# gst: still apropos of particle rafts, Marangoni swimmer pushing particle raft under 1D confinement.

<< Active matter systems, due to their spontaneous self-propulsion ability, hold potential for future applications in healthcare and environmental sustainability. Marangoni swimmers, a type of synthetic active matter, are a common model system for understanding the underlying physics. >>

<< Existing studies of the interactions of active matter with passive particles have mostly focused on the modification of the behavior of the passive particles. In contrast, (AA) analyse here experimentally the impact on the self-propulsion of camphor-infused agarose disks (active) of their interactions with floating hollow glass microspheres (passive) within an annular channel. >>

<< Two distinct regimes are observed: a steady regime with uni-directional motion of the swimmer at low packing fractions (ϕ_ini ≲ 0.45) and an oscillatory regime with to-and-fro motion at higher packing fractions (ϕ_ini ≳ 0.45). In the former, the swimmer pushes nearly the entire particle raft together with it, like a towing cargo, causing a decrease in swimmer speed with increasing packing fraction due to the additional drag from the particle raft. A simplified force-balance model is finally proposed that captures the experimental trend in swimmer speed reasonably well. >>

Abhradeep Maitra, Anupam Pandey, Sebastien Michelin, et al. Marangoni swimmer pushing particle raft under 1D confinement. arXiv: 2508.15205v1 [cond-mat.soft]. Aug 21, 2025.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.15205

Also: particle, waves, instability, transition, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, particles, waves, instability, transitions, active matter systems, spontaneous self-propulsion, Marangoni swimmers, particle rafts.

# gst: densely packed particle raft at vertically vibrated air-water interface.

<< ️(AA) investigate the dynamics of a dense raft of millimeter-sized granular particles at a vertically vibrated air-water interface, which displays a rich set of patterns and particle dynamics as we vary the vibration amplitude, frequency, and particle packing fraction. >>

<< ️While the classical parametric instability with standing waves still occurs over a certain range of parameters, the measured wave dispersion relations indicate an increasing role of the raft's emergent elasticity at higher packing fractions, where the effective surface tension decreases and the out-of-plane bending modulus increases. >>

<< ️At higher vibration frequencies and lower amplitudes, (They) identify a regime without standing waves. Instead, individual particles exhibit thermal-like motion, with transport crossing over from diffusive to sub-diffusive as the packing fraction increases. >>

<< ️The particle dynamics also display spatial and temporal heterogeneity, as in supercooled liquids. Starting from this regime, when the vibration amplitude is further increased, a large cavity eventually forms inside the raft, whose size and shape depend on the vibration frequency and the injected vibration energy. The cavitation results in the coexistence of free-surface water waves inside the cavity and thermal-like particle motion in the surrounding raft. >>

Xiuhe Yan, Tabitha C. Watson, Hongyi Xiao. Densely packed particle raft at vertically vibrated air-water interface. Phys. Rev. E 114, 025427. Aug 31, 2026.

https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/95rf-w6fd

arXiv: 2602.17539v2 [cond-mat.soft]. 

https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.17539

Also: particle, waves, instability, transition, elastic, chaos, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, particles, waves, instability,  transitions, elasticity, chaos, granular particles, air-water interface, raft elasticity, emergence of patterns, surface & interfacial phenomena, granular materials.

# life: mudskippers use tail thrusting to help crutching to move on mud of various wetness.

<< ️At the water-land interface, amphibious fishes encounter wet flowable substrates made of granular solid-water mixtures, which can stay solid or flow like a fluid. As these substrates become wetter or drier, their yield strength (at which solid-fluid transition occurs) and cohesion (how sticky they are) both change, challenging locomotion. Despite substantial understanding of tetrapod locomotion on flowable substrates (mostly dry sand), we know little about how amphibious fishes cope with wet flowable substrates of various wetness. >>

<< ️Here, (AA) studied mudskippers on clay mud of controlled, variable wetness over the range where solid-fluid transition occurs. As mud became wetter, its strength decreased by 100-fold, leading the animal to sink deeper, with larger areas of body and fins contacting mud. By contrast, mud stuck most easily at intermediate wetness. The increased sinkage and contact and stickiness change caused more mud to stick to and pull against the animal on wetter mud. >>

<< ️(AA) also tested dry mud, which stuck to animal fins as its mucus dried. Despite these challenges, the mudskipper predominately used a conserved crutching gait on all except the wettest mud tested, with a modest performance reduction. When normal crutching became less effective, the animal assisted it with tail thrusting, by bending and straightening it to push downward and backward to generate additional thrust and lift, or even thrusting the tail to jump. >>

<< ️These observations suggest that mudskipper's crutching motor program is well adapted to its native muddy substrates but inflexible, with most novelty in tail use. >>

Divya Ramesh, Gargi Sadalgekar, Jiangqi Tan, et al. Mudskippers use tail thrusting to help crutching to move on mud of various wetness. arXiv: 2609.00564v1 [physics.bio-ph]. Sep 1, 2026.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00564

Also: walk, walking, dance, transition, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: life, locomotion, walk, walking, dance, transitions, wet flowable substrates, granular solid-water mixtures, solid-fluid transitions, mudskippers. 

# gst: noise-shaped synchrony in neuronal oscillator networks.

<< ️Stochastic fluctuations often act as promoters of activity in excitable and oscillatory systems, giving rise to phenomena such as coherence resonance. Here, (AA) show that in the low-intensity regime, noise plays a dual role in weakly coupled neuronal units: It can both inhibit collective spiking and, with increasing intensity, restore coordinated activity. For a ring of diffusively coupled, oscillatory FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons, (They) demonstrate how the interplay of noise and coupling strength organizes a rich set of collective dynamical states. >> 

<< ️(AA) systematically classify emergent dynamical scenarios by an in-depth time-series analysis that integrates multiple complementary measures. (They) are able to automatically identify five distinct dynamical clusters in parameter space: pure noise, quiescent state, noisy synchronization, complete synchronization, and intermittent switching. (Their) workflow provides a general, automated framework for characterizing collective dynamics in coupled oscillator networks. >>

Max Contreras, Philipp Hövel. Noise-shaped synchrony in neuronal oscillator networks. Phys. Rev. E 114, L022302. Aug 26, 2026. 

https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/sxl4-6mdm

Also: noise, brain, neuro, disorder & fluctuations, random, intermittency, network, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, noise, brain, disorder, fluctuations, randomness, networks, coupled oscillator networks, stochasticity, stochastic fluctuations, coherence resonance, collective spiking inhibition, restored coordinated activity, pure noise, quiescent state, noisy synchronization, complete synchronization, intermittent switching.

# gst: braids of three strands and geodesics shooting in SL_2(R).

<< ️(AA) describe in detail and provide computer code for constructing optimal geometric braids of three strands from algebraic data encoding the braiding pattern. >>

<< ️The exposition is complete and multi-pronged, aimed at a broad spectrum of readers. (Numerous figures are the backbone of the narrative and should be viewed in color.) >>

Jaroslaw (Jarek) Kwapisz. Braids of Three Strands and Geodesics Shooting in SL_2(R). arXiv: 2608.21484v1 [math.DG]. Aug 21, 2026.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.21484

Also: perception, metamorphosis, transition, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, perception, metamorphosis, transitions. 

# gst: the ultimate state of elastic turbulence.

<< The asymptotic properties, with vanishing viscosity, of inertial turbulence in Newtonian fluids have been of intense scrutiny over the years. Much less is known about elastic turbulence - a distinct spatio-temporally chaotic state exhibited by viscoelastic fluids. >>

<< In this work, using direct numerical simulations of turbulence in a triperiodic box, (AA) show that elastic turbulence achieves an ultimate state with increasing polymer relaxation time, i.e., the Deborah number, for two different constitutive models (Oldroyd-B and FENE-P). >>

<< In the limiting state, various bulk quantities - the fluid dissipation, the polymeric energy transfer, as well as the elastic stresses - are shown to become independent of the polymer relaxation time scale, notwithstanding the microstructure deformation scales distinctly depending on the model. >>

Piyush Garg, Marco Edoardo Rosti. The ultimate state of elastic turbulence. arXiv: 2608.26479v1 [physics.flu-dyn]. Aug 27, 2026.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.26479

Also: elastic, turbulence, chaos, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, elasticity, turbulence, chaos, vanishing viscosity, inertial turbulence, elastic turbulence, elastic stress, viscoelastic fluids, polymer relaxation.

# gst: self-organizing chimera states in adaptive networks.

<< ️(AA) propose a minimal adaptive network model with product-form coupling that reduces dimensionality while capturing key features of synaptic plasticity. The system spontaneously self-organizes into adaptive chimera states, where identical oscillators separate into synchronized and desynchronized groups through adaptive weight dynamics. >>

<< These adaptive chimeras organize into branches with fixed coherent cluster fraction and exhibit transitions between stationary, breathing, and chaotic collective dynamics, revealing a collective bifurcation structure. Crucially, the resulting attractor landscape is highly multistable: repeated cluster reorganizations generate distinct dynamical pathways that coexist within the same parameter regime and depend sensitively on initial conditions. >>

Felix Augustsson, Rok Cestnik, Matthias Wolfrum, et al. Self-organizing Chimera States in Adaptive Networks. arXiv: 2608.20517v1 [nlin.AO]. Aug 20, 2026.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.20517

Also: chimera, self-assembly, network, chaos, transition, brain, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, chimera, self-assembly, networks, transitions, brain, oscillators, adaptive chimera, synaptic plasticity, synchronized- desynchronized stationary states, breathing, chaotic collective dynamics, collective bifurcations, multistable attractors.