Mathematics in the modern

world
 The Presenters:
 Kate Lorgien
Pagulayan  Nancy Hamlen
 Maria Vanesa Cureg
Bingayan  Alyza Tapiru
 Maria Christina
Sarmiento
THE
RHYTH
M OF
Nature has many rhythmic cycles, including
those in our hearts and lungs.
 Some rhythms, like the heartbeat, occur
automatically in the background, while others
can be controlled and adapted to immediate
needs.
In legged
animals,
default
patterns of
motion that
occur
without
conscious
control are
called gaits.
High-speed
photography,
pioneered by
Eadweard
Muybridge,
allowed for the
study of animal
gaits and led to
the development
of moving
pictures and
Hollywood.
Gait analysis
is a branch of
mathematical
biology that
explores how
and why
animals move.
Oscillators, units that naturally
repeat the same cycle of behavior,
are the organizing principle
behind many biological cycles.
Coupled
oscillator
networks,
where
oscillators
interact,
create
complex
patterns of
behavior in
animals.
 Oscillation is the simplest option for
movement when escape is impossible,
resulting in periodic oscillations.
Periodic oscillations can be seen in the
vibration of a violin string, where the
string cannot remain still but is pinned
down.
Oscillations can occur when a system that
is in a steady state experiences changes in
conditions.
 Hopf bifurcation is a
scenario named after
mathematician
Eberhard Hopf,
where a system loses
its steady state and
begins to wobble
periodically.
Hopf found a mathematical condition
that guarantees the occurrence of
periodic wobbling in a simplified
version of the system, which also
applies to the original system.
The advantage of Hopf bifurcation is that
complex mathematical calculations are only
required for the simplified system, while still
providing insights into how the original
system behaves.
Directly tackling the original system can be
difficult, but approach effectively bypasses
those difficulties.
 Eberhard Hopf,
a German
mathematician
, discovered a
mathematical
condition
called Hopf
bifurcation in
1942.
 This method approximates the dynamics of the original
system in a simplified way, aiming to detect periodic
wobbles. Hopf proved that if the simplified system wobbles,
so does the original system. This method is advantageous
because it only performs calculations for the simplified
system, which is straightforward, while the results reveal
the behavior of the original system. Directly tackling the
original system is challenging, but Hopf's approach
effectively overcomes these difficulties.
 The term "bifurcation" refers to a mental image
where periodic oscillations grow from a steady state,
like a ripple on a pond.
 The physical interpretation suggests that these
oscillations are initially small and gradually increase
in size, with the speed of growth being irrelevant.
 The clarinet's sound is influenced by Hopf
bifurcation, where the reed vibrates as the air is
blown into the instrument.
 A gentle airflow produces a soft note, while
harder blowing increases the vibration and
louder notes. This is typical of Hopf bifurcation,
where if a simplified system passes Hopf's
mathematical test, the real system will oscillate
of its own accord. This simplified system can be
interpreted as a fictitious mathematical clarinet
with a simple reed, but this is unnecessary for
calculations.
 Hopf bifurcation is a type of symmetry
breaking that relates to time, a single
variable, and is characterized by two types
of line symmetry: translations and
reflections. Symmetry under time
translation means that a system's motion is
identical when observed at a fixed interval,
a concept similar to periodic oscillations.
This symmetry is achieved when the
system's motion is observed again at the
same interval, indicating that periodic
oscillations have time-translation
symmetry.
 Reflectional
symmetries of time
refer to reversing the
direction in which
time flows, a complex
and philosophically
challenging concept.
 The law of motion is symmetric
under time reversal, but common
legal motions often appear bizarre
when run backward.
 The difference lies in initial conditions, as
most initial conditions break time-reversal
symmetry.
 For example, raindrops falling downwards are
not in a time-symmetric state, as their time
reversal would be upwards. Despite the laws
being time-reversible, their motion remains
broken once the initial conditions are broken.
 Periodic oscillations have time-
translation symmetry, but all-time
translations break the pattern. state
must remain consistent at all times,
and when a system oscillates, its
symmetries decrease from all
translations to only translations.
 Hopf bifurcation, a theory of temporal
symmetry breaking, has been applied to
systems with other symmetries, particularly
spatial ones.
 This approach allows for the classification of
patterns typically set during Hopf
bifurcation in symmetric oscillators and has
been applied in animal locomotion.
 Animals use two biologically distinct but
mathematically similar oscillators in locomotion:
limbs and the nervous system.
 The limbs are mechanical systems linked by bones
and muscles, while the the nervous system
generates rhythmic electrical signals called CPGs.
LEGs, or locomotive excitation generators, are also
present in animals. However, we know little about
the CPGs, largely through mathematical models.
 Some animals have a single gait, like
elephants, which can only walk. Horses,
for example, have multiple gaits,
including walking, trotting, and
galloping. Some also add a canter
between these movements, making a trot
a distinct type of movement.
 In 1965, American
zoologist Milton
Hildebrand
discovered that most
gaits have a degree of
symmetry, preserving
the animal's bilateral
symmetry.
 Other subtle symmetries
include the pace gait, which
reflects left and right and
shifts the phase by half a
period. Bipeds use this
symmetry breaking to move
themselves around, as they
don't move both legs
simultaneously.
 Quadrupedal gaits include
trot, pace, bound, walk, rotary
gallop, transverse gallop, and
canter.
 Trot involves diagonal pairs of legs,
bound involves front and back legs,
pace links fore and aft, and walk
involves a complex rhythmic
pattern.
 Pronk is a gait
observed in young
deer and
uncommon outside
cartoons.
 Camels pace, dogs bound, and
cheetahs use the rotary gallop to travel
at top speed.
 Horses are versatile and use different
gaits depending on circumstances,
including the walk, trot, transverse
gallop, and canter.
 The ability to switch gaits comes from
central pattern generators (CPGs) dynamics.
 CPG models suggest that the rhythms and
phase relations of animal gaits are
determined by natural oscillation patterns of
simple neural circuits.
 The specific neural circuitry responsible for
gaits is difficult to locate in animals.
The theory of Hopf bifurcation suggests
that symmetry patterns observed in
gaits are similar to those found in
symmetric networks of oscillators.
A biped's gait can be
represented by a network
of two identical
oscillators, resulting in
either an in-phase
pattern (hopping motion)
or an out-of-phase
pattern (human walk).
 Quadrupeds can be represented by a
system of four coupled oscillators,
leading to a variety of gait patterns
such as pronk, bound, pace, trot, and
walk.
The theory extends to six-legged
creatures like insects, where the
typical gait is the tripod pattern.
Animals can change gaits without a
gearbox, as a single network of
oscillators can adopt different patterns
under different conditions.
Transitions between gaits are organized
by symmetry, with faster movement
resulting in less symmetry in the gait.
 Horses choose the gait that
minimizes their oxygen consumption
when given the freedom to select
their own speeds.
Fireflies in Southeast Asia display a
spectacular synchronized flashing
behavior.
 This phenomenon has been studied
mathematically using a model of
oscillators coupled with visual signals.
 The model assumes fully symmetric
coupling, where each oscillator affects
all others in the same way.
The oscillators are pulse-coupled,
meaning they only affect neighbors
when they create a flash of light.
Mathematical analysis has shown that
regardless of initial conditions, all
oscillators eventually become
synchronized.
 The synchronization is achieved through a
process of absorption, where oscillators with
different phases lock together and stay in
phase.
 These findings highlight the importance of
symmetry in natural rhythms and suggest
that symmetry breaking principles can help
classify mathematical patterns.
 Mathematics can be used to understand and illuminate
aspects of nature that may not seem inherently
mathematical.
 The work of Scottish zoologist D'Arcy Thompson in 1917
highlighted the role of mathematics in generating
biological form and behavior.
 The message that mathematics can provide insights into
nature needs to be emphasized, especially in a time
when DNA sequencing is often seen as the only
interesting aspect of biology.
 The symmetry-breaking theory explains how
animals can change gait without a gearbox, with a
single network of oscillators adopting different
patterns under different conditions.
 Transitions between gaits are organized by
symmetry, with faster movements causing less
symmetry. In 1981, Hoyt and Taylor discovered
that horses choose a gait that minimizes oxygen
consumption when they can select their speeds
 The author discusses the mathematics of
gaits, a unique application of modern
mathematical techniques in an unrelated
area.
 They conclude by presenting another
application of these general ideas, focusing
on the biological importance of maintaining
symmetry.
Southeast Asia is home to a remarkable
display of synchronized flashing fireflies,
as American biologist Hugh Smith
described in his 1935 article "
Synchronous Flashing of Fireflies" in
Science.
Imagine a tree with fireflies on every leaf,
flashing in perfect unison, and a tenth of
a mile of riverfront with mangrove trees,
all in perfect unison. This fantastic
spectacle can be vividly imagined if one's
imagination is vivid enough.
 In 1990, Renato Mirollo and Steven Strogatz
demonstrated that synchrony is the rule for
mathematical models of fireflies, where they
interact as a population of oscillators coupled by
visual signals. This model, introduced by Charles
Peskin in 1975, is pulse-coupled, meaning each
oscillator affects its neighbors only when it creates
a flash of light.
 Mirollo and Strogatz proved that oscillators become
synchronized regardless of initial conditions using
absorption. This occurs when oscillators with different
phases lock together and stay in phase. A sequence of
absorptions locks all oscillators together. Nature's
rhythms are often linked to symmetry, and patterns
can be classified mathematically using symmetry-
breaking principles. These principles provide a
unifying framework and answer questions about why
certain patterns occur.
 Mathematics can reveal
hidden aspects of nature, as
Scottish zoologist D' Arcy
Thompson's 1917 book “On
Growth and Form” highlights.
This message, especially in an
age where biologists focus on
DNA sequences, is crucial in
understanding biological form
and behavior.
Overall summary:

Chapter 7 explores the concept of rhythm in animals and human motion,

specifically through gait analysis. Nature is rhythmic, with various cycles
adapted to our body's needs. Eadweard Muybridge, a pioneer in
photography, documented the different phases of a horse's gait using
tripwires and the zoetrope, which led to Hollywood. Gait analysis is a
branch of mathematical biology that focuses on understanding how animals
move and why they do so. The organizing principle behind biological cycles
is the mathematical concept of an oscillator, which repeatedly repeats the
same behavior process. In 1942, German mathematician Eberhard Hopf
found a general mathematical condition called Hopf bifurcation, which
approximates the dynamics of the original system and sees if a periodic
wobble arises in this simplified system. Hopf bifurcation is a particular type
of symmetry breaking, with periodic oscillations growing out of the original
steady state. Time reversal is peripheral to this chapter, but it is an
interesting question that deserves further discussion.
THANKS