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Constraints on the time-scales of quasar activity are key to understanding the formation and growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), quasar triggering mechanisms, and possible feedback effects on their host galaxies. However, observational estimates of this so-called quasar lifetime are highly uncertain (t(Q) similar to 10(4)-10(9) yr), because most methods are indirect and involve many model-dependent assumptions. Direct evidence of earlier activity is gained from the higher ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the quasar environs, observable as enhanced Ly alpha transmission in the so-called proximity zone. Due to the similar to 30 Myr equilibration time-scale of He II in the z similar to 3 IGM, the size of the He II proximity zone depends on the time the quasar had been active before our observation t(on) <= t(Q), enabling up to +/- 0.2 dex precise measurements of individual quasar on-times that are comparable to the e-folding time-scale t(S) <= 44 Myr of SMBH growth. Here we present the first statistical sample of 13 quasars whose accurate and precise systemic redshifts allow for measurements of sufficiently precise He II quasar proximity zone sizes between similar or equal to 2 and similar or equal to 15 proper Mpc from science-grade Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectra. Comparing these sizes to predictions from cosmological hydrodynamical simulations post-processed with 1D radiative transfer, we infer a broad range of quasar on-times from t(on) less than or similar to 1Myr to t(on) > 30 Myr that does not depend on quasar luminosity, black hole mass, or Eddington ratio. These results point to episodic quasar activity over a long duty cycle, but do not rule out substantial SMBH growth during phases of radiative inefficiency or obscuration.
Self-organized coherence-incoherence patterns, called chimera states, have first been reported in systems of Kuramoto oscillators. For coupled excitable units, similar patterns where coherent units are at rest are called bump states. Here, we study bumps in an array of active rotators coupled by nonlocal attraction and global repulsion. We demonstrate how they can emerge in a supercritical scenario from completely coherent Turing patterns: a single incoherent unit appears in a homoclinic bifurcation, undergoing subsequent transitions to quasiperiodic and chaotic behavior, which eventually transforms into extensive chaos with many incoherent units. We present different types of transitions and explain the formation of coherence-incoherence patterns according to the classical paradigm of short-range activation and long-range inhibition.
We derive. the ensemble-and time-averaged mean-squared displacements (MSD, TAMSD) for Poisson-reset geometric Brownian motion (GBM), in agreement with simulations. We find MSD and TAMSD saturation for frequent resetting, quantify the spread of TAMSDs via the ergodicity-breaking parameter and compute distributions of prices. General MSD-TAMSD nonequivalence proves reset GBM nonergodic.
Using magneto-optical Faraday and Kerr measurements, we investigate the magnetic and magnetooptical properties of a thick Bi-substituted gadolinium iron garnet film over a broad range of wavelengths (250-850 nm) and temperatures (150-300 K), including the magnetization compensation point, TM. We observe an exchange-bias-like effect in the vicinity of TM. By slightly changing the sample temperature, we can precisely tune the bias field, which reaches a magnitude 6 times higher than the coercive field. We explain this phenomenon by considering the short-range superexchange interaction and a change in the magnetic behavior when moving from the surface to the bulk of the film. This finding may lead to the development of single-film magneto-optical devices based on the exchange-bias effect.
This paper is concerned with correlation functions of stochastic systems with memory, a prominent example being a molecule or colloid moving through a complex (e.g. viscoelastic) fluid environment. Analytical investigations of such systems based on non-Markovian stochastic equations are notoriously difficult. A common approximation is that of a single-exponential memory, corresponding to the introduction of one auxiliary variable coupled to the Markovian dynamics of the main variable. As a generalization, we here investigate a class of 'toy' models with altogether three degrees of freedom, giving rise to more complex forms of memory. Specifically, we consider, mainly on an analytical basis, the under- and overdamped motion of a colloidal particle coupled linearly to two auxiliary variables, where the coupling between variables can be either reciprocal or non-reciprocal. Projecting out the auxiliary variables, we obtain non-Markovian Langevin equations with friction kernels and colored noise, whose structure is similar to that of a generalized Langevin equation. For the present systems, however, the non-Markovian equations may violate the fluctuation-dissipation relation as well as detailed balance, indicating that the systems are out of equilibrium. We then study systematically the connection between the coupling topology of the underlying Markovian system and various autocorrelation functions. We demonstrate that already two auxiliary variables can generate surprisingly complex (e.g. non-monotonic or oscillatory) memory and correlation functions. Finally, we show that a minimal overdamped model with two auxiliary variables and suitable non-reciprocal coupling yields correlation functions resembling those describing hydrodynamic backflow in an optical trap.
Owing to global warming and particularly high regional ocean warming, both Thwaites and Pine Island Glaciers in the Amundsen region of the Antarctic Ice Sheet could lose their buttressing ice shelves over time. We analyse the possible consequences using the parallel ice sheet model (PISM), applying a simple cliff-calving parameterization and an ice melange-buttressing model. We find that the instantaneous loss of ice-shelf buttressing, due to enforced ice-shelf melting, initiates grounding-line retreat and triggers marine ice sheet instability (MISI). As a consequence, the grounding line progresses into the interior of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and leads to a sea level contribution of 0.6 m within 100 a. By subjecting the exposed ice cliffs to cliff calving using our simplified parameterization, we also analyse marine ice cliff instability (MICI). In our simulations it can double or even triple the sea level contribution depending on the only loosely constrained parameter that determines the maximum cliff-calving rate. The speed of MICI depends on this upper bound of the calving rate, which is given by the ice melange buttressing the glacier. However, stabilization of MICI may occur for geometric reasons. Because the embayment geometry changes as MICI advances into the interior of the ice sheet, the upper bound on calving rates is reduced and the progress of MICI is slowed down. Although we cannot claim that our simulations bear relevant quantitative estimates of the effect of ice-melange buttressing on MICI, the mechanism has the potential to stop the instability. Further research is needed to evaluate its role for the past and future evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Thanks to the combined effort s of scientist s in several research fields, the preceding decade has witnessed considerable progress in the use of conjugated polymers as emerging thermoelectric materials leading to significant improvements in performance and demonstration of a number of diverse applications. Despite these recent advances, systematic assessments of the impact of molecular design on thermoelectric properties are scarce. Although several reviews marginally highlight the role of chemical structure, the understanding of structure-performance relationships is still fragmented. An in-depth understanding of the relationship between molecular structure and thermoelectric properties will enable the rational design of next-generation thermoelectric polymers. To this end, this review showcases the state-of-the-art thermoelectric polymers, discusses structure-performance relationships, suggests strategies for improving thermoelectric performance that go beyond molecular design, and highlights some of the most impressive applications of thermoelectric polymers.
Additive manufacturing (AM) of metals and in particular laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) enables a degree of freedom in design unparalleled by conventional subtractive methods. To ensure that the designed precision is matched by the produced LPBF parts, a full understanding of the interaction between the laser and the feedstock powder is needed. It has been shown that the laser also melts subjacent layers of material underneath. This effect plays a key role when designing small cavities or overhanging structures, because, in these cases, the material underneath is feed-stock powder. In this study, we quantify the extension of the melt pool during laser illumination of powder layers and the defect spatial distribution in a cylindrical specimen. During the LPBF process, several layers were intentionally not exposed to the laser beam at various locations, while the build process was monitored by thermography and optical tomography. The cylinder was finally scanned by X-ray computed tomography (XCT). To correlate the positions of the unmolten layers in the part, a staircase was manufactured around the cylinder for easier registration. The results show that healing among layers occurs if a scan strategy is applied, where the orientation of the hatches is changed for each subsequent layer. They also show that small pores and surface roughness of solidified material below a thick layer of unmolten material (>200 mu m) serve as seeding points for larger voids. The orientation of the first two layers fully exposed after a thick layer of unmolten powder shapes the orientation of these voids, created by a lack of fusion.
We study a non-Markovian and nonstationary model of animal mobility incorporating both exploration and memory in the form of preferential returns. Exact results for the probability of visiting a given number of sites are derived and a practical WKB approximation to treat the nonstationary problem is developed. A mean-field version of this model, first suggested by Song et al., [Modelling the scaling properties of human mobility, Nat. Phys. 6, 818 (2010)] was shown to well describe human movement data. We show that our generalized model adequately describes empirical movement data of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) when accounting for interindividual variation in the population. We also study the probability of visiting any site a given number of times and derive a mean-field equation. Our analysis yields a remarkable phase transition occurring at preferential returns which scale linearly with past visits. Following empirical evidence, we suggest that this phase transition reflects a trade-off between extensive and intensive foraging modes.
We study the ultrafast electronic transport of energy in a photoexcited nanoscale Au/Fe hetero-structure by modeling the spatiotemporal profile of energy densities that drives transient strain, which we quantify by femtosecond x-ray diffraction. This flow of energy is relevant for intrinsic demagnetization and ultrafast spin transport. We measured lattice strain for different Fe layer thicknesses ranging from few atomic layers to several nanometers and modeled the spatiotemporal flow of energy densities. The combination of a high electron-phonon coupling coefficient and a large Sommerfeld constant in Fe is found to yield electronic transfer of nearly all energy from Au to Fe within the first hundreds of femtoseconds.