Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research Research Articles

First person – Vidur Sabharwal

ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Vidur Sabharwal is first author on ‘ F-box protein FBXB-65 regulates anterograde transport of the kinesin-3 motor UNC-104 through a PTM near its cargo-binding PH domain’, published in JCS. Vidur conducted the research described in this article while a PhD student in Sandhya P. Koushika's lab at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India. He is now a postdoc in the lab of Abdel El Manira at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, where he works to understand and describe how complex observations in biological systems emerge from simple underlying mechanisms.

FPGA based telecommand system for balloon-borne scientific payloads

Abstract Telecommand (TC) plays a crucial role in the success of high-altitude balloon experiments. Bose, Ray-Chaudhuri, Hocquenghem (BCH) codes are commonly employed to ensure reliable command operation. The Balloon Facility (BF) of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) uses a TC system based on BCH (31,16) coding technique, to control balloon and payload operations. This paper presents prototyping and implementation of TC encoder and decoder using Spartan 6 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The code is written in Very high-speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL). Simulation and synthesis are done using Xilinx ISE 14.7 design suite. Simulation results show the design is robust. The TC encoder is implemented in a commercial FPGA development board and the TC decoder is implemented in a specially designed FPGA board, successfully. This paper presents the salient features of the TC system in use and the implementation of the system using FPGA.

First person – Amruta Vasudevan and Reshma Maiya

ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Amruta Vasudevan and Reshma Maiya are two of the co-first authors on ‘Transport of synaptic vesicles is modulated by vesicular reversals and stationary cargo clusters’, published in JCS. Amruta is a PhD student in the lab of Dr Sandhya P. Koushika at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India, investigating neuronal vesicular transport in the context of neuronal function and organismal behaviour. Reshma is a PhD student in the lab of Prof. Gautam I. Menon at The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, India, modelling and performing theoretical studies of intracellular transport, specifically in neurons.

Quantum Optics: A Scientometric Assessment of India’s Publications during 1996-2021

Objectives: The present study examines the publication output of authors from India on the topic of “Quantum Optics” during 1996-2021 using bibliometric methods. Methods: The Indian publications as listed in the Scopus database were identified by using “Quantum Optics” in the “Title” tag. Results: 67274 global publications emerged on the topic of “Quantum Optics” during 1996-2021. India contributed only 2108 publications on this topic and constituted a 3.13% share of global output. About 30.0% share of Indian publications received external funding support and were involved in international collaboration, respectively. The 455 organizations and 635 authors participated unevenly in the research on this topic, with the highest number of publications (96) emerging from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, followed by the University of Calcutta (80 publications), Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad (69 publications) and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (68 publications). Indian Association for Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata (69.9 and 5.68) registered the highest citation impact per paper and relative citation index, followed by Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad (23.23 and 1.89), Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad (22.93 and 1.86) and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay (22.72 and 1.85). The highest number of publications (33) is contributed by G.S. Agarwal, followed by A.K. Pati (32 papers), A. Pathak (31 papers), and P.K. Panigrahi (29 papers). G.S. Agarwal (40.82 and 3.32) registered the highest citation impact per paper and relative citation index, followed by P.K. Panigrahi (21.83 and 1.77), A.K. Pati (21.06 and 1.71), and A. Pathak (19.87 and 1.61). The journals that published the highest number of publications (233) were Physical Review A (233 papers), Quantum Information Processing (109 papers), Physics Letters Section A (74 papers), and Spectrochimica Acta Part A (61 papers). Physical Review Letters (62.30) was the most impactful journal in terms of citations per paper, followed by the Journal of Optics (United Kingdom) (24.92), Physical Review E (19.07), and Journal of Optics B. Quantum & Semiclassical Optics (18.85), Journal of Physical Chemistry C (18.58). The most commonly investigated topics (keywords) in terms of frequency of appearances were quantum optics (1390), followed by nonlinear optics (520), quantum theory (407), quantum entanglement (283)), photons (223), and quantum computers (223). Conclusion: Over the last two decades a large number of publications have emerged in the area of “Quantum Optics”, which are creating a significant impact on the development of many diverse quantum technologies both in India and abroad.

Tailed radio galaxies from the TIFR GMRT sky survey

ABSTRACT We present a list of tailed radio galaxies using the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) Sky Survey Alternative Data Release 1 (TGSS ADR1) at 150 MHz. We visually examined 5336 image fields and found 264 tailed radio galaxies. Tailed radio galaxies are classified as wide-angle tailed (WAT) galaxies or narrow-angle tailed (NAT) galaxies, based on the angle between the two jets of the galaxy. Our sample of tailed radio galaxies included 203 WAT- and 61 NAT-type sources. These newly identified tailed sources are significant additions to the list of known tailed radio galaxies. The source morphology and luminosity features of the various galaxies and their optical identifications are presented. Other radio properties and general features of the sources are also discussed.

Experimental evidences of shape co-existence in 154Ho

The excited states of odd-odd 154Ho nucleus have been studied by the 141Pr(16O, 3n)154Ho reaction at Elab= 82 MeV utilizing the Indian National Gamma Array (INGA) setup at BARC-TIFR Pelletron facility, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. Data from γ−γ coincidence, directional correlation (DCO), and polarization measurements have been analyzed to assign and confirm the spins and parities of the levels. The reported level scheme of 154Ho has been improved by including new levels and transitions. Mixing ratios for the mixed transitions extracted from DCO ratios and parity assignments from polarisation data are reported for the first time. The low-lying states in H154o, which are mostly collective, characterized by regularity in the excitation spectra, are proposed to be arising from neutron excitation. At higher excitation, there is a transition from collective to single-particle character, accompanied by the appearance of irregular and complex structure caused by proton excitation. The newly identified E1 gamma transitions connecting the low-lying positive and negative parity bands indicate octupole correlation in 154Ho. These new connections also support the phenomenological analysis to interpret the observed experimental features from a different perspective.

Search for X/Z-shaped radio sources from TGSS ADR 1

ABSTRACTA small subclass of radio galaxies, exhibiting a pair of secondary low-surface-brightness radio lobes oriented at an angle to the primary high-surface-brightness lobes, is the group known as X-shaped radio galaxies (XRGs). In some cases, it is seen that less luminous secondary lobes emerge from the edges of the primary high-brightness lobes, giving a Z-symmetric morphology. These objects are known as Z-shaped radio galaxies (ZRGs). From the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) Sky Survey at 150 MHz, we present systematic search results for XRGs and ZRGs. We identified a total of 58 radio sources, out of which 40 are XRGs and 18 are ZRGs. Taking advantage of the large sample size of XRGs and ZRGs reported in the current work, different properties of XRGs and ZRGs are studied. Out of 58 XRGs and ZRGs presented here, 19 (32 per cent) are FR I and 33 (57 per cent) are FR II radio galaxies. For four XRGs and three ZRGs, the morphology is so complex that they could not be classified. We have estimated the radio luminosity and spectral index of newly discovered winged radio galaxies and made a comparative study with previously detected XRGs and ZRGs. Most of the XRGs show a steep spectral index between 150 and 1400 MHz and only 14 per cent of the sources show a flat spectrum, but for ZRGs a good proportion of the sources (36 per cent) show a flat spectrum.

Evaluation of Controllers and Development of a New In-House Controller for the Teledyne HxRG Focal Plane Array for the IRSIS Satellite Payload

The Infrared Astronomy Group (Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics) at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is presently developing controllers for the Teledyne HxRG Focal Plane Arrays (FPAs) to be used on board the Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging Survey (IRSIS) satellite payload. In this paper, we discuss the results of our tests with different FPA controllers such as the Astronomical Research Cameras (ARC) controller, Teledyne’s SIDECAR ASIC as well as our new in-house designed Array controller. As part of the development phase of the IRSIS instrument, which is an optical fiber-based Integral Field Unit (IFU) Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectrometer, a laboratory model with limited NIR bandwidth was built which consisted of various subsystems like a Ritchey–Chretien (RC) 30[Formula: see text]cm telescope, optical fiber IFU, spectrometer optics, and the Teledyne H2RG detector module. We discuss the various developments during the building and testing of the IRSIS laboratory model and the technical aspects of the prototype in-house H2RG controller.

TIFR treasures for astronomy from ground to space

The infrared astronomy group of Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research has been pursuing astronomical instrumentation activities since its inception. The group has been routinely involved in balloon-borne astronomy programs from the field station at Hyderabad with indigenously developed payloads. Ground-based astronomical activities began with a single element infrared detector. Later, over time, larger format array detectors are being used in the cameras. These astronomy cameras have been routinely used at observatories across India. Recently, the group has also developed a laboratory model of the Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging Survey payload, targeted for the small satellite mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation, which will carry out spectroscopic measurements in the wavelength range 1.7 to 6.4 $\mu$m seamlessly

Biophysical Reviews' "Meet the Councilor Series"-a profile of Kandala V. R. Chary.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce myself to the readers of Biophysical Reviews. I share a brief account of my career and experiences in biophysical research spanning four decades. For the most of this period, I have worked at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai and Hyderabad.

A Qualitative Inquiry into the Challenges faced by the Researchers and possible threat to Quality of Research in India

Research is a multifaceted initiative undertaken by different scholars belonging to different fields. Many Indian National and State level institutes/ bodies like University Grant Commission, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Indian Council for Social Science Research, Indian Council of Philosophical Research, Indian Council of Historical Research, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Panjab University, and more such institutions are engaged in promoting excellence in research in higher education by supporting various research grants, scholarships, workshops, and other programs in several disciplines. In today's dynamic globalized era, the nation's development demands equal focus on volume and quality in research work. When research standards in India are compared with International setups, International standards outshine the Indian standards by a fair distance. The research standard in past decades in Social Sciences has become an issue of national concern for research conducting and promoting entities. It has been revealed in the studies that the quality of research has been compromised due to numerous reasons. On most occasions, promotion, degrees, jobs, scholarships, etc. are found to be the objective of researchers behind conducting research which impacts the quality of research at the end, and on other instances, the challenges reasons are found to be lack of proper facilities for the researchers before going to the field, on the field, and after field-work. These limiting factors are the major roadblocks in producing trustworthy work. In this descriptive study, the researcher presented the challenges faced by the doctorate students and also attempts to highlight the factors responsible for low-quality research work. The non-probability sampling technique selected the sample of 100 research scholars from different parts of the country (25 from North India, 25 from South India, 25 from West India, and 25 from East India). The questionnaire, Interview, and Focussed Group Discussions (on the conference call) were used to collect data. In the finding section of this paper, the challenges of research scholars were presented under different dimensions. These dimensions were structural challenges (pertains to the structure of the Ph.D. program), functional challenges (the processing aspect of Ph.D.), administrative challenges (relates to administration and supervision), and personal challenges (includes researcher's limitations w.r.t. research). It was found that the intensity of challenges was more in the personal, emotional, and administrative dimensions. The problems reported were related to the general working process, domain-specific expertise, supervision, scholar preparation, and resources, etc. This study is submitted with suggestions for education experts, policy framers, the institution of state and national level, government, and other stakeholders of education. The paper leaves space for further dialogue, brainstorming, and debate for setting research quality parameters and quality excellence research framework in India.

In the field: an interview with Rohini Balakrishnan

Rohini Balakrishnan is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, where she investigates animal communication and bioacoustics. After her undergraduate degree in Biology at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, she completed a Master's degree in Zoology at the University of Pune, India, and a PhD in neurogenetics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, before undertaking postdoctoral research at McGill University, Canada, and the University of Erlangen, Germany. Telling us about her research experiences in the Kudremukh National Park, India, Rohini Balakrishnan reflects on working with crickets, bushcrickets, bats and elephants, explaining how these animals communicate against loud background noise and why silent female bushcrickets are more vulnerable to bat predation than noisy males.

The Journey of a Radio Astronomer: Growth of Radio Astronomy in India

In this autobiographical account, I first describe my family, then childhood and education in India. During 1953–55, I worked in the new field of radio astronomy at the Division of Radiophysics of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia. During 1956–57, I worked at the Radio Astronomy Station of Harvard University at Fort Davis, Texas, where I made observations of solar radio bursts at decimeter wavelengths. I then joined Stanford University as a graduate student in 1957. I contributed to the successful operation of the Stanford Cross Antenna and then used it for studying microwave radio emission from the Sun. I was awarded the Ph.D. degree by Stanford University in 1960 and was then appointed as an Assistant Professor for three years. With an urge to contribute to evolving scientific endeavors in India, I joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) at Mumbai, India, in April 1963. In my stay of more than three decades at TIFR, I conceived of, and guided, construction of two of the world's largest radio telescopes, namely the Ooty Radio Telescope and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. These instruments have led to several outstanding contributions and discoveries in the areas of radio galaxies, quasars, pulsars, and cosmology.

Comparative analysis of ionosonde spread F and GPS ionospheric scintillations over Hyderabad

Investigation of the relationship between ionospheric scintillations and equatorial spread F (ESF) during adverse space weather conditions is of paramount significance for developing ionospheric scintillation mitigation strategies for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers. In this paper, we present correlation analysis between equatorial spread F (ESF) and L-band amplitude scintillations conducted at low-latitude Hyderabad station (17.47° N, 78.57° E) during the severe geomagnetic storm event of 17 March 2015 (St. Patrick's Day). Hyderabad location comes under the region between the magnetic equator and the northern crest of equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). ESF information is derived from ionograms of ionosonde located at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Balloon Facility, Hyderabad, whereas amplitude scintillation index (S4) data have been obtained from the GPS receiver at Hyderabad (GAGAN network). Intense spread F (SSF) signatures were observed during post-sunset hours of 16 March (pre-storm day) and 17 March (storm day), 2015, where the spread F (SF) index is higher than 1 MHz. GPS satellite vehicle with pseudo-random noise code (PRN) 24 experienced strong scintillation (S4 = 1.06) at 18:53 UT on the pre-storm day of 16 March 2015. GPS PRN 30 satellite was affected severely on 17 March (storm day), when the observed S4 index is 0.99. Development of ESF and subsequent scintillations are due to the strong eastward prompt penetration electric fields over the Indian region. The inhibition of spread F and scintillations noticed on 18 March 2015 are because of disturbance dynamo electric fields and disturbance winds. The SSF occurrences were well correlated with scintillation index values at Hyderabad station, India. Variations of the virtual height of the F layer (h′F) and drift velocity (Vd) are related to the S4 values during the period of interest. The outcome of the preliminary results would be useful for development of ionospheric scintillation prediction algorithms for GPS users.

First person – Kalyanasundaram Parthasarathy

ABSTRACTFirst Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Biology Open, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Kalyanasundaram Parthasarathy is first author on ‘Spatial odor discrimination in the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta (L.)’, published in BiO. He conducted the research described in this article while a Senior Research Associate in Professor Mark A Willis's lab at the Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He is now a Postdoc in the lab of Professor Sanjay P Sane at National Centre for Biological Sciences at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India, investigating how animals use sensory cues to navigate, the related behaviours and the underlying brain function.

Devendra Lal. 14 February 1929—1 December 2012

Devendra Lal was an Indian nuclear physicist who began his career studying particle physics while a student at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Bombay, using tracks in nuclear emulsions to study cosmic ray particles and their interactions. He soon moved on to the search for radionuclides produced in the atmosphere by cosmic ray bombardment, independently (with colleagues) discovering radioisotopes of Be, P and Si and using them as geophysical tracers for atmospheric, meteorological and oceanographic processes. His career revolved principally around multiple aspects of cosmic rays, employing theory and experiment to examine their flux, chemical composition and energy spectrum, both at present and in the past through (for example) studies of particle tracks in the minerals of meteorites and lunar samples. He played a major role in developing approaches for the use of terrestrial cosmic-ray-produced isotopes as dating tools and tracers for a wide range of Earth processes, from biological cycles in the ocean to landscape evolution and ice ablation in the Antarctic. At various stages of his career Lal was professor at TIFR and led the geophysics group there, was professor and director of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, India, and was professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. He was elected fellow of numerous scientific organizations and academies internationally, and was the recipient of many scientific awards and prizes.

Multi-wavelength study of Galactic star-forming regions with near-infrared instruments on 2 - 4 meter class Indian telescopes.

We present a brief description of the activities of the infrared astronomy group of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research with special emphasis on the near-infrared instrumentation for star formation studies using 2 - 4-meter class Indian ground-based telescopes.

Mapping of Stellar and Galactic Astrophysics Research in India: A Scientometric Analysis

ABSTRACT The present investigation explores the features of the research publications on stellar and galactic astrophysics research in India during the last 20 years, based on the Web of Science Core Collection and its implications using the scientometric techniques. The R program, VOS-viewer software, and Webometric Analyst 2.0 were used for the analysis. The results of this investigation unveil that the literature on the stellar and galactic astrophysics has grown exponentially during this period reaching 4352 papers in total. A network visualization map revealed that “galaxies: active”, “stars: neutron”, “galaxies: evolution“, “galaxies: ism“ and “radio continuum: galaxies“ were the most frequently used keywords. The study identified the key scientometric indicators such as publications, authors, journals, countries, institutions, citation, and co-citation analysis. “Tata Institute of Fundamental Research” (TIFR) is the most extensive institutional contributor publishing 26.03% of the papers. Srianand R is the most published author with 143 publications. India has the most significant scientific collaboration with the USA. “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society” is the most publishing journal with 1434 published papers having 25,853 citations. The total number of citations received is 1,13,860 citations, giving a ratio for the “Average Citations per Item” as 26.16 and “h-index” as 115. The highest “Altmetric Attention Score” received for an article is 2411.

First person – Shivnarayan Dhuppar

ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Shivnarayan Dhuppar is first author on ‘Investigating cell cycle-dependent gene expression in the context of nuclear architecture at a single-allele resolution’, published in JCS. Shivnarayan is a postdoc in the lab of Dr Aprotim Mazumder at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Hyderabad, India, where he likes to think ‘how does it work?’, with the ‘it’ being anything from the biology of a cell to its functions and the physics behind them.

Visibility challenges for Asian scientists

Nine researchers, editors and science communicators share their views about the barriers that Asian scientists encounter in publishing their work and becoming more visible on the international level. Shravan Hanasoge has been a faculty member in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, since 2013. He received his Ph.D. at Stanford University and then pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and the Department of Geosciences, Princeton University. Noriaki Horiuchi is a senior editor at Nature Photonics, based in the Springer Nature Tokyo office. He obtained a Ph.D. from Universite Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, and then pursued postdoctoral research at Toyota Technological Institute and RIKEN. He joined Nature Photonics in 2009. Congcong Huang is a team manager and senior editor at Nature Communications, based in the Springer Nature Shanghai office. She obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, UK, then pursued postdoctoral research at Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the USA. She joined Nature Communications in 2012. Hepeng Jia is a science communication researcher at the School of Communication, Soochow University in China and a science journalist, writing for the Nature journals and Chemical & Engineering News. He has a Ph.D. in science communication from Cornell University. Na Young Kim is an associate professor at the Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Canada, leading her Quantum Innovation laboratory. She has a Ph.D. from Stanford University and has also worked in industry for Apple Inc. Mio Murao is a professor at the Department of Physics, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan. She has a Ph.D. from Ochanomizu University in Japan, then pursued postdoctoral research at Harvard University, Imperial College London and RIKEN before joining the University of Tokyo as a faculty member. Minah Seo is principal research scientist at the Sensor System Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea. She has a Ph.D. from Seoul National University, then pursued postdoctoral research at Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA. Rebecca Tan is the Editor in Chief of Asian Scientist Magazine, a science and technology magazine that highlights research and development news stories from Asia to a global audience. She has a Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore. Jens Wilkinson is communications officer at the International Affairs Division in RIKEN, Japan. He has been working in Japan for over 15 years.