Robust entropy requires strong and balanced excitatory and inhibitory synapses

It is widely appreciated that well-balanced excitation and inhibition are necessary for proper function in neural networks. However, in principle, such balance could be achieved by many possible configurations of excitatory and inhibitory strengths, and relative numbers of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. For instance, a given level of excitation could be balanced by either numerous inhibitory neurons with weak synapses, or few inhibitory neurons with strong synapses. Among the continuum of different but balanced configurations, why should any particular configuration be favored? Here we address this question in the context of the entropy of network dynamics by studying an analytically tractable network of binary neurons. We find that entropy is highest at the boundary between excitation-dominant and inhibition-dominant regimes. Entropy also varies along this boundary with a trade-off between high and robust entropy: weak synapse strengths yield high network entropy which is fragile to parameter variations, while strong synapse strengths yield a lower, but more robust, network entropy. In the case where inhibitory and excitatory synapses are constrained to have similar strength, we find that a small, but non-zero fraction of inhibitory neurons, like that seen in mammalian cortex, results in robust and relatively high entropy

Group 13 Decamethylmetallocenium Cations

Salts containing the decamethylmetallocenium cations, [( C5Me5) M-2](+) ( or Cp*M-2(+)) of the group 13 "metals" B, Al and Ga have been prepared using a variety of synthetic routes. Precursor molecules of the type Cp*2MX ( X = Cl, Br, Me) exhibit structural features that vary significantly depending on the size and electronegativity of the central atom. While salt metathesis, halide abstraction and methanide abstraction methods represent viable routes for the preparation of salts of Cp*B-2(+) and Cp*Al-2(+), acidolysis of a Cp* group from Cp*Ga-3 is the most reliable method for the synthesis of the analogous gallium cation. Gallocenium cations are less stable than either of the lighter congeneric cations since they prove to be susceptible to decomposition reactions involving the "back-transfer" of ligands from the counter anion. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that, whereas Cp*Ga-2(+) is predicted to adopt a molecular structure more similar to that of Cp*B-2(+), the electronic structure of the gallium cation bears a greater resemblance to that of Cp*Al-2(+).Chemistr

The Quasi-1D S=1/2 Antiferromagnet Cs2CuCl4 in a Magnetic Field

Magnetic excitations of the quasi-1D S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet (HAF) Cs2CuCl4 have been measured as a function of magnetic field using neutron scattering. For T<0.62 K and B=0 T the weak inter-chain coupling produces 3D incommensurate ordering. Fields greater than Bc =1.66 T, but less than the field (~8 T) required to fully align the spins, are observed to decouple the chains, and the system enters a disordered intermediate-field phase (IFP). The IFP excitations are in agreement with the predictions of Muller et al. for the 1D S=1/2 HAF, and Talstra and Haldane for the related 1/r^2 chain (the Haldane-Shastry model). This behaviour is inconsistent with linear spin-wave theory.Comment: 10 pages, 4 encapsulated postscript figures, LaTeX, to be published in PRL, e-mail comments to [email protected]

Search of X-ray emission from roAp stars: The case of gamma Equulei

The detection of X-ray emission from Ap stars can be an indicator for the presence of magnetic activity and dynamo action, provided different origins for the emission, such as wind shocks and close late-type companions, can be excluded. Here we report on results for gamma Equu, the only roAp star for which an X-ray detection is reported in ROSAT catalogs. We use high resolution imaging in X-rays with Chandra and in the near-infrared with NACO/VLT that allow us to spatially resolve companions down to ~1" and ~0.06" separations, respectively. The bulk of the X-ray emission is associated with a companion of gamma Equu identified in our NACO image. Assuming coevality with the primary roAp star (~900 Myr), the available photometry for the companion points at a K-type star with ~0.6 M_sun. Its X-ray properties are in agreement with the predictions for its age and mass. An excess of photons with respect to the expected background and contribution from the nearby companion is observed near the optical position of gamma Equu. We estimate an X-ray luminosity of log L_x [erg/s] = 26.6 and log(L_x/L_bol) = -7.9 for this emission. A small offset between the optical and the X-ray image leaves some doubt on its association with the roAp star. The faint X-ray emission that we tentatively ascribe to the roAp star is difficult to explain as a solar-like stellar corona due to its very low L_x/L_bol level and the very long rotation period of gamma Equu. It could be produced in magnetically confined wind shocks implying a mass loss rate of ~10^(-14) M_sun/yr or from an additional unknown late-type companion at separation ~0.4". If confirmed by future deeper X-ray observations this emission could point at the origin for the presence of radioactive elements on some roAp stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (5 pages

Optical Conductivity in a Two-Band Superconductor: Pb

We demonstrate the effect of bandstructure on the superconducting properties of Pb by calculating the strong-coupling features in the optical conductivity, $\sigma(\omega)$, due to the electron-phonon interaction. The importance of momentum dependence in the calculation of the properties of superconductors has previously been raised for MgB$_2$. Pb resembles MgB$_2$ in that it is a two band superconductor in which the bands' contributions to the Fermi surface have very different topologies. We calculate $\sigma(\omega)$ by calculating a memory function which has been recently used to analyze $\sigma(\omega)$ of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$. In our calculations the two components of the Fermi surface are described by parameterizations of de Haas--van Alphen data. We use a phonon spectrum which is a fit to neutron scattering data. By including the momentum dependence of the Fermi surface good agreement is found with the experimentally determined strong-coupling features which can be described by a broad peak at around 4.5 meV and a narrower higher peak around 8 meV of equal height. The calculated features are found to be dominated by scattering between states within the third band. By contrast scattering between states in the second band leads to strong-coupling features in which the height of the high energy peak is reduced by $\sim 50$ compared to that of the low energy peak. This result is similar to that in the conventional isotropic (momentum independent) treatment of superconductivity. Our results show that it is important to use realistic models of the bandstructure and phonons, and to avoid using momentum averaged quantities, in calculations in order to get quantitatively accurate results

FUSE Spectra of the Black Hole Binary LMC X-3

Far-ultraviolet spectra of LMC X-3 were taken covering photometric phases 0.47 to 0.74 in the 1.7-day orbital period of the black-hole binary (phase zero being superior conjunction of the X-ray source). The continuum is faint and flat, but appears to vary significantly during the observations. Concurrent RXTE/ASM observations show the system was in its most luminous X-ray state during the FUSE observations. The FUV spectrum contains strong terrestrial airglow emission lines, while the only stellar lines clearly present are emissions from the O VI resonance doublet. Their flux does not change significantly during the FUSE observations. These lines are modelled as two asymmetrical profiles, including the local ISM absorptions due to C II and possibly O VI. Velocity variations of O VI emission are consistent with the orbital velocity of the black hole and provide a new constraint on its mass.Comment: 12 pages including 1 table, 4 diagrams To appear in A

The narrow, inner CO ring around the magnetic Herbig Ae star, HD 101412

We describe and model emission lines in the first overtone band of CO in the magnetic Herbig Ae star HD 101412. High-resolution CRIRES spectra reveal unusually sharp features which suggest the emission is formed in a thin disk centered at 1 AU with a width 0.32 AU or less. A wider disk will not fit the observations. Previous observations have reached similar conclusions, but the crispness of the new material brings the emitting region into sharp focus.Comment: Accepted as Astronomy and Astrophysics Letter; 4 pages, 5 figure