Standard reaction-diffusion systems are characterized by infinite velocities and no persistence in the movement of individuals, two conditions that are violated when considering living organisms. Here we consider a discrete particle model in which individuals move following a persistent random walk with finite speed and grow with logistic dynamics. We show that, when the number of individuals is very large, the individual-based model is well described by the continuous reactive Cattaneo equation (RCE), but for smaller values of the carrying capacity important finite-population effects arise. The effects of fluctuations on the propagation speed are investigated both considering the RCE with a cutoff in the reaction term and by means of numerical simulations of the individual-based model. Finally, a more general Lévy walk process for the transport of individuals is examined and an expression for the front speed of the resulting traveling wave is proposed.

Many practically relevant materials combine properties of viscous fluids and elastic solids to viscoelastic behavior. Our focus is on the induced dynamic behavior of damped finite-sized particulate inclusions in such substances. We explicitly describe history-dependent interactions that emerge between the embedded particles. These interactions are mediated by the viscoelastic surroundings. They result from the flows and distortions of the viscoelastic medium when induced by the rigid inclusions. Both viscoelastic environments of terminal fluidlike flow and of completely reversible damped elastic behavior are covered. For illustration and to highlight the role of the formalism in potential applications, we briefly address the relevant examples of dragging a rigid sphere through a viscoelastic environment together with subsequent relaxation dynamics, the switching dynamics of magnetic fillers in elastic gel matrices, and the swimming behavior of active microswimmers in viscoelastic solutions. The approach provides a basis for more quantitative and extended investigations of these and related systems in the future.

Nonequilibrium temperature and concentration fluctuations inside a binary liquid mixture under the action of a temperature gradient relax back to equilibrium either due to conduction and diffusion at large wave numbers, or due to the quenching determined by gravity at small wave numbers. We investigate the dynamics of nonequilibrium fluctuations in a binary liquid mixture of polystyrene and toluene heated from above under stationary conditions in a thermodiffusion experiment. We show that the strong gravitational stabilization at small wave numbers determines the appearance of propagating modes of nonequilibrium fluctuations as detected through the structure function of shadowgraph images. The propagating modes are the combined effect of temperature and velocity nonequilibrium fluctuations induced by the buoyancy force. The experimental results are in good agreement with a fluctuating hydrodynamics theroretical model including the coupling of fluctuations of velocity, temperature and concentration.

A nanoslit is a long, extremely narrow (nanometers apart) opening between two parallel plates. An overlapped electric double layer is formed when an electrolyte is present inside the slit and there exist distributions of the osmotic pressure and the Maxwell stress across the nanoslit, which lead to the electrocapillarity effect. This feature can be incorporated with the specific ion effects by considering the nonelectrostatic interactions between ions and confining walls, as they significantly influence the potential, electric field, and ion distributions across the nanoslit. In the present work, the electromechanical approach is integrated with the concept of specific ion effects to analyze the behavior of an electrolyte confined in a one-dimensional nanochannel. For a nanochannel, the average outward normal stress exerted on the cross section of a channel ($\overline{P_{zz}}$) can be regarded as a measure of electrocapillarity and it is the driving force of the flow. This electrocapillarity measure is analyzed by using the solution of the modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation as a function of the bulk concentration of the electrolyte, the boundary potential, and most importantly, the ion-specific interfacial interactions. The significance of the present work can be manifested by the increasing usage of extremely narrow channels in nanoscaled systems, which will require proper consideration of specific ion effects in determining the behavior of the confined electrolyte.

We demonstrate analytically and numerically that in isolated quantum systems of many interacting particles, the number of many-body states participating in the evolution after a quench increases exponentially in time, provided the eigenstates are delocalized in the energy shell. The rate of the exponential growth is defined by the width $\mathrm{\Gamma }$ of the local density of states and is associated with the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy for systems with a well-defined classical limit. In a finite system, the exponential growth eventually saturates due to the finite volume of the energy shell. We estimate the timescale for the saturation and show that it is much larger than $\hslash /\mathrm{\Gamma }$. Numerical data obtained for a two-body random interaction model of bosons and for a dynamical model of interacting spin-1/2 particles show excellent agreement with the analytical predictions.

In this paper we show that an autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average time-series model can identify two types of motion of membrane proteins on the surface of mammalian cells. Specifically we analyze the motion of the voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.6 and beta-2 adrenergic receptors. We find that the autoregressive (AR) part models well the confined dynamics whereas the fractionally integrated moving average (FIMA) model describes the nonconfined periods of the trajectories. Since the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process is a continuous counterpart of the AR model, we are also able to calculate its physical parameters and show their biological relevance. The fitted FIMA and AR parameters show marked differences in the dynamics of the two studied molecules.

There are three possible classifications of the dimer weights on the bonds of the checkerboard lattice and they are denoted as checkerboard $A$, $B$, and $C$ lattices [Phys. Rev. E 91, 062139 (2015)]. The dimer model on the checkerboard $B$ and $C$ lattices has much richer critical behavior compared to the dimer model on the checkerboard $A$ lattice. In this paper we study in full detail the dimer model on the checkerboard $B$ lattice. The dimer model on the checkerboard $B$ lattice has two types of critical behavior. In one limit this model is the anisotropic dimer model on rectangular lattice with algebraic decay of correlators and in another limit it is the anisotropic generalized Kasteleyn model with radically different critical behavior. We analyze the partition function of the dimer model on a $2M\times 2N$ checkerboard $B$ lattice wrapped on a torus. We find very unusual behavior of the partition function zeros and the specific heat of the dimer model. Remarkably, the partition function zeros of finite-size systems can have very interesting structures, made of rings, concentric circles, radial line segments, or even arabesque structures. We find out that the number of the specific heat peaks and the number of circles of the partition function zeros increases with the system size. The lattice anisotropy of the model has strong effects on the behavior of the specific heat, dominating the relation between the correlation length exponent $\nu$ and the shift exponent $\lambda$, and $\lambda$ is generally unequal to $1/\nu$ ($\lambda \ne 1/\nu$).

The out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC) is a measure of quantum chaos that is being vigorously investigated. Analytically accessible simple models that have long been studied in other contexts could provide insights into such measures. This paper investigates the OTOC in the quantum bakers map which is the quantum version of a simple and exactly solvable model of deterministic chaos that caricatures the action of kneading dough. Exact solutions based on the semiquantum approximation are derived that tracks very well the correlators until the Ehrenfest time. The growth occurs, surprisingly, at the exponential rate of the classical Lyapunov exponent which is half of that expected semiclassically. This exponential growth is modulated by slowly changing coefficients. Beyond this time, saturation occurs at a value close to that of random matrices. Using projectors for observables naturally leads to truncations of the unitary time-$t$ propagator and the growth of their singular values is shown to be intimately related to the growth of the out-of-time-ordered correlators.

The dynamics of a classical point particle confined to an asymmetric time-dependent potential well is investigated under the framework of scaling. The potential corresponds to a reduced version of a particle moving along an infinitely periodic sequence of synchronously oscillating potential barriers. The dynamics of the model is described by a two-dimensional nonlinear and area preserving map in energy and phase variables. The asymmetric potential well is defined by two regions: Region I with fixed null potential and region II with an oscillating potential. The time-dependent potential of region II makes, for certain initial conditions, the particle to undergo a number of multiple reflections $\eta$ at the border of the two regions and stay trapped in region I. Such trappings are described by histograms of multiple reflections $\eta$, obeying the power-law $H\left(\eta \right)\propto {\eta }^{-\nu }$ with $\nu \approx 3$, which are scale invariant with a scaling parameter depending of the control parameters of the mapping. We identify the location of the sets of initial conditions in phase space producing the multiple reflections and show that they generate well defined self-similar structures in density plots of trajectories in energy space. The self-similar structures can be enhanced by properly tuning the system parameters.

Spatially embedded networks have attracted increasing attention in the past decade. In this context, network characteristics have been introduced which explicitly take spatial information into account. Among others, edge directionality properties have recently gained particular interest. In this work, we investigate the applicability of mean edge direction, anisotropy, and local mean angle as geometric characteristics in complex spherical networks. By studying these measures, both analytically and numerically, we demonstrate the existence of a systematic bias in spatial networks where individual nodes represent different shares on a spherical surface, and we describe a strategy for correcting for this effect. Moreover, we illustrate the application of the mentioned edge directionality properties to different examples of real-world spatial networks in spherical geometry (with or without the geometric correction depending on each specific case), including functional climate networks, transportation, and trade networks. In climate networks, our approach highlights relevant patterns, such as large-scale circulation cells, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, and the Atlantic Niño. In an air transportation network, we are able to characterize distinct air transportation zones, while we confirm the important role of the European Union for the global economy by identifying convergent edge directionality patterns in the world trade network.

In this work we propose and investigate a strategy of vaccination which we call “dynamic vaccination.” In our model, susceptible people become aware that one or more of their contacts are infected and thereby get vaccinated with probability $\omega$, before having physical contact with any infected patient. Then the nonvaccinated individuals will be infected with probability $\beta$. We apply the strategy to the susceptible-infected-recovered epidemic model in a multiplex network composed by two networks, where a fraction $q$ of the nodes acts in both networks. We map this model of dynamic vaccination into bond percolation model and use the generating functions framework to predict theoretically the behavior of the relevant magnitudes of the system at the steady state. We find a perfect agreement between the solutions of the theoretical equations and the results of stochastic simulations. In addition, we find an interesting phase diagram in the plane $\beta \text{−}\omega$, which is composed of an epidemic and a nonepidemic phase, separated by a critical threshold line ${\beta }_c$, which depends on $q$. As $q$ decreases, ${\beta }_c$ increases, i.e., as the overlap decreases, the system is more disconnected, and therefore more virulent diseases are needed to spread epidemics. Surprisingly, we find that, for all values of $q$, a region in the diagram where the vaccination is so efficient that, regardless of the virulence of the disease, it never becomes an epidemic. We compare our strategy with random immunization and find that, using the same amount of vaccines for both scenarios, we obtain that the spread of disease is much lower in the case of dynamic vaccination when compared to random immunization. Furthermore, we also compare our strategy with targeted immunization and we find that, depending on $\omega$, dynamic vaccination will perform significantly better and in some cases will stop the disease before it becomes an epidemic.

We consider a one-dimensional directional array of diffusively coupled oscillators. They are perturbed by the injection of small additive noise, typically orders of magnitude smaller than the oscillation amplitude, and the system is studied in a region of the parameters that would yield deterministic synchronization. Non-normal directed couplings seed a coherent amplification of the perturbation: this latter manifests as a modulation, transversal to the limit cycle, which gains in potency node after node. If the lattice extends long enough, the initial synchrony gets eventually lost, and the system moves toward a nontrivial attractor, which can be analytically characterized as an asymptotic splay state. The noise assisted instability, ultimately vehiculated and amplified by the non-normal nature of the imposed couplings, eventually destabilizes also this second attractor. This phenomenon yields spatiotemporal patterns, which cannot be anticipated by a conventional linear stability analysis.

We model how pattern formation in a multicomponent lipid bilayer pinned to an elastic substrate is governed by the interplay between lipid phase separation and the tendency of domains of high intrinsic curvature lipids to deform the membrane away from a stiff substrate such as the cell wall. The emergent patterns, which include compact and striped lipid microdomains, are anticorrelated across the two leaflets and depend on leaflet asymmetry, the ability of lipids to flip between leaflets, and the global geometry. We characterize analytically the dependence of stripe width on lipid parameters, and consider the implications of interleaflet patterning for curvature-dependent lipid localization.

We report on the discovery of enormous negative viscosity in a nematic liquid crystal in the presence of turbulence induced by electric fields. As the negative viscosity in this system is so large, we are able to observe several phenomena originating from it. For example, we observe a spontaneous shear flow that rotates the upper disk of a rheometer, as well as the reversal of the rotational direction upon applying an external torque in the opposite direction. Hysteresis loops are also observed in the shear-stress–shear-rate curves, which is reminiscent of those seen for ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials. The similarities between the phenomena observed for our system and ferroic materials are comprehensively demonstrated, although the two systems are fundamentally different in that the former is out of equilibrium. We elucidate the origin of the negative viscosity and propose a simple model that reproduces the phenomena observed in this active fluid.

The cascaded lattice Boltzmann method decomposes the collision stage on a basis of central moments on which the equilibrium state is assumed equal to that of the continuous Maxwellian distribution. Such a relaxation process is usually considered as an assumption, which is then justified a posteriori by showing the enhanced Galilean invariance of the resultant algorithm. An alternative method is to relax central moments to the equilibrium state of the discrete second-order truncated distribution. In this paper, we demonstrate that relaxation to the continuous Maxwellian distribution is equivalent to the discrete counterpart if higher-order (up to sixth) Hermite polynomials are used to construct the equilibrium when the D3Q27 lattice velocity space is considered. Therefore, a theoretical a priori justification of the choice of the continuous distribution is formally provided for the first time.

A computational method is developed for the study of mechanical response and fracture behavior of phase field crystals (PFC), to overcome a limitation of the PFC dynamics which lacks an effective mechanism for describing fast mechanical relaxation of the material system. The method is based on a simple interpolation scheme for PFC (IPFC) making use of a condition of the displacement field to satisfy local elastic equilibration, while preserving key characteristics of the original PFC model. We conduct a systematic study on the mechanical properties of a sample nanoribbon system with honeycomb lattice symmetry subjected to uniaxial tension, for numerical validation of the IPFC scheme and the comparison with the original PFC and modified PFC methods. Results of mechanical response, in both elasticity and fracture regimes, show the advantage and efficiency of the IPFC method across different system sizes and applied strain rates, due to its effective process of mechanical equilibration. A brittle fracture behavior is obtained in IPFC calculations, where effects of system temperature and chirality on the fracture strength and Young's modulus are also identified, with results agreeing with those found in previous atomistic simulations of graphene. The IPFC scheme developed here is generic and applicable to the mechanical studies using different types of PFC free-energy functionals designed for various material systems.

Saberian and Esfandyari-Kalejahi [Phys. Rev. E 87, 053112 (2013)] have discussed Langmuir oscillations in a $q$-nonextensive electron-positron plasma. However, some of the results obtained and the conclusions drawn in this paper are not appropriate. In Fig. 3 of the above mentioned paper, the authors have claimed that for certain values of nonextensivity parameter $q$ the imaginary part of the frequency becomes positive, resulting in unstable oscillations. In this Comment we shall discuss the fact that the Landau damping rate of Langmuir oscillations in a $q$-nonextensive electron-positron plasma is negative and results in damped oscillations. We hope that this Comment will be helpful in providing a better picture of Langmuir oscillations in nonextensive electron-positron plasma.

The controlling of heat flux is an important topic in the field of heat conduction and has potential applications in thermal devices. We here design a model of asymmetric network structure to study this problem in complex networks, which is composed of two parts with different topologies. We find that the heat conduction and rectification can be significantly changed by adjusting two parameters: the network rewiring parameter $\delta$ and coupling parameter $\lambda$. Two typical network structures are considered. One is composed of a random network and a two-dimensional regular lattice with half by half. Another is composed of two random networks with opposite coupling parameter $\pm \lambda$. Our numerical simulations show that for the first case, both the network flux and rectification coefficient decrease monotonically with the increase of $\delta$ and there is an optimal $\lambda$ for the maximum flux. For the second case, the network flux will decrease monotonically while the rectification coefficient increases monotonically, with the increase of $\lambda$. A brief theory of phonon spectra is applied to explain the numerical results.

We study polariton superregular (SR) breathers triggered by the resonant interaction of an optical field with two-level doping ions in an erbium-doped fiber. We demonstrate explicitly that the optical wave component always features a bright structure that describes the modulation instability (MI) development from localized small perturbations, while the SR matter-wave breathers exhibit more complicated dynamical evolution, which are absent in standard scalar SR breather theory. Despite the complexity, the exact link between these SR breathers and MI is established strictly by showing that the absolute difference of group velocities of SR breathers coincides exactly with the linear MI growth rate. In particular, we show how a small dip perturbation of the dark SR breather in the matter wave component induces an intriguing MI process of completely exponential decay. These results will enrich our understanding on the MI development in complex coupled light-matter interaction systems.

We study remote (or relay) synchronization in multilayer networks between parts of one layer and their counterparts in a second layer, where these two layers are not directly connected. A simple realization of such a system is a triplex network where a relay layer in the middle, which is generally not synchronized, acts as a transmitter between two outer layers. We establish time delay in the interlayer coupling as a powerful tool to control various partial synchronization patterns, in particular chimera states, i.e., complex patterns of coexisting coherent and incoherent domains. We demonstrate that the three-layer structure of the network allows for synchronization of the coherent domains of chimera states in the first layer with their counterparts in the third layer, whereas the incoherent domains either remain desynchronized or synchronized. By varying the topology of the relay layer, we study its influence on the remote synchronization in the outer layers. As model dynamics we use the paradigmatic FitzHugh-Nagumo system.