Flow Structures Identification through Proper Orthogonal Decomposition: The Flow around Two Distinct Cylinders

Numerical simulations of fluid flows can produce a huge amount of data and inadvertently important flow structures can be ignored, if a thorough analysis is not performed. The identification of these flow structures, mainly in transient situations, is a complex task, since such structures change in time and can move along the domain. With the decomposition of the entire data set into smaller sets, important structures present in the main flow and structures with periodic behaviour, like vortices, can be identified. Therefore, through the analysis of the frequency of each of these components and using a smaller number of components, we show that the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition can be used not only to reduce the amount of significant data, but also to obtain a better and global understanding of the flow (through the analysis of specific modes). In this work, the von Kármán vortex street is decomposed into a generator base and analysed through the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition for the 2D flow around a cylinder and the 2D flow around two cylinders with different radii. We consider a Newtonian fluid and two non-Newtonian power-law fluids, with n=0.7 and n=1.3. Grouping specific modes, a reconstruction is made, allowing the identification of complex structures that otherwise would be impossible to identify using simple post-processing of the fluid flow.

Delay-Induced Periodic Behaviour in Competitive Populations

We study a model of binary decisions in a fully connected network of interacting agents. Individual decisions are determined by social influence, coming from direct interactions with neighbours, and a group level pressure that accounts for social environment. In a competitive environment, the interplay of these two aspects results in the presence of a persistent disordered phase where no majority is formed. We show how the introduction of a delay mechanism in the agent’s detection of the global average choice may drastically change this scenario, giving rise to a coordinated self sustained periodic behaviour.

One-dimensional dynamical systems

The survey is devoted to the topological dynamics of maps defined on one-dimensional continua such as a closed interval, a circle, finite graphs (for instance, finite trees), or dendrites (locally connected continua without subsets homeomorphic to a circle). Connections between the periodic behaviour of trajectories, the existence of a horseshoe and homoclinic trajectories, and the positivity of topological entropy are investigated. Necessary and sufficient conditions for entropy chaos in continuous maps of an interval, a circle, or a finite graph, and sufficient conditions for entropy chaos in continuous maps of dendrites are presented. Reasons for similarities and differences between the properties of maps defined on the continua under consideration are analyzed. Extensions of Sharkovsky’s theorem to certain discontinuous maps of a line or an interval and continuous maps on a plane are considered. Bibliography: 207 titles.

Transition to Periodic Behaviour of Flow Past a Circular Cylinder under the Action of Fluidic Actuation in the Transitional Regime

This study focuses on the numerical investigation of the underlying mechanism of transition from chaotic to periodic dynamics of circular cylinder wake under the action of time-dependent fluidic actuation at the Reynolds number = 2000. The forcing is realized by blowing and suction from the slits located at ±90∘ on the top and bottom surfaces of the cylinder. The inverse period-doubling cascade is the underlying physical mechanism underpinning the wake transition from mild chaos to perfectly periodic dynamics in the spanwise-independent, time-dependent forcing at twice the natural vortex-shedding frequency.

Role of body temperature variations in bat immune response to viral infections

The ability of bats to coexist with viruses without being harmed is an interesting issue that is still under investigation. Here we use a mathematical model to show that the pattern of body temperature variations observed in bats between day and night is responsible for their ability to keep viruses in check. From the dynamical systems point of view, our model displays an intriguing quasi-periodic behaviour that might be relevant in making the system robust by avoiding viral escape due to perturbations in the body temperature cycle.

Dipper-like variability of the Gaia alerted young star V555 Ori

ABSTRACT V555 Ori is a T Tauri star, whose 1.5 mag brightening was published as a Gaia science alert in 2017. We carried out optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometric, and optical spectroscopic observations to understand the light variations. The light curves show that V555 Ori was faint before 2017, entered a high state for about a year, and returned to the faint state by mid-2018. In addition to the long-term flux evolution, quasi-periodic brightness oscillations were also evident, with a period of about 5 d. At optical wavelengths both the long-term and short-term variations exhibited colourless changes, while in the NIR they were consistent with changing extinction. We explain the brightness variations as the consequence of changing extinction. The object has a low accretion rate whose variation in itself would not be enough to reproduce the optical flux changes. This behaviour makes V555 Ori similar to the pre-main sequence star AA Tau, where the light changes are interpreted as periodic eclipses of the star by a rotating inner disc warp. The brightness maximum of V555 Ori was a moderately obscured (AV = 2.3 mag) state, while the extinction in the low state was AV = 6.4 mag. We found that while the Gaia alert hinted at an accretion burst, V555 Ori is a standard dipper, similar to the prototype AA Tau. However, unlike in AA Tau, the periodic behaviour was also detectable in the faint phase, implying that the inner disc warp remained stable in both the high and low states of the system.

A Two-parameter Family of Exponentially-fitted Obrechkoff Methods for Second-order Boundary Value Problems

Generally, classical numerical methods may not be well suited for problems with oscillatory or periodic behaviour. To overcome this deficiency, they are modified using a technique called exponential fittings. The modification makes it possible to construct new methods suitable for the efficient integration of oscillatory or periodic problems from classical ones.In this work, a two--parameter family of exponentially--fitted Obrechkoff methods for approaching problems that exhibit oscillatory or periodic behaviour is constructed. The construction is based on a six-step flowchart described in [13]. Unlike the single--frequency method in [21], the constructed methods depend upon two frequencies which can be tuned to solve the problem at hand more accurately. The leading term of the local truncation error of the new family of method can also be easily obtained from the given general expression. The efficiency of the new methods is demonstrated on some numerical examples. This work is related to [20,21] and provides extension to the results obtained in [21]

Possible periodic activity in the repeating FRB 121102

ABSTRACT The discovery that at least some Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) repeat has ruled out cataclysmic events as the progenitors of these particular bursts. FRB 121102 is the most well-studied repeating FRB but despite extensive monitoring of the source, no underlying pattern in the repetition has previously been identified. Here, we present the results from a radio monitoring campaign of FRB 121102 using the 76 m Lovell telescope. Using the pulses detected in the Lovell data along with pulses from the literature, we report a detection of periodic behaviour of the source over the span of 5 yr of data. We predict that the source is currently ‘off’ and that it should turn ‘on’ for the approximate MJD range 59002−59089 (2020 June 2 to 2020 August 28). This result, along with the recent detection of periodicity from another repeating FRB, highlights the need for long-term monitoring of repeating FRBs at a high cadence. Using simulations, we show that one needs at least 100 h of telescope time to follow-up repeating FRBs at a cadence of 0.5–3 d to detect periodicities in the range of 10–150 d. If the period is real, it shows that repeating FRBs can have a large range in their activity periods that might be difficult to reconcile with neutron star precession models.

Spikey: self-lensing flares from eccentric SMBH binaries

ABSTRACT We examine the light curves of two quasars, motivated by recent suggestions that a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) can exhibit sharp lensing spikes. We model the variability of each light curve as due to a combination of two relativistic effects: the orbital relativistic Doppler boost and gravitational binary self-lensing. In order to model each system, we extend previous Doppler plus self-lensing models to include eccentricity. The first quasar is identified in optical data as a binary candidate with a 20-yr period (Ark 120), and shows a prominent spike. For this source, we rule out the lensing hypothesis and disfavour the Doppler-boost hypothesis due to discrepancies in the measured versus recovered values of the binary mass and optical spectral slope. The second source, which we nickname Spikey, is the rare case of an active galactic nucleus identified in Kepler’s high-quality, high-cadence photometric data. For this source, we find a model, consisting of a combination of Doppler modulation and a narrow symmetric lensing spike, consistent with an eccentric SMBHB with a mass of $M_{\text{tot}} = 3\times 10^{7} {\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }}$, rest-frame orbital period T = 418 d, eccentricity e = 0.5, and seen at an inclination of 8○ from edge-on. This interpretation can be tested by monitoring Spikey for periodic behaviour and recurring flares in the next few years. In preparation for such monitoring, we present the first X-ray observations of this object taken by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.