News by Subject Mathematics

Researchers from Predictive Science Inc. used NASA and National Science Foundation-supported supercomputers to run highly-detailed forecasts of the Sun's corona -- the aura of plasma that surrounds the sun -- at the moment of the eclipse. The team combined data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, magnetic field maps, solar rotation rates and cutting-edge mathematical models to predict the state of the Sun's surface. The simulations are the largest produced by the group and include new physics.

A research team from Predictive Science Inc. (PSI) used the Stampede2 supercomputer at The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) to forecast the corona of the sun during the upcoming eclipse. The findings shed light on what the eclipse of the sun might look like Aug. 21 when it will be visible across much of the US, tracing a 70-mile-wide band across 14 states.

Treatment of tuberculosis involves a combination of several drugs, sometimes including drugs from a class known as fluoroquinolones. Using computer simulations, scientists have shown that the fluoroquinolone known as moxifloxacin may be superior to two other commonly used fluoroquinolones, according to a new paper in PLOS Computational Biology.

A human being's psychological make-up depends on an array of emotional and motivational parameters. It includes spatial and temporal dimensions that also play a key role in rationalizing the decisions we make. Researchers from UNIGE, Texas, Paris and London joined forces to create a mathematical model of embodied consciousness. Their aim? To understand, study and predict human behavior. The model makes it possible to anticipate and explain a host of cognitive phenomena and behavioral reactions.

Hall thrusters are used in earth-orbiting satellites and show promise to propel robotic spacecraft long distances, and the plasma ejected from the exhaust end of the thruster can deliver great speeds. Cylindrical Hall thrusters lend themselves to miniaturization and have a smaller surface-to-volume ratio that prevents erosion of the thruster channel. Investigators in China have developed a new design for CHTs that significantly increases thrust; they report their work in this week's Physics of Plasmas.