Ballistic Motion Research Articles

Feeders and expellers, two types of animalcules with outboard cilia, have distinct surface interactions

Within biological fluid dynamics, it is conventional to distinguish between “puller” and “pusher” microswimmers on the basis of the forward or aft location of the flagella relative to the cell body: typically, bacteria are pushers and algae are pullers. Here we note that since many pullers have “outboard” cilia or flagella displaced laterally from the cell centerline on both sides of the organism, there are two important subclasses whose far-field is that of a stresslet, but whose nearfield is qualitatively more complex. The ciliary beat creates not only a propulsive force but also swirling flows that can be represented by paired rotlets with two possible senses of rotation, either “feeders” that sweep fluid toward the cell apex, or “expellers” that push fluid away. Experimental studies of the rotifer in combination with earlier work on the green algae show that the two classes have markedly different interactions with surfaces. When swimming near a surface, expellers such as scatter from the wall, whereas a feeder like stably attaches. This results in a stochastic “run-and-stick” locomotion, with periods of ballistic motion parallel to the surface interrupted by trapping at the surface. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Atomistic understanding of the interlayer friction of graphullerene

Graphullerene, an emerging two-dimensional carbon allotrope derived from C60, is endowed with distinctive mechanical and thermal characteristics, positioning it as a potential candidate with superior lubricating properties akin to graphene and C60. This research delves into the interlayer frictional behavior of graphullerene through molecular dynamics simulations, meticulously examining the impact of sliding velocity, normal load, flake orientation, and temperature. The findings reveal a stick-slip mode of friction with an exponential increase in friction force as sliding velocity increases. Additionally, the study captures the formation of puckering at the slider's forefront, which undergoes ballistic motion propelled by the slider's momentum. Notably, at higher velocities, a distinctive "stone skipping" effect is observed, with the graphullerene flake intermittently detaching from the substrate.

Velocity-compensated intravoxel incoherent motion of the human calf muscle.

To determine whether intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) describes the blood perfusion in muscles better, assuming pseudo diffusion (Bihan Model 1) or ballistic motion (Bihan Model 2). IVIM parameters were measured in 18 healthy subjects with three different diffusion gradient time profiles (bipolar with two diffusion times and one with velocity compensation) and 17 b-values (0-600 s/mm2) at rest and after muscle activation. The diffusion coefficient, perfusion fraction, and pseudo-diffusion coefficient were estimated with a segmented fit in the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles. Velocity-compensated gradients resulted in a decreased perfusion fraction (6.9% ± 1.4% vs. 4.4% ± 1.3% in the GM after activation) and pseudo-diffusion coefficient (0.069 ± 0.046 mm2/s vs. 0.014 ± 0.006 in the GM after activation) compared to the bipolar gradients with the longer diffusion encoding time. Increased diffusion coefficients, perfusion fractions, and pseudo-diffusion coefficients were observed in the GM after activation for all gradient profiles. However, the increase was significantly smaller for the velocity-compensated gradients. A diffusion time dependence was found for the pseudo-diffusion coefficient in the activated muscle. Velocity-compensated diffusion gradients significantly suppress the IVIM effect in the calf muscle, indicating that the ballistic limit is mostly reached, which is supported by the time dependence of the pseudo-diffusion coefficient.

Intrinsic dynamics of emulsions: Experiments in microgravity on the International Space Station

HypothesisIn order to understand the basic mechanisms affecting emulsion stability, the intrinsic dynamics of the drop population must be investigated. We hypothesize that transient ballistic motion can serve as a marker of interactions between drops. In 1G conditions, buoyancy-induced drop motion obscures these interactions. The microgravity condition onboard the International Space Station enable this investigation. ExperimentsWe performed Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy (DWS) experiments in the ESA Soft Matter Dynamics (SMD) facility. We used Monte Carlo simulations of photon trajectory to support data analysis. The analysis framework was validated by ground-based characterizations of the initial drop size distribution (DSD) and the properties of the oil/water interface in the presence of surfactant. FindingsWe characterized the drop size distribution and found to be bi-disperse. Drop dynamics shows transient ballistic features at early times, reaching a stationary regime of primarily diffusion-dominated motion. This suggests different ageing mechanisms: immediately after emulsification, the main mechanism is coalescence or aggregation between small drops. However at later times, ageing proceeds via coalescence or aggregation of small with large drops in some emulsions. Our results elucidate new processes relevant to emulsion stability with potential impact on industrial processes on Earth, as well as enabling technologies for space exploration.

Functional Noncentrosymmetric Nanoparticle-Nanofiber Hybrids via Selective Fragmentation.

Noncentrosymmetric nanostructures are an attractive synthetic target as they can exhibit complex interparticle interactions useful for numerous applications. However, generating uniform, colloidally stable, noncentrosymmetric nanoparticles with low aspect ratios is a significant challenge using solution self-assembly approaches. Herein, we outline the synthesis of noncentrosymmetric multiblock co-nanofibers by subsequent living crystallization-driven self-assembly of block co-polymers, spatially confined attachment of nanoparticles, and localized nanofiber fragmentation. Using this strategy, we have fabricated uniform diblock and triblock noncentrosymmetric π-conjugated nanofiber-nanoparticle hybrid structures. Additionally, in contrast to Brownian motion typical of centrosymmetric nanoparticles, we demonstrated that these noncentrosymmetric nanofibers undergo ballistic motion in the presence of H2O2 and thus could be employed as nanomotors in various applications, including drug delivery and environmental remediation.

Autonomous dynamics of two-dimensional insulating domain with superclimbing edges

Superclimbing dynamics is the signature feature of transverse quantum fluids describing wide superfluid one-dimensional interfaces and/or edges with negligible Peierls barrier. Using Lagrangian formalism, we show how the essence of the superclimb phenomenon—dynamic conjugation of the fields of the superfluid phase and geometric shape—clearly manifests itself via characteristic modes of autonomous motion of the insulating domain (“droplet”) with superclimbing edges. In the translation invariant case and in the absence of supercurrent along the edge, the droplet demonstrates ballistic motion with the velocity-dependent shape and zero bulk currents. In an isotropic trapping potential, the droplet features a doubly degenerate sloshing mode. The period of the ground-state evolution of the superfluid phase (dictating the frequency of the AC Josephson effect) is sensitive to the geometry of the droplet. The supercurrent along the edge dramatically changes the droplet dynamics: The motion acquires features resembling that of a two-dimensional charged particle interacting with a perpendicular magnetic field. In a linear external potential (uniform force field), the state with a supercurrent demonstrates a spectacular gyroscopic effect—uniform motion in the perpendicular to the force direction. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Characterizing pedestrian contact interaction trajectories to understand spreading risk in human crowds

A spreading process can be observed when particular information, substances, or diseases spread through a population over time in social and biological systems. It is widely believed that contact interactions among individual entities play an essential role in the spreading process. Although contact interactions are often influenced by geometrical conditions, little attention has been paid to understand their effects, especially on contact duration among pedestrians. To examine how the pedestrian flow setups affect contact duration distribution, we have analyzed trajectories of pedestrians in contact interactions collected from pedestrian flow experiments of uni-, bi- and multi-directional setups. Based on turning angle entropy and efficiency, we have classified the type of motion observed in the contact interactions. We have found that the majority of contact interactions in the unidirectional flow setup can be categorized as confined motion, hinting at the possibility of long-lived contact duration. However, ballistic motion is more frequently observed in the other flow conditions, yielding frequent, brief contact interactions. Our results demonstrate that observing more confined motions is likely associated with the increase of parallel contact interactions regardless of pedestrian flow setups. This study highlights that the confined motions tend to yield longer contact duration, suggesting that the infectious disease transmission risk would be considerable even for low transmissibility. These results have important implications for crowd management in the context of minimizing spreading risk.This work is an extended version of Kwak et al. (2023) presented at the 2023 International Conference on Computational Science (ICCS).

Excluded volume effects on tangentially driven active ring polymers.

The conformational and dynamical properties of active ring polymers are studied by numerical simulations. The two-dimensionally confined polymer is modeled as a closed bead-spring chain, driven by tangential forces, put in contact with a heat bath described by the Brownian multiparticle collision dynamics. Both phantom polymers and chains comprising excluded volume interactions are considered for different bending rigidities. The size and shape are found to be dependent on persistence length, driving force, and bead mutual exclusion. The lack of excluded volume interactions is responsible for a shrinkage of active rings when increasing driving force in the flexible limit, while the presence induces a moderate swelling of chains. The internal dynamics of flexible phantom active rings shows activity-enhanced diffusive behavior at large activity values while, in the case of self-avoiding active chains, it is characterized by active ballistic motion not depending on stiffness. The long-time dynamics of active rings is marked by rotational motion whose period scales as the inverse of the applied tangential force, irrespective of persistence length and beads' self-exclusion.

A Relativistic Formula for the Multiple Scattering of Photons

We have discovered analytical expressions for the probability density function (PDF) of photons that are multiply scattered in relativistic flows, under the assumption of isotropic and inelastic scattering. These expressions characterize the collective dynamics of these photons, ranging from free-streaming to diffusion regions. The PDF, defined within the light cone to ensure the preservation of causality, is expressed in a three-dimensional space at a constant time surface. This expression is achieved by summing the PDFs of photons that have been scattered n times within four-dimensional space-time. We have confirmed that this formulation accurately reproduces the results of relativistic Monte Carlo simulations. We found that the PDF in three-dimensional space at a constant time surface can be represented in a separable variable form. We demonstrate the behavior of the PDF in the laboratory frame across a wide range of Lorentz factors for the relativistic flow. When the Lorentz factor of the fluid is low, the behavior of scattered photons evolves sequentially from free propagation to diffusion, and then to dynamic diffusion, where the mean effective velocity of the photons equates to that of the fluid. On the other hand, when the Lorentz factor is large, the behavior evolves from anisotropic ballistic motion, characterized by a mean effective velocity approaching the speed of light, to dynamic diffusion.

Self-Timed and Spatially Targeted Delivery of Chemical Cargo by Motile Liquid Crystal.

A key challenge underlying the design of miniature machines is encoding materials with time- and space-specific functional behaviors that require little human intervention. Dissipative processes that drive materials beyond equilibrium and evolve continuously with time and location represent one promising strategy to achieve such complex functions. This work reports how internal nonequilibrium states of liquid crystal (LC) emulsion droplets undergoing chemotaxis can be used to time the delivery of a chemical agent to a targeted location. During ballistic motion, hydrodynamic shear forces dominate LC elastic interactions, dispersing microdroplet inclusions (microcargo) within double emulsion droplets. Scale-dependent colloidal forces then hinder the escape of dispersed microcargo from the propelling droplet. Upon arrival at the targeted location, a circulatory flow of diminished strength allows the microcargo to cluster within the LC elastic environment such that hydrodynamic forces grow to exceed colloidal forces and thus trigger the escape of the microcargo. This work illustrates the utility of the approach by using microcargo that initiate polymerization upon release through the outer interface of the carrier droplet. These findings provide a platform that utilizes nonequilibrium strategies to design autonomous spatial and temporal functions into active materials.

Asymptotic analysis of time-fractional quantum diffusion

We study the large-time asymptotics of the mean-square displacement for the time-fractional Schrödinger equation in Rd. We define the time-fractional derivative by the Caputo derivative. We consider the initial-value problem for the free evolution of wave packets in Rd governed by the time-fractional Schrödinger equation iβ∂tαu=−Δu, with initial condition u(t=0)=u0, parameterized by two indices α,β∈(0,1]. We show distinctly different long-time evolution of the mean square displacement according to the relation between α and β. In particular, asymptotically ballistic motion occurs only for α=β.

Signatures of Conical Intersections in Extreme Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectra of Furan Measured with 15 fs Time Resolution.

Ultrafast internal conversion of furan upon deep UV excitation at 200 nm is studied by using extreme ultraviolet time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy with a time resolution of 15 fs. Ballistic nuclear wavepacket motion from the 1B2(ππ*) state to the ground state is fully observed using 21.7 eV probe pulses. Through the performance of a comparison with the results of electronic structure calculations at the MS(3)-CASPT2(10,10)/cc-pVTZ level of theory, the photoelectron signals from the conical intersection regions are identified.

Trajectory Planning for Hopping Rover on Small Bodies Under Pre-Collision Attitude Adjustment Modulation

A novel pre-collision attitude adjustment (PCAA) modulation based on angular velocity and quaternions control is developed to more controllable and reliably adjust the non-spherical hopping rover's trajectory on small bodies. This corresponds to a hopping trajectory planning (HTP) framework that addresses inherent technical challenges, including attitude-trajectory coupled features, hard-to-depicting near-truth gravity and continues dynamical contact models, difficult-to-predetermine collision times with the small bodies’ surface, and complex judgments regarding whether the period of attitude adjustment is sufficient in current hops. Two main contributions are proposed, focusing on modeling and planning. To achieve a more realistic modeling of the rover's motion, its attitude-trajectory coupling dynamic model is researched, including a ground-truth irregular gravity model and continuous dynamical contact model. Additionally, a collision detection method based on the local surface smoothing technique is proposed for rapid and exact switching between the ballistic and contact motions for the subsequent planning purpose. On the other hand, redundancy planning and binary event-trigger techniques are combined for handling unpredictable available dimensions of optimization variables of PCAA-based HTP, which arise from the indeterminate scale of collision times and potential deficiency in ballistic flight time required for completing attitude maneuvers. Specifically, the solution space is preset to guarantee the unchanging dimensions of the design variables, which are activated or deactivated by coupling binary event variables for each dimension. These newly introduced events are triggered by comparing the realistic rebound time of the current hop with the necessary time for attitude maneuver, which is accurately computed by designing a first-order sliding mode controller. This approach enables an equivalent and easily implementable version of the problem to be obtained. Logically and numerically, the application of PCAA modulation is found to significantly enlarge or contract the area of the reachable region of the hopping rover and contribute to improving the convergence and reducing the relative final position error of the hopping trajectory planning problem.

Entropy production in the nonreciprocal Cahn-Hilliard model.

We study the nonreciprocal Cahn-Hilliard model with thermal noise as a prototypical example of a generic class of non-Hermitian stochastic field theories, analyzed in two companion papers [Suchanek, Kroy, and Loos, Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 258302 (2023)10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.258302; Phys. Rev. E 108, 064123 (2023)10.1103/PhysRevE.108.064123]. Due to the nonreciprocal coupling between two field components, the model is inherently out of equilibrium and can be regarded as an active field theory. Beyond the conventional homogeneous and static-demixed phases, it exhibits a traveling-wave phase, which can be entered via either an oscillatory instability or a critical exceptional point. By means of a Fourier decomposition of the entropy production rate, we quantify the associated scale-resolved time-reversal symmetry breaking, in all phases and across the transitions, in the low-noise regime. Our perturbative calculation reveals its dependence on the strength of the nonreciprocal coupling. Surging entropy production near the static-dynamic transitions can be attributed to entropy-generating fluctuations in the longest wavelength Fourier mode and heralds the emerging traveling wave. Its translational dynamics can be mapped on the dissipative ballistic motion of an active (quasi)particle.

Coherence of turbulent structures with varying drive in stellarator edge plasmas

This work investigates the parallel coherence of plasma filaments through numerical simulations using the hot-ion two-fluid hermes-2 model within the BOUT++ framework. Realistic field lines in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of magnetic fusion devices, especially in stellarator configurations possess a highly varying curvature along the magnetic field line. A varying curvature creates a parallel velocity gradient which might tear the filament apart. The main parameters controlling this process are the collisionality and the electron plasma beta. Simulations of realistic curvature variations along field lines in a circular ASDEX Upgrade-like tokamak and Wendelstein 7-X stellarator (W7-X) show the parallel displacement between different filament sections to correlate with the curvature. The rapidly varying W7-X curvature and the low average curvature drive reduce the propagation of the filament to only a few hundred meters per second. The effect of a finite ion temperature on filament propagation in a W7-X field line geometry is found to be a higher diamagnetic current resulting in stronger charge separation. This work supports simulations and experimental findings that filaments in W7-X are comparably slow due to the large major radius of the device. They do not perform ballistic motion and hence do not drive significant turbulence spreading in the SOL.

Kinematic properties and ages of extended fast, neutral gas around η Carinae: tracing the pre-eruption bipolar wind

ABSTRACT We present proper-motion measurements and long-slit spectroscopy of the Mg ii nebula around η Carinae obtained with the Wide Field Camera 3 and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Detailed kinematics of the Mg ii-emitting material constrain the geometry and history of mass-loss from η Car, and provide estimated ejection dates, assuming linear, ballistic motions. These measurements show that the neutral gas immediately outside the Homunculus – i.e. material into which the Homunculus is now expanding – was expelled over several decades prior to the Great Eruption, thus representing unshocked pre-eruption stellar wind. Material outside the Homunculus is therefore not part of a Hubble-like flow from the Great Eruption itself. This result discriminates between versions of merger-in-a-triple models for η Car. The STIS spectrum of Mg ii-emitting gas along the projected outflow axis displays radial velocities consistent with bipolar expansion, redshifted several hundred km s−1 towards the northwest, similarly blueshifted towards the southeast, and with low internal velocity dispersion. The η Car system was therefore losing mass in a relatively fast, low-density polar wind for several decades that probably traces the critical inspiral phase preceding a merger event.

Structural and dynamical behavior of a vibrated granular system of hard-cubes

We study experimentally and by molecular dynamics simulations a quasi-two-dimensional granular system of cubic particles, confined in a squared box and kept in a dynamic steady state via vertical oscillations. First, we compared the dynamics of a single spherical bead and a cube. Remarkably, the trajectory of the cube shows characteristics of Brownian motion induced by the particle geometry, i.e. an erratic path generated by the collisions of the vertexes and edges of the cube with the vibrated plate; in contrast to the more predicted ballistic motion of a spherical bead. Upon the addition of more cubic particles to the system, the erratic motion is enhanced by multiple collisions, leading to a rich collective behavior. As the number of particles is increased, for instance, both the radial distribution function and the mean square displacement exhibit the qualitative features of the gas, liquid and crystalline-solid phases observed in thermally driven colloidal systems. The results obtained with experiments and simulations are in good agreement and, combined, suggest that a vibrated system of granular cubic particles provides a macroscopic ideal model of Brownian motion.

Putting a new spin on insect jumping performance using 3D modeling and computer simulations of spotted lanternfly nymphs.

How animals jump and land on diverse surfaces is ecologically important and relevant to bioinspired robotics. Here, we describe the jumping biomechanics of the planthopper Lycorma delicatula (spotted lanternfly), an invasive insect in the USA that jumps frequently for dispersal, locomotion and predator evasion. High-speed video was used to analyze jumping by spotted lanternfly nymphs from take-off to impact on compliant surfaces. These insects used rapid hindleg extensions to achieve high take-off speeds (2.7-3.4 m s-1) and accelerations (800-1000 m s-2), with mid-air trajectories consistent with ballistic motion without drag forces or steering. Despite rotating rapidly (5-45 Hz) about time-varying axes of rotation, they landed successfully in 58.9% of trials. They also attained the most successful impact orientation significantly more often than predicted by chance, consistent with their using attitude control. Notably, these insects were able to land successfully when impacting surfaces at all angles, pointing to the importance of collisional recovery behaviors. To further understand their rotational dynamics, we created realistic 3D rendered models of spotted lanternflies and used them to compute their mechanical properties during jumping. Computer simulations based on these models and drag torques estimated from fits to tracked data successfully predicted several features of the measured rotational kinematics. This analysis showed that the rotational inertia of spotted lanternfly nymphs is predominantly due to their legs, enabling them to use posture changes as well as drag torque to control their angular velocity, and hence their orientation, thereby facilitating predominately successful landings when jumping.

Ballistic transport spectroscopy of spin-orbit-coupled bands in monolayer graphene on WSe2

Van der Waals interactions with transition metal dichalcogenides were shown to induce strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in graphene, offering great promises to combine large experimental flexibility of graphene with unique tuning capabilities of the SOC. Here, we probe SOC-driven band splitting and electron dynamics in graphene on WSe2 by measuring ballistic transverse magnetic focusing. We found a clear splitting in the first focusing peak whose evolution in charge density and magnetic field is well reproduced by calculations using the SOC strength of ~ 13 meV, and no splitting in the second peak that indicates stronger Rashba SOC. Possible suppression of electron-electron scatterings was found in temperature dependence measurement. Further, we found that Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations exhibit a weaker band splitting, suggesting that it probes different electron dynamics, calling for a new theory. Our study demonstrates an interesting possibility to exploit ballistic electron motion pronounced in graphene for emerging spin-orbitronics.

Ballistic dynamics of emergent soliton from Airy pulse in a medium with linear optical potential

We numerically investigate the propagation dynamics of Airy pulse in dispersive and nonlinear medium with time-dependent external optical potential. These time-dependent optical potentials are created by the co-propagating strong pump wave. In the presence of linear optical potential, soliton shedding from signal Airy pulse is observed, which demonstrates ballistic motion. However, emergent soliton can either be advanced or delayed depending upon the sign of the potential and the extent of temporal advancement or delay is directly proportional to the magnitude of the potential strength. In addition, the temporal shift of the emergent soliton is found to be dependent on the input pulse power. Moreover, we show ballistic motion of the emergent soliton by incorporating an initial linear phase as well as linear chirp (quadratic phase) parameters in the input Airy pulse. Furthermore, the effect of truncation factor on the propagation dynamics is explored. These results provide new insights on the manipulation of the signal Airy pulse dynamics in dispersive and nonlinear media.