  Consider a sequence of compactly supported Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms
$\phi_k$ of an exact symplectic manifold, all of which are "graphical" in the
sense that their graphs are identified by a Darboux-Weinstein chart with the
image of a one-form. We show by an elementary argument that if the $\phi_k$
$C^0$-converge to the identity then their Calabi invariants converge to zero.
This generalizes a result of Oh, in which the ambient manifold was the two-disk
and an additional assumption was made on the Hamiltonians generating the
$\phi_k$. We discuss connections to the open problem of whether the Calabi
homomorphism extends to the Hamiltonian homeomorphism group. The proof is based
on a relationship between the Calabi invariant of a $C^0$-small Hamiltonian
diffeomorphism and the generalized phase function of its graph.


  In 1964-1974, the German artist Max Ernst created, with the help of two
friends, a series of works (books, movie, paintings) related to the astronomer
Wilhelm Tempel. Mixing actual texts by Tempel and artistic features, this
series pays homage to the astronomer by recalling his life and discoveries.
Moreover, the core of the project, the book Maximiliana or the Illegal Practice
of Astronomy, actually depicts the way science works, making this artwork a
most original tribute to a scientist.


  In this letter we propose the Rao test as a simpler alternative to the
generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) for multisensor fusion. We consider
sensors observing an unknown deterministic parameter with symmetric and
unimodal noise. A decision fusion center (DFC) receives quantized sensor
observations through error-prone binary symmetric channels and makes a global
decision. We analyze the optimal quantizer thresholds and we study the
performance of the Rao test in comparison to the GLRT. Also, a theoretical
comparison is made and asymptotic performance is derived in a scenario with
homogeneous sensors. All the results are confirmed through simulations.


  In this note we give a construction of a smooth Riemannian metric on R^n
which is standard Euclidean outside a compact set K and such that it has N =
n(n + 1)=2 invisible directions, meaning that all geodesics lines passing
through the set K in these directions remain the same straight lines on exit.
For example in the plane our construction gives three invisible directions.
This is in contrast with billiard type obstacles where a very sophisticated
example due to A.Plakhov and V.Roshchina gives 2 invisible directions in the
plane and 3 in the space. We use reflection group of the root system An in
order to make the directions of the roots invisible.


  Due to the limitations of realizing artificial neural networks on prevalent
von Neumann architectures, recent studies have presented neuromorphic systems
based on spiking neural networks (SNNs) to reduce power and computational cost.
However, conventional analog voltage-domain integrate-and-fire (I&F) neuron
circuits, based on either current mirrors or op-amps, pose serious issues such
as nonlinearity or high power consumption, thereby degrading either inference
accuracy or energy efficiency of the SNN. To achieve excellent energy
efficiency and high accuracy simultaneously, this paper presents a low-power
highly linear time-domain I&F neuron circuit. Designed and simulated in a 28nm
CMOS process, the proposed neuron leads to more than 4.3x lower error rate on
the MNIST inference over the conventional current-mirror-based neurons. In
addition, the power consumed by the proposed neuron circuit is simulated to be
0.230uW per neuron, which is orders of magnitude lower than the existing
voltage-domain neurons.


  The nematic-nematic transitions in a nematic compound DIO are studied in
homogeneously planar and homeotropic aligned cells using dielectric
spectroscopy in the frequency range 0.1 Hz to 10 MHz over a wide range of
temperatures. Three relaxation processes are identified in this material. All
the three relaxation processes show large jumps in the dielectric strength and
discontinuity in frequency at the NX to NF transition, indicative of it being a
first order phase transition. Unlike a conventional nematic liquid crystalline
material that usually shows molecular relaxation processes at higher
frequencies, this material shows three processes at relatively lower
frequencies. The three processes are found to be collective in nature. The
least frequency process is proven to be due to the conductivity of ions in the
medium and due to the accumulation of charge at the alignment layers unlike
mistakenly reported in the literature otherwise. The mode at the highest
frequency is proven to be due to the ferroelectric domains in the NF phase.
This is evidenced by its dielectric strength two orders of magnitude higher in
a homeotropic aligned cell than planar aligned cell. Its mechanism is soft mode
like in the N phase. The intermediate frequency mode is proven to be due to the
correlation of molecules of the medium as is normally observed in liquid
crystalline cybotactic clusters.


  We study the effect of the cosmological constant on radial oscillations and
gravitational wave echoes (GWEs) of non-rotating strange stars. To depict
strange star configurations we used two forms of equations of state (EoSs),
viz., the MIT Bag model EoS and the linear EoS. By taking a range of positive
and negative values of cosmological constant, the corresponding mass-radius
relationships for these stars have been calculated. For this purpose, first we
solved the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) equations with a non-zero
cosmological constant and then we solved the pressure and radial perturbation
equations arising due to radial oscillations. The eigenfrequencies of the
fundamental $f$-mode and first 22 pressure $p$-modes are calculated for each of
these EoSs. Again considering the remnant of the GW170817 event as a strange
star, the echo frequencies emitted by such stars in presence of the
cosmological constant are computed. From these numerical calculations, we have
inferred relations between cosmological constant and mode frequency, structural
parameters, GWE frequencies of strange stars. Our results show that for strange
stars, the effective range of cosmological constant is $10^{-15}\,
\mbox{cm}^{-2} \le\,\Lambda\, \le 3\times 10^{-13}\, \mbox{cm}^{-2}$.


  The note is concerned with inductive systems of Toeplitz algebras and their
$*$-homomorphisms over arbitrary partially ordered sets. The Toeplitz algebra
is the reduced semigroup $C^*$-algebra for the additive semigroup of
non-negative integers. It is known that every partially ordered set can be
represented as the union of the family of its maximal upward directed subsets
indexed by elements of some set. In our previous work we have studied a
topology on this set of indexes. For every maximal upward directed subset we
consider the inductive system of Toeplitz algebras that is defined by a given
inductive system over an arbitrary partially ordered set and its inductive
limit. Then for a base neighbourhood $U_a$ of the topology on the set of
indexes we construct the $C^*$-algebra $\mathfrak{B}_a$ which is the direct
product of those inductive limits. In this note we continue studying the
connection between the properties of the topology on the set of indexes and
properties of inductive limits for systems consisting of $C^*$-algebras
$\mathfrak{B}_a$ and their $*$-homorphisms. It is proved that there exists an
embedding of the reduced semigroup $C^*$-algebra for a semigroup in the
additive group of all rational numbers into the inductive limit for the system
of $C^*$-algebras $\mathfrak{B}_a$.


  We report the discovery of coherent radio emission from the young,
rapidly-rotating magnetic Bp star HD 133880 at a frequency of 610 MHz with the
Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). This is only the second magnetic star
in which coherent radio emission has been detected. In our observations of HD
133880 covering the full rotational cycle of the star (except for a phase
window 0.17-0.24), we witness an abrupt order-of-magnitude flux enhancement
along with $\approx100$ percent right circular polarization. We attribute this
phenomenon to coherent Electron Cyclotron MASER Emission. We attribute the lack
of left circularly polarised emission to the asymmetric topology of the star's
magnetic field. The phase of enhancement, $0.73$, differs from the previously
reported phase of enhancement, $0.16$, (at 610 MHz Chandra et al. 2015) by
one-half cycle. However, no flux enhancement is found at phase $0.16$ in our
data, which could be due to an unstable or drifting emission region, or a
consequence of the reported changes of the star's rotational period. Either of
these factors could have shifted the enhancement to the above-mentioned phase
window not sampled by our observations.


  Single-photon sources are a fundamental resource in quantum optics. The
indistinguishability and purity of photons emitted from different sources are
crucial (necessary, essential) properties for many quantum applications to
ensure high-visibility interference between different sources. The state of a
single-photon source is described by the modes occupied by the single light
quanta. Thus the ability to determine the mode structure of a single-photon
source provides a means to assess its quality, compare different sources, and
provide feedback for source engineering. Here, we propose and demonstrate an
experimental scheme that allows for complete characterization of the
spectral-temporal state of a pulsed single-photon source. The density matrix
elements of the single-photon source are determined by spectral interferometry
with a known single-photon reference. Frequency-resolved coincidence
measurements are performed after the unknown single-photon source is interfered
with a single-photon reference pulse. Fourier analysis of the
frequency-resolved two-photon interference pattern reveals the
spectral-temporal density matrix of the broadband single-photon source. We
present an experimental realization of this method for pure and mixed state
pulsed, single-photon sources.


  We classify Fano manifolds X containing a divisor E isomorphic to projective
space such that the normal bundle $N_{E/X}$ is strictly negative.


  The physics of micron-scale biological colonies usually benefits from
different out-of-equilibrium sources. In bacterial colonies and cellular
tissues, the growth process is among the important active sources that
determine the dynamics. In this article, we study the generic dynamical
instabilities associated with the growth phenomena that may arise in both
scalar and vectorial systems. In vectorial systems, where the rotational
degrees of particles play a role, a phenomenological growthmediated torque can
affect the rotational dynamics of individual particles. We show that such a
growth-mediated torque can result in active traveling waves in the bulk of a
growing system. In addition to the bulk properties, we analyze the
instabilities in the shape of growing interfaces in both scalar and vectorial
systems.


  Virtual Compton Scattering on the nucleon: $\gamma^* N \to \gamma N$ is a new
and rapidly developing field at low and high energies. This lecture is about
the low energy part, i.e. for energies in the $(\gamma p)$ center-of-mass
mainly up to the $\Delta(1232)$ resonance region. I review the concept of
Generalized Polarizabilities of the Nucleon, and the experiments dedicated to
their measurement.


  Filler words like ``um" or ``uh" are common in spontaneous speech. It is
desirable to automatically detect and remove them in recordings, as they affect
the fluency, confidence, and professionalism of speech. Previous studies and
our preliminary experiments reveal that the biggest challenge in filler word
detection is that fillers can be easily confused with other hard categories
like ``a" or ``I". In this paper, we propose a novel filler word detection
method that effectively addresses this challenge by adding auxiliary categories
dynamically and applying an additional inter-category focal loss. The auxiliary
categories force the model to explicitly model the confusing words by mining
hard categories. In addition, inter-category focal loss adaptively adjusts the
penalty weight between ``filler" and ``non-filler" categories to deal with
other confusing words left in the ``non-filler" category. Our system achieves
the best results, with a huge improvement compared to other methods on the
PodcastFillers dataset.


  The generalized linear model (GLM) plays a key role in regression analyses.
In high-dimensional data, the sparse GLM has been used but it is not robust
against outliers. Recently, the robust methods have been proposed for the
specific example of the sparse GLM. Among them, we focus on the robust and
sparse linear regression based on the $\gamma$-divergence. The estimator of the
$\gamma$-divergence has strong robustness under heavy contamination. In this
paper, we extend the robust and sparse linear regression based on the
$\gamma$-divergence to the robust and sparse GLM based on the
$\gamma$-divergence with a stochastic optimization approach in order to obtain
the estimate. We adopt the randomized stochastic projected gradient descent as
a stochastic optimization approach and extend the established convergence
property to the classical first-order necessary condition. By virtue of the
stochastic optimization approach, we can efficiently estimate parameters for
very large problems. Particularly, we show the linear regression, logistic
regression and Poisson regression with $L_1$ regularization in detail as
specific examples of robust and sparse GLM. In numerical experiments and real
data analysis, the proposed method outperformed comparative methods.


  This paper addresses the following main question: Do we have a theoretical
understanding of entanglement applicable to a full variety of physical
settings? It is clear that not only the assumption of distinguishability, but
also the few-subsystem scenario, are too narrow to embrace all possible
physical settings. In particular, the need to go beyond the traditional
subsystem-based framework becomes manifest when one tries to apply the
conventional concept of entanglement to the physics of matter, since the
constituents of a quantum many-body system are indistinguishable particles. We
shall discuss here a notion of generalized entanglement, which can be applied
to any operator language (fermions, bosons, spins, etc.) used to describe a
physical system and which includes the conventional entanglement settings
introduced to date in a unified fashion. This is realized by noticing that
entanglement is an observer-dependent concept, whose properties are determined
by the expectations of a distinguished set of observables without reference to
a preferred subsystem decomposition, i.e., it depends on the physically
relevant point of view. This viewpoint depends in turn upon the relationship
between different sets of observables that determine our ability to control the
system of interest. Indeed, the extent to which entanglement is present depends
on the observables used to measure a system and describe its states. This
represents a most conspicuous advantage as will be highlighted by the
condensed-matter application we will discuss.


  Spectral super-resolution (SSR) refers to the hyperspectral image (HSI)
recovery from an RGB counterpart. Due to the one-to-many nature of the SSR
problem, a single RGB image can be reprojected to many HSIs. The key to tackle
this ill-posed problem is to plug into multi-source prior information such as
the natural spatial context-prior of RGB images, deep feature-prior or inherent
statistical-prior of HSIs, etc., so as to effectively alleviate the degree of
ill-posedness. However, most current approaches only consider the general and
limited priors in their customized convolutional neural networks (CNNs), which
leads to the inability to guarantee the confidence and fidelity of
reconstructed spectra. In this paper, we propose a novel holistic
prior-embedded relation network (HPRN) to integrate comprehensive priors to
regularize and optimize the solution space of SSR. Basically, the core
framework is delicately assembled by several multi-residual relation blocks
(MRBs) that fully facilitate the transmission and utilization of the
low-frequency content prior of RGBs. Innovatively, the semantic prior of RGB
inputs is introduced to mark category attributes, and a semantic-driven spatial
relation module (SSRM) is invented to perform the feature aggregation of
clustered similar range for refining recovered characteristics. Additionally,
we develop a transformer-based channel relation module (TCRM), which breaks the
habit of employing scalars as the descriptors of channel-wise relations in the
previous deep feature-prior, and replaces them with certain vectors to make the
mapping function more robust and smoother. In order to maintain the
mathematical correlation and spectral consistency between hyperspectral bands,
the second-order prior constraints (SOPC) are incorporated into the loss
function to guide the HSI reconstruction.


  This paper presents a groundbreaking model for forecasting English Premier
League (EPL) player performance using convolutional neural networks (CNNs). We
evaluate Ridge regression, LightGBM and CNNs on the task of predicting upcoming
player FPL score based on historical FPL data over the previous weeks. Our
baseline models, Ridge regression and LightGBM, achieve solid performance and
emphasize the importance of recent FPL points, influence, creativity, threat,
and playtime in predicting EPL player performances. Our optimal CNN
architecture achieves better performance with fewer input features and even
outperforms the best previous EPL player performance forecasting models in the
literature. The optimal CNN architecture also achieves very strong Spearman
correlation with player rankings, indicating its strong implications for
supporting the development of FPL artificial intelligence (AI) Agents and
providing analysis for FPL managers. We additionally perform transfer learning
experiments on soccer news data collected from The Guardian, for the same task
of predicting upcoming player score, but do not identify a strong predictive
signal in natural language news texts, achieving worse performance compared to
both the CNN and baseline models. Overall, our CNN-based approach marks a
significant advancement in EPL player performance forecasting and lays the
foundation for transfer learning to other EPL prediction tasks such as win-loss
odds for sports betting and the development of cutting-edge FPL AI Agents.


  The nearby Perseus galaxy cluster is a key target for indirect detection
searches for decaying dark matter. We use the C-EAGLE simulations of galaxy
clusters to predict the flux, width and shape of a dark matter decay line,
paying particular attention to the unexplained 3.55keV line detected in the
spectra of some galaxies and clusters, and the upcoming XRISM X-ray observatory
mission. We show that the line width in C-EAGLE clusters similar to Perseus is
typically [600-800]$\mathrm{kms^{-1}}$, and therefore narrower than the
amplitude of the velocity dispersion of galaxies in the cluster. Haloes that
are significantly disturbed can, however, exhibit galaxy velocity dispersions
higher than $1000\mathrm{kms^{-1}}$, and in this case will show a large
difference between the line profiles of on- and off-center observations. We
show that the line profile is likely to be slightly asymmetric, but still well
approximated by a Gaussian at the 10% level, and that the halo asymmetry can
lead to fluxes that vary by a factor of two. In summary, we predict that, if
the previously reported 3.55keV line detections do originate from dark matter
decay, the XRISM mission will detect a line with a roughly Gaussian profile at
a rest frame energy of 3.55keV, with a width $>600\mathrm{kms^{-1}}$ and flux
approximately in the range $[4-9]\times10^{-8}\mathrm{counts/sec/cm^{2}}$.


  We investigate the chances that neutron stars act as the lense in a
gravitational microlensing event towards the galactic bulge or a spiral arm.
The observation of neutron stars by means of gravitational microlensing would
allow the estimation of neutron star masses independently of the property of
being a pulsar in a binary system. We estimate the contribution of neutron
stars to the optical depth and the lensing rate based on two different models
of the pulsar distribution in the galaxy. Since only a small fraction of all
neutron stars are pulsars, it is unlikely to find a pulsar that acts as a
microlense by chance. A position comparison of known radio pulsars with
observed microlensing candidates towards the galactic bulge and spiral arms
shows no candidate pair, which is consistent with the theoretical expectation.
To improve the probability of microlensing a pulsar, we suggest to search for
gravitational microlensing events of known nearby high proper motion pulsars.
The pulsar PSR J1932+1059 is a good candidate for an astrometric detection of
gravitational lensing.


  We demonstrate the production of large $^7$Li Bose-Einstein condensates in an
optical dipole trap using $D_1$ gray molasses. The sub-Doppler cooling
technique reduces the temperature of $4\times10^9$ atoms to $25~\mu{}$K in
3~ms. After microwave evaporation cooling in a magnetic quadrupole trap, we
transfer the atoms to a crossed optical dipole trap, where we employ a magnetic
Feshbach resonance on the $|F=1,m_F=1\rangle$ state. Fast evaporation cooling
is achieved by tilting the optical potential using a magnetic field gradient on
the top of the Feshbach field. Our setup produces pure condensates with
$2.7\times10^6$ atoms in the optical potential for every 11~s. The trap tilt
evaporation allows rapid thermal quench, and spontaneous vortices are observed
in the condensates as a result of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism.


  Violating Bell's inequalities (BIs) allows one to certify the preparation of
entangled states from minimal assumptions -- in a device-independent manner.
Finding BIs tailored to many-body correlations as prepared in present-day
quantum computers and simulators is however a highly challenging endeavour. In
this work, we focus on BIs violated by very coarse-grain features of the
system: two-body correlations averaged over all permutations of the parties.
For two-outcomes measurements, specific BIs of this form have been
theoretically and experimentally studied in the past, but it is practically
impossible to explicitly test all such BIs. Data-driven methods --
reconstructing a violated BI from the data themselves -- have therefore been
considered. Here, inspired by statistical physics, we develop a novel
data-driven approach specifically tailored to such coarse-grain data. Our
approach offers two main improvements over the existing literature: 1) it is
directly designed for any number of outcomes and settings; 2) the obtained BIs
are quadratic in the data, offering a fundamental scaling advantage for the
precision required in experiments. This very flexible method, whose complexity
does not scale with the system size, allows us to systematically improve over
all previously-known Bell's inequalities robustly violated by ensembles of
quantum spin-$1/2$; and to discover novel families of Bell's inequalities,
tailored to spin-squeezed states and many-body spin singlets of arbitrary
spin-$j$ ensembles.


  Characterising the capacity region for a network can be extremely difficult.
Even with independent sources, determining the capacity region can be as hard
as the open problem of characterising all information inequalities. The
majority of computable outer bounds in the literature are relaxations of the
Linear Programming bound which involves entropy functions of random variables
related to the sources and link messages. When sources are not independent, the
problem is even more complicated. Extension of Linear Programming bounds to
networks with correlated sources is largely open. Source dependence is usually
specified via a joint probability distribution, and one of the main challenges
in extending linear program bounds is the difficulty (or impossibility) of
characterising arbitrary dependencies via entropy functions. This paper tackles
the problem by answering the question of how well entropy functions can
characterise correlation among sources. We show that by using carefully chosen
auxiliary random variables, the characterisation can be fairly "accurate" Using
such auxiliary random variables we also give implicit and explicit outer bounds
on the capacity of networks with correlated sources. The characterisation of
correlation or joint distribution via Shannon entropy functions is also
applicable to other information measures such as Renyi entropy and Tsallis
entropy.


  Large amplitude, high luminosity soft X-ray flares were detected by the ROSAT
All-Sky Survey in several galaxies with no evidence for Seyfert activity in
their ground-based optical spectra. These flares had the properties predicted
for a tidal disruption event by a central supermassive black hole: soft X-ray
spectrum, time-scale of months, and large X-ray luminosity (10^42 - 10^44 ergs
s^-1). In order to evaluate the alternative hypothesis that these flares could
have been some form of extreme AGN variability, we obtained follow-up optical
spectroscopy of three of the flaring galaxies a decade later with the Space
Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and a narrow slit to search for or place
stringent limits on the presence of any persistent Seyfert-like emission in
their nuclei. Two of the galaxies, RX J1624.9+7554 and RX J1242.6-1119, show no
evidence for emission lines or a non-stellar continuum in their Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) nuclear spectra, consistent with their ground-based
classification as inactive galaxies. They remain the most convincing as hosts
of tidal disruption events. NGC 5905, previously known as a starburst H II
galaxy due to its strong emission lines, has in its inner 0."1 a nucleus with
narrow emission-line ratios requiring a Seyfert 2 classification. This weak
Seyfert 2 nucleus in NGC 5905, which was masked by the many surrounding H II
regions in ground-based spectra, requires a low level of prior non-stellar
photoionization, thus raising some uncertainty about the nature of its X-ray
flare, which may or may not have been a tidal disruption event. The absence of
both broad emission lines and nuclear X-ray absorption in NGC 5905 also
characterizes it as a ``true'' Seyfert 2 galaxy, yet one that has varied by
more than a factor of 100 in X-rays.


  We examine the behavior of a model which describes the melting of
double-stranded DNA chains. The model, with displacement-dependent stiffness
constants and a Morse on-site potential, is analyzed numerically; depending on
the stiffness parameter, it is shown to have either (i) a second-order
transition with "nu_perpendicular" = - beta = 1, "nu_parallel" = gamma/2 = 2
(characteristic of short range attractive part of the Morse potential) or (ii)
a first-order transition with finite melting entropy, discontinuous fraction of
bound pairs, divergent correlation lengths, and critical exponents
"nu_perpendicular" = - beta = 1/2, "nu_parallel" = gamma/2 = 1.


  This paper describes a novel method for partitioning image into meaningful
segments. The proposed method employs watershed transform, a well-known image
segmentation technique. Along with that, it uses various auxiliary schemes such
as Binary Gradient Masking, dilation which segment the image in proper way. The
algorithm proposed in this paper considers all these methods in effective way
and takes little time. It is organized in such a manner so that it operates on
input image adaptively. Its robustness and efficiency makes it more convenient
and suitable for all types of images.


  We propose a flow to study the Chern-Yamabe problem and discuss the long time
existence of the flow. In the balanced case we show that the Chern-Yamabe
problem is the Euler-Lagrange equation of some functional. The monotonicity of
the functional along the flow is derived. We also show that the functional is
not bounded from below.


  The standard generic quantum computer model is studied analytically and
numerically and the border for emergence of quantum chaos, induced by
imperfections and residual inter-qubit couplings, is determined. This
phenomenon appears in an isolated quantum computer without any external
decoherence. The onset of quantum chaos leads to quantum computer hardware
melting, strong quantum entropy growth and destruction of computer operability.
The time scales for development of quantum chaos and ergodicity are determined.
In spite the fact that this phenomenon is rather dangerous for quantum
computing it is shown that the quantum chaos border for inter-qubit coupling is
exponentially larger than the energy level spacing between quantum computer
eigenstates and drops only linearly with the number of qubits n. As a result
the ideal multi-qubit structure of the computer remains rather robust against
imperfections. This opens a broad parameter region for a possible realization
of quantum computer. The obtained results are related to the recent studies of
quantum chaos in such many-body systems as nuclei, complex atoms and molecules,
finite Fermi systems and quantum spin glass shards which are also reviewed in
the paper.


  We propose a new model for forming beliefs and learning about unknown
probabilities (such as the probability of picking a red marble from a bag with
an unknown distribution of coloured marbles). The most widespread model for
such situations of 'radical uncertainty' is in terms of imprecise
probabilities, i.e. representing the agent's knowledge as a set of probability
measures. We add to this model a plausibility map, associating to each measure
a plausibility number, as a way to go beyond what is known with certainty and
represent the agent's beliefs about probability. There are a number of standard
examples: Shannon Entropy, Centre of Mass etc. We then consider learning of two
types of information: (1) learning by repeated sampling from the unknown
distribution (e.g. picking marbles from the bag); and (2) learning higher-order
information about the distribution (in the shape of linear inequalities, e.g.
we are told there are more red marbles than green marbles). The first changes
only the plausibility map (via a 'plausibilistic' version of Bayes' Rule), but
leaves the given set of measures unchanged; the second shrinks the set of
measures, without changing their plausibility. Beliefs are defined as in Belief
Revision Theory, in terms of truth in the most plausible worlds. But our belief
change does not comply with standard AGM axioms, since the revision induced by
(1) is of a non-AGM type. This is essential, as it allows our agents to learn
the true probability: we prove that the beliefs obtained by repeated sampling
converge almost surely to the correct belief (in the true probability). We end
by sketching the contours of a dynamic doxastic logic for statistical learning.


  Federated Learning (FL) has become increasingly popular to perform
data-driven analysis in cyber-physical critical infrastructures. Since the FL
process may involve the client's confidential information, Differential Privacy
(DP) has been proposed lately to secure it from adversarial inference. However,
we find that while DP greatly alleviates the privacy concerns, the additional
DP-noise opens a new threat for model poisoning in FL. Nonetheless, very little
effort has been made in the literature to investigate this adversarial
exploitation of the DP-noise. To overcome this gap, in this paper, we present a
novel adaptive model poisoning technique {\alpha}-MPELM} through which an
attacker can exploit the additional DP-noise to evade the state-of-the-art
anomaly detection techniques and prevent optimal convergence of the FL model.
We evaluate our proposed attack on the state-of-the-art anomaly detection
approaches in terms of detection accuracy and validation loss. The main
significance of our proposed {\alpha}-MPELM attack is that it reduces the
state-of-the-art anomaly detection accuracy by 6.8% for norm detection, 12.6%
for accuracy detection, and 13.8% for mix detection. Furthermore, we propose a
Reinforcement Learning-based DP level selection process to defend
{\alpha}-MPELM attack. The experimental results confirm that our defense
mechanism converges to an optimal privacy policy without human maneuver.


  Supervised deep learning techniques have achieved great success in various
fields due to getting rid of the limitation of handcrafted representations.
However, most previous image retargeting algorithms still employ fixed design
principles such as using gradient map or handcrafted features to compute
saliency map, which inevitably restricts its generality. Deep learning
techniques may help to address this issue, but the challenging problem is that
we need to build a large-scale image retargeting dataset for the training of
deep retargeting models. However, building such a dataset requires huge human
efforts.
  In this paper, we propose a novel deep cyclic image retargeting approach,
called Cycle-IR, to firstly implement image retargeting with a single deep
model, without relying on any explicit user annotations. Our idea is built on
the reverse mapping from the retargeted images to the given input images. If
the retargeted image has serious distortion or excessive loss of important
visual information, the reverse mapping is unlikely to restore the input image
well. We constrain this forward-reverse consistency by introducing a cyclic
perception coherence loss. In addition, we propose a simple yet effective image
retargeting network (IRNet) to implement the image retargeting process. Our
IRNet contains a spatial and channel attention layer, which is able to
discriminate visually important regions of input images effectively, especially
in cluttered images. Given arbitrary sizes of input images and desired aspect
ratios, our Cycle-IR can produce visually pleasing target images directly.
Extensive experiments on the standard RetargetMe dataset show the superiority
of our Cycle-IR. In addition, our Cycle-IR outperforms the Multiop method and
obtains the best result in the user study. Code is available at
https://github.com/mintanwei/Cycle-IR.


  Searches for production of supersymmetric partners of gluons and quarks with
the CMS experiment at CERN's LHC have excluded these particles for masses up to
about 2 TeV. The paper will present results and show the analysis techniques in
these searches, with an emphasis on the use of razor variables for the
discrimination between standard model backgrounds and signal.


  In quantum mechanics, each observable is assigned a collection of
projections. Two observables are compatible (can be measured simultaneously) if
and only if any two projections that are assigned to them commute. This led to
the study of noncommuting sets of idempotents which further led to the skew
lattice theory that was founded and explored by Jonathan Leech. In the present
paper we shall see how noncommuting projections can be regarded as generators
of a skew lattice.


  Coding practices are increasingly used by software companies. Their use
promotes consistency, readability, and maintainability, which contribute to
software quality. Coding practices were initially enforced by general-purpose
linters, but companies now tend to design and adopt their own company-specific
practices. However, these company-specific practices are often not automated,
making it challenging to ensure they are shared and used by developers.
Converting these practices into linter rules is a complex task that requires
extensive static analysis and language engineering expertise. In this paper, we
seek to answer the following question: can coding practices be learned
automatically from examples manually tagged by developers? We conduct a
feasibility study using CodeBERT, a state-of-the-art machine learning approach,
to learn linter rules. Our results show that, although the resulting
classifiers reach high precision and recall scores when evaluated on balanced
synthetic datasets, their application on real-world, unbalanced codebases,
while maintaining excellent recall, suffers from a severe drop in precision
that hinders their usability.


  Modified gravity (MG) theories aim to reproduce the observed acceleration of
the Universe by reducing the dark sector while simultaneously recovering
General Relativity (GR) within dense environments. Void studies appear to be a
suitable scenario to search for imprints of alternative gravity models on
cosmological scales. Voids cover an interesting range of density scales where
screening mechanisms fade out, which reaches from a density contrast $\delta
\approx -1$ close to their centers to $\delta \approx 0$ close to their
boundaries. We present an analysis of the level of distinction between GR and
two modified gravity theories, the Hu-Sawicki $f(R)$ and the symmetron theory.
This study relies on the abundance, linear bias, and density profile of voids
detected in n-body cosmological simulations. We define voids as connected
regions made up of the union of spheres with a {\it \textup{mean}} density
given by $\overline\rho_v=0.2\,\overline\rho_m$, but disconnected from any
other voids. We find that the height of void walls is considerably affected by
the gravitational theory, such that it increases for stronger gravity
modifications. Finally, we show that at the level of dark matter n-body
simulations, our constraints allow us to distinguish between GR and MG models
with $|f_{R0}| > 10^{-6}$ and $z_{SSB} > 1$. Differences of best-fit values for
MG parameters that are derived independently from multiple void probes may
indicate an incorrect MG model. This serves as an important consistency check.


  We study the heat and spin transport properties in a ring of interacting
spins coupled to heat baths at different temperatures. We show that
interactions, by inducing avoided crossings, can be a mean to tune both the
total heat current flowing between the ring and the baths, and the way it flows
through the system. In particular, we recognize three regimes in which the heat
current flows clockwise, counter-clockwise, and in parallel. The temperature
bias between the baths also induces a spin current within the ring, whose
direction and magnitude can be tuned by the interaction. Lastly, we show how
the ergotropy of the nonequilibrium steady state can increase significantly
near the avoided crossings.


  We discuss a programming language for real-time audio signal processing that
is embedded in the functional language Haskell and uses the Low-Level Virtual
Machine as back-end. With that framework we can code with the comfort and type
safety of Haskell while achieving maximum efficiency of fast inner loops and
full vectorisation. This way Haskell becomes a valuable alternative to special
purpose signal processing languages.


  This paper proposes the first object counting method for omnidirectional
images. Because conventional object counting methods cannot handle the
distortion of omnidirectional images, we propose to process them using
stereographic projection, which enables conventional methods to obtain a good
approximation of the density function. However, the images obtained by
stereographic projection are still distorted. Hence, to manage this distortion,
we propose two methods. One is a new data augmentation method designed for the
stereographic projection of omnidirectional images. The other is a
distortion-adaptive Gaussian kernel that generates a density map ground truth
while taking into account the distortion of stereographic projection. Using the
counting of grape bunches as a case study, we constructed an original
grape-bunch image dataset consisting of omnidirectional images and conducted
experiments to evaluate the proposed method. The results show that the proposed
method performs better than a direct application of the conventional method,
improving mean absolute error by 14.7% and mean squared error by 10.5%.


  Surface magnetism and its correlation with the electronic structure are
critical to understand the gapless topological surface state in the intrinsic
magnetic topological insulator MnBi$_2$Te$_4$. Here, using static and time
resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we find a
significant ARPES intensity change together with a gap opening on a Rashba-like
conduction band. Comparison with a model simulation strongly indicates that the
surface magnetism on cleaved MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ is the same as its bulk state. The
coexistence of surface ferromagnetism and a gapless TSS uncovers the novel
complexity of MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ that may be responsible for the low quantum
anomalous Hall temperature of exfoliated MnBi$_2$Te$_4$.


  We study periodically driven closed systems with a long-ranged Hamiltonian by
considering a generalized Kitaev chain with pairing terms which decay with
distance as a power law characterized by exponent $\alpha$. Starting from an
initial unentangled state, we show that all local quantities relax to
well-defined steady state values in the thermodynamic limit and after $n \gg 1$
drive cycles for any $\alpha$ and driving frequency $\omega$. We introduce a
distance measure, $\mathcal{D}_l(n)$, that characterizes the approach of the
reduced density matrix of a subsystem of $l$ sites to its final steady state.
We chart out the $n$ dependence of ${\mathcal D}_l(n)$ and identify a critical
value $\alpha=\alpha_c$ below which they generically decay to zero as
$(\omega/n)^{1/2}$. For $\alpha > \alpha_c$, in contrast, ${\mathcal D}_l(n)
\sim (\omega/n)^{3/2}[(\omega/n)^{1/2}]$ for $\omega \to \infty [0]$ with at
least one intermediate dynamical transition. We also study the mutual
information propagation to understand the nature of the entanglement spreading
in space with increasing $n$ for such systems. We point out existence of
qualitatively new features in the space-time dependence of mutual information
for $\omega < \omega^{(1)}_c$, where $\omega^{(1)}_c$ is the largest critical
frequency for the dynamical transition for a given $\alpha$. One such feature
is the presence of {\it multiple} light cone-like structures which persists
even when $\alpha$ is large. We also show that the nature of space-time
dependence of the mutual information of long-ranged Hamiltonians with $\alpha
\le 2$ differs qualitatively from their short-ranged counterparts with $\alpha
> 2$ for any drive frequency and relate this difference to the behavior of the
Floquet group velocity of such driven system.


  Matrix generalizations of the N-particle quantum-mechanical Calogero model
classifying according to representations of the symmetric group $S_N$ are
considered. Symmetry properties of the eigen-wave functions in the matrix
Calogero models are analyzed. Latex.


  A cosmological description of the universe is proposed in the context of
Hamiltonian formulation of a Bianchi IX cosmology minimally coupled to a
massless scalar field. The classical and quantum results are studied with
special attention to the case of closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker model.


  B2013+370 and B2023+336 are two blazars at low-galactic latitude that were
previously proposed to be the counterparts for the EGRET unidentified sources,
3EG J2016+3657 and 3EG J2027+3429. Gamma-ray emission associated with the EGRET
sources has been detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and the two
sources, 1FGL J2015.7+3708 and 1FGL J2027.6+3335, have been classified as
unidentified in the 1-year catalog. This analysis of the Fermi-LAT data
collected during 31 months reveals that the 1FGL sources are spatially
compatible with the blazars, and are significantly variable, supporting the
hypothesis of extragalactic origin for the gamma-ray emission. The gamma-ray
light curves are compared with 15 GHz radio light curves from the 40-m
telescope at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO). Simultaneous
variability is seen in both bands for the two blazar candidates. The study is
completed with the X-ray analysis of 1FGL J2015.7+3708 using Swift observations
that were triggered in August 2010 by a Fermi-detected flare. The resulting
spectral energy distribution shows a two-component structure typical of
blazars. We also identify a second source in the field of view of 1FGL
J2027.6+3335 with similar characteristics to the known LAT pulsars. This study
gives solid evidence favoring blazar counterparts for these two unidentified
EGRET and Fermi sources, supporting the hypothesis that a number of
unidentified gamma-ray sources at low galactic latitudes are indeed of
extragalactic origin.


  In this paper we propose to perform the scintigraphy of small organ using a
rotating-slit collimator and a bundle of scintillating glass fibers, put in
parallel with the slit and rotating with it. An intensified CCD, coupled to the
end of the fibers, acquires an integrated image of the events per each rotation
angle. The final image is computed by a back-projection procedure. The
advantages of this method, with respect to conventional scintigraphy, are the
improvement of the detection efficiency of one-two order of magnitude without
counting rate limitations, the improvement of the spatial resolution, the
elimination of the parallax error and the rejection of the spurious events,
without energy analysis. Simulations and first experimental results are showed.


  Energy conversion in nanosized devices is studied in the framework of
state-space models. We use a network representation of the underlying master
equation to describe the dynamics by a graph. Particular segments of this
network represent input and output processes that provide a way to introduce a
coupling to several heat reservoirs and particle reservoirs. In addition, the
network representation scheme allows one to decompose the stationary dynamics
as cycles. The cycle analysis is a convenient tool for analyse models of
machine operations, which are characterized by different nanoscale energy
conversion processes. By introducing the cycle affinity, we are able to
calculate the zero-current limit. The zero-current limit can be mapped to the
zero-affinity limit in a network representation scheme. For example, for
systems with competing external driving forces the open-circuit voltage can be
determined by setting the cycle affinity zero. This framework is used to derive
open-circuit voltage with respect to microscopic material energetics and
different coupling to particle and temperature reservoirs.


  The Krotov combining construction of perfect 1-error-correcting binary codes
from 2000 and a theorem of Heden saying that every non-full-rank perfect
1-error-correcting binary code can be constructed by this combining
construction is generalized to the $q$-ary case. Simply, every non-full-rank
perfect code $C$ is the union of a well-defined family of $\mu$-components
$K_\mu$, where $\mu$ belongs to an "outer" perfect code $C^*$, and these
components are at distance three from each other. Components from distinct
codes can thus freely be combined to obtain new perfect codes. The Phelps
general product construction of perfect binary code from 1984 is generalized to
obtain $\mu$-components, and new lower bounds on the number of perfect
1-error-correcting $q$-ary codes are presented.


  Although the Fluctuation-Dissipation (F-D) framework for noise processes was
published in 1951 by Callen and Welton, today's model for electrical noise does
not fit in it. This model overseeing fluctuations of electrical energy in
resistors becomes a limited interpretation of the work published in 1928 by
Nyquist. This is why we propose a new, Quantum-compliant model for electrical
noise that not only fits in the F-D framework, but also shows that the
resistance noise known as 1/f excess noise in Solid-State devices and the phase
noise found in electronic oscillators are some of its effects.


  Dream11 takes pride in being a unique platform that enables over 190 million
fantasy sports users to demonstrate their skills and connect deeper with their
favorite sports. While managing such a scale, one issue we are faced with is
duplicate/multiple account creation in the system. This is done by some users
with the intent of abusing the platform, typically for bonus offers. The
challenge is to detect these multiple accounts before it is too late. We
propose a graph-based solution to solve this problem in which we first predict
edges/associations between users. Using the edge information we highlight
clusters of colluding multiple accounts. In this paper, we talk about our
distributed ML system which is deployed to serve and support the inferences
from our detection models. The challenge is to do this in real-time in order to
take corrective actions. A core part of this setup also involves
human-in-the-loop components for validation, feedback, and ground-truth
labeling.


  Extending Blaschke and Lebesgue's classical result in the Euclidean plane, it
has been recently proved in spherical and the hyperbolic cases, as well, that
Reuleaux triangles have the minimal area among convex domains of constant width
$D$. We prove an essentially optimal stability version of this statement in
each of the three types of surfaces of constant curvature. In addition, we
summarize the fundamental properties of convex bodies of constant width in
spaces of constant curvature, and provide a characterization in the hyperbolic
case in terms of horospheres.


  We introduce new and robust decompositions of mean-field Hartree-Fock (HF)
and Kohn-Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) relying on the use of
localized molecular orbitals and physically sound charge population protocols.
The new lossless property decompositions, which allow for partitioning
1-electron reduced density matrices into either bond-wise or atomic
contributions, are compared to alternatives from the literature with regards to
both molecular energies and dipole moments. Besides commenting on possible
applications as an interpretative tool in the rationalization of certain
electronic phenomena, we demonstrate how decomposed mean-field theory makes it
possible to expose and amplify compositional features in the context of
machine-learned quantum chemistry. This is made possible by improving upon the
granularity of the underlying data. On the basis of our preliminary
proof-of-concept results, we conjecture that many of the structure-property
inferences in existence today may be further refined by efficiently leveraging
an increase in dataset complexity and richness.


  The preliminary LEP data on the e^+e^- -> l^+l^- scattering are analysed to
establish a model-independent search for the signals of virtual states of the
Abelian Z' boson. The recently introduced observables give a possibility to
pick up uniquely the Abelian Z' signals in these processes. The mean values of
the observables are in accordance with the Z' existence. However, the accuracy
of the experimental data is deficient to detect the signal at more than the
1\sigma confidence level. The results of other model-independent fits and
further prospects are discussed.


  We show that the high local baryonic fraction, M(bar) ~ 1/3 M(tot), found in
groups and clusters of galaxies does not reconcile the observed cosmological
baryon density with the standard Big-Bang prediction. Taking into account
recent measurements on the hot-gas content and temperature functions of
clusters and groups, we get Omega(gas) = 0.0023 h_{50}^{-1.5} ~ 4% Omega(BBN).
Including the contributions of galaxies and of (local) Ly-alpha clouds we
estimate Omega(bar) ~ 0.004-0.006 < 10% Omega(BBN) as the amount of detected
baryons. Most of the synthesised atoms are still to be discovered. We propose
to relate the impressive presence of the hot gas component in clusters with the
very low, mass-dependent efficiency of the process of galaxy formation in
making stars from the primordial gas.


  The coincidence of the set of all nilpotent elements of a ring with its prime
radical has a module analogue which occurs when the zero submodule satisfies
the radical formula. A ring $R$ is 2-primal if the set of all nilpotent
elements of $R$ coincides with its prime radical. This fact motivates our study
in this paper, namely, to compare 2-primal submodules and submodules that
satisfy the radical formula. A demonstration of the importance of 2-primal
modules in bridging the gap between modules over commutative rings and modules
over noncommutative rings is done and new examples of rings and modules that
satisfy the radical formula are also given.


  The possibility of Group 12 elements, such as Zn, Cd, and Hg existing in an
oxidation state of +III or higher and hence transforming them into transition
metals has fascinated chemists for decades. It took nearly 20 years before
experiment could confirm the theoretical prediction that Hg indeed can exist in
an oxidation state of +IV. While this unusual property of Hg is attributed to
the relativistic effects, Zn being much lighter than Hg has not been expected
to have an oxidation state higher than +II. Using density functional theory we
show that an oxidation state of +III for Zn can be realized by choosing
specific ligands with large electron affinities. We demonstrate this by a
systematic study of the interaction of Zn with F, BO2, and AuF6 ligands whose
electron affinities are progressively higher, namely, 3.4 eV, 4.5 eV, and 8.6
eV, respectively. Discovery of higher oxidation states of elements can help in
the formulation of new reactions and hence in the development of new chemistry.


  The goal of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of the
relations between the exact controllability of nonlinear PDEs and the control
theory for ODEs based on Lie brackets, through a study of the Schr\"odinger PDE
with bilinear control. We focus on the small-time local controllability (STLC)
around an equilibrium, when the linearized system is not controllable. We study
the second order order term in the Taylor expansion of the state, with respect
to the control. For scalar input ODEs, quadratic terms never recover
controllability: they induce signed drifts in the dynamics. Thus proving STLC
requires to go at least to the third order. Similar results were proved for the
bilinear Schr\"odinger PDE with scalar input controls. In this article, we
study the case of multi-input systems. We clarify among the quadratic Lie
brackets, those that allow to recover STLC: they are bilinear with respect to 2
different controls. For ODEs, our result is a consequence of Sussman's
sufficient condition $S(\theta)$ (when focused on quadratic terms), but we
propose a new proof, designed to prepare an easier transfer to PDEs. This proof
relies on a representation formula of the state inspired by the Magnus formula.
By adapting it, we prove a new STLC result for the bilinear Schr\"odinger PDE.


  We have investigated the superconducting properties in a single crystal of a
new superconductor Pb$_{2}$Pd via various techniques including magnetization,
AC transport, transverse field muon spin rotation and relaxation (TF-$\mu$SR),
and heat capacity. Pb$_{2}$Pd crystallizes in a body-centred tetragonal
structure with space group I4/$mcm$. All measurements confirm the
superconducting transition temperature, T$_{C}$ = 3.0 $\pm$ 0.1 K. Electronic
specific heat data are well described by the BCS fitting, suggesting that
Pb$_{2}$Pd opens an isotropic gap on entering the superconducting state. The
specific heat jump and $\lambda_{e-ph}$ value categorize Pb$_{2}$Pd as a
moderately coupled superconductor. Magnetization and transverse field muon spin
rotation measurements along with Ginzburg-Landau parameter, $\kappa$ <
1/$\sqrt{2}$ strongly infers that Pb$_{2}$Pd is a type I superconductor.


  Hyperbolic metasurfaces based on van der Waals (vdW) materials support
propagation of extremely anisotropic polaritons towards nanoscale light
compression and manipulation, and thus has great potential in the applications
of planar hyperlens, nanolasing, quantum optics and ultrasensitive infrared
spectroscopy. Two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as a vdW
metasurface can manipulate the propagation of hyperbolic polaritons at the
level of single atomic layers, possessing higher degree of field confinement
and lower losses than the conventional media. However, active manipulation of
hyperbolic polaritonic waves in h-BN midinfrared metasurfaces remains elusive.
Herein, we provide an effective strategy for constructing tunable mid-infrared
hyperbolic vdW metasurfaces (HMSs). They are composed of meta-atoms that are
the in-plane heterostructures of thin-layer h-BN and monolayer graphene strips
(iHBNG). The strong coupling of h-BN phonons and graphene plasmons enables the
large tunability of light fields by tailoring chemical potentials of graphene
without frequency shift, which involves topological transitions of polaritonic
modes, unidirectional polariton propagation and local-density-of-state
enhancement. Simulated visual near-field distributions of iHBNG metasurfaces
reveal the unique transformations of hyperbolic polariton propagations,
distinguished from that of individual h-BN and graphene metasurfaces. Our
findings provide a platform of optical nanomanipulation towards emerging
on-chip polaritonic devices.


  I present a short overview of the NLO QCD calculations available for
deep-inelastic production of heavy quarks.


  The fermion propagator is derived in detail from the model of fermion coupled
to loop quantum gravity. As an ingredient of the propagator, the vacuum state
is defined as the ground state of some effective fermion Hamiltonian under the
background geometry given by a coherent state resembling the classical
Minkowski spacetime. Moreover, as a critical feature of loop quantum gravity,
the superposition over graphs is employed to define the vacuum state. It turns
out that the graph superposition leads to the propagator being the average of
the propagators of the lattice field theory over various graphs so that all
fermion doubler modes are suppressed in the propagator. This resolves the
doubling problem in loop quantum gravity. Our result suggests that the
superposition nature of quantum geometry should, on the one hand, resolve the
tension between fermion and the fundamental discreteness and, on the other
hand, relate to the continuum limit of quantum gravity.


  In the two microwave (MW) cross-shaped cavity magnon system, we describe a
method to produce multipartite entanglement and quantum steering. To achieve
squeezed states of the magnons, a Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA) creates
a squeezed vacuum field that drives the two cavities. We theoretically
demonstrate that the cavity-cavity entanglement can be generated at the
resonance point, however, increasing the cavity and magnon decay rates generate
the cavity-magnon entanglement. By changing the squeezing parameter and
increasing the decay rates, we can transfer the cavity-cavity entanglement to
cavity-magnon entanglement. Furthermore, the cavity-cavity entanglement
(survive up to 2.8K) not only found to be much stronger but also more robust as
compared to cavity-magnon entanglement (survive up to 0.4K). More importantly,
the genuine photon-magnon-photon tripartite entanglement could be achieved,
which is robust against the thermal fluctuations and depends strongly on
squeezing parameter. Furthermore, for current dual cavity-magnon system,
two-way quantum steering is found when the optomagnonical couplings are equal.
The current study offers a straightforward and practical method for achieving
multipartite quantum correlations.


  In this paper, we present a compositional methodology for constructing
symbolic models of nonlinear interconnected impulsive systems. Our approach
relies on the concept of "alternating simulation function" to establish a
relationship between concrete subsystems and their symbolic models. Assuming
some small-gain type conditions, we develop an alternating simulation function
between the symbolic models of individual subsystems and those of the nonlinear
interconnected impulsive systems. To construct symbolic models of nonlinear
impulsive subsystems, we propose an approach that depends on incremental
input-to-state stability and forward completeness properties. Finally, we
demonstrate the advantages of our framework through a case study.


  We define and study hierarchies of topological spaces induced by the
classical Borel and Luzin hierarchies of sets. Our hierarchies are divided into
two classes: hierarchies of countably based spaces induced by their embeddings
into the domain P\omega, and hierarchies of spaces (not necessarily countably
based) induced by their admissible representations. We concentrate on the
non-collapse property of the hierarchies and on the relationships between
hierarchies in the two classes.


  Motivation: The Stochastic Simulation Algorithm (SSA) has largely diffused in
the field of systems biology. This approach needs many realizations for
establishing statistical results on the system under study. It is very
computationnally demanding, and with the advent of large models this burden is
increasing. Hence parallel implementation of SSA are needed to address these
needs.
  At the very heart of the SSA is the selection of the next reaction to occur
at each time step, and to the best of our knowledge all implementations are
based on an inverse transformation method. However, this method involves a
random number of steps to select this next reaction and is poorly amenable to a
parallel implementation.
  Results: Here, we introduce a parallel acceptance-rejection algorithm to
select the K next reactions to occur. This algorithm uses a deterministic
number of steps, a property well suited to a parallel implementation. It is
simple and small, accurate and scalable. We propose a Graphics Processing Unit
(GPU) implementation and validate our algorithm with simulated propensity
distributions and the propensity distribution of a large model of yeast iron
metabolism. We show that our algorithm can handle thousands of selections of
next reaction to occur in parallel on the GPU, paving the way to massive SSA.
  Availability: We present our GPU-AR algorithm that focuses on the very heart
of the SSA. We do not embed our algorithm within a full implementation in order
to stay pedagogical and allows its rapid implementation in existing software.
We hope that it will enable stochastic modelers to implement our algorithm with
the benefits of their own optimizations.


  As an alternative explanation of the dimming of distant supernovae it has
recently been advocated that we live in a special place in the Universe near
the centre of a large spherical void described by a Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB)
metric. In this scenario, the Universe is no longer homogeneous and isotropic,
and the apparent late time acceleration is actually a consequence of spatial
gradients. We propose in this paper a new observable, the normalized cosmic
shear, written in terms of directly observable quantities, and calculable in
arbitrary inhomogeneous cosmologies. This will allow future surveys to
determine whether we live in a homogeneous universe or not. In this paper we
also update our previous observational constraints from geometrical measures of
the background cosmology. We include the Union Supernovae data set of 307 Type
Ia supernovae, the CMB acoustic scale and the first measurement of the radial
baryon acoustic oscillation scale. Even though the new data sets are
significantly more constraining, LTB models -- albeit with slightly larger
voids -- are still in excellent agreement with observations, at chi^2/d.o.f. =
307.7/(310-4)=1.005. Together with the paper we also publish the updated
easyLTB code used for calculating the models and for comparing them to the
observations.


  In this work, we consider an extension to the matching procedure proposed by
Brodsky and de Teramond to obtain the two-body wave functions in the
light-front formalism for holographic models. We compute the light-front wave
function (LFWF) considering different static dilaton fields and AdS-like
geometric deformations. We also prove that this procedure holds for general
AdS/QCD models in asymptotically AdS geometries.


  Consider a system consisting of $n$ $d$-dimensional quantum particles and
arbitrary pure state $\Psi$ of the whole system. Suppose we simultaneously
perform complete von Neumann measurements on each particle. One can ask: what
is the minimal possible value $S[\Psi]$ of the entropy of outcomes joint
probability distribution? We show that $S[\Psi]$ coincides with entanglement
entropy for bipartite states. We compute $S[\Psi]$ for two sample multipartite
states: the hexacode state ($n=6, d=2$) and determinant states ($n=d$). The
generalization of determinant states to the case $d<n$ is considered.


  Existence of different types of interference in the spectrum of radiation
emitted by a doubly hard scattered electron is demonstrated. The spectrum
develops oscillations in two regions: the hard, where the oscillations depend
on the electron Lorentz factor, and the soft, where the oscillations depend on
the electron scattering angles. This interference pattern owes to the presence
of jetlike radiation configurations, formed by a piecewise-rectilinearly moving
electron and the accompanying photon. The corresponding nondipole decomposition
relation is derived. Notions describing proper field formation and
interference, and presumably being applicable more generally, are discussed in
detail.


  The electrostatic potential that keeps approximate charge neutrality in
neutron star matter is self-consistently introduced into the formalism for
rotochemical heating presented in a previous paper by Fernandez and
Reisenegger. Although the new formalism is more rigorous, we show that its
observable consequences are indistinguishable from those of the previous one,
leaving the conclusions of the previous paper unchanged.


  A novel Hopf algebra $ ( {\tilde G}_{r,s} )$, depending on two deformation
parameters and five generators, has been constructed. This $ {\tilde G}_{r,s}$
Hopf algebra might be considered as some quantisation of classical $GL(2)
\otimes GL(1) $ group, which contains the standard $GL_q(2)$ quantum group
(with $ q=r^{-1} $) as a Hopf subalgebra. However, we interestingly observe
that the two parameter deformed $GL_{p,q}(2)$ quantum group can also be
realised through the generators of this $ {\tilde G}_{r,s}$ algebra, provided
the sets of deformation parameters $p,~q$ and $r,~s$ are related to each other
in a particular fashion. Subsequently we construct the invariant noncommutative
planes associated with $ {\tilde G}_{r,s}$ algebra and show how the two well
known Manin planes corresponding to $GL_{p,q}(2)$ quantum group can easily be
reproduced through such construction. Finally we consider the `coloured'
extension of $GL_{p,q}(2)$ quantum group as well as corresponding Manin planes
and explore their intimate connection with the `coloured' extension of ${\tilde
G}_{r,s}$ Hopf structure.


  In this paper we derive an improved core mass function (CMF) for the Pipe
Nebula from a detailed comparison between measurements of visual extinction and
molecular-line emission. We have compiled a refined sample of 201 dense cores
toward the Pipe Nebula using a 2-dimensional threshold identification algorithm
informed by recent simulations of dense core populations. Measurements of
radial velocities using complimentary C18O (1-0) observations enable us to cull
out from this sample those 43 extinction peaks that are either not associated
with dense gas or are not physically associated with the Pipe Nebula. Moreover,
we use the derived C18O, central velocities to differentiate between single
cores with internal structure and blends of two or more physically distinct
cores, superposed along the same line-of-sight. We then are able to produce a
more robust dense core sample for future follow-up studies and a more reliable
CMF than was possible previously. We confirm earlier indications that the CMF
for the Pipe Nebula departs from a single power-law like form with a break or
knee at M ~ 2.7 +/- 1.3 Msun. Moreover, we also confirm that the CMF exhibits a
similar shape to the stellar IMF, but is scaled to higher masses by a factor of
~4.5. We interpret this difference in scaling to be a measure of the star
formation efficiency (22 +/- 8%). This supports earlier suggestions that the
stellar IMF may originate more or less directly from the CMF.


  In this paper, we define a relative $L^2$-$\rho$-invariant for Dirac
operators on odd-dimensional spin manifolds with boundary and show that they
are invariants of the bordism classes of positive scalar curvature metrics
which are collared near the boundary. As an application, we show that if a
$4k+3$-dimensional spin manifold with boundary admits such a metric and if,
roughly speaking, there exists a torsion element in the difference of the
fundamental groups of the manifold and its boundary, then there are infinitely
many bordism classes of such psc metrics on the given manifold. This result in
turn implies that the moduli-space of psc metrics on such manifolds has
infinitely many path components. We also indicate how to define delocalised
$\eta$-invariants for odd-dimensional spin manifolds with boundary, which could
then be used to obtain similar results for $4k+1$-dimensional manifolds.


  In heat exchangers, an incompressible fluid is heated initially and cooled at
the boundary. The goal is to transfer the heat to the boundary as efficiently
as possible. In this paper we study a related steady version of this problem
where a steadily stirred fluid is uniformly heated in the interior and cooled
on the boundary. For a given large P\'eclet number, how should one stir to
minimize some norm of the temperature? This version of the problem was
previously studied by Marcotte, Doering et\ al.\ (SIAM Appl.\ Math '18) in a
disk, where the authors used matched asymptotics to show that when the P\'eclet
number, $\pe$, is sufficiently large one can stir the fluid in a manner that
ensures the total heat is $O(1/\pe)$. In this paper we confirm their results
with rigorous proofs, and also provide an almost matching lower bound. For
simplicity, we work on the infinite strip instead of the unit disk and the
proof uses probabilistic techniques.


  Optical properties of heterostructures composed of layered 2D materials, such
as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and graphene, are broadly explored.
Of particular interest are light-induced energy transfer mechanisms in these
materials and their structural roots. Here, we use state-of-the-art
first-principles calculations to study the excitonic composition and the
absorption properties of WS$_2$-graphene heterostructures as a function of
interlayer alignment and the local strain resulting from it. We find that
Brillouin zone mismatch and the associated energy level alignment between the
graphene Dirac cone and the TMD bands dictate an interplay between interlayer
and intralayer excitons, mixing together in the many-body representation upon
the strain-induced symmetry breaking in the interacting layers. Examining the
representative cases of the 0$^\circ$ and 30$^\circ$ interlayer twist angles,
we find that this exciton mixing strongly varies as a function of the relative
alignment. We quantify the effect of these structural modifications on exciton
charge separation between the layers and the associated graphene-induced
homogeneous broadening of the absorption resonances. Our findings provide
guidelines for controllable optical excitations upon interface design and shed
light on the importance of many-body effects in the understanding of optical
phenomena in complex heterostructures.


  We study dynamics in a neighborhood of a nonhyperbolic fixed point or an
irreducible homoclinic tangent point. General type conditions for the existence
of infinite sets of periodic points are obtained. A new method, based on the
study of the dynamics of center disks, is introduced. Some results on shadowing
near a non-hyperbolic fixed point of a homeomorphism are obtained.


  We present a unified likelihood ratio-based confidence sequence (CS) for any
(self-concordant) generalized linear models (GLMs) that is guaranteed to be
convex and numerically tight. We show that this is on par or improves upon
known CSs for various GLMs, including Gaussian, Bernoulli, and Poisson. In
particular, for the first time, our CS for Bernoulli has a poly(S)-free radius
where S is the norm of the unknown parameter. Our first technical novelty is
its derivation, which utilizes a time-uniform PAC-Bayesian bound with a uniform
prior/posterior, despite the latter being a rather unpopular choice for
deriving CSs. As a direct application of our new CS, we propose a simple and
natural optimistic algorithm called OFUGLB applicable to any generalized linear
bandits (GLB; Filippi et al. (2010)). Our analysis shows that the celebrated
optimistic approach simultaneously attains state-of-the-art regrets for various
self-concordant (not necessarily bounded) GLBs, and even poly(S)-free for
bounded GLBs, including logistic bandits. The regret analysis, our second
technical novelty, follows from combining our new CS with a new proof technique
that completely avoids the previously widely used self-concordant control lemma
(Faury et al., 2020, Lemma 9). Finally, we verify numerically that OFUGLB
significantly outperforms the prior state-of-the-art (Lee et al., 2024) for
logistic bandits.


  This paper presents synthetic observations of long-lived, coorbiting
asteroids of Mercury, Venus, the Earth and Mars. Our sample is constructed by
taking the limiting semimajor axes, differential longitudes and inclinations
for long-lived stability provided by simulations. The intervals are randomly
populated with values to create initial conditions. These orbits are
re-simulated to check that they are stable and then re-sampled every 2.5 years
for 1 million years. The Mercurian sample contains only horseshoe orbits, the
Martian sample only tadpoles. For both Venus and the Earth, the greatest
concentration of objects on the sky occurs close to the classical Lagrange
points at heliocentric ecliptic longitudes of 60 and 300 degrees. The
distributions are broad especially if horseshoes are present in the sample. The
full-width half maximum (FWHM) in heliocentric longitude for Venus is 325
degrees and for the Earth is 328 degrees. The mean and most common velocity of
these coorbiting satellites coincides with the mean motion of the parent
planet, but again the spread is wide with a FWHM for Venus of 27.8 arcsec/hr
and for the Earth of 21.0 arcsec/hr. For Mars, the greatest concentration on
the sky occurs at heliocentric ecliptic latitudes of 12 degrees. The peak of
the velocity distribution occurs at 65 arcsec/hr, significantly less than the
Martian mean motion, while its FWHM is 32.3 arcsec/hr. The case of Mercury is
the hardest of all, as the greatest concentration occurs at heliocentric
longitudes close to the Sun.


  One-stage algorithm have been widely used in target detection systems that
need to be trained with massive data. Most of them perform well both in
real-time and accuracy. However, due to their convolutional structure, they
need more computing power and greater memory consumption. Hence, we applied
pruning strategy to target detection networks to reduce the number of
parameters and the size of model. To demonstrate the practicality of the
pruning method, we select the YOLOv5 model for experiments and provide a data
set of outdoor obstacles to show the effect of model. In this specific data
set, in the best circumstances, the volume of the network model is reduced by
49.7% compared with the original model, and the reasoning time is reduced by
52.5%. Meanwhile, it also uses data processing methods to compensate for the
drop in accuracy caused by pruning.


  Recent analyses of the distribution of reduced neutron widths in the Nuclear
Data Ensemble (NDE) and in the Pt isotopes find strong disagreement with
predictions of random-matrix theory. These analyses combine the
maximum-likelihood method with a cutoff on the reduced neutron widths. We show
that the method introduces a systematic error (the "cutoff error"). That error
(seemingly taken into account for the Pt data) increases with increasing cutoff
and decreasing number of data points. We reanalyse the NDE taking the cutoff
error into account. While differing in detail, our results confirm the earlier
conclusion that the NDE disagrees significantly from RMT predictions.


  We introduce a class of damage models on regular lattices with isotropic
interactions, as e.g. quasistatic fiber bundles. The system starts intact with
a surface-energy threshold required to break any cell sampled from an
uncorrelated quenched-disorder distribution. The evolution of this
heterogeneous system is ruled by Griffith's principle which states that a cell
breaks when the release in elastic energy in the system exceeds the
surface-energy barrier necessary to break the cell. By direct integration over
all possible realizations of the quenched disorder, we obtain the probability
distribution of each damage configuration at any level of the imposed external
deformation. We demonstrate an isomorphism between the distributions so
obtained and standard generalized Ising models, in which the coupling constants
and effective temperature in the Ising model are functions of the nature of the
quenched-disorder distribution and the extent of accumulated damage. In
particular, we show that damage models with global load sharing are isomorphic
to standard percolation theory, that damage models with local load sharing rule
are isomorphic to the standard Ising model, and draw consequences thereof for
the universality class and behavior of the autocorrelation length of the
breakdown transitions corresponding to these models. We also treat damage
models having more general power-law interactions, and classify the breakdown
process as a function of the power-law interaction exponent. Last, we also show
that the probability distribution over configurations is a maximum of Shannon's
entropy under some specific constraints related to the energetic balance of the
fracture process, which firmly relates this type of quenched-disorder based
damage model to standard statistical mechanics.


  With the development of modern information technology (IT), a smart grid has
become one of the major components of smart cities. To take full advantage of
the smart grid, the capability of intelligent scheduling and planning of
electricity delivery is essential. In practice, many factors have an impact on
electricity consumption, which necessitates information fusion technologies for
a thorough understanding. For this purpose, researchers have investigated
methodologies for collecting electricity consumption related information and
variant multi-factor power consumption forecasting models. In addition,
conducting a comprehensive analysis and obtaining an accurate evaluation of
power consumption are the premise and basis for a more robust and efficient
power grid design and transformation. Therefore, it is meaningful to explore
forecasting models that are able to reflect the power consumption changes and
internal relations within fusional information effectively. Making electricity
consumption forecasting based on the neural network has been a popular research
topic in recent years, and the back-propagation neural network (BPNN) algorithm
has been recognized as a mature and effective method. In this paper, BPNN is
adopted to forecast the electricity consumption using Pecan Street, a community
with a relatively large-scale smart grid, as a case study, and takes multiple
factors into account, such as weather condition, weekend and holidays. The
influences of each factor have been evaluated for a deeper insight. We hope
this work will inspire more discussion and further study to guide the design of
future smart grids.


  We studied the light-induced effects in BiFeO$_3$ single crystals as a
function of temperature by means of optical spectroscopy. Here we report the
observation of several light-induced absorption features, which are discussed
in terms of the photostriction effect and are interpreted in terms of excitons.
The temperature dependence of their energy position suggests a possible
coupling between the excitons and the lattice vibrations. Moreover, there are
hints for anomalies in the temperature evolution of the excitonic features,
which might be related to the temperature-induced magnetic phase transitions in
BiFeO$_3$. Our findings suggest a coupling between light-induced excitons and
the lattice and spin degrees of freedom, which might be relevant for the
observed ultrafast photostriction effect in multiferroic BiFeO$_3$.


  Let K be a number field, O_K the ring of integers of K and X a stable curve
over O_K of genus g >= 2. In this note, we will prove a strict inequality
  ( (K_{X/S})^2 / [K : Q] ) > Height_{Fal}(J(X_K)),
  where $K_{X/S}$ is the canonically metrized dualizing sheaf of X over S =
Spec(O_K) and Height_{Fal}(J(X_K)) is the Faltings modular height of the
Jacobian of X_K. As corollary, for any constant A, the set of all stable curves
X over O_K with
  ( (K_{X/S})^2 / [K : Q] ) <= A
  is finite under the following equivalence. For stable curves X and Y, X is
equivalent to Y if X is isomorphic to Y over O_{K'} for some finite extension
field K' of K.


  We introduce a formula for the disagreement function which is used to control
a recently proposed dynamics of the Ising spin system. This leads to four
different phases of the Ising spin chain in a zero temperature. One of these
phases is doubly degenerated (anti- and ferromagnetic states are equally
probable). On the borders between the phases two types of transitions are
observed: infinite degeneration and instability lines. The relaxation of the
system depends strongly on the phase.


  Face recognition (FR) systems have demonstrated outstanding verification
performance, suggesting suitability for real-world applications ranging from
photo tagging in social media to automated border control (ABC). In an advanced
FR system with deep learning-based architecture, however, promoting the
recognition efficiency alone is not sufficient, and the system should also
withstand potential kinds of attacks designed to target its proficiency. Recent
studies show that (deep) FR systems exhibit an intriguing vulnerability to
imperceptible or perceptible but natural-looking adversarial input images that
drive the model to incorrect output predictions. In this article, we present a
comprehensive survey on adversarial attacks against FR systems and elaborate on
the competence of new countermeasures against them. Further, we propose a
taxonomy of existing attack and defense methods based on different criteria. We
compare attack methods on the orientation and attributes and defense approaches
on the category. Finally, we explore the challenges and potential research
direction.


  We present spectroscopic observations with the 3.6m ESO telescope of two
emission-line galaxies, J2104-0035 and J0113+0052, selected from the Data
Release 4 (DR4) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). From our data we
determine the oxygen abundance of these systems to be respectively 12+logO/H =
7.26+/-0.03 and 7.17+/-0.09, making them the two most metal-deficient galaxies
found thus far in the SDSS and placing them among the five most metal-deficient
emission-line galaxies ever discovered. Their oxygen abundances are close to
those of the two most metal-deficient emission-line galaxies known,
SBS0335-052W with 12+logO/H = 7.12+/-0.03 and I Zw 18 with 12+logO/H =
7.17+/-0.01.


  The Collatz variations pattern seems not to have any recurrence relation
between numbers. But knowing that there is at least a natural number that
converges after several iterations we construct a function $f_{X,Y}$ that is
equal to the value of convergence for all convergent sequences. A canonical
decomposition can be expressed for such numbers.


  We study the problem of query evaluation on probabilistic graphs, namely,
tuple-independent probabilistic databases over signatures of arity two. We
focus on the class of queries closed under homomorphisms, or, equivalently, the
infinite unions of conjunctive queries. Our main result states that the
probabilistic query evaluation problem is #P-hard for all unbounded queries
from this class. As bounded queries from this class are equivalent to a union
of conjunctive queries, they are already classified by the dichotomy of Dalvi
and Suciu (2012). Hence, our result and theirs imply a complete data complexity
dichotomy, between polynomial time and #P-hardness, on evaluating
homomorphism-closed queries over probabilistic graphs. This dichotomy covers in
particular all fragments of infinite unions of conjunctive queries over
arity-two signatures, such as negation-free (disjunctive) Datalog, regular path
queries, and a large class of ontology-mediated queries. The dichotomy also
applies to a restricted case of probabilistic query evaluation called
generalized model counting, where fact probabilities must be 0, 0.5, or 1. We
show the main result by reducing from the problem of counting the valuations of
positive partitioned 2-DNF formulae, or from the source-to-target reliability
problem in an undirected graph, depending on properties of minimal models for
the query.


  The recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies
challenge educators and educational institutions to respond with curriculum and
resources that prepare students of all ages with the foundational knowledge and
skills for success in the AI workplace. Research on AI Literacy could lead to
an effective and practical platform for developing these skills. We propose and
advocate for a pathway for developing AI Literacy as a pragmatic and useful
tool for AI education. Such a discipline requires moving beyond a conceptual
framework to a multi-level competency model with associated competency
assessments. This approach to an AI Literacy could guide future development of
instructional content as we prepare a range of groups (i.e., consumers,
co-workers, collaborators, and creators). We propose here a research matrix as
an initial step in the development of a roadmap for AI Literacy research, which
requires a systematic and coordinated effort with the support of publication
outlets and research funding, to expand the areas of competency and
assessments.


  Braided monoidal categories arise naturally as centres of monoidal categories
and have been the focus of much recent attention in both mathematics and
physics. By suitably restricting the use of the exchange rule, we obtain a
sequent calculus whose categorical semantics may be seen as freely constructing
the centre of a monoidal category. This calculus is shown to admit a strongly
normalising and confluent cut elimination procedure. The resulting logic fits
neatly into the landscape of noncommutative logics and is distinguished by
possessing a particularly perspicuous semantics.


  The Arabia Shield has a volcanic nature inside. A region of the Western Saudi
Arabia is in fact covered with vast fields of lava known as harraat. These
lands are spotted by many stone circles and other quite interesting
archaeological remains of the Neolithic period, such as the "desert kites", the
hunters used to guide the game across the harrah in some corrals. With Google
Maps, we can observe both sceneries, the volcanic nature of the land and a
portrait of Arabia during the Neolithic times.


  In recent years Lichtenbaum has conjectured a description for the special
values of Hasse--Weil zeta functions in terms of ``Weil-\'etale cohomology''.
In earlier papers we studied a class of foliated dynamical systems which had
some similarities with arithmetic schemes. Assuming that certain zeta
regularized determinants exist we now prove an analogue of Lichtenbaum's
conjectures for a particularly simple class of such dynamical systems: Using
results of \'Alvarez L\'opez and Kordyukov we express the leading coefficient
$\zeta^*_R (0)$ of the Ruelle zeta function $\zeta_R (s)$ at $s = 0$ in terms
of analytic torsion. We then apply the Cheeger--M\"uller theorem to replace the
analytic torsion by the Reidemeister torsion with respect to harmonic bases.
For our dynamical systems the latter can be expressed by the same recipe as the
one in Lichtenbaum's conjectures.


  We investigated numerically properties of Nambu monopoles in lattice
Electroweak theory at realistic values of $\alpha$ and $\theta_W$. Our choice
of parameters of lattice Lagrangian corresponds to large values of the Higgs
boson mass $M_H > 2 M_W$.
  We find that the density of Nambu monopoles cannot be predicted by the choice
of the initial parameters of Electroweak theory and should be considered as the
new external parameter of the theory. We also investigate the difference
between the versions of Electroweak theory with the gauge groups $SU(2)\otimes
U(1)$ and $SU(2)\otimes U(1)/Z_2$. We do not detect any difference at $\alpha
\sim {1/128}$. However, such a difference appears in the strong coupling region
and is related to the properties of monopoles constructed of the hypercharge
field.


  An interaction-driven nonzero quantum Hall conductivity is shown to occur in
time-reversal symmetric massive Dirac materials, in the absence of any external
agent. The effect is produced through the dynamical breakdown of time-reversal
symmetry, which is generated by quantum fluctuations, when the full dynamical
electromagnetic interaction among the electrons is taken into account. The
manifestation of this emergent parity anomaly should be observed in materials
such as silicene, stanene, germanene and transition metal dichalcogenides, at
low enough temperatures.


  We investigated the complexation of thermoresponsive anionic
poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNiPAM) microgels and cationic
$\epsilon$-polylysine ($\epsilon$-PLL) chains. By combining electrophoresis,
light scattering, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dielectric
spectroscopy (DS) we studied the adsorption of $\epsilon$-PLL onto the microgel
networks and its effect on the stability of the suspensions. We show that the
volume phase transition (VPT) of the microgels triggers a large polyion
adsorption. Two interesting phenomena with unique features occur: a
temperature-dependent microgel overcharging and a complex reentrant
condensation. The latter may occur at fixed polyion concentration, when
temperature is raised above the VPT of microgels, or by increasing the number
density of polycations at fixed temperature. TEM and DS measurements
unambiguously show that short PLL chains adsorb onto microgels and act as
electrostatic glue above the VPT. By performing thermal cycles, we further show
that polyion-induced clustering is a quasi-reversible process: within the time
of our experiments large clusters form above the VPT and partially re-dissolve
as the mixtures are cooled down. Finally we give a proof that the observed
phenomenology is purely electrostatic in nature: an increase of the ionic
strength gives rise to the polyion desorption from the microgel outer shell.


  In this paper we construct the ambitwistor superstring in the Green-Schwarz
formulation. The model is obtained from the related pure spinor version. We
show that the spectrum contains only ten dimensional supergravity and that
kappa symmetry in a curved background implies some of the standard constraints.


  It is shown that the four-particle amplitude of superstring theory at two
loops obtained in [1,2] is equivalent to the previously obtained results in
[3,4,5]. Here the ${\bf Z}_2$ symmetry in hyperelliptic Riemann surface plays
an important role in the proof.


  Thermodynamics in the strong coupling limit of lattice QCD has features which
may be similar to those of continuum QCD, such as a chiral critical end point
and a nuclear liquid gas transition. Here I compare the combinatorics of
staggered and Wilson fermions in the strong coupling limit for arbitrary number
of colors and flavors. The partition functions can be considered as an
expansions in hadronic spatial hoppings from the static limit, where both
discretizations can be expressed via formulae with coefficients of distinct
combinatorial interpretation. The corresponding multiplicites of hadronic
states are evaluated using generalizations of Catalan numbers and Lucas
polynomials. I outline how quantum Monte Carlo simulations can be carried out
in general, and summarize recent results on the gauge corrections to the strong
coupling limit.


  The contributions of the covalent bond energies of various atom pairs to the
cohesive energy of MgB2 and AlB2 are analysed with a variant of our recently
developed energy-partitioning scheme for the density-functional total energy.
The covalent bond energies are strongest for the intralayer B-B pairs. In
contrast to the general belief, there is also a considerable covalent bonding
between the layers, mediated by the metal atom. The bond energies between the
various atom pairs are analysed in terms of orbital- and energy-resolved
contributions.


  We present new observational results on the RR Lyrae K-band Period-Luminosity
relation (PLK). Data on the Galactic globular clusters NGC 3201 and NGC 4590
(M68), and on the Large Magellanic Cloud cluster Reticulum are shown. We
compare the observed slopes of the PLK relations for these three clusters with
those predicted by pulsational and evolutionary models, finding a fair
agreement. Trusting on this finding we decided to adopt these theoretical
calibrations to estimate the distance to the target clusters,finding a good
agreement with optical-based RR Lyrae distances, but with a smaller formal
scatter.


  A magnetic skyrmion isusually refers to a twisted spin texture surrounded by
uniformly aligned out-of-plane spinsin the background of a uniformly magnetized
state. The invariance of the magnetic skyrmion conserves its topological charge
under any continuous transformations of the spin textures, leads to which
represents the robustness of a magnetic skyrmion their texture against external
perturbations, making it ideal to use skyrmions as . Such a behaviour is
required for an ideal information carriers. To date, most magnetic skyrmion
studies have been performedfocused on in perpendicularly magnetized systems,
where the skyrmion topological number is determined by the relative orientation
between the core and /outer perpendicular magnetization directions of the
skyrmion is either up/down or down/up. Here we show that there also exists a
new type of magnetic skyrmion with surrounding spins to be uniformly aligned to
the in-plane direction. By continuous transformation and relaxation of the spin
textures of out-of-plane skyrmions, we showed that an in-plane skyrmion, where
the background magnetization is in the in-plane direction, is also possible.
Different from the conventional perpendicular magnetic skyrmionsContrary to the
skyrmions in a perpendicularly magnetized state, the in-plane magnetic
skyrmions with opposite signs of topological charges can inherentlycharges can
inherently coexist in the in-plane magnetization system coexist. Moreover, the
iIn-plane skyrmions of opposite charge can move together by an electric current
and exhibit with an opposite spin Hall effect. These findings showdemonstrate
the inherent possibility of a double-bit transfer in a single magnetic wire
that is not possible in a perpendicularly magnetized system.


  Plateau problems with elastic boundary energy have been of recent theoretical
and applied interest. However, avoidance of self-intersection on the boundary
during the gradient descent requires strong assumptions on the initial
conditions. To make progress towards an alternative to these strong
assumptions, we introduce the novel M\"obius-Plateau energy, where we instead
use the repulsive M\"obius energy first introduced by O'Hara, and later
expounded upon by Freedman, He, and Wang. This new energy also has myriad
scientific utility and presents interesting theoretical phenomena.
  We first prove the existence of minimizing curves in the case of immersed
discs bounded by knots, placing our work on solid footing. We then investigate
the M\"obius-Plateau energy of helicoidal strips, which are classified as
screws or ribbons based on the orientations of the boundary helices. Through
direct methods of the variational equation, we show that stable helicoidal
screws are plentiful, whilst stable helicoidal ribbons impose strong
constraints on their parameters: they must have high coiling, thin width in
comparison to the coiling, and remain close to axis.


  The Ogawa stochastic integral is shortly reviewed and formulated in the
framework of abstract Wiener spaces. The condition of universal Ogawa
integrability in the multidimensional case is investigated, proving that it
cannot hold in general without the introduction of a "renormalization term".
Explicit examples are provided.


  A traditional assumption in game theory is that players are opaque to one
another -- if a player changes strategies, then this change in strategies does
not affect the choice of other players' strategies. In many situations this is
an unrealistic assumption. We develop a framework for reasoning about games
where the players may be translucent to one another; in particular, a player
may believe that if she were to change strategies, then the other player would
also change strategies. Translucent players may achieve significantly more
efficient outcomes than opaque ones.
  Our main result is a characterization of strategies consistent with
appropriate analogues of common belief of rationality. Common Counterfactual
Belief of Rationality (CCBR) holds if (1) everyone is rational, (2) everyone
counterfactually believes that everyone else is rational (i.e., all players i
believe that everyone else would still be rational even if i were to switch
strategies), (3) everyone counterfactually believes that everyone else is
rational, and counterfactually believes that everyone else is rational, and so
on. CCBR characterizes the set of strategies surviving iterated removal of
minimax dominated strategies: a strategy $\sigma_i$ is minimax dominated for i
if there exists a strategy $\sigma'_i$ for i such that $\min_{\mu'_{-i}}
u_i(\sigma_i, \mu_{-i}') > \max_{\mu_{-i}} u_i(\sigma_i, \mu_{-i})$.