114 research outputs found
Shear thickening and jamming in densely packed suspensions of different particle shapes
We investigated the effects of particle shape on shear thickening in densely
packed suspensions. Rods of different aspect ratios and non-convex hooked rods
were fabricated. Viscosity curves and normal stresses were measured using a
rheometer for a wide range of packing fractions for each shape. Suspensions of
each shape exhibit qualitatively similar Discontinuous Shear Thickening. The
logarithmic slope of the stress/shear-rate relation increases dramatically with
packing fraction and diverges at a critical packing fraction phi_c which
depends on particle shape. The packing fraction dependence of the viscosity
curves for different convex shapes can be collapsed when the packing fraction
is normalized by phi_c. Intriguingly, viscosity curves for non-convex particles
do not collapse on the same set as convex particles, showing strong shear
thickening over a wider range of packing fraction. The value of phi_c is found
to coincide with the onset of a yield stress at the jamming transition,
suggesting the jamming transition also controls shear thickening. The yield
stress is found to correspond with trapped air in the suspensions, and the
scale of the stress can be attributed to interfacial tension forces which
dramatically increase above phi_c due to the geometric constraints of jamming.
The relationship between shear and normal stresses is found to be linear in
both the shear thickening and jammed regimes, indicating that the shear
stresses come from friction. In the limit of zero shear rate, normal stresses
pull the rheometer plates together due to the surface tension of the liquid
below phi_c, but push the rheometer plates apart due to jamming above phi_c.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures. published in Physical Review
On the relationship between diurnal temperature range and surface solar radiation in Europe
The surface solar radiation (SSR) is an important factor influencing the local and global energy budget. However, information on the spatial and temporal variation of SSR is limited. A more commonly available measure, which may provide such information, is the diurnal temperature range (DTR). In this study we analyze the relationship between DTR and SSR in Europe between 1970 and 2005 on seasonal and decadal scale. When comparing the mean anomalies time series composed of 31 pairs of sites with long-term SSR and DTR measurements, we found a correlation coefficient of 0.87 in the annual mean and between 0.61 and 0.92 in the seasonal mean anomalies. When investigating the individual pairs of SSR and DTR individually, we found that local correlations are mostly lower than the European mean and that they decrease rapidly in seasons and latitudes with low incident angles and at high alpine altitude. The highest correlation on local and seasonal scales seems to be connected with the variability of the large-scale circulation in Europe. The output of 11 simulations of current generation regional climate models over Europe confirms the strong relationship between SSR and DTR. The seasonal dependence of the relationship is well reproduced, but the absolute values of DTR and SSR are mostly too low. The pattern of decrease (dimming) and increase (brightening) in SSR and DTR was not reproduced in the modeled time series. There is still strong evidence from both models and observations that DTR is a reliable representative of SSR
The Roles of the Olivocerebellar Pathway in Motor Learning and Motor Control. A consensus paper
The capabilities and limitations of conductance-based compartmental neuron models with reduced branched or unbranched morphologies and active dendrites
Conductance-based neuron models are frequently employed to study the dynamics of biological neural networks. For speed and ease of use, these models are often reduced in morphological complexity. Simplified dendritic branching structures may process inputs differently than full branching structures, however, and could thereby fail to reproduce important aspects of biological neural processing. It is not yet well understood which processing capabilities require detailed branching structures. Therefore, we analyzed the processing capabilities of full or partially branched reduced models. These models were created by collapsing the dendritic tree of a full morphological model of a globus pallidus (GP) neuron while preserving its total surface area and electrotonic length, as well as its passive and active parameters. Dendritic trees were either collapsed into single cables (unbranched models) or the full complement of branch points was preserved (branched models). Both reduction strategies allowed us to compare dynamics between all models using the same channel density settings. Full model responses to somatic inputs were generally preserved by both types of reduced model while dendritic input responses could be more closely preserved by branched than unbranched reduced models. However, features strongly influenced by local dendritic input resistance, such as active dendritic sodium spike generation and propagation, could not be accurately reproduced by any reduced model. Based on our analyses, we suggest that there are intrinsic differences in processing capabilities between unbranched and branched models. We also indicate suitable applications for different levels of reduction, including fast searches of full model parameter space
Fast and Not-so-Furious: Case Study of the Fast and Faint Type IIb SN 2021bxu
We present photometric and spectroscopic observations and analysis of
SN~2021bxu (ATLAS21dov), a low-luminosity, fast-evolving Type IIb supernova
(SN). SN~2021bxu is unique, showing a large initial decline in brightness
followed by a short plateau phase. With
during the plateau, it is at the lower end of the luminosity distribution of
stripped-envelope supernovae (SE-SNe) and shows a distinct 10 day plateau
not caused by H- or He-recombination. SN~2021bxu shows line velocities which
are at least slower than typical SE-SNe. It is
photometrically and spectroscopically similar to Type IIb SNe during the
photospheric phases of evolution, with similarities to Ca-rich IIb SNe. We find
that the bolometric light curve is best described by a composite model of shock
interaction between the ejecta and an envelope of extended material, combined
with a typical SN~IIb powered by the radioactive decay of Ni. The
best-fit parameters for SN~2021bxu include a Ni mass of , an ejecta mass of
, and an ejecta
kinetic energy of . From the fits to the properties of the extended material of
Ca-rich IIb SNe we find a trend of decreasing envelope radius with increasing
envelope mass. SN~2021bxu has on the low end compared to
SE-SNe and Ca-rich SNe in the literature, demonstrating that SN~2021bxu-like
events are rare explosions in extreme areas of parameter space. The progenitor
of SN~2021bxu is likely a low mass He star with an extended envelope.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, submitted to MNRA
SN 2022crv: IIb, Or Not IIb: That is the Question
We present optical and near-infrared observations of SN~2022crv, a stripped
envelope supernova in NGC~3054, discovered within 12 hrs of explosion by the
Distance Less Than 40 Mpc Survey. We suggest SN~2022crv is a transitional
object on the continuum between SNe Ib and SNe IIb. A high-velocity hydrogen
feature (20,000 -- 16,000 ) was conspicuous in
SN~2022crv at early phases, and then quickly disappeared around maximum light.
By comparing with hydrodynamic modeling, we find that a hydrogen envelope of
\msun{} can reproduce the behaviour of the hydrogen feature
observed in SN~2022crv. The early light curve of SN~2022crv did not show
envelope cooling emission, implying that SN~2022crv had a compact progenitor
with extremely low amount of hydrogen. The analysis of the nebular spectra
shows that SN~2022crv is consistent with the explosion of a He star with a
final mass of 4.5 -- 5.6 \msun{} that has evolved from a 16 -- 22
\msun{} zero-age main sequence star in a binary system with about 1.0 -- 1.7
\msun{} of oxygen finally synthesized in the core. The high metallicity at the
supernova site indicates that the progenitor experienced a strong stellar wind
mass loss. In order to retain a small amount of residual hydrogen at such a
high metallicity, the initial orbital separation of the binary system is likely
larger than 1000~. The near-infrared spectra of SN~2022crv
show a unique absorption feature on the blue side of He I line at
1.005~m. This is the first time that such a feature has been
observed in a Type Ib/IIb, and could be due to \ion{Sr}{2}. Further detailed
modelling on SN~2022crv can shed light on the progenitor and the origin of the
mysterious absorption feature in the near infrared.Comment: 33 pages, 23 figures, submitted to Ap
Strong Carbon Features and a Red Early Color in the Underluminous Type Ia SN 2022xkq
We present optical, infrared, ultraviolet, and radio observations of SN
2022xkq, an underluminous fast-declining type Ia supernova (SN Ia) in NGC 1784
( Mpc), from to 180 days after explosion. The
high-cadence observations of SN 2022xkq, a photometrically transitional and
spectroscopically 91bg-like SN Ia, cover the first days and weeks following
explosion which are critical to distinguishing between explosion scenarios. The
early light curve of SN 2022xkq has a red early color and exhibits a flux
excess which is more prominent in redder bands; this is the first time such a
feature has been seen in a transitional/91bg-like SN Ia. We also present 92
optical and 19 near-infrared (NIR) spectra, beginning 0.4 days after explosion
in the optical and 2.6 days after explosion in the NIR. SN 2022xkq exhibits a
long-lived C I 1.0693 m feature which persists until 5 days post-maximum.
We also detect C II 6580 in the pre-maximum optical spectra. These
lines are evidence for unburnt carbon that is difficult to reconcile with the
double detonation of a sub-Chandrasekhar mass white dwarf. No existing
explosion model can fully explain the photometric and spectroscopic dataset of
SN 2022xkq, but the considerable breadth of the observations is ideal for
furthering our understanding of the processes which produce faint SNe Ia.Comment: 38 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, the figure 15
input models and synthetic spectra are now available at
https://zenodo.org/record/837925
CHARACTERIZING THE V -BAND LIGHT-CURVES OF HYDROGEN-RICH TYPE II SUPERNOVAE
We present an analysis of the diversity of V-band light-curves of
hydrogen-rich type II supernovae. Analyzing a sample of 116 supernovae, several
magnitude measurements are defined, together with decline rates at different
epochs, and time durations of different phases. It is found that magnitudes
measured at maximum light correlate more strongly with decline rates than those
measured at other epochs: brighter supernovae at maximum generally have faster
declining light-curves at all epochs. We find a relation between the decline
rate during the 'plateau' phase and peak magnitudes, which has a dispersion of
0.56 magnitudes, offering the prospect of using type II supernovae as purely
photometric distance indicators. Our analysis suggests that the type II
population spans a continuum from low-luminosity events which have flat
light-curves during the 'plateau' stage, through to the brightest events which
decline much faster. A large range in optically thick phase durations is
observed, implying a range in progenitor envelope masses at the epoch of
explosion. During the radioactive tails, we find many supernovae with faster
declining light-curves than expected from full trapping of radioactive
emission, implying low mass ejecta. It is suggested that the main driver of
light-curve diversity is the extent of hydrogen envelopes retained before
explosion. Finally, a new classification scheme is introduced where
hydrogen-rich events are typed as simply 'SNII' with an s2 value giving the
decline rate during the 'plateau' phase, indicating its morphological type.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Revised edition corrects errors in
affiliation number
Crowdsourcing hypothesis tests: Making transparent how design choices shape research results
To what extent are research results influenced by subjective decisions that scientists make as they design studies? Fifteen research teams independently designed studies to answer fiveoriginal research questions related to moral judgments, negotiations, and implicit cognition. Participants from two separate large samples (total N > 15,000) were then randomly assigned to complete one version of each study. Effect sizes varied dramatically across different sets of materials designed to test the same hypothesis: materials from different teams renderedstatistically significant effects in opposite directions for four out of five hypotheses, with the narrowest range in estimates being d = -0.37 to +0.26. Meta-analysis and a Bayesian perspective on the results revealed overall support for two hypotheses, and a lack of support for three hypotheses. Overall, practically none of the variability in effect sizes was attributable to the skill of the research team in designing materials, while considerable variability was attributable to the hypothesis being tested. In a forecasting survey, predictions of other scientists were significantly correlated with study results, both across and within hypotheses. Crowdsourced testing of research hypotheses helps reveal the true consistency of empirical support for a scientific claim.</div
Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds
Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species
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