Turbulence and Particle Acceleration in a Relativistic Plasma

In a collisionless plasma, the energy distribution function of plasma particles can be strongly affected by turbulence. In particular, it can develop a nonthermal power-law tail at high energies. We argue that turbulence with initially relativistically strong magnetic perturbations (magnetization parameter σ ≫ 1) quickly evolves into a state with ultrarelativistic plasma temperature but mildly relativistic turbulent fluctuations. We present a phenomenological and numerical study suggesting that in this case, the exponent α in the power-law particle-energy distribution function, f(γ)d γ ∝ γ −α d γ, depends on magnetic compressibility of turbulence. Our analytic prediction for the scaling exponent α is in good agreement with the numerical results.

Energy transport in Z3 chiral clock model

We characterize the energy transport in a one dimensional Z3 chiral clock model. The model generalizes the Z2 symmetric transverse field Ising model (TFIM). The model is parametrized by a chirality parameter Θ, in addition to f and J which are analogous to the transverse field and the nearest neighbour spin coupling in the TFIM. Unlike the well studied TFIM and XYZ models, does not transform to a fermionic system. We use a matrix product states implementation of the Lindblad master equation to obtain the non-equilibrium steady state (NESS) in systems of sizes up to 48. We present the estimated NESS current and its scaling exponent γ as a function of Θ at different f/J. The estimated γ(f/J,Θ) point to a ballistic energy transport along a line of integrable points f=Jcos{3Θ} in the parameter space; all other points deviate from ballistic transport. Analysis of finite size effects within the available system sizes suggest a diffusive behavior away from the integrable points.

Critical behavior in the artificial axon

The Artificial Axon is a unique synthetic system, based on biomolecular components, which supports action potentials. Here we examine, experimentally and theoretically, the properties of the threshold for firing in this system. As in real neurons, this threshold corresponds to the critical point of a saddle-node bifurcation. We measure the delay time for firing as a function of the distance to threshold, recovering the expected scaling exponent of −1/2. We introduce a minimal model of the Morris-Lecar type, validate it on the experiments, and use it to extend analytical results obtained in the limit of ”fast” ion channel dynamics. In particular, we discuss the dependence of the firing threshold on the number of channels. The Artificial Axon is a simplified system, an Ur-neuron, relying on only one ion channel species for functioning. Nonetheless, universal properties such as the action potential behavior near threshold are the same as in real neurons. Thus we may think of the Artificial Axon as a cell-free breadboard for electrophysiology research.

High-frequency observation during sand and dust storms at the Qingtu Lake Observatory

Partially due to global climate change, sand and dust storms (SDSs) have occurred more and more frequently, yet a detailed measurement of SDS events at different heights is still lacking. Here we provide a high-frequency observation from the Qingtu Lake Observation Array (QLOA), China. The wind and dust information were measured simultaneously at different wall-normal heights during the SDS process. The datasets span the period from 17 March to 9 June 2016. The wind speed and direction are recorded by a sonic anemometer with a sampling frequency of 50 Hz, while particulate matter with a diameter of 10 µm or less (PM10) is sampled simultaneously by a dust monitor with a sampling frequency of 1 Hz. The wall-normal array had 11 sonic anemometers and monitors spaced logarithmically from z=0.9 to 30 m, where the spacing is about 2 m between the sonic anemometer and dust monitor at the same height. Based on its nonstationary feature, an SDS event can be divided into three stages, i.e., ascending, stabilizing and descending stages, in which the dynamic mechanism of the wind and dust fields might be different. This is preliminarily characterized by the classical Fourier power analysis. Temporal evolution of the scaling exponent from Fourier power analysis suggests a value slightly below the classical Kolmogorov value of -5/3 for the three-dimensional homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. During the stabilizing stage, the collected PM10 shows a very intermittent pattern, which can be further linked with the burst events in the turbulent atmospheric boundary layer. This dataset is valuable for a better understanding of SDS dynamics and is publicly available in a Zenodo repository at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5034196 (Li et al., 2021a).

Kinetic Simulations of in-situ Diffracted Intensities During Pulsed Laser Deposition of LuFeO3: Effect of Pulse Laser Frequency

Atomistic processes during pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) growth influence the physical properties of the resulting films. We investigated the PLD of epitaxial layers of hexagonal LuFeO3 by measuring the x-ray diffraction intensity in the quasiforbidden reflection 0003 in situ during deposition. From measured x-ray diffraction intensities we determined coverages of each layer and studied their time evolution which is described by scaling exponent β directly connected to the surface roughness. Subsequently we modelled the growth using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. While the experimentally obtained scaling exponent β decreases with the laser frequency, the simulations provided the opposite behaviour. We demonstrate that the increase of the surface temperature caused by impinging ablated particles satisfactorily explains the recorded decrease in the scaling exponent with the laser frequency. This phenomena is often overlooked during the PLD growth.

Does instructing attentional focus direction affect static single leg balance performance?

Balance and postural control exercises are generally included as a part of exercise programs, during which movement practitioners can provide instructions to facilitate the performance of motor skills. Instructions can be used as cues to direct attentional focus, which has been found to affect the performance of motor skills, including balance and postural control tasks. However, no known studies to date have investigated the effect of both internal and external attentional focus instructions on static single leg balance performance, and it seems unclear whether effects of such instructions are related specifically to the direction of attention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of instructing the direction of attentional focus on single leg static balance performance as reflected by the complexity of the center of pressure (COP) profile. Participants (N = 46) between the ages of 19–28 years old were randomly assigned to one of three group conditions: internal focus (INTn=15), external focus (EXTn=16) and control (CONn=15). Participants performed a thirty-five second static single leg balance task. Outcome measures were the scaling exponent determined from a detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to infer complexity of the COP profile in the anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions, and root mean square error (RMSE) of the COP profile in AP and ML directions. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined there were no statistically significant differences in the measured variables among groups. The results do not support the claim that manipulating the direction of attentional focus affects static single leg balance performance.

The comparative energetics of the turtles and crocodiles

The Add-my-Pet (AmP) collection of data on energetics and Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) parameters currently contains 92 species of turtles and 23 species of crocodiles. We discuss patterns of eco-physiological traits of turtles and crocodiles, as functions of parameter values, and compare them with other taxa. Turtles and crocodiles accurately match the general rule that the life-time cumulated neonate mass production equals ultimate weight. The weight at birth for reptiles scales with ultimate weight to the power 0.6. The scaling exponent is between that of amphibians and birds, while that for mammals is close to 1. We explain why this points to limitations imposed by embryonic respiration, the role of water stress and the accumulation of nitrogen waste during the embryo stage. Weight at puberty is proportional to ultimate weight, and is the largest for crocodiles, followed by that of turtles. These facts explain why the precociality coefficient – approximated by the ratio of weight at birth and weight at puberty at abundant food – decreases with ultimate weight. It is the smallest for crocodile,s because of their large size, while that lizards and snakes are much larger than for turtles. The maximum reserve capacity in both turtles and crocodiles clearly decreases with the precociality coefficient. This relationship has not be found that clearly in other taxa, not even in other reptiles. Crocodiles have a relatively large assimilation rate and, as consequence, a large reserve capacity. Sea-turtles have a small weight and age at birth, which we link to reducing risks on the beach.

Turbulence: Vertical Shear of the Horizontal Wind, Jet Streams, Symmetry Breaking, Scale Invariance and Gibbs Free Energy

The increase of the vertical scaling exponent of the horizontal wind Hv(s) with altitude from the surface of the Pacific Ocean to 13 km altitude, as observed by GPS dropsondes, is investigated. An explanation is offered in terms of the decrease of gravitational force and decrease of quenching efficiency of excited photofragments from ozone photodissociation with increasing altitude (decreasing pressure). Turbulent scaling is examined in both the vertical from dropsondes and horizontal from aircraft observations; the scaling exponents H for both wind speed and temperature in both coordinates are positively correlated with traditional measures of jet stream strength. Interpretation of the results indicates that persistence of molecular velocity after collision induces symmetry breaking emergence of hydrodynamic flow via the mechanism first modelled by Alder and Wainwright, enabled by the Gibbs free energy carried by the highest speed molecules. It is suggested that the combined effects have the potential to address the cold bias in numerical models of the global atmosphere.

Experimental observation of the geostrophic turbulence regime of rapidly rotating convection

The competition between turbulent convection and global rotation in planetary and stellar interiors governs the transport of heat and tracers, as well as magnetic field generation. These objects operate in dynamical regimes ranging from weakly rotating convection to the “geostrophic turbulence” regime of rapidly rotating convection. However, the latter regime has remained elusive in the laboratory, despite a worldwide effort to design ever-taller rotating convection cells over the last decade. Building on a recent experimental approach where convection is driven radiatively, we report heat transport measurements in quantitative agreement with this scaling regime, the experimental scaling law being validated against direct numerical simulations (DNS) of the idealized setup. The scaling exponent from both experiments and DNS agrees well with the geostrophic turbulence prediction. The prefactor of the scaling law is greater than the one diagnosed in previous idealized numerical studies, pointing to an unexpected sensitivity of the heat transport efficiency to the precise distribution of heat sources and sinks, which greatly varies from planets to stars.

Generalized Counting Processes in a Stochastic Environment

This paper addresses the generalization of counting processes through the age formalism of Lévy Walks. Simple counting processes are introduced and their properties are analyzed: Poisson processes or fractional Poisson processes can be recovered as particular cases. The stationarity assumption in the renewal mechanism characterizing simple counting processes can be modified in different ways, leading to the definition of generalized counting processes. In the case that the transition mechanism of a counting process depends on the environmental conditions—i.e., the parameters describing the occurrence of new events are themselves stochastic processes—the counting processes is said to be influenced by environmental stochasticity. The properties of this class of processes are analyzed, providing several examples and applications and showing the occurrence of new phenomena related to the modulation of the long-term scaling exponent by environmental noise.