  We investigate the absorption line shapes of laser-dressed atoms beyond the
single-atom response, by using extreme ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond pulse
trains to probe an optically thick helium target under the influence of a
strong infrared (IR) field. We study the interplay between the IR-induced phase
shift of the microscopic time-dependent dipole moment and the
resonant-propagation-induced reshaping of the macroscopic XUV pulse. Our
experimental and theoretical results show that as the optical depth increases,
this interplay leads initially to a broadening of the IR-modified line shape,
and subsequently to the appearance of new, narrow features in the absorption
line.


  In this paper we study the minimum number of reversals needed to transform a
unicellular fatgraph into a tree. We consider reversals acting on boundary
components, having the natural interpretation as gluing, slicing or
half-flipping of vertices. Our main result is an expression for the minimum
number of reversals needed to transform a unicellular fatgraph to a plane tree.
The expression involves the Euler genus of the fatgraph and an additional
parameter, which counts the number of certain orientable blocks in the
decomposition of the fatgraph. In the process we derive a constructive proof of
how to decompose non-orientable, irreducible, unicellular fatgraphs into
smaller fatgraphs of the same type or trivial fatgraphs, consisting of a single
ribbon. We furthermore provide a detailed analysis how reversals affect the
component-structure of the underlying fatgraphs. Our results generalize the
Hannenhalli-Pevzner formula for the reversal distance of signed permutations.


  We present a summary of measurements of strange particles performed by the
experiment NA49 in inelastic p+p interactions, as well as semi-central C+C and
Si+Si, central Pb+Pb, and minimum bias Pb+Pb collisions in the energy range
$\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 6.3 - 17.3 GeV. New results on $\pi^{-}$, $K^{+}$ and $K^{-}$
production in minimum bias Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 8.7 and 17.3
are shown. Furthermore the strangeness enhancement factor at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ =
17.3 GeV is presented and compared to the results from NA57 and STAR. Energy
dependence of strange particle yields normalized to pion yields is presented.
New data on $<K^{*}(892)^{0}>$ production are shown at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 17.3
GeV. Furthermore we present the energy dependence of $K/\pi$ and $K/p$
fluctuations. The data are compared with model predictions.


  We investigate the ultradiscrete KdV equation with periodic boundary
conditions where the two parameters (capacity of the boxes and that of the
carrier) are arbitrary integers. We give a criterion to allow a periodic
boundary condition when initial states take arbitrary integer values. Conserved
quantities are constructed for the periodic systems. Construction of background
solutions of the periodic ultradiscrete KdV equation from the Jacobi theta
function is also presented.


  We briefly summarize recent works on the identification of the excited
$\Omega_c$'s found by the LHCb Collaboration. Within the framework of a pion
mean-field approach, the following scenario is the most favorable: While three
of the excited $\Omega_c$'s belong to the excited baryon sextet, two of them
with the smaller decay widths can be identified as the members of the
anti-decapentaplet which is one of the lowest-lying representations. It implies
that these two $\Omega_c$'s, i.e. $\Omega(3050)$ and $\Omega(3119)$ are most
probably the exotic heavy pentaquark baryons.


  According to the physical phenomena of atmospheric channels and wave
propagation, performance of wireless communication systems can be optimized by
simply adjusting its parameters. This way is more economically favorable than
consuming power or using processing techniques. In this paper for the first
time an optimization problem is developed on the performance of free-space
optical multi-input multi-output (FSO-MIMO) communication system. Also it is
the first time that the optimization of FSO is developed under saturated
atmospheric turbulences. In order to get closer to the actual results, the
effect of pointing error is taken into considerations. Assuming MPSK, DPSK
modulation schemes, new closed-form expressions are derived for Bit Error Rate
(BER) of the proposed structure. Furthermore, an optimization is developed
taking into account the beam width as the variable parameter, and BER as the
objective function, there is no constraint in this system. The obtained results
can be a useful outcome for FSO-MIMO system designers in order to limit effects
of pointing error as well as atmospheric turbulences and thus achieves optimum
performance.


  In recent years, data-driven modeling approaches have gained significant
attention across various meteorological applications, particularly in weather
forecasting. However, these methods often face challenges in handling extreme
weather conditions. In response, we present the GA-SmaAt-GNet model, a novel
generative adversarial framework for extreme precipitation nowcasting. This
model features a unique SmaAt-GNet generator, an extension of the successful
SmaAt-UNet architecture, capable of integrating precipitation masks (binarized
precipitation maps) to enhance predictive accuracy. Additionally, GA-SmaAt-GNet
incorporates an attention-augmented discriminator inspired by the Pix2Pix
architecture. This innovative framework paves the way for generative
precipitation nowcasting using multiple data sources. We evaluate the
performance of SmaAt-GNet and GA-SmaAt-GNet using real-life precipitation data
from the Netherlands, revealing notable improvements in overall performance and
for extreme precipitation events compared to other models. Specifically, our
proposed architecture demonstrates its main performance gain in summer and
autumn, when precipitation intensity is typically at its peak. Furthermore, we
conduct uncertainty analysis on the GA-SmaAt-GNet model and the precipitation
dataset, providing insights into its predictive capabilities. Finally, we
employ Grad-CAM to offer visual explanations of our model's predictions,
generating activation heatmaps that highlight areas of input activation
throughout the network.


  We report on the X-ray spectral variability of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4051
observed with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) during a 1000 day period
between May 1996 and March 1999. The spectra were obtained as part of
monitoring observations and from two long observations using the RXTE
Proportional Counter Array (PCA). During the monitoring period the 2-10 keV
flux of NGC 4051 varied between 10E-12 and 7x 10E11 (cgs). We re-analysed RXTE
PCA observations from a distinct low state in May 1998 using the latest
background and detector response models. The RXTE and BeppoSAX observations of
NGC 4051 during the low state show a very hard spectrum with a strong
unresolved fluorescence line. This emission, probably due to reflection from a
molecular torus, is likely to be constant over long time-scales and is
therefore assumed as an underlying component at all flux states. By subtracting
the torus component we are able to determine the spectral variability of the
primary continuum. In the variable component we observe a strong
anti-correlation of X-ray flux and spectral hardness in the PCA energy band. We
show that the changes in hardness are caused by slope variability of the
primary power law spectrum rather than by changing reflection or variable
photoelectric absorption. The primary spectral index varies between Gamma=1.6
for the faintest states and Gamma=2.3 during the brightest states, at which
level the spectral index approaches an asympotic value. We find that the
response of the flux of the 6.4 keV iron fluorescence line to changes in the
continuum flux depends on the timescale of the observation. The profile of the
line is very broad and indicates an origin in the innermost regions of the
accretion disk.


  Deep learning-based sequential recommender systems have recently attracted
increasing attention from both academia and industry. Most of industrial
Embedding-Based Retrieval (EBR) system for recommendation share the similar
ideas with sequential recommenders. Among them, how to comprehensively capture
sequential user interest is a fundamental problem. However, most existing
sequential recommendation models take as input clicked or purchased behavior
sequences from user-item interactions. This leads to incomprehensive user
representation and sub-optimal model performance, since they ignore the
complete user behavior exposure data, i.e., items impressed yet unclicked by
users. In this work, we attempt to incorporate and model those unclicked item
sequences using a new learning approach in order to explore better sequential
recommendation technique. An efficient triplet metric learning algorithm is
proposed to appropriately learn the representation of unclicked items. Our
method can be simply integrated with existing sequential recommendation models
by a confidence fusion network and further gain better user representation. The
offline experimental results based on real-world E-commerce data demonstrate
the effectiveness and verify the importance of unclicked items in sequential
recommendation. Moreover we deploy our new model (named XDM) into EBR of
recommender system at Taobao, outperforming the deployed previous generation
SDM.


  In this paper, we study the maximum adjacency spectral radii of graphs of
large order that do not contain an even cycle of given length. For $n>k$, let
$S_{n,k}$ be the join of a clique on $k$ vertices with an independent set of
$n-k$ vertices and denote by $S_{n,k}^+$ the graph obtained from $S_{n,k}$ by
adding one edge. In 2010, Nikiforov conjectured that for $n$ large enough, the
$C_{2k+2}$-free graph of maximum spectral radius is $S_{n,k}^+$ and that the
$\{C_{2k+1},C_{2k+2}\}$-free graph of maximum spectral radius is $S_{n,k}$. We
solve this two-part conjecture.


  In this paper we propose a graph superalgebra which is the supersymmetric
analogue of Leavitt path algebras. We find a basis for these superalgebras and
characterize when they have polynomial growth.


  In recent years, the neural network backdoor hidden in the parameters of the
federated learning model has been proved to have great security risks.
Considering the characteristics of trigger generation, data poisoning and model
training in backdoor attack, this paper designs a backdoor attack method based
on federated learning. Firstly, aiming at the concealment of the backdoor
trigger, a TrojanGan steganography model with encoder-decoder structure is
designed. The model can encode specific attack information as invisible noise
and attach it to the image as a backdoor trigger, which improves the
concealment and data transformations of the backdoor trigger.Secondly, aiming
at the problem of single backdoor trigger mode, an image poisoning attack
method called combination trigger attack is proposed. This method realizes
multi-backdoor triggering by multiplexing combined triggers and improves the
robustness of backdoor attacks. Finally, aiming at the problem that the local
training mechanism leads to the decrease of the success rate of backdoor
attack, a dual model replacement backdoor attack algorithm based on federated
learning is designed. This method can improve the success rate of backdoor
attack while maintaining the performance of the federated learning aggregation
model. Experiments show that the attack strategy in this paper can not only
achieve high backdoor concealment and diversification of trigger forms under
federated learning, but also achieve good attack success rate in multi-target
attacks.door concealment and diversification of trigger forms but also achieve
good results in multi-target attacks.


  The distinguishing number (index) $D(G)$ ($D'(G)$) of a graph $G$ is the
least integer $d$ such that $G$ has an vertex labeling (edge labeling) with $d$
labels that is preserved only by a trivial automorphism. The lexicographic
product of two graphs $G$ and $H$, $G[H]$ can be obtained from $G$ by
substituting a copy $H_u$ of $H$ for every vertex $u$ of $G$ and then joining
all vertices of $H_u$ with all vertices of $H_v$ if $uv\in E(G)$. In this paper
we obtain some sharp bounds for the distinguishing number and the
distinguishing index of lexicographic product of two graphs. As consequences,
we prove that if $G$ is a connected graph with a special condition on
automorphism group of $G[G]$ and $D(G)> 1$, then for every natural $k$,
$D(G)\leq D(G^k)\leq D(G)+k-1$, where $G^k=G[G[...]]$. Also we prove that all
lexicographic powers of $G$, $G^k$ ($k\geq 2$) can be distinguished by at most
two edge labels.


  The total variation distance is a core statistical distance between
probability measures that satisfies the metric axioms, with value always
falling in $[0,1]$. This distance plays a fundamental role in machine learning
and signal processing: It is a member of the broader class of $f$-divergences,
and it is related to the probability of error in Bayesian hypothesis testing.
Since the total variation distance does not admit closed-form expressions for
statistical mixtures (like Gaussian mixture models), one often has to rely in
practice on costly numerical integrations or on fast Monte Carlo approximations
that however do not guarantee deterministic lower and upper bounds. In this
work, we consider two methods for bounding the total variation of univariate
mixture models: The first method is based on the information monotonicity
property of the total variation to design guaranteed nested deterministic lower
bounds. The second method relies on computing the geometric lower and upper
envelopes of weighted mixture components to derive deterministic bounds based
on density ratio. We demonstrate the tightness of our bounds in a series of
experiments on Gaussian, Gamma and Rayleigh mixture models.


  We consider the ground states of the ferromagnetic XXZ chain with spin up
boundary conditions in sectors with a fixed number of down spins. This forces
the existence of a droplet of down spins in the system. We find the exact
energy and the states that describe these droplets in the limit of an infinite
number of down spins. We prove that there is a gap in the spectrum above the
droplet states. As the XXZ Hamiltonian has a gap above the fully magnetized
ground states as well, this means that the droplet states (for sufficiently
large droplets) form an isolated band. The width of this band tends to zero in
the limit of infinitely large droplets. We also prove the analogous results for
finite chains with periodic boundary conditions and for the infinite chain.


  Deep neural networks have recently drawn considerable attention to build and
evaluate artificial learning models for perceptual tasks. Here, we present a
study on the performance of the deep learning models to deal with global
optimization problems. The proposed approach adopts the idea of the neural
architecture search (NAS) to generate efficient neural networks for solving the
problem at hand. The space of network architectures is represented using a
directed acyclic graph and the goal is to find the best architecture to
optimize the objective function for a new, previously unknown task. Different
from proposing very large networks with GPU computational burden and long
training time, we focus on searching for lightweight implementations to find
the best architecture. The performance of NAS is first analyzed through
empirical experiments on CEC 2017 benchmark suite. Thereafter, it is applied to
a set of protein structure prediction (PSP) problems. The experiments reveal
that the generated learning models can achieve competitive results when
compared to hand-designed algorithms; given enough computational budget


  The formation of organic compounds is generally assumed to result from
abiotic processes in the Solar System, with the exception of biogenic organics
on Earth. Nitrogen-bearing organics are of particular interest, notably for
prebiotic perspectives but also for overall comprehension of organic formation
in the young solar system and in planetary atmospheres. We have investigated
abiotic synthesis of organics upon plasma discharge, with special attention to
N isotope fractionation. Organic aerosols were synthesized from N2-CH4 and
N2-CO gaseous mixtures using low-pressure plasma discharge experiments, aimed
at simulating chemistry occurring in Titan s atmosphere and in the protosolar
nebula, respectively. Nitrogen is efficiently incorporated into the synthesized
solids, independently of the oxidation degree, of the N2 content of the
starting gas mixture, and of the nitrogen speciation in the aerosols. The
aerosols are depleted in 15N by 15-25 permil relative to the initial N2 gas,
whatever the experimental setup is. Such an isotopic fractionation is
attributed to mass-dependent kinetic effect(s). Nitrogen isotope fractionation
upon electric discharge cannot account for the large N isotope variations
observed among solar system objects and reservoirs. Extreme N isotope
signatures in the solar system are more likely the result of self-shielding
during N2 photodissociation, exotic effect during photodissociation of N2
and/or low temperature ion-molecule isotope exchange. Kinetic N isotope
fractionation may play a significant role in the Titan s atmosphere. We also
suggest that the low delta15N values of Archaean organic matter are partly the
result of abiotic synthesis of organics that occurred at that time.


  We present a theoretical analysis of a spin-dependent multicomponent
condensate in two dimensions. The case of a condensate of resonantly
photoexcited excitons having two different spin orientations is studied in
detail. The energy and the chemical potentials of this system depend strongly
on the spin polarization . When electrons and holes are located in two
different planes, the condensate can be either totally spin polarized or spin
unpolarized, a property that is measurable. The phase diagram in terms of the
total density and electron-hole separation is discussed.


  While Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) has emerged as a promising approach
to many complex tasks, it remains challenging to train a single DRL agent that
is capable of undertaking multiple different continuous control tasks. In this
paper, we present a Knowledge Transfer based Multi-task Deep Reinforcement
Learning framework (KTM-DRL) for continuous control, which enables a single DRL
agent to achieve expert-level performance in multiple different tasks by
learning from task-specific teachers. In KTM-DRL, the multi-task agent first
leverages an offline knowledge transfer algorithm designed particularly for the
actor-critic architecture to quickly learn a control policy from the experience
of task-specific teachers, and then it employs an online learning algorithm to
further improve itself by learning from new online transition samples under the
guidance of those teachers. We perform a comprehensive empirical study with two
commonly-used benchmarks in the MuJoCo continuous control task suite. The
experimental results well justify the effectiveness of KTM-DRL and its
knowledge transfer and online learning algorithms, as well as its superiority
over the state-of-the-art by a large margin.


  Natural language video localization (NLVL), which aims to locate a target
moment from a video that semantically corresponds to a text query, is a novel
and challenging task. Toward this end, in this paper, we present a
comprehensive survey of the NLVL algorithms, where we first propose the
pipeline of NLVL, and then categorize them into supervised and
weakly-supervised methods, following by the analysis of the strengths and
weaknesses of each kind of methods. Subsequently, we present the dataset,
evaluation protocols and the general performance analysis. Finally, the
possible perspectives are obtained by summarizing the existing methods.


  We investigate Georgi-Glashow model in terms of a set of explicitly SO(3)
gauge invariant dynamical variables. In the new description a novel compact
abelian gauge invariance emerges naturally. As a consequence magnetic monopoles
occur as point like "defects" in space time. Their non-perturbative
contribution to the partition function is explicitly included. This procedure
corresponds to dynamical "abelian projection" without gauge fixing. In the
Higgs phase the above abelian invariance is to be identified with
electromagnetism. We also study the effect of $\theta$ term in the above
abelian theory.


  Let $M_{n,r}=(\sum_{i=1}^{n}q_ix_i^r)^{\frac {1}{r}}, r \neq 0$ and
$M_{n,0}=\lim_{r \rightarrow 0}M_{n,r}$ be the weighted power means of $n$
non-negative numbers $x_i$ with $q_i > 0$ satisfying $\sum^n_{i=1}q_i=1$. In
particular, $A_n=M_{n,1}, G_n=M_{n,0}$ are the arithmetic and geometric means
of these numbers, respectively. A result of Diananda shows that \begin{align*}
M_{n,1/2}-qA_n-(1-q)G_n & \geq 0,\\ M_{n,1/2}-(1-q)A_n-qG_n & \leq
0,\end{align*} where $q=\min q_i$. In this paper, we prove analogue
inequalities in the reversed direction.


  The far-reaching consequences of ecological interactions in the dynamics of
biological communities remain an intriguing subject. For decades, competition
has been a cornerstone in ecological processes, but mounting evidence shows
that cooperation does also contribute to the structure of biological
communities. Here, we propose a simple deterministic model for the study of the
effects of facilitation and competition in the dynamics of such systems. The
simultaneous inclusion of both effects produces rich dynamics and captures the
context-dependence observed in the formation of ecological communities. The
approach reproduces relevant aspects of primary and secondary plant succession,
the effect invasive species, and the survival of rare species. The model also
takes into account the role of the ecological priority effect and stress the
crucial role of facilitation in conservation efforts and species coexistence.


  We investigate analytically, the stability of Bloch waves at the boundary of
the first Brillouin zone in two coupled Bose-Einstein condensates confined in
an optical lattice. Contrary to the single component case, we find here two
critical density regimes which determine the stability of the Bloch waves.
Breakdown of Bloch oscillations appear when n1/n2<Nc1 or when n1/n2>Nc2, here
Nc1 and Nc2 are some critical values of n1/n2. There is an intermediate regime
between Nc1 and Nc2 where the Bloch oscillations are stable and the condensates
behave like single particles.


  Several computational imaging systems have recently been proposed at
microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies enabling a fast and low cost
reconstruction of the scattering strength of a scene. The quality of the
reconstructed images is directly linked to the degrees of freedom of the system
which are the number of uncorrelated radiated patterns that sequentially sample
the scene. Frequency diverse antennas such as leaky chaotic cavities and
metamaterial apertures take advantage of the spectral decorrelation of
transmitted speckle patterns that stems from the reverberation within a medium.
We present a reconfigurable chaotic cavity for which the boundary conditions
can be tuned by exciting plasma elements, here commercial fluorescent lamps.
The interaction of electromagnetic waves with a cold plasma is strongly
modified as it is ionized. Instead of being transparent to incident waves, it
behaves theoretically as a metallic material. The independent states of the
cavity obtained using a differential approach further enhance the degrees of
freedom. This relaxes the need of a cavity with a large bandwidth and/or high
quality factor. Experimental results validate the use of fluorescent lamps and
its limitations are discussed. Images of various metallic objects are provided
to illustrate the potentialities of this promising solution.


  We study identifiability for bilinear inverse problems under sparsity and
subspace constraints. We show that, up to a global scaling ambiguity, almost
all such maps are injective on the set of pairs of sparse vectors if the number
of measurements $m$ exceeds $2(s_1+s_2)-2$, where $s_1$ and $s_2$ denote the
sparsity of the two input vectors, and injective on the set of pairs of vectors
lying in known subspaces of dimensions $n_1$ and $n_2$ if $m\geq 2(n_1+n_2)-4$.
We also prove that both these bounds are tight in the sense that one cannot
have injectivity for a smaller number of measurements. Our proof technique
draws from algebraic geometry. As an application we derive optimal
identifiability conditions for the deconvolution problem, thus improving on
recent work of Li et al. [1].


  For a class of generalized Hubbard models, we determine the maximal stability
region for the superconducting eta-pairing ground state. We exploit the
Optimized Ground State (OGS) approach and the Lanczos diagonalization procedure
to derive a sequence of improved bounds. We show that some pieces of the
stability boundary are asymptotic, namely independent on the OGS cluster size.
In this way, necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained to realize
superconductivity in terms of an eta-pairing ground state. The phenomenon is
explained by studying the properties of certain exact eigenstates of the OGS
hamiltonians.


  This report discusses the improved bound of the cluster expansion, recently
proposed by Procacci and Yuhjtman (Lett. Math. Phys. 107, 31, 2017). Brydges
and Helmuth noticed the relevance of Kruskal's algorithm, which allows to
streamline and simplify the argument.
  These clarifications have proved useful in arXiv:1705.04385.


  Properties of stable matchings in the popular random-matching-market model
have been studied for over 50 years. In a random matching market, each agent
has complete preferences drawn uniformly and independently at random. Wilson
(1972), Knuth (1976) and Pittel (1989) proved that in balanced random matching
markets, the proposers are matched to their $\ln n$th choice on average. In
this paper, we consider markets where agents have partial (truncated)
preferences, that is, the proposers only rank their top $d$ partners. Despite
the long history of the problem, the following fundamental question remained
unanswered: \emph{what is the smallest value of $d$ that results in a perfect
stable matching with high probability?} In this paper, we answer this question
exactly -- we prove that a degree of $\ln^2 n$ is necessary and sufficient.
That is, we show that if $d < (1-\epsilon) \ln^2 n$ then no stable matching is
perfect and if $d > (1+ \epsilon) \ln^2 n$, then every stable matching is
perfect with high probability. This settles a recent conjecture by Kanoria, Min
and Qian (2021).
  We generalize this threshold for unbalanced markets: we consider a matching
market with $n$ agents on the shorter side and $n(\alpha+1)$ agents on the
longer side. We show that for markets with $\alpha =o(1)$, the sharp threshold
characterizing the existence of perfect stable matching occurs when $d$ is $\ln
n \cdot \ln \left(\frac{1 + \alpha}{\alpha + (1/n(\alpha+1))} \right)$.
  Finally, we extend the line of work studying the effect of imbalance on the
expected rank of the proposers (termed the ``stark effect of competition''). We
establish the regime in unbalanced markets that forces this stark effect to
take shape in markets with partial preferences.


  The discovery of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) in 1964 by Penzias and
Wilson led to the establishment of the hot big-bang cosmological model some ten
years later. Discoveries made in 1998 may ultimately have as profound an effect
on our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Universe. Taken at face
value, they confirm the basic tenets of Inflation + Cold Dark Matter, a bold
and expansive theory that addresses all the fundamental questions left
unanswered by the hot big-bang model and holds that the Universe is flat,
slowly moving elementary particles provide the cosmic infrastructure, and
quantum fluctuations seeded all the structure seen in the Universe today. Just
as it took a decade to establish the hot big-bang model after the discovery of
the CMB, it will likely take another ten years to establish the latest addition
to the standard cosmology and make the answer to ``Cosmology Solved?'',
``YES!'' Whether or not 1998 proves to be a cosmic milestone, the coming
avalanche of high-quality cosmological data promises to make the next twenty
years an extremely exciting period for cosmology.


  In this paper, we revisit the expressions for the (double) differential event
rates for elastic WIMP-nucleus scattering and discuss some unusual thoughts on
(the incompleteness of) the uses of these expressions in (directional) direct
Dark Matter detection physics. Several not-frequently mentioned (but important)
issues will be argued and demonstrated in detail.


  Understanding the total flux and polarization signals of Earth-like planets
and their spectral and temporal variability is essential for the future
characterization of such exoplanets. We provide computed total (F) and linearly
(Q and U) and circularly (V) polarized fluxes, and the degree of polarization P
of sunlight that is reflected by a model Earth, to be used for instrument
designs, optimizing observational strategies, and/or developing retrieval
algorithms. We modeled a realistic Earth-like planet using one year of daily
Earth-observation data: cloud parameters (distribution, optical thickness, top
pressure, and particle effective radius), and surface parameters (distribution,
surface type, and albedo). The Stokes vector of the disk-averaged reflected
sunlight was computed for phase angles alpha from 0 to 180 degrees, and for
wavelengths lambda from 350 to 865 nm. The total flux F is one order of
magnitude higher than the polarized flux Q, and Q is two and four orders of
magnitude higher than U and V, respectively. Without clouds, the peak-to-peak
daily variations due to the planetary rotation increase with increasing lambda
for F, Q, and P, while they decrease for U and V. Clouds modify but do not
completely suppress the variations that are due to rotating surface features.
With clouds, the variation in F increases with increasing lambda, while in Q,
it decreases with increasing lambda, except at the largest phase angles. In
earlier work, it was shown that with oceans, Q changes color from blue through
white to red. The alpha where the color changes increases with increasing cloud
coverage. Here, we show that this unique color change in Q also occurs when the
oceans are partly replaced by continents, with or without clouds. The degree of
polarization P shows a similar color change. Our computed fluxes and degree of
polarization will be made publicly available.


  We present a theoretical model and respective numerical simulation of
cascaded four-wave mixing of femtosecond pulses in bulk chi(3) media,
evidencing the importance of two-dimensional interaction geometries in the
efficient generation of frequency-converted beams, and in agreement with the
experimental results in terms spectral and spatial distribution and efficiency,
demonstrating compression without the need of complex amplitude or phase
control.


  The nuclear starburst in the nearby galaxy M82 provides an excellent
laboratory for understanding the physics of star formation. This galaxy has
been extensively observed in the past, revealing tens of radio-bright compact
objects embedded in a diffuse free-free absorbing medium. Our understanding of
the structure and physics of this medium in M82 can be greatly improved by
high-resolution images at low frequencies where the effects of free-free
absorption are most prominent.
  The aims of this study are, firstly, to demonstrate imaging using
international baselines of the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), and secondly, to
constrain low-frequency spectra of compact and diffuse emission in the central
starburst region of M82 via high-resolution radio imaging at low frequencies.
  The international LOFAR telescope was used to observe M82 at 110-126MHz and
146-162MHz. Images were obtained using standard techniques from very long
baseline interferometry. images were obtained at each frequency range: one only
using international baselines, and one only using the longest Dutch (remote)
baselines.
  The 154MHz image obtained using international baselines is a new imaging
record in terms of combined image resolution (0.3$"$) and sensitivity
($\sigma$=0.15mJy/beam) at low frequencies ($<327$MHz). We detected 16 objects
at 154MHz, six of these also at 118MHz. Four weaker but resolved features are
also found: a linear (50pc) filament and three other resolved objects, of which
two show a clear shell structure. We do not detect any emission from either
supernova 2008iz or from the radio transient source 43.78+59.3. The images
obtained using remote baselines show diffuse emission, associated with the
outflow in M82, with reduced brightness in the region of the edge-on
star-forming disk.


  Roy-equation analyses on lattice data of $\pi\pi$ scattering phase shifts at
$m_\pi=391$MeV reveals that the lowest $f_0$ meson becomes a bound state under
this condition. In addition, there is a pair of complex poles below threshold
generated by crossing symmetry [X.-H. Cao et al., Phys. Rev. D 108, 034009
(2023)]. We use the $N/D$ method to partially recover crossing symmetry of the
$O(N)$ $\sigma$ model amplitude at leading order of $1/N$ expansion, and
qualitatively reproduce the pole structure and pole trajectories with varying
pion masses as revealed by Roy-equation analyses. The $\sigma$ pole trajectory
with varying temperature is also discussed and found to be similar to its
properties when varying $m_\pi$. As the temperature increases, the complex
$\sigma$ poles firstly move from the second Riemann sheet to the real axis
becoming two virtual state poles, and then one virtual state pole moves to the
first sheet turning into a bound state pole and finally tends to the pion pole
position at high temperature which is as expected from the chiral symmetry
restoration. Our results provide further evidences that the lowest $f_0$ state
extracted from experiments and lattice data plays the role of $\sigma$ meson in
the spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry. Finally, we also briefly discuss
the problems of the effective potential in the situation when $m_\pi$ and
temperature get large.


  Entangled two-photon absorption can enable a linear scaling of fluorescence
emission with the excitation power. In comparison to classical two-photon
absorption with a quadratic scaling, this can allow fluorescence imaging or
photolithography with high axial resolution at minimal exposure intensities.
However, most experimental studies on two-photon absorption were not able to
show an unambiguous proof of fluorescence emission driven by entangled photon
pairs. On the other hand, existing theoretical models struggle to accurately
predict the entangled-two-photon-absorption behavior of chemically complex
dyes. In this paper, we introduce an approach to simulate entangled two-photon
absorption in common fluorescence dyes considering their chemical properties.
Our theoretical model allows a deeper understanding of experimental results and
thus the occurrence of entangled two-photon absorption. In particular, we found
a remarkable dependency of the absorption probability on the phase-matching
temperature of the nonlinear material. Further, we compared results of our
theoretical approach to experimental data for Nile Red.


  We construct characteristic classes of 4-manifold bundles using
$SO(3)$-Yang-Mills theory and Seiberg-Witten theory for families.


  Employing the stochastic mean-field (SMF) approach, we develop a quantal
diffusion description of the multi-nucleon transfer in heavy-ion collisions at
finite impact parameters. The quantal transport coefficients are determined by
the occupied single-particle wave functions of the time-dependent Hartree-Fock
equations. As a result, the primary fragment mass and charge distribution
functions are determined entirely in terms of the mean-field properties. This
powerful description does not involve any adjustable parameter, includes the
effects of shell structure and is consistent with the fluctuation-dissipation
theorem of the non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. As a first application of
the approach, we analyze the fragment mass distribution in
$^{48}\mathrm{Ca}+{}^{238}\mathrm{U}$ collisions at the bombarding energy
$E_{\text{c.m.}}=193$ MeV and compare the calculations with the experimental
data.


  In this article we consider a special case of an optimal consumption/optimal
portfolio problem first studied by Constantinides and Magill and by Davis and
Norman, in which an agent with constant relative risk aversion seeks to
maximise expected discounted utility of consumption over the infinite horizon,
in a model comprising a risk-free asset and a risky asset with proportional
transaction costs. The special case that we consider is that the cost of
purchases of the risky asset is infinite, or equivalently the risky asset can
only be sold and not bought.
  In this special setting new solution techniques are available, and we can
make considerable progress towards an analytical solution. This means we are
able to consider the comparative statics of the problem. There are some
surprising conclusions, such as consumption rates are not monotone increasing
in the return of the asset, nor are the certainty equivalent values of the
risky positions monotone in the risk aversion.


  Assuming the Riemann hypothesis, we obtain upper and lower bounds for moments
of the Riemann zeta-function averaged over the extreme values between its zeros
on the critical line. Our bounds are very nearly the same order of magnitude.
The proof requires upper and lower bounds for continuous moments of derivatives
of Riemann zeta-function on the critical line.


  This work presents a contemporary treatment of Krein's entire operators with
deficiency indices $(1,1)$ and de Branges' Hilbert spaces of entire functions.
Each of these theories played a central role in the research of both renown
mathematicians. Remarkably, entire operators and de Branges spaces are
intimately connected and the interplay between them has had an impact in both
spectral theory and the theory of functions. This work exhibits the
interrelation between Krein's and de Branges' theories by means of a functional
model and discusses recent developments, giving illustrations of the main
objects and applications to the spectral theory of difference and differential
operators.


  An action principle that applies uniformly to any number N of supercharges is
proposed. We perform the reduction to the N=0 partition function by integrating
out superpartner fields. As a new feature for theories of extended
supersymmetry, the canonical Pfaffian measure factor is a result of a Gaussian
integration over a superpartner. This is mediated through an explicit choice of
direction n^a in the \theta-space, which the physical sector does not depend
on. Also, we re-interpret the metric g^{ab} in the Susy algebra [D^a,D^b] =
g^{ab}\partial_t as a symplectic structure on the fermionic \theta-space. This
leads to a superfield formulation with a general covariant \theta-space sector.


  A quantum engine composed of two oscillators with a non-Hookean coupling is
proposed. Unlike the more common quantum heat engines, the setup introduced
here does not require heat baths as the energy for the operation originates
from measurements. The engine follows the coupling $\rightarrow$ measurement
$\rightarrow$ decoupling $\rightarrow$ extraction cycle. Using a Gaussian term
as a prototypical non-harmonic interaction, it is shown that the fueling
process facilitates the decoupling step. Numerical simulations are used to
demonstrate the measurement-driven fueling, as well as the reduced decoupling
energy.


  Quantum Monte Carlo is used to calculate various pairing correlations of the
2D Hubbard model possessing band features experimentally observed in the
cuprates. In the hole-doped case, where the Fermi level lies close to the van
Hove singularities around $(0,\pi)$, the d$_{x^2-y^2}$ pairing correlation is
selectively enhanced, while in the electron-doped case, where the singularities
are far below the Fermi level and the Fermi surface runs through $(\pm
\pi/2,\pm \pi/2)$, both d$_{x^2-y^2}$ and d$_{xy}$ correlations are enhanced
with the latter having a $\sqrt{2}\times \sqrt{2}$ structure. The two pairing
symmetries can mix to result in a nodeless gap.


  We construct worldsheet traversable wormholes by considering the effects of a
double-trace deformation, $\delta\mathcal{L}\sim
h\partial\phi_L\partial\phi_R$, coupling the endpoints of an open string in AdS
space. The operator deforming the theory is irrelevant and makes the boundaries
bend inward toward the IR. This effect, reminiscent of two-dimensional dilaton
gravities, renders the teleportation protocol more efficient and facilitates
the transfer of information between the members of the dual Bell pair. We
compare our results with those obtained with the standard double-trace
deformation, $\delta\mathcal{L}\sim h\phi_L\phi_R$, introduced by Gao, Jafferis
and Wall.


  Classical fingerprinting associates with each string a shorter string (its
fingerprint), such that, with high probability, any two distinct strings can be
distinguished by comparing their fingerprints alone. The fingerprints can be
exponentially smaller than the original strings if the parties preparing the
fingerprints share a random key, but not if they only have access to
uncorrelated random sources. In this paper we show that fingerprints consisting
of quantum information can be made exponentially smaller than the original
strings without any correlations or entanglement between the parties: we give a
scheme where the quantum fingerprints are exponentially shorter than the
original strings and we give a test that distinguishes any two unknown quantum
fingerprints with high probability. Our scheme implies an exponential
quantum/classical gap for the equality problem in the simultaneous message
passing model of communication complexity. We optimize several aspects of our
scheme.


  We show that, under suitable assumptions, Poincare recurrences of a dynamical
system determine its topology in phase space. Therefore, dynamical systems with
the same recurrences are topologically equivalent.


  We demonstrate that the question whether or not a given postcritically finite
topological ramified covering map of the 2-sphere is Thurston equivalent to a
rational map is algorithmically decidable.


  Perpetual futures -- swap contracts that never expire -- are the most popular
derivative traded in cryptocurrency markets, with more than $100 billion traded
daily. Perpetuals provide investors with leveraged exposure to
cryptocurrencies, which does not require rollover or direct cryptocurrency
holding. To keep the gap between perpetual futures and spot prices small, long
position holders periodically pay short position holders a funding rate
proportional to this gap. The funding rate incentivizes trades that tend to
narrow the futures-spot gap. But unlike fixed-maturity futures, perpetuals are
not guaranteed to converge to the spot price of their underlying asset at any
time, and familiar no-arbitrage prices for perpetuals are not available, as the
contracts have no expiry date to enforce arbitrage. Here, using a weaker notion
of random-maturity arbitrage, we derive no-arbitrage prices for perpetual
futures in frictionless markets and no-arbitrage bounds for markets with
trading costs. These no-arbitrage prices provide a valuable benchmark for
perpetual futures and simultaneously prescribe a strategy to exploit divergence
from these fundamental values. Empirically, we find that deviations of crypto
perpetual futures from no-arbitrage prices are considerably larger than those
documented in traditional currency markets. These deviations comove across
cryptocurrencies and diminish over time as crypto markets develop and become
more efficient. A simple trading strategy generates large Sharpe ratios even
for investors paying the highest trading costs on Binance, which is currently
the largest crypto exchange by volume.


  XMM-Newton and NuSTAR multiple exposures allow us to disentangle the
different emission components of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and to study the
evolution of their different spectral features. In this work, we present the
timing and spectral properties of five simultaneous XMM-Newton and NuSTAR
observations of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 359. We aim to provide the
first broadband spectral modeling of Mrk 359 describing its emission spectrum
from the UV up to the hard X-rays. To do this, we performed temporal and
spectral data analysis, characterising the amplitude and spectral changes of
the Mrk 359 time series and computing the 2-10 keV normalised excess variance.
The spectral broadband modelling assumes the standard hot Comptonising corona
and reflection component, while for the soft excess we tested two different
models: a warm, optically thick Comptonising corona (the two-corona model) and
a reflection model in which the soft-excess is the result of a blurred
reflected continuum and line emission (the reflection model). High and low flux
states were observed during the campaign. The former state has a softer
spectral shape, while the latter shows a harder one. The photon index is in the
1.75-1.89 range, and only a lower limit to the hot-corona electron temperature
can be found. A constant reflection component, likely associated with distant
matter, is observed. Regarding the soft excess, we found that among the
reflection models we tested, the one providing the better fit (reduced
$\chi^2$=1.14) is the high-density one. However, a significantly better fit
(reduced $\chi^2$=1.08) is found by modelling the soft excess with a warm
Comptonisation model. The present analysis suggests the two-corona model as the
best scenario for the optical-UV to X-ray emission spectrum of Mrk 359.


  The excitation curve for the $\tau^+ \, \tau^-$ production in electron
positron annihilation near the threshold is revisited with the aim of updating
and extending a previous work. We find that the corrections of the relative
magnitude $O(\alpha)$ near the threshold are significantly contributed by the
radiative modification of the Coulomb interaction between the $\tau$ leptons.
The interpolation between the Coulomb effects at the threshold and the
relativistic effects at higher energies is considered and the resulting formula
is argued to have relative accuracy up to, but not including, terms of the
order of $\alpha^2$ at any velocity of the $\tau$ leptons.


  Now days, interests in the application of Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN)
have grown considerably. A number of tiny wireless sensors, strategically
placed on the human body, create a wireless body area network that can monitor
various vital signs, providing real-time feedback to the user and medical
personnel. This communication needs to be energy efficient and highly reliable
while keeping delays low. In this paper we present hardware and software
architecture for BAN and also we offer reliable communication and data
aggregation.


  Hexagonal CeRhSn with paramagnetic $4f$ moments on a distorted Kagome lattice
displays zero-field quantum critical behavior related to geometrical
frustration. We report high-resolution thermal expansion and magnetostriction
measurements under multiextreme conditions such as uniaxial stress up to 200
MPa, temperatures down to 0.1 K and magnetic fields up to 10 T. Under uniaxial
stress along the $a$-direction, quantum criticality disappears and a complex
magnetic phase diagram arises with a sequence of phases below 1.2 K and fields
between 0 and 3 T ($\parallel a$). Since the Kondo coupling increases with
stress, which alone would stabilize paramagnetic behavior in CeRhSn, the
observed order arises from the release of geometrical frustration by in-plane
stress.


  Canonical quantization of the Wess-Zumino (WZ) model including chiral
interaction with gauge field is considered for the case of a degenerate action.
The two-dimensional SU(2) Yang-Mills model and the four-dimensional SU(3)
chiral gauge model proposed in the paper \cite{fss} are studied in details.
Gauge invariance of the quantum theory is established at the formal level.


  Let $V$ be a complex vector space with a non-degenerate symmetric bilinear
form and $\mathbb S$ an irreducible module over the Clifford algebra $Cl(V)$
determined by this form. A supertranslation algebra is a $\mathbb Z$-graded Lie
superalgebra $\mathfrak m=\mathfrak{m}_{-2}\oplus\mathfrak{m}_{-1}$, where
$\mathfrak{m}_{-2}=V$ and $\mathfrak{m}_{-1}=\mathbb
S\oplus\cdots\oplus\mathbb{S}$ is the direct sum of an arbitrary number $N\geq
1$ of copies of $\mathbb S$, whose bracket
$[\cdot,\cdot]|_{\mathfrak{m}_{-1}\otimes
\mathfrak{m}_{-1}}:\mathfrak{m}_{-1}\otimes\mathfrak{m}_{-1}\rightarrow\mathfrak{m}_{-2}$
is symmetric, $\mathfrak{so}(V)$-equivariant and non-degenerate (that is the
condition "$s\in\mathfrak{m}_{-1}, [s,\mathfrak{m}_{-1}]=0$" implies $s=0$). We
consider the maximal transitive prolongations in the sense of Tanaka of
supertranslation algebras. We prove that they are finite-dimensional for $\dim
V\geq3$ and classify them in terms of super-Poincar\'e algebras and appropriate
$\mathbb Z$-gradings of simple Lie superalgebras.


  Microwave-field distribution, dissipation, and surface impedance are
theoretically investigated for superconductors with laminar grain boundaries
(GBs). In the present theory we adopt the two-fluid model for intragrain
transport current in the grains, and the Josephson-junction model for
intergrain tunneling current across GBs. Results show that the surface
resistance $R_s$ nonmonotonically depends on the critical current density
$J_{cj}$ at GB junctions, and $R_s$ for superconductors with GBs can be smaller
than the surface resistance $R_{s0}$ for ideal homogeneous superconductors
without GBs.


  Recently, there has been significant interest in the study of the community
search problem in social and information networks: given one or more query
nodes, find densely connected communities containing the query nodes. However,
most existing studies do not address the "free rider" issue, that is, nodes far
away from query nodes and irrelevant to them are included in the detected
community. Some state-of-the-art models have attempted to address this issue,
but not only are their formulated problems NP-hard, they do not admit any
approximations without restrictive assumptions, which may not always hold in
practice.
  In this paper, given an undirected graph G and a set of query nodes Q, we
study community search using the k-truss based community model. We formulate
our problem of finding a closest truss community (CTC), as finding a connected
k-truss subgraph with the largest k that contains Q, and has the minimum
diameter among such subgraphs. We prove this problem is NP-hard. Furthermore,
it is NP-hard to approximate the problem within a factor $(2-\varepsilon)$, for
any $\varepsilon >0 $. However, we develop a greedy algorithmic framework,
which first finds a CTC containing Q, and then iteratively removes the furthest
nodes from Q, from the graph. The method achieves 2-approximation to the
optimal solution. To further improve the efficiency, we make use of a compact
truss index and develop efficient algorithms for k-truss identification and
maintenance as nodes get eliminated. In addition, using bulk deletion
optimization and local exploration strategies, we propose two more efficient
algorithms. One of them trades some approximation quality for efficiency while
the other is a very efficient heuristic. Extensive experiments on 6 real-world
networks show the effectiveness and efficiency of our community model and
search algorithms.


  We study the sequential general online regression, known also as the
sequential probability assignments, under logarithmic loss when compared
against a broad class of experts. We focus on obtaining tight, often matching,
lower and upper bounds for the sequential minimax regret that are defined as
the excess loss it incurs over a class of experts. After proving a general
upper bound, we consider some specific classes of experts from Lipschitz class
to bounded Hessian class and derive matching lower and upper bounds with
provably optimal constants. Our bounds work for a wide range of values of the
data dimension and the number of rounds. To derive lower bounds, we use tools
from information theory (e.g., Shtarkov sum) and for upper bounds, we resort to
new "smooth truncated covering" of the class of experts. This allows us to find
constructive proofs by applying a simple and novel truncated Bayesian
algorithm. Our proofs are substantially simpler than the existing ones and yet
provide tighter (and often optimal) bounds.


  We present a new phase-field model for binary fluids exhibiting typical
signatures of self-glassiness, such as long-time relaxation, ageing and
long-term dynamical arrest. The present model allows the cost of building an
interface to become locally zero, while preserving global positivity of the
overall surface tension. An important consequence of this property, which we
prove analytically, is the emergence of compact configurations of fluid
density. Owing to their finite-size support, these "compactons" can be
arbitrarily superposed, thereby providing a direct link between the ruggedness
of the free-energy landscape and morphological complexity in configurational
space. The analytical picture is supported by numerical simulations of the
proposed phase-field equation.


  We consider optimal cloning of the spin coherent states in Hilbert spaces of
different dimensionality d. We give explicit form of optimal cloning
transformation for spin coherent states in the three-dimensional space,
analytical results for the fidelity of the optimal cloning in d=3 and d=4 as
well as numerical results for higher dimensions. In the low-dimensional case we
construct the corresponding completely positive maps and exhibit their
structure with the help of Jamiolkowski isomorphism. This allows us to
formulate some conjectures about the form of optimal coherent cloning CP maps
in arbitrary dimension.


  We present a one-step algorithm that solves the Maxwell equations for systems
with spatially varying permittivity and permeability by the Chebyshev method.
We demonstrate that this algorithm may be orders of magnitude more efficient
than current finite-difference time-domain algorithms.


  A new possibility for the study of time-reversal violation is described. It
consists in measurement of nonpolarized neutron transmission through
nonpolarized nuclear target placed into electric field


  We review the formalism of the effective average action in quantum field
theory which corresponds to a coarse grained free energy in statistical
mechanics. The associated exact renormalization group equation and possible
nonperturbative approximations for its solution are discussed. This is applied
to QCD where one observes the consecutive emergence of mesonic bound states and
spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking as the coarse graining scale is lowered.
We finally present a study of the chiral phase transition in two flavor QCD. A
precision estimate of the universal critical equation of state for the
three-dimensional O(4) Heisenberg model is presented. We explicitly connect the
O(4) universal behavior near the critical temperature and zero quark mass with
the physics at zero temperature and a realistic pion mass. For realistic quark
masses the pion correlation length near $T_c$ turns out to be smaller than its
zero temperature value.


  It is shown that if a non-invertible area preserving local homeomorphism on
$\mathbb{T}^2$ is homotopic to a linear expanding or hyperbolic endomorphism,
then it must be topologically transitive. This gives a complete
characterization, in any smoothness category, of those homotopy classes of
conservative endomorphisms that consist entirely of transitive maps.


  Recently, the new strongly intensive measures of fluctuations $\Delta$ and
$\Sigma$ have been proposed. In this publication their properties are tested
using an example of event-by-event transverse momentum fluctuations. The
obtained values are compared to the long used $\Phi$ measure of pT
fluctuations. Several tests are preformed within data produced by fast
generators, as well as by the UrQMD model. The UrQMD calculations are presented
for the systems and energies which are planned to be studied in the NA61/SHINE
experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron.


  We study the dependence of perpendicular-current magnetoresistance in
magnetic multilayers on the angle between the magnetizations of the layers.
This dependence varies with the thickness of one of the layers, and is
different for multilayers with two and three magnetic layers. We derive a
system of equations representing an extension of the two-current series
resistor model, and show that the angular dependence of magnetoresistance gives
information about the noncollinear spin-transport in ferromagnets.


  We investigate the $\Delta S=0$ effective chiral Lagrangian from the
instanton vacuum. Based on the $\Delta S=0$ effective weak Hamiltonian from the
operator product expansion and renormalization group equations, we derive the
strangeness-conserving effective weak chiral Lagrangian from the instanton
vacuum to order ${\cal O}(p^2)$ and the next-to-leading order in the $1/N_c$
expansion at the quark level. We find that the quark condensate and a dynamical
term which arise from the QCD and electroweak penguin operators appear in the
next-to-leading order in the $1/N_c$ expansion for the $\Delta S =0$ effective
weak chiral Lagrangian, while they are in the leading order terms in the
$\Delta S = 1$ case. Three different types of the form factors are employed and
we find that the dependence on the different choices of the form factor is
rather insensitive. The low-energy constants of the Gasser-Leutwyler type are
determined and discussed in the chiral limit.


  We examine the $R_{p}$-violating signal of single gluino production
associated with a charged lepton or neutrino at the large hadron collider
(LHC), in the model of R-parity relaxed supersymmetric model. If the parameters
in the ${\rlap/R}_p$ supersymmetric interactions are not too small, and the
mass of gluino is considered in the range from several GeV (as the Lightest
Supersymmetric Particle) to 800 GeV, the cross section of the single gluino
production via Drell-Yan processes can be in the order of $10^2 \sim 10^3$
femto barn, and that via gluon fusion in the order of $10^{-1} \sim 10^3$ femto
barn. If the gluino decay can be well detected in the CERN LHC, this process
provides a prospective way to probe supersymmetry and $R_p$ violation.


  Estimating the generalization performance is practically challenging on
out-of-distribution (OOD) data without ground-truth labels. While previous
methods emphasize the connection between distribution difference and OOD
accuracy, we show that a large domain gap not necessarily leads to a low test
accuracy. In this paper, we investigate this problem from the perspective of
feature separability empirically and theoretically. Specifically, we propose a
dataset-level score based upon feature dispersion to estimate the test accuracy
under distribution shift. Our method is inspired by desirable properties of
features in representation learning: high inter-class dispersion and high
intra-class compactness. Our analysis shows that inter-class dispersion is
strongly correlated with the model accuracy, while intra-class compactness does
not reflect the generalization performance on OOD data. Extensive experiments
demonstrate the superiority of our method in both prediction performance and
computational efficiency.


  Terrains are visually important and commonly used in computer graphics. While
many algorithms for their generation exist, it is difficult to assess the
realism of a generated terrain. This paper presents a first step in the
direction of perceptual evaluation of terrain models. We gathered and
categorized several classes of real terrains and we generated synthetic
terrains by using methods from computer graphics. We then conducted two large
studies ranking the terrains perceptually and showing that the synthetic
terrains are perceived as lacking realism as compared to the real ones. Then we
provide insight into the features that affect the perceived realism by a
quantitative evaluation based on localized geomorphology-based landform
features (geomorphons) that categorize terrain structures such as valleys,
ridges, hollows, etc. We show that the presence or absence of certain features
have a significant perceptual effect. We then introduce Perceived Terrain
Realism Metrics (PTRM); a perceptual metrics that estimates perceived realism
of a terrain represented as a digital elevation map by relating distribution of
terrain features with their perceived realism. We validated PTRM on real and
synthetic data and compared it to the perceptual studies. To confirm the
importance of the presence of these features, we used a generative deep neural
network to transfer them between real terrains and synthetic ones and we
performed another perceptual experiment that further confirmed their importance
for perceived realism.


  Using online information discovery as a case study, in this position paper we
discuss the need to design, develop, and deploy (conversational) agents that
can -- non-intrusively -- guide children in their quest for online resources
rather than simply finding resources for them. We argue that agents should "let
children learn" and should be built to take on a teacher-facilitator function,
allowing children to develop their technical and critical thinking abilities as
they interact with varied technology in a broad range of use cases.


  In this conference report a summary is given on the recent theoretical work
that has contributed to improve the theoretical predictions for testing the
standard model in present and future experiments. Precision calculations for
the $Z$ resonance are reviewed and the status of the standard model is
discussed in the light of the recent top discovery and of the results from
precision experiments. Furthermore, theoretical progress for the Higgs search,
for $W$ physics at LEP II, and for the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon is
summarized. New Physics beyond the minimal model is briefly discussed, in
particular the mimimal supersymmetric standard model in view of the recent
electroweak precision data.


  Given a digraph $G$, a lot of attention has been deserved on the maximum
number $\phi(G)$ of fixed points in a Boolean network $f:\{0,1\}^n\to\{0,1\}^n$
with $G$ as interaction graph. In particular, a central problem in network
coding consists in studying the optimality of the classical upper bound
$\phi(G)\leq 2^{\tau}$, where $\tau$ is the minimum size of a feedback vertex
set of $G$. In this paper, we study the maximum number $\phi_m(G)$ of fixed
points in a {\em monotone} Boolean network with interaction graph $G$. We
establish new upper and lower bounds on $\phi_m(G)$ that depends on the cycle
structure of $G$. In addition to $\tau$, the involved parameters are the
maximum number $\nu$ of vertex-disjoint cycles, and the maximum number
$\nu^{*}$ of vertex-disjoint cycles verifying some additional technical
conditions. We improve the classical upper bound $2^\tau$ by proving that
$\phi_m(G)$ is at most the largest sub-lattice of $\{0,1\}^\tau$ without chain
of size $\nu+1$, and without another forbidden-pattern of size $2\nu^{*}$.
Then, we prove two optimal lower bounds: $\phi_m(G)\geq \nu+1$ and
$\phi_m(G)\geq 2^{\nu^{*}}$. As a consequence, we get the following
characterization: $\phi_m(G)=2^\tau$ if and only if $\nu^{*}=\tau$. As another
consequence, we get that if $c$ is the maximum length of a chordless cycle of
$G$ then $2^{\nu/3^c}\leq\phi_m(G)\leq 2^{c\nu}$. Finally, with the technics
introduced, we establish an upper bound on the number of fixed points of any
Boolean network according to its signed interaction graph.


  The modified Bernoulli numbers $B_{n}^{*}$ considered by Zagier are
generalized to modified N\"orlund polynomials ${B_{n}^{(\ell)*}}$. For
$\ell\in\mathbb{N}$, an explicit expression for the generating function for
these polynomials is obtained. Evaluations of some spectacular integrals
involving Chebyshev polynomials, and of a finite sum involving integrals of the
Hurwitz zeta function are also obtained. New results about the $\ell$-fold
convolution of the square hyperbolic secant distribution are obtained, such as
a differential-difference equation satisfied by a logarithmic moment and a
closed-form expression in terms of the Barnes zeta function.


  To understand the Abelian dominance and magnetic monopole dominance in
low-energy QCD, we rewrite the non-Abelian Wilson loop into the form which is
written in terms of its Abelian components or the 't Hooft-Polyakov tensor
describing the magnetic monopole. This is peformed by making use of a version
of non-Abelian Stokes theorem. We propose a modified version of the maximal
Abelian (MA) gauge. By adopting the modified MA gauge in QCD, we show that the
off-diagonal gluons and Faddeev-Popov ghosts acquire their masses through the
ghost--anti-ghost condensation due to four ghost interaction coming from the
gauge-fixing term of the modified MA gauge. The asymptotic freedom of the
original non-Abelian gauge theory is preserved in this derivation.


  The matching of sources between photometric catalogues can lead to cases
where objects of differing brightness are incorrectly assumed to be detections
of the same source. The rejection of unphysical matches can be achieved through
the inclusion of information about the sources' magnitudes. The method
described here uses the additional photometric information from both catalogues
in the process of accepting or rejecting counterparts, providing approximately
a factor 10 improvement in Bayes' factor with its inclusion. When folding in
the photometric information we avoid using prior astrophysical knowledge.
Additionally, the method allows for the possibility of no counterparts to
sources as well as the possibility that sources overlap multiple potential
counterparts. We formally describe the probability of two sources being the
same astrometric object, allowing systematic effects of astrometric
perturbation (by, e.g., contaminant objects) to be accounted for. We apply the
method to two cases. First, we test IPHAS-Gaia matches to compare the resulting
matches in two catalogues of similar wavelength coverage but differing
dynamical ranges. Second, we apply the method to matches between IPHAS and
2MASS and show that the method holds when considering two catalogues with
approximately equal astrometric precision. We discuss the importance of
including the magnitude information in each case. Additionally, we discuss
extending the method to multiple catalogue matches through an iterative
matching process. The method allows for the selection of high-quality matches
by providing an overall probability for each pairing, giving the flexibility to
choose stars known to be good matches.


  A dual-hop status update system aided by energy harvesting (EH) relays with
finite data and energy buffers is studied in this work. To achieve timely
status updates, the best relays should be selected to minimize the average age
of information (AoI), which is a recently proposed metric to evaluate
information freshness. The average AoI minimization can be formulated as a
Markov decision process (MDP), but the state space for capturing channel and
buffer evolution grows exponentially with the number of relays, leading to high
solution complexity. We propose a relay selection (RS) scheme based on deep
reinforcement learning (DRL) according to the instantaneous channel packet
freshness and buffer information of each relay. Simulation results show a
significant improvement of the proposed DRL-based RS scheme over state-of-art
approaches.


  We have studied the update operator defined for update sequences by Eiter et
al. without tautologies and we have observed that it satisfies an interesting
property This property, which we call Weak Independence of Syntax (WIS), is
similar to one of the postulates proposed by Alchourron, Gardenfors, and
Makinson (AGM); only that in this case it applies to nonmonotonic logic. In
addition, we consider other five additional basic properties about update
programs and we show that the operator of Eiter et al. satisfies them. This
work continues the analysis of the AGM postulates under a refined view that
considers nelson logic as a monotonic logic which allows us to expand our
understanding of answer sets. Moreover, nelson logic helped us to derive an
alternative definition of the operator defined by Eiter et al. avoiding the use
of unnecessary extra atoms.


  In this paper we investigate the inflationary dynamics of an $f(R)$ gravity
in the presence of a canonical scalar field. We specifically choose the
cosmological evolution to be a quasi-de Sitter evolution and also the $f(R)$
gravity is assumed to be a modified version of the $R^2$ gravity. We
investigate which scalar field potential can produce the quasi-de Sitter
evolution for the choice of the $f(R)$ gravity we made, and also we study in
detail the inflationary dynamics of the resulting theory. As we demonstrate,
the spectral index is identical to the one corresponding to the ordinary $R^2$
gravity, while the scalar-to-tensor ratio is found to be smaller than the $R^2$
inflation one consequently, compatibility with both the Planck 2015 and
BICEP2/Keck-Array data is achieved.


  Memristor-based logic-in-memory (LiM) has become popular as a means to
overcome the von Neumann bottleneck in traditional data-intensive computing.
Recently, the memristor-aided logic (MAGIC) design style has gained immense
traction for LiM due to its simplicity. However, understanding the energy
distribution during the design of logic operations within the memristive memory
is crucial in assessing such an implementation's significance. The current
energy estimation methods rely on coarse-grained techniques, which
underestimate the energy consumption of MAGIC-styled operations performed on a
memristor crossbar. To address this issue, we analyze the energy breakdown in
MAGIC operations and propose a solution that utilizes mapping from the SIMPLER
MAGIC tool to achieve accurate energy estimation through SPICE simulations. In
contrast to existing research that primarily focuses on optimizing execution
energy, our findings reveal that the memristor's initialization energy in the
MAGIC design style is, on average, 68x higher. We demonstrate that this
initialization energy significantly dominates the overall energy consumption.
By highlighting this aspect, we aim to redirect the attention of designers
towards developing algorithms and strategies that prioritize optimizations in
initializations rather than execution for more effective energy savings.


  Like ants, some microorganisms are known to leave trails on surfaces to
communicate. We explore how trail-mediated self-interaction could affect the
behavior of individual microorganisms when diffusive spreading of the trail is
negligible on the timescale of the microorganism using a simple
phenomenological model for an actively moving particle and a finite-width
trail. The effective dynamics of each microorganism takes on the form of a
stochastic integral equation with the trail interaction appearing in the form
of short-term memory. For moderate coupling strength below an emergent critical
value, the dynamics exhibits effective diffusion in both orientation and
position after a phase of superdiffusive reorientation. We report experimental
verification of a seemingly counterintuitive perpendicular alignment mechanism
that emerges from the model.


  We systematically study the first three terms in the asymptotic expansions of
the moments of the transmission eigenvalues and proper delay times as the
number of quantum channels n in the leads goes to infinity. The computations
are based on the assumption that the Landauer-B\"utticker scattering matrix for
chaotic ballistic cavities can be modelled by the circular ensembles of Random
Matrix Theory (RMT). The starting points are the finite-n formulae that we
recently discovered (Mezzadri and Simm, J. Math. Phys. 52 (2011), 103511). Our
analysis includes all the symmetry classes beta=1,2,4; in addition, it applies
to the transmission eigenvalues of Andreev billiards, whose symmetry classes
were classified by Zirnbauer (J. Math. Phys. 37 (1996), 4986-5018) and Altland
and Zirnbauer (Phys. Rev. B. 55 (1997), 1142-1161). Where applicable, our
results are in complete agreement with the semiclassical theory of mesoscopic
systems developed by Berkolaiko et al. (J. Phys. A.: Math. Theor. 41 (2008),
365102) and Berkolaiko and Kuipers (J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 43 (2010), 035101
and New J. Phys. 13 (2011), 063020). Our approach also applies to the
Selberg-like integrals. We calculate the first two terms in their asymptotic
expansion explicitly.


  We propose a new fast streaming algorithm for the tensor completion problem
of imputing missing entries of a low-tubal-rank tensor using the tensor
singular value decomposition (t-SVD) algebraic framework. We show the t-SVD is
a specialization of the well-studied block-term decomposition for third-order
tensors, and we present an algorithm under this model that can track changing
free submodules from incomplete streaming 2-D data. The proposed algorithm uses
principles from incremental gradient descent on the Grassmann manifold of
subspaces to solve the tensor completion problem with linear complexity and
constant memory in the number of time samples. We provide a local expected
linear convergence result for our algorithm. Our empirical results are
competitive in accuracy but much faster in compute time than state-of-the-art
tensor completion algorithms on real applications to recover temporal
chemo-sensing and MRI data under limited sampling.


  We study the invariant measure or the stationary density of a coupled
discrete dynamical system as a function of the coupling parameter \epsilon (0 <
\epsilon < 1/4). The dynamical system considered is chaotic and unsynchronized
for this range of parameter values. We find that the stationary density,
restricted on the synchronization manifold, is a fractal function. We find the
lower bound on the fractal dimension of the graph of this function and show
that it changes continuously with the coupling parameter


  Gradient-based optimization methods are the most popular choice for finding
local optima for classical minimization and saddle point problems. Here, we
highlight a systemic issue of gradient dynamics that arise for saddle point
problems, namely the presence of undesired stable stationary points that are no
local optima. We propose a novel optimization approach that exploits curvature
information in order to escape from these undesired stationary points. We prove
that different optimization methods, including gradient method and Adagrad,
equipped with curvature exploitation can escape non-optimal stationary points.
We also provide empirical results on common saddle point problems which confirm
the advantage of using curvature exploitation.


  This paper is devoted to the analysis of massive particle in general and
Newton-Cartan Background in de Broglie-Bohm Theory. We find classical and
quantum version of Hamilton-Jacobi equations and find their relations to wave
equations. We also discuss fundamental difference between classical and quantum
description of these two systems.


  Fukui et al. (2006) discovered two huge molecular loops in the Galactic
center located in (l, b) ~ (355 deg-359 deg, 0 deg-2 deg) in a large velocity
range of -180-40 km s^-1. Following the discovery, we present detailed
observational properties of the two loops based on NANTEN 12CO(J=1-0) and
13CO(J=1-0) datasets at 10 pc resolution including a complete set of velocity
channel distributions and comparisons with HI and dust emissions as well as
with the other broad molecular features. We find new features on smaller scales
in the loops including helical distributions in the loop tops and vertical
spurs. The loops have counterparts of the HI gas indicating that the loops
include atomic gas. The IRAS far infrared emission is also associated with the
loops and was used to derive an X-factor of 0.7(+/-0.1){\times}10^20 cm^-2 (K
km s^-1)^-1 to convert the 12CO intensity into the total molecular hydrogen
column density. From the 12CO, 13CO, H I and dust datasets we estimated the
total mass of loops 1 and 2 to be ~1.4 {\times} 106 Msun and ~1.9 {\times} 10^6
Msun, respectively, where the H I mass corresponds to ~10-20% of the total mass
and the total kinetic energy of the two loops to be ~10^52 ergs. An analysis of
the kinematics of the loops yields that the loops are rotating at ~47 km s-1
and expanding at ~141 km s^-1 at a radius of 670 pc from the center. Fukui et
al. (2006) presented a model that the loops are created by the magnetic
flotation due to the Parker instability with an estimated magnetic field
strength of ~150 {\mu}G. We present comparisons with the recent numerical
simulations of the magnetized nuclear disk by Machida et al. (2009) and
Takahashi et al. (2009) and show that the theoretical results are in good
agreements with the observations. The helical distributions also suggest that
some magnetic instability plays a role similarly to the solar helical features.


  We study how the electron-electron interactions influence the charge
distributions in the metallic state of quasicrystals. As a simple theoretical
model, we introduce an extended Hubbard model on the Penrose lattice, and
numerically solve the model (up to $\sim1.4$ million sites) within the
Hartree-Fock approximation. Because each site on the quasiperiodic lattice has
a different local geometry, the Coulomb interaction, in particular the
intersite one, works in a site-dependent way, leading to a nontrivial
redistribution of the charge. The resultant charge distribution patterns are
not multifractal but characterized by hyperuniformity, which offers a measure
to distinguish various inhomogeneous but ordered distributions. We clarify how
the electron interactions alter the order metric of the hyperuniformity,
revealing that the intersite interaction considerably affects the
hyperuniformity in particular on the electron-rich side.


  The dual camera system of wide-angle ($\bf{W}$) and telephoto ($\bf{T}$)
cameras has been widely adopted by popular phones. In the overlap region,
fusing the $\bf{W}$ and $\bf{T}$ images can generate a higher quality image.
Related works perform pixel-level motion alignment or high-dimensional feature
alignment of the $\bf{T}$ image to the view of the $\bf{W}$ image and then
perform image/feature fusion, but the enhancement in occlusion area is
ill-posed and can hardly utilize data from $\bf{T}$ images. Our insight is to
minimize the occlusion area and thus maximize the use of pixels from $\bf{T}$
images. Instead of insisting on placing the output in the $\bf{W}$ view, we
propose a view transition method to transform both $\bf{W}$ and $\bf{T}$ images
into a mixed view and then blend them into the output. The transformation ratio
is kept small and not apparent to users, and the center area of the output,
which has accumulated a sufficient amount of transformation, can directly use
the contents from the T view to minimize occlusions. Experimental results show
that, in comparison with the SOTA methods, occlusion area is largely reduced by
our method and thus more pixels of the $\bf{T}$ image can be used for improving
the quality of the output image.


  We use the induced interaction of Babu and Brown to derive two novel
relations between the quasiparticle interaction in nuclear matter and the
unique low momentum nucleon-nucleon interaction V_low k in vacuum. These
relations provide two independent constraints on the Fermi liquid parameters of
nuclear matter. We derive the full renormalization group equations in the
particle-hole channels from the induced interaction. The new constraints,
together with the Pauli principle sum rules, define four combinations of Fermi
liquid parameters that are invariant under the renormalization group flow.
Using empirical values for the spin-independent Fermi liquid parameters, we are
able to compute the major spin-dependent ones by imposing the new constraints
and the Pauli principle sum rules. The effects of tensor forces are discussed.


  If a piece of the contour of a picture is missing to the eye vision, then the
brain tends to complete it using some kind of sub-Riemannian geodesics of the
unit tangent bundle of the plane, R2xS1. These geodesics can be obtained by
lifting extremal curves of a total curvature type energy in the plane. We
completely solve this variational problem, geometrically. Moreover, we also
show a way of constructing rotational surfaces of constant negative curvature
in R3 by evolving these extremal curves under their associated binormal flow
with prescribed velocity. Finally, we prove that, locally, all rotational
constant negative curvature surfaces of R3 are foliated by extremal curves of
these energies. Therefore, we conclude that there exists a one-to-one
correspondence between the sub-Riemannian geodesics used by the brain for
visual curve completion and these rotational surfaces of R3.


  This paper proposes a novel approach to quantizing Nambu brackets in
classical mechanics using operator formalism. The approach employs the ``Planck
derivative'' to represent Nambu brackets, from which we derive a commutation
relation for their quantization. Notably, this commutation relation aligns with
that emerging from the T-duality of closed strings in a twisted torus with a
B-field, thereby hinting at a potential connection with Double Field Theory.


  We consider the Forrester-Baxter RSOS lattice models with crossing parameter
$\lambda=(m'\!-\!m)\pi/m'$ in Regime~III. In the continuum scaling limit, these
models are described by the minimal models ${\cal M}(m,m')$. We conjecture
that, for $\lambda<\pi/n$, the $n\times n$ fused RSOS models with $n\ge 2$ are
described by the higher-level coset $(A^{(1)}_1)_k\otimes
(A^{(1)}_1)_n/(A^{(1)}_1)_{k+n}$ at fractional level $k=nM/(M'\!-\!M)-2$ with
$(M,M')=\big(nm-(n\!-\!1)m',m'\big)$. To support this conjecture, we
investigate the one-dimensional sums arising from Baxter's off-critical corner
transfer matrices. In unitary cases ($m=m'\!-\!1$) it is known that, up to
leading powers of $q$, these coincide with the branching functions
$b_{r,s,\ell}^{m'\!-n,m'\!,n}(q)$. For general nonunitary cases ($m<m'\!-\!1$),
we identify the ground state one-dimensional RSOS paths and relate them to the
quantum numbers $(r,s,\ell)$ in the various sectors. For $n=1,2,3$, we obtain
the local energy functions $H(a,b,c)$ in a suitable gauge and verify that the
associated one-dimensional sums produce finitized forms that converge, as $N$
becomes large, to the fractional level branching functions
$b_{r,s,\ell}^{M,M'\!,n}(q)$. Extending the work of Schilling, we also
conjecture finitized bosonic branching functions
$b_{r,s,\ell}^{M,M'\!,n;(N)}(q)$ for general $n$ and check that these agree
with the one-dimensional sums for $n=1,2,3$ out to system sizes $N=14$. Lastly,
the finitized Kac characters $\chi_{r,s,\ell}^{P,P'\!,n;(N)}(q)$ of the
$n\times n$ fused logarithmic minimal models ${\cal LM}(p,p')$ are obtained by
taking the {\em logarithmic limit\/} $m,m'\to\infty$ with $m/m'\to p/p'+$.


  We investigate the effect of repulsive coupling together with an attractive
coupling in a network of nonlocally coupled oscillators. To understand the
complex interaction between these two couplings we introduce a control
parameter in the repulsive coupling which plays a crucial role in inducing
distinct complex collective patterns. In particular, we show the emergence of
various cluster chimera death states through a dynamically distinct transition
route, namely the oscillatory cluster state and coherent oscillation death
state as a function of the repulsive coupling in the presence of the attractive
coupling. In the oscillatory cluster state, the oscillators in the network are
grouped into two distinct dynamical states of homogeneous and inhomogeneous
oscillatory states. Further, the network of coupled oscillators follows the
same transition route in the entire coupling range. Depending upon distinct
coupling ranges the system displays a different number of clusters in the death
state and oscillatory state. We also observe that the number of coherent
domains in the oscillatory cluster state exponentially decreases with increase
in coupling range and obeys a power law decay. Additionally, we show analytical
stability for observed solitary state, synchronized state, and incoherent
oscillation death state.


  In this paper, we establish the well-posedness of stochastic heat equations
on moving domains, which amounts to a study of infinite dimensional interacting
systems. The main difficulty is to deal with the problems caused by the
time-varying state spaces and the interaction of the particle systems. The
interaction still occurs even in the case of additive noise. This is in
contrast to stochastic heat equations in a fixed domain.


  We study a Majorana island coupled to a bulk superconductor via a Josephson
junction and to multiple external normal leads. In the absence of the Josephson
coupling, the system displays a topological Kondo state, which had been largely
studied recently. However, we find that this state is unstable even to small
Josephson coupling, which instead leads at low temperature $T$ to a new fixed
point. Most interesting is the case of three external leads, forming a minimal
electronic realization of the long sought two-channel Kondo effect. While the
$T=0$ conductance corresponds to simple resonant Andreev reflection, the
leading $T$ dependence forms an experimental fingerprint for non-Fermi liquid
properties.


  Broad-line Ic supernovae (SNe Ic-BL) are a very rare class of core-collapse
supernovae exhibiting high ejecta velocities and high kinetic energies. They
are the only type of SNe that accompany long gamma-ray burst (GRB) explosions.
Systematic differences found in the spectra of SNe Ic-BL with and without GRBs
(GRB-SNe and SNe Ic-BL, respectively) suggest that either the progenitor or/and
explosion mechanism of SNe Ic-BL with and without a GRB differ, or the
difference could be only due to the viewing angle of the observer with respect
to the orientation of the collimated explosion. We present the systematic
comparison of the host galaxies of broad-lined SNe Ic with and without a
detected GRB, the latter being detected in untargeted surveys, with the aim to
find out whether there are any systematic differences between the environments
in which these two classes of SNe preferentially explode. We study photometric
properties of the host galaxies of a sample of 8 GRB-SNe and a sample of 28 SNe
Ic-BL at z < 0.2. The two galaxy samples have indistinguishable luminosity and
proper size distribution. We find indications that GRB-SNe on average occur
closer to the centres of their host galaxies, i.e. the samples have a different
distribution of projected offsets, normalized by the galaxy sizes. In addition
we compare gas-phase metallicities of the GRB-SNe and SNe Ic-BL host samples
and find that a larger fraction of super-solar metallicity hosts are found
among the SNe Ic-BL without a GRB. Our results are indicative of a genuine
difference between the two types of explosions and suggest that the viewing
angle is not the main source of difference in the spectra of the two classes.
We discuss the implications our results have on our understanding of
progenitors of SNe Ic-BL with and without a GRB.


  We discuss charge symmetry and charge independence breaking in a chiral
effective field theory approach for few-nucleon systems based on a modified
Weinberg power counting. We construct a two-nucleon potential with bound and
scattering states generated by means of a properly regularized
Lippmann-Schwinger equation. We systematically introduce strong
isospin-violating and electromagnetic operators in the theory. We use standard
procedures to treat the Coulomb potential between two protons in momentum
space. We present results for phase shifts in the proton-proton, the
neutron-proton and the neutron-neutron systems. We discuss the various
contributions to charge dependence and charge symmetry breaking observed in the
nucleon-nucleon scattering lengths.


  With the increasing dominance of the internet as a source of news
consumption, there has been a rise in the production and popularity of email
newsletters compiled by individual journalists. However, there is little
research on the processes of aggregation, and how these differ between expert
journalists and trained machines. In this paper, we interviewed journalists who
curate newsletters from around the world. Through an in-depth understanding of
journalists' workflows, our findings lay out the role of their prior experience
in the value they bring into the curation process, their use of algorithms in
finding stories for their newsletter, and their internalization of their
readers' interests and the context they are curating for. While identifying the
role of human expertise, we highlight the importance of hybrid curation and
provide design insights on how technology can support the work of these
experts.


  Landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM) is crucial for identifying high-risk
areas and informing prevention strategies. This study investigates the
interpretability of statistical, machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL)
models in predicting landslide susceptibility. This is achieved by
incorporating various relevant interpretation methods and two types of input
factors: a comprehensive set of 19 contributing factors that are statistically
relevant to landslides, as well as a dedicated set of 9 triggering factors
directly associated with triggering landslides. Given that model performance is
a crucial metric in LSM, our investigations into interpretability naturally
involve assessing and comparing LSM accuracy across different models
considered. In our investigation, the convolutional neural network model
achieved the highest accuracy (0.8447 with 19 factors; 0.8048 with 9 factors),
while Extreme Gradient Boosting and Support Vector Machine also demonstrated
strong predictive capabilities, outperforming conventional statistical models.
These findings indicate that DL and sophisticated ML algorithms can effectively
capture the complex relationships between input factors and landslide
occurrence. However, the interpretability of predictions varied among different
models, particularly when using the broader set of 19 contributing factors.
Explanation methods like SHAP, LIME, and DeepLIFT also led to variations in
interpretation results. Using a comprehensive set of 19 contributing factors
improved prediction accuracy but introduced complexities and inconsistency in
model interpretations. Focusing on a dedicated set of 9 triggering factors
sacrificed some predictive power but enhanced interpretability, as evidenced by
more consistent key factors identified across various models and alignment with
the findings of field investigation reports....


  This paper studies the action dynamics of network coordination games with
bounded-rational agents. I apply the experience-weighted attraction (EWA) model
to the analysis as the EWA model has several free parameters that can capture
different aspects of agents' behavioural features. I show that the set of
possible long-term action patterns can be largely different when the
behavioural parameters vary, ranging from a unique possibility in which all
agents favour the risk-dominant option to some set of outcomes richer than the
collection of Nash equilibria. Monotonicity and non-monotonicity in the
relationship between the number of possible long-term action profiles and the
behavioural parameters are explored. I also study the question of influential
agents in terms of whose initial predispositions are important to the actions
of the whole network. The importance of agents can be represented by a left
eigenvector of a Jacobian matrix provided that agents' initial attractions are
close to some neutral level. Numerical calculations examine the predictive
power of the eigenvector for the long-run action profile and how agents'
influences are impacted by their behavioural features and network positions.


  We consider the problem of assigning items to platforms in the presence of
group fairness constraints. In the input, each item belongs to certain
categories, called classes in this paper. Each platform specifies the group
fairness constraints through an upper bound on the number of items it can serve
from each class. Additionally, each platform also has an upper bound on the
total number of items it can serve. The goal is to assign items to platforms so
as to maximize the number of items assigned while satisfying the upper bounds
of each class. In some cases, there is a revenue associated with matching an
item to a platform, then the goal is to maximize the revenue generated.
  This problem models several important real-world problems like ad-auctions,
scheduling, resource allocations, school choice etc.We also show an interesting
connection to computing a generalized maximum independent set on hypergraphs
and ranking items under group fairness constraints.
  We show that if the classes are arbitrary, then the problem is NP-hard and
has a strong inapproximability. We consider the problem in both online and
offline settings under natural restrictions on the classes. Under these
restrictions, the problem continues to remain NP-hard but admits approximation
algorithms with small approximation factors. We also implement some of the
algorithms. Our experiments show that the algorithms work well in practice both
in terms of efficiency and the number of items that get assigned to some
platform.


  We explicitly prove, using some nontrivial identities involving gamma
matrices, that there can be only one Spin(9)xSU(2) invariant state which
depends only on fermionic variables.


  High-eccentricity migration is an important channel for the formation of hot
Jupiters (HJs). In particular, Lidov-Kozai (LK) oscillations of orbital
eccentricity/inclination induced by a distant planetary or stellar companion,
combined with tidal friction, have been shown to produce HJs on Gyr timescales,
provided that efficient tidal dissipation operates in the planet. We re-examine
this scenario with the inclusion of dynamical tides. When the planet's orbit is
in a high-eccentricity phase, the tidal force from the star excites oscillatory
f-modes and r-modes in the planet. For sufficiently large eccentricity and
small pericentre distance, the mode can grow chaotically over multiple
pericentre passages and eventually dissipate non-linearly, drawing energy from
the orbit and rapidly shrinking the semi-major axis. We study the effect of
such chaotic tides on the planet's orbital evolution. We find that this pathway
produces very eccentric ($e\gtrsim 0.9$) warm Jupiters (WJs) on short
timescales (a few to 100 Myrs). These WJs efficiently circularize to become HJs
due to their persistently small pericentre distances. Chaotic tides can also
save some planets from tidal disruption by truncating the LK eccentricity
oscillations, significantly increasing the HJ formation fraction for a range of
planet masses and radii. Using a population synthesis calculation, we determine
the characteristics of WJs and HJs produced in this scenario, including the
final period distribution, orbital inclinations and stellar obliquities.
Chaotic tides endow LK migration with several favorable features to explain
observations of HJs. We expect that chaotic tides are also important in other
flavours of high-$e$ migration.


  The dynamics of first order phase transitions are studied in the context of
(3+1)-dimensional scalar field theories. Particular attention is paid to the
question of quantifying the strength of the transition, and how `weak' and
`strong' transitions have different dynamics. We propose a model with two
available low temperature phases separated by an energy barrier so that one of
them becomes metastable below the critical temperature $T_c$. The system is
initially prepared in this phase and is coupled to a thermal bath.
Investigating the system at its critical temperature, we find that `strong'
transitions are characterized by the system remaining localized within its
initial phase, while `weak' transitions are characterized by considerable phase
mixing. Always at $T_c$, we argue that the two regimes are themselves separated
by a (second order) phase transition, with an order parameter given by the
fractional population difference between the two phases and a control parameter
given by the strength of the scalar field's quartic self-coupling constant. We
obtain a Ginzburg-like criterion to distinguish between `weak' and `strong'
transitions, in agreement with previous results in (2+1)-dimensions.


  Hydrodynamic behavior and the associated discussions of viscosity at RHIC has
inspired a r enaissance in modeling viscous hydrodynamics. An explanation of
Israel-Stewart hydrodynamics is presented here, with an emphasis on the
tangible benefits compared to Navier Stokes.


  Five-dimensional generalization of (A)dS(5)-Kerr black hole is shown to be
generated in a coordinate free way by a single AdS(5) global symmetry
parameter. Its mass and angular momenta are associated to Casimir invariants of
the background space-time symmetry parameter leading to the black hole
classification scheme similar to that of relativistic fields resulting apart
from ordinary black hole to "tachyonic" and "light-like" ones.


  We present the first PAC optimal algorithm for Bayes-Adaptive Markov Decision
Processes (BAMDPs) in continuous state and action spaces, to the best of our
knowledge. The BAMDP framework elegantly addresses model uncertainty by
incorporating Bayesian belief updates into long-term expected return. However,
computing an exact optimal Bayesian policy is intractable. Our key insight is
to compute a near-optimal value function by covering the continuous
state-belief-action space with a finite set of representative samples and
exploiting the Lipschitz continuity of the value function. We prove the
near-optimality of our algorithm and analyze a number of schemes that boost the
algorithm's efficiency. Finally, we empirically validate our approach on a
number of discrete and continuous BAMDPs and show that the learned policy has
consistently competitive performance against baseline approaches.