model. Additionally, we propose a new energy-stable advective
flux scheme that is energy-conserving in smooth regions of the flow and
strictly dissipative where sharp gradients appear. This is obtained by
combining, using flux limiters, a previously developed energy-conserving
advective flux with a novel first-order upwind scheme that is shown to be
strictly dissipative.
The complete framework, with diffusion, surface tension, and a bounded
energy, is linearly stable to short wavelength perturbations, and exhibits
nonlinear damping near shocks. The model yields smoothly converging numerical
solutions, even under conditions for which the basic two-fluid model is
ill-posed. With our explicit expressions for the dissipation rates, we are able
to attribute the nonlinear damping to the different dissipation mechanisms, and
compare their effects
Comparing individual-based models of collective cell motion in a benchmark flow geometry
Theoretical Physic
Dense active matter model of motion patterns in confluent cell monolayers
Epithelial cell monolayers show remarkable displacement and velocity
correlations over distances of ten or more cell sizes that are reminiscent of
supercooled liquids and active nematics. We show that many observed features
can be described within the framework of dense active matter, and argue that
persistent uncoordinated cell motility coupled to the collective elastic modes
of the cell sheet is sufficient to produce swirl-like correlations. We obtain
this result using both continuum active linear elasticity and a normal modes
formalism, and validate analytical predictions with numerical simulations of
two agent-based cell models, soft elastic particles and the self-propelled
Voronoi model together with in-vitro experiments of confluent corneal
epithelial cell sheets. Simulations and normal mode analysis perfectly match
when tissue-level reorganisation occurs on times longer than the persistence
time of cell motility. Our analytical model quantitatively matches measured
velocity correlation functions over more than a decade with a single fitting
parameter.Comment: updated version accepted for publication in Nat. Com
Active Tension Network model suggests an exotic mechanical state realized in epithelial tissues.
Mechanical interactions play a crucial role in epithelial morphogenesis, yet understanding the complex mechanisms through which stress and deformation affect cell behavior remains an open problem. Here we formulate and analyze the Active Tension Network (ATN) model, which assumes that the mechanical balance of cells within a tissue is dominated by cortical tension and introduces tension-dependent active remodeling of the cortex. We find that ATNs exhibit unusual mechanical properties. Specifically, an ATN behaves as a fluid at short times, but at long times supports external tension like a solid. Furthermore, an ATN has an extensively degenerate equilibrium mechanical state associated with a discrete conformal - "isogonal" - deformation of cells. The ATN model predicts a constraint on equilibrium cell geometries, which we demonstrate to approximately hold in certain epithelial tissues. We further show that isogonal modes are observed in the fruit y embryo, accounting for the striking variability of apical areas of ventral cells and helping understand the early phase of gastrulation. Living matter realizes new and exotic mechanical states, the study of which helps to understand biological phenomena
From crystal to amorphopus: a novel route towards unjamming in soft disk packings
It is presented a numerical study on the unjamming packing fraction of bi-
and polydisperse disk packings, which are generated through compression of a
monodisperse crystal. In bidisperse systems, a fraction f_+ = 40% up to 80% of
the total number of particles have their radii increased by \Delta R, while the
rest has their radii decreased by the same amount. Polydisperse packings are
prepared by changing all particle radii according to a uniform distribution in
the range [-\Delta R,\Delta R]. The results indicate that the critical packing
fraction is never larger than the value for the initial monodisperse crystal,
\phi = \pi/12, and that the lowest value achieved is approximately the one for
random close packing. These results are seen as a consequence of the interplay
between the increase in small-small particle contacts and the local crystalline
order provided by the large-large particle contacts.Comment: two columns, 14 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Eur.
Phys. J.
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