The European Physical Journal E最新文献

{"title":"Perspective: rethinking polymer crystallization pathways-two decades after Strobl's mesomorphic-to-granular-to-lamellar model.","authors":"Christoph Schick, Wenbing Hu","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00629-0","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00629-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The 2000 perspective article by Gert Strobl, \"From the melt via mesomorphic and granular crystalline layers to lamellar crystallites: A major route followed in polymer crystallization?\", proposed a revolutionary multistep mechanism for polymer crystallization from the quiescent melt, fundamentally challenging the dominant single-step models of the time. Two decades later, this perspective revisits Strobl's conceptual framework to assess its legacy, its limitations, and its continuing relevance to modern polymer science. We examine the three-stage pathway-mesomorphic layer formation, cooperative transition to a granular crystalline layer, and block merging into lamellar crystallites-through the lens of subsequent experimental, theoretical, and simulation advances. While the model's central premise of intermediate states has stimulated extensive research, key elements remain debated. The distinction between crystal-fixed and crystal-mobile polymers has emerged as a critical factor, reinterpreting the stabilization phenomena Strobl observed and challenging the universality of his proposed pathway. Simulation studies have provided complementary insights into precursor states; yet, the direct detection of the granular crystalline layer and the mesomorphic precursor remains elusive. We identify open questions regarding the molecular origins of early stage ordering, the factors determining lamellar thickness, and the universality of granular crystalline states. Strobl's model was important not because it provided definitive answers, but because it forced the field to confront its assumptions and inspired a generation of research that continues to advance our understanding of polymer crystallization.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13541812/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148885813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electronic screening of the friction acting on ions and water molecules in narrow carbon nanotubes.","authors":"A W C Lau, J B Sokoloff","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00622-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00622-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Li et al. have observed a larger flow rate, resulting from osmotic pressure, of protons and water molecules in nanometer scale diameter metallic carbon nanotubes compared to that in semiconducting carbon nanotubes. The flow rate of potassium ions, however, under an applied electric field is almost the same in metallic and semiconducting nanotubes. We propose a simple physical picture to understand these experimental results by examining the effects of screening by conduction electrons in electrically conducting carbon nanotubes on the friction experienced by protons, water molecules, and ions flowing through the nanotube.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148863314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The many lives of evaporating multicomponent drops and films: from the perspective of Giorgiutti-Dauphiné and Pauchard (2018) to the present.","authors":"Howard A Stone","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00614-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00614-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The drying of complex fluids, such as colloidal or polymer solutions, is filled with fascinating dynamics as a consequence of evaporation-driven inhomogeneities of the suspended material, which can result in an \"elastic skin\" at the liquid-air interface and dense deposits at the contact line, both of which can lead to significant mechanical stresses. As a consequence, drops of a colloidal solution or a polymer solution may undergo shape changes during drying and cracks can form, after which a deposited drop or film can even delaminate from the substrate. Understanding the rates of different transport processes helps to understand and organize the different material responses. We look back at the well-cited 2018 contribution in EPJE by Giorgiutti-Dauphiné and Pauchard who provided an organized view and many insights on this topic, highlight some more recent research, and look towards future developments.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148863346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Emergent collective dynamics of microrobotic swarms in viscoelastic media: a computational perspective","authors":"Ratnadeep Pramanik","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00617-4","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00617-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Microrobotic swarms are promising candidates for targeted drug delivery in complex physiological environments, including blood, mucus, and extracellular matrices. In such biomedical scenarios, collective motion is strongly influenced by low-Reynolds-number drag, crowding, confinement, viscoelasticity, and non-Newtonian rheology. This article envisages a mechanics-based computational framework for microrobotic swarms in viscoelastic (gel-like) media. Starting from Langevin dynamics, we derive the overdamped description appropriate for microscale agents and extend it to active Brownian particles with self-propulsion, local alignment, and short-range interparticle interactions. Cohesive and purely repulsive collective regimes are represented through Lennard-Jones and Weeks-Chandler-Andersen potentials, respectively. To model gel-like rheology, we introduce a fractional Kelvin–Voigt description of drag that incorporates power-law memory effects. The resulting stochastic dynamics are mapped to an explicit Euler–Maruyama algorithm with truncated-history fractional convolution, documented stabilizers, and diagnostic observables for polarization, clustering, trajectories, and transport. Beyond the model itself, the present study synthesizes recent work on bacterial living fluids, externally driven colloidal and microrobotic swarms, fish-school hydrodynamics, neural-network control of collective patterns, and cross-scale magnetic catheter-swarm thrombus removal. That microrobotic-swarm transport in biomedical media should not be treated only as a soft-matter problem is the primary takeaway. We believe that it is rather a coupled mechanics problem in which propulsion, interaction, memory, disorder, hydrodynamic communication, and clinical deliverability must be taken into consideration. At the same time, the preliminary simulations suggest a practically important biomedical trend: whereas Newtonian transport is more prone to collective aggregation, viscoelastic transport can preserve a more distributed swarm morphology, which is encouraging for controllable delivery, broader spatial coverage, and aggregation-resistant payload transport in complex bodily fluids.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00617-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148837974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advancing decontamination technologies by increasing the efficiency of infected fluid treatment using transparent periodic optical structures penetrated by UV-C radiation","authors":"Ion Munteanu","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00627-2","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00627-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A new UV-C decontamination device has been tested at laboratory scale for its potential to inactivate microorganisms in commercial baker’s yeast solutions used in baking. The device includes a flow chamber in which the liquid follows a helical path generated by a quartz spiral positioned between two concentric quartz tubes, with the space between the spirals filled with periodic optical structures made of quartz periodical optical structures (POS), such as fibers, beads or fragments, and inside this flow system is an 18W UV-C lamp with an irradiance of approximately 18–20 W/m² at 254 nm. The combined effect of the helical motion of the fluid and the quartz optical structures increases microbial exposure to UV-C radiation, resulting in a significantly increased inactivation rate of pathogens in infected liquids compared to conventional UV systems. Unlike our previous study on the influence of quartz metamaterial packing geometries on UV-C decontamination efficiency, the present work introduces a controlled helical-flow reactor. The key novelty lies in its practical implementation and in demonstrating the physical mechanisms responsible for significantly enhanced microbial inactivation compared to conventional UV-C systems.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div><div><p>Schematic representation of the UV-C fluid decontamination system based on a controlled optical mechanism that enhances UV-C light propagation and distribution within the liquid. The periodic optical configuration promotes repeated light–fluid interactions, increasing UV-C exposure and thereby improving the inactivation of microorganisms compared with conventional UV-C treatment</p></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148838054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Scaling laws governing droplet spreading and merging dynamics on solid surfaces: a molecular simulation study","authors":"Ertiza Hossain Shopnil,&nbsp;Jahid Emon,&nbsp;Md Nadeem Azad,&nbsp;A. K. M. Monjur Morshed","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00625-4","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00625-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study employs molecular dynamics simulations to investigate droplet dynamics when a stationary droplet on a solid surface is struck by another droplet of similar size from above. The focus is on the jumping behavior of the merged droplet and the associated energy conversion. The process is primarily controlled by the amount of energy converted into kinetic energy after dissipation. At high impact velocities, the energy conversion efficiency becomes constant, with only about 1% lost due to surface adhesion—an effect that diminishes with increasing velocity. Factors such as impact velocity, droplet size, surface texture, and wettability significantly influence the jumping velocity. Scaling laws are developed for the maximum spreading time, spreading factor, and restitution coefficient based on the Weber (We) and Reynolds (Re) numbers, which differ from those for single droplet impacts. On superhydrophobic surfaces, the spreading time is approximated as <span>({t}_{sp}approx 3r/{V}_{i})</span>, and its dimensionless form scales linearly with <span>(W{e}^{0.31})</span>. The general scaling law for the spreading factor is <span>({upbeta}_{max}sim W{e}^{0.5upalpha }R{e}^{upalpha })</span>, where <span>(upalpha = 0.1)</span> for velocity-dependent and <span>(upalpha = 0.24)</span> for velocity-independent spreading regimes.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3><p>Energy Conversion and Jumping Dynamics of Colliding Nanodroplets on Solid Surfaces.</p><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00625-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148823624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Particle clustering and dispersion in multi-scale Langmuir turbulence and regional flow convergence","authors":"Todd X. Thoman,&nbsp;Tobias Kukulka,&nbsp;Jonathan H. Cohen","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00626-3","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00626-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Concentrations of pollutants, such as microplastics, can be used to predict exposure and assess risk to organisms. In estuaries, the clustering and dispersion of materials is influenced by flows ranging from small-scale wind, wave, and tidal turbulence to regional-scale circulations. Axial convergence, paired regional-scale roll cells formed via cross-estuary density gradients from tidal jets in channel estuaries, collect surface particles in convergent bands over length scales of O(100 m-10 km). Turbulent roll cells, such as Langmuir cells, instead collect surface and bottom particles over scales of O(10-100 m). Here, the dispersion and clustering of suspended particles along-estuary and cross-estuary in an estuary with multi-scale turbulent-axial convergent flow is examined to diagnose the combined influence on particle concentrations and pollution risks. A turbulence-resolving shallow-water large eddy simulation is modified with cross-estuary varying tidal flow and along-estuary density gradients to drive axial roll cells. Wind stress and Stokes drift drive shear and Langmuir turbulence (LT). In axially converging estuaries, tidal jet shear dominates particle dispersion, acting most efficiently among neutrally buoyant particles; dispersion of buoyantly rising particles is enhanced by vertical mixing from LT. With LT, particle clouds show increased clustering compared to model runs without LT, dividing into more numerous, narrower, yet denser band-like clusters within windrows. Langmuir turbulence during slack tides alters the regional dispersion and clustering of particles by axial convergence.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148817142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: Perspective on the paper: GDR MiDi. On dense granular flows","authors":"Hans J. Herrmann,&nbsp;Stefan Luding","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00624-5","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00624-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00624-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148783226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Discrete-time predator–prey dynamics under human shielding: stability and bifurcation analysis","authors":"Lahcen Koujan,&nbsp;Ashraf Adnan Thirthar,&nbsp;Mohamed Ch-Chaoui,&nbsp;Karima Mokni,&nbsp;Muhammad Aqib Abbasi","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00623-6","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00623-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We propose and analyze a discrete-time predator–prey model incorporating a <i>human-shield</i> effect, whereby prey use human-dominated areas as partial refuges to reduce predation risk. Starting from a Rosenzweig–MacArthur-type framework, we introduce a nonnegative shielding intensity <span>(h)</span> acting through two coupled mechanisms: it increases the effective prey carrying capacity <span>(K(h))</span> and weakens predation through the saturation parameter <span>(gamma (h))</span> in a Holling type II functional response. We determine the equilibrium points, derive feasibility and local stability conditions, and identify the main bifurcation thresholds associated with predator invasion and coexistence dynamics. In particular, the model exhibits a transcritical bifurcation between the predator-free and coexistence equilibria, a period-doubling bifurcation, and a Neimark–Sacker bifurcation leading to oscillatory coexistence. Numerical simulations show that human shielding can promote prey persistence, shift the stability boundaries, and reduce the parameter region supporting predator–prey coexistence, eventually leading to predator exclusion for strong shielding intensity. A pathway-resolved analysis in the effective <span>((K,gamma ))</span>-plane further separates the roles of prey support and predator deterrence. Finally, a state-feedback control strategy is shown to stabilize the coexistence equilibrium in regimes where the uncontrolled system displays large oscillations. Overall, the model provides a theoretical framework for understanding how human presence can reshape trophic regulation, persistence, and long-term population dynamics in anthropogenically modified landscapes.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148782570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How adaptation to food resources and death rates shape oscillatory dynamics in a microbial population","authors":"Benedetta Ciarmoli,&nbsp;Sophie Marbach","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00616-5","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00616-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Microbes constantly interact with their environment by depleting and transforming food sources. Theoretical studies have mainly focused on Lotka–Volterra models, which do not account for food source dynamics. In contrast, consumer-resource models, which consider food source dynamics, are less explored. In particular, it is still unclear what physical mechanisms control oscillatory dynamics at a single population level, a phenomenon which can only be captured by a consumer-resource model. We elaborate on the framework of Khatri, F. et al. [34], which uses a minimalistic consumer-resource model of a single microbial population with growth and death dynamics, consuming a continuously replenishing substrate. This study showed that decaying oscillations can occur around steady state if and only if the timescale of microbial adaptation to food supply changes exceeds the death timescale. Here, we show that many more complex microbial growth scenarios can be mapped onto this simple model, and that this interplay of timescales can still be used to rationalize the emergence of oscillatory dynamics. We find that microbial necromass recycling or complementary use of multiple food sources reduces the parameter range for oscillations and increases the decay rate of oscillations. Requiring multiple simultaneous food sources has the opposite effect. Essentially, facilitating growth reduces the likelihood of oscillations around a fixed point. We further demonstrate that such damped oscillatory behavior is correlated with persistent oscillatory behavior in a noisy environment. We hope our work will motivate further investigations of consumer-resource models to improve descriptions of environments where food source distributions vary in space and time.</p><p>Depending on the ratio of timescales between food regulation by and death rates of microorganisms, oscillations in food resources and microbe population can occur in time.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148752236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}