610,915 research outputs found
Dielectric function, screening, and plasmons in 2D graphene
The dynamical dielectric function of two dimensional graphene at arbitrary
wave vector and frequency , , is calculated in
the self-consistent field approximation. The results are used to find the
dispersion of the plasmon mode and the electrostatic screening of the Coulomb
interaction in 2D graphene layer within the random phase approximation. At long
wavelengths () the plasmon dispersion shows the local classical
behavior , but the density dependence of the
plasma frequency () is different from the usual 2D
electron system (). The wave vector dependent plasmon
dispersion and the static screening function show very different behavior than
the usual 2D case.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Response of electrically coupled spiking neurons: a cellular automaton approach
Experimental data suggest that some classes of spiking neurons in the first
layers of sensory systems are electrically coupled via gap junctions or
ephaptic interactions. When the electrical coupling is removed, the response
function (firing rate {\it vs.} stimulus intensity) of the uncoupled neurons
typically shows a decrease in dynamic range and sensitivity. In order to assess
the effect of electrical coupling in the sensory periphery, we calculate the
response to a Poisson stimulus of a chain of excitable neurons modeled by
-state Greenberg-Hastings cellular automata in two approximation levels. The
single-site mean field approximation is shown to give poor results, failing to
predict the absorbing state of the lattice, while the results for the pair
approximation are in good agreement with computer simulations in the whole
stimulus range. In particular, the dynamic range is substantially enlarged due
to the propagation of excitable waves, which suggests a functional role for
lateral electrical coupling. For probabilistic spike propagation the Hill
exponent of the response function is , while for deterministic spike
propagation we obtain , which is close to the experimental values
of the psychophysical Stevens exponents for odor and light intensities. Our
calculations are in qualitative agreement with experimental response functions
of ganglion cells in the mammalian retina.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, to appear in the Phys. Rev.
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