39 research outputs found
Renormalisation group improvement of the early universe dynamics
Selected applications of the Functional Renormalisation Group Equation technique to the early universe dynamics
Inflation in asymptotically safe f(R) theory
We discuss the existence of inflationary solutions in a class of
renormalization group improved polynomial f(R) theories, which have been
studied recently in the context of the asymptotic safety scenario for quantum
gravity. These theories seem to possess a nontrivial ultraviolet fixed point,
where the dimensionful couplings scale according to their canonical
dimensionality. Assuming that the cutoff is proportional to the Hubble
parameter, we obtain modified Friedmann equations which admit both power law
and exponential solutions. We establish that for sufficiently high order
polynomial the solutions are reliable, in the sense that considering still
higher order polynomials is very unlikely to change the solution.Comment: Presented at 14th Conference on Recent Developments in Gravity: NEB
14, Ioannina, Greece, 8-11 Jun 201
Renormalisation group improvement of scalar field inflation
We study quantum corrections to Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology with a
scalar field under the assumption that the dynamics are subject to
renormalisation group improvement. We use the Bianchi identity to relate the
renormalisation group scale to the scale factor and obtain the improved
cosmological evolution equations. We study the solutions of these equations in
the renormalisation group fixed point regime, obtaining the time-dependence of
the scalar field strength and the Hubble parameter in specific models with
monomial and trinomial quartic scalar field potentials. We find that power-law
inflation can be achieved in the renormalisation group fixed point regime with
the trinomial potential, but not with the monomial one. We study the transition
to the quasi-classical regime, where the quantum corrections to the couplings
become small, and find classical dynamics as an attractor solution for late
times. We show that the solution found in the renormalisation group fixed point
regime is also a cosmological fixed point in the autonomous phase space. We
derive the power spectrum of cosmological perturbations and find that the
scalar power spectrum is exactly scale-invariant and bounded up to arbitrarily
small times, while the tensor perturbations are tilted as appropriate for the
background power-law inflation. We specify conditions for the renormalisation
group fixed point values of the couplings under which the amplitudes of the
cosmological perturbations remain small.Comment: 17 pages; 2 figure
Modelling Adaptation to Directional Motion Using the Adelson-Bergen Energy Sensor
Abstract The motion energy sensor has been shown to account for a wide range of physiological and psychophysical results in motion detection and discrimination studies. It has become established as the standard computational model for retinal movement sensing in the human visual system. Adaptation effects have been extensively studied in the psychophysical literature on motion perception, and play a crucial role in theoretical debates, but the current implementation of the energy sensor does not provide directly for modelling adaptation-induced changes in output. We describe an extension of the model to incorporate changes in output due to adaptation. The extended model first computes a space-time representation of the output to a given stimulus, and then a RC gain-control circuit (''leaky integrator'') is applied to the time-dependent output. The output of the extended model shows effects which mirror those observed in psychophysical studies of motion adaptation: a decline in sensor output during stimulation, and changes in the relative of outputs of different sensors following this adaptation
The effects of high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS) on global motion processing: An equivalent noise approach
BACKGROUND:
High frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS) facilitates performance in several perceptual and cognitive tasks, however, little is known about the underlying modulatory mechanisms.
OBJECTIVE:
In this study we compared the effects of hf-tRNS to those of anodal and cathodal tDCS in a global motion direction discrimination task. An equivalent noise (EN) paradigm was used to assess how hf-tRNS modulates the mechanisms underlying local and global motion processing.
METHOD:
Motion coherence threshold and slope of the psychometric function were estimated using an 8AFC task in which observers had to discriminate the motion direction of a random dot kinematogram presented either in the left or right visual hemi-field. During the task hf-tRNS, anodal and cathodal tDCS were delivered over the left hMT+. In a subsequent experiment we implemented an EN paradigm in order to investigate the effects of hf-tRNS on the mechanisms involved in visual motion integration (i.e., internal noise and sampling).
RESULTS:
hf-tRNS reduced the motion coherence threshold but did not affect the slope of the psychometric function, suggesting no modulation of stimulus discriminability. Anodal and cathodal tDCS did not produce any modulatory effects. EN analysis in the last experiment found that hf-tRNS modulates sampling but not internal noise, suggesting that hf-tRNS modulates the integration of local motion cues.
CONCLUSION:
hf-tRNS interacts with the output neurons tuned to directions near to the directional signal, incrementing the signal-to-noise ratio and the pooling of local motion cues and thus increasing the sensitivity for global moving stimuli
Characterization of breast tissues in density and effective atomic number basis via spectral X-ray computed tomography
Differentiation of breast tissues is challenging in X-ray imaging because
tissues might share similar or even the same linear attenuation coefficients
. Spectral computed tomography (CT) allows for more quantitative
characterization in terms of tissue density and effective atomic number by
exploiting the energy dependence of . In this work, 5 mastectomy samples
and a phantom with inserts mimicking breast soft tissues were evaluated in a
retrospective study. The samples were imaged at three monochromatic energy
levels in the range of 24 - 38 keV at 5 mGy per scan using a propagation-based
phase-contrast setup at SYRMEP beamline at the Italian national synchrotron
Elettra. A custom-made algorithm incorporating CT reconstructions of an
arbitrary number of spectral energy channels was developed to extract the
density and effective atomic number of adipose, fibro-glandular, pure
glandular, tumor, and skin from regions selected by a radiologist. Preliminary
results suggest that, via spectral CT, it is possible to enhance tissue
differentiation. It was found that adipose, fibro-glandular and tumorous
tissues have average effective atomic numbers (5.94 0.09, 7.03
0.012, and 7.40 0.10) and densities (0.90 0.02, 0.96 0.02,
and 1.07 0.03 g/cm) and can be better distinguished if both
quantitative values are observed together.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Physics in Medicine and Biolog
Limited Attention Diminishes Spatial Suppression From Large Field Glass Patterns
Glass patterns (GPs) consist of randomly distributed dot pairs (dipoles) whose orientations are determined by specific geometric transforms. We investigated the role of visuospatial attention in the processing of global form from GPs by measuring the effect of distraction on adaptation to GPs. In the nondistracted condition, observers were adapted to coherent GPs. After the adaptation period, they were presented with a test GP divided in two halves along the vertical and were required to judge which side of the test GP was more coherent. In the attention-distracted condition, a high-load rapid serial visual presentation task was performed during the adapting period. The magnitude of the form after-effect was measured using a technique that measures the coherence level at which the test GP appears random. The rationale was that if attention has a modulatory effect on the spatial summation of dipoles, in the attention-distracted condition, we should expect a weaker form after-effect. However, the results showed stronger form after-effect in the attention-distracted condition than in the nondistracted condition, suggesting that distraction during adaptation increases the strength of form adaptation. Additional experiments suggested that distraction may reduce the spatial suppression from large-scale textures, strengthening the spatial summation of local-oriented signals
Visual short-term memory for coherent motion in video game players: evidence from a memory-masking paradigm
In this study, we investigated visual short-term memory for coherent motion in action video game players (AVGPs), non-action video game players (NAVGPs), and non-gamers (control group: CONs). Participants performed a visual memory-masking paradigm previously used with macaque monkeys and humans. In particular, we tested whether video game players form a more robust visual short-term memory trace for coherent moving stimuli during the encoding phase, and whether such memory traces are less affected by an intervening masking stimulus presented 0.2 s after the offset of the to-be-remembered sample. The results showed that task performance of all groups was affected by the masking stimulus, but video game players were affected to a lesser extent than controls. Modelling of performance values and reaction times revealed that video game players have a lower guessing rate than CONs, and higher drift rates than CONs, indicative of more efficient perceptual decisions. These results suggest that video game players exhibit a more robust VSTM trace for moving objects and this trace is less prone to external interference
Visual short-term memory for coherent motion in video game players: evidence from a memory-masking paradigm
In this study, we investigated visual short-term memory for coherent motion in action video game players (AVGPs), non-action video game players (NAVGPs), and non-gamers (control group: CONs). Participants performed a visual memory-masking paradigm previously used with macaque monkeys and humans. In particular, we tested whether video game players form a more robust visual short-term memory trace for coherent moving stimuli during the encoding phase, and whether such memory traces are less affected by an intervening masking stimulus presented 0.2 s after the offset of the to-be-remembered sample. The results showed that task performance of all groups was affected by the masking stimulus, but video game players were affected to a lesser extent than controls. Modelling of performance values and reaction times revealed that video game players have a lower guessing rate than CONs, and higher drift rates than CONs, indicative of more efficient perceptual decisions. These results suggest that video game players exhibit a more robust VSTM trace for moving objects and this trace is less prone to external interference