Cross Disciplinary Feasibility Account: Warwick Centre for Fusion Space and Astrophysics.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
A central idea that we wish to pursue is the dynamic response of real world complex systems to 'shock or surprise'. Both the brain and financial systems (meaning markets, individual companies or sectors), are functionally comprised of many interacting elements which propagate and process information. A highly topical question is whether it is possible to quantify from available data when the response of a system to a 'shock' will be within normal bounds (normal response time to a neurological test task, a fluctuation in price) or will be highly correlated and catastrophic (a seizure, a stock market crash or company failure). Understanding this would lead to paradigm shifting insights into both brain function and financial system dynamics. Researchers within Warwick's interdisciplinary EPSRC and STFC funded Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics (CFSA) have pioneered techniques to analyse 'real world' data from laboratory experiments for Magnetic Confinement Fusion and from astrophysical plasmas. These plasma systems can exhibit rather unpredictable 'bursty' behaviour and can self organise, that is, show large scale transitions from disordered to highly ordered, correlated behaviour. We propose to apply these ideas to focus on two cross-disciplinary 'grand challenges': brain function, and market dynamics, as captured by Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measurements of the brain, and by financial and other company data. This implies a high degree of cross- disciplinary working, between plasma physicists within CFSA, Warwick, neurologists within the MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, and strategists within the Warwick Business School.In the framework of the physical sciences there is a direct and well understood mapping between quantifying such systems and modelling them. An open question that we will address is how such a mapping can be rigorously and usefully applied in the wider context. By building bridges between traditionally segregated disciplines (neuroscience, econometrics and plasma physics) we can tackle substantive interdisciplinary questions, for example, in what sense is a market crash like an epileptic seizure in the brain? Addressing such questions in a quantitative and predictive manner has the potential for far reaching impact in both clinical neuroscience and econometrics. This radical approach will enable physical models to be extended beyond their now mature application to contribute, and perhaps create, a far broader interface with the wider social sciences.
Planned Impact
The nature of the work being undertaken is highly speculative but has potential for far reaching impact. Clearly, any advance in our understanding of the response of financial markets and systems to 'shocks', or a diagnostic of neurological health based on non-invasive MEG technology will have the potential to make significant contributions to EPSRC's priority themes of security of energy supply and living with environmental change, and next generation healthcare. Who will benefit from the research and how will they benefit from this research? Development of new quantitative tools to assess how brain systems process information in healthy and disordered states will be of considerable interest to clinical neuroscience and psychiatry. Ultimately, quantitative insights into how MEG data relate to human brain function would lead to methods to diagnose cognitive function and disorders, with particular application to epilepsy and schizophrenia. The economic and social costs of brain disorders associated with impaired cognitive function and poor occupational performance are substantial. The annual costs of schizophrenia alone are estimated to be in the order of 7bn annually in the UK, of which about 2bn is due to direct healthcare costs. In tackling these disorders therapeutically, a key objective is to develop better models for how distributed brain systems normally process information and how pathological disruption of these systems can lead to impairment. The development of quantitative approaches to MEG that we propose would ensure that full scientific value is obtained from the major recent investments in neuroimaging infrastructure and it will potentially provide new diagnostic and predictive biomarkers of cognitive impairment that could be used to improve patient care and to support development of new pro-cognitive drugs. The importance of the proposed research from this perspective is that it includes data on well-established cognitive testing paradigms in healthy volunteers and people with schizophrenia. This means that the results will be immediately of interest to academic and industrial neuroscientists with potential for major impact on how cognitive disorders are understood theoretically and approached therapeutically. Quantifying the likely impact of news or events on markets and companies again has clear application to their monitoring and management. The current instability has cost some 475bn globally according to the IMF. Clearly any successful mitigation techniques would be valuable to business strategists and organisations from single investors to Governments (eg Risk Analysts, Company Director mentors, Financial strategists and Central Banks). There is also potentially a significant feedback to plasma physics based challenges in particular space weather applications and to understanding enhanced confinement modes of MCF with relevance to ITER operating regimes. What will be done to ensure that they benefit from this research? Cognitive researchers are typically also practicing clinicians, and business strategists in academia work closely with companies. Results and ideas flowing from this research would therefore quickly flow into potential applications where appropriate. We will also present and promote our results more formally at workshops open to practicing clinicians and to practicing business strategists. We will engage the wider community and press where appropriate. Warwick Ventures have a strategy and procedure in place to effect licensing and dissemination to the wider business community. There is also direct benefit to the training of young researchers and enhancement of interdisciplinary activity. We will provide training and introduction to patents, licensing and spin- out companies to the researchers supported on this grant.
Organisations
Publications
Reman B
(2019)
Interpreting observations of ion cyclotron emission from large helical device plasmas with beam-injected ion populations
in Nuclear Fusion
Chapman S
(2018)
Intrinsic ELMing in ASDEX Upgrade and global control system-plasma self-entrainment
in Nuclear Fusion
Lai W
(2013)
Investigating the anomalous Doppler effect for suprathermal electrons in tokamak plasmas using self-consistent kinetic simulations
in 40th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics, EPS 2013
Rekaa V
(2014)
ION PRE-ACCELERATION IN FULLY SELF-CONSISTENT PARTICLE-IN-CELL SIMULATIONS OF SUPERCRITICAL PERPENDICULAR REFORMING SHOCKS IN MULTIPLE ION SPECIES PLASMAS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wünsch K
(2009)
Ion structure in dense plasmas: MSA versus HNC
in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
Foullon C
(2013)
KELVIN-HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY OF THE CME RECONNECTION OUTFLOW LAYER IN THE LOW CORONA
in The Astrophysical Journal
WATKINS N
(2009)
Kinetic equation of linear fractional stable motion and applications to modeling the scaling of intermittent bursts.
in Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys
Watkins NW
(2009)
Kinetic equation of linear fractional stable motion and applications to modeling the scaling of intermittent bursts.
in Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics
Osman KT
(2012)
Kinetic signatures and intermittent turbulence in the solar wind plasma.
in Physical review letters
Ricci P
(2009)
Langmuir probe-based observables for plasma-turbulence code validation and application to the TORPEX basic plasma physics experiment
in Physics of Plasmas
Brady CS
(2012)
Laser absorption in relativistically underdense plasmas by synchrotron radiation.
in Physical review letters
Yuan D
(2011)
Leakage of long-period oscillations from the chromosphere to the corona
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Chapman S
(2015)
Limits to the quantification of local climate change
in Environmental Research Letters
Carbajal L
(2014)
Linear and nonlinear physics of the magnetoacoustic cyclotron instability of fusion-born ions in relation to ion cyclotron emission
in Physics of Plasmas
Terradas J
(2011)
Linear coupling between fast and slow MHD waves due to line-tying effects
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Kluy N
(2009)
Linear gyrokinetic calculations of toroidal momentum transport in the presence of trapped electron modes in tokamak plasmas
in Physics of Plasmas
Romanelli M
(2011)
Linear microstability analysis of a low-Z impurity doped tokamak plasma
in Nuclear Fusion
Calderon F
(2013)
Low dimensional dynamics in type I ELMing in JET plasmas
in 40th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics, EPS 2013
Chapman S
(2009)
Macroscopic control parameter for avalanche models for bursty transport
in Physics of Plasmas
Foullon C
(2011)
MAGNETIC KELVIN-HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY AT THE SUN
in The Astrophysical Journal
Osman K
(2014)
Magnetic Reconnection and Intermittent Turbulence in the Solar Wind
in Physical Review Letters
Hnat B
(2021)
Magnetic Topology of Actively Evolving and Passively Convecting Structures in the Turbulent Solar Wind.
in Physical review letters
Gruszecki M
(2011)
Magnetoacoustic shock formation near a magnetic null point
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Anfinogentov S
(2019)
Magnetohydrodynamic Seismology of Quiet Solar Active Regions
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
De Moortel I
(2012)
Magnetohydrodynamic waves and coronal seismology: an overview of recent results.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Stainforth D
(2013)
Mapping climate change in European temperature distributions
in Environmental Research Letters
Yuan D
(2012)
Measuring the apparent phase speed of propagating EUV disturbances
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dendy R
(2012)
Modelling local time evolution of strong heat pulses in magnetically confined plasmas
in 39th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics 2012, EPS 2012 and the 16th International Congress on Plasma Physics
Dendy R
(2013)
Modelling the measured local time evolution of strongly nonlinear heat pulses in the Large Helical Device
in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion
Gericke D
(2009)
Modelling the scattering of X-rays in warm dense matter
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Grimald S
(2009)
Modulation of NTC frequencies by Pc5 ULF pulsations: Experimental test of the generation mechanism and magnetoseismology of the emitting surface
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Osman K
(2015)
MULTI-SPACECRAFT MEASUREMENT OF TURBULENCE WITHIN A MAGNETIC RECONNECTION JET
in The Astrophysical Journal
Shetye J
(2019)
Multiwavelength High-resolution Observations of Chromospheric Swirls in the Quiet Sun
in The Astrophysical Journal
Dods J
(2015)
Network analysis of geomagnetic substorms using the SuperMAG database of ground-based magnetometer stations
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Orr L
(2021)
Network community structure of substorms using SuperMAG magnetometers.
in Nature communications
Nakariakov V
(2019)
Non-stationary quasi-periodic pulsations in solar and stellar flares
in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion
Turner AJ
(2012)
Nonaxisymmetric anisotropy of solar wind turbulence as a direct test for models of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence.
in Physical review letters
Perrone D
(2013)
Nonclassical Transport and Particle-Field Coupling: from Laboratory Plasmas to the Solar Wind
in Space Science Reviews
Matthaeus W
(2014)
NONLINEAR AND LINEAR TIMESCALES NEAR KINETIC SCALES IN SOLAR WIND TURBULENCE
in The Astrophysical Journal
Vasheghani Farahani S
(2012)
Nonlinear evolution of torsional Alfvén waves
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
McLaughlin J
(2008)
Nonlinear fast magnetoacoustic wave propagation in the neighbourhood of a 2D magnetic X-point: oscillatory reconnection
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Vasheghani Farahani S
(2010)
Nonlinear long-wavelength torsional Alfvén waves
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Botha G
(2011)
NONLINEAR THREE-DIMENSIONAL MAGNETOCONVECTION AROUND MAGNETIC FLUX TUBES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Chapman B
(2018)
Nonlinear wave interactions generate high-harmonic cyclotron emission from fusion-born protons during a KSTAR ELM crash
in Nuclear Fusion
Lavraud B
(2009)
Observation of a Complex Solar Wind Reconnection Exhaust from Spacecraft Separated by over 1800 R E
in Solar Physics
Chapman S
(2009)
OBSERVATION OF UNIVERSALITY IN THE GENERALIZED SIMILARITY OF EVOLVING SOLAR WIND TURBULENCE AS SEEN BY ULYSSES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Chapman SC
(2013)
On estimating local long-term climate trends.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Foullon C
(2010)
On the multispacecraft determination of periodic surface wave phase speeds and wavelengths
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Description | please see the relevant research papers |
Exploitation Route | please see the relevant research papers and grants |
Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Environment,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Healthcare |
Description | please see the relevant research papers |
First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
Sector | Energy,Environment,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | AFOSR |
Amount | $100,000 (USD) |
Funding ID | FA9550-17-1-0054 |
Organisation | Airforce Office of Scientific Research |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 03/2018 |
Description | Fulbright-Lloyd's of London Scholarship 2017/18 |
Amount | $60,000 (USD) |
Organisation | US-UK Fulbright Commission |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2017 |
End | 09/2018 |
Description | NORKLIMA |
Amount | kr 900,000 (NOK) |
Organisation | Research Council of Norway |
Sector | Public |
Country | Norway |
Start | 01/2014 |
End | 01/2016 |
Description | Newton-CONICYT |
Amount | $1,438,000 (CLP) |
Organisation | Newton Fund |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2015 |
End | 10/2016 |