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  • publications
  • media
  • fireflies
  • trails
  • contact

  • selected publications

    • soft matter microcapsules

      microcapsules

      We made soft microcapsules with highly plastic shells

    • nat comm strain-dependent surface stress

      surface stress

      We measured surface stress as a function of strain in soft gels and find a strong linear dependence between them

    • pnas soft adhesion

      soft adhesion

      The region of contact between a solid and a soft adhesive is governed by the same physics that sets the geometry of liquid droplets

    • pre lipid membrane mediated forces

      curvature forces

      Lipid vesicles drive the aggregation of bound particles similarly to capillary forces at liquid interface

    • soft matter maximum likelihood

      maximum likelihood/p>

      Short trajectories reveal transient forces and energy landscape

    • acs nano fluctuating porous media

      fluctuating matrix

      What happens when a porous medium is allowed fluctutate over time?

    • acs nano viscoelastic water layer

      viscoeslatic water

      Using the trajectories of molecular probes, we find that nanolayers of water condensed on silica are viscoelastic

    • swarm in 3D

      3d swarm

      3D reconstruction of firefly swarms using 360-degree cameras

    • synchronous fireflies

      flash synchrony

      Synchrony and self-organization in swarms of Photinus carolinus fireflies

    • chimera states

      chimera state

      A mathematical curiosity, the Chimera States, hides among Photuris frontalis fireflies

    • elife emergent periodicity

      emergent periodicity

      A simple mathematical model to explain emergent periodicity in the collective flashing of synchronous fireflies

    • prr anomalous diffusion

      molecules to migrations

      A mathematical framework to understand stochastic trajectories, from molecules to migrating birds

    • rsif elusive synchrony

      subdiffusion

      How to test for flash synchrony when is data is sparse? We try with Arizona species Photinus knulli

  • selected press

    • quanta

      quanta

      "That already takes you out of the universe of all existing models," Strogatz said.
      –by Joshua Sokol

    • wired

      wired

      “It was complex, it was confusing in a sense, but also beautiful,” Sarfati said.
      –by Joshua Sokol

    • new york times

      ny times

      Swarms of synchronous fireflies are rather like melting ice, or at least that’s how Raphael Sarfati, a physicist, sees it.
      –by Sabrina Imbler

    • harpers's magazine

      Harper's

      "I’d just like to understand what they do,” Sarfati said. “Just the fireflies themselves. I’d like to understand the firefly, for now."
      –by Vanessa Gregory

    • national geographic

      Nat Geo

      fireflies that blink in unison in a forest without tourists
      –by Douglas Main & Mac Stone

    • npr

      NPR

      "Just try to watch and see if you notice something particular, something that catches your eye about how they're flashing" Sarfati says. "Maybe you'll feel like they are on a dialogue sometimes."
      –by Mano Sundaresan

    • smithsonian

      smithsonian

      On an early June evening, physicist Raphael Sarfati breathed hard as he lumbered up a dense forest trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The French-born scientist lugged more than 40 pounds of gear, including a tent, generators, butterfly nets and two GoPro 360-degree cameras vital to photographing his subject.
      –by Courtney Holden

    • ecowatch

      EcoWatch

      "It’s nice to keep a little bit of mystery and excitement around fireflies," Sarfati said.
      –by Olivia Rosane

  • fireflies

    • lucidluminescence.org

      lucidluminescence.org

      an invitation into the science of firefly swarms, with thoughts, folklore, and stories

    • blinkorsync.app

      blinkorsync.app

      a web app to analyze smartphone recordings of firefly flashes and assess their potential synchrony

    • fonoflies.org

      fonoflies.org

      a participative project to translate flashing patterns into melodies — notably for the blind

  • trail, mountain, and ultra running

    • a trail in the sangre de cristo range

      wanderings

      I run mostly on my own, as a way of exploring remote landscapes, from the Appalachians to the Smokies, Rockies, and the Pacific Northwest

    • running the divide 100 in 2022

      races

      I race about once a year, most recently the Divide 100 in Colorado. I also crew and support other runners — get in touch if you'd like a pacer!

    • at the end of the new england trail

      expeditions

      I also organize my own self-supported multi-day expedition, for example on the New England Trail or around and over the Smoky Mountains

  • find me on the trails
    or at a desk around
    Boulder • New Haven • Paris

    – or online –

    raphael.sarfati@aya.yale.edu
    • GitHub
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