Mechanisms of interpersonal sway synchrony and stability

Here we explain the neural and mechanical mechanisms responsible for synchronizing sway and improving postural control during physical contact with another standing person. Postural control processes were modelled using an inverted pendulum under continuous feedback control. Interpersonal interactions were simulated either by coupling the sensory feedback loops or by physically coupling the pendulums with a damped spring. These simulations precisely recreated the timing and magnitude of sway interactions observed empirically. Effects of firmly grasping another person's shoulder were explained entirely by the mechanical linkage. This contrasted with light touch and/or visual contact, which were explained by a sensory weighting phenomenon; each person's estimate of upright was based on a weighted combination of veridical sensory feedback combined with a small contribution from their partner. Under these circumstances, the model predicted reductions in sway even without the need to distinguish between self and partner motion. Our findings explain the seemingly paradoxical observation that touching a swaying person can improve postural control.This work was supported by two BBSRC grants (BB/100579X/1 and an Industry Interchange Award)

X-ray Line Diagnostics of Hot Accretion Flows around Black Holes

We compute X-ray emission lines from thermal plasma in hot accretion flows. We show that line profiles are strong probes of the gas dynamics, and we present line-ratio diagnostics which are sensitive to the distribution of mass with temperature in the flow. We show how these can be used to constrain the run of density with radius, and the size of the hot region. We also present diagnostics which are primarily sensitive to the importance of recombination versus collisional ionization, and which could help discriminate ADAFs from photoionization-dominated accretion disk coronae. We apply our results to the Galactic center source Sagittarius A* and to the nucleus of M87. We find that the brightest predicted lines are within the detection capability of current $X$-ray instruments.Comment: 16 pages, 1 table, 9 figures, accepted to Ap

Sway-dependent changes in standing ankle stiffness caused by muscle thixotropy

KEY POINTS: The passive stiffness of the calf muscles contributes to standing balance, although the properties of muscle tissue are highly labile. We investigated the effect of sway history upon intrinsic ankle stiffness and demonstrated reductions in stiffness of up to 43% during conditions of increased baseline sway. This sway dependence was most apparent when using low amplitude stiffness‐measuring perturbations, and the short‐range stiffness component was smaller during periods of high sway. These characteristics are consistent with the thixotropic properties of the calf muscles causing the observed changes in ankle stiffness. Periods of increased sway impair the passive stabilization of standing, demanding more active neural control of balance. ABSTRACT: Quiet standing is achieved through a combination of active and passive mechanisms, consisting of neural control and intrinsic mechanical stiffness of the ankle joint, respectively. The mechanical stiffness is partly determined by the calf muscles. However, the viscoelastic properties of muscle are highly labile, exhibiting a strong dependence on movement history. By measuring the effect of sway history upon ankle stiffness, the present study determines whether this lability has consequences for the passive stabilization of human standing. Ten subjects stood quietly on a rotating platform whose axis was collinear with the ankle joint. Ankle sway was increased by slowly tilting this platform in a random fashion, or decreased by fixing the body to a board. Ankle stiffness was measured by using the same platform to simultaneously apply small, brief perturbations (<0.6 deg; 140 ms) at the same time as the resulting torque response was recorded. The results show that increasing sway reduces ankle stiffness by up to 43% compared to the body‐fixed condition. Normal quiet stance was associated with intermediate values. The effect was most apparent when using smaller perturbation amplitudes to measure stiffness (0.1 vs. 0.6 deg). Furthermore, torque responses exhibited a biphasic pattern, consisting of an initial steep rise followed by a shallower increase. This transition occurred earlier during increased levels of ankle sway. These results are consistent with a movement‐dependent change in passive ankle stiffness caused by thixotropic properties of the calf muscle. The consequence is to place increased reliance upon active neural control during times when increased sway renders ankle stiffness low

The gas density around SN 1006

The density of the ambient medium where the supernova remnant evolves is a relevant parameter for its hydrodynamical evolution, for the mechanism of particle acceleration, and for the emission at TeV energies. Using XMM-Newton X-ray observations, we present a study of the ambient medium density of the historical supernova remnant SN 1006. We modelled the post-shock thermal emission to constrain the ambient medium density. Our study is focused on the North-West and the South-East rims of the remnant, where the thermal emission dominates. We used a plane-parallel shock plasma model plus another component for the ejecta that are not negligible in the regions of our study. The importance of the synchrotron component is also studied. In order to improve statistics, we combined several observations of the remnant. The density found in the South-East rim is low, roughly 0.05 cm-3, and seems to be representative of the rest of the remnant. However, in the North-West rim (close to the bright optical filament), the density is significantly higher (about 0.15-0.25 cm-3). This confirms a picture of SN 1006 evolving in a tenuous ambient medium, except in the North-West where the remnant has recently encountered a denser region. A density this low is compatible with the non-detection of the remnant by the HESS gamma-ray observatory. The lower density in the South-East implies a higher shock speed of 4900 km/s, higher than that of 2890 km/s measured in the North-West. This new estimate of the velocity could increase the maximum energy that accelerated particles can reach to energies of about 1 PeV.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, Figure 3 correcte

FUSE Observations of a Full Orbit of Hercules X-1: Signatures of Disk, Star, and Wind

We observed an entire 1.7 day orbit of the X-ray binary Hercules X-1 with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Changes in the O VI 1032,1037 line profiles through eclipse ingress and egress indicate a Keplerian accretion disk spinning prograde with the orbit. These observations may show the first double-peaked accretion disk line profile to be seen in the Hercules X-1 system. Doppler tomograms of the emission lines show a bright spot offset from the Roche lobe of the companion star HZ Her, but no obvious signs of the accretion disk. Simulations show that the bright spot is too far offset from the Roche lobe to result from uneven X-ray heating of its surface. The absence of disk signatures in the tomogram can be reproduced in simulations which include absorption from a stellar wind. We attempt to diagnose the state of the emitting gas from the C III 977, C III 1175, and N III 991 emission lines. The latter may be enhanced through Bowen fluorescence.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

The Structure and X-ray Recombination Emission of a Centrally Illuminated Accretion Disk Atmosphere and Corona

We model an accretion disk atmosphere and corona photoionized by a central X-ray continuum source. We calculate the opacity and radiation transfer for an array of disk radii, to obtain the two-dimensional structure of the disk and its X-ray recombination emission. The atmospheric structure is insensitive to the viscosity alpha. We find a feedback mechanism between the disk structure and the central illumination, which expands the disk and increases the solid angle subtended by the atmosphere. We model the disk of a neutron star X-ray binary. We map the temperature, density, and ionization structure of the disk, and we simulate the high resolution spectra observable with the Chandra and XMM-Newton grating spectrometers. The X-ray emission lines from the disk atmosphere are detectable, especially for high-inclination binary systems. The grating observations of two classes of X-ray binaries already reveal important spectral similarities with our models. The line spectrum is very sensitive to the structure of each atmospheric layer, and it probes the heating mechanisms in the disk. The model spectrum is dominated by double-peaked lines of H-like and He-like ions, plus weak Fe L. Species with a broad range of ionization levels coexist at each radius: from Fe XXVI in the hot corona, to C VI at the base of the atmosphere. The choice of stable solutions affects the spectrum, since a thermal instability is present in the regime where the X-ray recombination emission is most intense.Comment: 32 pages, incl. 26 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Continuous, Semi-discrete, and Fully Discretized Navier-Stokes Equations

The Navier--Stokes equations are commonly used to model and to simulate flow phenomena. We introduce the basic equations and discuss the standard methods for the spatial and temporal discretization. We analyse the semi-discrete equations -- a semi-explicit nonlinear DAE -- in terms of the strangeness index and quantify the numerical difficulties in the fully discrete schemes, that are induced by the strangeness of the system. By analyzing the Kronecker index of the difference-algebraic equations, that represent commonly and successfully used time stepping schemes for the Navier--Stokes equations, we show that those time-integration schemes factually remove the strangeness. The theoretical considerations are backed and illustrated by numerical examples.Comment: 28 pages, 2 figure, code available under DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.998909, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.99890

Rebuttal from Raymond Reynolds, Callum Osler, Linda Tersteeg and Ian Loram.

This work was supported by BBSRC grant BB/I00579X/