Saturation Mechanism Research Articles

Shadow enhancers mediate trade-offs between transcriptional noise and fidelity.

Enhancers are stretches of regulatory DNA that bind transcription factors (TFs) and regulate the expression of a target gene. Shadow enhancers are two or more enhancers that regulate the same target gene in space and time and are associated with most animal developmental genes. These multi-enhancer systems can drive more consistent transcription than single enhancer systems. Nevertheless, it remains unclear why shadow enhancer TF binding sites are distributed across multiple enhancers rather than within a single large enhancer. Here, we use a computational approach to study systems with varying numbers of TF binding sites and enhancers. We employ chemical reaction networks with stochastic dynamics to determine the trends in transcriptional noise and fidelity, two key performance objectives of enhancers. This reveals that while additive shadow enhancers do not differ in noise and fidelity from their single enhancer counterparts, sub- and superadditive shadow enhancers have noise and fidelity trade-offs not available to single enhancers. We also use our computational approach to compare the duplication and splitting of a single enhancer as mechanisms for the generation of shadow enhancers and find that the duplication of enhancers can decrease noise and increase fidelity, although at the metabolic cost of increased RNA production. A saturation mechanism for enhancer interactions similarly improves on both of these metrics. Taken together, this work highlights that shadow enhancer systems may exist for several reasons: genetic drift or the tuning of key functions of enhancers, including transcription fidelity, noise and output.

IGZO thin-film transistors with tunneling contacts: towards power efficient display

We report the fabrication and characterization of indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) tunneling thin-film transistors. Both the IGZO channel and an Al2O3 tunneling barrier layer were deposited using the radio-frequency magnetron sputtering method. Compared with a conventional device, our device exhibited rapid saturation at a much smaller drain bias. Interestingly, we observed two different current saturation mechanisms within a single device, which can be explained as competition between the depletion envelope near the source electrode and channel depletion near the drain electrode. This work represents an industry-friendly method for implementing the tunnel-contact approach in the display industry.

Analysis of characteristics of rail transit stray current and saturation mechanism of current transformer

Abstract The DC bias may affect the transient transfer characteristics of the current transformer (CT), threatening the correct action of the relay protection and the safe operation of the power system. Compared with the high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission in the unipolar-earth loop operation mode and geomagnetically induced current (GIC), the amplitude of the stray current is smaller, and the randomness and fluctuation are larger and accompanied by sudden changes. Combining the characteristics of stray current and the CT equivalent model considering the eddy current loss of the iron core, the mechanism of local transient saturation under the influence of bias magnetization is explained, and the CT saturation phenomenon caused by stray current and its effect on line distance protection are simulated and analyzed. The research shows that the influence of low amplitude and high duration of stray current will make the magnetic flux of CT grow and affect the transmission of steady-state and transient-state so that the measurement impedance appears amplitude-phase shift, which leads to under-range rejection of distance protection.

Geophysical Surveys for Geotechnical Model Reconstruction and Slope Stability Modelling

Performing a reliable stability analysis of a landslide slope requires a good understanding of the internal geometries and an accurate characterisation of the geotechnical parameters of the identified strata. Geotechnical models are commonly based on geomorphological data combined with direct and intrusive geotechnical investigations. However, the existence of numerous empirical correlations between seismic parameters (e.g., S-wave velocity) and geotechnical parameters in the literature has made it possible to investigate areas that are difficult to reach with direct instrumentation. These correlations are often overlooked even though they enable a reduction in investigation costs and time. By means of geophysical tests, it is in fact possible to estimate the N-SPT value and derive the friction angle from results obtained from environmental seismic noise measurements. Despite the empirical character and a certain level of uncertainty derived from the estimation of geotechnical parameters, these are particularly useful in the preliminary stages of an emergency, when straight data are not available and on all those soils where other direct in situ tests are not reliable. These correlations were successfully applied to the Theilly landslide (Western Alps, Italy), where the geotechnical model was obtained by integrating the results of a multi-parameter geophysical survey (H/V seismic noise and ground-penetrating radar) with stratigraphic and geomorphological observations, digital terrain model and field survey data. The analysis of the triggering conditions of the landslide was conducted by means of hydrological–geotechnical modelling, evaluating the behaviour of the slope under different rainfall scenarios and considering (or not) the stabilisation interventions present on the slope. The results of the filtration analyses for all events showed a top-down saturation mechanism, which led to the formation of a saturated face with a maximum thickness of 5 m. Stability analyses conducted for the same events showed the development of a shallow landslide in the first few metres of saturated soil. The modelling results are compatible with the actual evolution of the phenomenon and allow us to understand the triggering mechanism, providing models to support future interventions.

On the impact of electric field fluctuations on microtearing turbulence

The magnetic drift and the electric potential play an important role in microtearing destabilization by increasing the growth rate of this instability in the presence of collisions, while in electrostatic plasma micro-turbulence, zonal electric potentials can have a strong impact on turbulent saturation. A reduced model has been developed, showing that the Rechester–Rosenbluth model is a good model for the prediction of electron heat diffusivity by microtearing turbulence. Here, nonlinear gyrokinetic flux-tube simulations are performed in order to compute the characteristics of microtearing turbulence and the associated heat fluxes in tokamak plasmas and to assess how zonal flows and zonal fields affect saturation. This is consistent with a change in saturation mechanism from temperature corrugations to zonal field- and zonal flow-based energy transfer. It is found that removing the electrostatic potential causes a flux increase, while linearly stabilization is observed.

Analogy of Photogating to Voltage-Gating in Zinc-Tin Oxide Thin-Film Transistor: Efficiency and Current Saturation Mechanism

In contrast to the conventional voltage-gated channels of thin-film transistors (TFTs), the photo-induced gating effect provides a promising approach to control the carrier concentration in the channels and benefits the advanced application in a remote operation mode. In this work, the zinc-tin oxide TFT (ZTO TFT) is revealed the feasibility of being photo-gated at <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {G}} =0$ </tex-math></inline-formula> V to obtain a series of output ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{\text {D}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> – <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {D}}{)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> characteristics. The current saturation in <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{\text {D}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> – <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {D}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> curves of the photo-gated ZTO TFT confirms the photo-induced pinch-off region in the ZTO channel, suggesting the presence of positive pseudogate voltage at the channel under lighting. The photo-gated output characteristic at a given <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {D}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is converted to the log <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{\text {D}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> verse optical power density ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\rho {)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> curve, showing a rapid switching of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{\text {D}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> by 405-nm light illumination with the reciprocal log ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{\text {D}}{)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> – <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\rho $ </tex-math></inline-formula> slope of 0.04 (mW/cm <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{{2}}{)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> /decade. Parallel output characteristics triggered electrically with various gate voltages are also performed to obtain an equivalent drain current. The correlation of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {G}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> versus <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\rho $ </tex-math></inline-formula> for equivalent drain current reveals that photogating efficiency is 7.93 V/(mW/cm <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{{2}}{)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . The photogating mechanism and efficiency are discussed based on the photoionization of the neutral oxygen vacancies to positively charged oxygen vacancies, which are responsible for photo-induced gate voltage (VG,ph).

Review of Pumice Raft Formation Environments, Saturation, and Dispersal Mechanisms

Pumice rafting events are a common result of volcanic eruptions occurring near or beneath bodies of water. Such events are frequently associated with hazards such as tsunamis, and drift pumice is known to cause local economic disruptions, damage ships, impede naval traffic, devastate marine populations, and distribute potentially invasive species over long distances. However, our current understanding of the mechanisms that drive the formation and dispersal of drift pumice are extremely limited. This article reviews historical and characteristic pumice raft-forming eruptions, how interactions with water factor into macro- and micro-scale controls on pumice clast formation and dispersal, and current methods for detection and analysis to better track and mitigate hazards associated with explosive volcanic eruptions and pumice rafts.

The Saturation Mechanism in a two-stream free-electron laser based upon a rectangular hybrid wiggler

This paper presents a one-dimensional nonlinear simulation of a square hybrid two-stream free electron laser (TSFEL) consisting of an axial magnetic field guide. It is supposed that the two cold relativistic electron beams differ in energy, while the electron beam’s self-fields, and radiation wave slippage relative to electron beams are neglected. A set of differential equations of the first order of coupled nonlinearity, obtained from the combination of Maxwell’s equations and Lorentz’s equations, can be numerically solved using a Runge–Kutta algorithm of fourth-order based on slowly varying amplitudes and wavenumbers approximation. According to the results of the calculations, the increase in the axial magnetic field will increase the efficiency in group I orbits while the saturation length decreases. The results for group II orbits are different from those of group I, so the efficiency decreases with the increasing axial magnetic field. There is, however, an increase in saturation length. Additionally, it is found that prebunching significantly reduces the length of saturation. A comparison of radiation saturation in an FEL and a TSFEL indicates that a TSFEL has a higher efficiency than an FEL. In contrast, the TSFEL has shorter saturation lengths.

Inverse Saturable Absorption Mechanism in Mode-Locked Fiber Lasers with a Nonlinear Amplifying Loop Mirror

From the perspective of the differential phase delay experienced by the two counterpropagating optical fields, the self-starting of the mode-locked fiber laser with a non-linear amplifying loop mirror (NALM) is theoretically studied. Although it is generally believed that NALM shows a saturable absorption effect on both continuous wave (CW) light and pulses, we find a counter-intuitive fact that cross-phase modulation (XPM) leads to opposite signs of differential non-linear phase shifts (NPSs) in these two cases, resulting in inverse saturable absorption (ISA) during the pulse formation process. The ISA is not helpful for the self-starting of laser mode-locking and can be alleviated by introducing a non-reciprocal phase shifter into the fiber loop. These results are helpful for optimizing the design of NALM and lowering the self-starting threshold of the high-repetition-rate mode-locked fiber laser.

Length and polarity dependent saturation of the electromechanical response of piezoelectric semiconducting nanowires

The question of the length dependence of the electromechanical response of semiconducting (SC) piezoelectric nanowires (NWs) was explored. We identified a new physical mechanism of piezoresponse saturation, which originates from the combination of the influence of interface traps and piezoelectric polarization in the depleted NW. Our results are in better qualitative agreement with experimental observations than presently existing theories. To do so, we used the finite element method to simulate the coupled set of equations describing mechanical, piezoelectric and SC properties. In order to reduce the number of parameters, simulations focused on the case of uniform ZnO NWs grown along the c-axis. Saturation was explained by the incapacity of surface traps to maintain depletion along the whole NW beyond a certain length, as a result of the electric potential shift induced by piezoelectric polarization. An analytical model was developed to support this analysis. It provided the dependence trends of saturation length and piezoresponse as a function of NW dimensions, doping level, surface traps density and crystal polarity, as well as with external pressure, in fair agreement with simulation results. Moreover, we discovered that one consequence of this mechanism was that crystal polarity had an impact on the smoothness of the radius-dependent transition between high and low piezoresponse under axial stress. These results have important implications for the optimization of electromechanical sensors and nanogenerators based on piezoelectric SC NWs and related composite materials.

A Na+-Dependent Mechanism Is Involved in Mucosal Uptake of Cinnamic Acid across the Jejunal Brush Border in Rats

Phenolic acids are present in all plant-derived foods and in most diets. Indirect evidence indicates substantial absorption of phenolic monomers from the gastrointestinal tract. However, the mechanisms involved in the absorptive process are unknown. The present study investigates mucosal uptake of radioactively labeled cinnamic acid as a model substance for monomeric cinnamic acid derivatives (e.g., cinnamic, ferulic or caffeic acid) in the rat jejunum using an in vitro mucosal uptake technique. The results indicate the existence of a Na+-dependent saturable transport mechanism for uptake of cinnamic acid across the jejunal brush border membrane. The observed Na+ dependence of jejunal cinnamate uptake seems not to be related to the activity of the Na+, H+ exchanger. Lowering the pH of the incubation medium resulted in a pronounced increase in mucosal cinnamate uptake that can be only partially explained by an increase in nonionic diffusion of cinnamic acid. Furthermore, jejunal uptake of cinnamate seems to be influenced by intracellular HCO3- and/or pH, since the addition of methazolamide to a HCO3- and CO2-free incubation medium significantly inhibited mucosal cinnamate uptake, whereas methazolamide was without an effect in the presence of HCO3- and CO2 in the incubation medium. Unlabeled cinnamic and ferulic acid as well as short-chain fatty acids (acetic, propionic and butyric acid) significantly inhibited Na+-dependent uptake of radioactively labeled cinnamic acid. Taken together, the results indicate the involvement of a Na+-dependent, carrier-mediated transport process in the uptake of cinnamic acid and structurally related substrates such as ferulic acid across the brush border membrane of rat jejunum.

Influence of initial water saturation on three-phase displacement efficiency and residual distribution during NAPL invasion into unsaturated porous media based on low-field NMR

Three-phase displacement events often occur in unsaturated porous media, especially when immiscible contaminants (e.g., non-aqueous phase liquid, NAPL) inadvertently enter the subsurface. In this study, the influence of initial water saturation on the three-phase displacement efficiency and residual distribution during NAPL invasion into unsaturated porous media was experimentally investigated. The low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) technique was used to dynamically monitor the spatial distribution of water in unsaturated porous media during the invasion of NAPL. The residual distributions (e.g., volume fraction) of NAPL/water/gas were quantitatively analyzed. The results showed that both the initial water saturation and the NAPL injection rate had a significant influence on the three-phase displacement. We found that the displacement efficiency of water/gas exhibited a non-monotonic relationship with the initial water saturation in the unsaturated porous media at certain NAPL invasion rates. A method was proposed to characterize the three-phase displacement regime in terms of the classical two-phase Lenormand’s diagram. A significant increase in the volume fraction of residual NAPL after NAPL invasion was observed during the transition from the strong drainage region to the transitional displacement region. However, the initial water saturation was insensitive to the volume fraction of residual NAPL, once the characterized three-phase displacement regime transitioned to the stable displacement region. This study not only highlighted the influence mechanism of initial water saturation and NAPL injection rate on the three-phase displacement efficiency, but also endowed the classical two-phase Lenormand’s diagram with the three-phase displacement regime.

A structural developmental neural network with information saturation for continual unsupervised learning

AbstractIn this paper, we propose a structural developmental neural network to address the plasticity‐stability dilemma, computational inefficiency, and lack of prior knowledge in continual unsupervised learning. This model uses competitive learning rules and dynamic neurons with information saturation to achieve parameter adjustment and adaptive structure development. Dynamic neurons adjust the information saturation after winning the competition and use this parameter to modulate the neuron parameter adjustment and the division timing. By dividing to generate new neurons, the network not only keeps sensitive to novel features but also can subdivide classes learnt repeatedly. The dynamic neurons with information saturation and division mechanism can simulate the long short‐term memory of the human brain, which enables the network to continually learn new samples while maintaining the previous learning results. The parent‐child relationship between neurons arising from neuronal division enables the network to simulate the human cognitive process that gradually refines the perception of objects. By setting the clustering layer parameter, users can choose the desired degree of class subdivision. Experimental results on artificial and real‐world datasets demonstrate that the proposed model is feasible for unsupervised learning tasks in instance increment and class increment scenarios and outperforms prior structural developmental neural networks.

Parametric instability in warped astrophysical discs: growth, saturation, and feedback

ABSTRACT Attempts to understand the dynamics of warped astrophysical discs have garnered significant attention, largely motivated by the growing catalogue of observed distorted systems. Previous studies have shown that the evolution of the warp is crucially regulated by the internal flow fields established by the undulating geometry. These are typically modelled as laminar horizontal, shearing flows which oscillate back and forth at approximately the orbital frequency. However this shearing motion is known to be susceptible to a hydrodynamic, parametric instability of inertial waves which might modify the warped dynamics. Whilst the linear growth phase is well understood, the subsequent non-linear saturation combined with the self-consistent feedback onto the warp has not been studied. In this work, we implement a novel numerical setup using the recent ring model framework of Fairbairn and Ogilvie, within the Lagrangian code gizmo. We formally identify several locally growing modes in the simulation, as predicted by a three-mode coupling analysis of the instability, and find decent agreement with the theoretical growth rates. We understand the saturation mechanism as a wave breaking process which suppresses the growth of shorter wavelength parametric couplings first, whilst allowing the longest mode to dominate the final quasi-steady, wave-like turbulence. The Reynolds stresses, transporting energy from the warp to the small scales, can be effectively modelled using a time-dependent, anisotropic viscous alpha model which closely captures the amplitude and phase evolution of the warp. Consequently, this model might help inform future global studies which are commonplace but typically do not resolve the parametric instability.

Effective thermal conductivity simulations of suspensions containing non-spherical particles in shear flow

Suspensions of oblate spheroid particles can have different thermal characteristics from suspensions of spherical particles based on its orthotropic geometry. However, the effective thermal conductivity of non-spherical particle suspensions under shear flow conditions has not been reported yet. In a first step dilute suspensions are considered ignoring particle-particle interactions, and a representative volume is observed containing one single oblate spheroid rotating at the center coupled to the shear flow. The fluid-side convective heat and mass transfer is computed by the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM). And the Discrete Element Method (DEM) accounts for particle dynamics, while the Finite Element Method (FEM) for heat conduction inside particles. Three codes are coupled together. As predicted by Maxwell’s model and the model of Nan et al., the effective thermal conductivity of a water suspension would saturate if the conductivity of the particle exceeds 20∼30W/(mK) at stagnant state, because the thermal resistance of the particles becomes negligible in comparison to the fluid thermal resistance. The simulation results in this study confirm such saturation also to a shear flow. Besides, another saturation mechanism exists for spherical particles if the shear rate is increased to a point where particle rotation induces convective transport that supersedes conductive transport within the particle. However, this is not the case for the oblate ellipsoidal particles due to different rotating states. And comparing different rotating states, if the particle’s thermal conductivity is higher than the base fluid, the shear-induced rotation around the oblate minor axis (log-rolling) results in a higher effective thermal conductivity than around the oblate major axis (tumbling) or the rotation of a spherical particle of equivalent volume fraction. The results provide a design guideline for particle in suspensions with better heat transfer behaviors.

Global gyrokinetic simulation of edge coherent mode in EAST

Linear and nonlinear simulations are carried out for the edge coherent mode (ECM) using the global gyrokinetic code GEM based on the EAST experimental parameters. The linear simulation results show that ECM is an electrostatic mode with dominant toroidal mode number n = 18 and frequency about 48 kHz, and propagates along the direction of electron diamagnetic drift, which are consistent with the experimental results. In addition, the density and electron temperature gradients destabilize the mode, while the collision stabilizes the mode. The nonlinear simulation results show that the saturated particle and heat fluxes induced by ECM are mainly due to the perturbed electrostatic ExB drift, and the fluxes of electrons and ions are almost equal. The ECM drives significant outward particle and heat fluxes, thus greatly promoting the maintenance of the long pulse H-mode. The Fourier decomposition of fluxes and potentials demonstrate that the intermediate-n modes of n = 14, 18 grow fastest in the linear phase, while in the nonlinear saturation phase, the low-n modes such as n = 4, 6 dominate and the fluxes are mainly contributed by the mode of n = 10. It is found that zonal flow is not the dominant saturation mechanism of the turbulence. The inverse spectral cascade of turbulence is inevitably observed in the nonlinear saturation process, indicating that it is a more universal turbulence saturation mechanism. It is also found that radial electric field can greatly reduce the turbulence intensity and transport level. From the analyses of frequency and transport channels, it can be concluded that ECM appears to be the collisionless trapped electron mode.

Wetting induced instabilities in layered slopes: A Material Point Method analysis

The increase of pore water pressure due to rainfall infiltration or upstream recharge is among the primary triggers of landslides, and soil layering has a significant effect on the hydromechanical behavior of the slope. The failure and post-failure behavior of heterogeneous layered slopes triggered by these phenomena are investigated in this study. In particular, a low permeability layer is embedded in a reference slope with different inclinations, and the impact of different saturation mechanisms on the post-failure behavior is assessed. To this aim, an unsaturated formulation of the Material Point Method (MPM) is used to reproduce the whole deformation process of a layered slope. The results show different failure and post-failure mechanisms and kinematics for both upstream recharge and rainfall infiltration (i.e., bottom-up and top-down saturation processes, respectively). Bottom-up saturation mechanism triggers deep failure mechanisms that barely evolve during the instability process. On the contrary, top-down saturation mechanism induces an anticipated shallow semi-planar failure limited by the location of the low permeable layer. These failures are characterized by high velocities and by a deepening of the slip surface during the post-failure process. Final displacements in both wetting mechanisms are of the same order of magnitude. The subsequent reactivation movements are observed as a result of the continuous injection of water in the system.

Nonlinear saturation of reverse shear Alfvén eigenmodes induced by kinetic electrons

A strong nonlinear saturation mechanism of the reverse shear Alfvén eigenmode (RSAE) induced by thermal electrons is observed in gyrokinetic particle-in-cell simulation. This nonlinear effect occurs at moderate mode amplitude, , and is associated with the electron parallel streaming along the perturbed magnetic field lines, the term , in the electron drift-kinetic equation. In the case of an n = 4 RSAE, where n is the toroidal mode number, this magnetic fluttering nonlinearity leads to strong mode coupling and broadening of the saturation spectrum. The nonlinear components, which are highly damped through the interaction between thermal electrons and the parallel electric field, modifies the RSAE mode structure and suppresses energetic particle drive significantly. The split-weight scheme (Chen and Parker 2007 J. Comput. Phys. 220 839–55) is used to simulate kinetic electrons.

A new scenario for magnetar formation: Tayler-Spruit dynamo in a proto-neutron star spun up by fallback

Magnetars are isolated young neutron stars characterised by the most intense magnetic fields known in the Universe, which power a wide variety of high-energy emissions from giant flares to fast radio bursts. The origin of their magnetic field is still a challenging question. In situ magnetic field amplification by dynamo action could potentially generate ultra-strong magnetic fields in fast-rotating progenitors. However, it is unclear whether the fraction of progenitors harbouring fast core rotation is sufficient to explain the entire magnetar population. To address this point, we propose a new scenario for magnetar formation involving a slowly rotating progenitor, in which a slow-rotating proto-neutron star is spun up by the supernova fallback. We argue that this can trigger the development of the Tayler-Spruit dynamo while other dynamo processes are disfavoured. Using the findings of previous studies of this dynamo and simulation results characterising the supernova fallback, we derive equations modelling the coupled evolution of the proto-neutron star rotation and magnetic field. Their time integration for different accreted masses is successfully compared with analytical estimates of the amplification timescales and saturation value of the magnetic field. We find that the magnetic field is amplified within 20 − 40 s after the core bounce, and that the radial magnetic field saturates at intensities between ∼1013 and 1015 G, therefore spanning the full range of a magnetar’s dipolar magnetic fields. The toroidal magnetic field is predicted to be a factor of 10–100 times stronger, lying between ∼1015 and 3 × 1016 G. We also compare the saturation mechanisms proposed respectively by H.C. Spruit and J. Fuller, showing that magnetar-like magnetic fields can be generated for a neutron star spun up to rotation periods of ≲8 ms and ≲28 ms, corresponding to accreted masses of ≳ 4 × 10−2 M⊙ and ≳ 1.1 × 10−2 M⊙, respectively. Therefore, our results suggest that magnetars can be formed from slow-rotating progenitors for accreted masses compatible with recent supernova simulations and leading to plausible initial rotation periods of the proto-neutron star.

Curvature-induced secondary flow in 2D depth-averaged hydro-morphodynamic models: An assessment of different approaches and key factors

Curvature-induced secondary flows are ubiquitous in nature and have long attracted scientist attention. Modelling such kind of secondary flows is not straightforward. While full 3D models fit the purpose at the cost of great computational demand, simplified models often pose concerns about their effectiveness and the representation of key processes. In the present study, helical flow secondary currents are included in a two-dimensional depth-averaged hydro-morphodynamic model on cartesian unstructured meshes. The non-uniform vertical distribution of velocity in streamwise and spanwise directions is accounted for introducing dispersive terms in the shallow water equations, an anisotropic diffusivity tensor in the advection-diffusion equation, and a correction to the direction of bed shear stress and bedload transport. Different approaches available in the literature are recast in similar form and compared to each other in terms of flow field, tracer transport, and bed evolution, using data from laboratory experiments and real-world case studies. The model includes a novel, pure 2D implementation of the non-linear saturation mechanism that limits the growth of secondary flows in relatively sharp bends. A substantial part of the paper is devoted to discuss key factors in secondary flow modelling, including implementation tricks, guidelines to mesh design, the suitability of local and non-local approaches, and the role of bathymetry. The final goal is to provide useful guidelines for 2D hydro- and morphodynamic modelling in river bends.