Spontaneous collective motion, as in some flocks of bird and schools of fish, is an example of an emergent phenomenon. Such phenomena are at present of great interest and physicists have put forward ...a number of theoretical results that so far lack experimental verification. In animal behaviour studies, large-scale data collection is now technologically possible, but data are still scarce and arise from observations rather than controlled experiments. Multicellular biological systems, such as bacterial colonies or tissues, allow more control, but may have many hidden variables and interactions, hindering proper tests of theoretical ideas. However, in systems on the subcellular scale such tests may be possible, particularly in in vitro experiments with only few purified components. Motility assays, in which protein filaments are driven by molecular motors grafted to a substrate in the presence of ATP, can show collective motion for high densities of motors and attached filaments. This was demonstrated recently for the actomyosin system, but a complete understanding of the mechanisms at work is still lacking. Here we report experiments in which microtubules are propelled by surface-bound dyneins. In this system it is possible to study the local interaction: we find that colliding microtubules align with each other with high probability. At high densities, this alignment results in self-organization of the microtubules, which are on average 15 µm long, into vortices with diameters of around 400 µm. Inside the vortices, the microtubules circulate both clockwise and anticlockwise. On longer timescales, the vortices form a lattice structure. The emergence of these structures, as verified by a mathematical model, is the result of the smooth, reptation-like motion of single microtubules in combination with local interactions (the nematic alignment due to collisions)--there is no need for long-range interactions. Apart from its potential relevance to cortical arrays in plant cells and other biological situations, our study provides evidence for the existence of previously unsuspected universality classes of collective motion phenomena.
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DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We show that memory, in the form of underdamped angular dynamics, is a crucial ingredient for the collective properties of self-propelled particles. Using Vicsek-style models with an ...Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process acting on angular velocity, we uncover a rich variety of collective phases not observed in usual overdamped systems, including vortex lattices and active foams. In a model with strictly nematic interactions the smectic arrangement of Vicsek waves giving rise to global polar order is observed. We also provide a calculation of the effective interaction between vortices in the case where a telegraphic noise process is at play, explaining thus the emergence and structure of the vortex lattices observed here and in motility assay experiments.
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CMK, CTK, FMFMET, IJS, NUK, PNG, UM
Temporal variations in the amount of radionuclides released into the atmosphere during the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FNPS1) accident and their atmospheric and marine dispersion are ...essential to evaluate the environmental impacts and resultant radiological doses to the public. In this paper, we estimate the detailed atmospheric releases during the accident using a reverse estimation method which calculates the release rates of radionuclides by comparing measurements of air concentration of a radionuclide or its dose rate in the environment with the ones calculated by atmospheric and oceanic transport, dispersion and deposition models. The atmospheric and oceanic models used are WSPEEDI-II (Worldwide version of System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information) and SEA-GEARN-FDM (Finite difference oceanic dispersion model), both developed by the authors. A sophisticated deposition scheme, which deals with dry and fog-water depositions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation, and subsequent wet scavenging due to mixed-phase cloud microphysics (in-cloud scavenging) for radioactive iodine gas (I2 and CH3I) and other particles (CsI, Cs, and Te), was incorporated into WSPEEDI-II to improve the surface deposition calculations. The results revealed that the major releases of radionuclides due to the FNPS1 accident occurred in the following periods during March 2011: the afternoon of 12 March due to the wet venting and hydrogen explosion at Unit 1, midnight of 14 March when the SRV (safety relief valve) was opened three times at Unit 2, the morning and night of 15 March, and the morning of 16 March. According to the simulation results, the highest radioactive contamination areas around FNPS1 were created from 15 to 16 March by complicated interactions among rainfall, plume movements, and the temporal variation of release rates. The simulation by WSPEEDI-II using the new source term reproduced the local and regional patterns of cumulative surface deposition of total 131I and 137Cs and air dose rate obtained by airborne surveys. The new source term was also tested using three atmospheric dispersion models (Modèle Lagrangien de Dispersion de Particules d'ordre zéro: MLDP0, Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model: HYSPLIT, and Met Office's Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment: NAME) for regional and global calculations, and the calculated results showed good agreement with observed air concentration and surface deposition of 137Cs in eastern Japan.
A sprayable fast-responding pressure-sensitive paint (fast-PSP) has been developed to measure time-resolved small pressure fluctuation on model surfaces. To realize PSP with fast response, high ...robustness, and high luminescence intensity, we have developed a novel ruthenium complex-based fast-PSP. The binder layers of the proposed fast-PSP were prepared by mixing room-temperature-vulcanizing silicone (silicone) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles with different sizes and their effects on the properties including the time response, pressure sensitivity, and luminescence intensity were investigated. The effects of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface treatments of TiO2 particle on the structure and mechanical robustness of the binder layer were also studied. The developed fast-PSP was applied to the flow field measurements behind a square cylinder and was evaluated. We have succeeded in obtaining time-series data of pressure fluctuation with high accuracy even at a mean velocity of 20 m s−1.
We present observations using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array of the CO(2−1), HCN(3−2), and HCO+(3−2) lines in the nearby radio galaxy/brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) NGC 1275 with a ...spatial resolution of ∼20 pc. In previous observations, the CO(2−1) emission was detected as radial filaments lying in the east-west direction on a kiloparsec scale. We resolved the inner filament and found that it cannot be represented by a simple infalling stream on a sub-kiloparsec scale. The observed complex nature of the filament resembles the cold gas structure predicted by numerical simulations of cold chaotic accretion. Within the central 100 pc, we detected a rotational disk of molecular gas whose mass is ∼108 M . This is the first evidence of the presence of a massive cold gas disk on this spatial scale for BCGs. A crude estimate suggests that the accretion rate of the cold gas can be higher than that of hot gas. The disk rotation axis is approximately consistent with the radio-jet axis. This probably suggests that the cold gas disk is physically connected to the innermost accretion disk, which is responsible for jet launching. We also detected absorption features in the HCN(3−2) and HCO+(3−2) spectra against the radio continuum emission mostly radiated by a jet of size ∼1.2 pc. The absorption features are blueshifted from the systemic velocity by ∼300-600 km s−1, suggesting the presence of outflowing gas from the active galactic nucleus (AGN). We discuss the relation of the AGN feeding with cold accretion, the origin of blueshifted absorption, and an estimate of the black hole mass using molecular gas dynamics.
Humans use a family of more than 400 olfactory receptors (ORs) to detect odors, but there is currently no model that can predict olfactory perception from receptor activity patterns. Genetic ...variation in human ORs is abundant and alters receptor function, allowing us to examine the relationship between receptor function and perception. We sequenced the OR repertoire in 332 individuals and examined how genetic variation affected 276 olfactory phenotypes, including the perceived intensity and pleasantness of 68 odorants at two concentrations, detection thresholds of three odorants, and general olfactory acuity. Genetic variation in a single OR was frequently associated with changes in odorant perception, and we validated 10 cases in which in vitro OR function correlated with in vivo odorant perception using a functional assay. In 8 of these 10 cases, reduced receptor function was associated with reduced intensity perception. In addition, we used participant genotypes to quantify genetic ancestry and found that, in combination with single OR genotype, age, and gender, we can explain between 10% and 20% of the perceptual variation in 15 olfactory phenotypes, highlighting the importance of single OR genotype, ancestry, and demographic factors in the variation of olfactory perception.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
ABSTRACT We explore the degree of magnetization at the jet base of M87 by using the observational data of the event horizon telescope (EHT) at 230 GHz obtained by Doeleman et al. By utilizing the ...method in Kino et al., we derive the energy densities of the magnetic fields (UB) and electrons and positrons ( ) in the compact region detected by EHT (the EHT region) with its FWHM size . First, we assume that an optically thick region for synchrotron self-absorption (SSA) exists in the EHT region. Then, we find that the SSA-thick region should not be too large, in order to not overproduce the Poynting power at the EHT region. The allowed ranges of the angular size and the magnetic-field strength of the SSA-thick region are and , respectively. Correspondingly, is realized in this case. We further examine the composition of plasma and energy density of protons by utilizing the Faraday rotation measurement at 230 GHz obtained by Kuo et al. Then, we find that still holds in the SSA-thick region. Second, we examine the case when the EHT region is fully SSA-thin. Then, we find that still holds unless protons are relativistic. Thus, we conclude that the magnetically driven jet scenario in M87 is viable in terms of energetics close to the Innermost Stable Circular Orbit scale unless the EHT region is fully SSA-thin and relativistic protons dominated.
Abstract
Recent Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations found a positive correlation between the mass of dense molecular gas in the circumnuclear disks (CNDs) and accretion ...rate to the active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This indicates that star formation activity in the CNDs is essential for triggering the accretion of mass to AGNs. Although the starburst-driven turbulence is a key mechanism for the transfer of angular momentum and the resultant mass accretion from the CND scale to the inner radius, the observational evidence is lacking. We report the very-long-baseline-interferometry detection of the diffuse synchrotron emission on a scale of several tens of parsecs coinciding spatially with the molecular gas disk recently discovered by ALMA observations in NGC 1275. The synchrotron emissions most likely resulted from the relativistic electrons produced by the supernova explosions. This is unambiguous evidence of the star formation activity in a CND. The turbulent velocity and the scale height of the CND predicted from the supernova-driven turbulence model agree with the observations, although the model-predicted accretion rate disagrees with the bolometric luminosity. This might indicate that additional mechanisms to enhance the turbulence are required for the inner disk. We discuss the multiphase nature of the CND by combining the information of the CO emission, synchrotron emission, and free–free absorption.
ABSTRACT We present full-polarization observations of the compact, steep-spectrum radio quasar 3C 286 made with the Atacama Large Millimeter and Submillimeter Array (ALMA) at 1.3 mm. These are the ...first full-polarization ALMA observations, which were obtained in the framework of Science Verification. A bright core and a south-west component are detected in the total intensity image, similar to previous centimeter images. Polarized emission is also detected toward both components. The fractional polarization of the core is about 17%; this is higher than the fractional polarization at centimeter wavelengths, suggesting that the magnetic field is even more ordered in the millimeter radio core than it is further downstream in the jet. The observed polarization position angle (or electric vector position angle (EVPA)) in the core is ∼39◦, which confirms the trend that the EVPA slowly increases from centimeter to millimeter wavelengths. With the aid of multi-frequency VLBI observations, we argue that this EVPA change is associated with the frequency-dependent core position. We also report a serendipitous detection of a sub-mJy source in the field of view, which is likely to be a submillimeter galaxy.
We present a study of the sub-parsec scale radio structure of the radio galaxy 3C 84/NGC 1275 based on the Very Long Baseline Array data at 43 GHz. We discover a limb brightening in the "restarted" ...jet that is associated with the 2005 radio outburst. In the 1990s, the jet structure was ridge brightening rather than limb brightening, despite the observations being done with similar angular resolutions. This indicates that the transverse jet structure has recently changed. This change in the morphology reveals an interesting agreement with the gamma -ray flux increase, i.e., the gamma -ray flux in the 1990s was at least seven times lower than the current one. One plausible explanation for the limb brightening is that the velocity structure of the jet is in the context of the stratified jet, which is a successful scenario that explains the gamma -ray emission in some active galactic nuclei. If this is the case, then the change in apparent transverse structure might be caused by the change in the transverse velocity structure. We argue that the transition from ridge brightening to limb brightening is related to the gamma -ray time variability on the timescale of decades. We also discuss the collimation profile of the jet.
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