On the role of chemical synapses in coupled neurons with noise

We examine the behavior in the presence of noise of an array of Morris-Lecar neurons coupled via chemical synapses. Special attention is devoted to comparing this behavior with the better known case of electrical coupling arising via gap junctions. In particular, our numerical simulations show that chemical synapses are more efficient than gap junctions in enhancing coherence at an optimal noise (what is known as array-enhanced coherence resonance): in the case of (nonlinear) chemical coupling, we observe a substantial increase in the stochastic coherence of the system, in comparison with (linear) electrical coupling. We interpret this qualitative difference between both types of coupling as arising from the fact that chemical synapses only act while the presynaptic neuron is spiking, whereas gap junctions connect the voltage of the two neurons at all times. This leads in the electrical coupling case to larger correlations during interspike time intervals which are detrimental to the array-enhanced coherence effect. Finally, we report on the existence of a system-size coherence resonance in this locally coupled system, exhibited by the average membrane potential of the array.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Classical singularities and Semi-Poisson statistics in quantum chaos and disordered systems

We investigate a 1D disordered Hamiltonian with a non analytical step-like dispersion relation whose level statistics is exactly described by Semi-Poisson statistics(SP). It is shown that this result is robust, namely, does not depend neither on the microscopic details of the potential nor on a magnetic flux but only on the type of non-analyticity. We also argue that a deterministic kicked rotator with a non-analytical step-like potential has the same spectral properties. Semi-Poisson statistics (SP), typical of pseudo-integrable billiards, has been frequently claimed to describe critical statistics, namely, the level statistics of a disordered system at the Anderson transition (AT). However we provide convincing evidence they are indeed different: each of them has its origin in a different type of classical singularities.Comment: typos corrected, 4 pages, 3 figure

Correlated hopping of bosonic atoms induced by optical lattices

In this work we analyze a particular setup with ultracold atoms trapped in state-dependent lattices. We show that any asymmetry in the contact interaction translates into one of two classes of correlated hopping. After deriving the effective lattice Hamiltonian for the atoms, we obtain analytically and numerically the different phases and quantum phase transitions. We find for weak correlated hopping both Mott insulators and charge density waves, while for stronger correlated hopping the system transitions into a pair superfluid. We demonstrate that this phase exists for a wide range of interaction asymmetries and has interesting correlation properties that differentiate it from an ordinary atomic Bose-Einstein condensate.Comment: 24 pages with 9 figures, to appear in New Journal of Physic