News
217 news in 2022
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2022-06-09
Hot Topic
RIKEN-Berkeley Center was opened
RIKEN iTHEMS and N3AS Physics Frontier Center have started a joint research center, RIKEN-Berkeley Center (RBC), physically located on the 3rd floor of the physics building in Univ. California, Berkeley. This new Center aims to enhance the collaboration on nuclear astrophysics and quantum information science between the two institutions. On May 27-29, 2022, the first annual meeting of N3AS was held in Berkeley together with their international partners, RIKEN iTHEMS and CNRS Centre Pierre Binetruy. iTHEMS members are encouraged to use RBC as a base to interact with researchers in physics, mathematics, biology and related fields at Berkeley.
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2022-06-09
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: Akira Matsumoto
I am Akira Matsumoto. I was in KEK until March 2022 as a student of SOKENDAI and got my Ph.D. there. Then I came to RIKEN and joined iTHEMS as a postdoctoral researcher in May 2022. I am interested in non-perturbative nature of gauge theories such as quantum chromodynamics (QCD), which describes the dynamics of quarks and gluons. Since these elementary particles are building blocks of matter, QCD is the important key to understanding history of our universe. The most powerful method of studying QCD is the Monte Carlo simulation based on the lattice gauge theory. So, we can simulate the dynamics of QCD on a supercomputer. However, in some cases, the Monte Carlo method is not applicable due to the so-called sign problem. For example, QCD with the chemical potential or with the topological theta term suffer from this problem. Since they are related to the structure of neutron star and the strong CP problem, the sign problem is a major obstacle to understanding such phenomena. I am studying and developing methods to avoid this problem. There are some conventional approaches such as the complex Langevin method and the tensor renormalization group. I am also trying to apply recently developing quantum computation to the simulation of gauge theories. I expect we can overcome the sign problem by using these methods in near future.
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2022-06-08
Seminar Report
DMWG Seminar by Dr. Shintaro Eijima on June 6, 2022
Dark matter (DM) is one important ingredient of our Universe of which existence indicates the theory beyond the Standard Model. It is not the unique motivation to extend the Standard Model describing the visible world. For example, we need to explain the origin of the tiny neutrino mass and the matter-antimatter asymmetry. The introduction of sterile neutrinos could solve these problems simultaneously. Sterile neutrinos are new species of neutrinos which communicate with the Standard Model neutrino (active neutrinos) through mixing. Unfortunately, the possibility of explaining the whole of DM with the sterile neutrinos is already excluded from observations of X-ray emission, neutrino beam experiments, and cosmological requirements. However, it is still a viable candidate when we consider the production mechanism carefully. Furthermore, some of such scenarios expect large lepton asymmetries resulting in the matter-antimatter asymmetry. The sphaleron process takes an important role in such scenarios and it is related to the electroweak phase transition in the early Universe. The process of fixing the lepton asymmetry is interesting: sterile neutrinos first freeze-in, then freeze-out, and decay. Quantitative prediction of such processes requires sophisticated calculations. Dr. Eijima has shown the latest results in this talk, with the comments that the bottleneck to proceed is the computational costs. The methodology is already well-developed. We will see indicative predictions in the near future! Neutrino physics will open new windows for our Universe! Reported by Nagisa Hiroshima
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2022-06-08
Seminar Report
ABBL-iTHEMS Joint Astro Seminar by Dr. Kanji Mori on June 3, 2022
Axion-like particles (ALPs) are a class of hypothetical bosons that feebly interact with ordinary matter. The hot plasma of stars and core-collapse supernovae is a possible laboratory to explore physics beyond the standard model, including ALPs. Once produced in a supernova, some of the ALPs can be absorbed by the supernova matter and affect energy transfer. The speaker recently consistently calculated the ALP emission in core-collapse supernovae and the backreaction on supernova dynamics. It is found that the stalled bounce shock can be revived if the coupling between ALPs and photons is as high as $g_{a\gamma}\sim 10^{-9}$ GeV$^{-1}$ and the ALP mass is 40-400 MeV. Reported by Shigehiro Nagataki
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2022-06-08
Award
Dr. Yuki Yokokura received The 13th RIKEN Research Incentive Award (Ohbu Award)
Yuki Yokokura (Senior Research Scientist, iTHEMS) received "The 13th RIKEN Research Incentive Award (Ohbu Award)" on March 23, 2022 for his outstanding achievement in the "Study of Quantum Black Holes". Congratulations!
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2022-06-06
Hot Topic
Ryosuke Iritani was interviewed by The Big Issue of Japan
Ryosuke Iritani (Research Scientist, iTHEMS) is interviewed by The Big Issue Japan, and the latest volume (vol 432) is just published on 1st June. The Big Issue is a magazine dedicated to supporting people in difficult circumstances and helping them achieve self-reliance. Each issue costs 450 yen, out of which 230 yen is the direct income of the street sales staff. The content is about mathematical biology and is accessible for anyone. We hope as many people as possible take it a read and support the people!
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2022-06-06
Press Release
Common Laws of Evolution and Ecological Dynamics
The research team of Kyosuke Adachi (Special Postdoctoral Researcher, iTHEMS / Special Postdoctoral Researcher, Nonequilibrium Physics of Living Matter RIKEN Hakubi Research Team, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR)), Ryosuke Iritani (Research Scientist, iTHEMS) and Ryusuke Hamazaki (Senior Research Scientist, iTHEMS / RIKEN Hakubi Team Leader, Nonequilibrium Quantum Statistical Mechanics RIKEN Hakubi Research Team, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR)) have proposed a broadly valid formula for theoretical models of evolutionary and ecological population dynamics using methods from information theory and statistical physics. The results of this research are expected to lead to a unified framework for understanding complex population dynamics in evolutionary and ecological systems over time. For more information, please see the related link.
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2022-06-02
Paper of the WeekWeek 1, June 2022
Title: Evaporation of Echoing Black Holes Author: Naritaka Oshita, Hayato Motohashi, Sousuke Noda arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.15342v1 Title: Viscosity suppresses r-process viable outflows in global models of collapsar disks Author: Oliver Just, Miguel A. Aloy, Martin Obergaulinger, Shigehiro Nagataki arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.14158v1 Title: On a singular limit of the Kobayashi--Warren--Carter energy Author: Yoshikazu Giga, Jun Okamoto, Koya Sakakibara, Masaaki Uesaka arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.14314v1 Title: Complementarity and causal propagation of decoherence by measurement in relativistic quantum field theories Author: Yoshimasa Hidaka, Satoshi Iso, Kengo Shimada arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.08403v2 Title: Angular Momentum Inheritance from the Schwinger Effect in (Chromo)electromagnetic Fields Author: Patrick Copinger, Yoshimasa Hidaka arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2203.10917v1
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2022-05-30
Seminar Report
Math-Phys Seminar by Dr. Toshifumi Noumi on May 19, 2022
Dr. Toshifumi Noumi (Kobe University) gave a pedagogical seminar on the so-called swampland program in particle physics. The program aims to clarify nontrivial consistency conditions on symmetries in quantum gravity that leave implications for particle physics and cosmology. Dr. Noumi started out with the basic philosophy of the study and expanded the details using the arguments of symmetries, blackholes, holography etc., keeping accessibility for broad audience. Reported by Ryo Namba
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2022-05-30
Seminar Report
iTHEMS Math Seminar by Dr. Yuto Moriwaki on May 23, 2022
On May 23, there was a math seminar by Yuto Moriwaki. He gave an introductory talk on the mathematical formulation of CFT. Reported by Keita Mikami
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2022-05-30
Seminar Report
iTHEMS Biology Seminar by Dr. Dan Warren on May 19, 2022
In the Biology Seminar on May 19th, 2022, we had the great opportunity to have Dr. Dan Warren (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan) as an invited speaker. In his talk, Dr. Warren explained why the evaluation of species distribution models (SDMs) has become a useful method to understand and predict the geographic distribution of species. In particular, they provide vital information to take measurements in the conservation of biodiversity. To construct SDMs, researchers in this field have taken advantage of publicity available geographic and environmental big data. Usually, those kind of data were not produced with the intention to use it in ecology, but ecologists have developed many methods to use the big data to answer questions in ecology and evolutionary biology. However, despite that several of those methods have become standard in ecology, Dr. Warren warns us that all commonly used methods have serious biases, and such biases might be related to how much we unquestionably rely that big data. To explain his point, he showed the results of one paper that he and his colleagues recently published. In that paper, the authors used occurrence data of a fictional animal: the Pokémon Kangaskhan (name in English) or ガルーラ (in Japanese), and followed the usual methods to construct SDMs in order to predict the Pokémon distribution in the Australian territory. They found that the distribution of the fictional animal has strong biases, and that same patterns of biases are also present in many other real-life species. Dr. Warren concluded that there is a big open field to improve methods to construct SDMs. The incorporation of prior information in the construction of SDMs, and the application of Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to account for the uncertainty of results might be effective solutions to solve the problems that persist in this research field. Reported by José Said Gutiérrez-Ortega
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2022-05-30
Seminar Report
Seminar by Dr. Teppei Kitahara on May 20, 2022
Dr. Teppei Kitahara from Nagoya University gave a comprehensive review of anomalies from the Standard Model in particle physics. Continuous development of experiments in recent years has revealed a large number of experimental anomalies which the Standard Model cannot explain. It is statistically obvious that as the number of experiments increases, one encounters a new anomaly due to the statistical fluctuation. But interestingly, some of the anomalies have been cross-checked by different experiments. These would be hints for physics beyond the Standard model. In his seminar, he focused on the flavor anomalies (also known as lepton flavor universality violation), the muon g-2 anomaly, and recently measured the W boson mass anomaly. He also discussed these implications for the new physics and introduced several of his works. Reported by Etsuko Itou
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2022-05-26
Paper of the WeekWeek 5, May 2022
Title: Reheating after relaxation of large cosmological constant Author: Paul Martens, Shinji Mukohyama, Ryo Namba arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.11754v1 Title: Accuracy of one-dimensional approximation in neutron star quasi-normal modes Author: Hajime Sotani arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.10523v1 Title: Attractive $N$-$φ$ Interaction and Two-Pion Tail from Lattice QCD near Physical Point Author: Yan Lyu, Takumi Doi, Tetsuo Hatsuda, Yoichi Ikeda, Jie Meng, Kenji Sasaki, Takuya Sugiura arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.10544v1
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2022-05-23
Seminar Report
ABBL-iTHEMS Joint Astro Seminar by Dr. Yannis Liodakis on May 20, 2022
The origin of high-energy neutrinos is fundamental to our understanding of the Universe. Apart from the technical challenges of operating detectors deep below ice, oceans, and lakes, the phenomenological challenges are even greater. The sources are unknown, unpredictable, and we lack clear signatures. Neutrino astronomy therefore represents the greatest challenge faced by the astronomy and physics communities thus far. The possible neutrino sources range from accretion disks and tidal disruption events, through relativistic jets to galaxy clusters with blazar TXS 0506+056 the most compelling association thus far. Since then, immense effort has been put into associating AGN-jets with high-energy neutrinos, but to no avail. The speaker discussed his current efforts in understanding the multimessenger processes in the Universe, and once and for all proving or disproving if AGN-jets are neutrino emitters. Reported by Shigehiro Nagataki
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2022-05-19
Paper of the WeekWeek 4, May 2022
Title: Gyrohydrodynamics: Relativistic spinful fluid with strong vorticity Author: Zheng Cao, Koichi Hattori, Masaru Hongo, Xu-Guang Huang, Hidetoshi Taya arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.08051v1 Title: Event reconstruction of Compton telescopes using a multi-task neural network Author: Satoshi Takashima, Hirokazu Odaka, Hiroki Yoneda, Yuto Ichinohe, Aya Bamba, Tsuguo Aramaki, Yoshiyuki Inoue arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.08082v1 Title: Running Hubble constant from the SNe Ia Pantheon sample? Author: Tiziano Schiavone, Giovanni Montani, Maria Giovanna Dainotti, Biagio De Simone, Enrico Rinaldi, Gaetano Lambiase arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.07033v1 Title: The Prime Number Theorem and Pair Correlation of Zeros of the Riemann Zeta-Function Author: D. A. Goldston, Ade Irma Suriajaya arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.06503v1
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2022-05-18
Seminar Report
iTHEMS Math Seminar by Dr. Taketo Sano on May 13, 2022
In May 13, there was a math seminar by Taketo Sano. He gave an introductory talk on category theory. Reported by Keita Mikami
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2022-05-09
Press Release
Discovering Speed Limits for Macroscopic Transitions - A Unified Approach Based on the Equation of Continuity
Ryusuke Hamazaki (RIKEN Hakubi Team Leader, Nonequilibrium Quantum Statistical Mechanics RIKEN Hakubi Research Team / Senior Research Scientist, iTHEMS) has discovered a new inequality for the “speed limit," or transition rate, which is useful for physical processes that involve "macroscopic transitions". The research results are expected to have implications for nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, including the time scale of thermalization of quantum many-body systems. They are also expected to contribute to the fundamental understanding of quantum technology, e.g., the control of macroscopic quantum systems, which has become important in recent years. Please see related link for more details.
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2022-05-09
Press Release
Clear Visualization of Lamb Waves from Tonga's Undersea Volcano Eruption -The Full Picture of the Waves Captured by the Himawari-8
Takemasa Miyoshi (Deputy Program Director, iTHEMS / Team Leader, Data Assimilation Research Team, RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS)) and Shigenori Otsuka (Research Scientist, iTHEMS / Research Scientist, Data Assimilation Research Team, RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS)) have developed an original method to clearly visualize "Lamb waves," a type of sound wave associated with Tonga's undersea volcanic eruption in January 2022, using images from the Himawari 8 meteorological satellite. Furthermore, we developed a method to automatically extract the Lamb waves from this image and clarified the relationship between the distribution of arrival times and ground pressure observations. The results of this research are expected to contribute to the scientific understanding and monitoring of atmospheric waves and associated tidal fluctuations caused by volcanic eruptions, and to the development of advanced simulations and future forecasting methods by integrating observation data with large-scale atmospheric and oceanographic calculations. Please see related links for more details.
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2022-05-05
Paper of the WeekWeek 2, May 2022
Title: High energy emission component, population, and contribution to the extragalactic gamma-ray background of gamma-ray emitting radio galaxies Author: Yasushi Fukazawa, Hiroto Matake, Taishu Kayanoki, Yoshiyuki Inoue, Justin Finke arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.14019v1 Title: The $a$-points of the Riemann zeta-function and the functional equation Author: Athanasios Sourmelidis, Jörn Steuding, Ade Irma Suriajaya arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.13887v1 Title: Speed Limits for Macroscopic Transitions Author: Ryusuke Hamazaki Journal Reference: PRX Quantum 3, 020319 (2022) doi: https://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.3.020319 arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2110.09716v3
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2022-04-30
Seminar Report
iTHEMS Biology Seminar by Mr. Daiki Kumakura on April 28, 2022
On April 28th, I talked about the Asgard archaea and the theory of intracellular symbiosis and discussed the mathematical modeling of the symbiosis hypothesis. First, I gave a brief of the classification of the organism as a five-kingdom system and three-domain system. Next, I talked about Asgard archaea, a group of archaea that has received much attention recently. Finally, I discussed the culture of Asgard archaea and the new theory of intracellular symbiosis that has developed as a result. In my presentation, I prepared the idea of mathematical modeling for the new theory. Audience members gave a variety of opinions on this model. In particular, I discussed points where the evolutionary model should be added, whether deterministic or stochastic dominance contributed, and why symbiosis was possible only in two specific species although a variety of symbiotic relationships were possible. I had a meaningful time exchanging opinions and having discussions with various researchers. Thank you so much. Reported by Daiki Kumakura
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2022-04-28
Award
Takemasa Miyoshi and Yuji Sugita received 2022 MEXT Commendation for Science and Technology
Takemasa Miyoshi (R-CCS Team Leader/ iTHEMS Deputy Director) received "2022 MEXT Commendation for Science and Technology" for "Study on Big Data Assimilation to Innovate Numerical Weather Forecasting". Congratulations! Yuji Sugita (CPR Chief Scientist/ iTHEMS Senior Research Scientist) received "2022 MEXT Commendation for Science and Technology" for "Theoretical Study on Dynamic Structure of Biomolecules in the Intracellular Environment". Congratulations!
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2022-04-28
Seminar Report
iTHEMS Colloquium by Dr. Hong-Yan Shih on April 22, 2022
On April 22 (Fri), we had the first iTHEMS colloquium of FY2022 by inviting Hong-Yan Shih from Academia Sinica, Taiwan. After reviewing the turbulent phenomena in various area of science, she discussed how the turbulence occurs by increasing the flow velocity and how one can develop an effective theory to describe the critical region of laminar-turbulent transition. Then she discussed a remarkable mathematical relation between the effective theory with the predator-prey dynamics in ecology and showed a characteristic super exponential scaling law. The topic was an ideal subject for the interdisciplinary talk, and there were many questions from the researchers with different scientific backgrounds.
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2022-04-28
Paper of the WeekWeek 5, April 2022
Title: Visualizing Lamb Waves From a Volcanic Eruption Using Meteorological Satellite Himawari-8 Author: Shigenori Otsuka Journal Reference: Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2022GL098324 (2022) doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098324
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2022-04-28
Seminar Report
Introduction to Topological Insulators by Dr. Tomoki Ozawa on April, 2022
In this lecture series, Professor Ozawa gave an introduction to topological insulators which are materials whose wavefunctions show nontrivial topological structures in momentum space. In the first two lectures, he introduced the so-called Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model and the bulk-edge correspondence which links edge states with winding number of certain operator in the Hamitonian. Such correspondence has its origin in mathematics called Toeplitz Index theorem which is a special case of Atiyah-Singer index theorem. In the last two lectures, Chern insulators and quantum metrics are introduced. Eigenvectors of the Hamiltonian define a map from the momentum space (typically a torus) to a complex projective space. The pullback Fubini-Study metric (and standard Kahler form) defines the so-called quantum metric (and Berry curvature) on the momentum space. Using Chern-Weil theory, Chern classes/characters are then defined. Chern classes which are originally notions from differential geometry/topology play an important role in topological insulators. A necessary and sufficient condition is also given when the above mentioned map is an immersion and realises momentum space as a Kahler submanifold of the projective space. Reported by Yalong Cao
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2022-04-25
Seminar Report
iTHEMS Math Seminar by Dr. Cédric Ho Thanh on April 22, 2022
On April 22, there was a math seminar by Dr. Cédric Ho Thanh. In the first half, he explained the recurrence theorems for the topological Markov chain. In the second half, he explained the sketch of the proof. Reported by Keita Mikami
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2022-04-25
Research News
RIKEN Research: Quantum computing and deep learning could help solve the mysteries of quantum gravity
RIKEN physicists have put quantum computing and deep learning through their paces and found that they are powerful tools for gleaning insights into new theories of quantum gravity [1]. They could thus help solve one of the most formidable challenges in modern physics—developing a theory of gravity that jives with quantum physics. When Einstein nutted out his theory of general relativity in 1915, his only tools were pen and paper. The same was true of the pioneers of quantum theory. But the next major breakthrough in theoretical physics could be made with help from emerging technologies such as quantum computers and machine learning, Enrico Rinaldi of RIKEN Theoretical Quantum Physics Laboratory thinks. “I believe these technologies are poised to transform the way we do theoretical physics,” he says. To read more, please visit the related link.
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2022-04-25
Hot Topic
iTHEMS x academist online event was held on April 24, 2022
As the alternative for the lectures at RIKEN’s annual open house, iTHEMS held another online lecture event for the general public with the help of Academist Inc., on April 24th, 2022. This year, the lectures were Masaki Taniguchi, Hidetoshi Taya, Akira Harada, Yingying and Euki Yazaki, who all gave splendid public lectures accessible even to junior-high school students. Each lecturer also served as a commentator to another lecture, asking questions on behalf of the audience. During the lunch break, Program Director Hatsuda showed the offices of iTHEMS and around. The event was moderated by Ms. Michibayashi from Academist; Her facilitation with a wit kept the event lively. At one time during the event, more than two hundred audiences participated.
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2022-04-25
Seminar Report
ABBL-iTHEMS Joint Astro Seminar by Dr. Masanori Iwamoto on April 22, 2022
Dr. Masahiro Iwamoto gave a presentation on his recent three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation of relativistic shocks and application of the results of the 3D-PIC simulations to astrophysical phenomena. For example, the origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs; Lorimer et al. 2007) is one of the unsolved problems in astrophysics. Many observations of FRBs indicate that FRBs must be coherent emission in the sense that coherently moving electrons radiate electromagnetic waves. In relativistic shocks, it is well known that coherent electromagnetic waves are excited by synchrotron maser instability (SMI) in the shock transition (Hoshino & Arons 1991). The SMI is also known as the emission mechanism of coherent radio sources such as auroral kilometric radiation at Earth and Jovian decametric radiation. Recently, some models of fast radio burst based on the coherent emission from relativistic shock via the SMI have been proposed (e.g., Lyubarsky 2014; Beloborodov 2017; Plotnikov & Sironi 2019; Metzger et al. 2019) and the SMI in the context of relativistic shocks attracts more attention from astrophysics. In this seminar, by performing the world’s first 3D-PIC simulation of relativistic shocks, he demonstrated that large-amplitude electromagnetic waves are indeed excited by the SMI even in 3D and that the wave amplitude is significantly amplified and comparable to that in pair plasmas due to a positive feedback process associated with ion-electron coupling. Based on the simulation results, he discussed the applicability of the SMI for FRBs. Reported by Shigehiro Nagataki
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2022-04-22
Paper of the WeekWeek 4, April 2022
Title: GRB Prompt Emission: Observed Correlations and Their Interpretations Author: Tyler Parsotan, Hirotaka Ito arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.09729v1 Title: Fedder type criteria for quasi-$F$-splitting Author: Tatsuro Kawakami, Teppei Takamatsu, Shou Yoshikawa arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.10076v1
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2022-04-20
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: José Said Gutiérrez-Ortega
¡Hola! This is José (ホセ). I am a Mexican biologist in search of knowledge and interactions with scientists in all disciplines. I obtained my bachelor's degree in Mexico and completed my graduate studies in Japan: two countries where I grew up as a researcher, and where I also had great experiences working in science education. I joined iTHEMS as a SPDR in April 2022, and this transition represented an extraordinary chance for me to expand my research lines and interests. My scientific background is in evolutionary biology and ecology. Therefore, the main questions that motivate my studies are “how is the origin of the species?”, “why are species the way they are?”, “why do species change over time?”, “how do species interact with the environment and other species?”. To answer that kind of questions, I have gained abilities in phylogenetics, phylogeography, population genetics, plant systematics, botany, taxonomy, and population ecology. If these prior skills are useful for your research, or if you want to start something completely new, I am always available to work together with you. よろしくおねがいします！
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2022-04-18
Announcement
Invitation from "Science": "What is Mass? The Fundamental Nature of Matter in the Universe and Its Origin" will be broadcast on Sunday, April 24, on the Open University of Japan (BS 231ch)!
A four-part series focusing on the fundamental physics concept of "mass" and the historical evolution of its understanding will be broadcast on Sunday, April 24, on the Open University of Japan (BS 231ch). Tetsuo Hatsuda (Program Director, iTHEMS), Koichi Yazaki (Research Consultant, iTHEMS), and Gordon Baym (Senior Visiting Scientist, iTHEMS) will appear in "Part 4: Do we now know the origin of mass of matter?." The broadcast will air on Sunday, May 15 at 20:15 and Sunday, June 26 at 8:15 (rebroadcast). For more information, please see the related links.
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2022-04-18
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: Yuto Moriwaki
Quantum field theory is a physical theory that describes a wide range of phenomena from the subatomic world to the cosmic scale, and can be regarded as a fruit of human wisdom. However, quantum field theory has not yet been mathematically formulated. This problem perhaps asks us, "How do we formulate space?" According to the philosophy of algebraic geometry, "space and algebra" are almost the same thing. Here, the algebra is a collection of functions (classical fields). So let us consider the algebra consisting of quantum fields. The "classical algebra" is associative, whereas the "quantum algebra" is non-associative. What should be the corresponding space? I am currently studying this algebra of quantum fields in the case of two-dimensional quantum field theory. In my previous research, I have worked mathematically on (1) a formulation of the algebra of two-dimensional conformal field theory, (2) constructions of examples, and (3) a construction of non-perturbative deformations. More recently, I have returned to the question of "space" a bit, studying the axioms (consistency) of quantum field theory from a viewpoint of an operad structure of moduli spaces and higher categories. I was originally a pure mathematician studying representation theory. Crossing the field into physics has been fruitful for my life, although there is still a lot I don't understand. I am very happy to be here at iTHEMS and hope to have good interactions and co-evolution with many researchers.
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2022-04-15
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: Shou Yoshikawa
My name is Shou Yoshikawa. I joined RIKEN iTHEMS as an SPDR in April 2022. I am a mathematician studying algebraic geometry. I am interested in an analog of the existence of Kähler-Einstein metric to positive characteristic. Algebraic geometry in positive characteristic is a purely mathematical subject, however, the Einstein metric is deeply related to Physics. I hope that we find a new relation between mathematics and other sciences studying such analogies.
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2022-04-15
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: Daiki Kumakura
My name is Daiki Kumakura. I joined iTHEMS as JRA (Junior Research Associate) in April 2022. My research fields are microbial evolutionary ecology and mathematical biology. Still undergraduate, I researched the metabolism of deep marine microbes with transcriptome analysis and comparative genome analysis. Because I am interested in the evolutionary process of microbes with the ecological interactions, I currently have researched the coevolution of microbes with theoretical analysis. Then, I do interdisciplinary research of fieldwork and theoretical simulation. The main field is a hot spring (Japanese is an onsen). I sample the sediments and water at each location and do bioinformatics. In the theoretical analysis, I construct mathematical modeling and simulation. I have the unique experience of discussing with theoretical researchers in various fields at iTHEMS. Through this interdisciplinary research and discussion, I hope to make my doctoral course meaningful.
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2022-04-15
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: Taketo Sano
My name is Taketo Sano. I joined iTHEMS as a special postdoctoral researcher in April 2022 after I got the Ph.D. in mathematical sciences from the University of Tokyo. My research area is in low-dimensional topology and knot theory. I am interested in the intersection of (or interaction between) topology and combinatorics. Spaces are inherently infinite and beyond direct computations, while their algebraic images (under some nice mappings) are usually more tractable, and in some cases algorithmically computable. When one finds nice properties in the algebraic level, it is natural to expect that they are reflections of some hidden structures in the spacial level. My aim is to investigate the nature of the unseeable spaces through their algebraic images, by using theoretical tools (from algebraic topology, homotopy theory and category theory) together with computer powers.
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2022-04-14
Paper of the WeekWeek 3, April 2022
Title: The closest lineage of Archaeplastida is revealed by phylogenomics analyses that include Microheliella maris Author: Euki Yazaki, Akinori Yabuki, Ayaka Imaizumi, Keitaro Kume, Tetsuo Hashimoto, Yuji Inagaki Journal Reference: Open Biology 12: 210376 (2022) doi: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsob.210376 Title: Quantum Simulation for High Energy Physics Author: Christian W. Bauer. Zohreh Davoudi, A. Baha Balantekin, Tanmoy Bhattacharya, Marcela Carena, Wibe A. de Jong, Patrick Draper, Aida El-Khadra, Nate Gemelke, Masanori Hanada, Dmitri Kharzeev, Henry Lamm, Ying-Ying Li, Junyu Liu, Mikhail Lukin, Yannick Meurice, Christopher Monroe, Benjamin Nachman, Guido Pagano, John Preskill, Enrico Rinaldi, Alessandro Roggero, David I. Santiago, Martin J. Savage, Irfan Siddiqi, George Siopsis, David Van Zanten, Nathan Wiebe, Yukari Yamauchi, Kübra Yeter-Aydeniz, Silvia Zorzetti arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.03381v1 Title: Goussarov-Polyak-Viro Conjecture for degree three case Author: Noboru Ito, Yuka Kotorii, Masashi Takamura arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/1905.01418v3
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2022-04-14
Seminar Report
iTHEMS Biology Seminar by Dr. Hiroshi Yokota on April 14, 2022
In iTHEMS biology seminar on April 14th, I introductory talked about the coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation by using Langevin equation which is the equation of motion including the interaction, the friction and the random force. First, I mentioned the chromosome formation dynamics as an example of the application range of the simulation. Next, I explained the Langevin equation and its intuitive picture. Then, I showed the discretized Langevin equation which keeps the stochastic properties of the random force term. Finally, I showed some examples of Langevin simulation. Many questions and discussions arose from the audience. Thank you very much!
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2022-04-11
Hot Topic
iTHEMS Starter Meeting for FY2022 on April 8, 2022
The iTHEMS Starter Meeting for FY 2021 was held over Zoom as past two years’ meeting to kick off its activity for FY 2022. Over seventy iTHEMS members, frequent visitors and colleagues from other institute got together and introduced each other.
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2022-04-08
Research News
RIKEN Research: Ringing black holes could put general relativity to the test
Typical overtone chords in the gravitational waves produced when black holes collide could be used to test general relativity, a mathematical analysis by a RIKEN physicist has shown [1]. When black holes merge, they generate gravitational waves, which ripple outward like sound waves from a ringing bell. In theory, these gravitational waves can be broken down into tones and overtones—like in music—based on their different frequencies and the rate at which they dampen and die out. But in practice, gravitational-wave detectors are not yet sensitive enough to definitively pick up the overtones. However, cosmologists are keen to measure the precise oscillation pattern because it can tell them more about a black hole’s properties. In particular, the mass of the black hole and the rate at which it is spinning can be calculated from the damping rate and frequency. “It’s like when you hear an instrument, you can understand if it is a guitar or a piano,” says Naritaka Oshita of the RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS). To read more, please visit the related link.
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2022-04-07
Person of the WeekSelf-introduction: Makiko Nio
She has been involved in precision calculations of Quantum Electrodynamic(QED), such as energy spectra of simple hydrogen-like atoms and the anomalous magnetic moments of the electron and the muon. The results of the calculations are used to determine the value of the fine-structure constant that governs any electro-magnetic phenomena. The QED results are also essential to test the Standard Model(SM) of elementary particles and to find something new beyond the SM by comparing theoretical predictions to measurements.
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2022-04-07
Paper of the WeekWeek 2, April 2022
Title: Ribbon Yetter--Drinfeld modules and tangle invariants Author: Kazuo Habiro, Yuka Kotorii arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.02551v1 Title: Dominant Andreev Reflection through Nonlinear Radio-Frequency Transport Author: Tingyu Zhang, Hiroyuki Tajima, Yuta Sekino, Shun Uchino, Haozhao Liang arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/2204.01356v2
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2022-04-06
Research News
The Horse: Breeding Mares Early in Life Might Lead to Early Fertility Decline
Jeffrey Fawcett (Senior Research Scientist, iTHEMS) and his research was featured in an article in The Horse. If you want to breed an older mare, you might consider how old she was when she was first bred. According to a new study in Japanese racehorses, broodmare fertility appears to decrease slowly over the years, on a downhill slope that follows her number of breeding years—and not just her age. “Our results suggest that the fertility of a mare is the highest at (her) first year breeding and gradually declines every year,” said Jeffrey Fawcett, PhD, a biologist and senior research scientist at RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS), in Saitama, Japan. To read more, please visit the related link.
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2022-04-06
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: Tomoya Naito
My name is Tomoya Naito. I joined RIKEN iTHEMS as an SPDR in April 2022, while I have participated in many activities in iTHEMS including the iTHEMS-phys study group and the iTHEMS math-phys working group so, probably, some of you have known me. My research topics are related to computational quantum many-body problems, especially density functional theory (DFT). In principle, one can obtain all the properties of quantum many-body problems by solving the many-body Schrödinger or Dirac equation; however, it is, in practice, difficult to solve it. DFT, developed by Hohenberg, Kohn, and Sham, is one of the efficient methods to solve such problems. DFT has been applied to the study of atomic nuclei, atoms, molecules, and solids for decades, while there are still many fundamental things to be solved or understood. My research topics are briefly divided into two parts: fundamental studies of the DFT and studies of quantum many-body problems (atomic nuclei, atoms, molecules, and solids) using DFT. Recently, I have started an astrophysical study using knowledge of nuclear physics and a study of the mathematical aspect of DFT in collaboration with iTHEMS (previous or current) members. I look forward to extending collaborations with iTHEMS colleagues!
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2022-04-06
Research News
RIKEN Research: Thermal electrons play key role in determining emissions from gamma-ray-burst afterglows
he presence of unusually energetic gamma rays seen in some afterglows from intense gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) could be explained by a new mathematical model developed by RIKEN researchers1. This finding could help to shed light on the origin of GRBs. A GRB is a spectacular eruption of energy produced by violent events such as the explosive death of a massive star, or the collision of two neutron stars. A GRB also shoots a jet of matter and energy into the material that surrounded the star, shocking particles such as protons and electrons and causing them to emit radiation. The emitted photons, ranging from radio waves to gamma rays, can be detected from Earth as a GRB afterglow. The vast majority of GRB afterglow observations can be explained by current theories, which should come as no surprise: they wouldn’t be the current theories if they didn’t match reality. But the afterglows of two recent GRBs produced gamma rays with unusually high energies that strain these theories. “The surprise with these two bursts was that we had never detected photons this energetic before,” says Donald Warren of the RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS). To read more, please visit the related link.
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2022-04-06
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: Jizhou Li
My name is Jizhou (G-Joe) Li. Born and raised in Beijing, got my PhD from the Washington State University, I’m now thrilled to join the RIKEN iTHEMS team as a postdoc researcher. A theoretical physicist by training, I have worked on nonlinear dynamical systems and quantum chaos during my PhD and postdoc years. After joining the RIKEN in April 2022, I will embark on a new journey in the field of computational virophysics to study the dissemination of viruses in various circumstances, as well as the interactions between the viruses and the hosts environments. Looking forward to expand my spectrum and learn from collaborators in different fields.
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2022-04-06
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: Keiichi Morita
My name is Keiichi Morita, and I joined iTHEMS in April 2022 as a junior research associate / student trainee. I am now involved in a Ph.D. program at the SOKENDAI University. The main question of my research is how adaptive evolution can determine species coexistence and structures of ecological communities. I focus on rapid adaptation which can change the strength and directions of species interactions and finally affect population dynamics. I hope to understand how the evolution of an individual phenotype can affect species coexistence by formulating transient processes and finding conditions of coexistence from analysing and simulating my mathematical models. I consider analyzing experimental data and demonstrating my mathematical models. My final goal is to discover a general rule in ecology. I am looking forward to interacting with other members working with various interests in iTHEMS and finding a new direction of research out of it.
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2022-04-01
Press Release
RIKEN iTHEMS, the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University Launch New Inter-University Lecture Program Using Online Classes
The RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS), the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Tokyo and the Faculty of Science of Kyoto University will launch a new inter-university collaborative online lecture system in April 2022, offering courses on various aspects of mathematical sciences to students in both faculties. In addition to faculty members from the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, young researchers from RIKEN and other research institutes will give a series of lectures, which students can take as courses at their respective universities and earn credits. This new lecture format allows students to learn the fundamentals and applications of mathematical science, which form the foundation of modern society, from front-line researchers as early as their undergraduate years. At the same time, it enables the development of young human resources beyond the boundaries of universities. Active discussions between young researchers and students in class are expected to lead not only to the development of basic scientific research, but also to the development of human resources who will create innovations in society in the future. For more information, please see the related link.
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2022-04-01
Seminar Report
iTHEMS Biology Seminar by Dr. Euki Yazaki on March 17, 2022
At the March 17th seminar , I presented my research. It was mainly an analysis of the phylogenetic position of orphan organisms (organisms whose phylogenetic position is unknown) based on large-scale sequence data, and in addition, I showed that huge lineages (Archaeplastida), including plants, are monophyletic. Although monophyly of Archaeplastida has been debated for many years, this study clarified that they are monophyletic and why they were not monophyletic in previous research. The seminar was very active, with many questions about the methods of phylogenetic analysis and biological questions.
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2022-04-01
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: Yan Lyu
I am a Ph. D candidate in Peking University, China, and I joined iTHEMS on April 1st 2022 as a student trainee. I am interested in understanding the interactions between hadrons from the fundamental theory, i.e., quantum chromodynamics (QCD). It is in some sense similar with determining the Coulomb interaction between two objects by calculating a simple integral using a pen and a piece of paper, like high-school students usually do in their physical class. However, as far as QCD is concerned, such an integral is too complicated to be done by using a pen and a piece of paper, thus I employ the so-called lattice QCD method to calculate such an integral by supercomputers. Once the interactions are determined from QCD, one can use them to various systems from nuclei to neutron star. I am very happy to join iTHEMS, and I look forward to interacting with people from various fields.
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2022-04-01
Person of the Week
Self-introduction: Kotaro Murakami
My name is Kotaro Murakami and have joined iTHEMS since April 2022 as a student trainee. My research is to solve the mystery of hadrons from the first-principle calculation of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). QCD is a theory describing the dynamics of quarks and gluons, and hadrons are composed of these particles. There are several hadrons we do not know how are created from quarks and gluons, which are called exotic hadrons. My ultimate goal is to identify all of the hadrons including exotic hadrons from QCD. I am working on the lattice QCD studies of baryon resonances from meson-baryon scatterings. I hope to have fruitful discussions in iTHEMS with not only people in particle physics or hadron physics but people in other fields.
217 news in 2022