Baldwin Effect Research Articles

The rich detail of cultural symbol systems.

The goal of forming a science of intentional behavior requires a more richly detailed account of symbolic systems than is assumed by the authors. Cultural systems are not simply the equivalent in the ideational domain of culture of the purported Baldwin Effect in the genetic domain.

Complexity of and algorithms for the manipulation of Borda, Nanson's and Baldwin's voting rules

We investigate manipulation of the Borda voting rule, as well as two elimination style voting rules, Nanson's and Baldwin's voting rules, which are based on Borda voting. We argue that these rules have a number of desirable computational properties. For unweighted Borda voting, we prove that it is NP-hard for a coalition of two manipulators to compute a manipulation. This resolves a long-standing open problem in the computational complexity of manipulating common voting rules. We prove that manipulation of Baldwin's and Nanson's rules is computationally more difficult than manipulation of Borda, as it is NP-hard for a single manipulator to compute a manipulation. In addition, for Baldwin's and Nanson's rules with weighted votes, we prove that it is NP-hard for a coalition of manipulators to compute a manipulation with a small number of candidates.Because of these NP-hardness results, we compute manipulations using heuristic algorithms that attempt to minimise the number of manipulators. We propose several new heuristic methods. Experiments show that these methods significantly outperform the previously best known heuristic method for the Borda rule. Our results suggest that, whilst computing a manipulation of the Borda rule is NP-hard, computational complexity may provide only a weak barrier against manipulation in practice. In contrast to the Borda rule, our experiments with Baldwin's and Nanson's rules demonstrate that both of them are often more difficult to manipulate in practice. These results suggest that elimination style voting rules deserve further study.

The narrow Fe Kαline and the molecular torus in active galactic nuclei: an IR/X-ray view

The narrow component of the iron K$\alpha$ is an almost ubiquitous feature in the X-ray spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and is believed to originate in neutral material, possibly located in the molecular torus. This would imply a tight connection between the Fe K$\alpha$ equivalent width (EW) and the physical properties of the torus. In a recent work we have shown that the decrease of the covering factor of the torus with the luminosity, as expected by luminosity-dependent unification models, would be able to explain the decrease of Fe K$\alpha$ EW with the luminosity (i.e., the X-ray Baldwin effect). Recent developments in the study of the mid-IR (MIR) spectrum of AGN allow important parameters of the torus to be deduced, such as its covering factor ($f_{\rm\,obs}$) and equatorial column density ($N_{\rm\,H}^{\rm\,T}$), by applying clumpy torus models. Using XMM-Newton/EPIC observations of a sample of 24 type-I AGN, we investigate the relation between the physical parameters of the torus obtained by recent MIR works and the properties of the Fe K$\alpha$ line. We correct the values of the Fe K$\alpha$ EW by taking the inclination angle, the photon index, the equatorial column density, and half-opening angle of the torus into account using a physical torus model of X-ray reprocessed radiation. We find that the relation between Fe K$\alpha$ EW and $f_{\rm\,obs}$ shows a slope that is consistent with the expected value, albeit with a low statistical significance. A trend that is consistent with the theoretical prediction is also found when comparing the Fe K$\alpha$ EW to $N_{\rm\,H}^{\rm\,T}$. Our work seems to confirm that the bulk of the narrow Fe K$\alpha$ line is produced by the same material responsible for the MIR emission.

On the Axiomatic Characterization of Runoff Voting Rules

Runoff voting rules such as single transferable vote (STV) and Baldwin's rule are of particular interest in computational social choice due to their recursive nature and hardness of manipulation, as well as in (human) practice because they are relatively easy to understand. However, they are not known for their compliance with desirable axiomatic properties, which we attempt to rectify here. We characterize runoff rules that are based on scoring rules using two axioms: a weakening of local independence of irrelevant alternatives and a variant of population-consistency. We then show, as our main technical result, that STV is the only runoff scoring rule satisfying an independence-of-clones property. Furthermore, we provide axiomatizations of Baldwin's rule and Coombs' rule.

Iron Kα emission in type-I and type-II active galactic nuclei

The narrow Fe K$\alpha$ line is one of the main signatures of the reprocessing of X-ray radiation from the material surrounding supermassive black holes, and it has been found to be omnipresent in the X-ray spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN). In this work we study the characteristics of the narrow Fe K$\alpha$ line in different types of AGN. Using the results of a large Suzaku study we find that Seyfert 2s have on average lower Fe K$\alpha$ luminosities than Seyfert 1s for the same 10-50 keV continuum luminosity. Simulating dummy Sy1s and Sy2s populations using physical torus models of X-ray reflected emission, we find that this difference can be explained by means of different average inclination angles with respect to the torus, as predicted by the unified model. Alternative explanations include differences in the intensities of Compton humps or in the photon index distributions. We show that the ratio between the flux of the broad and narrow Fe K$\alpha$ line in the 6.35-6.45 keV range depends on the torus geometry considered, and is on average $<25\%$ and $<15\%$ for type I and type II AGN, respectively. We find evidence of absorption of the narrow Fe K$\alpha$ line flux in Compton-thick AGN, which suggests that part of the reflecting material is obscured. We estimate that on average in obscured AGN the reflected radiation from neutral material is seen through a column density which is 1/4 of that absorbing the primary X-ray emission. This should be taken into account in synthesis models of the CXB and when studying the luminosity function of heavily obscured AGN. We detect the first evidence of the X-ray Baldwin effect in Seyfert 2s, with the same slope as that found for Seyfert 1s, which suggests that the mechanism responsible for the decrease of the equivalent width with the continuum luminosity is the same in the two classes of objects.

The semiotic coevolution of mind and culture

The incompleteness thesis in cultural anthropology holds that the human mind is incomplete apart from culture, based on the rationale that the human brain and culture developed in interaction with each other, or “coevolved.” In evolutionary biology this process is known as the Baldwin effect, a form of natural selection in which individuals' innovative behavior creates novel selection pressures leading to genetic support or assimilation of that behavior. While the nature of these selection pressures is still controversial, as reflected in recent evolutionary accounts of language and tools, the Baldwin effect does not imply that evolution left the mind “unfinished” or rule out the possibility of psychic unity. Two basic approaches to the coevolution of mind and culture can be distinguished, according to how the human-made niche is defined. Informational coevolution is based on the idea that cultural artifacts and practices consist of information, such that the coevolutionary process produces cognitive mechanisms for acquiring and manipulating such information. Semiotic coevolution is based on the idea that culture consists of the meaning-making activity of the individuals who partake in it, such that the coevolutionary process produces the capacity to generate and experience such meaning. Although Evolutionary Psychology reflects the informational approach, the semiotic approach fits better with basic evolutionary principles.

UNUSUAL BROAD-LINE Mg II EMITTERS AMONG LUMINOUS GALAXIES IN THE BARYON OSCILLATION SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY

Many classes of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have been observed and recorded since the discovery of Seyfert galaxies. In this paper, we examine the sample of luminous galaxies in the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. We find a potentially new observational class of AGNs, one with strong and broad Mg II λ2799 line emission, but very weak emission in other normal indicators of AGN activity, such as the broad-line Hα, Hβ, and the near-ultraviolet AGN continuum, leading to an extreme ratio of broad Hα/Mg II flux relative to normal quasars. Meanwhile, these objects' narrow-line flux ratios reveal AGN narrow-line regions with levels of activity consistent with the Mg II fluxes and in agreement with that of normal quasars. These AGN may represent an extreme case of the Baldwin effect, with very low continuum and high equivalent width relative to typical quasars, but their ratio of broad Mg II to broad Balmer emission remains very unusual. They may also be representative of a class of AGN where the central engine is observed indirectly with scattered light. These galaxies represent a small fraction of the total population of luminous galaxies ( 0.1%), but are more likely (about 3.5 times) to have AGN-like nuclear line emission properties than other luminous galaxies. Because Mg II is usually inaccessible for the population of nearby galaxies, there may exist a related population of broad-line Mg II emitters in the local universe which is currently classified as narrow-line emitters (Seyfert 2 galaxies) or low ionization nuclear emission-line regions.

The average 0.5–200 keV spectrum of local active galactic nuclei and a new determination of the 2–10 keV luminosity function at z ≈ 0

The broadband X-ray spectra of AGNs contains information about the nuclear environment from Schwarzschild radii scales to distances of ~1 pc. In addition, the average shape of the X-ray spectrum is an important input into X-ray background synthesis models. Here, local (z \approx 0) AGN luminosity functions (LFs) in five energy bands are used as a low-resolution, luminosity-dependent X-ray spectrometer in order to constrain the average AGN X-ray spectrum between 0.5 and 200 keV. The 15-55 keV LF measured by Swift-BAT is assumed to be the best determination of the local LF, and then a spectral model is varied to determine the best fit to the 0.5-2 keV, 2-10 keV, 3-20 keV and 14-195 keV LFs. The spectral model consists of a Gaussian distribution of power-laws with a mean photon-index <\Gamma> and cutoff energy E_cut, as well as contributions from distant and disc reflection. The reflection strength is parameterised by varying the Fe abundance relative to solar, A_Fe, and requiring a specific Fe K equivalent width (EW). In this way, the presence of the X-ray Baldwin effect can be tested. The spectral model that best fits the four LFs has <\Gamma> = 1.85 \pm 0.15, E_cut=270^{+170}_{-80} keV, A_Fe=0.3^{+0.3}_{-0.15} (90% C.L.). The sub-solar A_Fe indicates the presence of strong reflection given the assumed Fe K EW. Indeed, parameterising the reflection strength with the R parameter gives R=1.7^{+1.7}_{-0.85}. There is moderate evidence for no X-ray Baldwin effect. A critical result of our procedure is that the shape of the local 2-10 keV LF measured by HEAO-1 and MAXI is incompatible with the LFs measured in the hard X-rays by Swift-BAT and RXTE. We therefore present a new determination of the local 2-10 keV LF that is consistent with all other energy bands.This new LF should be used to revise current measurements of the evolving AGN LF in the 2-10 keV band.

Is cancer an obvious yet overlooked example of the Baldwin effect?

A correspondence is drawn between features of the Baldwin eect and those of cancer. Non-heritability of plastic traits corresponds with the somatic nature of cancer causing mutations. Plasticity then corresponds with the rate at which somatic mutations are formed, amplied, or removed. One then need not hypothesize or look for new genes that code for the range of plasticity as required by the Simpson-Baldwin eect.

Dependence of equivalent width of quasar emission lines on UV-optical spectral index

AbstractUsing 192 composite spectra stacked from subsamples of individual SDSS quasar spectra binned in spectral index, αλ, and logarithm of monochromatic luminosity at 1450 Å, log l1450, and modelling separate spectral ranges with superposition of emission lines it was found that: there is a dependence of emission line equivalent width (EW) on αλ (correlation or anti-correlation) for some lines, mostly for those lines for which the Baldwin effect is detected, while for the lines for which the Baldwin effect is not observed any αλ-dependence was found.

Probing the evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei using the narrow iron Kα line

AbstractA large fraction of the AGN output power is emitted in the X-rays, in a region very close to the supermassive black hole (SMBH). The most distinctive feature of the X-ray spectra of AGN is the iron Kα line, often observed as the superposition of a broad and a narrow component. While the broad component is found in only ~ 35–45% of bright nearby AGN, the narrow component has been found to be ubiquitous. The narrow Fe Kα line is thought to be produced in the circumnuclear material, likely in the molecular torus. Given its origin, this feature is possibly the most important tracer of neutral matter surrounding the SMBH. One of the most interesting characteristics of the narrow Fe Kα line is the decrease of its equivalent width with the continuum luminosity, the so-called X-ray Baldwin effect (Iwasawa &amp; Taniguchi 1993). This trend has been found by many studies of large samples of type-I AGN, and very recently also in type-II AGN (Ricci et al. 2013c, submitted to ApJ). The slope of the X-ray Baldwin effect in type-II AGN is the same of their unobscured counterparts, which implies that the mechanism at work is the same. Several hypothesis have been put forward in the last decade to explain the X-ray Baldwin effect: i) a luminosity-dependent variation in the ionisation state of the iron-emitting material (Nandra et al. 1997); ii) the decrease of the number of continuum photons in the iron line region with the Eddington ratio, as an effect of the well known correlation between the photon index and the Eddington ratio (Ricci et al. 2013b, submitted to MNRAS); iii) the decrease of the covering factor of the torus with the luminosity (e.g., Page et al. 2004, Ricci et al. 2013a A&amp;A 553, 29) as expected by luminosity-dependent unification models (e.g., Ueda et al. 2003). In my talk I will review the main characteristics of the narrow Fe K? line, and present the results of our recent works aimed at explaining the X-ray Baldwin effect using iron-line emitting physical torus models (Ricci et al. 2013a, b), and at understanding the origin of the Fe K? line (Ricci et al. 2013c). I will focus in particular on the importance of the Fe Kα line as a probe of the evolution of the physical characteristics of the molecular torus with the luminosity.

On the role of the Γ - λEdd relation on the X-ray Baldwin effect in active galactic nuclei

The X-ray Baldwin effect is the inverse correlation between the equivalent width (EW) of the narrow component of the iron Kalpha line and the X-ray luminosity of active galactic nuclei (AGN). A similar trend has also been observed between Fe Kalpha EW and the Eddington ratio (lambda_Edd). Using Chandra/HEG results of Shu et al. (2010) and bolometric corrections we study the relation between EW and the lambda_Edd, and find that log EW = (-0.13+/-0.03)log(lambda_Edd) + 1.47. We explore the role of the known positive correlation between the photon index of the primary X-ray continuum (Gamma) and lambda_Edd on the X-ray Baldwin effect. We simulate the iron Kalpha line emitted by populations of unabsorbed AGN considering 3 different geometries of the reflecting material: toroidal, spherical-toroidal and slab. We find that the Gamma-lambda_Edd correlation cannot account for the whole X-ray Baldwin effect, unless a strong dependence of Gamma on lambda_Edd, such as the one recently found by Risaliti et al. (2009) and Jin et al. (2012), is assumed. No clear correlation is found between EW and Gamma. We conclude that a good understanding of the slope of the Gamma-lambda_Edd relation is critical to assess whether the trend plays a leading or rather a marginal role in the X-ray Baldwin effect.

Optical spectral decomposition of NGC 4051

Considering the host galaxy contribution, a spectral decomposition method is used to reanalyzed the archive data of optical spectra for a narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy, NGC 4051. The light curves of the continuum f λ (5100 A), and Hβ, He ii, Fe ii emission lines are given. We find strong flux correlations between line emissions of Hβ, He ii, Fe ii and the continuum f λ (5100 A). These low-ionization lines (Hβ, Fe ii, He ii) have “inverse” intrinsic Baldwin effects. Using the methods of the cross-correlation function and the Monte Carlo simulation, we find the time delays, with respect to the continuum, are $3.45^{+12.0}_{-0.5}~\mbox{days}$ with the probability of 34 % for the intermediate component of Hβ, $6.45^{+13.0}_{-1.0}~\mbox{days}$ with the probability of 65 % for the intermediate component of He ii. From these intermediate components of Hβ and He ii, the calculated central black hole masses are $0.86^{+4.35}_{-0.33}\times 10^{6}$ and $0.82^{+3.12}_{-0.45}\times 10^{6}~M_{\odot }$ . We also find that the time delays for Fe ii are $9.7^{+3.0}_{-5.0}~\mbox{days}$ with the probability of 36 %, $8.45^{+1.0}_{-2.0}~\mbox{days}$ with the probability of 18 % for the total epochs and “subset 1” data, respectively. It seems that the Fe ii emission region is outside of the Hβ emission region.

I. Embryonal vasculature formation recapitulated in transgenic mammary tumor spheroids implanted pseudo-orthotopicly into mouse dorsal skin fold: the organoblasts concept

Inadequate understanding of cancer biology is a problem. This work focused on cellular mechanisms of tumor vascularization. According to earlier studies, the tumor vasculature derives from host endothelial cells (angiogenesis) or their precursors of bone marrow origin circulating in the blood (neo-vasculogenesis) unlike in embryos. In this study, we observed the neo-vasculature form in multiple ways from local precursor cells. Recapitulation of primitive as well as advanced embryonal stages of vasculature formation followed co-implantation of avascular ( in vitro cultured) N202 breast tumor spheroids and homologous tissue grafts into mouse dorsal skin chambers. Ultrastructural and immunocytochemical analysis of tissue sections exposed the interactions between the tumor and the graft tissue stem cells. It revealed details of vasculature morphogenesis not seen before in either tumors or embryos. A gradual increase in complexity of the vascular morphogenesis at the tumor site reflected a range of steps in ontogenic evolution of the differentiating cells. Malignant- and surgical injury repair-related tissue growth prompted local cells to initiate extramedullar erythropoiesis and vascular patterning. The new findings included: interdependence between the extramedullar hematopoiesis and assembly of new vessels (both from the locally differentiating precursors); nucleo-cytoplasmic conversion (karyolysis) as the mechanism of erythroblast enucleation; the role of megakaryocytes and platelets in vascular pattern formation before emergence of endothelial cells; lineage relationships between hematopoietic and endothelial cells; the role of extracellular calmyrin in tissue morphogenesis; and calmyrite, a new ultrastructural entity associated with anaerobic energy metabolism. The central role of the extramedullar erythropoiesis in the formation of new vasculature (blood and vessels) emerged here as part of the tissue building process including the lymphatic system and nerves, and suggests a cellular mechanism for instigating variable properties of endothelial surfaces in different organs. Those findings are consistent with the organoblasts concept, previously discussed in a study on childhood tumors, and have implications for tissue definition.

Baldwin effect under multipeaked fitness landscapes: Phenotypic fluctuation accelerates evolutionary rate

Phenotypic fluctuations and plasticity can generally affect the course of evolution, a process known as the Baldwin effect. Several studies have recast this effect and claimed that phenotypic plasticity accelerates evolutionary rate (the Baldwin expediting effect); however, the validity of this claim is still controversial. In this study, we investigate the evolutionary population dynamics of a quantitative genetic model under a multipeaked fitness landscape, in order to evaluate the validity of the effect. We provide analytical expressions for the evolutionary rate and average population fitness. Our results indicate that under a multipeaked fitness landscape, phenotypic fluctuation always accelerates evolutionary rate, but it decreases the average fitness. As an extreme case of the trade-off between the rate of evolution and average fitness, phenotypic fluctuation is shown to accelerate the error catastrophe, in which a population fails to sustain a high-fitness peak. In the context of our findings, we discuss the role of phenotypic plasticity in adaptive evolution.

Luminosity-dependent unification of active galactic nuclei and the X-ray Baldwin effect

The existence of an anti-correlation between the equivalent width (EW) of the narrow core of the iron Kalpha line and the luminosity of the continuum (i.e. the X-ray Baldwin effect) in type-I active galactic nuclei has been confirmed over the last years by several studies carried out with XMM-Newton, Chandra and Suzaku. However, so far no general consensus on the origin of this trend has been reached. Several works have proposed the decrease of the covering factor of the molecular torus with the luminosity (in the framework of the luminosity-dependent unification models) as a possible explanation for the X-ray Baldwin effect. Using the fraction of obscured sources measured by recent X-ray and IR surveys as a proxy of the half-opening angle of the torus, and the recent Monte-Carlo simulations of the X-ray radiation reprocessed by a structure with a spherical-toroidal geometry by Ikeda et al. (2009) and Brightman & Nandra (2011), we test the hypothesis that the X-ray Baldwin effect is related to the decrease of the half-opening angle of the torus with the luminosity. Simulating the spectra of an unabsorbed population with a luminosity-dependent covering factor of the torus as predicted by recent X-ray surveys, we find that this mechanism is able to explain the observed X-ray Baldwin effect. Fitting the simulated data with a log-linear L_{2-10keV}-EW relation, we found that in the Seyfert regime (L_{2-10keV}< 10^44.2 erg s^-1) luminosity-dependent unification produces a slope consistent with the observations for average values of the equatorial column densities of the torus of log N_H^T > 23.1. In the quasar regime (L_{2-10 keV}> 10^44.2 erg s^-1) a decrease of the covering factor of the torus with the luminosity slower than that observed in the Seyfert regime (as found by recent hard X-ray surveys) is able to reproduce the observations for 23.2 < log N_H^T < 24.2.

Evolution ‘on purpose’: how behaviour has shaped the evolutionary process

The idea that behaviour has played an important role in evolution has had its ups and downs over the past two centuries. Now it appears to be up once again. Lamarck can claim priority for this insight, along with Darwin's more guarded view. However, there followed a long ‘dark-age’, which began with Weismann's mutation theory and spanned the gene-centred era that followed during most of the 20th Century, although it was punctuated by various contrarians, from Baldwin's ‘Organic Selection theory’ to Simpson's ‘Baldwin effect’, Mayr's ‘Pacemaker’ model, and Waddington's ‘genetic assimilation’, amongst others. Nowadays, even as we are reading genomes and using this information to illuminate biological causation and decipher evolutionary patterns, behavioural processes are more fully appreciated, with ‘multilevel selection theory’ providing a more ecumenical, multicausal model of evolutionary change. This has been accompanied by a flood of research on how behavioural influences contribute to the ongoing evolutionary process, from research on phenotypic plasticity to niche construction theory and gene–culture co-evolution theory. However, the theoretical implications of this paradigm shift still have not been fully integrated into our current thinking about evolution. Behaviour has a purpose (teleonomy); it is ends-directed. Living organisms are not passive objects of ‘chance and necessity’ (as Jacques Monod put it). Nor is the currently popular concept of phenotypic plasticity sufficient. Organisms are active participants in the evolutionary process (cybernetic systems) and have played a major causal role in determining its direction. It could be called ‘constrained purposiveness’, and one of the important themes in evolution, culminating in humankind, has been the ‘progressive’ evolution of self-determination (intelligence) and its ever-expanding potency. I call this agency ‘Teleonomic Selection’. In a very real sense, our species invented itself. For better and worse, the course of evolution is increasingly being shaped by the ‘Sorcerer's Apprentice’. Monod's mantra needs to be updated. Evolution is a process that combines ‘chance, necessity, teleonomy and selection’. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 112, 242–260.

Selection for Reinforcement-Free Learning Ability as an Organizing Factor in the Evolution of Cognition

This research explores the relation between environmental structure and neurocognitive structure. We hypothesize that selection pressure on abilities for efficient learning (especially in settings with limited or no reward information) translates into selection pressure on correspondence relations between neurocognitive and environmental structure, since such correspondence allows for simple changes in the environment to be handled with simple learning updates in neurocognitive structure. We present a model in which a simple form of reinforcement-free learning is evolved in neural networks using neuromodulation and analyze the effect this selection for learning ability has on the virtual species' neural organization. We find a higher degree of organization than in a control population evolved without learning ability and discuss the relation between the observed neural structure and the environmental structure. We discuss our findings in the context of the environmental complexity thesis, the Baldwin effect, and other interactions between adaptation processes.

Phylogeny Recapitulates Ontogeny: A Jewish Biogenetic Law?

Phylogeny Recapitulates Ontogeny: A <i>Jewish</i> Biogenetic Law?

Evolution in a Changing Environment

We propose a simple model for genetic adaptation to a changing environment, describing a fitness landscape characterized by two maxima. One is associated with “specialist” individuals that are adapted to the environment; this maximum moves over time as the environment changes. The other maximum is static, and represents “generalist” individuals not affected by environmental changes. The rest of the landscape is occupied by “maladapted” individuals. Our analysis considers the evolution of these three subpopulations. Our main result is that, in presence of a sufficiently stable environmental feature, as in the case of an unchanging aspect of a physical habitat, specialists can dominate the population. By contrast, rapidly changing environmental features, such as language or cultural habits, are a moving target for the genes; here, generalists dominate, because the best evolutionary strategy is to adopt neutral alleles not specialized for any specific environment. The model we propose is based on simple assumptions about evolutionary dynamics and describes all possible scenarios in a non-trivial phase diagram. The approach provides a general framework to address such fundamental issues as the Baldwin effect, the biological basis for language, or the ecological consequences of a rapid climate change.