Radial distribution of dose within heavy charged particle tracks – Models and experimental verification using LiF:Mg,Cu,P TL detectors

A new method of experimental verification of radial dose distribution models using solid state thermoluminescent (TL) detectors LiF:Mg,Cu,P has been recently proposed. In this work the method was applied to verify the spatial distribution of energy deposition within a single ¹³¹Xe ion track. Detectors were irradiated at the Department of Physics of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. The obtained results have been compared with theoretical data, calculated according to the Zhang et al., Cucinotta et al. and Geiss et al. radial dose distribution (RDD) models. At the lowest dose range the Zhang et al. RDD model exhibited the best agreement as compared to experimental data. In the intermediate dose range, up to 10⁴ Gy, the best agreement was found for the RDD model of Cucinotta et al. The probability of occurrence of doses higher than 10⁴ Gy within a single ¹³¹Xe ion track was found to be lower than predicted by all the studied RDD models. This may be a result of diffusion of the charge, which is then captured by TL-related trapping sites, at the distances up to dozens of nanometers from the ionization site.     

Phase-field model for multiphase systems with different thermodynamic factors

A modified phase-field model for quantitative simulations of low-speed phase transitions in multiphase systems is proposed, which takes into account the difference between thermodynamic factors in all the phases. The presented model is based on the quantitative phase-field concept developed by Steinbach et al. [I. Steinbach, F. Pezolla, B. Nestler, M. Seeelberg, R. Prieler, G.J. Schmitz, J.L.L. Rezende, A phase field concept for multiphase systems, Physica D 94 (1996) 135] for multiphase systems allowing to consider the multiphase transition as a superposition of pairwise interactions between two phases. We complete this approach and develop a model, which uses parameters derived from chemical free energy functions of individual phases evaluated from experimental data by the CALPHAD method Lukas et al. (2007) [17]. Because the thermodynamic factors are different in various phases we need to evaluate a special form of total chemical free energy function of a multiphase mixture and use it in the phase-field model. It is shown, that for the developed model the thin-interface asymptotic and the anti-trapping term developed previously for the solidification of pure substances can be applied. The model is verified by an example of the Al-Ni system whose peritectic structural morphology during the directional solidification is investigated. The suggested model can be also extended to multicomponent systems.     

An investigation of equivalence between the bulk-based and the brane-based approaches for anisotropic models

We investigate the relation between the brane-based and the bulk-based approaches for anisotropic case in brane-world models. In the brane-based approach, the brane is chosen to be fixed on a coordinate system, whereas in the bulk-based approach it is no longer static as it moves along the extra dimension. It was shown that these two approaches are equivalent for specific models in Mukohyama et al. (Phys Rev D 62:024028, 2000), Bowcock et al. (Class Quant Gravit 17:4745–4764, 2000). In this paper, it is aimed to get general formalism of the equivalence obtained in Mukohyama et al. (Phys Rev D 62:024028, 2000). We found that calculations driven by a general anisotropic bulk-based metric yield a brane-based metric in Gaussian Normal Coordinates by conserving spatial anisotropy. We also derive solutions for an anisotropic bulk-based model and get the corresponding brane-based metric of the model.     

Biquantization of symmetric pairs and the quantum shift

The biquantization of symmetric pairs was studied by Cattaneo et al. (2008)  [1] in terms of Kontsevich-like graphs. This note, also in view of recent results by Calaque et al. (2009)  [3], amends a minor mistake that did not spoil the main results of the paper. The mistake consisted in ignoring a regular term in the boundary contribution of some propagators. On the other hand, its correction brings back the quantum shift, present in the approaches by the orbit method, that was otherwise puzzlingly missing. In addition a detailed comparison of the two, equivalent, ways of defining biquantization working on the upper half plane or on one quadrant is presented, as well as a more conceptual approach to biquantization and the due corrections of some results of Cattaneo et al. (2008)  [1] in view of the aforementioned correction by the quantum shift.     

The effects of nutrient chemotaxis on bacterial aggregation patterns with non-linear degenerate cross diffusion

This paper studies a reaction–diffusion–chemotaxis model for bacterial aggregation patterns on the surface of thin agar plates. It is based on the non-linear degenerate cross diffusion model proposed by Kawasaki et al. (1997) [5] and it includes a suitable nutrient chemotactic term compatible with such type of diffusion, as suggested by Ben-Jacob et al. (2000) [20]. An asymptotic estimation predicts the growth velocity of the colony envelope as a function of both the nutrient concentration and the chemotactic sensitivity. It is shown that the growth velocity is an increasing function of the chemotactic sensitivity. High resolution numerical simulations using Graphic Processing Units (GPUs), which include noise in the diffusion coefficient for the bacteria, are presented. The numerical results verify that the chemotactic term enhances the velocity of propagation of the colony envelope. In addition, the chemotaxis seems to stabilize the formation of branches in the soft-agar, low-nutrient regime.     

The discrimination algorithms for overlapped MPSK and MQAM modulations using higher-order cumulants

Automatic Modulation Classification (AMC) is responsible for detecting the correct modulation types in the intelligent receivers. AMC performance degrades when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) decreases because of the overlapping among the digital modulation types’ features, and this performance worsens under fading channel conditions. This paper proposes two new algorithms that improve the AMC performance accuracy of the overlapped digital modulations in feature space by improving their discrimination. These algorithms are named temporal Fisher discriminant analysis (TFDA) and supervised Fisher discriminant analysis (SFDA). The simulation results show that TFDA improves AMC performance accuracy up to 19.01% compared with the reference paper (Ge et al., 2021) and up to 38.15% compared with the reference paper (Teng et al., 2018). In contrast, SFDA improves AMC performance accuracy up to 23.12 % compared with the reference paper (Ge et al., 2021) and up to 49.025% compared with the reference paper (Teng et al., 2018).     

Analysis of stock prices of mining business

Stock exchanges have a diversity of so-called business groups and much evidence has been presented by covariance matrix analysis (Laloux et al. (1999) [6], Plerou et al. (2002) [7], Plerou et al. (1999) [8], Mantegna (1999) [9], Utsugi et al. (2004) [21] and Lim et al. (2009) [26]). A market-wide effect plays a crucial role in shifting the correlation structure from random to non-random. In this work, we study the structural properties of stocks related to the mining industry, especially rare earth minerals, listed on two exchanges, namely the TSX (Toronto stock exchange) and the TSX-V (Toronto stock exchange-ventures). In general, raw-material businesses are sensitively affected by the global economy while each firm has its own cycle. We prove that the global crisis during 2006–2009 affected the mineral market considerably. These two aspects compete to control price fluctuations. We show that the internal cycle overwhelms the global economic environment in terms of random matrix theory and overlapping matrices. However, during the period of 2006–2009, the effect of the global economic environment emerges. This result is well explained by the recent global financial/economic crisis. For comparison, we analyze the time stability of business clusters of the KOSPI, that is, the electric/electronic business, using an overlapping matrix. A clear difference in behavior is confirmed. Consequently, rare earth minerals in the raw-material business should be classified not by standard business classifications but by the internal cycle of business.     

A thermal conductivity model for nanofluids including effect of the temperature-dependent interfacial layer

The interfacial layer of nanoparticles has been recently shown to have an effect on the thermal conductivity of nanofluids. There is, however, still no thermal conductivity model that includes the effects of temperature and nanoparticle size variations on the thickness and consequently on the thermal conductivity of the interfacial layer. In the present work, the stationary model developed by Leong et al. (J Nanopart Res 8:245–254, 2006) is initially modified to include the thermal dispersion effect due to the Brownian motion of nanoparticles. This model is called the ‘Leong et al.’s dynamic model’. However, the Leong et al.’s dynamic model over-predicts the thermal conductivity of nanofluids in the case of the flowing fluid. This suggests that the enhancement in the thermal conductivity of the flowing nanofluids due to the increase in temperature does not come from the thermal dispersion effect. It is more likely that the enhancement in heat transfer of the flowing nanofluids comes from the temperature-dependent interfacial layer effect. Therefore, the Leong et al.’s stationary model is again modified to include the effect of temperature variation on the thermal conductivity of the interfacial layer for different sizes of nanoparticles. This present model is then evaluated and compared with the other thermal conductivity models for the turbulent convective heat transfer in nanofluids along a uniformly heated tube. The results show that the present model is more general than the other models in the sense that it can predict both the temperature and the volume fraction dependence of the thermal conductivity of nanofluids for both non-flowing and flowing fluids. Also, it is found to be more accurate than the other models due to the inclusion of the effect of the temperature-dependent interfacial layer. In conclusion, the present model can accurately predict the changes in thermal conductivity of nanofluids due to the changes in volume fraction and temperature for various nanoparticle sizes.     

Efficient Mediated Quantum Secret Sharing Protocol in a Restricted Quantum Environment

The multiparty-mediated quantum secret sharing (MQSS) protocol proposed by Tsai et al. [Quantum Inf. Process., 2022 , 21, 63] allows n restricted users with limited quantum capabilities to share secret information using a dishonest third party with full quantum capabilities. Although the MQSS protocol allows restricted users to achieve secret sharing with lightweight quantum capabilities, the qubit efficiency of this protocol can be further improved. Therefore, this study proposes a measurement property of the graph state to design an efficient mediated quantum secret-sharing protocol in the same quantum environment as that of Tsai et al.’s protocol. The proposed MQSS protocol not only inherits the lightweight property of Tsai et al.’s protocol but also improves the qubit efficiency of Tsai et al.’s protocol by $2{}^{n-1}$ times. Security analysis is performed to show that the proposed MQSS protocol can avoid collective, collusion, and Trojan horse attacks. Furthermore, this study uses quantum network simulation software to implement Tsai et al.’s protocol and the proposed protocol to prove the feasibility of the proposed MQSS protocol and show that it is more efficient than Tsai et al.’s protocol.     

Bifurcations of mixed-mode oscillations in a stellate cell model

Experimental recordings of the membrane potential of stellate cells within the entorhinal cortex show a transition from subthreshold oscillations (STOs) via mixed-mode oscillations (MMOs) to relaxation oscillations under increased injection of depolarizing current. Acker et al. introduced a 7D conductance based model which reproduces many features of the oscillatory patterns observed in these experiments. For the first time, we present a comprehensive bifurcation analysis of this model by using the software package AUTO. In particular, we calculate the stable MMO branches within the bifurcation diagram of this model, as well as other MMO patterns which are unstable. We then use geometric singular perturbation theory to demonstrate how the bifurcations are governed by a 3D reduced model introduced by Rotstein et al. We extend their analysis to explain all observed MMO patterns within the bifurcation diagram. A key role in this bifurcation analysis is played by a novel homoclinic bifurcation structure connecting to a saddle equilibrium on the unstable branch of the corresponding critical manifold. This type of homoclinic connection is possible due to canards of folded node (folded saddle-node) type.     

Quantum-like dynamics of decision-making

In cognitive psychology, some experiments for games were reported, and they demonstrated that real players did not use the “rational strategy” provided by classical game theory and based on the notion of the Nasch equilibrium. This psychological phenomenon was called the disjunction effect. Recently, we proposed a model of decision making which can explain this effect (“irrationality” of players) Asano et al. (2010, 2011) [23] and [24]. Our model is based on the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics, because psychological fluctuations inducing the irrationality are formally represented as quantum fluctuations Asano et al. (2011) [55]. In this paper, we reconsider the process of quantum-like decision-making more closely and redefine it as a well-defined quantum dynamics by using the concept of lifting channel, which is an important concept in quantum information theory. We also present numerical simulation for this quantum-like mental dynamics. It is non-Markovian by its nature. Stabilization to the steady state solution (determining subjective probabilities for decision making) is based on the collective effect of mental fluctuations collected in the working memory of a decision maker.     

Michaelis-Menten mechanism for single-enzyme and multi-enzyme system under stochastic noise and spatial diffusion

The investigation of enzymatic reaction under stochastic effect and spatial effect is an interesting problem. By virtue of Monte Carlo simulation, the stochastic dynamic of enzyme and the related Michaelis-Menten mechanism with stochastic internal noise and spatial diffusion are explored in this article. (i) For the single-enzyme system, two cases, including the fast phosphorylation case [X. S. Xie, et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 109 (2005) 19068] and slow phosphorylation case [X. S. Xie, et al., Nat. Chem. Biol. 2 (2006) 87] are considered. It is found the micro enzymatic velocity rate shows a rough hyperbolic dependence on the substrate concentration, hence obeys the Michaelis-Menten law qualitatively. In addition, our result reveals that diffusion rate can adjust the Michaelis-Menten curve; especially, it is shown that increasing diffusion rate enhances the micro enzyme rate. (ii) For the multi-enzyme system, a typical example, i.e., MAPK signaling pathway is used. We apply the Michaelis-Menten mechanism to the MAPK cascade and give a simple comparison for the signaling ability between the Michaelis-Menten mechanism and the single collision mechanism [J. W. Locasale et al., PLOS Comput. Biol. 4 (2008) e1000099].     

An experimental and kinetic modeling study on nitric oxide formation in premixed C3 alcohols flames

This study provides new quantitative NO concentrations measurements in n-propanol + air and i-propanol + air flames together with a new combustion kinetic model. The heat flux method was employed to stabilize propyl alcohols flames and the initial gas conditions were set to 323 K, 1 atm, and Φ=0.7–1.4. Saturated laser-induced fluorescence was employed to measure NO concentration in the post-combustion region. The presented and literature models, namely the POLIMI and Bohon et al. (2018) kinetic mechanisms, were assessed against new experimental data. Experimental results showed a higher NO formation in the thermal zone for n-propanol flames, whereas i-propanol flames indicate a higher amount of NO formed at fuel-rich conditions. Overall among the tested models, the present mechanism exhibited the best agreement in emulating NO experimental profiles; conversely, numerical simulations from the POLIMI model showed significant inconsistencies at fuel-rich conditions and the Bohon et al. (2018) model was unable to reproduce the measured data, notably underpredicting experimental values at all investigated conditions. However, the present model manifested some uncertainties in reproducing NO formation in the prompt region; therefore, in connection with this important aspect, the new experimental data obtained in this work will provide a valid support to further develop more reliable kinetic models.     

Experimental and kinetic modeling studies on the auto-ignition of methyl crotonate at high pressures and intermediate temperatures

Biofuels, including biodiesel have the potential to partially replace the conventional diesel fuels for low-temperature combustion engine applications to reduce the CO₂ emission. Due to the long chain lengths and high molecular weights of the biodiesel components, it is quite challenging to study the biodiesel combustion experimentally and computationally. Methyl crotonate, a short unsaturated fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) is chosen for this chemical kinetic study as it is considered as a model biodiesel fuel. Auto-ignition experiments were performed in a rapid compression machine (RCM) at pressures of 20 and 40 bar under diluted conditions over a temperature range between 900 and 1074 K, and at different equivalence ratios (? = 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0). A chemical kinetic mechanism is chosen from literature (Gaïl et al. 2008) and is modified to incorporate the low-temperature pathways. The mechanism is validated against existing shock tube data (Bennadji et al. 2009) and the present RCM data. The updated mechanism shows satisfactory agreement with the experimental data with significant improvements in low-temperature ignition behavior. The key reactions at various combustion conditions and the improved reactivity of the modified mechanism are analyzed by performing sensitivity and path flux analysis. This study depicts the importance of low-temperature pathways in predicting the ignition behavior of methyl crotonate at intermediate and low temperatures.     

Can spontaneous cell movements be modelled as Lévy walks?

Spontaneous cell movement is a random motion that takes place in the absence of external guiding stimuli. The spontaneous movements of HaCaT and NHDF cells (cells of the epidermis) are well represented as continuous Markovian processes driven by multiplicative noise [D. Selmeczi, S. Mosler, P.H. Hagedorn, N.B. Larsen, H. Flyvbjerg, Biophysical Journal 89 (2005) 912]. Model components are, however, ad hoc as they are inspired by fits to experimental data. As a consequence, model agreement with experimental data does not add much to our understanding of spontaneous movements of these cells beyond demonstrating that they can be modelled phenomenologically. Here it is noted that a slight re-parameterization and re-interpretation of the driving noise leads to the model of Lubashevsky et al. (2009) [I. Lubashevsky, R. Friedrich, A. Heuer, Physical Review E 79 (2009) 011110] that realises Lévy walks as Markovian stochastic processes. This brings forth new biological insight as Lévy walks are advantageous when searching in the absence of external stimuli and without knowledge of the target distribution, as may be the case with cells of the epidermis that form new tissue by locating and then attaching on to one another. The Hänggi-Klimontovich interpretation of the driving noise in the model of Lubashevsky et al. (2009) and Cauchy distributions of predicted velocities do, however, appear problematic, even unphysical. Here it is shown that these are perceived rather than actual difficulties. Intermittent stop-start motions of the kind displayed by some cells and protozoan are found to underlie the formulation of the model of Lubashevsky et al. (2009) and the velocities of starved Dictyostelium discoideum (a unicellular organism) are found to be Cauchy distributed to a good approximation. It is therefore suggested that the model of Lubashevsky et al. (2009) can describe the spontaneous movements of some cells, and that some cells have spontaneous movement patterns that can be approximated by Lévy walks, as first proposed by Schuster and Levandowsky (1996) [F.L. Schuster, M. Levandowsky, Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 43 (1996) 150].     

A study of design approach of spreading schemes for viral marketing based on human dynamics

Before launching a real viral marketing campaign, it is needed to design a spreading scheme by simulations. Based on a categorization of spreading patterns in real world and models, we point out that the existing research (especially Yang et al. (2010) Ref.  [16]) implicitly assume that if a user decides to post a received message (is activated), he/she will take the reposting action promptly (Prompt Action After Activation, or PAAA). After a careful analysis on a real dataset however, it is found that the observed time differences between action and activation exhibit a heavy-tailed distribution. A simulation model for heavy-tailed pattern is then proposed and performed. Similarities and differences of spreading processes between the heavy-tailed and PAAA patterns are analyzed. Consequently, a more practical design approach of spreading scheme for viral marketing on QQ platform is proposed. The design approach can be extended and applied to the contexts of non-heavy-tailed pattern, and viral marketing on other instant messaging platforms.     

A Lagrangian description of transport associated with a front-eddy interaction: Application to data from the North-Western Mediterranean Sea

We discuss the Lagrangian transport in a time-dependent oceanic system involving a Lagrangian barrier associated with a salinity front which interacts intermittently with a set of Lagrangian eddies — ‘leaky’ coherent structures that entrain and detrain fluid as they move. A theoretical framework, rooted in the dynamical systems theory, is developed in order to describe and analyse this situation. We show that such an analysis can be successfully applied to a realistic ocean model. Here, we use the output of the numerical ocean model DieCAST from Dietrich et al. (2004) [17] and Fernández et al. (2005) [18] studied earlier in Mancho et al. (2008) [15] where a Lagrangian barrier associated with the North Balearic Front in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea was identified. The numerical model provides an Eulerian view of the flow and we employ the dynamical systems approach to identify relevant hyperbolic trajectories and their stable and unstable manifolds. These manifolds are used to understand the Lagrangian geometry of the evolving front-eddy system. Transport in this system is effected by the turnstile mechanism whose spatio-temporal geometry reveals intermittent pathways along which transport occurs. Particular attention is paid to the ‘Lagrangian’ interactions between the front and the eddies, and to transport implications associated with the transition between the one-eddy and two-eddy situation. The analysis of this ‘Lagrangian’ transition is aided by a local kinematic model that provides insight into the nature of the change in hyperbolic trajectories and their stable and unstable manifolds associated with the ‘birth’ and ‘death’ of leaky Lagrangian eddies.     

New implicitly solvable potential produced by second order shape invariance

The procedure proposed recently by Bougie et al. (2010) to study the general form of shape invariant potentials in one-dimensional Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics (SUSY QM) is generalized to the case of Higher Order SUSY QM with supercharges of second order in momentum. A new shape invariant potential is constructed by this method. It is singular at the origin, it grows at infinity, and its spectrum depends on the choice of connection conditions in the singular point. The corresponding Schrödinger equation is solved explicitly: the wave functions are constructed analytically, and the energy spectrum is defined implicitly via the transcendental equation which involves Confluent Hypergeometric functions.     

Green functions and Langevin equations for nonlinear diffusion equations: A comment on ‘Markov processes, Hurst exponents, and nonlinear diffusion equations’ by Bassler et al.

We discuss two central claims made in the study by Bassler et al. [K.E. Bassler, G.H. Gunaratne, J.L. McCauley, Physica A 369 (2006) 343]. Bassler et al. claimed that Green functions and Langevin equations cannot be defined for nonlinear diffusion equations. In addition, they claimed that nonlinear diffusion equations are linear partial differential equations disguised as nonlinear ones. We review bottom-up and top-down approaches that have been used in the literature to derive Green functions for nonlinear diffusion equations and, in doing so, show that the first claim needs to be revised. We show that the second claim as well needs to be revised. To this end, we point out similarities and differences between non-autonomous linear Fokker-Planck equations and autonomous nonlinear Fokker-Planck equations. In this context, we raise the question whether Bassler et al.’s approach to financial markets is physically plausible because it necessitates the introduction of external traders and causes. Such external entities can easily be eliminated when taking self-organization principles and concepts of nonextensive thermostatistics into account and modeling financial processes by means of nonlinear Fokker-Planck equations.