2,562 research outputs found
Swarm dynamics may give rise to LĂ©vy flights
âContinuous-time correlated random walksâ are now gaining traction as models of scale-finite animal movement patterns because they overcome inherent shortcomings with the prevailing paradigm - discrete random walk models. Continuous-time correlated random walk models are founded on the classic Langevin equation that is driven by purely additive noise. The Langevin equation is, however, changed fundamentally by the smallest of multiplicative noises. The inclusion of such noises gives rise to LĂ©vy flights, a popular but controversial model of scale-free movement patterns. Multiplicative noises have not featured prominently in the literature on biological LĂ©vy flights, being seen, perhaps, as no more than a mathematical contrivance. Here we show how Langevin equations driven by multiplicative noises and incumbent LĂ©vy flights arise naturally in the modelling of swarms. Model predictions find some support in three-dimensional, time-resolved measurements of the positions of individual insects in laboratory swarms of the midge Chironomus riparius. We hereby provide a new window on LĂ©vy flights as models of movement pattern data, linking patterns to generative processes
Quantifying stretching and rearrangement in epithelial sheet migration
Although understanding the collective migration of cells, such as that seen
in epithelial sheets, is essential for understanding diseases such as
metastatic cancer, this motion is not yet as well characterized as individual
cell migration. Here we adapt quantitative metrics used to characterize the
flow and deformation of soft matter to contrast different types of motion
within a migrating sheet of cells. Using a Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponent (FTLE)
analysis, we find that - in spite of large fluctuations - the flow field of an
epithelial cell sheet is not chaotic. Stretching of a sheet of cells (i.e.,
positive FTLE) is localized at the leading edge of migration. By decomposing
the motion of the cells into affine and non-affine components using the metric
D, we quantify local plastic rearrangements and describe the motion
of a group of cells in a novel way. We find an increase in plastic
rearrangements with increasing cell densities, whereas inanimate systems tend
to exhibit less non-affine rearrangements with increasing density.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures This is an author-created, un-copyedited version
of an article accepted for publication in the New Journal of Physics. IOP
Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version
of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is
available online at doi:10.1088/1367-2630/15/2/02503
Lagrangian Structure Functions in Turbulence: A Quantitative Comparison between Experiment and Direct Numerical Simulation
A detailed comparison between data from experimental measurements and
numerical simulations of Lagrangian velocity structure functions in turbulence
is presented. By integrating information from experiments and numerics, a
quantitative understanding of the velocity scaling properties over a wide range
of time scales and Reynolds numbers is achieved. The local scaling properties
of the Lagrangian velocity increments for the experimental and numerical data
are in good quantitative agreement for all time lags. The degree of
intermittency changes when measured close to the Kolmogorov time scales or at
larger time lags. This study resolves apparent disagreements between experiment
and numerics.Comment: 13 RevTeX pages (2 columns) + 8 figures include
Path lengths in turbulence
By tracking tracer particles at high speeds and for long times, we study the
geometric statistics of Lagrangian trajectories in an intensely turbulent
laboratory flow. In particular, we consider the distinction between the
displacement of particles from their initial positions and the total distance
they travel. The difference of these two quantities shows power-law scaling in
the inertial range. By comparing them with simulations of a chaotic but
non-turbulent flow and a Lagrangian Stochastic model, we suggest that our
results are a signature of turbulence.Comment: accepted for publication in Journal of Statistical Physic
Environmental Perturbations Induce Correlations in Midge Swarms
Although collectively behaving animal groups often show large-scale order (such as in bird ïŹocks), they need not always (such as in insect swarms). It has been suggested that the signature of collective behavior in disordered groups is a residual long-range correlation. However, results in the literature have reported contradictory results as to the presence of long-range correlation in insect swarms, with swarms in the wild displaying correlation but those in a controlled laboratory environment not. We resolve these apparently incompatible results by showing the external perturbations generically induce the emergence of correlations. We apply a range of diïŹerent external stimuli to laboratory swarms of the non-biting midge Chironomus riparius, and show that in all cases correlations appear when perturbations are introduced. We conïŹrm the generic nature of these results by showing that they can be reproduced in a stochastic model of swarms. Given that swarms in the wild will always have to contend with environmental stimuli, our results thus harmonize previous ïŹndings
Are midge swarms bound together by an effective velocity-dependent gravity?
Midge swarms are a canonical example of collective animal behaviour where local interactions do not clearly play a major role and yet the animals display group-level cohesion. The midges appear somewhat paradoxically to be tightly bound to the swarm whilst at the same time weakly coupled inside it. The microscopic origins of this behaviour have remained elusive. Models based on Newtonian gravity do, however, agree well with experimental observations of laboratory swarms. They are biologically plausible since gravitational interactions have similitude with long-range acoustic and visual interactions, and they correctly predict that individual attraction to the swarm centre increases linearly with distance from the swarm centre. Here we show that the observed kinematics implies that this attraction also increases with an individual's flight speed. We find clear evidence for such an attractive force in experimental data
Similarities between Insect Swarms and Isothermal Globular Clusters
Previous work has suggested that disordered swarms of ïŹying insects can be well modeled as selfgravitating systems, as long as the âgravitationalâ interaction is adaptive. Motivated by this work we compare the predictions of the classic, mean-ïŹeld King model for isothermal globular clusters to observations of insect swarms. Detailed numerical simulations of regular and adaptive gravity allow us to expose the features of the swarmsâ density and velocity proïŹles that are due to longrange interactions, and are captured by the King model phenomenology, and those that are due to adaptivity and short-range repulsion. Our results provide further support for adaptive gravity as a model for swarms
Does the Supreme Court Follow the Economic Returns? A Response to A Macrotheory of the Court
Today, there is a widespread idea that parents need to learn how to carry out their roles as parents. Practices of parental learning operate throughout society. This article deals with one particular practice of parental learning, namely nanny TV, and the way in which ideal parents are constructed through such programmes. The point of departure is SOS family, a series broadcast on Swedish television in 2008. Proceeding from the theorising of governmentality developed in the wake of the work of Michel Foucault, we analyse the parental ideals conveyed in the series, as an example of the way parents are constituted as subjects in the âadvanced liberal societyâ of today. The ideal parent is a subject who, guided by the coach, is constantly endeavouring to achieve a makeover. The objective of this endeavour, however, is self-control, whereby the parents will in the end become their own coaches.
Characterizing flows with an instrumented particle measuring Lagrangian accelerations
We present in this article a novel Lagrangian measurement technique: an
instrumented particle which continuously transmits the force/acceleration
acting on it as it is advected in a flow. We develop signal processing methods
to extract information on the flow from the acceleration signal transmitted by
the particle. Notably, we are able to characterize the force acting on the
particle and to identify the presence of a permanent large-scale vortex
structure. Our technique provides a fast, robust and efficient tool to
characterize flows, and it is particularly suited to obtain Lagrangian
statistics along long trajectories or in cases where optical measurement
techniques are not or hardly applicable.Comment: submitted to New Journal of Physic
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