  Most power systems are increasingly based on distributed energy resources,
leading to a strong impact on the electrical grid management. In the case of
Portugal, the contribution of renewable energy sources to the electricity
generation portfolio is already high and the objective is to achieve 100% by
2050. Most of the new renewable generation capacity will be ensured by
distributed photovoltaic generation installed in buildings and therefore the
inherent intermittence of photovoltaic output combined with a mismatch with
demand profile will challenge the operation and resiliency of the electrical
grid. Addressing these issues requires management at the community level and
the leveraging of spatio-temporal flexibility of controllable energy resources,
such as energy storage resources. This is recognized by the regulators in
Portugal and the recent renewable generation self-consumption legislation
enables generation-surplus trading in communities. Implementing intra-community
trading and utilizing the potentials of renewable generation requires oversight
and coordination at the community level in the context of transactive energy
systems. This paper focuses on addressing energy sharing through a transactive
energy market in community microgrids, using stationary and mobile energy
storage as flexibility resources. The proposed framework considers public and
commercial buildings with on-site battery storage and numerous electric vehicle
charging stations. The formulation is assessed using real data from a community
of buildings on a Portuguese University campus. The results showcase that the
proposed method achieves an increase in renewable self-consumption at building
and community levels, as well as a reduction in electricity costs.


  We present high-resolution optical images from the Hubble Space Telescope,
X-ray images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and optical spectra from the
Nordic Optical Telescope for a newly-discovered galaxy cluster, CHIPS1911+4455,
at z=0.485+/-0.005. CHIPS1911+4455 was discovered in the Clusters Hiding in
Plain Sight (CHiPS) survey, which sought to discover galaxy clusters with
extreme central galaxies that were misidentified as isolated X-ray point
sources in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. With new Chandra X-ray observations, we
find the core (r=10 kpc) entropy to be 17+2-9 keV cm^2, suggesting a strong
cool core, which are typically found at the centers of relaxed clusters.
However, the large-scale morphology of CHIPS1911+4455 is highly asymmetric,
pointing to a more dynamically active and turbulent cluster. Furthermore, the
Hubble images reveal a massive, filamentary starburst near the brightest
cluster galaxy (BCG). We measure the star formation rate for the BCG to be
140--190 Msun/yr, which is one of the highest rates measured in a central
cluster galaxy to date. One possible scenario for CHIPS1911+4455 is that the
cool core was displaced during a major merger and rapidly cooled, with cool,
star-forming gas raining back toward the core. This unique system is an
excellent case study for high-redshift clusters, where such phenomena are
proving to be more common. Further studies of such systems will drastically
improve our understanding of the relation between cluster mergers and cooling,
and how these fit in the bigger picture of active galactic nuclei (AGN)
feedback.


  Compressed sensing is a technique for recovering an unknown sparse signal
from a small number of linear measurements. When the measurement matrix is
random, the number of measurements required for perfect recovery exhibits a
phase transition: there is a threshold on the number of measurements after
which the probability of exact recovery quickly goes from very small to very
large. In this work we are able to reduce this threshold by incorporating
statistical information about the data we wish to recover. Our algorithm works
by minimizing a suitably weighted $\ell_1$-norm, where the weights are chosen
so that the expected statistical dimension of the corresponding descent cone is
minimized. We also provide new discrete-geometry-based Monte Carlo algorithms
for computing intrinsic volumes of such descent cones, allowing us to bound the
failure probability of our methods.


  Emotion labels in emotion recognition corpora are highly noisy and ambiguous,
due to the annotators' subjective perception of emotions. Such ambiguity may
introduce errors in automatic classification and affect the overall
performance. We therefore propose a dynamic label correction and sample
contribution weight estimation model. Our model is based on a standard BLSTM
model with attention with two extra parameters. The first learns a new
corrected label distribution, and is aimed to fix the inaccurate labels from
the dataset. The other instead estimates the contribution of each sample to the
training process, and is aimed to ignore the ambiguous and noisy samples while
giving higher weight to the clear ones. We train our model through an
alternating optimization method, where in the first epoch we update the neural
network parameters, and in the second we keep them fixed to update the label
correction and sample importance parameters. When training and evaluating our
model on the IEMOCAP dataset, we obtained a weighted accuracy (WA) and
unweighted accuracy (UA) of respectively 65.9% and 61.4%. This yielded an
absolute improvement of 2.5%, 2.7% respectively compared to a BLSTM with
attention baseline, trained on the corpus gold labels.


  This paper develops further the semi-classical theory of an harmonic
oscillator acted on by a Gaussian white noise force discussed in
(arXiv:1508.02379). Here I add to that theory the effects of Brownian damping
(friction). Albeit semi-classical, the theory can be used to model quantum
expectations and probabilities. I consider several examples.


  We present preliminary results from an ongoing calculation to determine the
curvature of the chiral phase transition line in the chiral limit along the
light-light, light-strange and strange-strange chemical potential directions.
We do this by studying the appropriate $\mu$-derivatives of the chiral
condensate as a function of the quark mass and comparing them to the scaling
predictions of $3d$-$O(N)$ theory. We work at a fixed lattice spacing,
$N_\tau=6$ and at four different quark masses $m_\pi\approx$ 140, 110, 90 and
80 MeV. For the light quark curvature, we obtain a value
0.03$\leqslant\kappa_{ll}\leqslant$0.11. We also find that both strange and
light-strange curvatures are around an order of magnitude smaller. Currently,
the light-strange curvature is the least constrained curvature and could have
either sign, though our results seem to prefer a slightly negative value.


  We investigate the structure of an alternative finite dimensional
$\Q$-algebra $\mathfrak{A}$ subject to the condition that for a $\Z$-order
$\Gamma \subset \mathfrak{A}$, and thus for every $\Z$-order of $\mathfrak{A}$,
the loop of units of $\U (\Gamma)$ does not contain a free abelian subgroup of
rank two. In particular, we prove that the radical of such an algebra
associates with the whole algebra. We also classify $RA$-loops $L$ for which
$\mathbb{Z}L$ has this property. The classification for group rings is still an
open problem.


  We consider a novel dark energy model to investigate whether it will provide
an expanding universe phase. Here we propose a mixed dark energy domination
which is constituted by tachyon, quintessence, and phantom scalar fields
nonminimally coupled to gravity, in the absence of background dark matter and
baryonic matter, in the framework of teleparallel gravity. We perform the
phase-space analysis of the model by numerical methods and find the late-time
accelerated attractor solutions implying the acceleration phase of universe.


  As a former engineering student, I have a great interest in a real world
application of mathematics. Probability is something I can relate to. I am
lucky enough that after I switched to Mathematics, this is one of many
interests of my Ph.D. advisor, Doron Zeilberger, as well. In this article we
create a program to apply the \textit{overlapping stage approach} to calculate
the moments $E[X^r]$ and $E[(X-\mu)^r]$ of combinatorial objects. We also show
the normality property of their distributions when these moments are easy
enough to calculate.


  Dou Shou Qi is a Chinese strategy board game for two players. We use a
EXPTIME-hardness framework to analyse computational complexity of the game. We
construct all gadgets of the hardness framework. In conclusion, we prove that
Dou Shou Qi is EXPTIME-complete.


  We study the Dirichlet problem for the semilinear equations involving the
pseudo-relativistic operator on a bounded domain, (\sqrt{-\Delta + m^2} - m)u
=|u|^{p-1}u \quad \textrm{in}~\Omega, with the Dirichlet boundary condition
$u=0$ on $\partial \Omega$. Here, $p \in (1,\infty)$ and the operator
$(\sqrt{-\Delta + m^2} - m)$ is defined in terms of spectral decomposition. In
this paper, we investigate existence and nonexistence of a nontrivial solution,
depending on the choice of $p$, $m$ and $\Omega$. Precisely, we show that $(i)$
if $p$ is not $H^1$ subcritical ($p \geq \frac{n+2}{n-2}$) and $\Omega$ is
star-shaped, the equation has no nontrivial solution for all $m > 0$; $(ii)$ if
$p$ is not $H^{1/2}$ supercritical ($1 <p \leq \frac{n+1}{n-1}$), then there
exists a least energy solution for all $m>0$ and any bounded domain $\Omega$;
$(iii)$ finally, in the intermediate range
($\frac{n+1}{n-1}<p<\frac{n+2}{n-2}$), the problem has a nontrivial solution,
provided that $m$ is sufficiently large and the problem -\Delta u = |u|^{p-1}u
\quad \textrm{in}~\Omega, \qquad u =0\quad \textrm{on}~\partial \Omega admits a
non-degenerate nontrivial solution, for example, when $\Omega$ is a ball or an
annulus.


  In order to understand the nonlinear stability of many types of time-periodic
travelling waves on unbounded domains, one must overcome two main difficulties:
the presence of embedded neutral eigenvalues and the time-dependence of the
associated linear operator. This problem is studied in the context of
time-periodic Lax shocks in systems of viscous conservation laws. Using spatial
dynamics and a decomposition into separate Floquet eigenmodes, it is shown that
the linear evolution for the time-dependent operator can be represented using a
contour integral similar to that of the standard time-independent case. By
decomposing the resulting Green's distribution, the leading order behavior
associated with the embedded eigenvalues is extracted. Sharp pointwise bounds
are then obtained, which are used to prove that time-periodic Lax shocks are
linearly and nonlinearly stable under the necessary conditions of spectral
stability and minimal multiplicity of the translational eigenvalues. The latter
conditions hold, for example, for small-oscillation time-periodic waves that
emerge through a supercritical Hopf bifurcation from a family of
time-independent Lax shocks of possibly large amplitude.


  This study presents a generalized multiscale multimesh finite element method
($\text{M}^2$-FEM) that addresses several long-standing challenges in the
numerical simulation of integral structural theories, often used to model
multiscale and nonlocal effects. The major challenges in the numerical
simulation of integral boundary value problems are primarily rooted in the
coupling of the spatial discretization of the global (parent) and integral
(child) domains which severely restricts the computational efficiency of
existing algorithms by imposing an implicit trade-off in the accuracy achieved
by the child domain and in the resources dedicated to the simulation of the
overall parent domain. One of the most defining contributions of this study
consists in the development of a mesh-decoupling technique that generates
isolated sets of meshes such that the parent and child domains can be
discretized and approximated independently. This mesh-decoupling has a
multi-fold impact on the simulation of integral theories such that, when
compared to existing state-of-the-art techniques, the proposed algorithm
achieves simultaneously better numerical accuracy and efficiency (hence
allowing a greater flexibility in both mesh size and computational cost
trade-off decisions), greater ability to adopt generalized integral kernel
functions, and the ability to handle non-regular (non-rectangular) domains via
unstructured meshing. In this study, we choose a benchmark problem based on an
extended version of the Eringen's nonlocal elasticity theory (implicitly, a
multiscale theory) that leverages the use of generalized attenuation kernels
and non-constant horizons of nonlocality. Nonetheless, the proposed
$\text{M}^2$-FEM algorithm is very general and it can be applied to a variety
of integral theories, even beyond structural elasticity.


  Strontium intercalation between van der Waals bonded layers of topological
insulator Bi2Se3 is found to induce superconductivity with a maximum Tc of 2.9
K. Transport measurement on single crystal of optimally doped sample
Sr0.1Bi2Se3 shows weak anisotropy (1.5) and upper critical field Hc2(0) equals
to 2.1 T for magnetic field applied per-pendicular to c -axis of the sample.
The Ginzburg-Landau coherence lengths are Xi-ab = 15.3 {\AA} and Xi_c = 10.2
{\AA}. The lower critical field and zero temperature penetration depth
Lambda(0) are estimated to be 0.35 mT and 1550 nm respectively. Hall and
Seebeck measurements confirm the dominance of electronic conduction and the
carrier concentration is surprisingly low (n = 1.85 x 10^19 cm-3) at 10 K
indicating possibility of unconventional superconductivity.


  Recent advancements in the field of large language models have made it
possible to use language models for advanced reasoning. In this paper we
leverage this ability for designing complex project plans based only on knowing
the current state and the desired state. Two approaches are demonstrated - a
scrum based approach and a shortcut plan approach. The scrum based approach
executes an automated process of requirements gathering, user story mapping,
feature identification, task decomposition and finally generates questions and
search terms for seeking out domain specific information to assist with task
completion. The shortcut approach looks at most recent snapshot of the current
and desired state and generates the next most reasonable task to do in order to
get to the desired state as quickly as possible. In this paper we automate
everything using a novel concept of "Language Programs". These are programs
written in natural language designed to process input data through the language
model. Guidance language is used for all LLM programs. All demo source code for
this paper is available at https://github.com/autoscrum/autoscrum


  We show that temperature anisotropies induced at a shock can account for
interplanetary and planetary bow shock observations. Shocked plasma with
enhanced plasma beta is preferentially unstable to the mirror mode instability
downstream of a quasi-perpendicular shock and to the firehose instability
downstream of a quasi-parallel shock, consistent with magnetic fluctuations
observed downstream of a large variety of shocks. Our theoretical analysis of
the solar wind termination shock suggests that the magnetic holes observed by
Voyager 1 in the heliosheath are produced by the mirror mode instability. The
results are also of astrophysical interest, providing an energy source for
plasma heating.


  Patent classification aims to assign multiple International Patent
Classification (IPC) codes to a given patent. Recent methods for automatically
classifying patents mainly focus on analyzing the text descriptions of patents.
However, apart from the texts, each patent is also associated with some
assignees, and the knowledge of their applied patents is often valuable for
classification. Furthermore, the hierarchical taxonomy formulated by the IPC
system provides important contextual information and enables models to leverage
the correlations between IPC codes for more accurate classification. However,
existing methods fail to incorporate the above aspects. In this paper, we
propose an integrated framework that comprehensively considers the information
on patents for patent classification. To be specific, we first present an IPC
codes correlations learning module to derive their semantic representations via
adaptively passing and aggregating messages within the same level and across
different levels along the hierarchical taxonomy. Moreover, we design a
historical application patterns learning component to incorporate the
corresponding assignee's previous patents by a dual channel aggregation
mechanism. Finally, we combine the contextual information of patent texts that
contains the semantics of IPC codes, and assignees' sequential preferences to
make predictions. Experiments on real-world datasets demonstrate the
superiority of our approach over the existing methods. Besides, we present the
model's ability to capture the temporal patterns of assignees and the semantic
dependencies among IPC codes.


  People with visual impairments perceive their environment non-visually and
often use AI-powered assistive tools to obtain textual descriptions of visual
information. Recent large vision-language model-based AI-powered tools like Be
My AI are more capable of understanding users' inquiries in natural language
and describing the scene in audible text; however, the extent to which these
tools are useful to visually impaired users is currently understudied. This
paper aims to fill this gap. Our study with 14 visually impaired users reveals
that they are adapting these tools organically -- not only can these tools
facilitate complex interactions in household, spatial, and social contexts, but
they also act as an extension of users' cognition, as if the cognition were
distributed in the visual information. We also found that although the tools
are currently not goal-oriented, users accommodate this limitation and embrace
the tools' capabilities for broader use. These findings enable us to envision
design implications for creating more goal-oriented, real-time processing, and
reliable AI-powered assistive technology.


  In a topological crystalline insulator (TCI) the inversion of the bulk
valence and conduction bands is a necessary condition to observe surface
metallic states. Solid solutions of Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_x$Te have been shown to be
TCI, where band inversion occurs as a result of the band gap evolution upon
alloying with Sn. The origins of this band inversion remain unclear. Herein the
role of Sn insertion into the PbTe matrix is investigated for the $p$-type
Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_x$Te series with $x$ = 0, 0.35, 0.60, and 1.00 via nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR) and transport measurements. $^{207}$Pb, $^{119}$Sn,
and $^{125}$Te line shapes, spin-lattice relaxation rates, and Knight shifts
provide site-specific characterization of the electronic band structure. This
probe of the electronic band structure shows that the band inversion is
unaffected by lattice distortions but related to spatial electronic
inhomogeneities formed by Sn incorporation into the PbTe matrix. Strong
relativistic effects are found to be responsible for the band inversion,
regardless of carrier type and concentration, suggesting a novel interpretation
of the band gap evolution with composition. The temperature dependences of the
NMR parameters reveal a negative temperature coefficient of the direct gap for
SnTe and positive coefficient for PbTe.


  Assessment of structural safety status is of paramount importance for
existing bridges, where accurate evaluation of flutter probability is essential
for long-span bridges. In current engineering practice, at the design stage,
flutter critical wind speed is usually estimated by the wind tunnel test, which
is sensitive to modal frequencies and damping ratios. After construction,
structural properties of existing structures will change with time due to
various factors, such as structural deteriorations and periodic environments.
The structural dynamic properties, such as modal frequencies and damping
ratios, cannot be considered as the same values as the initial ones, and the
deteriorations should be included when estimating the life-cycle flutter
probability. This paper proposes an evaluation framework to assess the
life-cycle flutter probability of long-span bridges considering the
deteriorations of structural properties, based on field monitoring data. The
Bayesian approach is employed for modal identification of a suspension bridge
with the main span of 1650 m, and the field monitoring data during 2010-2015 is
analyzed to determine the deterioration functions of modal frequencies and
damping ratios, as well as their inter-seasonal fluctuations. According to the
historical trend, the long-term structural properties can be predicted, and the
probability distributions of flutter critical wind speed for each year in the
long term are calculated. Consequently, the life-cycle flutter probability is
estimated, based on the predicted modal frequencies and damping ratios.


  We discuss the effect of magnetic impurities on the inelastic scattering and
dephasing of electrons. Magnetic impurities mediate the energy exchange between
electrons. This mechanism is especially effective at small energy transfers $E$
in the absence of Zeeman splitting, when the two-particle collision integral in
the electron kinetic equation has a kernel $K\propto 1/E^2$ in a broad energy
range. In a magnetic field, this mechanism is suppressed at $E$ below the
Zeeman energy. Simultaneously, the Zeeman splitting of the impurity spin states
reduces the electron dephasing rate, thus enhancing the effect of electron
interference on conduction. We find the weak localization correction to the
conductivity and the magnitude of the conductance fluctuations in the presence
of magnetic field of arbitrary strength. Our results can be compared
quantitatively with the experiments on energy relaxation in short metallic
wires and on Aharonov-Bohm conductance oscillations in wire rings.


  Following our previous work, we study the quantum phase transitions which
spontaneously develop ferromagnetic spin order in helical fermi liquids which
breaks continuous spin-space rotation symmetry, with application to the edge
states of 3d topological band insulators. With finite fermi surface, the
critical point has both z = 3 over-damped and z = 2 propagating quantum
critical modes, and the z = 3 mode will lead to non-fermi liquid behavior on
the entire fermi surface. In the ordered phase, the Goldstone mode is
over-damped unless it propagates along special directions, and quasiparticle is
ill defined on most parts of the fermi surface except for special points.
Generalizations of our results to other systems with spin-orbit couplings are
also discussed.


  We use the Bohr Sommerfeld quantization rule along with a perturbative
evaluation of the action intergral to find exact energy levels for the
P\"oschl-Teller potential (both hyperbolic and trigonometric forms), the Morse
potential, and the Rosen Morse potential. Combining perturbation theory with
the simplest asymptotic evaluation of the action integral allows us to obtain
all the energy levels of the Lennard-Jones potential with an accuracy greater
than 0.1 per cent and serves to confirm that the perturbation results for
P\"oschl-Teller and Morse Potentials are exact.


  In the known field of topological photonics, what remains less so is the
breakdown effect of topological phases deteriorated by perturbation. In this
paper, we investigate the variance on topological invariants for a periodic
Kekul{\'e} medium perturbed in unit cells, which was a gyromagnetic photonic
crystal holding topological phases induced by \emph{synchronized rotation} of
unit cells. Two parameters for geometric and material perturbation are
respectively benchmarked to characterise the topological degradation. Our
calculation demonstrates that such a periodic perturbation easily destructs the
topological phase, and thus calls for further checkups on robustness under such
unit-cell-perturbation in realization.


  Recently, the forward-backward and Douglas-Rachford envelope functions were
proposed in the literature. The stationary points of these envelope functions
have a close relationship with the solutions of the possibly nonsmooth
optimization problem to be solved. The envelopes were shown to be smooth and
convex under some additional assumptions. Therefore, these envelope functions
create powerful bridges between nonsmooth and smooth optimization.
  In this paper, we present a general envelope function that unifies and
generalizes these envelope functions. We provide properties of the general
envelope function that sharpen corresponding known results for the special
cases. We also present an envelope function for the generalized alternating
projections method (GAP), named the GAP envelope. It enables for convex
feasibility problems with two sets, of which one is affine, to be solved by
finding any stationary point of the smooth and under some assumptions convex
GAP envelope.


  Comment on the paper of T.Bachels, H. J. G\"{u}ntherodt and R.Sch\"{a}fer :
"Melting of Isolated Tin Nanoparticles".


  Interactive music systems always exhibit some autonomy in the creative
process. The capacity to generate novel material while retaining mutuality to
the interaction is proposed here as the bare minimum for creative autonomy in
such systems. Video Interactive VST Orchestra is a system incorporating an
adaptive technique based both on the concept of salience as a means for
retaining mutuality to the interplay and on multidominance in the adaptive
generation process as a means for introducing novelty. We call this property
reflexive multidominance. A case study providing evidence of such creative
autonomy in VIVO is presented.


  A National Research Council study on connecting quarks with the cosmos has
recently posed a number of the more important open questions at the interface
between particle physics and cosmology. These questions include the nature of
dark matter and dark energy, how the Universe began, modifications to gravity,
the effects of neutrinos on the Universe, how cosmic accelerators work, and
whether there are new states of matter at high density and pressure. These
questions are discussed in the context of the talks presented at this Summer
Institute.


  We introduce a novel virtual robotic toolkit myGym, developed for
reinforcement learning (RL), intrinsic motivation and imitation learning tasks
trained in a 3D simulator. The trained tasks can then be easily transferred to
real-world robotic scenarios. The modular structure of the simulator enables
users to train and validate their algorithms on a large number of scenarios
with various robots, environments and tasks. Compared to existing toolkits
(e.g. OpenAI Gym, Roboschool) which are suitable for classical RL, myGym is
also prepared for visuomotor (combining vision & movement) unsupervised tasks
that require intrinsic motivation, i.e. the robots are able to generate their
own goals. There are also collaborative scenarios intended for human-robot
interaction. The toolkit provides pretrained visual modules for visuomotor
tasks allowing rapid prototyping, and, moreover, users can customize the visual
submodules and retrain with their own set of objects. In practice, the user
selects the desired environment, robot, objects, task and type of reward as
simulation parameters, and the training, visualization and testing themselves
are handled automatically. The user can thus fully focus on development of the
neural network architecture while controlling the behaviour of the environment
using predefined parameters.


  We consider Newton's method for finding zeros of mappings from a manifold
$\mathcal{X}$ into a vector bundle $\mathcal{E}$. In this setting a connection
on $\mathcal{E}$ is required to render the Newton equation well defined, and a
retraction on $\mathcal{X}$ is needed to compute a Newton update. We discuss
local convergence in terms of suitable differentiability concepts, using a
Banach space variant of a Riemannian distance. We also carry over an affine
covariant damping strategy to our setting. Finally, we will discuss some
applications of our approach, namely, finding fixed points of vector fields,
variational problems on manifolds and finding critical points of functionals.


  We describe a numerical time-domain approach for high-accuracy calculations
of Casimir-Polder forces near micro-structured materials. The use of a
time-domain formulation enables the investigation of a broad range of materials
described by advanced material models, including nonlocal response functions.
We validate the method by a number of example calculations for which we
thoroughly investigate the convergence properties of the method, and comparing
to analytical reference calculations, we find average relative errors as low as
a few parts in a million. As an application example, we investigate the
anisotropy-induced repulsive behavior of the Casimir-Polder force near a sharp
gold wedge described by a hydrodynamic Drude model.


  Visual quality measures (VQMs) are designed to support analysts by
automatically detecting and quantifying patterns in visualizations. We propose
a new VQM for visual grouping patterns in scatterplots, called ClustML, which
is trained on previously collected human subject judgments. Our model encodes
scatterplots in the parametric space of a Gaussian Mixture Model and uses a
classifier trained on human judgment data to estimate the perceptual complexity
of grouping patterns. The numbers of initial mixture components and final
combined groups. It improves on existing VQMs, first, by better estimating
human judgments on two-Gaussian cluster patterns and, second, by giving higher
accuracy when ranking general cluster patterns in scatterplots. We use it to
analyze kinship data for genome-wide association studies, in which experts rely
on the visual analysis of large sets of scatterplots. We make the benchmark
datasets and the new VQM available for practical use and further improvements.


  Previous attempts to match the exact N=4 super Yang-Mills expression for the
expectation value of the 1/2-BPS circular Wilson loop with the semiclassical
AdS(5)xS(5) string theory prediction were not successful at the first
subleading order. There was a missing prefactor ~ lambda^(-3/4) which could be
attributed to the unknown normalization of the string path integral measure.
Here we resolve this problem by computing the ratio of the string partition
functions corresponding to the circular Wilson loop and the special
1/4-supersymmetric latitude Wilson loop. The fact that the latter has a trivial
expectation value in the gauge theory allows us to relate the prefactor to the
contribution of the three zero modes of the "transverse" fluctuation operator
in the 5-sphere directions.


  Stark broadening theory is currently operated for calculating widths and
shifts of spectral lines that are needed for spectroscopic diagnostics and
modelling in astrophysics, laboratory and technological plasmas. We have
calculated a great number of data, obtained through the impact semi- classical
perturbation theory: tables have been published for neutral atom and ion
emitters, and typical temperatures, electron and ion densities. They are
currently implemented in the STARK-B database which participates to the
European effort within the VAMDC (Virtual Atomic and Molecular data Centre).
Despite of that, a great number of data are still missing and their orders of
magnitude would at least be welcome. In the present paper, we will revisit and
compare the orders of magnitudes and trends of the impact Stark widths and
shifts, by considering their semiclassical perturbation expressions. We will
also provide fitting formulae which are essential for the modelling codes of
stellar atmospheres and envelope


  Along with the increasing frequency and severity of cyber incidents,
understanding their economic implications is paramount. In this context, listed
firms' reactions to cyber incidents are compelling to study since they (i) are
a good proxy to estimate the costs borne by other organizations, (ii) have a
critical position in the economy, and (iii) have their financial information
publicly available. We extract listed firms' cyber incident dates and
characteristics from newswire headlines. We use an event study over 2012--2022,
using a three-day window around events and standard benchmarks. We find that
the magnitude of abnormal returns around cyber incidents is on par with
previous studies using newswire or alternative data to identify cyber
incidents. Conversely, as we adjust the standard errors accounting for
event-induced variance and residual cross-correlation, we find that the
previously claimed significance of abnormal returns vanishes. Given these
results, we run a horse race of specifications, in which we test for the
marginal effects of type of cyber incidents, target firm sector, periods, and
their interactions. Data breaches are the most detrimental incident type with
an average loss of -1.3\% or (USD -1.9 billion) over the last decade. The
health sector is the most sensitive to cyber incidents, with an average loss of
-5.21\% (or USD -1.2 billion), and even more so when these are data breaches.
Instead, we cannot show any time-varying effect of cyber incidents or a
specific effect of the type of news as had previously been advocated.


  Near-gate plasmons are a new type of plasma oscillations emerging in
homogeneous two-dimensional electron systems where a gate provides partial
screening of electron-electron interaction. Here we develop a theory of the
near-gate plasmons in van der Waals heterostructures comprising a conducting
layer separated by a thin insulator from an uncharged disk-shaped gate. We show
that in these structures the near-gate plasmons form gate-size-quantized
quasi-stationary discrete modes even in the collisionless limit. Belonging to
continuum spectrum of two-dimensional plasmons outside of the disk-gate, the
near-gate plasmons are manifested as Fano-like resonances in frequency and
magnetodispersions of scattering cross-section of the former scattered off the
region under the gate. This enables to recover spectrum of the near-gate
plasmons in the van der Waals heterostructures using near-field imaging
techniques.


  Using the matrix representation of Fourier integral operators with respect to
a Gabor frame, we study their compactness on weighted modulation spaces. As a
consequence, we recover and improve some compactness results for
pseudodifferential operators.


  We present a two-pronged approach to the formation of early-type galaxies,
using a sample of 18 galaxies at 0.5 < z < 1 from the HST/ACS Ultra Deep Field
and GRAPES surveys: 1) We combine slitless low resolution spectroscopy from the
GRAPES dataset with simple models of galaxy formation to explore their star
formation histories. 2) We also perform an analysis of their surface brightness
distribution with the unprecedented details provided by the ACS superb angular
resolution and photometric depth. Our spectroscopic analysis reveals that their
stellar populations are rather homogeneous in age and metallicity and formed at
redshifts z ~ 2-5. Evolving them passively, they become practically
indistinguishable from ellipticals at z = 0. Also, their isophotal shapes
appear very similar to those observed for nearby ellipticals, in that the
percentages of disky and boxy galaxies at z ~ 1 are close to the values
measured at z = 0. Moreover,we find that the isophotal structure of z ~ 1
early-type galaxies obeys the correlations already observed among nearby
ellipticals, i.e. disky ellipticals have generally higher characteristic
ellipticities, and boxy ellipticals have larger half-light radii and are
brighter in the restframe B band. In this respect then, no significant
structural differences are seen for ellipticals between z = 0 and 1.


  We demonstrate that it is conceptually and computationally favorable to
regard spin-weighted spherical harmonics as vector valued functions on the
total space $SO(3)$ of the Hopf bundle, satisfying a covariance condition with
respect to the gauge group $U(1)$ of this bundle. A key role is played by the
invariant connection form of the principle Hopf bundle, known to physicists
from the geometry behind magnetic monopoles.


  In this paper the complex dynamical analysis of the parametric fourth-order
Kim's iterative family is made on quadratic polynomials, showing the Matlab
codes generated to draw the fractal images necessary to complete the study. The
parameter spaces associated to the free critical points have been analyzed,
showing the stable (and unstable) regions where the selection of the parameter
will provide us excellent schemes (or dreadful ones).


  This paper is devoted to the study of tilt stability of local minimizers,
which plays an important role in both theoretical and numerical aspects of
optimization. This notion has been comprehensively investigated in the
unconstrained framework as well as for problems of nonlinear programming with
$C^2$-smooth data. Available results for nonpolyhedral conic programs were
obtained only under strong constraint nondegeneracy assumptions. Here we
develop an approach of second-order variational analysis, which allows us to
establish complete neighborhood and pointbased characterizations of tilt
stability for problems of second-order cone programming generated by the
nonpolyhedral second-order/Lorentz/ice-cream cone. These characterizations are
established under the weakest metric subregularity constraint qualification
condition.


  In this work, we present a comparison of a shallow and a deep learning
architecture for the automated segmentation of white matter lesions in MR
images of multiple sclerosis patients. In particular, we train and test both
methods on early stage disease patients, to verify their performance in
challenging conditions, more similar to a clinical setting than what is
typically provided in multiple sclerosis segmentation challenges. Furthermore,
we evaluate a prototype naive combination of the two methods, which refines the
final segmentation. All methods were trained on 32 patients, and the evaluation
was performed on a pure test set of 73 cases. Results show low lesion-wise
false positives (30%) for the deep learning architecture, whereas the shallow
architecture yields the best Dice coefficient (63%) and volume difference
(19%). Combining both shallow and deep architectures further improves the
lesion-wise metrics (69% and 26% lesion-wise true and false positive rate,
respectively).


  Peter Denton, Stephen Parke, Terence Tao and Xining Zhang [arxiv 2019]
presented a basic and important identity in linear commutative algebra,
so-called {\bf the eigenvector-eigenvalue identity} (formally named in [BAMS,
2021]), which is a convenient and powerful tool to succinctly determine
eigenvectors from eigenvalues. The identity relates the eigenvector component
to the eigenvalues of $A$ and the minor $M_j$, which is formulated in an
elegant form as \[ \lvert v_{i,j} \rvert^2\prod_{k=1;k\ne
i}^{n-1}({\lambda_i}(A)-{\lambda_k}(A))=\prod_{k=1}^{n-1}({\lambda_i}(A)-{\lambda_k}(M_j)).
\,\,\,%\mbox{(\cite{tao-eig,D-P-T-Z})} \]
  In fact, it has been widely applied in various fields such as numerical
linear algebra, random matrix theory, inverse eigenvalue problem, graph theory,
neutrino physics and so on. In this paper, we extend the eigenvector-eigenvalue
identity to the quaternion division ring, which is non-commutative. A version
of eigenvector-eigenvalue identity for the quaternion matrix is established.
Furthermore, we give a new method and algorithm to compute the eigenvectors
from the right eigenvalues for the quaternion Hermitian matrix. A program is
designed to realize the algorithm to compute the eigenvectors. An open problem
ends the paper. Some examples show a good performance of the algorithm and the
program.


  Intersection growth concerns the asymptotic behavior of the index of the
intersection of all subgroups of a group that have index at most n. In this
note we show that the intersection growth of some groups may not be a nicely
behaved function by showing the following seemingly contradictory results: (a)
for any group G the intersection growth function i_G(n) is super linear
infinitely often; and (b) for any increasing function f there exists a group G
such that i_G below f infinitely often.


  A many-body localized (MBL) state is a new state of matter emerging in a
disordered interacting system at high energy densities through a disorder
driven dynamic phase transition. The nature of the phase transition and the
evolution of the MBL phase near the transition are the focus of intense
theoretical studies with open issues in the field. We develop an entanglement
density matrix renormalization group (En-DMRG) algorithm to accurately target
the entanglement patterns of highly excited states for MBL systems. By studying
the one dimensional Heisenberg spin chain in a random field, we demonstrate the
high accuracy of the method in obtaining statistical results of quantum states
in the MBL phase. Based on large system simulations by En-DMRG for excited
states, we demonstrate some interesting features in the entanglement entropy
distribution function, which is characterized by two peaks; one at zero and
another one at the quantized entropy $S=ln2$ with an exponential decay tail on
the $S>ln2$ side. Combining En-DMRG with exact diagonalization simulations, we
demonstrate that the transition from the MBL phase to the delocalized ergodic
phase is driven by rare events where the locally entangled spin pairs develop
long-range power-law correlations. The corresponding phase diagram contains an
intermediate regime, which has power-law spin-z correlations resulting from
contributions of the rare events. We discuss the physical picture for the
numerical observations in the intermediate regime, where various distribution
functions are distinctly different from results deep in the ergodic and MBL
phases for finite-size systems. Our results may provide new insights for
understanding the phase transition in such systems.


  In this note we address the continuity of strongly singular
Calder\'on-Zygmund operators on Hardy-Morrey spaces
$\mathcal{HM}_{q}^{\lambda}(\mathbb{R}^n)$, assuming weaker integral conditions
on the associated kernel. Important examples that falls into this scope are
pseudodifferential operators on the H\"ormander classes
$OpS^{m}_{\sigma,\mu}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ with $0<\sigma \leq 1$, $0 \leq \mu <1$,
$\mu \leq \sigma$ and $m\leq -n(1-\sigma)/2$.


  After irradiation of cancer cells in the ion beam therapy method the
concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the cell medium grows significantly. But
the role of hydrogen peroxide molecules in cancer treatment has not been
determined yet. We assume that interaction of peroxide molecules with DNA
atomic groups can block the genetic information of the cancer cell and lead to
its neutralization. To understand the possibility of DNA deactivation in the
cell, in the present study the formation of complexes of hydrogen peroxide
molecules with DNA specific recognition sites (nucleic bases) is considered.
Using atom-atom potential functions method and quantum-chemical approach, based
on density functional theory, the spatial configurations and energy minima for
the complexes of peroxide and water molecules with nucleic bases are studied.
The most probable positions of hydrogen peroxide molecules interacting with
nucleic bases are determined, and the possibility of blocking of genetic
information transfer processes is shown. The obtained data allows us to
formulate a new mechanism of the ion irradiation action on living cells, that
can be useful for cancer treatment.


  We aim at a highly sensitive search for weak magnetic fields in main sequence
stars of intermediate mass, by scanning classes of stars with no previously
reported magnetic members. After detecting a weak magnetic field on the normal,
rapidly rotating A-type star Vega, we concentrate here on the bright star
Sirius A, taken as a prototypical, chemically peculiar, moderately rotating Am
star. We employed the NARVAL and ESPaDOnS high-resolution spectropolarimeters
to collect 442 circularly polarized spectra, complemented by 60 linearly
polarized spectra. Using a list of about 1,100 photospheric spectral lines, we
computed a cross correlation line profile from every spectrum, leading to a
signal-to-noise ratio of up to 30,000 in the polarized profile. We report the
repeated detection of circularly polarized, highly asymmetric signatures in the
line profiles, interpreted as Zeeman signatures of a large-scale photospheric
magnetic field, with a line-of-sight component equal to $0.2 \pm 0.1$ G. This
is the first polarimetric detection of a surface magnetic field on an Am star.
Using rough estimates of the physical properties of the upper layers of Sirius
A, we suggest that a dynamo operating in the shallow convective envelope cannot
account for the field strength reported here. Together with the magnetic field
of Vega, this result confirms that a new class of magnetic objects exists among
non Ap/Bp intermediate-mass stars, and it may indicate that a significant
fraction of tepid stars are magnetic.


  By means of rigorous numerical simulation calculations based on the Green's
theorem integral equation formulation, we study the near EM field in the
vicinity of very rough, one-dimensional self-affine fractal surfaces of Ag, Au,
and Cu (for both vacuum and water propagating media) illuminated by a p
polarized field. Strongly localized enhanced optical excitations (hot spots)
are found, with electric field intensity enhancements of close to 4 orders of
magnitude the incident one, and widths below a tenth of the incoming
wavelength. These effects are produced by roughness-induced surface-plasmon
polariton excitation. We study the characteristics of these optical excitations
as well as other properties of the surface electromagnetic field, such as its
statistics (probability density function, average and fluctuations), and their
dependence on the excitation spectrum (in the visible and near infrared). Our
study is relevant to the use of such self-affine fractals as surface-enhanced
Raman scattering substrates, where large local and average field enhancements
are desired.


  Clustering is commonly performed as an initial analysis step for uncovering
structure in 'omics datasets, e.g. to discover molecular subtypes of disease.
The high-throughput, high-dimensional nature of these datasets means that they
provide information on a diverse array of different biomolecular processes and
pathways. Different groups of variables (e.g. genes or proteins) will be
implicated in different biomolecular processes, and hence undertaking analyses
that are limited to identifying just a single clustering partition of the whole
dataset is therefore liable to conflate the multiple clustering structures that
may arise from these distinct processes. To address this, we propose a
multi-view Bayesian mixture model that identifies groups of variables
(``views"), each of which defines a distinct clustering structure. We consider
applications in stratified medicine, for which our principal goal is to
identify clusters of patients that define distinct, clinically actionable
disease subtypes. We adopt the semi-supervised, outcome-guided mixture
modelling approach of Bayesian profile regression that makes use of a response
variable in order to guide inference toward the clusterings that are most
relevant in a stratified medicine context. We present the model, together with
illustrative simulation examples, and examples from pan-cancer proteomics. We
demonstrate how the approach can be used to perform integrative clustering, and
consider an example in which different 'omics datasets are integrated in the
context of breast cancer subtyping.


  The Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph), with its apparent immense mass to
light ratio and compact size, holds many clues to the nature of the enigmatic
dark matter. Here we present deep photometric studies of this dwarf galaxy,
undertaken with the MegaCam Camera at the Canada-France-hawaii Telescope, the
Wide Field Camera at the Isaac Newton Telescope and the Wide-Field and
Planetary Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The new photometric data
cover the entirety of the galaxy, and reach i=24.5 at 50% completeness,
significantly deeper than previous panoramic studies, allowing searches for
tidal disturbances of much lower surface brightness than has been possible
before. With these improved statistics, we find no evidence for asymmetric
disturbances or tidal tails that possess more than 3% of the stars found within
the centre of the galaxy. We find that the central stellar density, as probed
by the HST data, rises into the central 0.5'. Uncertainties in the position of
the centroid of the galaxy do not allow us to determine whether the apparent
flattening of the profile interior to 0.5' is reliable or not. Draco is
therefore a flawless dwarf galaxy, featureless and apparently unaffected by
Galactic tides.


  We generalize the result of Gorini, Kossakowski, and Sudarshan [J. Math.
Phys. 17:821, 1976] that every generator of a quantum-dynamical semigroup
decomposes uniquely into a closed and a dissipative part, assuming the trace of
both vanishes. More precisely, we show that given any generator $L$ of a
completely positive dynamical semigroup and any matrix $B$ there exists a
unique matrix $K$ and a unique completely positive map $\Phi$ such that (i)
$L=K(\cdot)+(\cdot)K^*+\Phi$, (ii) the superoperator $\Phi(B^*(\cdot)B)$ has
trace zero, and (iii) ${\rm tr}(B^*K)$ is a real number. The key to proving
this is the relation between the trace of a completely positive map, the trace
of its Kraus operators, and expectation values of its Choi matrix. Moreover, we
show that the above decomposition is orthogonal with respect to some
$B$-weighted inner product.


  The nonabelian screening potential is calculated in the temporal axial gauge.
The Slavnov-Taylor identity is used to construct the three-gluon vertex
function from the inverse gluon propagator. After solving the Schwinger - Dyson
equation beyond leading order we find that the obtained momentum dependence of
the gluon self-energy at high temperature does not correspond to an attractive
QCD - Debye potential, but instead it is repulsive and power behaved ($ \simeq
1/r^6$) at large distance.


  We analyze formation of grand-design two-arm spiral structure in the nuclear
regions of disk galaxies. Such morphology has been recently detected in a
number of objects using high-resolution near-infrared observations. Motivated
by the observed (1) continuity between the nuclear and kpc-scale spiral
structures, and by (2) low arm-interarm contrast, we apply the density wave
theory to explain the basic properties of the spiral nuclear morphology. In
particular, we address the mechanism for the formation, maintenance and the
detailed shape of nuclear spirals. We find, that the latter depends mostly on
the shape of the underlying gravitational potential and the sound speed in the
gas. Detection of nuclear spiral arms provides diagnostics of mass distribution
within the central kpc of disk galaxies. Our results are supported by 2D
numerical simulations of gas response to the background gravitational potential
of a barred stellar disk. We investigate the parameter space allowed for the
formation of nuclear spirals using a new method for constructing a
gravitational potential in a barred galaxy, where positions of resonances are
prescribed.


  We use the SOUX sample of $\sim$700 AGN to form average optical-UV-X-rays
SEDs on a 2D grid of $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$ and $L_{2500}$. We compare these with
the predictions of a new AGN SED model, QSOSED, which includes prescriptions
for both hot and warm Comptonisation regions as well as an outer standard disc.
This predicts the overall SED fairly well for
7.5<log($M_{\mathrm{BH}}/M_{\mathrm{\odot}}$)<9.0 over a wide range in
$L/L_{\mathrm{Edd}}$, but at higher masses the outer disc spectra in the model
are far too cool to match the data. We create optical-UV composites from the
entire SDSS sample and use these to show that the mismatch is due to there
being no significant change in spectral shape of the optical-UV continuum
across several decades of $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$ at constant luminosity. We show for
the first time that this cannot be matched by standard disc models with high
black hole spin. These apparently fit, but are not self-consistent as they do
not include the General Relativistic effects for the emission to reach the
observer. At high spin, increased gravitational redshift compensates for almost
all of the higher temperature emission from the smaller inner disc radii. The
data do not match the predictions made by any current accretion flow model.
Either the disc is completely covered by a warm Comptonisation layer whose
properties change systematically with $L/L_{\mathrm{Edd}}$, or the accretion
flow structure is fundamentally different to that of the standard disc models.


  In previous work, we introduced a natural $\mathcal{A}_{\infty}$-structure on
the $\mathrm{Pin}(2)$-monopole Floer chain complex of a closed, oriented
three-manifold $Y$, and showed that it is non-formal in the simplest case in
which $Y$ is the three-sphere $S^3$. In this paper, we provide explicit
descriptions of several Massey products induced on homology, and discuss how
they can be used to compute the $\mathrm{Pin}(2)$-monopole Floer homology of
connected sums in many concrete examples.


  In real life, we frequently come across data sets that involve some
independent explanatory variable(s) generating a set of ordinal responses.
These ordinal responses may correspond to an underlying continuous latent
variable, which is linearly related to the covariate(s), and takes a particular
(ordinal) label depending on whether this latent variable takes value in some
suitable interval specified by a pair of (unknown) cut-offs. The most efficient
way of estimating the unknown parameters (i.e., the regression coefficients and
the cut-offs) is the method of maximum likelihood (ML). However, contamination
in the data set either in the form of misspecification of ordinal responses, or
the unboundedness of the covariate(s), might destabilize the likelihood
function to a great extent where the ML based methodology might lead to
completely unreliable inferences. In this paper, we explore a minimum distance
estimation procedure based on the popular density power divergence (DPD) to
yield robust parameter estimates for the ordinal response model. This paper
highlights how the resulting estimator, namely the minimum DPD estimator
(MDPDE), can be used as a practical robust alternative to the classical
procedures based on the ML. We rigorously develop several theoretical
properties of this estimator, and provide extensive simulations to substantiate
the theory developed.


  Occurring in protoplanetary discs composed of dust and gas, streaming
instabilities are a favoured mechanism to drive the formation of planetesimals.
The Polydispserse Streaming Instability is a generalisation of the Streaming
Instability to a continuum of dust sizes. This second paper in the series
provides a more in-depth derivation of the governing equations and presents
novel numerical methods for solving the associated linear stability problem. In
addition to the direct discretisation of the eigenproblem at second order
introduced in the previous paper, a new technique based on numerically reducing
the system of integral equations to a complex polynomial combined with root
finding is found to yield accurate results at much lower computational cost. A
related method for counting roots of the dispersion relation inside a contour
without locating those roots is also demonstrated. Applications of these
methods show they can reproduce and exceed the accuracy of previous results in
the literature, and new benchmark results are provided. Implementations of the
methods described are made available in an accompanying Python package
psitools.


  In a recent paper [1], it has been proposed that relativistic wave-particle
duality can be embodied in a relation that shows that the four-velocity of a
particle is proportional to the Dirac four-current. In this note we bring out
some problems with that idea. In particular, we point out that, in line with
existing literature on Einstein-Cartan gravity with torsion, the spin-torsion
term should represent negative energy. Moreover, if what is proposed in Eq.
(20) of [1] is correct, then the spin torsion term would be zero in the rest
frame of the fermion. We suggest a possible resolution of that dilemma.


  A considerable part of recent research in smart cities and IoT has focused on
achieving energy savings in buildings and supporting aspects related to
sustainability. In this context, the educational community is one of the most
important ones to consider, since school buildings constitute a large part of
non-residential buildings, while also educating students on sustainability
matters is an investment for the future. In this work, we discuss a methodology
for achieving energy savings in schools based on the utilization of data
produced by an IoT infrastructure installed inside school buildings and related
educational scenarios. We present the steps comprising this methodology in
detail, along with a set of tangible results achieved within the GAIA project.
We also showcase how an IoT infrastructure can support activities in an
educational setting and produce concrete outcomes, with typical levels of 20%
energy savings.


  We provide torque formulae for low mass planets undergoing type I migration
in gaseous disks. These torque formulae put special emphasis on the horseshoe
drag, which is prone to saturation: the asymptotic value reached by the
horseshoe drag depends on a balance between coorbital dynamics (which tends to
cancel out or saturate the torque) and diffusive processes (which tend to
restore the unperturbed disk profiles, thereby desaturating the torque). We
entertain here the question of this asymptotic value, and we derive torque
formulae which give the total torque as a function of the disk's viscosity and
thermal diffusivity. The horseshoe drag features two components: one which
scales with the vortensity gradient, and one which scales with the entropy
gradient, and which constitutes the most promising candidate for halting inward
type I migration. Our analysis, which is complemented by numerical simulations,
recovers characteristics already noted by numericists, namely that the viscous
timescale across the horseshoe region must be shorter than the libration time
in order to avoid saturation, and that, provided this condition is satisfied,
the entropy related part of the horseshoe drag remains large if the thermal
timescale is shorter than the libration time. Side results include a study of
the Lindblad torque as a function of thermal diffusivity, and a contribution to
the corotation torque arising from vortensity viscously created at the contact
discontinuities that appear at the horseshoe separatrices. For the convenience
of the reader mostly interested in the torque formulae, section 8 is
self-contained.


  Many real-world problems like Social Influence Maximization face the dilemma
of choosing the best $K$ out of $N$ options at a given time instant. This setup
can be modeled as a combinatorial bandit which chooses $K$ out of $N$ arms at
each time, with an aim to achieve an efficient trade-off between exploration
and exploitation. This is the first work for combinatorial bandits where the
feedback received can be a non-linear function of the chosen $K$ arms. The
direct use of multi-armed bandit requires choosing among $N$-choose-$K$ options
making the state space large. In this paper, we present a novel algorithm which
is computationally efficient and the storage is linear in $N$. The proposed
algorithm is a divide-and-conquer based strategy, that we call CMAB-SM.
Further, the proposed algorithm achieves a \textit{regret bound} of $\tilde
O(K^{\frac{1}{2}}N^{\frac{1}{3}}T^{\frac{2}{3}})$ for a time horizon $T$, which
is \textit{sub-linear} in all parameters $T$, $N$, and $K$. %When applied to
the problem of Social Influence Maximization, the performance of the proposed
algorithm surpasses the UCB algorithm and some more sophisticated
domain-specific methods.


  Simultaneous radio and extreme ultraviolet (EUV)/white-light imaging data are
examined for a solar type II radio burst occurring on 2010 March 18 to deduce
its source location. Using a bow-shock model, we reconstruct the 3-dimensional
EUV wave front (presumably the type-II emitting shock) based on the imaging
data of the two STEREO spacecraft. It is then combined with the Nan\c{c}ay
radio imaging data to infer the 3-dimensional position of the type II source.
It is found that the type II source coincides with the interface between the
CME EUV wave front and a nearby coronal ray structure, providing evidence that
the type II emission is physically related to the CME-ray interaction. This
result, consistent with those of previous studies, is based on simultaneous
radio and EUV imaging data for the first time.


  The empirical evidences in favor of the hypothesis that the speed of light
decreases by a few centimeters per second each year are examined. Lunar laser
ranging data are found to be consistent with this hypothesis, which also
provides a straightforward explanation for the so-called Pioneer anomaly, that
is, a time-dependent blue-shift observed when analyzing radio tracking data
from distant spacecrafts, as well as an alternative explanation for both the
apparent time-dilation of remote events and the apparent acceleration of the
Universe. The main argument against this hypothesis, namely, the constancy of
fine-structure and Rydberg constants, is discussed. Both of them being
combinations of several physical constants, their constancy imply that, if the
speed of light is indeed time-dependent, then at least two other "fundamental
constants" have to vary as well. This defines strong constraints which will
have to be fulfilled by future varying-speed-of-light theories.


  A growing body of evidence indicates that the sluggish low-temperature
dynamics of glass formers (e.g. supercooled liquids, colloids or spin glasses)
is due to a growing correlation length. Which is the effective field theory
that describes these correlations? The natural field theory was drastically
simplified by Bray and Roberts in 1980. More than forty years later, we confirm
the tenets of Bray and Roberts theory by studying the Ising spin glass in an
externally applied magnetic field, both in four spatial dimensions (data
obtained from the Janus collaboration) and on the Bethe lattice.


  Permutation and its partial transpose play important roles in quantum
information theory. The Werner state is recognized as a rational solution of
the Yang--Baxter equation, and the isotropic state with an adjustable parameter
is found to form a braid representation. The set of permutation's partial
transposes is an algebra called the "PPT" algebra which guides the construction
of multipartite symmetric states. The virtual knot theory having permutation as
a virtual crossing provides a topological language describing quantum
computation having permutation as a swap gate. In this paper, permutation's
partial transpose is identified with an idempotent of the Temperley--Lieb
algebra. The algebra generated by permutation and its partial transpose is
found to be the Brauer algebra. The linear combinations of identity,
permutation and its partial transpose can form various projectors describing
tangles; braid representations; virtual braid representations underlying common
solutions of the braid relation and Yang--Baxter equations; and virtual
Temperley--Lieb algebra which is articulated from the graphical viewpoint. They
lead to our drawing a picture called the "ABPK" diagram describing knot theory
in terms of its corresponding algebra, braid group and polynomial invariant.
The paper also identifies nontrivial unitary braid representations with
universal quantum gates, and derives a Hamiltonian to determine the evolution
of a universal quantum gate, and further computes the Markov trace in terms of
a universal quantum gate for a link invariant to detect linking numbers.


  Using the state-of-the-art SKA precursor, the MeerKAT radio telescope, we
explore the limits to precision pulsar timing of millisecond pulsars achievable
due to pulse stochasticity (jitter). We report new jitter measurements in 15 of
the 29 pulsars in our sample and find that the levels of jitter can vary
dramatically between them. For some, like the 2.2~ms pulsar PSR J2241--5236, we
measure an implied jitter of just $\sim$ 4~ns/hr, while others like the 3.9~ms
PSR J0636--3044 are limited to $\sim$ 100 ns/hr. While it is well known that
jitter plays a central role to limiting the precision measurements of arrival
times for high signal-to-noise ratio observations, its role in the measurement
of dispersion measure (DM) has not been reported, particularly in broad-band
observations. Using the exceptional sensitivity of MeerKAT, we explored this on
the bright millisecond pulsar PSR J0437--4715 by exploring the DM of literally
every pulse. We found that the derived single pulse DMs vary by typically
0.0085 cm$^{-3}$ pc from the mean, and that the best DM estimate is limited by
the differential pulse jitter across the band. We postulate that all
millisecond pulsars will have their own limit on DM precision which can only be
overcome with longer integrations. Using high-time resolution filterbank data
of 9 $\mu$s, we also present a statistical analysis of single pulse
phenomenology. Finally, we discuss optimization strategies for the MeerKAT
pulsar timing program and its role in the context of the International Pulsar
Timing Array (IPTA).


  The interaction of optical fields sculpted on the nano-scale with matter may
not be described by the dipole approximation since the fields vary appreciably
across the molecular length scale. Rather than incrementally adding higher
multipoles it is advantageous and more physically transparent to describe the
optical process using non-local response functions that intrinsically include
all multipoles. We present a semi-classical approach to the non-linear response
functions based on the minimal coupling Hamiltonian. The first, second and
third order non-local response functions are expressed in terms of correlation
functions of the charge and the current densities. This approach is based on
the gauge invariant current rather than the polarization, and on the vector
potential rather than the electric and magnetic fields.


  The two-dimensional super-BMS$_{3}$ invariant theory dual to
three-dimensional asymptotically flat $\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity is
constructed. It is described by a constrained or gauged chiral
Wess-Zumino-Witten action based on the super-Poincar\'e algebra in the
Hamiltonian, respectively the Lagrangian formulation, whose reduced phase space
description corresponds to a supersymmetric extension of flat Liouville theory.


  We show in experiments that a long, relativistic proton bunch is focused by
the plasma adiabatic response. The free plasma electrons migrate so as to
neutralize the space charge field of the bunch, and the bunch is therefore
focused by the azimuthal magnetic field generated by its own current, that is
not balanced by the radial electric field. Since the length of the bunch is
much longer than the plasma electron wavelength, the bunch also undergoes the
self-modulation instability. Thus, the amplitude of the wakefields grows along
the bunch and along the plasma, and the defocusing effect of the
self-modulation can become dominant over the adiabatic focusing effect. We show
that, when seeding the self-modulation with a preceding electron bunch, the
transition between the effect of the adiabatic response and that of the
self-modulation depends on the amplitude of the seed wakefields.


  We introduce a variational ansatz based on Gaussian states for
(1+1)-dimensional lattice gauge models. To this end we identify a set of
unitary transformations which decouple the gauge degrees of freedom from the
matter fields. Using our ansatz, we study static aspects as well as real-time
dynamics of string breaking in two (1+1)-dimensional theories, namely QED and
two-color QCD. We show that our ansatz captures the relevant features and is in
excellent agreement with data from numerical calculations with tensor networks.


  In this paper, we propose a novel solution for the distributed unconstrained
optimization problem where the total cost is the summation of time-varying
local cost functions of a group networked agents. The objective is to track the
optimal trajectory that minimizes the total cost at each time instant. Our
approach consists of a two-stage dynamics, where the first one samples the
first and second derivatives of the local costs periodically to construct an
estimate of the descent direction towards the optimal trajectory, and the
second one uses this estimate and a consensus term to drive local states
towards the time-varying solution while reaching consensus. The first part is
carried out by the implementation of a weighted average consensus algorithm in
the discrete-time framework and the second part is performed with a
continuous-time dynamics. Using the Lyapunov stability analysis, an upper bound
on the gradient of the total cost is obtained which is asymptotically reached.
This bound is characterized by the properties of the local costs. To
demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, a numerical example is
conducted that studies tuning the algorithm's parameters and their effects on
the convergence of local states to the optimal trajectory.


  A methodology on making the variational principle well-posed in degenerate
systems is constructed. In the systems including higher-order time derivative
terms being compatible with Newtonian dynamics, we show that a set of position
variables of a coordinate system of a given system has to be fixed on the
boundaries and that such systems are always Ostrogradski stable and causal. For
these systems, Frobenius integrability conditions are derived in explicit form.
Relationships between integral constants indicated from the conditions and
boundary conditions in a given coordinate system are also investigated by
introducing three fundamental correspondences between Lagrange and Hamilton
formulation. Based on these ingredients, we formulate problems that have to be
resolved to realize the well-posedness in the degenerate systems. To resolve
the problems, we compose a set of embbedings that extract a subspace holding
the symplectic structure of the entire phase space in which the variational
principle should be well-posed. Using these embeddings, we establish a
methodology to set appropriate boundary conditions that the well-posed
variational principle demands. Finally, we apply the methodology to examples
and summarize this work as three-step procedure such that one can use just by
following it.


  The charge-symmetry-breaking amplitudes for the recently observed d d ->
alpha pi0 reaction are investigated. Chiral perturbation theory is used to
classify and identify the leading-order terms. Specific forms of the related
one- and two-body tree level diagrams are derived. As a first step toward a
full calculation, a few tree-level two-body diagrams are evaluated at each
considered order, using a simplified set of d and alpha wave functions and a
plane-wave approximation for the initial dd state. The leading-order
pion-exchange term is shown to be suppressed in this model because of poor
overlap of the initial and final states. The higher-order one-body and
short-range (heavy-meson-exchange) amplitudes provide better matching between
the initial and final states and therefore contribute significantly and
coherently to the cross section. The consequences this might have for a full
calculation, with realistic wave functions and a more complete set of
amplitudes, are discussed.


  The novel dynamical features underlying soliton interactions in coupled
nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equations, which model multimode wave propagation
under varied physical situations in nonlinear optics, are studied. In this
paper, by explicitly constructing multisoliton solutions (upto four-soliton
solutions) for two coupled and arbitrary $N$-coupled nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger
equations using the Hirota bilinearization method, we bring out clearly the
various features underlying the fascinating shape changing (intensity
redistribution) collisions of solitons, including changes in amplitudes, phases
and relative separation distances, and the very many possibilities of energy
redistributions among the modes of solitons. However in this multisoliton
collision process the pair-wise collision nature is shown to be preserved in
spite of the changes in the amplitudes and phases of the solitons. Detailed
asymptotic analysis also shows that when solitons undergo multiple collisions,
there exists the exciting possibility of shape restoration of atleast one
soliton during interactions of more than two solitons represented by three and
higher order soliton solutions. From application point of view, we have shown
from the asymptotic expressions how the amplitude (intensity) redistribution
can be written as a generalized linear fractional transformation for the
$N$-component case. Also we indicate how the multisolitons can be reinterpreted
as various logic gates for suitable choices of the soliton parameters, leading
to possible multistate logic. In addition, we point out that the various
recently studied partially coherent solitons are just special cases of the
bright soliton solutions exhibiting shape changing collisions, thereby
explaining their variable profile and shape variation in collision process.


  Quantum spin squeezing is an important resource for quantum information
processing, but its squeezing degree is not easy to preserve in an open system
with decoherence. Here, we propose a scheme to implement
single-photon-triggered spin squeezing with decoherence reduction in an open
system. In our system, a Dicke model (DM) is introduced into the quadratic
optomechanics, which can be equivalent to an effective DM manipulated by the
photon number. Besides, the phonon mode of the optomechanical system is coupled
to a squeezed vacuum reservoir with a phase matching, resulting in that the
thermal noise caused by the environment can be suppressed completely. We show
that squeezing of the phonon mode triggered by a single photon can be
transferred to the spin ensemble totally, and pairwise entanglement of the spin
ensemble can be realized if and only if there is spin squeezing. Importantly,
when considering the impact of the environment, our system can obtain a better
squeezing degree than the optimal squeezing that can be achieved in the
traditional DM. Meanwhile, the spin squeezing generated in our system is immune
to the thermal noise. This work offers an effective way to generate spin
squeezing with a single photon and to reduce decoherence in an open system,
which will have promising applications in quantum information processing.


  Using min-max inequality we investigate the existence of solutions and thier
dependence on parameters for some second order discrete boundary value problem.
The approach is based on variational methods and solutions are obtained as
saddle points to the Euler action functional.


  The quotient of the Szeg\"{o} and Bergman kernels for a smooth bounded
pseudoconvex domains in ${\mathbb C}^n$ is bounded from above by
$\delta|\log\delta|^p$ for any $p>n$, where $\delta$ is the distance to the
boundary. For a class of domains that includes those of D'Angelo finite type
and those with plurisubharmonic defining functions, the quotient is also
bounded from below by $\delta|\log\delta|^p$ for any $p<-1$. Moreover, for
convex domains, the quotient is bounded from above and below by constant
multiples of $\delta$.


  Learning with reduced labeling standards, such as noisy label, partial label,
and multiple label candidates, which we generically refer to as
\textit{imprecise} labels, is a commonplace challenge in machine learning
tasks. Previous methods tend to propose specific designs for every emerging
imprecise label configuration, which is usually unsustainable when multiple
configurations of imprecision coexist. In this paper, we introduce imprecise
label learning (ILL), a framework for the unification of learning with various
imprecise label configurations. ILL leverages expectation-maximization (EM) for
modeling the imprecise label information, treating the precise labels as latent
variables.Instead of approximating the correct labels for training, it
considers the entire distribution of all possible labeling entailed by the
imprecise information. We demonstrate that ILL can seamlessly adapt to partial
label learning, semi-supervised learning, noisy label learning, and, more
importantly, a mixture of these settings. Notably, ILL surpasses the existing
specified techniques for handling imprecise labels, marking the first unified
framework with robust and effective performance across various challenging
settings. We hope our work will inspire further research on this topic,
unleashing the full potential of ILL in wider scenarios where precise labels
are expensive and complicated to obtain.


  The interaction of intense extreme ultraviolet (XUV) laser pulses
($\lambda=32\rm\,nm$, $I=10^{11-14}$\,W/cm$^2$) with small rare-gas clusters
(Ar$_{147}$) is studied by quasi-classical molecular dynamics simulations. Our
analysis supports a very general picture of the charging and heating dynamics
in finite samples under short-wavelength radiation that is of relevance for
several applications of free-electron lasers. First, up to a certain photon
flux, ionization proceeds as a series of direct photoemission events producing
a jellium-like cluster potential and a characteristic plateau in the
photoelectron spectrum as observed in [Bostedt {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett.
{\bf 100}, 013401 (2008)]. Second, beyond the onset of photoelectron trapping,
nanoplasma formation leads to evaporative electron emission with a
characteristic thermal tail in the electron spectrum. A detailed analysis of
this transition is presented. Third, in contrast to the behavior in the
infrared or low vacuum ultraviolet range, the nanoplasma energy capture
proceeds via {\it ionization heating}, i.e., inner photoionization of localized
electrons, whereas collisional heating of conduction electrons is negligible up
to high laser intensities. A direct consequence of the latter is a surprising
evolution of the mean energy of emitted electrons as function of laser
intensity.


  We present a search for the decays B0 --> e+e-, B0 --> mu+ mu- and B0 --> e
mu using data collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e+e-collider at
SLAC. Using a dataset corresponding to 384 x 10^6 BBbar pairs, we do not find
evidence of any of the three decay modes.
  We obtain upper limit on the branching fractions, at 90% confidence level, of
B(B0 --> e+e-)< 11.3 x 10^{-8}, B(B0 --> mu+ mu-) < 5.2 x 10^{-8}, and B(B0 -->
e mu) < 9.2 x 10^{-8}.


  Several blazars, and BL Lac objects in particular, show a misalignment
between the jet orientation on parsec and kiloparsec scales. Some authors (i.e.
Conway & Murphy, 1993) have attempted to explain this behaviour invoking
helical jets for misalignment angles around 90$\degr$, showing how in this case
there are interesting implications for the understanding of the medium into
which the jet is expanding. By comparing sensitive VLA observations (Cassaro et
al., 1999) with images available in the literature for the BL Lac objects from
the 1-Jy Sample (Stickel et al., 1991), it is clear that there is a wide range
of misalignments between the initial jet direction and the kpc-scale jet, when
detected. We have carried out VLBI observations of these BL Lac objects, in
order to investigate the spatial evolution of the radio jets from few tens to
hundreds of mas, and to search for helical jets in this class of sources. We
present here the first dataset obtained from EVN+MERLIN observations at 5 GHz
for seven objects. From these observations we never have a clear detection of
helical jets, we only have a possible signature of their presence in 2 objects.
In only one of the sources with a misalignment angle around 90$\degr$ the
presence of helical jets can be ruled out. This implies that it is not possible
to invoke helical jets to explain the morphology of all the sources showing a
misalignment of about 90$\degr$ between the parsec and the kiloparsec scale
jets.


  We prove that a certain sequence of tau functions of the Garnier system
satisfies Toda equation. We construct a class of algebraic solutions of the
system by the use of Toda equation; then show that the associated tau functions
are expressed in terms of the universal character, which is a generalization of
Schur polynomial attached to a pair of partitions.


  Existing knowledge distillation methods on graph neural networks (GNNs) are
almost offline, where the student model extracts knowledge from a powerful
teacher model to improve its performance. However, a pre-trained teacher model
is not always accessible due to training cost, privacy, etc. In this paper, we
propose a novel online knowledge distillation framework to resolve this
problem. Specifically, each student GNN model learns the extracted local
structure from another simultaneously trained counterpart in an alternating
training procedure. We further develop a cross-layer distillation strategy by
aligning ahead one student layer with the layer in different depth of another
student model, which theoretically makes the structure information spread over
all layers. Experimental results on five datasets including PPI,
Coauthor-CS/Physics and Amazon-Computer/Photo demonstrate that the student
performance is consistently boosted in our collaborative training framework
without the supervision of a pre-trained teacher model. In addition, we also
find that our alignahead technique can accelerate the model convergence speed
and its effectiveness can be generally improved by increasing the student
numbers in training. Code is available:
https://github.com/GuoJY-eatsTG/Alignahead


  We present non-LTE time-dependent radiative-transfer simulations of
pair-instability supernovae (PISNe) stemming from red-supergiant (RSG),
blue-supergiant (BSG) and Wolf-Rayet (WR) star rotation-free progenitors born
in the mass range 160-230Msun, at 10^-4 Zsun. Although subject to uncertainties
in convection and stellar mass-loss rates, our initial conditions come from
physically-consistent models that treat evolution from the main-sequence, the
onset of the pair-production instability, and the explosion phase. With our set
of input models characterized by large 56Ni and ejecta masses, and large
kinetic energies, we recover qualitatively the Type II-Plateau, II-peculiar,
and Ib/c light-curve morphologies, although they have larger peak bolometric
luminosities (~10^9 to 10^10 Lsun) and a longer duration (~200d). We discuss
the spectral properties for each model during the photospheric and nebular
phases, including Balmer lines in II-P and II-pec at early times, the dominance
of lines from intermediate-mass-elements (IMEs) near the bolometric maximum,
and the strengthening of metal line blanketing thereafter. Having similar
He-core properties, all models exhibit similar post-peak spectra that are
strongly blanketed by FeII and FeI lines, characterized by red colors, and that
arise from photospheres/ejecta with a temperature of <4000K. Combined with the
modest line widths after bolometric peak, these properties contrast with those
of known super-luminous SNe suggesting that PISNe are yet to be discovered.
Being reddish, PISNe will be difficult to observe at high redshift except when
they stem from RSG explosions, in which case they could be used as metallicity
probes and distance indicators.


  The capacity of multiple-input multiple-output additive white Gaussian noise
channels is investigated under peak amplitude constraints on the norm of the
input vector. New insights on the capacity-achieving input distribution are
presented. Furthermore, it is provided an iterative algorithm to numerically
evaluate both the information capacity and the optimal input distribution of
such channel.


  The description of threshold fragmentation under long range repulsive forces
is presented. The dominant energy dependence near threshold is isolated by
decomposing the cross section into a product of a back ground part and a
barrier penetration probability resulting from the repulsive Coulomb
interaction. This tunneling probability contains the dominant energy variation
and it can be calculated analytically based on the same principles as Wannier's
description for threshold ionization under attractive forces. Good agreement is
found with the available experimental cross sections on detachment by electron
impact from $D^{-}$, $O^{-}$ and $B^{-}$.


  We introduce scattering-symplectic manifolds, manifolds with a type of
minimally degenerate Poisson structure that is not too restrictive so as to
have a large class of examples, yet restrictive enough for standard Poisson
invariants to be computable. This paper will demonstrate the potential of the
scattering symplectic setting. In particular, we construct
scattering-symplectic spheres and scattering symplectic gluings between strong
convex symplectic fillings of a contact manifold. By giving an explicit
computation of the Poisson cohomology of a scattering symplectic manifold, we
also introduce a new method of computing Poisson cohomology.


  The \emph{zero forcing number}, $Z(G)$, of a graph $G$ is the minimum
cardinality of a set $S$ of black vertices (whereas vertices in $V(G) \setminus
S$ are colored white) such that $V(G)$ is turned black after finitely many
applications of "the color-change rule": a white vertex is converted to a black
vertex if it is the only white neighbor of a black vertex. Zero forcing number
was introduced and used to bound the minimum rank of graphs by the "AIM Minimum
Rank -- Special Graphs Work Group". It's known that $Z(G)\geq \delta(G)$, where
$\delta(G)$ is the minimum degree of $G$. We show that $Z(G)\leq n-3$ if a
connected graph $G$ of order $n$ has a connected complement graph
$\overline{G}$. Further, we characterize a tree or a unicyclic graph $G$ which
satisfies either $Z(G)+Z(\overline{G})=\delta(G)+\delta(\overline{G})$ or
$Z(G)+Z(\overline{G})=2(n-3)$.


  We discuss a reaction-diffusion model in one dimension subjected to an
external driving force. Each lattice site may be occupied by at most one
particle. The particles hop with asymmetric rates (the sum of which is one) to
the right or left nearest neighbour site if it is vacant, and annihilate with
rate one if it is occupied.
  We compute the long time behaviour of the space dependent average density in
states where the initial density profiles are step functions. We also compute
the exact time dependence of the particle density for uncorrelated random
initial conditions. The representation of the uncorrelated random initial state
and also of the step function profile in terms of free fermions allows the
calculation of time-dependent higher order correlation functions. We outline
the procedure using a field theoretic approach.


  We introduce a class of measure-valued processes, which -- in analogy to
their finite dimensional counterparts -- will be called measure-valued
polynomial diffusions. We show the so-called moment formula, i.e.~a
representation of the conditional marginal moments via a system of finite
dimensional linear PDEs. Furthermore, we characterize the corresponding
infinitesimal generators and obtain a representation analogous to polynomial
diffusions on $\mathbb{R}^m_+$, in cases where their domain is large enough. In
general the infinite dimensional setting allows for richer specifications
strictly beyond this representation. As a special case we recover
measure-valued affine diffusions, sometimes also called Dawson-Watanabe
superprocesses. From a mathematical finance point of view the polynomial
framework is especially attractive as it allows to transfer the most famous
finite dimensional models, such as the Black-Scholes model, to an infinite
dimensional measure-valued setting. We outline in particular the applicability
of our approach for term structure modeling in energy markets.


  We propose possible ways of explaining the net charge event-by-event
fluctuations in Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider within
a quark recombination model. We discuss various methods of estimating the
number of quarks at recombination and their implications for the predicted net
charge fluctuations. We also discuss the possibility of diquark and
quark-antiquark clustering above the deconfinement temperature.


  We report diffusion coeffcients of micron-scale liquid domains in giant
unilamellar vesicles of phospholipids and cholesterol. The trajectory of each
domain is tracked, and the mean square displacement grows linearly in time as
expected for Brownian motion. We study domain dffusion as a function of
composition and temperature, and measure how diffusion depends on domain size.
We find mechanisms of domain diffusion which are consistent with
membrane-dominated drag in viscous Lo phases [P.G. Saffman and M. Delbruck,
PNAS 72, 3111 (1975)], and bulk-dominated drag for less viscous L$_\alpha$
phases [B.D.Hughes et al., J. Fluid Mech. 110, 349 (1981)]. Where applicable,
we obtain the membrane viscosity and report activation energies of diffusion.


  Although linear classifiers are one of the oldest methods in machine
learning, they are still very popular in the machine learning community. This
is due to their low computational complexity and robustness to overfitting.
Consequently, linear classifiers are often used as base classifiers of multiple
ensemble classification systems. This research is aimed at building a new
fusion method dedicated to the ensemble of linear classifiers. The fusion
scheme uses both measurement space and geometrical space. Namely, we proposed a
probability-driven scoring function which shape depends on the orientation of
the decision hyperplanes generated by the base classifiers. The proposed fusion
method is compared with the reference method using multiple benchmark datasets
taken from the KEEL repository. The comparison is done using multiple quality
criteria. The statistical analysis of the obtained results is also performed.
The experimental study shows that, under certain conditions, some improvement
may be obtained.


  Rapid fluctuations are observed in the tensor-polarization $p_{zz}$ of
deuteron beams forward-transmitted through graphite targets. Unpolarized 9.50
to 18.60\,MeV beams from the K\"oln tandem accelerator were utilized, and the
polarization behind seven 36 to 188\,mg/cm$^{2}$ targets was measured with a
polarimeter based on the $^{3}{\rm He}(\vec{d},p)^{4}{\rm He}$ reaction. Due to
the chosen relation between the areal target densities and the initial beam
energies $E_{\rm in}$, the seven sets of $p_{zz}(E_{\rm in})$ can be combined
in a common plot as a function of $E_{\rm in}$. This allows one to understand
$p_{zz}$, measured behind the 188\,mg/cm$^{2}$ target at $E_{\rm
in}$=18.6\,MeV, as resulting from the sequence of differential polarization
production $\Delta p_{zz}(E)/\Delta E$ during energy degradation in the target
from $E$=18.60 to 9.50\,MeV. The rapid fluctuations of $\Delta p_{zz}(E)/\Delta
E$$p_{zz}$ are described by 51 Gaussian-distributed cross-sections removing
deuterons either in the $m=0$ or in the $m=\pm 1$ state from the beam. The 51
fitted central energies $E_{0}$ with a single exception agree with the energies
of the narrow peaks in the excitation functions of the weak, isospin-breaking
$^{12}{\rm C}(d,\alpha_{2})^{10}{\rm B}^{*}(1.74\,{\rm MeV},J^{\pi}=0^{+},T=1)$
reaction with population of the second excited $^{10}{\rm B}$ state via
intermediate excited $^{14}$N states. Strong evidence is found that removal of
deuterons in the $m=0$ ($m=\pm 1$) state from the beam leads to the formation
of $^{14}$N states of established positive (negative) parity. As an
application, the removal cross-section functions allow to calculate $p_{zz}$
achievable with carbon targets for initial beam energies $E_{\rm in}$ between
18.60 and 9.50\,MeV and $E_{\rm out}$ given by the areal target density. Carbon
layers in a sandwich technique would enable $p_{zz}$ between -0.4 and +0.3.


  Let h be a complex meromorphic function decomposed in two different ways P(f)
and Q(g), where f, g are meromorphic functions and P, Q are rational functions.
We follow an approach due to C.-C. Yang, P. Li and K. H. Ha who handle similar
decompositions, however, with P, Q polynomials, by applying the Second
Nevanlinna Theorem. We establish relations between the number k of distinct
zeros of P', the degrees of P and Q, and (unless f, g are analytic functions)
the number of distinct zeros of the denominators of P and Q.


  A general method is described for finding algebraic expressions for matrix
elements of any one- and two-particle operator for an arbitrary number of
subshells in an atomic configuration, requiring neither coefficients of
fractional parentage nor unit tensors. It is based on the combination of second
quantization in the coupled tensorial form, angular momentum theory in three
spaces (orbital, spin and quasispin), and a generalized graphical technique.
The latter allows us to calculate graphically the irreducible tensorial
products of the second quantization operators and their commutators, and to
formulate additional rules for operations with diagrams. The additional rules
allow us to find graphically the normal form of the complicated tensorial
products of the operators. All matrix elements (diagonal and non-diagonal with
respect to configurations) differ only by the values of the projections of the
quasispin momenta of separate shells and are expressed in terms of completely
reduced matrix elements (in all three spaces) of the second quantization
operators. As a result, it allows us to use standard quantities uniformly for
both diagona and off-diagonal matrix elements.


  Motivated by problems in percolation theory, we study the following 2-player
positional game. Let $\Lambda_{m \times n}$ be a rectangular grid-graph with
$m$ vertices in each row and $n$ vertices in each column. Two players, Maker
and Breaker, play in alternating turns. On each of her turns, Maker claims $p$
(as-yet unclaimed) edges of the board $\Lambda_{m \times n}$, while on each of
his turns Breaker claims $q$ (as-yet unclaimed) edges of the board and destroys
them. Maker wins the game if she manages to claim all the edges of a crossing
path joining the left-hand side of the board to its right-hand side, otherwise
Breaker wins. We call this game the $(p,q)$-crossing game on $\Lambda_{m \times
n}$.
  Given $m,n\in \mathbb{N}$, for which pairs $(p,q)$ does Maker have a winning
strategy for the $(p,q)$-crossing game on $\Lambda_{m \times n}$? The
$(1,1)$-case corresponds exactly to the popular game of Bridg-it, which is well
understood due to it being a special case of the older Shannon switching game.
In this paper, we study the general $(p,q)$-case. Our main result is to
establish the following transition:
  $\bullet$ If $p\geqslant 2q$, then Maker wins the game on arbitrarily long
versions of the narrowest board possible, i.e. Maker has a winning strategy for
the $(2q, q)$-crossing game on $\Lambda_{m \times(q+1)}$ for any $m\in
\mathbb{N}$;
  $\bullet$ if $p\leqslant 2q-1$, then for every width $n$ of the board,
Breaker has a winning strategy for the $(p,q)$-crossing game on $\Lambda_{m
\times n}$ for all sufficiently large board-lengths $m$.
  Our winning strategies in both cases adapt more generally to other grids and
crossing games. In addition we pose many new questions and problems.


  This paper aims to develop an optimality theory for linear discriminant
analysis in the high-dimensional setting. A data-driven and tuning free
classification rule, which is based on an adaptive constrained $\ell_1$
minimization approach, is proposed and analyzed. Minimax lower bounds are
obtained and this classification rule is shown to be simultaneously rate
optimal over a collection of parameter spaces. In addition, we consider
classification with incomplete data under the missing completely at random
(MCR) model. An adaptive classifier with theoretical guarantees is introduced
and optimal rate of convergence for high-dimensional linear discriminant
analysis under the MCR model is established. The technical analysis for the
case of missing data is much more challenging than that for the complete data.
We establish a large deviation result for the generalized sample covariance
matrix, which serves as a key technical tool and can be of independent
interest. An application to lung cancer and leukemia studies is also discussed.


  The mutual-exclusion property of locks stands in the way to scalability of
parallel programs on many-core architectures. Locks do not allow progress
guarantees, because a task may fail inside a critical section and keep holding
a lock that blocks other tasks from accessing shared data. With non-blocking
synchronization, the drawbacks of locks are avoided by synchronizing access to
shared data by atomic read-modify-write operations. To incorporate non-blocking
synchronization in Ada~202x, programmers must be able to reason about the
behavior and performance of tasks in the absence of protected objects and
rendezvous. We therefore extend Ada's memory model by synchronized types, which
support the expression of memory ordering operations at a sufficient level of
detail. To mitigate the complexity associated with non-blocking
synchronization, we propose concurrent objects as a novel high-level language
construct. Entities of a concurrent object execute in parallel, due to a
fine-grained, optimistic synchronization mechanism. Synchronization is framed
by the semantics of concurrent entry execution. The programmer is only required
to label shared data accesses in the code of concurrent entries. Labels
constitute memory-ordering operations expressed through attributes. To the best
of our knowledge, this is the first approach to provide a non-blocking
synchronization construct as a first-class citizen of a high-level programming
language. We illustrate the use of concurrent objects by several examples.


  We give some examples of non-nilpotent locally nilpotent, and hence nonlinear
subgroups of the planar Cremona group.