Spatio-temporal dynamics induced by competing instabilities in two asymmetrically coupled nonlinear evolution equations

Pattern formation often occurs in spatially extended physical, biological and chemical systems due to an instability of the homogeneous steady state. The type of the instability usually prescribes the resulting spatio-temporal patterns and their characteristic length scales. However, patterns resulting from the simultaneous occurrence of instabilities cannot be expected to be simple superposition of the patterns associated with the considered instabilities. To address this issue we design two simple models composed by two asymmetrically coupled equations of non-conserved (Swift-Hohenberg equations) or conserved (Cahn-Hilliard equations) order parameters with different characteristic wave lengths. The patterns arising in these systems range from coexisting static patterns of different wavelengths to traveling waves. A linear stability analysis allows to derive a two parameter phase diagram for the studied models, in particular revealing for the Swift-Hohenberg equations a co-dimension two bifurcation point of Turing and wave instability and a region of coexistence of stationary and traveling patterns. The nonlinear dynamics of the coupled evolution equations is investigated by performing accurate numerical simulations. These reveal more complex patterns, ranging from traveling waves with embedded Turing patterns domains to spatio-temporal chaos, and a wide hysteretic region, where waves or Turing patterns coexist. For the coupled Cahn-Hilliard equations the presence of an weak coupling is sufficient to arrest the coarsening process and to lead to the emergence of purely periodic patterns. The final states are characterized by domains with a characteristic length, which diverges logarithmically with the coupling amplitude.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Chao

Ringtail Disorder observed in Cotton Rats (Sigmodon hispidus)

This is the first description of ringtail syndrome in cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus). The disorder was sporadically observed in a laboratory reared breeding colony. Incidence of tail lesions decreased after standardization of environmental humidityin the laboratory animal facility

Many-body effects on Cr(001) surfaces: An LDA+DMFT study

The electronic structure of the Cr(001) surface with its sharp resonance at the Fermi level is a subject of controversial debate of many experimental and theoretical works. To date, it is unclear whether the origin of this resonance is an orbital Kondo or an electron-phonon coupling effect. We have combined ab initio density functional calculations with dynamical mean-field simulations to calculate the orbitally resolved spectral function of the Cr(001) surface. The calculated orbital character and shape of the spectrum is in agreement with data from (inverse) photoemission experiments. We find that dynamic electron correlations crucially influence the surface electronic structure and lead to a low energy resonance in the $d_{z^2}$ and $d_{xz/yz}$ orbitals. Our results help to reconvene controversial experimental results from (I)PES and STM measurements.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Many-body localization phase in a spin-driven chiral multiferroic chain

Many-body localization (MBL) is an emergent phase in correlated quantum systems with promising applications, particularly in quantum information. Here, we unveil the existence and analyze this phase in a chiral multiferroic model system. Conventionally, MBL occurrence is traced via level statistics by implementing a standard finite-size scaling procedure. Here, we present an approach based on the full distribution of the ratio of adjacent energy spacings. We find a strong broadening of the histograms of counts of these level spacings directly at the transition point from MBL to the ergodic phase. The broadening signals reliably the transition point without relying on an averaging procedure. The fast convergence of the histograms even for relatively small systems allows monitoring the MBL dynamics with much less computational effort. Numerical results are presented for a chiral spin chain with a dynamical Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, an established model to describe the spin excitations in a single-phase spin-driven multiferroic system. The multiferroic MBL phase is uncovered and it is shown how to steer it via electric fields

The Impact of TikTok Policies on Information Flows during Times of War: Evidence of ‘Splinternet’ and ‘Shadow-Promotion’ in Russia

This research discusses how TikTok’s adaptation to Russian war censorship laws after the invasion of Ukraine affected content accessibility and prioritization on the platform. The study uses a combination of scraping and sock-puppet algorithmic audits to understand the impact of platform policy on information flows during times of war. The first test found that TikTok restricted access to non-Russian content in Russia, resulting in a 95% reduction of available content in the country. The second test revealed that TikTok unevenly applied its content policies, allowing pro-war content to proliferate in Russia despite its claim of enforcing a ban on new content uploads in the country. The third test highlighted a case of “shadow-promotion,” i.e., the prioritization of content supposed to be banned. The study's findings emphasize the need to monitor the platform's policy decisions during times of conflict, as they can contribute to the creation of a 'Splinternet.' The study also underscores the significant power that social media companies wield in shaping information flows during times of war and highlights the need to closely monitor platform policy decisions during such times. The article also provides recommendations for implementing the DSA in the EU context, which could help avoid problems such as those encountered while monitoring the platform in Russia

Entanglement dynamics of two nitrogen vacancy centers coupled by a nanomechanical resonator

In this paper we study the time evolution of the entanglement between two remote NV Centers (nitrogen vacancy in diamond) connected by a dual-mode nanomechanical resonator with magnetic tips on both sides. Calculating the negativity as a measure for the entanglement, we find that the entanglement between two spins oscillates with time and can be manipulated by varying the parameters of the system. We observed the phenomenon of a sudden death and the periodic revivals of entanglement in time. For the study of quantum decoherence, we implement a Lindblad master equation. In spite of its complexity, the model is analytically solvable under fairly reasonable assumptions, and shows that the decoherence influences the entanglement, the sudden death, and the revivals in time

Functional characterization of polysaccharide utilization loci in the marine Bacteroidetes 'Gramella forsetii' KT0803

Members of the phylum Bacteroidetes are abundant in many marine ecosystems and are known to have a pivotal role in the mineralization of complex organic substrates such as polysaccharides and proteins. We studied the decomposition of the algal glycans laminarin and alginate by 'Gramella forsetii' KT0803, a bacteroidetal isolate from North Sea surface waters. A combined application of isotope labeling, subcellular protein fractionation and quantitative proteomics revealed two large polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) that were specifically induced, one by alginate and the other by laminarin. These regulons comprised genes of surface-exposed proteins such as oligomer transporters, substrate-binding proteins, carbohydrate-active enzymes and hypothetical proteins. Besides, several glycan-specific TonB-dependent receptors and SusD-like substrate-binding proteins were expressed also in the absence of polysaccharide substrates, suggesting an anticipatory sensing function. Genes for the utilization of the beta-1,3-glucan laminarin were found to be co-regulated with genes for glucose and alpha-1,4-glucan utilization, which was not the case for the non-glucan alginate. Strong syntenies of the PULs of 'G. forsetii' with similar loci in other Bacteroidetes indicate that the specific response mechanisms of 'G. forsetii' to changes in polysaccharide availability likely apply to other Bacteroidetes. Our results can thus contribute to an improved understanding of the ecological niches of marine Bacteroidetes and their roles in the polysaccharide decomposition part of carbon cycling in marine ecosystems

From chaos to many-body localization: some introductory notes

Staring from the kicked rotator as a paradigm for a system exhibiting classical chaos, we discuss the role of quantum coherence resulting in dynamical localization in the kicked quantum rotator. In this context, the disorder-induced Anderson localization is also discussed. Localization in interacting, quantum many-body systems (many-body localization) may also occur in the absence of disorder, and a practical way to identify its occurrence is demonstrated for an interacting spin chain