Parafoveal-foveal overlap can facilitate ongoing word identification during reading: evidence from eye movements.

Readers continuously receive parafoveal information about the upcoming word in addition to the foveal information about the currently fixated word. Previous research (Inhoff, Radach, Starr, & Greenberg, 2000) showed that the presence of a parafoveal word that was similar to the foveal word facilitated processing of the foveal word. We used the gaze-contingent boundary paradigm (Rayner, 1975) to manipulate the parafoveal information that subjects received before or while fixating a target word (e.g., news) within a sentence. Specifically, a reader's parafovea could contain a repetition of the target (news), a correct preview of the posttarget word (once), an unrelated word (warm), random letters (cxmr), a nonword neighbor of the target (niws), a semantically related word (tale), or a nonword neighbor of that word (tule). Target fixation times were significantly lower in the parafoveal repetition condition than in all other conditions, suggesting that foveal processing can be facilitated by parafoveal repetition. We present a simple model framework that can account for these effects

Swinging and Tumbling of Fluid Vesicles in Shear Flow

The dynamics of fluid vesicles in simple shear flow is studied using mesoscale simulations of dynamically-triangulated surfaces, as well as a theoretical approach based on two variables, a shape parameter and the inclination angle, which has no adjustable parameters. We show that between the well-known tank-treading and tumbling states, a new ``swinging'' state can appear. We predict the dynamic phase diagram as a function of the shear rate, the viscosities of the membrane and the internal fluid, and the reduced vesicle volume. Our results agree well with recent experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Fundamental efficiency bound for coherent energy transfer in nanophotonics

We derive a unified quantum theory of coherent and incoherent energy transfer between two atoms (donor and acceptor) valid in arbitrary Markovian nanophotonic environments. Our theory predicts a fundamental bound $\eta_{max} = \frac{\gamma_a}{\gamma_d + \gamma_a}$ for energy transfer efficiency arising from the spontaneous emission rates $\gamma_{d}$ and $\gamma_a$ of the donor and acceptor. We propose the control of the acceptor spontaneous emission rate as a new design principle for enhancing energy transfer efficiency. We predict an experiment using mirrors to enhance the efficiency bound by exploiting the dipole orientations of the donor and acceptor. Of fundamental interest, we show that while quantum coherence implies the ultimate efficiency bound has been reached, reaching the ultimate efficiency does not require quantum coherence. Our work paves the way towards nanophotonic analogues of efficiency enhancing environments known in quantum biological systems.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Quantized Rabi Oscillations and Circular Dichroism in Quantum Hall Systems

The dissipative response of a quantum system upon a time-dependent drive can be exploited as a probe of its geometric and topological properties. In this work, we explore the implications of such phenomena in the context of two-dimensional gases subjected to a uniform magnetic field. It is shown that a filled Landau level exhibits a quantized circular dichroism, which can be traced back to its underlying non-trivial topology. Based on selection rules, we find that this quantized circular dichroism can be suitably described in terms of Rabi oscillations, whose frequencies satisfy simple quantization laws. Moreover, we discuss how these quantized dissipative responses can be probed locally, both in the bulk and at the boundaries of the quantum Hall system. This work suggests alternative forms of topological probes in quantum systems based on circular dichroism.Comment: 7 pages, including 3 figures and Appendi

Results of bottom trawl surveys carried out in Vietnamese waters (20-200 m) in 1996-1997

Bottom trawl surveys were conducted in the southwest monsoon season in 1996 (survey 1) and in the northeast monsoon season in 1996-97 (survey 2) throughout Vietnamese waters. The surveys mainly covered the depth zone 50-200 m but in the northeast monsoon season the depth zone 20-50 m was included in the northern and southern areas. Overall, 273 trawl hauls were conducted. The total biomass for Vietnamese waters in the depth zone 20-200 m was estimated at 700 000 t . Biomass estimates are given for the most abundant species. A relatively higher mean catch-per-unit effort (CPUE) was obtained from survey 2 than from survey 1 and in partcular at depth ranges 50-100 and 100-200 m in south Vietnam. Overall, the dominant families were Monacanthidae (34%), Carangidae (15%), Trichiuridae (9%) and Synodontidae (6%)

Tracking excited states in wave function optimization using density matrices and variational principles

We present a method for finding individual excited states' energy stationary points in complete active space self-consistent field theory that is compatible with standard optimization methods and highly effective at overcoming difficulties due to root flipping and near-degeneracies. Inspired by both the maximum overlap method and recent progress in excited state variational principles, our approach combines these ideas in order to track individual excited states throughout the orbital optimization process. In a series of tests involving root flipping, near-degeneracies, charge transfers, and double excitations, we show that this approach is more effective for state-specific optimization than either the naive selection of roots based on energy ordering or a more direct generalization of the maximum overlap method. Furthermore, we provide evidence that this state-specific approach improves the performance of complete active space perturbation theory. With a simple implementation, a low cost, and compatibility with large active space methods, the approach is designed to be useful in a wide range of excited state investigations.Comment: 13 pages, submitted to JCT