Cue validity and object-based attention

In a previous study, Egly, Driver, and Rafal (1994) observed both space- and object-based components of visual selective attention. However, the mechanisms underlying these two components and the relationship between them are not well understood. In the present research, with a similar paradigm, these issues were addressed by manipulating cue validity. Behavioral results indicated the presence of both space- and object-based components under high cue validity, similar to the results of Egly et al.'s study. In addition, under low cue validity, the space-based component was absent, whereas the object-based component was maintained. Further event-related potential results demonstrated an object-based effect at a sensory level over the posterior areas of brain, and a space-based effect over the anterior region. The present data suggest that the space- and object-based components reflect mainly voluntary and reflexive mechanisms, respectively

Hardcore bosons on checkerboard lattices near half filling: geometric frustration, vanishing charge order and fractional phase

We study a spinless hardcore boson model on checkerboard lattices by Green function Monte Carlo method. At half filling, the ground state energy is obtained up to $28\times 28$ lattice and extrapolated to infinite size, the staggered pseudospin magnetization is found to vanish in the thermodynamic limit. Thus the $(\pi,\pi)$ charge order is absent in this system. Away from half filling, two defects induced by each hole (particle) may carry fractional charge ($\pm e/2$). For one hole case, we study how the defect-defect correlation changes with $t/J$, which is the ratio between the hopping integral and cyclic exchange, equals to $V/2t$ when $V\gg t$. Moreover, we argue that these fractional defects may propagate independently when the concentration of holes (or defects) is large enough

Non-equilibrium phase transition in a periodically driven XY spin chain

We present a general formulation of Floquet states of periodically time-dependent open Markovian quasi-free fermionic many-body systems in terms of a discrete Lyapunov equation. Illustrating the technique, we analyze periodically kicekd XY spin 1/2 chain which is coupled to a pair of Lindblad reservoirs at its ends. A complex phase diagram is reported with re-entrant phases of long range and exponentially decaying spin-spin correlations as some of the system's parameters are varied. The structure of phase diagram is reproduced in terms of counting non-trivial stationary points of Floquet quasi-particle dispersion relation.Comment: 5 pages in RevTex 4-1, with 3 figures (2 in png and 1 in pdf format) and 1 page of supplementary materia

Effect of the attachment of ferromagnetic contacts on the conductivity and giant magnetoresistance of graphene nanoribbons

Carbon-based nanostructures and graphene, in particular, evoke a lot of interest as new promising materials for nanoelectronics and spintronics. One of the most important issue in this context is the impact of external electrodes on electronic properties of graphene nanoribbons (GNR). The present theoretical method is based on the tight-binding model and a modified recursive procedure for Green's functions. The results show that within the ballistic transport regime, the so called end-contacted geometry (of minimal GNR/electrode interface area), is usually more advantageous for practical applications than its side-contacted counterpart (with a larger coverage area), as far as the electrical conductivity is concerned. As regards the giant magnetoresistance coefficient, however, the situation is exactly opposite, since spin- splitting effects are more pronounced in the lower conductive side-contacted setups.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Theory of Weiss oscillations in the magnetoplasmon spectrum of Dirac electrons in graphene

We present the collective excitations spectrum (magnetoplasmon spectrum) of Dirac electrons in a weakly modulated single graphene layer in the presence of a uniform magnetic field. We consider electric modulation in one-dimension and the magnetic field applied perpendicular to graphene.We derive analytical results for the intra-Landau band plasmon spectrum within the self-consistent-field approach. We find Weiss oscillations in the magnetoplasmon spectrum which is the primary focus of this work. Results are presented for the intra-Landau band magnetoplasmon spectrum as a function of inverse magnetic field. These results are also compared with those of conventional 2DEG. We have found that the Weiss oscillations in the magnetoplasmon spectrum are larger in amplitude compared to those in conventional 2DEG for the same modulation strength, period of modulation and electron density.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure Phys. Rev. B (accepted for publication

Random Networks with given Rich-club Coefficient

In complex networks it is common to model a network or generate a surrogate network based on the conservation of the network's degree distribution. We provide an alternative network model based on the conservation of connection density within a set of nodes. This density is measure by the rich-club coefficient. We present a method to generate surrogates networks with a given rich-club coefficient. We show that by choosing a suitable local linking term, the generated random networks can reproduce the degree distribution and the mixing pattern of real networks. The method is easy to implement and produces good models of real networks.Comment: revised version, new figure