119,641 research outputs found
When is an error not a prediction error? An electrophysiological investigation
A recent theory holds that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) uses reinforcement learning signals conveyed by the midbrain dopamine system to facilitate flexible action selection. According to this position, the impact of reward prediction error signals on ACC modulates the amplitude of a component of the event-related brain potential called the error-related negativity (ERN). The theory predicts that ERN amplitude is monotonically related to the expectedness of the event: It is larger for unexpected outcomes than for expected outcomes. However, a recent failure to confirm this prediction has called the theory into question. In the present article, we investigated this discrepancy in three trial-and-error learning experiments. All three experiments provided support for the theory, but the effect sizes were largest when an optimal response strategy could actually be learned. This observation suggests that ACC utilizes dopamine reward prediction error signals for adaptive decision making when the optimal behavior is, in fact, learnable
Common gauge origin of discrete symmetries in observable sector and hidden sector
An extra Abelian gauge symmetry is motivated in many new physics models in
both supersymmetric and nonsupersymmetric cases. Such a new gauge symmetry may
interact with both the observable sector and the hidden sector. We
systematically investigate the most general residual discrete symmetries in
both sectors from a common Abelian gauge symmetry. Those discrete symmetries
can ensure the stability of the proton and the dark matter candidate. A hidden
sector dark matter candidate (lightest U-parity particle or LUP) interacts with
the standard model fields through the gauge boson Z', which may selectively
couple to quarks or leptons only. We make a comment on the implications of the
discrete symmetry and the leptonically coupling dark matter candidate, which
has been highlighted recently due to the possibility of the simultaneous
explanation of the DAMA and the PAMELA results. We also show how to construct
the most general U(1) charges for a given discrete symmetry, and discuss the
relation between the U(1) gauge symmetry and R-parity.Comment: Version to appear in JHE
Observation of Scalar Aharonov-Bohm Effect with Longitudinally Polarized Neutrons
We have carried out a neutron interferometry experiment using longitudinally polarized neutrons to observe the scalar Aharonov-Bohm effect. The neutrons inside the interferometer are polarized parallel to an applied pulsed magnetic field B(t). The pulsed B field is spatially uniform so it exerts no force on the neutrons. Its direction also precludes the presence of any classical torque to change the neutron polarization
Scalar Aharonov-Bohm effect with longitudinally polarized neutrons
In the scalar Aharonov-Bohm effect, a charged particle (electron) interacts with the scalar electrostatic potential U in the field-free (i.e., force-free) region inside an electrostatic cylinder (Faraday cage). Using a perfect single-crystal neutron interferometer we have performed a “dual” scalar Aharonov-Bohm experiment by subjecting polarized thermal neutrons to a pulsed magnetic field. The pulsed magnetic field was spatially uniform, precluding any force on the neutrons. Aligning the direction of the pulsed magnetic field to the neutron magnetic moment also rules out any classical torque acting to change the neutron polarization. The observed phase shift is purely quantum mechanical in origin. A detailed description of the experiment, performed at the University of Missouri Research Reactor, and its interpretation is given in this paper
Emergence of supersymmetry on the surface of three dimensional topological insulators
We propose two possible experimental realizations of a 2+1 dimensional
spacetime supersymmetry at a quantum critical point on the surface of three
dimensional topological insulators. The quantum critical point between the
semi-metallic state with one Dirac fermion and the s-wave superconducting state
on the surface is described by a supersymmetric conformal field theory within
-expansion. We predict the exact voltage dependence of the
differential conductance at the supersymmetric critical point.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures; published versio
Weighted feature selection criteria for visual servoing of a telerobot
Because of the continually changing environment of a space station, visual feedback is a vital element of a telerobotic system. A real time visual servoing system would allow a telerobot to track and manipulate randomly moving objects. Methodologies for the automatic selection of image features to be used to visually control the relative position between an eye-in-hand telerobot and a known object are devised. A weighted criteria function with both image recognition and control components is used to select the combination of image features which provides the best control. Simulation and experimental results of a PUMA robot arm visually tracking a randomly moving carburetor gasket with a visual update time of 70 milliseconds are discussed
Order in a Spatially Anisotropic Triangular Antiferromagnet
The phase diagram of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on an
anisotropic triangular lattice of weakly coupled chains, a model relevant to
Cs2CuCl4, is investigated using a renormalization group analysis, which
includes marginal couplings important for connecting to numerical studies of
this model. In particular, the relative stability of incommensurate spiral
spin-density order and collinear antiferromagnetic order is studied. While
incommensurate spiral order is found to exist over most of the phase diagram in
the presence of a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction, at small interchain
and extremely weak DM couplings, collinear antiferromagnetic order can survive.
Our results imply that Cs2CuCl4 is well within the part of the phase diagram
where spiral order is stable. The implications of the renormalization group
analysis for numerical studies, many of which have found spin-liquidlike
behavior, are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, minor edits and reference adde
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