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EPJ E Call for papers: Thermal non-equilibrium phenomena in multi-component fluids
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- Published on 17 April 2013

EPJE is inviting submission for a new topical issue on “Thermal non-equilibrium phenomena in multi-component fluids”. Under thermal non-equilibrium conditions, multi-component fluids generally undergo component separation. This is termed thermodiffusion in molecular liquids, and thermophoresis in colloidal fluids. The precise physical principles underlying these phenomena are still not understood, and it is envisaged that a continuous flow of ideas between theoreticians, experimental scientists and researchers employing numerical methods is needed to achieve a deeper understanding. In order to provide an overview of the more recent advances in this intriguing area, Fabrizio Croccolo and Henri Bataller will guest edit this topical issue on physical systems outside thermal equilibrium. The deadline for submission is 30 June 2014. Read the full call for papers to learn more about the scope and submission details.
EPJ B Highlight - Physicists decipher social cohesion issues
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- Published on 10 April 2013

Studying the effect of migration on cooperation could help to better understand social cohesion
Migrations happen for a reason, not randomly. A new study, based on computer simulation, attempts to explain the effect of so-called directional migration – migration for a reason – on cooperative behaviours and social cohesion. These results appear in a study just published in EPJ B by Hongyan Cheng from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and colleagues.
EPJ B Colloquium - Why heavy doping makes ultrafast plasmonic semiconductors
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- Published on 02 April 2013
This EPJB Colloquium reviews the pioneering studies of plasmon resonance in heavily doped semiconductor thin films. It also reports the chemical synthesis and structural properties of heavily doped semiconductor nanocrystals. Their linear plasmonic response (under excitation with weak continuous-wave optical fields) is illustrated both theoretically and experimentally. Finally, the authors review the most recent results on the transient (i.e. nonlinear) ultrafast plasmonic features exhibited by chalcogenide nanocrystals under excitation with ultra-fast optical pulses, including a “gold-like” theoretical model. This model turns out to provide sufficient insights into the first experiments on heavily-doped plasmonic nanoparticles.
Plasmonics in heavily-doped semiconductor nanocrystals. Francesco Scotognella et al., Eur. Phys. J. B (2013) 86: 154, DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2013-40039-x
EPJ D Highlight - Ephemeral vacuum particles induce speed-of-light fluctuations
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- Published on 27 March 2013

New research shows that the speed of light may not be fixed after all, but rather fluctuates
Two EPJ D papers challenge established wisdom about the nature of vacuum. In one paper, Marcel Urban from the University of Paris-Sud, located in Orsay, France and his colleagues identified a quantum level mechanism for interpreting vacuum as being filled with pairs of virtual particles with fluctuating energy values. As a result, the inherent characteristics of vacuum, like the speed of light, may not be a constant after all, but fluctuate. Meanwhile, in another study, Gerd Leuchs and Luis L. Sánchez-Soto, from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Light in Erlangen, Germany, suggest that physical constants, such as the speed of light and the so-called impedance of free space, are indications of the total number of elementary particles in nature.
EPJ E Highlight - How proteins read meta DNA code
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- Published on 27 March 2013

Scientists have accurately calculated the sliding mechanism for deciphering the second genetic code written within the DNA base pair sequence
Three-quarters of the DNA in evolved organisms is wrapped around proteins, forming the basic unit of DNA packaging called nucleosomes, like a thread around a spool. The problem lies in understanding how DNA can then be read by such proteins. Now, Arman Fathizadeh, a physicist at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, and colleagues have created a model showing how proteins move along DNA, in a paper just published in EPJ E.
EPJ B Highlight - Swarm intelligence
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- Published on 27 March 2013

A new study of animal swarms uncovers some new features of their collective behaviour when overcrowding sets in
Swarming is the spontaneous organised motion of a large number of individuals. It is observed at all scales, from bacterial colonies, slime moulds and groups of insects to shoals of fish, flocks of birds and animal herds. Now physicists Maksym Romenskyy and Vladimir Lobaskin from University College Dublin, Ireland, have uncovered new collective properties of swarm dynamics in a study just published in EPJ B. Ultimately, this could be used to control swarms of animals, robots, or human crowds by applying signals capable of emulating the underlying interaction of individuals within the swarm, which could lead to predicted motion patterns elucidated through modelling.
EPJ E Call for Papers: Irreversible dynamics
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- Published on 17 March 2013

EPJE is now accepting submissions for a topical issue on “irreversible dynamics”, dedicated to Paul Manneville. The study of classical physics underwent a revolution in the 1970s-1980s thanks to seminal contributions by Ruelle, Takens, Pomeau and Manneville. The concurrent revival and extension of the theory of dynamical systems encompasses spatiotemporal chaos and coupled oscillator arrays. Applications to fluid dynamics range from pattern formation in convection, to the onset of turbulence in shear flows. The concurrent revival and extension of the theory of dynamical systems encompasses spatiotemporal chaos and coupled oscillator arrays. Applications to fluid dynamics range from pattern formation in convection, to the onset of turbulence in shear flows. Laurette Tuckerman or Patrice Le Gal, Guest Editors of this topical issue, extend a warm invitation to all researchers, with a wide interpretation of the field. The deadline for submission is July 1st 2013. The full call for papers can be found here
EPJ Data Science Highlight - Shadows over data sharing
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- Published on 17 March 2013

Experience gained from data sharing during the human genome sequencing project could apply to the broader research community
In a paper about to be published in EPJ Data Science, Barbara Jasny, deputy editor for commentary at Science magazine in Washington, DC, USA, looks at the history of the debates surrounding data access during and after the human genome “war”. In this context, she outlines current challenges in accessing information affecting research, particularly with regard to the social sciences, personalised medicine and sustainability.
EPJ B Highlight - Unlocking fuel cell conductivity
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- Published on 17 March 2013

Work on a high-conductivity material demonstrates the role of oxygen ions in enhancing their capabilities
Yttria stabilized zirconia, also known as YSZ, is a material of great interest because of its relatively high oxygen-ion based conductivity. In particular, it finds applications in electrochemical devices, such as solid oxide fuel cells and oxygen sensors. In a study published in EPJ B, Kia Ngai, from the University of Pisa in Italy, and colleagues from the Complutense University in Madrid, Spain, devised a model of the oxygen-ion dynamics that contribute to the conductivity of YSZ.
EPJ D Highlight - New taxonomy of platinum nanoclusters
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- Published on 17 March 2013

The unexpected diversity of metallic nanoclusters’ inner structure has now been catalogued into families
Physicists have gained new insights into the inner intricacies of the structural variations of metallic nanoclusters. This work by Luca Pavan, Cono Di Paola and Francesca Baletto from King's College London, UK, has just been published in EPJ D. It takes us one step closer to tailoring on-demand characteristics of metallic nanoparticles. Indeed, the geometric structure of these nanoclusters influences their chemical and physical properties, which differ from those of individual molecules and of bulk metals.