1,533 research outputs found

    Production of highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) from trace contaminants during isoprene oxidation

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    During nucleation studies from pure isoprene oxidation in the CLOUD chamber at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) we observed unexpected ion signals at m∕z&thinsp; = &thinsp;137.133 (C10H17+) and m∕z&thinsp; = &thinsp;81.070 (C6H9+) with the recently developed proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight (PTR3-TOF) mass spectrometer instrument. The mass-to-charge ratios of these ion signals typically correspond to protonated monoterpenes and their main fragment. We identified two origins of these signals: first secondary association reactions of protonated isoprene with isoprene within the PTR3-TOF reaction chamber and secondly [4+2] cycloaddition (Diels–Alder) of isoprene inside the gas bottle which presumably forms the favored monoterpenes limonene and sylvestrene, as known from literature. Under our PTR3-TOF conditions used in 2016 an amount (relative to isoprene) of 2&thinsp;% is formed within the PTR3-TOF reaction chamber and 1&thinsp;% is already present in the gas bottle. The presence of unwanted cycloaddition products in the CLOUD chamber impacts the nucleation studies by creating ozonolysis products as the corresponding monoterpenes and is responsible for the majority of the observed highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs), which in turn leads to a significant overestimation of both the nucleation rate and the growth rate. In order to study new particle formation (NPF) from pure isoprene oxidation under relevant atmospheric conditions, it is important to improve and assure the quality and purity of the precursor isoprene. This was successfully achieved by cryogenically trapping lower-volatility compounds such as monoterpenes before isoprene was introduced into the CLOUD chamber.</p

    Temporal decorrelation of collective oscillations in neural networks with local inhibition and long-range excitation

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    We consider two neuronal networks coupled by long-range excitatory interactions. Oscillations in the gamma frequency band are generated within each network by local inhibition. When long-range excitation is weak, these oscillations phase-lock with a phase-shift dependent on the strength of local inhibition. Increasing the strength of long-range excitation induces a transition to chaos via period-doubling or quasi-periodic scenarios. In the chaotic regime oscillatory activity undergoes fast temporal decorrelation. The generality of these dynamical properties is assessed in firing-rate models as well as in large networks of conductance-based neurons.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

    Synchronization of Integrate and Fire oscillators with global coupling

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    In this article we study the behavior of globally coupled assemblies of a large number of Integrate and Fire oscillators with excitatory pulse-like interactions. On some simple models we show that the additive effects of pulses on the state of Integrate and Fire oscillators are sufficient for the synchronization of the relaxations of all the oscillators. This synchronization occurs in two forms depending on the system: either the oscillators evolve ``en bloc'' at the same phase and therefore relax together or the oscillators do not remain in phase but their relaxations occur always in stable avalanches. We prove that synchronization can occur independently of the convexity or concavity of the oscillators evolution function. Furthermore the presence of disorder, up to some level, is not only compatible with synchronization, but removes some possible degeneracy of identical systems and allows new mechanisms towards this state.Comment: 37 pages, 19 postscript figures, Latex 2

    Population coding by globally coupled phase oscillators

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    A system of globally coupled phase oscillators subject to an external input is considered as a simple model of neural circuits coding external stimulus. The information coding efficiency of the system in its asynchronous state is quantified using Fisher information. The effect of coupling and noise on the information coding efficiency in the stationary state is analyzed. The relaxation process of the system after the presentation of an external input is also studied. It is found that the information coding efficiency exhibits a large transient increase before the system relaxes to the final stationary state.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, revised version, new figures added, to appear in JPSJ Vol 75, No.

    Spike-Train Responses of a Pair of Hodgkin-Huxley Neurons with Time-Delayed Couplings

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    Model calculations have been performed on the spike-train response of a pair of Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) neurons coupled by recurrent excitatory-excitatory couplings with time delay. The coupled, excitable HH neurons are assumed to receive the two kinds of spike-train inputs: the transient input consisting of MM impulses for the finite duration (MM: integer) and the sequential input with the constant interspike interval (ISI). The distribution of the output ISI ToT_{\rm o} shows a rich of variety depending on the coupling strength and the time delay. The comparison is made between the dependence of the output ISI for the transient inputs and that for the sequential inputs.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
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