3,691 research outputs found
Translational Invariance and the Anisotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background
Primordial quantum fluctuations produced by inflation are conventionally
assumed to be statistically homogeneous, a consequence of translational
invariance. In this paper we quantify the potentially observable effects of a
small violation of translational invariance during inflation, as characterized
by the presence of a preferred point, line, or plane. We explore the imprint
such a violation would leave on the cosmic microwave background anisotropy, and
provide explicit formulas for the expected amplitudes of
the spherical-harmonic coefficients.Comment: Notation improve
Towards a Robuster Interpretive Parsing
The input data to grammar learning algorithms often consist of overt forms that do not contain full structural descriptions. This lack of information may contribute to the failure of learning. Past work on Optimality Theory introduced Robust Interpretive Parsing (RIP) as a partial solution to this problem. We generalize RIP and suggest replacing the winner candidate with a weighted mean violation of the potential winner candidates. A Boltzmann distribution is introduced on the winner set, and the distributionâs parameter is gradually decreased. Finally, we show that GRIP, the Generalized Robust Interpretive Parsing Algorithm significantly improves the learning success rate in a model with standard constraints for metrical stress assignment
A generic deviance detection principle for cortical on/off responses, omission response, and mismatch negativity
Neural responses to sudden changes can be observed in many parts of the sensory pathways at different organizational levels. For example, deviants that violate regularity at various levels of abstraction can be observed as simple On/Off responses of individual neurons or as cumulative responses of neural populations. The cortical deviance-related responses supporting different functionalities (e.g., gap detection, chunking, etc.) seem unlikely to arise from different function-specific neural circuits, given the relatively uniform and self-similar wiring patterns across cortical areas and spatial scales. Additionally, reciprocal wiring patterns (with heterogeneous combinations of excitatory and inhibitory connections) in the cortex naturally speak in favor of a generic deviance detection principle. Based on this concept, we propose a network model consisting of reciprocally coupled neural masses as a blueprint of a universal change detector. Simulation examples reproduce properties of cortical deviance-related responses including the On/Off responses, the omitted-stimulus response (OSR), and the mismatch negativity (MMN). We propose that the emergence of change detectors relies on the involvement of disinhibition. An analysis of network connection settings further suggests a supportive effect of synaptic adaptation and a destructive effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA-r) antagonists on change detection. We conclude that the nature of cortical reciprocal wiring gives rise to a whole range of local change detectors supporting the notion of a generic deviance detection principle. Several testable predictions are provided based on the network model. Notably, we predict that the NMDA-r antagonists would generally dampen the cortical Off response, the cortical OSR, and the MMN
Surface Geometric and Electronic Structure of BaFe2As2(001)
BaFe2As2 exhibits properties characteristic of the parent compounds of the
newly discovered iron (Fe)-based high-TC superconductors. By combining the real
space imaging of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S) with
momentum space quantitative Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) we have
identified the surface plane of cleaved BaFe2As2 crystals as the As terminated
Fe-As layer - the plane where superconductivity occurs. LEED and STM/S data on
the BaFe2As2(001) surface indicate an ordered arsenic (As) - terminated
metallic surface without reconstruction or lattice distortion. It is surprising
that the STM images the different Fe-As orbitals associated with the
orthorhombic structure, not the As atoms in the surface plane.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
reentrance effect in normal-metal/superconducting hybrid loops
We have measured the transport properties of two mesoscopic hybrid loops
composed of a normal-metal arm and a superconducting arm. The samples differed
in the transmittance of the normal/superconducting interfaces. While the low
transmittance sample showed monotonic behavior in the low temperature
resistance, magnetoresistance and differential resistance, the high
transmittance sample showed reentrant behavior in all three measurements. This
reentrant behavior is due to coherent Andreev reflection at the
normal/superconducting interfaces. We compare the reentrance effect for the
three different measurements and discuss the results based on the theory of
quasiclassical Green's functions
Fluctuation Exchange Analysis of Superconductivity in the Standard Three-Band CuO2 Model
The fluctuation exchange, or FLEX, approximation for interacting electrons is
applied to study instabilities in the standard three-band model for CuO2 layers
in the high-temperature superconductors. Both intra-orbital and near-neigbor
Coulomb interactions are retained. The filling dependence of the d(x2-y2)
transition temperature is studied in both the "hole-doped" and "electron-doped"
regimes using parameters derived from constrained-occupancy density-functional
theory for La2CuO4. The agreement with experiment on the overdoped hole side of
the phase diagram is remarkably good, i.e., transitions emerge in the 40 K
range with no free parameters. In addition the importance of the "orbital
antiferromagnetic," or flux phase, charge density channel is emphasized for an
understanding of the underdoped regime.Comment: REVTex and PostScript, 31 pages, 26 figures; to appear in Phys. Rev.
B (1998); only revised EPS figures 3, 4, 6a, 6b, 6c, 7 and 8 to correct
disappearance of some labels due to technical problem
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