arXiv subjects

Oreste Piro

Publications and source records attributed to Oreste Piro.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Biological rhythms generated by a single activator-repressor loop with heterogeneity and diffusion

Common models of circadian rhythms are constructed as compartmental reactions of well mixed biochemicals involving a negative-feedback loop containing several intermediate reaction steps in order to enable oscillations. Spatial transport of reactants is mimicked as an extra compartmental reaction step. In this letter, we show that a single activation-repression biochemical reaction pair is enough to produce sustained oscillations, if the sites of both reactions are spatially separated and molecular transport is mediated by diffusion. Our proposed scenario is the simplest possible one in terms of the participating chemical reactions and provides a conceptual basis for understanding biological oscillations and triggering in-vitro assays aimed at constructing minimal clocks.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2022

Intermittent chaotic spiking in the van der Pol-FitzHugh-Nagumo system with inertia

The three-dimensional (3D) Fitzhugh-Nagumo neuron model with inertia was shown to exhibit a chaotic mixed-mode dynamics composed of large-amplitude spikes separated by an irregular number of small-amplitude chaotic oscillations. In contrast to the standard 2D Fitzhugh-Nagumo model driven by noise, the interspike-intervals distribution displays a complex arrangement of sharp peaks related to the unstable periodic orbits of the chaotic attractor. For many ranges of parameters controlling the excitability of the system, we observe that chaotic mixed-mode states consist of lapses of nearly regular spiking interleaved by others of highly irregular one. We explore here the emergence of these structures and show their correspondence to the intermittent transitions to chaos. In fact, the average residence time in the nearly-periodic firing state, obeys the same scaling law -- as a function of the control parameter -- than the one at the onset type I intermittency for dynamical systems in the vicinity of a saddle node bifurcation. We hypothesize that this scenario is also present in a variety of slow-fast neuron models characterized by the coexistence of a two-dimensional fast manifold and a one-dimensional slow one.

nlin.AO↗

arXiv2021

Geometric phase of spheroidal particles in a fluid flow and its control

We investigate the dynamics of spheroids immersed in the journal bearing flow subject to a contractible non-reciprocal loop. We show how geometric phases appear not only in the position, but also in the orientation of such particles. We show how control and targeting can be carried out on spheroidal particles in the flow.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2021

The fluid mechanics of poohsticks

2019 is the bicentenary of George Gabriel Stokes, who in 1851 described the drag - Stokes drag - on a body moving immersed in a fluid, and 2020 is the centenary of Christopher Robin Milne, for whom the game of poohsticks was invented; his father A. A. Milne's "The House at Pooh Corner", in which it was first described in print, appeared in 1928. So this is an apt moment to review the state of the art of the fluid mechanics of a solid body in a complex fluid flow, and one floating at the interface between two fluids in motion. Poohsticks pertains to the latter category, when the two fluids are water and air.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2021

Dynamical systems, celestial mechanics, and music: Pythagoras revisited

Gioseffo Zarlino reintroduced the Pythagorean paradigm into Renaissance musical theory. In a similar fashion, Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac Newton reinvigorated Pythagorean ideas in celestial mechanics; Kepler and Newton explicitly invoked musical principles. Today, the theory of dynamical systems allows us to describe very different applications of physics, from the orbits of asteroids in the Solar System to the pitch of complex sounds. Our aim in this text is to review the overarching aims of our research in this field over the past quarter of a century. We demonstrate with a combination of dynamical systems theory and music theory the thread running from Pythagoras to Zarlino that allowed the latter to construct musical scales using the ideas of proportion known to the former, and we discuss how the modern theory of dynamical systems, with the study of resonances in nonlinear systems, returns to Pythagorean ideas of a Musica Universalis.

math.HO↗

arXiv2020

Bursting and excitability in neuromorphic resonant tunneling diodes

We study in this paper the dynamics of quantum nanoelectronic resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) as excitable neuromorphic spike generators. We disclose the mechanisms by which the RTD creates excitable all-or-nothing spikes and we identify a regime of bursting in which the RTD emits a random number of closely packed spikes. The control of the latter is paramount for applications in event-activated neuromorphic sensing and computing. Finally, we discuss a regime of multi-stability in which the RTD behaves as a memory. Our results can be extended to other devices exhibiting negative differential conductance.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

A Time Domain Acoustic Model for the Production of Rodent Ultrasonic Vocalizations

Mammalian ultrasonic vocalization (USV) has been a subject of interest for decades. This interest has mainly been driven by the intelligence of dolphins and other odontocetes. However the semantic content of odontocete USV and its mechanism of production remain poorly understood. Serendipitously however many rodent species have convergently evolved the ability to produce USVs in a similar manner. In this paper we use rodent USV as a model process to help us gain insight into the production mechanism for mammalian USV as a whole. We derive a model that describes the production of rodent USVs by considering the interaction of an unstable jet, emerging from the vocal folds, with the passive resonance modes of the upper vocal tract. Thus our model is also a solution to a special case of the jet susceptibility problem. The derived model takes the form of a set of coupled nonlinear time domain ODEs, whose solutions are controlled by biologically relevant parameters such as subglottal pressure and vocal fold radius. In our analysis of the model we find the existence of a subglottal blowing pressure threshold ($p \approx 710$ Pa), above which steady acoustic oscillations occur. Furthermore we also reproduce the $22$ kHz rat alarm call at realistic blowing pressures ($p \approx 1500$ Pa)

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2017

Frontiers of chaotic advection

This work reviews the present position of and surveys future perspectives in the physics of chaotic advection: the field that emerged three decades ago at the intersection of fluid mechanics and nonlinear dynamics, which encompasses a range of applications with length scales ranging from micrometers to hundreds of kilometers, including systems as diverse as mixing and thermal processing of viscous fluids, microfluidics, biological flows, and oceanographic and atmospheric flows.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2016

Geometric phases in discrete dynamical systems

In order to study the behaviour of discrete dynamical systems under adiabatic cyclic variations of their parameters, we consider discrete versions of adiabatically-rotated rotators. Paralleling the studies in continuous systems, we generalize the concept of geometric phase to discrete dynamics and investigate its presence in these rotators. For the rotated sine circle map, we demonstrate an analytical relationship between the geometric phase and the rotation number of the system. For the discrete version of the rotated rotator considered by Berry, the rotated standard map, we further explore this connection as well as the role of the geometric phase at the onset of chaos. Further into the chaotic regime, we show that the geometric phase is also related to the diffusive behaviour of the dynamical variables and the Lyapunov exponent.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2015

Geometric Mixing, Peristalsis, and the Geometric Phase of the Stomach

Mixing fluid in a container at low Reynolds number - in an inertialess environment - is not a trivial task. Reciprocating motions merely lead to cycles of mixing and unmixing, so continuous rotation, as used in many technological applications, would appear to be necessary. However, there is another solution: movement of the walls in a cyclical fashion to introduce a geometric phase. We show using journal-bearing flow as a model that such geometric mixing is a general tool for using deformable boundaries that return to the same position to mix fluid at low Reynolds number. We then simulate a biological example: we show that mixing in the stomach functions because of the "belly phase": peristaltic movement of the walls in a cyclical fashion introduces a geometric phase that avoids unmixing.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2014

Runaway electrification of friable self-replicating granular matter

We establish that the nonlinear dynamics of collisions between particles favors the charging of a insulating, friable, self-replicating granular material that undergoes nucleation, growth, and fission processes; we demonstrate with a minimal dynamical model that secondary nucleation produces a positive feedback in an electrification mechanism that leads to runaway charging. We discuss ice as an example of such a self-replicating granular material: We confirm with laboratory experiments in which we grow ice from the vapor phase in situ within an environmental scanning electron microscope that charging causes fast-growing and easily breakable palm-like structures to form, which when broken off may form secondary nuclei. We propose that thunderstorms, both terrestrial and on other planets, and lightning in the solar nebula are instances of such runaway charging arising from this nonlinear dynamics in self-replicating granular matter.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2012

Ice polyamorphism in the minimal Mercedes-Benz model of water

We investigate ice polyamorphism in the context of the two-dimensional Mercedes-Benz model of water. We find a first-order phase transition between a crystalline phase and a high-density amorphous phase. Furthermore we find a reversible transformation between two amorphous structures of high and low density; however we find this to be a continuous and not an abrupt transition, as the low-density amorphous phase does not show structural stability. We discuss the origin of this behavior and its implications with regard to the minimal generic modeling of polyamorphism.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Passive Scalars and Three-Dimensional Liouvillian Maps

Global aspects of the motion of passive scalars in time-dependent incompressible fluid flows are well described by volume-preserving (Liouvillian) three-dimensional maps. In this paper the possible invariant structures in Liouvillian maps and the two most interesting nearly-integrable cases are investigated. In addition, the fundamental role of invariant lines in organizing the dynamics of this type of system is exposed. Bifurcations involving the destruction of some invariant lines and tubes and the creation of new ones are described in detail.

chao-dyn↗

arXiv2008

Dynamical and Statistical Criticality in a Model of Neural Tissue

For the nervous system to work at all, a delicate balance of excitation and inhibition must be achieved. However, when such a balance is sought by global strategies, only few modes remain balanced close to instability, and all other modes are strongly stable. Here we present a simple model of neural tissue in which this balance is sought locally by neurons following `anti-Hebbian' behavior: {\sl all} degrees of freedom achieve a close balance of excitation and inhibition and become "critical" in the dynamical sense. At long timescales, the modes of our model oscillate around the instability line, so an extremely complex "breakout" dynamics ensues in which different modes of the system oscillate between prominence and extinction. We show the system develops various anomalous statistical behaviours and hence becomes self-organized critical in the statistical sense.

q-bio.NC↗

arXiv2003

Effective dimensions and percolation in hierarchically structured scale-free networks

We introduce appropriate definitions of dimensions in order to characterize the fractal properties of complex networks. We compute these dimensions in a hierarchically structured network of particular interest. In spite of the nontrivial character of this network that displays scale-free connectivity among other features, it turns out to be approximately one-dimensional. The dimensional characterization is in agreement with the results on statistics of site percolation and other dynamical processes implemented on such a network.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Pitch perception: A dynamical-systems perspective

Two and a half millennia ago Pythagoras initiated the scientific study of the pitch of sounds; yet our understanding of the mechanisms of pitch perception remains incomplete. Physical models of pitch perception try to explain from elementary principles why certain physical characteristics of the stimulus lead to particular pitch sensations. There are two broad categories of pitch-perception models: place or spectral models consider that pitch is mainly related to the Fourier spectrum of the stimulus, whereas for periodicity or temporal models its characteristics in the time domain are more important. Current models from either class are usually computationally intensive, implementing a series of steps more or less supported by auditory physiology. However, the brain has to analyse and react in real time to an enormous amount of information from the ear and other senses. How is all this information efficiently represented and processed in the nervous system? A proposal of nonlinear and complex systems research is that dynamical attractors may form the basis of neural information processing. Because the auditory system is a complex and highly nonlinear dynamical system it is natural to suppose that dynamical attractors may carry perceptual and functional meaning. Here we show that this idea, scarcely developed in current pitch models, can be successfully applied to pitch perception.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2002

Excitable media in open and closed chaotic flows

We investigate the response of an excitable medium to a localized perturbation in the presence of a two-dimensional smooth chaotic flow. Two distinct types of flows are numerically considered: open and closed. For both of them three distinct regimes are found, depending on the relative strengths of the stirring and the rate of the excitable reaction. In order to clarify and understand the role of the many competing mechanisms present, simplified models of the process are introduced. They are one-dimensional baker-map models for the flow and a one-dimensional approximation for the transverse profile of the filaments.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2001

Noise and Inertia-Induced Inhomogeneity in the Distribution of Small Particles in Fluid Flows

The dynamics of small spherical neutrally buoyant particulate impurities immersed in a two-dimensional fluid flow are known to lead to particle accumulation in the regions of the flow in which rotation dominates over shear, provided that the Stokes number of the particles is sufficiently small. If the flow is viewed as a Hamiltonian dynamical system, it can be seen that the accumulations occur in the nonchaotic parts of the phase space: the Kolmogorov--Arnold--Moser tori. This has suggested a generalization of these dynamics to Hamiltonian maps, dubbed a bailout embedding. In this paper we use a bailout embedding of the standard map to mimic the dynamics of impurities subject not only to drag but also to fluctuating forces modelled as white noise. We find that the generation of inhomogeneities associated with the separation of particle from fluid trajectories is enhanced by the presence of noise, so that they appear in much broader ranges of the Stokes number than those allowing spontaneous separation.

nlin.CD↗