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

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 quasiperiodic 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.     

Optimal Force Mismatch for Fluctuation-Activated Transition in a System of Two Coupled Bistable Oscillators

We study the fluctuation-activated transition process in a system of two coupled forced bistable oscillators with a mismatch σ in the force constants. As the coupling strength μ is increased, the transition pathway undergoes four stages changes from a two-step process with two candidate pathways to a mixture of a two-step pathway and a one-step pathway to a one-step process with also two candidate pathways and then to a one-step process with a single pathway.Interestingly, we find that the total transition rate depends nonmonotonically on σ in the weak coupling: a maximal rate appears in an intermediate magnitude of σ. Moreover, the rate also exhibits an unexpected maximum as a function ofμ. The results are in an excellent agreement with our numerical simulations by forward flux sampling.     

Obtaining absorptive line shapes in two-dimensional infrared vibrational correlation spectra

Absorptive line shapes in two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) vibrational spectra are important for an intuitive interpretation of molecular structure and dynamics. We obtain an absorptive 2D IR correlation spectrum by summing complementary spectra from experiments sampling vibrational coherences that oscillate with conjugate frequencies in the initial evolution time period. The 2D correlation spectrum of a coupled vibrational system reveals certain spectral features with tilted line shapes that are explained in terms of unequal contributions of Liouville-space pathways.     

Coherent control of spin tunneling in a driven spin–orbit coupled bosonic triple well

We investigate the coherent control of spin tunneling for a spin–orbit (SO) coupled boson trapped in a driven triple well. In the high-frequency limit, the quasienergies of the system are obtained analytically and the fine energy band structures are shown. By regulating the driving parameters, we reveal that the directed spin-flipping or spin-conserving tunneling of an SO-coupled boson occurs along different pathways and in different directions. The analytical results are demonstrated by numerical simulations and good agreements are found. Further, an interesting scheme of quantum spin tunneling switch with or without spin-flipping is presented. The results may have potential applications in the design of spintronic devices.     

Influence of the coupled-dipoles on photosynthetic performance in a photosynthetic quantum heat engine

Recent evidence suggests that the multiple charge-separation pathways can contribute to photosynthetic performance.In this work,the influence of coupled-dipoles on photosynthetic performance was investigated in a two-charge separation pathways quantum heat engine(QHE) model.And the population dynamics of the two coupled sites,j-V characteristics,and power involving this photosynthetic QHE model were evaluated for the photosynthetic performance.The results illustrate that the photosynthetic performance can be greatly enhanced but quantum interference is deactivated by the coupleddipoles between the two-charge separation pathways.However,the photosynthetic performance can also be promoted by the deactivated quantum interference owing to the coupled-dipoles.It is a novel role of the coupled-dipoles in the energy transport process of biological photosynthetic,and some artificial strategies may be motivated by this photosynthetic QHE model in the future.     

Configurable NOR gate arrays from Belousov-Zhabotinsky micro-droplets

We investigate the Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction in an attempt to establish a basis for computation using chemical oscillators coupled via inhibition. The system consists of BZ droplets suspended in oil. Interdrop coupling is governed by the non-polar communicator of inhibition, Br₂. We consider a linear arrangement of three droplets to be a NOR gate, where the center droplet is the output and the other two are inputs. Oxidation spikes in the inputs, which we define to be TRUE, cause a delay in the next spike of the output, which we read to be FALSE. Conversely, when the inputs do not spike (FALSE) there is no delay in the output (TRUE), thus producing the behavior of a NOR gate. We are able to reliably produce NOR gates with this behavior in microfluidic experiment.     

Evidence for confined tamm plasmon modes under metallic microdisks and application to the control of spontaneous optical emission

We demonstrate strong confinement of the optical field by depositing a micron sized metallic disk on a planar distributed Bragg reflector. Confined Tamm plasmon modes are evidenced both experimentally and theoretically, with a lateral confinement limited to the disk area and strong coupling to TE polarized fields. Single quantum dots controllably coupled to these modes are shown to experience acceleration of their spontaneous emission when spectrally resonant with the mode. For quantum dots spectrally detuned from the confined Tamm plasmon mode, an inhibition of spontaneous emission by a factor 40±4 is observed, a record value in the optical domain.     

Vibration of vehicle–pavement coupled system based on a Timoshenko beam on a nonlinear foundation

This paper focuses on the coupled nonlinear vibration of vehicle–pavement system. The pavement is modeled as a Timoshenko beam resting on a six-parameter foundation. The vehicle is simplified as a spring–mass–damper oscillator. For the first time, the dynamic response of vehicle–pavement coupled system is studied by modeling the pavement as a Timoshenko beam resting on a nonlinear foundation. Consequently, the shear effects and the rotational inertia of the pavement are included in the modeling process. The pavement model is assumed to be a linear-plus-cubic Pasternak-type foundation. Furthermore, the convergent Galerkin truncation is used to obtain approximate solutions to the coupled vibratory response of the vehicle–pavement coupled system. The dynamic responses of the vehicle–pavement system with the asphalt pavement on soft soil foundation are investigated via the numerical examples. The numerical results show that the calculation for the coupled vibratory response needs high-order modes. Moreover, the coupling effects between the pavement and the vehicle are numerically examined by using the convergent modal truncation. The physical parameters of the vehicle–pavement system such as the shear modulus are compared for determining their influences on the coupled vibratory response.     

Anisotropic diffusion and traveling waves of toxic proteins in neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases are closely associated with the amplification and invasion of toxic proteins. In particular Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the systematic progression of amyloid-β and τ-proteins in the brain. These two protein families are coupled and it is believed that their joint presence greatly enhances the resulting damage. Here, we examine a class of coupled chemical kinetics models of healthy and toxic proteins in two spatial dimensions. The anisotropic diffusion expected to take place within the brain along axonal pathways is factored in the models and produces a filamentary, predominantly one-dimensional transmission. Nevertheless, the potential of the anisotropic models towards generating interactions taking advantage of the two-dimensional landscape is showcased. Finally, a reduction of the models into a simpler family of generalized Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovskii-Piskunov (FKPP) type systems is examined. It is seen that the latter captures well the qualitative propagation features, although it may somewhat underestimate the concentrations of the toxic proteins.     

Charge-state conditional operation of a spin qubit

We report coherent operation of a singlet-triplet qubit controlled by the spatial arrangement of two confined electrons in an adjacent double quantum dot that is electrostatically coupled to the qubit. This four-dot system is the specific device geometry needed for two-qubit operations of a two-electron spin qubit. We extract the strength of the capacitive coupling between qubit and adjacent double quantum dot and show that the present geometry allows fast conditional gate operation, opening pathways toward implementation of a universal set of gates for singlet-triplet spin qubits.     

金纳米棒三聚体中的等离激元诱导透明

基于金纳米棒构成的三聚体微元结构模型,详细地研究了等离激元诱导透明(plasmon induced transparency,PIT)现象产生的物理过程.研究发现,三聚体的吸收谱线随着其耦合距离以及尺寸的变化,竖直金纳米棒所对应的偶极明模在平行双长条金纳米棒对应的暗模作用下会产生分裂.依据这一结果提出了一个新的物理解释,PIT现象的产生主要来自于竖直金纳米棒中偶极振荡的模式分裂后的相干叠加.同时,考虑到两个振子之间的耦合会伴随着一定的相位关联性,进而引入了耦合相位因子修正了洛伦兹振子耦合模型,解析地研究了耦合相位因子对吸收谱的调控作用和分裂明模之间的相干叠加效应对PIT效应的影响.这为在纳米尺寸范围设计人造原子、光开关、慢光效应等方面的应用提供了理论参考.     

Spatio-temporal analysis of DNA damage repair using the X-ray microbeam

Cellular response to radiation damage is made by a complex network of pathways and feedback loops whose spatiotemporal organization is still unclear despite its decisive role in determining the fate of the damaged cell. The single-cell approach and the high spatial resolution offered by microbeams provide the perfect tool to study and quantify the dynamic processes associated with the induction and repair of DNA damage. The soft X-ray microbeam has been used to follow the development of radiation induced foci in live cells by monitoring their size and intensity as a function of dose and time using yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) tagging techniques. Preliminary data indicate a delayed and linear rising of the intensity signal indicating a slow kinetic for the accumulation of DNA repair protein 53BP1. A slow and limited foci diffusion has also been observed. Further investigations are required to assess whatever such diffusion is consistent with a random walk pattern or if it is the result of a more structured lesion processing phenomenon. In conclusion, our data indicates that the use of microbeams coupled to live cell microscopy represent a sophisticated approach for visualizing and quantifying the dynamics changes of DNA proteins at the damaged sites.     

Theoretical studies of excitation dynamics in a peridinin-chlorophyll-protein coupled to a metallic nanoparticle

In this work we study the influence of plasmon excitations on the excitation dynamics within a protein complex embedding two chlorophyll molecules coupled to a gold nanosphere. Small separation between the chlorophylls and metallic nanoparticle allows us to simplify the calculations of the Förster energy transfer rate and non-radiative processes by replacing a spherical nanoparticle with a metallic surface. Our results show modifications of all relevant processes and the energy transfer pathways within the system as well as the radiative processes. Plasmon induced changes result in strong qualitative effects of the fluorescence of the studied light-harvesting complex.     

Stability analysis of asynchronous states in neuronal networks with conductance-based inhibition

Oscillations in networks of inhibitory interneurons have been reported at various sites of the brain and are thought to play a fundamental role in neuronal processing. This Letter provides a self-contained analytical framework that allows numerically efficient calculations of the population activity of a network of conductance-based integrate-and-fire neurons that are coupled through inhibitory synapses. Based on a normalization equation this Letter introduces a novel stability criterion for a network state of asynchronous activity and discusses its perturbations. The analysis shows that, although often neglected, the reversal potential of synaptic inhibition has a strong influence on the stability as well as the frequency of network oscillations.     

Sarcoidosis Presenting as Bilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis

Sarcoidosis with cranial polyneuritis and mediastinal granulomatous compression as a cause of unilateral left vocal fold paralysis has been reported infrequently. No case of sarcoidosis causing bilateral vocal fold paralysis in the abducted position has been reported in the Otolaryngology/Voice literature. Vocal fold function can be impacted in sarcoidosis by direct laryngeal involvement or by neural pathways. In the patient described in this case, sarcoid cranial polyneuritis coupled with bilateral paratracheal and mediastinal adenopathy resulted in bilateral vocal fold paralysis. This patient had a dramatic response to treatment with steroids. Sarcoidosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of unilateral or bilateral vocal fold paralysis.     

Does synchronization of networks of chaotic maps lead to control?

We consider networks of chaotic maps with different network topologies. In each case, they are coupled in such a way as to generate synchronized chaotic solutions. By using the methods of control of chaos we are controlling a single map into a predetermined trajectory. We analyze the reaction of the network to such a control. Specifically we show that a line of one-dimensional logistic maps that are unidirectionally coupled can be controlled from the first oscillator whereas a ring of diffusively coupled maps cannot be controlled for more than 5 maps. We show that rings with more elements can be controlled if every third map is controlled. The dependence of unidirectionally coupled maps on noise is studied. The noise level leads to a finite synchronization lengths for which maps can be controlled by a single location. A two-dimensional lattice is also studied.     

Detecting anomalous phase synchronization from time series

Modeling approaches are presented for detecting an anomalous route to phase synchronization from time series of two interacting nonlinear oscillators. The anomalous transition is characterized by an enlargement of the mean frequency difference between the oscillators with an initial increase in the coupling strength. Although such a structure is common in a large class of coupled nonisochronous oscillators, prediction of the anomalous transition is nontrivial for experimental systems, whose dynamical properties are unknown. Two approaches are examined; one is a phase equational modeling of coupled limit cycle oscillators and the other is a nonlinear predictive modeling of coupled chaotic oscillators. Application to prototypical models such as two interacting predator-prey systems in both limit cycle and chaotic regimes demonstrates the capability of detecting the anomalous structure from only a few sets of time series. Experimental data from two coupled Chua circuits shows its applicability to real experimental system.     

Propagating anti-symmetrically coupled plasmons generation by electron beams

Propagating anti-symmetrically coupled plasmons that usually cannot be excited with incident light and radiate to far field can be efficiently generated by electron beams. An electron beam is proposed as a practical propagating anti-symmetrically coupled plasmon source due to that it couples differently to the surface plasmons than free radiation. Specifically, whispering-gallery anti-symmetrically coupled plasmons with the character of symmetrical coupled dipoles are excited by an electron beam in a nested ringlike waveguide, which is consistent with the dispersion of electron excited plasmons in an infinite-long nanowire pair.     

A Coupled Hybrid Lattice: Its Related Continuous Equation and Symmetries

The hybrid lattice, known as a discrete Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation, is found to be a discrete modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation in this paper. The coupled hybrid lattice, which is pointed to be a discrete coupled KdV system, is also found to be discrete form of a coupled mKdV systems. Delayed differential reduction system and pure difference systems are derived from the coupled hybrid system by means of the symmetry reduction approach. Cnoidal wave, positon and negaton solutions for the coupled hybrid system are proposed.