Output stream of binding neuron with delayed feedback

A binding neuron (BN) with delayed feedback is considered. The neuron is fed externally with a Poisson stream of intensity λ. The neuron’s output spikes are fed back into its input with time delay Δ. The resulting output stream of the BN is not Poissonian. The main purpose of this paper is to find interspike intervals (ISI) distribution of the output stream. For BN with threshold 2 the exact mathematical expressions as functions of λ, Δ and BN’s internal memory, τ are derived for the ISI distribution and coefficient of variation. For higher thresholds these quantities are found numerically. The distributions found are characterized with jumps, derivative discontinuities and include singularity of Dirac’s δ-function type. The ISI coefficient of variation found is a unimodal function of input intensity, with the maximum value considerably bigger than unity. It is concluded that delayed feedback presence can radically alter neuronal output firing statistics.     

Elastic scattering of low-energy electrons by NO

We report elastic integral, momentum transfer and differential cross sections for electron scattering by N₂O for energies up to 50 eV. These results were obtained at the static-exchange approximation with the Schwinger Multichannel Method with Pseudopotentials [M.H.F. Bettega, L.G. Ferreira and M.A.P. Lima, Phys. Rev. A 47, 1111 (1993)]. In general our results show good agreement with experimental data and with other theoretical results but some discrepancies are found. We have also found a shape resonance around 4 eV in agreement with previous calculations using the R-matrix Method of Sarpal et al. [J. Phys. B 29, 857 (1996)]. On the other hand, the existence of a resonance at about 13 eV, clearly seen by the Schwinger Variational Iterative Method [Michelin et al., J. Phys. B 29, 2115 (1996)], can not be confirmed by our calculations. At this energy, our cross sections show a broad bump with no clear resonant behavior given by the eigenphase sum. Received: 13 November 1997 / Revised: 13 March 1998 / Accepted: 9 April 1998     

”Illusion of control” in Time-Horizon Minority and Parrondo Games

Human beings like to believe they are in control of their destiny. This ubiquitous trait seems to increase motivation and persistence, and is probably evolutionarily adaptive [J.D. Taylor, S.E. Brown, Psych. Bull. 103, 193 (1988); A. Bandura, Self-efficacy: the exercise of control (WH Freeman, New York, 1997)]. But how good really is our ability to control? How successful is our track record in these areas? There is little understanding of when and under what circumstances we may over-estimate [E. Langer, J. Pers. Soc. Psych. 7, 185 (1975)] or even lose our ability to control and optimize outcomes, especially when they are the result of aggregations of individual optimization processes. Here, we demonstrate analytically using the theory of Markov Chains and by numerical simulations in two classes of games, the Time-Horizon Minority Game [M.L. Hart, P. Jefferies, N.F. Johnson, Phys. A 311, 275 (2002)] and the Parrondo Game [J.M.R. Parrondo, G.P. Harmer, D. Abbott, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5226 (2000); J.M.R. Parrondo, How to cheat a bad mathematician (ISI, Italy, 1996)], that agents who optimize their strategy based on past information may actually perform worse than non-optimizing agents. In other words, low-entropy (more informative) strategies under-perform high-entropy (or random) strategies. This provides a precise definition of the “illusion of control” in certain set-ups a priori defined to emphasize the importance of optimization. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Generation of entanglement via atomic coherence in a two-mode three-level cascade atomic system

The generation of continuous variable entanglement via atomic coherence in a two-mode three-level cascade atomic system is discussed according to the entanglement criterion proposed by Duan et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 2722 (2000)]. Atomic coherence between the top and bottom levels is induced with two photons of a strong external pump field. It shows that entanglement for the two-mode field in the cavity can be generated under certain conditions. Moreover, by means of the input-output theory, we show that the two-mode entanglement could also be approached at the output.     

Growing mechanisms in the QKPZ equation aaand the DPD models

The roughening of interfaces moving in inhomogeneous media is investigated by numerical integration of the phenomenological stochastic differential equation proposed by Kardar, Parisi, and Zhang [Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 889 (1986)] with quenched noise (QKPZ) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 920 (1995)]. We express the evolution equations for the mean height and the roughness into two contributions: the local and the lateral one in order to compare them with the local and the lateral contributions obtained for the directed percolation depinning models (DPD) introduced independently by Tang and Leschhorn [Phys. Rev A 45, R8309 (1992)] and Buldyrev et al. [Phys. Rev A 45, R8313 (1992)]. These models are classified in the same universality class of the QKPZ although the mechanisms of growth are quite different. In the DPD models the lateral contribution is a coupled effect of the competition between the local growth and the lateral one. In these models the lateral contribution leads to an increasing of the roughness near the criticality while in the QKPZ equation this contribution always flattens the roughness. Received 7 April 2000 and Received in final form 7 March 2001     

Measurement of angular dependence of M X-ray production cross-sections in Re,Bi and U at 5.96 keV

The M X-ray production differential cross sections in Re, Bi and U elements have been measured at the 5.96 keV incident photon energy in an angular range 135°–155°. The measurements were performed using a ⁵⁵Fe source and a Si(Li) detector. The present results contradict the predictions of Cooper and Zare [Atomic Collision Processes, Gordon and Breach, New York (1969)] and experimental results of Kumar et al. [J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. 34, 613 (2001)]. that, after photoionization of inner shells, the vacancy state has equal population of magnetic substates and the subsequent X-ray emission is isotropic, but confirm the predictions of the calculations of Flügge et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 29, 7 (1972)] and experimental results of Sharma and Allawadhi [J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. 32, 2343 (1999)] and Ertugrul [Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B 119, 345 (1996)]. Total M X-ray production cross sections from the decay at the 5.96 keV photon energies are found to be in good agreement with the calculated theoretical results using the theoretical values of M shell photoionization cross section.     

Chaotic dynamics in optimal monetary policy

There is by now a large consensus in modern monetary policy. This consensus has been built upon a dynamic general equilibrium model of optimal monetary policy as developed by, e.g., Goodfriend and King [NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1997 edited by B. Bernanke and J. Rotemberg (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1997), pp. 231–282], Clarida et al. [J. Econ. Lit. 37, 1661 (1999)], Svensson [J. Mon. Econ. 43, 607 (1999)] and Woodford [Interest and Prices: Foundations of a Theory of Monetary Policy (Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 2003)]. In this paper we extend the standard optimal monetary policy model by introducing nonlinearity into the Phillips curve. Under the specific form of nonlinearity proposed in our paper (which allows for convexity and concavity and secures closed form solutions), we show that the introduction of a nonlinear Phillips curve into the structure of the standard model in a discrete time and deterministic framework produces radical changes to the major conclusions regarding stability and the efficiency of monetary policy. We emphasize the following main results: (i) instead of a unique fixed point we end up with multiple equilibria; (ii) instead of saddle-path stability, for different sets of parameter values we may have saddle stability, totally unstable equilibria and chaotic attractors; (iii) for certain degrees of convexity and/or concavity of the Phillips curve, where endogenous fluctuations arise, one is able to encounter various results that seem intuitively correct. Firstly, when the Central Bank pays attention essentially to inflation targeting, the inflation rate has a lower mean and is less volatile; secondly, when the degree of price stickiness is high, the inflation rate displays a larger mean and higher volatility (but this is sensitive to the values given to the parameters of the model); and thirdly, the higher the target value of the output gap chosen by the Central Bank, the higher is the inflation rate and its volatility.     

On the optimality of individual entangling-probe attacks against BB84 quantum key distribution

Some MIT researchers [Phys. Rev. A 75, 042327 (2007)] have recently claimed that their implementation of the Slutsky-Brandt attack [Phys. Rev. A 57, 2383 (1998); Phys. Rev. A 71, 042312 (2005)] to the BB84 quantum-key-distribution (QKD) protocol puts the security of this protocol “to the test” by simulating “the most powerful individual-photon attack” [Phys. Rev. A 73, 012315 (2006)]. A related unfortunate news feature by a scientific journal [G. Brumfiel, Quantum cryptography is hacked, News @ Nature (april 2007); Nature 447, 372 (2007)] has spurred some concern in the QKD community and among the general public by misinterpreting the implications of this work. The present article proves the existence of a stronger individual attack on QKD protocols with encrypted error correction, for which tight bounds are shown, and clarifies why the claims of the news feature incorrectly suggest a contradiction with the established “old-style” theory of BB84 individual attacks. The full implementation of a quantum cryptographic protocol includes a reconciliation and a privacy-amplification stage, whose choice alters in general both the maximum extractable secret and the optimal eavesdropping attack. The authors of [Phys. Rev. A 75, 042327 (2007)] are concerned only with the error-free part of the so-called sifted string, and do not consider faulty bits, which, in the version of their protocol, are discarded. When using the provably superior reconciliation approach of encrypted error correction (instead of error discard), the Slutsky-Brandt attack is no more optimal and does not “threaten” the security bound derived by Lütkenhaus [Phys. Rev. A 59, 3301 (1999)]. It is shown that the method of Slutsky and collaborators [Phys. Rev. A 57, 2383 (1998)] can be adapted to reconciliation with error correction, and that the optimal entangling probe can be explicitly found. Moreover, this attack fills Lütkenhaus bound, proving that it is tight (a fact which was not previously known).     

Ionisation of phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth by electron impact

Total ionization cross sections of neutral phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth atoms by electron impact are reported and compared to the only available experimental results by Freund et al. [Phys. Rev. A 41, 3575 (1990)]. These calculations take into account the possibilities that some target atoms used in the experiments were in metastable states close to the ground state, the excitation-autoionization of nsnp⁴ excited states may be substantial, and the ions produced in experiments may be in excited, low-lying metastable states. The cross sections for direct ionization calculations are based on the BEB model by Kim and Rudd [Phys. Rev. A 50, 3954 (1994)]. Plane-wave Born cross sections scaled by the method developed by Kim [Phys. Rev. A 64, 3954 032713 (2001)] are used to determine the contributions from excitation-autoionization. The combination of the BEB model and the scaled Born cross sections is in agreement with the experimental data by Freund et al. These theoretical data are useful to experimentalists and can be used to complete data tables needed for plasma or astrophysical studies.     

Scaling of global momentum transport in Taylor-Couette and pipe flow

We interpret measurements of the Reynolds number dependence of the torque in Taylor-Couette flow by Lewis and Swinney [Phys. Rev. E 59, 5457 (1999)] and of the pressure drop in pipe flow by Smits and Zagarola [Phys. Fluids 10, 1045 (1998)] within the scaling theory of Grossmann and Lohse [J. Fluid Mech. 407, 27 (2000)], developed in the context of thermal convection. The main idea is to split the energy dissipation into contributions from a boundary layer and the turbulent bulk. This ansatz can account for the observed scaling in both cases if it is assumed that the internal wind velocity introduced through the rotational or pressure forcing is related to the external (imposed) velocity U, by with and for the Taylor-Couette (U inner cylinder velocity) and pipe flow (U mean flow velocity) case, respectively. In contrast to the Rayleigh-Bénard case the scaling exponents cannot (yet) be derived from the dynamical equations. Received 9 September 2000     

Loci of extrema of thermodynamic response functions for the Lennard–Jones fluid

Lines of extrema along isotherms and isobars for the residual isochoric heat capacity, the residual isobaric heat capacity, the isobaric thermal expansivity, and the isothermal compressibility of the Lennard–Jones fluid have been studied from popular equations of state due to Johnson et al. [Mol. Phys. 78, 591 (1993)], Kolafa and Nezbeda [Fluid Phase Equilib. 100, 1 (1994)], and Mecke et al. [Int. J. Thermophys. 17, 391 (1996)]. On depicting such loci in the pressure–temperature plane, the characteristic behaviour of thermodynamic response functions in the ideal-gas limit (at high enough temperatures or low enough pressures), the close-packed-fluid limit (at low enough temperatures or high enough pressures) as well as in the liquid, critical, and supercritical regions is identified. The present analysis is informative itself, but it also stimulates further work in order to tackle more complicated cases of study including associated fluids.     

The individual success of musicians, like that of physicists, follows a stretched exponential distribution

Over the last five years or so, a number of studies have focussed on the distribution of `success' in physics and other sciences; in these studies, `success' is measured by the number of times a paper, or an author, is cited. The distribution of citations of individual papers approximates to a power-law [S. Redner, Eur. Phys. J. B 4, 131 (1998)], while lifetime total citations of the 1120 most-cited physicists follows a stretched exponential [J. Laherrère, D. Sornette, Eur. Phys. J. B 2, 525 (1998)]. Here, I examine the distribution of success in popular music, a field of creativity that has social structures very different from those of physics, and which is generally held to be controlled primarily by fashion. For this study, the lifetime total success of bands was measured by the total number of weeks they were in the weekly `top 75' list of best-selling recordings. Like the lifetime success of physicists reported by Laherrere and Sornette, the success of the 6107 bands that appeared in the UK `top 75' from 1950 until 2000 follows a stretched exponential of the form P(x)dx = c(x ^{c - 1}/x ₀ ^c)exp[- (x/x ₀)^c]dx; for the music data, c = 0.5 and x ₀ = 9.37. Received 23 October 2001 Published online 25 June 2002     

Basic kinetic wealth-exchange models: common features and open problems

We review the basic kinetic wealth-exchange models of Angle [J. Angle, Social Forces 65, 293 (1986); J. Math. Sociol. 26, 217 (2002)], Bennati [E. Bennati, Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Economiche e Commerciali 35, 735 (1988)], Chakraborti and Chakrabarti [A. Chakraborti, B. K. Chakrabarti, Eur. Phys. J. B 17, 167 (2000)], and of Dragulescu and Yakovenko [A. Dragulescu, V.M. Yakovenko, Eur. Phys. J. B 17, 723 (2000)]. Analytical fitting forms for the equilibrium wealth distributions are proposed. The influence of heterogeneity is investigated, the appearance of the fat tail in the wealth distribution and the relaxation to equilibrium are discussed. A unified reformulation of the models considered is suggested.     

Generalized Kolbenstvedt model for electron impact ionization of K-, L- and M-shell atoms

The recently modified Kolbenstvedt (MKLV) model [Eur. Phys. J. D 37, 361 (2006)], developed for electron impact ionization (EII) of the K-shell atomic targets, has been extended to generalize its two parameters in terms of the electronic orbitals nl. The generalized MKLV (GKLV) with two sets of the species independent parameters for the same nl, one set for the ionization of inner orbits and another for the outermost orbit, is found profoundly successful in accounting for the EII cross section data of the K, L and M-shell neutral atoms with atomic numbers Z = 1-92 for the incident energies up to 1000 MeV in a consistent manner.     

Nonlinear polarizabilities of atoms from their ground-state densities

Using density based perturbation theory [M.K. Harbola, A. Banerjee, Phys. Lett. A 222, 315 (1996)], we calculate the static hyperpolarizabilty for spherical atoms and ions from their ground-state densities. Since densities are being employed, calculations are performed using approximate functionals for the kinetic and the exchange-correlation energies. Use of densities - instead of the wavefunctions or Kohn-Sham orbitals - reduces the computational effort substantially. The results obtained are within of those calculated from the corresponding orbital-based calculations. Received: 23 June 1997 / Revised: 25 September 1997 / Accepted: 24 December 1997     

Enhancement of the quantum characteristics of light from an inversionless three-level Λ-laser in cascade schemes

We show that when a three-level laser is excited by Poisson light the lasing remains sub-Poisson, as asserted by H. Ritsch, M. A. M. Marte, and P. Zoller [Europhys. Lett. 19, 7 (1992)], only if there is no reciprocal action on the exciting laser (weak coupling). In cascade schemes in which each three-level Λ-laser excites each succeeding Λ-laser with its light, any desired degree of shot-noise suppression can be achieved. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 1971–1992 (December 1998)     

A note on the theory of fast money flow dynamics

The gauge theory of arbitrage was introduced by Ilinski in [K. Ilinski, preprint arXiv:hep-th/9710148 (1997)] and applied to fast money flows in [A. Ilinskaia, K. Ilinski, preprint arXiv:cond-mat/9902044 (1999); K. Ilinski, Physics of finance: gauge modelling in non-equilibrium pricing (Wiley, 2001)]. The theory of fast money flow dynamics attempts to model the evolution of currency exchange rates and stock prices on short, e.g. intra-day, time scales. It has been used to explain some of the heuristic trading rules, known as technical analysis, that are used by professional traders in the equity and foreign exchange markets. A critique of some of the underlying assumptions of the gauge theory of arbitrage was presented by Sornette in [D. Sornette, Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 9, 505 (1998)]. In this paper, we present a critique of the theory of fast money flow dynamics, which was not examined by Sornette. We demonstrate that the choice of the input parameters used in [K. Ilinski, Physics of finance: gauge modelling in non-equilibrium pricing (Wiley, 2001)] results in sinusoidal oscillations of the exchange rate, in conflict with the results presented in [K. Ilinski, Physics of finance: gauge modelling in non-equilibrium pricing (Wiley, 2001)]. We also find that the dynamics predicted by the theory are generally unstable in most realistic situations, with the exchange rate tending to zero or infinity exponentially.     

Relaxation equations for two-dimensional turbulent flows with a prior vorticity distribution

Using a Maximum Entropy Production Principle (MEPP), we derive a new type of relaxation equations for two-dimensional turbulent flows in the case where a prior vorticity distribution is prescribed instead of the Casimir constraints [R. Ellis, K. Haven, B. Turkington, Nonlinearity 15, 239 (2002)]. The particular case of a Gaussian prior is specifically treated in connection to minimum enstrophy states and Fofonoff flows. These relaxation equations are compared with other relaxation equations proposed by Robert and Sommeria [Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 2776 (1992)] and Chavanis [Physica D 237, 1998 (2008)]. They can serve as numerical algorithms to compute maximum entropy states and minimum enstrophy states with appropriate constraints. We perform numerical simulations of these relaxation equations in order to illustrate geometry induced phase transitions in geophysical flows.     

Total cross sections of electron scattering by several sulfur-containing molecules OCS, SO2, SF4, SF6, SF5CF3, SO2Cl2 and SO2ClF at 30–5000?eV

Total cross sections of electron scattering by several sulfur-containing molecules OCS, SO₂, SF₄, SF₆, SF₅CF₃, SO₂Cl₂ and SO₂ClF are calculated at the Hartree-Fork level employing the modified additivity rule approach. The modified additivity rule approach, which was proposed by Shi et al. [Eur. Phys. J. D 45, 253 (2007); Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B 254, 205 (2007)], takes into consideration that the contributions of the geometric shielding effect vary as the energy of incident electrons, the target’s molecular dimension and the atomic and electronic numbers in the molecule. The present investigations cover the impact energies ranging from 30 to 5000 eV. The quantitative total cross sections are compared with those obtained by experiments and other theories. Good agreement is observed even at energies of several tens of eV. It shows that the modified additivity rule approach is applicable to carry out the total cross section calculations of electron scattering by these sulfur-containing molecules at intermediate and high energies, especially over the energy range above 100 eV or so. In the present calculations, the atoms are still represented by the spherical complex optical potential, which is composed of static, exchange, polarization and absorption terms.     

Molecular-beam scattering and pressure broadening cross sections for the acetylene-neon system

Integral cross sections and pressure broadening coefficients have been measured for the acetylene — neon system by a molecular beam scattering technique and by high infrared resolution spectroscopy, respectively. We have performed quantal calculations using an ab-initio potential energy surface (PES) [J. Chem. Phys. 109, 8968 (1998)]. Results are found to be in good agreement with both measured integral cross sections and pressure broadening coefficients for the two temperatures investigated (173 and 298 K). We have also derived a semi-empirical PES parameterized using an atom-bond pairwise additive scheme. This PES shows an isotropic component in agreement with the ab-initio calculation, reproduces the scattering data but it only leads to a reasonable agreement for the pressure broadening coefficients.