110 research outputs found
Effects of attractiveness on face memory separated from distinctiveness: Evidence from event-related brain potentials
The present study examined effects of attractiveness on behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) correlates of face memory. Extending previous reports, we controlled for potential moderating effects of distinctiveness, a variable known to affect memory. Attractive and unattractive faces were selected on the basis of a rating study, and were matched for distinctiveness. In a subsequent recognition memory experiment, we found more accurate memory for unattractive relative to attractive faces. Additionally, an attractiveness effect in the early posterior negativity (EPN) during learning, with larger amplitudes for attractive than unattractive faces, correlated significantly with the magnitude of the memory advantage for unattractive faces at test. These findings establish a contribution of attractiveness to face memory over and above the well-known effect of distinctiveness. Additionally, as the EPN is typically enhanced for affective stimuli, our ERP results imply that the processing of emotionally relevant attractive faces during learning may hamper their encoding into memory
On Neutrino Masses and a Low Breaking Scale of Left-Right Symmetry
In left-right symmetric models (LRSM) the light neutrino masses arise from
two sources: the seesaw mechanism and a VEV of an SU(2) triplet. If the
left-right symmetry breaking, , is low, v_R\lsim15\TeV, the
contributions to the light neutrino masses from both the seesaw mechanism and
the triplet Yukawa couplings are expected to be well above the experimental
bounds. We present a minimal LRSM with an additional U(1) symmetry in which the
masses induced by the two sources are below the eV scale and the two-fold
problem is solved. We further show that, if the U(1) symmetry is also
responsible for the lepton flavor structure, the model yields a small mixing
angle within the first two lepton generations.Comment: 18 pages references added published versio
Lepton Masses and Mixing in a Left-Right Symmetric Model with a TeV-scale Gravity
We construct a left-right symmetric (LRS) model in five dimensions which
accounts naturally for the lepton flavor parameters. The fifth dimension is
described by an orbifold, S_1/Z_2 times Z'_2, with a typical size of order
TeV^{-1}. The fundamental scale is of order 25 TeV which implies that the gauge
hierarchy problem is ameliorated. In addition the LRS breaking scale is of
order few TeV which implies that interactions beyond those of the standard
model are accessible to near future experiments. Leptons of different
representations are localized around different orbifold fixed points. This
explains, through the Arkani-Hamed-Schmaltz mechanism, the smallness of the tau
mass compared to the electroweak breaking scale. An additional U(1) horizontal
symmetry, broken by small parameters, yields the hierarchy in the charged
lepton masses, strong suppression of the light neutrino masses and accounts for
the mixing parameters. The model yields several unique predictions. In
particular, the branching ratio for the lepton flavor violating process mu^-
--> e^+ e^- e^- is comparable with its present experimental sensitivity.Comment: 21 pages, 1 figure, references added, discussion on the
predictiveness of the model in the generic non-universal case added, to
appear in PR
Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy
We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable
and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is
presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and
systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of
globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude,
with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may
have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky
Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the
second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the
HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The
relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level
and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax
measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance
modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are
studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of
low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
A mind-brain-body dataset of MRI, EEG, cognition, emotion, and peripheral physiology in young and old adults
The ‘mosaic habitat’ concept in human evolution: past and present
The habitats preferred by hominins and other species are an important theme in palaeoanthropology, and the ‘mosaic habitat’ (also referred to as habitat heterogeneity) has been a central concept in this regard for the last four decades. Here we explore the development of this concept – loosely defined as a range of different habitat types, such as woodlands, riverine forest and savannah within a limited spatial area– in studies of human evolution in the last sixty years or so. We outline the key developments that took place before and around the time when the term ‘mosaic’ came to wider palaeoanthropological attention. To achieve this we used an analysis of the published literature, a study of illustrations of hominin evolution from 1925 onwards and an email survey of senior researchers in palaeoanthropology and related fields. We found that the term mosaic starts to be applied in palaeoanthropological thinking during the 1970’s due to the work of a number of researchers, including Karl Butzer and Glynn Isaac , with the earliest usage we have found of ‘mosaic’ in specific reference to hominin habitats being by Adriaan Kortlandt (1972). While we observe a steady increase in the numbers of publications reporting mosaic palaeohabitats, in keeping with the growing interest and specialisation in various methods of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, we also note that there is a lack of critical studies that define this habitat, or examine the temporal and spatial scales associated with it. The general consensus within the field is that the concept now requires more detailed definition and study to evaluate its role in human evolution
Behavior of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae (Cetacea: Balaenopteridae): comparisons between two coastal areas of Brazil
Velocity-space sensitivity of the time-of-flight neutron spectrometer at JET
The velocity-space sensitivities of fast-ion diagnostics are often described by so-called weight functions. Recently, we formulated weight functions showing the velocity-space sensitivity of the often dominant beam-target part of neutron energy spectra. These weight functions for neutron emission spectrometry (NES) are independent of the particular NES diagnostic. Here we apply these NES weight functions to the time-of-flight spectrometer TOFOR at JET. By taking the instrumental response function of TOFOR into account, we calculate time-of-flight NES weight functions that enable us to directly determine the velocity-space sensitivity of a given part of a measured time-of-flight spectrum from TOFOR
Relationship of edge localized mode burst times with divertor flux loop signal phase in JET
A phase relationship is identified between sequential edge localized modes (ELMs) occurrence times in a set of H-mode tokamak plasmas to the voltage measured in full flux azimuthal loops in the divertor region. We focus on plasmas in the Joint European Torus where a steady H-mode is sustained over several seconds, during which ELMs are observed in the Be II emission at the divertor. The ELMs analysed arise from intrinsic ELMing, in that there is no deliberate intent to control the ELMing process by external means. We use ELM timings derived from the Be II signal to perform direct time domain analysis of the full flux loop VLD2 and VLD3 signals, which provide a high cadence global measurement proportional to the voltage induced by changes in poloidal magnetic flux. Specifically, we examine how the time interval between pairs of successive ELMs is linked to the time-evolving phase of the full flux loop signals. Each ELM produces a clear early pulse in the full flux loop signals, whose peak time is used to condition our analysis. The arrival time of the following ELM, relative to this pulse, is found to fall into one of two categories: (i) prompt ELMs, which are directly paced by the initial response seen in the flux loop signals; and (ii) all other ELMs, which occur after the initial response of the full flux loop signals has decayed in amplitude. The times at which ELMs in category (ii) occur, relative to the first ELM of the pair, are clustered at times when the instantaneous phase of the full flux loop signal is close to its value at the time of the first ELM
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