title: Instabilities and waves in thin films of living fluids

abstract:
  We formulate the thin-film hydrodynamics of a suspension of polar self-driven
particles and show that it is prone to several instabilities through the
interplay of activity, polarity and the existence of a free surface. Our
approach extends, to self-propelling systems, the work of Ben Amar and Cummings
[Phys Fluids 13 (2001) 1160] on thin-film nematics. Based on our estimates the
instabilities should be seen in bacterial suspensions and the lamellipodium,
and are potentially relevant to the morphology of biofilms. We suggest several
experimental tests of our theory.


title:
In-situ measurement of the permittivity of helium using microwave NbN
  resonators

abstract:
  By measuring the electrical transport properties of superconducting NbN
quarter-wave resonators in direct contact with a helium bath, we have
demonstrated a high-speed and spatially sensitive sensor for the permittivity
of helium. In our implementation a $\sim10^{-3}$ mm$^3$ sensing volume is
measured with a bandwidth of 300 kHz in the temperature range 1.8 to 8.8 K. The
minimum detectable change of the permittivity of helium is calculated to be
$\sim6\times$$10^{-11}$ $\epsilon_0$/Hz$^{1/2}$ with a sensitivity of order
$10^{-13}$ $\epsilon_0$/Hz$^{1/2}$ easily achievable. Potential applications
include operation as a fast, localized helium thermometer and as a transducer
in superfluid hydrodynamic experiments.


title:
Integrated Design and Implementation of Embedded Control Systems with
  Scilab

abstract:
  Embedded systems are playing an increasingly important role in control
engineering. Despite their popularity, embedded systems are generally subject
to resource constraints and it is therefore difficult to build complex control
systems on embedded platforms. Traditionally, the design and implementation of
control systems are often separated, which causes the development of embedded
control systems to be highly time-consuming and costly. To address these
problems, this paper presents a low-cost, reusable, reconfigurable platform
that enables integrated design and implementation of embedded control systems.
To minimize the cost, free and open source software packages such as Linux and
Scilab are used. Scilab is ported to the embedded ARM-Linux system. The drivers
for interfacing Scilab with several communication protocols including serial,
Ethernet, and Modbus are developed. Experiments are conducted to test the
developed embedded platform. The use of Scilab enables implementation of
complex control algorithms on embedded platforms. With the developed platform,
it is possible to perform all phases of the development cycle of embedded
control systems in a unified environment, thus facilitating the reduction of
development time and cost.


title:
Correlation effects in total energy of transition metals and related
  properties

abstract:
  We present an accurate implementation of total energy calculations into the
local density approximation plus dynamical mean-field theory (LDA+DMFT) method.
The electronic structure problem is solved through the full potential linear
Muffin-Tin Orbital (FP-LMTO) and Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (FP-KKR) methods with a
perturbative solver for the effective impurity suitable for moderately
correlated systems. We have tested the method in detail for the case of Ni and
investigated the sensitivity of the results to the computational scheme and to
the complete self-consistency. It is demonstrated that the LDA+DMFT method can
resolve a long-standing controversy between the LDA/GGA density functional
approach and experiment for equilibrium lattice constant and bulk modulus of
Mn.


title: The first VLBI image of an Infrared-Faint Radio Source

abstract:
  Context: To investigate the joint evolution of active galactic nuclei and
star formation in the Universe. Aims: In the 1.4 GHz survey with the Australia
Telescope Compact Array of the Chandra Deep Field South and the European Large
Area ISO Survey - S1 we have identified a class of objects which are strong in
the radio but have no detectable infrared and optical counterparts. This class
has been called Infrared-Faint Radio Sources, or IFRS. 53 sources out of 2002
have been classified as IFRS. It is not known what these objects are. Methods:
To address the many possible explanations as to what the nature of these
objects is we have observed four sources with the Australian Long Baseline
Array. Results: We have detected and imaged one of the four sources observed.
Assuming that the source is at a high redshift, we find its properties in
agreement with properties of Compact Steep Spectrum sources. However, due to
the lack of optical and infrared data the constraints are not particularly
strong.


title:
Structure of the breakpoint region in CVC of the intrinsic Josephson
  junctions

abstract:
  A fine structure of the breakpoint region in the current-voltage
characteristics of the coupled intrinsic Josephson junctions in the layered
superconductors is found. We establish a correspondence between the features in
the current-voltage characteristics and the character of the charge
oscillations in superconducting layers in the stack and explain the origin of
the breakpoint region structure.


title: Cross-Layer Adaptive Feedback Scheduling of Wireless Control Systems

abstract:
  There is a trend towards using wireless technologies in networked control
systems. However, the adverse properties of the radio channels make it
difficult to design and implement control systems in wireless environments. To
attack the uncertainty in available communication resources in wireless control
systems closed over WLAN, a cross-layer adaptive feedback scheduling (CLAFS)
scheme is developed, which takes advantage of the co-design of control and
wireless communications. By exploiting cross-layer design, CLAFS adjusts the
sampling periods of control systems at the application layer based on
information about deadline miss ratio and transmission rate from the physical
layer. Within the framework of feedback scheduling, the control performance is
maximized through controlling the deadline miss ratio. Key design parameters of
the feedback scheduler are adapted to dynamic changes in the channel condition.
An event-driven invocation mechanism for the feedback scheduler is also
developed. Simulation results show that the proposed approach is efficient in
dealing with channel capacity variations and noise interference, thus providing
an enabling technology for control over WLAN.


title: A new multiple Dirichlet series induced by a higher order form

abstract:
  A multiple Dirichlet series in two variables is constructed as a Mellin
transform of a higher order Eisenstein series. It is shown to extend to a
meromorphic function and satisfy two independent functional equations.


title: Cohomological dimension of Laumon 1-motives up to isogenies

abstract:
  We prove that the category of Laumon 1-motives up isogenies over a field of
characteristic zero is of cohomological dimension $\le 1$. As a consequence
this implies the same result for the category of formal Hodge structures of
level $\le 1$ (over $\mathbb{Q}$).


title: Comments on scalar-tensor representation of nonlocally corrected gravity

abstract:
  The scalar-tensor representation of nonlocally corrected gravity is
considered. Some special solutions of the vacuum background equations were
obtained that indicate to the nonequivalence of the initial theory and its
scalar-tensor representation.


title: Thermodynamics of Black Holes in Schroedinger Space

abstract:
  A black hole and a black hyperboloid solutions in the space with the
Schroedinger isometries are presented and their thermodynamics is examined. The
on-shell action is obtained by the difference between the extremal and
non-extremal ones with the unusual matching of the boundary metrics. This
regularization method is first applied to the black brane solution in the space
of the Schroedinger symmetry and shown to correctly reproduce the known
thermodynamics. The actions of the black solutions all turn out to be the same
as the AdS counterparts. The phase diagram of the black hole system is obtained
in the parameter space of the temperature and chemical potential and the
diagram contains the Hawking-Page phase transition and instability lines.


title:
Performance-Aware Power Management in Embedded Controllers with
  Multiple-Voltage Processors

abstract:
  The goal of this work is to minimize the energy dissipation of embedded
controllers without jeopardizing the quality of control (QoC). Taking advantage
of the dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) technology, this paper develops a
performance-aware power management scheme for embedded controllers with
processors that allow multiple voltage levels. The periods of control tasks are
adapted online with respect to the current QoC, thus facilitating additional
energy reduction over standard DVS. To avoid the waste of CPU resources as a
result of the discrete voltage levels, a resource reclaiming mechanism is
employed to maximize the CPU utilization and also to improve the QoC.
Simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme.
Compared with the optimal standard DVS scheme, the proposed scheme is shown to
be able to save remarkably more energy while maintaining comparable QoC.


title:
Combined Analysis of Electric Dipole Moments and Lepton Flavor Violating
  Rare Decays

abstract:
  In the context of general Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), new
sources for Lepton Flavor Violation (LFV) as well as CP-violation appear. We
show that in the presence of LFV sources, the electric dipole moment of the
electron ($d_e$) can receive new contributions. In particular, $d_e$ can
receive a significant contribution at one loop level from the phase of the
trilinear $A$-term of the staus, $\phi_{A_\tau}$. We discuss how we can derive
information on $\phi_{A_\tau}$ by combining the information on $d_e$ with that
on the LFV decay modes of the $\tau$ lepton. We then discuss if this approach
can be considered as an alternative to the direct measurement of
$\phi_{A_\tau}$ at ILC.


title:
Multi-valued hyperelliptic continued fractions of generalized Halphen
  type

abstract:
  We introduce and study higher genera generalizations of the Halphen theory of
continued fractions. The basic notion we start with is hyperelliptic Haplhen
(HH) element $$\frac{\sqrt{X_{2g+2}}-\sqrt{Y_{2g+2}}}{x-y},$$ depending on
parameter $y$, where $X_{2g+2}$ is a polynomial of degree $2g+2$ and
$Y_{2g+2}=X_{2g+2}(y)$. We study regular and irregular HH elements. their
continued fraction development and some basic properties of such development:
even and odd symmetry and periodicity.


title:
Experimental observation of the longitudinal plasma excitation in
  intrinsic Josephson junctions

abstract:
  We have investigated the current-voltage characteristics (IVCs) of intrinsic
Josephson junctions (IJJs). Recently, it is predicted that the longitudinal
plasma wave can be excited by the parametric resonance in IJJs. Such an
excitation induces a singularity called as breakpoint region around switch back
region in the IVC. We have succeeded in the observation of the breakpoint
region in the IVC of the mesa with 5 IJJs at 4.2 K. Furthermore, it is found
that the temperature dependence of the breakpoint current is in agreement with
the theoretical prediction. This suggests that the wave number of the excited
plasma wave varies with temperature.


title: On curvature-adapted and proper complex equifocal submaniflds

abstract:
  In this paper, we investigate a curvature-adapted and proper complex
equifocal submanifold in a symmetric space of non-compact type. The class of
these submanifolds contains principal orbits of Hermann type actions as
homogeneous examples. In future, the results in this paper will be used to give
a submanifold geometrical characterization of principal orbits of Hermann type
actions.


title: Finite-top-mass effects in NNLO Higgs production

abstract:
  We construct an accurate approximation to the exact NNLO cross section for
Higgs production in gluon-gluon fusion by matching the dominant finite top mass
corrections recently computed by us to the known result in the infinite mass
limit. The ensuing corrections to the partonic cross section are very large
when the center of mass energy of the partonic collision is much larger than
the Higgs mass, but lead to a moderate correction at the percent level to the
total Higgs production cross section at the LHC. Our computation thus reduces
the uncertainty related to these corrections at the LHC from the percent to the
per mille level.


title: On the existence of polynomial-time algorithms to the subset sum problem

abstract:
  This paper proves that there does not exist a polynomial-time algorithm to
the the subset sum problem. As this problem is in NP, the result implies that
the class P of problems admitting polynomial-time algorithms does not equal the
class NP of problems admitting nondeterministic polynomial-time algorithms.


title: A note on random orthogonal polynomials on a compact interval

abstract:
  We consider a uniform distribution on the set $\mathcal{M}_k$ of moments of
order $k \in \mathbb{N}$ corresponding to probability measures on the interval
$[0,1]$. To each (random) vector of moments in $\mathcal{M}_{2n-1}$ we consider
the corresponding uniquely determined monic (random) orthogonal polynomial of
degree $n$ and study the asymptotic properties of its roots if $n \to \infty$.


title:
Testing for a constant coefficient of variation in nonparametric
  regression

abstract:
  In this paper we propose a new test for the hypothesis of a constant
coefficient of variation in the common nonparametric regression model. The test
is based on an estimate of the $L^2$-distance between the square of the
regression function and variance function. We prove asymptotic normality of a
standardized estimate of this distance under the null hypothesis and fixed
alternatives and the finite sample properties of a corresponding bootstrap test
are investigated by means of a simulation study. The results are applicable to
stationary processes with the common mixing conditions and are used to
construct tests for ARCH assumptions in financial time series.


title: Optimal experimental designs for inverse quadratic regression models

abstract:
  In this paper optimal experimental designs for inverse quadratic regression
models are determined. We consider two different parameterizations of the model
and investigate local optimal designs with respect to the $c$-, $D$- and
$E$-criteria, which reflect various aspects of the precision of the maximum
likelihood estimator for the parameters in inverse quadratic regression models.
In particular it is demonstrated that for a sufficiently large design space
geometric allocation rules are optimal with respect to many optimality
criteria. Moreover, in numerous cases the designs with respect to the different
criteria are supported at the same points. Finally, the efficiencies of
different optimal designs with respect to various optimality criteria are
studied, and the efficiency of some commonly used designs are investigated.


title:
Evolution of density perturbations in decaying vacuum cosmology: The
  case of non-zero perturbations in the cosmological term

abstract:
  We extend the results of a previous paper where a model of interacting dark
energy, with a cosmological term decaying linearly with the Hubble parameter,
is tested against the observed mass power spectrum. In spite of the agreement
with observations of type Ia supernovas, baryonic acoustic oscillations and the
cosmic microwave background, we had shown previously that no good concordance
is achieved if we include the mass power spectrum. However, our analysis was
based on the ad hoc assumption that the interacting cosmological term is
strictly homogeneous. Now we perform a more complete analysis, by perturbing
such a term. Although our conclusions are still based on a particular, scale
invariant choice of the primordial spectrum of dark energy perturbations, we
show that a cosmological term decaying linearly with the Hubble parameter is
indeed disfavored as compared to the standard model.


title: Higher homotopy of groups definable in o-minimal structures

abstract:
  It is known that a definably compact group G is an extension of a compact Lie
group L by a divisible torsion-free normal subgroup. We show that the o-minimal
higher homotopy groups of G are isomorphic to the corresponding higher homotopy
groups of L. As a consequence, we obtain that all abelian definably compact
groups of a given dimension are definably homotopy equivalent, and that their
universal cover are contractible.


title: Prospects of inflation with perturbed throat geometry

abstract:
  We study brane inflation in a warped deformed conifold background that
includes general possible corrections to the throat geometry sourced by
coupling to the bulk of a compact Calabi-Yau space. We focus specifically, on
the perturbation by chiral operator of dimension 3/2 in the CFT. We find that
the effective potential in this case can give rise to required number of
e-foldings and the spectral index $n_S$ consistent with observation. The tensor
to scalar ratio of perturbations is generally very low in this scenario. The
COBE normalization, however, poses certain difficulties which can be
circumvented provided model parameters are properly fine tuned. We find the
numerical values of parameters which can give rise to enough inflation,
observationally consistent values of density perturbations, scalar to tensor
ratio of perturbations and the spectral index $n_S$.


title:
Unitary Representations of the inhomogeneous Lorentz Group and their
  Significance in Quantum Physics

abstract:
  In honor of Minkowski's great contribution to Special Relativity, celebrated
at this conference, we first review Wigner's theory of the projective
irreducible representations of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group. We also sketch
those parts of Mackey's mathematical theory on induced representations which
are particularly useful for physicists. As an important application of the
Wigner-Mackey theory, we shall describe in a unified manner free classical and
quantum fields for arbitrary spin, and demonstrate that locality implies the
normal spin-statistics connection.


title:
Molecular gas streamers feeding and obscuring the active nucleus of
  NGC1068

abstract:
  We report the first direct observations of neutral, molecular gas streaming
in the nucleus of NGC1068 on scales of <30 pc using SINFONI near-infrared
integral field spectroscopy. At a resolution of 0.075", the flux map of 2.12
$\mu$m 1-0 S(1) molecular hydrogen emission around the nucleus in the central
arcsec reveals two prominent linear structures leading to the AGN from the
north and south. The kinematics of the gas in these features are dominated by
non-circular motions and indicate that material is streaming towards the
nucleus on highly elliptical or parabolic trajectories whose orientations are
compatible with that of the disk plane of the galaxy. We interpret the data as
evidence for fueling of gas to the central region. The radial transport rate
from ~30 pc to a few parsec from the nucleus is ~15 M$_\sun$ yr$^{-1}$. One of
the infalling clouds lies directly in front of the central engine. We interpret
it as a tidally disrupted streamer that forms the optically thick outerpart of
an amorphous clumpy molecular/dusty structure which contributes to the nuclear
obscuration.


title: Cosmological perturbations

abstract:
  We review the study of inhomogeneous perturbations about a homogeneous and
isotropic background cosmology. We adopt a coordinate based approach, but give
geometrical interpretations of metric perturbations in terms of the expansion,
shear and curvature of constant-time hypersurfaces and the orthogonal timelike
vector field. We give the gauge transformation rules for metric and matter
variables at first and second order. We show how gauge invariant variables are
constructed by identifying geometric or matter variables in physically-defined
coordinate systems, and give the relations between many commonly used
gauge-invariant variables. In particular we show how the Einstein equations or
energy-momentum conservation can be used to obtain simple evolution equations
at linear order, and discuss extensions to non-linear order. We present
evolution equations for systems with multiple interacting fluids and scalar
fields, identifying adiabatic and entropy perturbations. As an application we
consider the origin of primordial curvature and isocurvature perturbations from
field perturbations during inflation in the very early universe.


title: Near-Infrared Polarimetry toward the Galactic Center

abstract:
  Near-infrared polarimetry of point sources reveals the presence of a toroidal
magnetic field in the central 20' x 20' region of our Galaxy. Comparing the
Stokes parameters between high extinction stars and relatively low extinction
ones, we have obtained a polarization originating from magnetically aligned
dust grains at the central region of our Galaxy of at most 1-2 kpc. The derived
direction of the magnetic field is in good agreement with that obtained from
far-infrared/submillimeter observations, which detect polarized thermal
emission from dust in the molecular clouds at the Galactic center. Our results
show that by subtracting foreground components, near-infrared polarimetry
allows investigation of the magnetic field structure at the Galactic center.
The distribution of the position angles shows a peak at around 20deg, nearly
parallel to the direction of the Galactic plane, suggesting a toroidal magnetic
configuration.


title: HERA Combined Cross Sections and Parton Densities

abstract:
  Deep inelastic scattering cross section measurements previously published by
the H1 and ZEUS collaborations are combined. The procedure takes into account
the systematic error correlations in a coherent way, leading to a significantly
reduced overall cross section uncertainty. The combined H1 and ZEUS
measurements of the inclusive neutral and charged current cross sections are
used to perform a common NLO QCD fit. The consistent treatment of systematic
uncertainties in the joint data set ensures that the resulting set of parton
density functions (PDFs) have a much reduced experimental uncertainty compared
to the previous PDF extractions performed separately by the H1 and ZEUS
collaborations.


title:
Stochastic vortex method for forced three-dimensional Navier--Stokes
  equations and pathwise convergence rate

abstract:
  We develop a McKean-Vlasov interpretation of Navier-Stokes equations with
external force field in the whole space, by associating with local mild
$L^p$-solutions of the 3d-vortex equation a generalized nonlinear diffusion
with random space-time birth that probabilistically describes creation of
rotation in the fluid due to nonconservativeness of the force. We establish a
local well-posedness result for this process and a stochastic representation
formula for the vorticity in terms of a vector-weighted version of its law
after its birth instant. Then we introduce a stochastic system of 3d vortices
with mollified interaction and random space-time births, and prove the
propagation of chaos property, with the nonlinear process as limit, at an
explicit pathwise convergence rate. Convergence rates for stochastic
approximation schemes of the velocity and the vorticity fields are also
obtained. We thus extend and refine previous results on the probabilistic
interpretation and stochastic approximation methods for the nonforced equation,
generalizing also a recently introduced random space-time-birth particle method
for the 2d-Navier-Stokes equation with force.


title:
Magnetic field anti-symmetry of photovoltaic voltage in evanescent
  microwave fields

abstract:
  A two dimensional electron system without spatial inversion symmetry develops
a sample specific dc voltage when exposed to a microwave radiation at low
temperature. We investigate this photovoltaic (PV) effect, in the case where
spatial symmetry is broken by an evanescent high-frequency potential. We
measure the induced PV voltage in a ${\rm GaAs/Ga_{1-x}Al_{x}As}$ Hall bar at
magnetic fields in the Tesla range. We find that in this regime the induced PV
voltage is anti-symmetric with magnetic field, and exhibits regular
Shubnikov-de Haas like oscillations. Our experimental results can be understood
from a simple model, which describes the effect of stationary orbital currents
caused by microwave driving.


title: DNS of the kappa-mechanism

abstract:
  We present a purely-radiative hydrodynamic model of the kappa-mechanism that
sustains radial oscillations in Cepheid variables. We determine the physical
conditions favourable for the kappa-mechanism to occur by the means of a
configurable hollow in the radiative conductivity profile. By starting from
these most favourable conditions, we complete nonlinear direct numerical
simulations (DNS) and compare them with the results given by a linear-stability
analysis of radial modes. We find that well-defined instability strips are
generated by changing the location and shape of the conductivity hollow. For a
given position in the layer, the hollow amplitude and width stand out as the
key parameters governing the appearance of unstable modes driven by the
kappa-mechanism. The DNS confirm both the growth rates and structures of the
linearly-unstable modes. The nonlinear saturation that arises is produced by
intricate couplings between the excited fundamental mode and higher damped
overtones. These couplings are measured by projecting the DNS fields onto an
acoustic subspace built from regular and adjoint eigenvectors and a 2:1
resonance is found to be responsible for the saturation of the kappa-mechanism
instability.


title:
The Landau gauge lattice ghost propagator in stochastic perturbation
  theory

abstract:
  We present one- and two-loop results for the ghost propagator in Landau gauge
calculated in Numerical Stochastic Perturbation Theory (NSPT). The one-loop
results are compared with available standard Lattice Perturbation Theory in the
infinite-volume limit. We discuss in detail how to perform the different
necessary limits in the NSPT approach and discuss a recipe to treat logarithmic
terms by introducing ``finite-lattice logs''. We find agreement with the
one-loop result from standard Lattice Perturbation Theory and estimate, from
the non-logarithmic part of the ghost propagator in two-loop order, the unknown
constant contribution to the ghost self-energy in the RI'-MOM scheme in Landau
gauge. That constant vanishes within our numerical accuracy.


title: NJL interaction derived from QCD: vector and axial-vector mesons

abstract:
  In previous works effective non-local $SU(2)\times SU(2)$ NJL model was
derived in the framework of the fundamental QCD. All the parameters of the
model are expressed through QCD parameters: current light quark mass $m_0$ and
average non-perturbative $\alpha_s$. The results for scalar and pseudo-scalar
mesons are in satisfactory agreement to existing data. In the present work the
same model without introduction of any additional parameters is applied for a
description of masses and strong decay widths of $\rho$- and $a_1$-mesons. The
results for both scalar and vector sectors agree with data with only one
adjusted parameter $m_0$, with account of average $\alpha_s \simeq 0.415$,
which is obtained in a previous work as well.


title: Scaling function in AdS/CFT from the O(6) sigma model

abstract:
  Asymptotic behavior of the anomalous dimensions of Wilson operators with high
spin and twist is governed in planar N=4 SYM theory by the scaling function
which coincides at strong coupling with the energy density of a two-dimensional
bosonic O(6) sigma model. We calculate this function by combining the two-loop
correction to the energy density for the O(n) model with two-loop correction to
the mass gap determined by the all-loop Bethe ansatz in N=4 SYM theory. The
result is in agreement with the prediction coming from the thermodynamical
limit of the quantum string Bethe ansatz equations, but disagrees with the
two-loop stringy corrections to the folded spinning string solution.


title: Demonstration of near-Optimal Discrimination of Optical Coherent States

abstract:
  The optimal discrimination of non-orthogonal quantum states with minimum
error probability is a fundamental task in quantum measurement theory as well
as an important primitive in optical communication. In this work, we propose
and experimentally realize a new and simple quantum measurement strategy
capable of discriminating two coherent states with smaller error probabilities
than can be obtained using the standard measurement devices; the Kennedy
receiver and the homodyne receiver.


title:
alpha'-exact entropies for BPS and non-BPS extremal dyonic black holes
  in heterotic string theory from ten-dimensional supersymmetry

abstract:
  We calculate near-horizon solutions for four-dimensional 4-charge and
five-dimensional 3-charge black holes in heterotic string theory from the part
of the ten-dimensional tree-level effective action which is connected to
gravitational Chern-Simons term by supersymmetry. We obtain that the entropies
of large black holes exactly match the alpha'-exact statistical entropies
obtained from microstate counting (D=4) and AdS/CFT correspondence (D=5).
Especially interesting is that we obtain agreement for both BPS and non-BPS
black holes, contrary to the case of R^2-truncated (four-derivative) actions
(D-dimensional N=2 off-shell supersymmetric or Gauss-Bonnet) were used, which
give the entropies agreeing (at best) just for BPS black holes. The key
property of the solutions, which enabled us to tackle the action containing
infinite number of terms, is vanishing of the Riemann tensor \bar{R}_{MNPQ}
obtained from torsional connection defined with \bar{\Gamma} = \Gamma - H/2.
Morover, if every monomial of the remaining part of the effective action would
contain at least two Riemanns \bar{R}_{MNPQ}, it would trivially follow that
our solutions are exact solutions of the full heterotic effective action in
D=10. The above conjecture, which appeared (in this or stronger form) from time
to time in the literature, has controversial status, but is supported by the
most recent calculations of Richards (arXiv:0807.3453 [hep-th]). Agreement of
our results for the entropies with the microscopic ones supports the
conjecture. As for small black holes, our solutions in D=5 still have singular
horizons.


title:
Curvature dependence of the electrolytic liquid-liquid interfacial
  tension

abstract:
  The interfacial tension of a liquid droplet surrounded by another liquid in
the presence of microscopic ions is studied as a function of the droplet
radius. An analytical expression for the interfacial tension is obtained within
a linear Poisson-Boltzmann theory and compared with numerical results from
non-linear Poisson-Boltzmann theory. The excess liquid-liquid interfacial
tension with respect to the pure, salt-free liquid-liquid interfacial tension
is found to decompose into a curvature-independent part due to short-ranged
interfacial effects and a curvature-dependent electrostatic contribution.
Several curvature-dependent regimes of different scaling of the electrostatic
excess interfacial tension are identified. Symmetry relations of the
interfacial tension upon swapping droplet and bulk liquid are found to hold in
the low-curvature limit, which, e.g., lead to a sign change of the excess
Tolman length. For some systems a low-curvature expansion up to second order
turns out to be applicable if and only if the droplet size exceeds the Debye
screening length in the droplet, independent of the Debye length in the bulk.


title: Recent CP violation and |Vus| measurements from the NA48 experiment

abstract:
  Results from recent analyses of the NA48 experiment at CERN are compared with
other experiments and confronted with theoretical predictions to provide
constraints on the CKM matrix and on CP Violation.
  The observable eta+- is related to the parameters of indirect and direct CPV
(eta+- = epsilon + epsilon'). |eta+-| has been determined by measuring the
ratio of decay rates:
  Gamma(K_L to pi+pi-)/Gamma(K_L to pi e nu), using an NA48 run with a
dedicated pure high-intensity K_L beam.
  The main objective of NA48/2 has been to search for direct CP violation by
high precision measurement of the asymmetry A_g = (g+ - g-)/(g+ + g-) of the
linear slope parameter g in the Dalitz plot of K+- to 3pi decays. The final
results from all data samples are summarised and discussed.
  The decay rates R(Ke3/K2pi), R(Kmu3/K2pi) and R(Kmu3/Ke3) have been measured
with charged K decays from special data samples with a low bias trigger in the
NA48/2 experiment. Using the latest PDG average for the (K+- to pi+- pi0)
normalisation channel, the Ke3 and Kmu3 branching fractions are then used as
input to deduce the CKM matrix element Vus.


title:
Probability density functions of work and heat near the stochastic
  resonance of a colloidal particle

abstract:
  We study experimentally and theoretically the probability density functions
of the injected and dissipated energy in a system of a colloidal particle
trapped in a double well potential periodically modulated by an external
perturbation. The work done by the external force and the dissipated energy are
measured close to the stochastic resonance where the injected power is maximum.
We show a good agreement between the probability density functions exactly
computed from a Langevin dynamics and the measured ones. The probability
density function of the work done on the particle satisfies the fluctuation
theorem.


title:
Multiscale modelling strategy using the lattice Boltzmann method for
  polymer dynamics in a turbulent flow

abstract:
  Polymer dynamics in a turbulent flow is a problem spanning several orders of
magnitude of length and time scales. A microscopic simulation covering all
those scales from the polymer segment to the inertial scale of turbulence seems
impossible within the foreseeable future. We propose a multiscale simulation
strategy to enhance the spatio-temporal resolution of local Lagrangian
turbulent flow by matching two different simulation techniques, i. e. direct
numerical simulation for the flow as a whole, and the lattice Boltzmann method
coupled to polymer dynamics at the Kolmogorov dissipation scale. Local
turbulent flows sampled by Lagrangian tracer particles in the direct numerical
simulation are reproduced in the lattice Boltzmann model with a finer
resolution, by supplying the latter with both the correct initial condition as
well as the correct time-dependent boundary condition, sampled from the former.
When combined with a Molecular Dynamics simulation of a polymer chain in the
lattice Boltzmann model, it provides a strategy to simulate the \emph{passive}
dynamics of a polymer chain in a turbulent flow covering all those scales.
While this approach allows for a fairly realistic model of the macromolecule,
the back-coupling to the flow on the large scales is missing.


title: Monte Carlo simulations of the randomly forced Burgers equation

abstract:
  The behaviour of the one--dimensional random--forced Burgers equation is
investigated in the path integral formalism, using a discrete space--time
lattice. We show that by means of Monte Carlo methods one may evaluate
observables, such as structure functions, as ensemble averages over different
field realizations. The regularization of shock solutions to the
zero--viscosity limit (Hopf-eq.) eventually leads to constraints on lattice
parameters, required for the stability of the simulations. Insight into the
formation of localized structures (shocks) and their dynamics is obtained.


title:
Recent developments in thermal leptogenesis: the role of flavours in
  various seesaw realisations

abstract:
  In this thesis, we study the role of flavours in leptogenesis. In a first
time, we review the so-called one flavour picture, where only the lightest
right-handed neutrino is taken into account, and where lepton flavours are
neglected. After having showed why and how lepton flavours should be included
in the computation of the lepton asymmetry, we study their effect in the type I
seesaw model, as well as in the type I+II seesaw model, in a specific SO(10)
unification realisation. In this model, besides flavours effects, we show that
the inclusion of the second lightest right-handed neutrino, together with an
accurate description of charged fermions masses, are necessary to make
leptogenesis work.


title:
Elementary structural building blocks encountered in silicon surface
  reconstructions

abstract:
  Driven by the reduction of dangling bonds and the minimization of surface
stress, reconstruction of silicon surfaces leads to a striking diversity of
outcomes. Despite this variety even very elaborate structures are generally
comprised of a small number of structural building blocks. We here identify
important elementary building blocks and discuss their integration into the
structural models as well as their impact on the electronic structure of the
surface.


title: A new interesting source in Chandra field: a pulsar wind nebula?

abstract:
  We report the detection of a point source CXO J172337.5-373442 in a Chandra
field with a high significance (26.7 sigma), and the discovery (4 sigma) of a
48" long X-ray tail emanating from the point source. The X-ray spectra of both
the point source and the tail are well described with a single absorbed
powerlaw, and the tail is harder (powerlaw index Gamma = 0.14^{+0.59}_{-0.68})
than the point source (Gamma = 1.78^{+0.13}_{-0.11}). From this first detailed
spatial, spectral and timing X-ray analysis of CXO J172337.5-373442, and from a
plausible optical counterpart found from the archives, we conclude that this
source is either a Galactic High-Mass X-ray Binary with an X-ray jet or a
Galactic pulsar with its "pulsar wind nebula" seen as the X-ray tail. Although,
the currently available data are not enough to distinguish between these two
candidates with certainty, a detailed comparison of their known properties with
those of CXO J172337.5-373442 favours the latter type. If this identification
is correct, then the pulsar should be middle-aged or old, that has escaped from
its supernova remnant, and the X-ray tail should originate from the synchrotron
emission from either of the following locations: (1) a shocked region, or (2) a
jet emanating from the pulsar's magnetosphere.


title: Measurement of the pionium lifetime

abstract:
  We report the progress in the measurement of the pionium lifetime by the
DIRAC Collaboration at CERN (PS212). Based on data collected in 2001-2003 on Ni
targets we have achieved the precision of 11% in the measurement of the pionium
lifetime, which corresponds to the measurement of S-wave pion-pion scattering
lengths difference |a0-a2| with the accuracy of 6%.


title: The bicompletion of the Hausdorff quasi-uniformity

abstract:
  We study conditions under which the Hausdorff quasi-uniformity ${\mathcal
U}_H$ of a quasi-uniform space $(X,{\mathcal U})$ on the set ${\mathcal
P}_0(X)$ of the nonempty subsets of $X$ is bicomplete.
  Indeed we present an explicit method to construct the bicompletion of the
$T_0$-quotient of the Hausdorff quasi-uniformity of a quasi-uniform space. It
is used to find a characterization of those quasi-uniform $T_0$-spaces
$(X,{\mathcal U})$ for which the Hausdorff quasi-uniformity
$\widetilde{{\mathcal U}}_H$ of their bicompletion
$(\widetilde{X},{\widetilde{\mathcal U}})$ on ${\mathcal P}_0(\widetilde{X})$
is bicomplete.


title: Partial hyperbolicity far from homoclinic bifurcations

abstract:
  We prove that any diffeomorphism of a compact manifold can be
C^1-approximated by a diffeomorphism which exhibits a homoclinic bifurcation (a
homoclinic tangency or a heterodimensional cycle) or by a diffeomorphism which
is partially hyperbolic (its chain-recurrent set splits into partially
hyperbolic pieces whose centre bundles have dimensions less or equal to two).
We also study in a more systematic way the central models introduced in
arXiv:math/0605387.


title: Quantum Pieri rules for isotropic Grassmannians

abstract:
  We study the three point genus zero Gromov-Witten invariants on the
Grassmannians which parametrize non-maximal isotropic subspaces in a vector
space equipped with a nondegenerate symmetric or skew-symmetric form. We
establish Pieri rules for the classical cohomology and the small quantum
cohomology ring of these varieties, which give a combinatorial formula for the
product of any Schubert class with certain special Schubert classes. We also
give presentations of these rings, with integer coefficients, in terms of
special Schubert class generators and relations.


title: Atomically precise Si(331)-(12x1) surfaces

abstract:
  Si(331)-(12x1) is the only confirmed planar silicon surface with a stable
reconstruction located between (111) and (110). We have optimized the annealing
sequence and are able to obtain almost defect free, atomically precise surface
areas approaching micrometer dimensions. The unprecedented perfection of the
surface combined with its pronounced structural anisotropy makes it a promising
candidate to serve as template for the growth of self-assembled one-dimensional
nanostructure arrays.


title: Solvability of elliptic systems with square integrable boundary data

abstract:
  We consider second order elliptic divergence form systems with complex
measurable coefficients $A$ that are independent of the transversal coordinate,
and prove that the set of $A$ for which the boundary value problem with $L_2$
Dirichlet or Neumann data is well posed, is an open set. Furthermore we prove
that these boundary value problems are well posed when $A$ is either Hermitean,
block or constant. Our methods apply to more general systems of PDEs and as an
example we prove perturbation results for boundary value problems for
differential forms.


title: The K+ to pi+ nu nubar experiment at CERN

abstract:
  The NA62 experiment, proposed to measure the very rare decay K+ to pi+ nu
nubar at the CERN SPS with 10% accuracy, aims to collect about 80 events in two
years of data taking, keeping background contamination lower than 10%. This
paper describes the status of the project and the perspectives of the
experiment.


title: RCF3: Map-Code Interpretation via Closure

abstract:
  For a (minimal) Arithmetical theory with higher Order Objects, i.e. a
(minimal) Cartesian closed arithmetical theory -- coming as such with the
corresponding closed evaluation -- we interprete here map codes, out of [A,B]
say,into these maps "themselves", coming as elements ("names") within
hom-Objects B^A. The interpretation (family) uses a Chain of Universal Objects
U_n, one for each Order stratum with respect to "higher" Order of the Objects.
Combined with closed, axiomatic evaluation, this interpretation family gives
code-self-evaluation. Via the usual diagonal argument, Antinomie RICHARD then
can be formalised within minimal higher Order (Cartesian closed) arithmetical
theory, and yields this way inconsistency for all of its extensions, in
particular for set theories as ZF, of the Elementary Theory of (higher Order)
Topoi with Natural Numbers Object as considered by FREYD, as well as already
for the Theory of Cartesian Closed Categories with NNO considered by LAMBEK and
SCOTT.


title: High-excitation molecular gas in local luminous AGN hosts

abstract:
  We used the mm/sub-mm receivers on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT)
to observe the CO J=3--2, 2--1 lines in five local, optically powerful AGN and
the J=4--3 line in 3C 293 (a powerful radio galaxy). Luminous CO J=3--2
emission and high CO (3--2)/(1--0) intensity ratios are found in all objects,
indicating highly excited molecular gas. In 3C 293 an exceptionally bright CO
J=4--3 line is found which cannot be easily explained given its quiescent
star-forming environment and low AGN X-ray luminosity. In this object shocks
emanating from a well-known interaction of a powerful jet with a dense ISM may
be responsible for the high excitation of its molecular gas on galaxy-wide
scales. Star formation can readily account for the gas excitation in the rest
of the objects, although high X-ray AGN luminosities can also contribute
significantly in two cases. Measuring and eventually imaging CO line ratios in
local luminous QSO hosts can be done by a partially completed ALMA during its
early phases of commissioning, promising a sensitive probe of starburst versus
AGN activity in obscured environments at high linear resolutions.


title:
Excitation Spectrum and Stability from a Filled Landau Level in Rotating
  Dipolar Fermi Gases

abstract:
  We apply the equation-of-motion method to study the collective excitation
spectrum from a filled Landau level in rotating dipolar Fermi gases. The
predicted excitation spectrum of rotating dipolar Fermi gases can exhibit a
roton-minimum character. This roton character is tunable by varying the dipole
interaction strength and confining potential. An increase of the dipole
interaction strength makes the roton minimum becoming zero, and the system
becomes unstable. We also obtain a condition for the dynamical stability of
rotating dipolar Fermi gases.


title: Internal effective field sources for spin torque nano pillar oscillators

abstract:
  In this paper we numerically conduct micromagnetic modelling with an expended
micromagnetic model that includes the spin torque term and an impedance model
to investigate methods to replace external field sources with internal ones and
to investigate its tuneability on nanopillar geometries. We present results for
three methods: interlayer coupling, large perpendicular anisotropy and
magnetostatic coupling. The internal field sources are evaluated as function of
frequency shift with current, its dependency on temperature and are tested
against analytical predictions.


title: Riemannian metrics on positive definite matrices related to means

abstract:
  The Riemannian metric on the manifold of positive definite matrices is
defined by a kernel function $\phi$ in the form
$K_D^\phi(H,K)=\sum_{i,j}\phi(\lambda_i,\lambda_j)^{-1} Tr P_iHP_jK$ when
$\sum_i\lambda_iP_i$ is the spectral decomposition of the foot point $D$ and
the Hermitian matrices $H,K$ are tangent vectors. For such kernel metrics the
tangent space has an orthogonal decomposition. The pull-back of a kernel metric
under a mapping $D\mapsto G(D)$ is a kernel metric as well. Several Riemannian
geometries of the literature are particular cases, for example, the Fisher-Rao
metric for multivariate Gaussian distributions and the quantum Fisher
information. In the paper the case $\phi(x,y)=M(x,y)^\theta$ is mostly studied
when $M(x,y)$ is a mean of the positive numbers $x$ and $y$. There are results
about the geodesic curves and geodesic distances. The geometric mean, the
logarithmic mean and the root mean are important cases.


title: Glued CaWO4 Detectors for the CRESST-II Experiment

abstract:
  The Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers Phase II
(CRESST-II) at the L.N.G.S in Italy is searching for Dark Matter using
low-temperature calorimeters. These detectors allow to discriminate different
particles by simultaneous measurement of phonons and scintillation light. The
sensors used consist of superconducting tungsten thin-film thermometers, which
measure the thermal effect of the phonons created in an attached absorber
crystal. It has been observed that the scintillation of the CaWO4 absorber
degrades during the process of depositing the tungsten film. In order to
prevent this, a new technique for producing the detectors was investigated.
This technique might also be valuable by expanding the range of scintillator
materials suitable for producing a Dark Matter detector.


title: Condensation and evolution of space-time network

abstract:
  In this work, we try to propose, in a novel way using the Bose and Fermi
quantum network approach, a framework studying condensation and evolution of
space time network described by the Loop quantum gravity. Considering quantum
network connectivity features in the Loop quantum gravity, we introduce a link
operator, and through extending the dynamical equation for the evolution of
quantum network posed by Ginestra Bianconi to an operator equation, we get the
solution of the link operator. This solution is relevant to the Hamiltonian of
the network, and then is related to the energy distribution of network nodes.
Showing that tremendous energy distribution induce huge curved space-time
network, may have space time condensation in high-energy nodes. For example, in
the black hole circumstances, quantum energy distribution is related to the
area, thus the eigenvalues of the link operator of the nodes can be related to
quantum number of area, and the eigenvectors are just the spin network states.
This reveals that the degree distribution of nodes for space-time network is
quantized, which can form the space-time network condensation. The black hole
is a sort of result of space-time network condensation, however there may be
more extensive space-time network condensation, for example, the universe
singularity (big bang).


abstract:
  Hadronization in tau -> K K pi nu_tau decays is driven by both vector and
axial-vector currents that we study, guided by the following principles: The
1/N_C expansion -worked out at leading order, considering only the contribution
of the lightest spin one resonances-, approximate chiral symmetry at low
energies and the appropriate asymptotic behaviour we demand to the associated
form factors. All these features are implemented in the resonance theory. Most
of its couplings are determined by imposing the short-distance requirements of
vector and axial-vector spectral functions within QCD. We plan to improve our
prediction of the hadronic spectra using recently available experimental data.


title: Hall effect in laser ablated Co_2(Mn,Fe)Si thin films

abstract:
  Pulsed laser deposition was employed to grow thin films of the Heusler
compounds Co_2MnSi and Co_2FeSi. Epitaxial growth was realized both directly on
MgO (100) and on a Cr or Fe buffer layer. Structural analysis by x-ray and
electron diffraction shows for both materials the ordered L2_1 structure. Bulk
magnetization was determined with a SQUID magnetometer. The values agree with
the Slater-Pauling rule for half-metallic Heusler compounds. On the films grown
directly on the substrate measurements of the Hall effect have been performed.
The normal Hall effect is nearly temperature independent and points towards a
compensated Fermi surface. The anomalous contribution is found to be dominated
by skew scattering. A remarkable sign change of both normal and anomalous Hall
coefficients is observed on changing the valence electron count from 29 (Mn) to
30 (Fe).


title:
Square integrable holomorphic functions on infinite-dimensional
  Heisenberg type groups

abstract:
  We introduce a class of non-commutative, complex, infinite-dimensional
Heisenberg like Lie groups based on an abstract Wiener space. The holomorphic
functions which are also square integrable with respect to a heat kernel
measure $\mu$ on these groups are studied. In particular, we establish a
unitary equivalence between the square integrable holomorphic functions and a
certain completion of the universal enveloping algebra of the "Lie algebra" of
this class of groups. Using quasi-invariance of the heat kernel measure, we
also construct a skeleton map which characterizes globally defined functions
from the $L^{2}(\nu)$-closure of holomorphic polynomials by their values on the
Cameron-Martin subgroup.


title: Inherent thermometry in a hybrid superconducting tunnel junction

abstract:
  We discuss inherent thermometry in a Superconductor - Normal metal -
Superconductor tunnel junction. In this configuration, the energy selectivity
of single-particle tunneling can provide a significant electron cooling,
depending on the bias voltage. The usual approach for measuring the electron
temperature consists in using an additional pair of superconducting tunnel
junctions as probes. In this paper, we discuss our experiment performed on a
different design with no such thermometer. The quasi-equilibrium in the central
metallic island is discussed in terms of a kinetic equation including injection
and relaxation terms. We determine the electron temperature by comparing the
micro-cooler experimental current-voltage characteristic with isothermal
theoretical predictions. The limits of validity of this approach, due to the
junctions asymmetry, the Andreev reflection or the presence of sub-gap states
are discussed.


title: Un th\'eor\`eme \`a la "Thom-Sebastiani" pour les int\'egrales-fibres

abstract:
  The aim of this article is to prove a Thom-Sebastiani theorem for the
asymptotics of the fiber-integrals. This means that we describe the asymptotics
of the fiber-integrals of the function $f \oplus g : (x,y) \to f(x) + g(y)$ \
on $(\mathbb{C}^p\times \mathbb{C}^q, (0,0))$ in term of the asymptotics of the
fiber-integrals of the holomorphic germs $f : (\mathbb{C}^p,0) \to
(\mathbb{C},0)$ and $g : (\mathbb{C}^q,0) \to (\mathbb{C},0)$. This reduces to
compute the asymptotics of a convolution $\Phi_*\Psi$ from the asymptotics of
$\Phi$ and $\Psi$ modulo smooth terms. To obtain a precise theorem, giving the
non vanishing of expected singular terms in the asymptotic expansion of
$f\oplus g$, we have to compute the constants coming from the convolution
process. We show that they are given by rational fractions of Gamma factors.
This enable us to show that these constants do not vanish.


title:
Generalized Keller-Segel models of chemotaxis. Analogy with nonlinear
  mean field Fokker-Planck equations

abstract:
  We consider a generalized class of Keller-Segel models describing the
chemotaxis of biological populations (bacteria, amoebae, endothelial cells,
social insects,...). We show the analogy with nonlinear mean field
Fokker-Planck equations and generalized thermodynamics. As an illustration, we
introduce a new model of chemotaxis incorporating both effects of anomalous
diffusion and exclusion principle (volume filling). We also discuss the analogy
between biological populations described by the Keller-Segel model and
self-gravitating Brownian particles described by the Smoluchowski-Poisson
system.


title: Poisson Homology in Degree 0 for some Rings of Symplectic Invariants

abstract:
  Let $\go{g}$ be a finite-dimensional semi-simple Lie algebra, $\go{h}$ a
Cartan subalgebra of $\go{g}$, and $W$ its Weyl group. The group $W$ acts
diagonally on $V:=\go{h}\oplus\go{h}^*$, as well as on $\mathbb{C}[V]$. The
purpose of this article is to study the Poisson homology of the algebra of
invariants $\mathbb{C}[V]^W$ endowed with the standard symplectic bracket. To
begin with, we give general results about the Poisson homology space in degree
0, denoted by $HP_0(\mathbb{C}[V]^W)$, in the case where $\go{g}$ is of type
$B_n-C_n$ or $D_n$, results which support Alev's conjecture. Then we are
focusing the interest on the particular cases of ranks 2 and 3, by computing
the Poisson homology space in degree 0 in the cases where $\go{g}$ is of type
$B_2$ ($\go{so}_5$), $D_2$ ($\go{so}_4$), then $B_3$ ($\go{so}_7$), and
$D_3=A_3$ ($\go{so}_6\simeq\go{sl}_4$). In order to do this, we make use of a
functional equation introduced by Y. Berest, P. Etingof and V. Ginzburg. We
recover, by a different method, the result established by J. Alev and L.
Foissy, according to which the dimension of $HP_0(\mathbb{C}[V]^W)$ equals 2
for $B_2$. Then we calculate the dimension of this space and we show that it is
equal to 1 for $D_2$. We also calculate it for the rank 3 cases, we show that
it is equal to 3 for $B_3-C_3$ and 1 for $D_3=A_3$.


title:
Global Existence Results for the Anisotropic Boussinesq System in
  Dimension Two

abstract:
  We study the global existence issue for the two-dimensional Boussinesq system
with horizontal viscosity in only one equation. We first examine the case where
the Navier-Stokes equation with no vertical viscosity is coupled with a
transport equation. Second, we consider a coupling between the classical
two-dimensional incompressible Euler equation and a transportdiffusion equation
with diffusion in the horizontal direction only. For the both systems and for
arbitrarily large data, we construct global weak solutions `a la Leray. Next,
we state global wellposedness results for more regular data. Our results
strongly rely on the fact that the diffusion occurs in a direction
perpendicular to the buoyancy force.


title:
On the Influence of Carrier Frequency Offset and Sampling Frequency
  Offset in MIMO-OFDM Systems for Future Digital TV

abstract:
  This paper investigates the impact of carrier frequency offset (CFO) and
sampling frequency offset (SFO) on the performance of different MIMO-OFDM
schemes with high spectral efficiency for next generation of terrestrial
digital TV. We analyze particularly orthogonal Alamouti scheme, and
non-orthogonal (NO) schemes like VBLAST, linear dispersion (LD) code and Golden
code. This analysis gives a global view on the best suitable MIMO-OFDM scheme
with respect to CFO and SFO. We show that for high spectral efficiency,
Alamouti is more sensitive to CFO and SFO. Moreover, we show that all studied
MIMO-OFDM schemes are sensitive to CFO when it is greater than 1% of
inter-carrier spacing. Their sensitivity due to SFO is less than that due to
CFO.


title:
Efficient MIMO-OFDM Schemes for Future Terrestrial Digital TV with
  Unequal Received Powers

abstract:
  This article investigates the effect of equal and unequal received powers on
the performances of different MIMO-OFDM schemes for terrestrial digital TV.
More precisely, we focus on three types of non-orthogonal schemes: the BLAST
scheme, the Linear Dispersion (LD) code and the Golden code, and we compare
their performances to that of Alamouti scheme. Using two receiving antennas, we
show that for moderate attenuation on the second antenna and high spectral
efficiency, Golden code outperforms other schemes. However, Alamouti scheme
presents the best performance for low spectral efficiency and equal received
powers or when one antenna is dramatically damaged. When three antennas are
used, we show that Golden code offers the highest robustness to power unbalance
at the receiving side


title:
Efficient 3D Space Time Space Block Code for Future Terrestrial Digital
  TV

abstract:
  This article introduces a 3D space-time-space block code for future
terrestrial digital TV in single frequency networks. The proposed 3D code is
based on a double layer structure designed for inter-cell and intra-cell space
time coded transmissions. We show that this new structure is particularly
efficient for SFN environments regardless of the location of the receiver. It
is then suitable for fixed, portable and mobile receptions.


title:
The night-sky at the Calar Alto Observatory II: The sky at the near
  infrared

abstract:
  We present here the characterization of the night sky-brightness at the
near-infrared, the telescope seeing, and the fraction of useful time at the
Calar Alto observatory. For this study we have collected a large dataset
comprising 7311 near-infrared images taken regularly along the last four years
for the ALHAMBRA survey (J, H and Ks-bands), together with a more reduced
dataset of additional near-infrared images taken for the current study. In
addition we collected the information derived by the meteorological station at
the observatory during the last 10 years, together with the results from the
cloud sensor for the last ~2 years. We analyze the dependency of the
near-infrared night sky-brightness with the airmass and the seasons, studying
its origins and proposing a zenithal correction. A strong correlation is found
between the night sky-brightness in the Ks-band and the air temperature, with a
gradient of ~ -0.08 mag per 1 C degree. The typical (darkest) night
sky-brightness in the J, H and Ks-band are 15.95 mag (16.95 mag), 13.99 mag
(14.98 mag) and 12.39 mag (13.55 mag), respectively. These values show that
Calar Alto is as dark in the near-infrared as most of the other astronomical
astronomical sites in the world that we could compare with. Only Mauna Kea is
clearly darker in the Ks-band. The typical telescope seeing at the 3.5m is
~1.0" when converted to the V-band, being only slightly larger than the
atmospheric seeing measured at the same time by the seeing monitor, ~0.9".
Finally we estimate the fraction of useful time based on the relative humidity,
gust wind speed and presence of clouds. This fraction, ~72%, is very similar to
the one derived in Paper I, based on the fraction of time when the extinction
monitor is working.


title: Bit Error Rate Prediction of Coded MIMO-OFDM Systems

abstract:
  Bit error rate (BER) prediction over channel realisations has emerged as an
active research area. In this paper, we give analytical signal to interference
and noise ratio (SINR) evaluation of MIMO-OFDM systems using an iterative
receiver. Using this analytical SINR expression, we propose an accurate BER
prediction method based on effective exponential SINR mapping (EESM) method. We
show by simulations that our method is independent of the channel realisation
and of the MIMO scheme. It is only dependent on the modulation and coding
scheme.


title: A class of optimal stopping problems for Markov processes

abstract:
  Our purpose is to study a particular class of optimal stopping problems for
Markov processes. We justify the value function convexity and we deduce that
there exists a boundary function such that the smallest optimal stopping time
is the first time when the Markov process passes over the boundary depending on
time. Moreover, we propose a method to find the optimal boundary function.


title:
Efficient formation of deeply bound ultracold molecules probed by
  broadband detection

abstract:
  Using a non-selective broadband detection scheme we discovered an efficient
mechanism of formation of ultracold Cs$_2$ molecules in deeply bound levels
($v=1-9$) of their electronic ground state X$^1 \Sigma_g^+$. They are formed by
a one-photon photoassociation of ultracold cesium atoms in a manifold of
excited electronic states, followed by a two-step spontaneous emission cascade.
We were able to form about $10^5-10^6$ molecules per second in these low
vibrational levels of the ground state. This detection scheme could be
generalized to other molecular species for the systematic investigation of cold
molecule formation mechanisms.


title:
Modeles Multiparticulaires Des Materiaux Multicouches M4_5n et
  M4_(2n+1)M Pour L'Analyse Des Effets De Bord Multiparticle Models of
  Multilayered Materials M4_5n and M4_(2n+1)M for Edge Effect Analysis

abstract:
  The Multiparticle Models of Multilayered Materials (models M4) are developed
to analyze easily the 3D stress fields which produce delamination or transverse
crackings in laminates. The M4 models are built from 3D approximate stress
fields in z per layer and the Hellinger-Reissner's formulation. Here-in we
express two of these models: the M4_5n model of which the kinematics, with 5n
fields (n: number of layers), is the one of n Reissner's plates and, the
M4_(2n+1)M model of membrane with 2n+1 fields. The latter gives simple analytic
solutions and a concentrated edge force per unit length that could be a natural
support for the criteria of delamination. We illustrate this concept by the
analytic resolution of (0 deg, 90 deg)s in traction and give some results for
more complex stackings.


title:
Perfect dc conductance of a finite width Mott insulator sandwiched
  between metallic leads at zero temperature: a quantum emergent phenomenon in
  strongly correlated multilayers

abstract:
  Using inhomogeneous dynamical mean-field theory, we argue that the
normal-metal proximity effect forces any finite number of "barrier" planes that
are described by the (paramagnetic) Hubbard model and sandwiched between
semi-infinite metallic leads to always be a Fermi liquid at T=0. This then
implies that the inhomogeneous system restores lattice periodicity at zero
frequency, has a well-defined Fermi surface, and should display perfect
(ballistic) conductivity or "transparency". These results are, however, fragile
with respect to finite frequency, V, T, disorder, or magnetism, all of which
restore the expected quantum tunneling regime through a finite-width Mott
insulator. Our formal results are complemented by numerical renormalization
group studies on small thickness barriers that illustrate under what
circumstances this behavior might be seen in real experimental systems.


title: Superlinear Scaling for Innovation in Cities

abstract:
  Superlinear scaling in cities, which appears in sociological quantities such
as economic productivity and creative output relative to urban population size,
has been observed but not been given a satisfactory theoretical explanation.
Here we provide a network model for the superlinear relationship between
population size and innovation found in cities, with a reasonable range for the
exponent.


title: Discrete coherent states for n qubits

abstract:
  Discrete coherent states for a system of $n$ qubits are introduced in terms
of eigenstates of the finite Fourier transform. The properties of these states
are pictured in phase space by resorting to the discrete Wigner function


title: QCD sum rules for D and B mesons in nuclear matter

abstract:
  QCD sum rules for D and B mesons embedded in cold nuclear matter are
evaluated. We quantify the mass splitting of D - D-bar and B - B-bar mesons as
a function of the nuclear matter density; extrapolated to saturation density it
is in the order of 60 and 130 MeV driven essentially by the condensates
<q-adjoint q>, <q-adjoint g sigma G q> and <q-bar q>. The genuine chiral
condensate <q-bar q>, amplified by heavy-quark masses, enters the Borel
transformed sum rules for the mass splitting beyond linear density dependence.
Including strange quark condensates reveals a umerically smaller and opposite
effect for the Ds - Ds-bar mass splitting.


title:
Mode Confinement in Photonic Quasi-Crystal Point-Defect Cavities for
  Particle Accelerators

abstract:
  In this Letter, we present a study of the confinement properties of
point-defect resonators in finite-size photonic-bandgap structures composed of
aperiodic arrangements of dielectric rods, with special emphasis on their use
for the design of cavities for particle accelerators. Specifically, for
representative geometries, we study the properties of the fundamental mode (as
a function of the filling fraction, structure size, and losses) via 2-D and 3-D
full-wave numerical simulations, as well as microwave measurements at room
temperature. Results indicate that, for reduced-size structures, aperiodic
geometries exhibit superior confinement properties by comparison with periodic
ones.


title:
Systematic Effective Field Theory Investigation of Spiral Phases in
  Hole-Doped Antiferromagnets on the Honeycomb Lattice

abstract:
  Motivated by possible applications to the antiferromagnetic precursor of the
high-temperature superconductor Na$_x$CoO$_2\cdot$yH$_2$O, we use a systematic
low-energy effective field theory for magnons and holes to study different
phases of doped antiferromagnets on the honeycomb lattice. The effective action
contains a leading single-derivative term, similar to the Shraiman-Siggia term
in the square lattice case, which gives rise to spirals in the staggered
magnetization. Depending on the values of the low-energy parameters, either a
homogeneous phase with four or a spiral phase with two filled hole pockets is
energetically favored. Unlike in the square lattice case, at leading order the
effective action has an accidental continuous spatial rotation symmetry.
Consequently, the spiral may point in any direction and is not necessarily
aligned with a lattice direction.


title:
LIINUS/SERPIL: a design study for interferometric imaging spectroscopy
  at the LBT

abstract:
  We present two design concepts and the science drivers of a proposed
near-infrared interferometric integral field spectrograph for the LBT. This
instrument will expand the capabilities of the currently-under-construction
interferometric camera LINC-NIRVANA with spectroscopy by means of an integral
field unit (IFU) located inside the LINC cryostat. Two instrument concepts have
been studied in detail: a microlens array IFU with a spectrograph built
entirely inside LINC (the LIINUS approach), and a lenslet+fibers IFU feeding an
external spectrograph (the SERPIL approach). In both cases, the instrument
incorporates imaging interferometry with integral field spectroscopy, an ideal
combination for detailed studies of astronomical objects down to below 10mas
angular resolution in the near-infrared. The scientific applications range from
solar system studies and spectroscopy of exoplanets to the dynamics of stars
and gas in the central regions of the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies.


title:
Interference oscillations of microwave photoresistance in double quantum
  wells

abstract:
  We observe oscillatory magnetoresistance in double quantum wells under
microwave irradiation. The results are explained in terms of the influence of
subband coupling on the frequency-dependent photoinduced part of the electron
distribution function. As a consequence, the magnetoresistance demonstrates the
interference of magneto-intersubband oscillations and conventional microwave-
induced resistance oscillations.


title: Characterizing Human Mobility Patterns in a Large Street Network

abstract:
  Previous studies demonstrated empirically that human mobility exhibits Levy
flight behaviour. However, our knowledge of the mechanisms governing this Levy
flight behaviour remains limited. Here we analyze over 72 000 people's moving
trajectories, obtained from 50 taxicabs during a six-month period in a large
street network, and illustrate that the human mobility pattern, or the Levy
flight behaviour, is mainly attributed to the underlying street network. In
other words, the goal-directed nature of human movement has little effect on
the overall traffic distribution. We further simulate the mobility of a large
number of random walkers, and find that (1) the simulated random walkers can
reproduce the same human mobility pattern, and (2) the simulated mobility rate
of the random walkers correlates pretty well (an R square up to 0.87) with the
observed human mobility rate.


title:
Asymptotic behavior of solutions to Schr\"odinger equations near an
  isolated singularity of the electromagnetic potential

abstract:
  Asymptotics of solutions to Schroedinger equations with singular magnetic and
electric potentials is investigated. By using a Almgren type monotonicity
formula, separation of variables, and an iterative Brezis-Kato type procedure,
we describe the exact behavior near the singularity of solutions to linear and
semilinear (critical and subcritical) elliptic equations with an inverse square
electric potential and a singular magnetic potential with a homogeneity of
order -1.


title: Ground-based observations of O and B stars

abstract:
  Ground-based observations are a strong tool for asteroseismic studies and
even in the era of asteroseismic space missions they continue to play an
important role. I will report on the activities of the CoRoT/SWG Ground-Based
Observations Working Group, discuss the observational efforts of the Open
Cluster campaigns and the search for the origin of extra line-broadening in
massive OB stars


title: KLOE results on light meson properties

abstract:
  A review of the recent results obtained by the KLOE experiment at DAFNE
concerning the physics of low mass mesons is presented.


title: Simulated annealing for weighted polygon packing

abstract:
  In this paper we present a new algorithm for a layout optimization problem:
this concerns the placement of weighted polygons inside a circular container,
the two objectives being to minimize imbalance of mass and to minimize the
radius of the container. This problem carries real practical significance in
industrial applications (such as the design of satellites), as well as being of
significant theoretical interest. Previous work has dealt with circular or
rectangular objects, but here we deal with the more realistic case where
objects may be represented as polygons and the polygons are allowed to rotate.
We present a solution based on simulated annealing and first test it on
instances with known optima. Our results show that the algorithm obtains
container radii that are close to optimal. We also compare our method with
existing algorithms for the (special) rectangular case. Experimental results
show that our approach out-performs these methods in terms of solution quality.


title:
Random versus holographic fluctuations of the background metric. I.
  (Cosmological) running of space-time dimension

abstract:
  A profound quantum-gravitational effect of space-time dimension running with
respect to the size of space-time region has been discovered a few years ago
through the numerical simulations of lattice quantum gravity in the framework
of causal dynamical triangulation [hep-th/0505113] as well as in
renormalization group approach to quantum gravity [hep-th/0508202].
Unfortunately, along these approaches the interpretation and the physical
meaning of the effective change of dimension at shorter scales is not clear.
The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we find that box-counting dimension in
face of finite resolution of space-time (generally implied by quantum gravity)
shows a simple way how both the qualitative and the quantitative features of
this effect can be understood. Second, considering two most interesting cases
of random and holographic fluctuations of the background space, we find that it
is random fluctuations that gives running dimension resulting in modification
of Newton's inverse square law in a perfect agreement with the modification
coming from one-loop gravitational radiative corrections.


title:
Measurement of Resonance Parameters of Orbitally Excited Narrow B^0
  Mesons

abstract:
  We report a measurement of resonance parameters of the orbitally excited
(L=1) narrow B^0 mesons in decays to B^{(*)+}\pi^- using 1.7/fb of data
collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. The mass and width
of the B^{*0}_2 state are measured to be m(B^{*0}_2) =
5740.2^{+1.7}_{-1.8}(stat.) ^{+0.9}_{-0.8}(syst.) MeV/c^2 and \Gamma(B^{*0}_2)
= 22.7^{+3.8}_{-3.2}(stat.) ^{+3.2}_{-10.2}(syst.) MeV/c^2. The mass difference
between the B^{*0}_2 and B^0_1 states is measured to be
14.9^{+2.2}_{-2.5}(stat.) ^{+1.2}_{-1.4}(syst.) MeV/c^2, resulting in a B^0_1
mass of 5725.3^{+1.6}_{-2.2}(stat.) ^{+1.4}_{-1.5}(syst.) MeV/c^2. This is
currently the most precise measurement of the masses of these states and the
first measurement of the B^{*0}_2 width.


title:
Multi-Antenna Communication in Ad Hoc Networks: Achieving MIMO Gains
  with SIMO Transmission

abstract:
  The benefit of multi-antenna receivers is investigated in wireless ad hoc
networks, and the main finding is that network throughput can be made to scale
linearly with the number of receive antennas nR even if each transmitting node
uses only a single antenna. This is in contrast to a large body of prior work
in single-user, multiuser, and ad hoc wireless networks that have shown linear
scaling is achievable when multiple receive and transmit antennas (i.e., MIMO
transmission) are employed, but that throughput increases logarithmically or
sublinearly with nR when only a single transmit antenna (i.e., SIMO
transmission) is used. The linear gain is achieved by using the receive degrees
of freedom to simultaneously suppress interference and increase the power of
the desired signal, and exploiting the subsequent performance benefit to
increase the density of simultaneous transmissions instead of the transmission
rate. This result is proven in the transmission capacity framework, which
presumes single-hop transmissions in the presence of randomly located
interferers, but it is also illustrated that the result holds under several
relaxations of the model, including imperfect channel knowledge, multihop
transmission, and regular networks (i.e., interferers are deterministically
located on grids).


title:
Delay Constrained Scheduling over Fading Channels: Optimal Policies for
  Monomial Energy-Cost Functions

abstract:
  A point-to-point discrete-time scheduling problem of transmitting $B$
information bits within $T$ hard delay deadline slots is considered assuming
that the underlying energy-bit cost function is a convex monomial. The
scheduling objective is to minimize the expected energy expenditure while
satisfying the deadline constraint based on information about the unserved
bits, channel state/statistics, and the remaining time slots to the deadline.
At each time slot, the scheduling decision is made without knowledge of future
channel state, and thus there is a tension between serving many bits when the
current channel is good versus leaving too many bits for the deadline. Under
the assumption that no other packet is scheduled concurrently and no outage is
allowed, we derive the optimal scheduling policy. Furthermore, we also
investigate the dual problem of maximizing the number of transmitted bits over
$T$ time slots when subject to an energy constraint.


title: Searches for New Physics at H1

abstract:
  Recent results of searches for leptoquarks, lepton flavour violating
leptoquarks and excited fermions (electrons, neutrinos and quarks) with the H1
experiment at HERA are presented, which use up to the full ep H1 data set. No
evidence for the direct or indirect production of such particles is found. The
results are interpreted in terms of limits on the Yukawa coupling of
leptoquarks and lepton flavour violating processes and for excited fermions on
the ratio of the coupling parameter to the compositeness scale f/Lambda, mainly
in the framework of gauge mediated interactions. The derived limits extend the
excluded regions to higher masses than those reported in previous results.


title: Canonical active Brownian motion

abstract:
  Active Brownian motion is the complex motion of active Brownian particles.
They are active in the sense that they can transform their internal energy into
energy of motion and thus create complex motion patterns. Theories of active
Brownian motion so far imposed couplings between the internal energy and the
kinetic energy of the system. We investigate how this idea can be naturally
taken further to include also couplings to the potential energy, which finally
leads to a general theory of canonical dissipative systems. Explicit analytical
and numerical studies are done for the motion of one particle in harmonic
external potentials. Apart from stationary solutions, we study non-equilibrium
dynamics and show the existence of various bifurcation phenomena.


title:
Adiabatic Transport of Bose-Einstein Condensate in Double- and
  Triple-Well Traps

abstract:
  By using a close similarity between multi-photon and tunneling population
transfer schemes, we propose robust adiabatic methods for the transport of
Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in double- and triple-well traps. The
calculations within the mean-field approximation (Gross-Pitaevskii equation)
show that irreversible and complete transport takes place even in the presence
of the non-linear effects caused by interaction between BEC atoms. The transfer
is driven by adiabatic time-dependent monitoring the barriers and well depths.
The proposed methods are universal and can be applied to a variety of systems
and scenarios.


title:
Magnetic order in YbMnO$_3$ studied by Neutron Diffraction and
  M\"ossbauer Spectroscopy

abstract:
  The magnetic ordering of the hexagonal multiferroic compound YbMnO$_3$ has
been studied between 100 K and 1.5 K by combining neutron powder diffraction,
$^{170}$Yb M\"ossbauer spectroscopy and magnetization measurements. The Yb
moments of the two crystallographic sites order at two different temperatures,
the $4b$ site together with the Mn moments (at $T_N \simeq$85 K) and the $2a$
site well below (at 3.5 K). The temperature dependences of the Mn and Yb
moments are explained within a molecular field model, showing that the $4b$ and
$2a$ sites order via Yb-Mn and Yb-Yb interactions respectively. A simple
picture taking into account the local Mn environment of the Rare earth R ($4b$)
ion is proposed to couple R and Mn orders in hexagonal RMnO$_3$ manganites. The
nature and symmetry of the R-Mn interactions yielding the R order are
discussed.


title:
The Passage of Ultrarelativistic Neutralinos through the Matter of the
  Moon

abstract:
  I consider the prospect to use the outer layer of the Moon as a detector
volume for ultra-high energy (UHE) neutrino fluxes and the flux of the lightest
neutralino which I assume is the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). For
this purpose, I calculate the event rates of these fluxes for top-down
scenarios. I show that a suitable experiment for the detection of radio waves
might be able to detect sufficient event rates after a measurement period of
one year.


title: Orientifold Planar Equivalence: The Chiral Condensate

abstract:
  The recently introduced orientifold planar equivalence is a promising tool
for solving non-perturbative problems in QCD. One of the predictions of
orientifold planar equivalence is that the chiral condensates of a theory with
$N_f$ flavours of Dirac fermions in the symmetric (or antisymmetric)
representation and $N_f$ flavours of Majorana fermions in the adjoint
representation have the same large $N$ value for any value of the mass of the
(degenerate) fermions. Assuming the invariance of the theory under charge
conjugation, we prove this statement on the lattice for staggered quenched
condensates in SU($N$) Yang-Mills in the large $N$ limit. Then, we compute
numerically those quenched condensates for $N$ up to 8. After separating the
even from the odd corrections in $1/N$, we are able to show that our data
support the equivalence; however, unlike other quenched observables, subleading
terms in $1/N$ are needed for describing the data for the symmetric and
antisymmetric representation at $N$=3. Possible lessons for the unquenched case
are discussed.


title:
Robustness of MIMO-OFDM Schemes for Future Digital TV to Carrier
  Frequency Offset

abstract:
  This paper investigates the impact of carrier frequency offset (CFO) on the
performance of different MIMO-OFDM schemes with high spectral efficiency for
next generation of terrestrial digital TV. We show that all studied MIMO-OFDM
schemes are sensitive to CFO when it is greater than 1% of inter-carrier
spacing. We show also that the Alamouti scheme is the most sensitive MIMO
scheme to CFO


title:
Extreme Value Distributions for some classes of Non-Uniformly Partially
  Hyperbolic Dynamical Systems

abstract:
  In this note, we obtain verifiable sufficient conditions for the extreme
value distribution for a certain class of skew product extensions of
non-uniformly hyperbolic base maps. We show that these conditions, formulated
in terms of the decay of correlations on the product system and the measure of
rapidly returning points on the base, lead to a distribution for the maximum of
$\Phi(p) = -\log(d(p, p_0))$ that is of the first type. In particular, we
establish the Type I distribution for $S^1$ extensions of piecewise $C^2$
uniformly expanding maps of the interval, non-uniformly expanding maps of the
interval modeled by a Young Tower, and a skew product extension of a uniformly
expanding map with a curve of neutral points.


title: 5 years of survey on the Crab Nebula with SPI/INTEGRAL

abstract:
  We present observations of the Crab Nebula above 20 keV by the SPI/INTEGRAL
telescope during more than 5 years of operations. Our study demonstrates the
stability of the instrument with time and allows a detailed analysis of the
emission observed from the Crab Nebula between 20 keV and 1 MeV. The flux
stability is discussed and serves a robust spectral shape analysis. We find
that a single power law is clearly excluded since the photon spectrum presents
a curvature in the considered energy domain. We have modelled it by a broken
power law with the energy break fixed to 100 keV and determined the two photon
indices together with the 100 keV flux for 9 periods between 2004 and 2008. The
spectral shape of the Crab nebula is very stable as well as its intensity and
connects nicely with previous measurements, at lower (X-rays) or higher (MeV)
energies.


title: Quadratic Twists of Elliptic Curves with Small Selmer Rank

abstract:
  Given an elliptic curve E over the rational with no rational 2-torsion
points, we prove the existence of a quadratic twist of E for which the 2-Selmer
rank is less than or equal to 1. By the author's earlier result, we establish a
lower bound on the number of D's for which the twists E(D) have 2-Selmer rank
<= 1. We include in the introduction our (brief) opinion about why it is
supposed to be hard to push our technique to make the Selmer group trivial.


title: Towards an accurate model for the Antennae Galaxies

abstract:
  In the framework of hierarchical structure formation ellipticals can form
from merging of smaller disk galaxies. The nearby interacting 'Antennae' galaxy
pair (NGC 4038/39) is one of the best-studied local systems of merging spirals,
thus presenting us with an ideal laboratory for the study of galaxy evolution
models. The Antennae are believed to be in a state prior to their final
encounter with rapid subsequent merging, which puts them in the first position
of the Toomre (1977) merger sequence. Here we present first numerical
high-resolution, self-consistent, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH)
simulations of the Antennae system, including star formation and stellar
feedback, and compare our results to VLA HI observations by Hibbard et al.
(2001). We are able to obtain a close, but not yet perfect match to the
observed morphology and kinematics of the system.


title:
Inversion Formulas for the Dunkl Intertwining Operator and Its Dual on
  Spaces of Functions and Distributions

abstract:
  In this paper we prove inversion formulas for the Dunkl intertwining operator
$V_k$ and for its dual ${}^tV_k$ and we deduce the expression of the
representing distributions of the inverse operators $V_k^{-1}$ and
${}^tV_k^{-1}$, and we give some applications.


title: Network coding meets TCP

abstract:
  We propose a mechanism that incorporates network coding into TCP with only
minor changes to the protocol stack, thereby allowing incremental deployment.
In our scheme, the source transmits random linear combinations of packets
currently in the congestion window. At the heart of our scheme is a new
interpretation of ACKs - the sink acknowledges every degree of freedom (i.e., a
linear combination that reveals one unit of new information) even if it does
not reveal an original packet immediately. Such ACKs enable a TCP-like
sliding-window approach to network coding. Our scheme has the nice property
that packet losses are essentially masked from the congestion control
algorithm. Our algorithm therefore reacts to packet drops in a smooth manner,
resulting in a novel and effective approach for congestion control over
networks involving lossy links such as wireless links. Our experiments show
that our algorithm achieves higher throughput compared to TCP in the presence
of lossy wireless links. We also establish the soundness and fairness
properties of our algorithm.


title: Asymptotic stability region of slotted-Aloha

abstract:
  We analyze the stability of standard, buffered, slotted-Aloha systems.
Specifically, we consider a set of $N$ users, each equipped with an infinite
buffer. Packets arrive into user $i$'s buffer according to some stationary
ergodic Markovian process of intensity $\lambda_i$. At the beginning of each
slot, if user $i$ has packets in its buffer, it attempts to transmit a packet
with fixed probability $p_i$ over a shared resource / channel. The transmission
is successful only when no other user attempts to use the channel. The
stability of such systems has been open since their very first analysis in 1979
by Tsybakov and Mikhailov. In this paper, we propose an approximate stability
condition, that is provably exact when the number of users $N$ grows large. We
provide theoretical evidence and numerical experiments to explain why the
proposed approximate stability condition is extremely accurate even for systems
with a restricted number of users (even two or three). We finally extend the
results to the case of more efficient CSMA systems.


title:
A globally convergent matricial algorithm for multivariate spectral
  estimation

abstract:
  In this paper, we first describe a matricial Newton-type algorithm designed
to solve the multivariable spectrum approximation problem. We then prove its
global convergence. Finally, we apply this approximation procedure to
multivariate spectral estimation, and test its effectiveness through
simulation. Simulation shows that, in the case of short observation records,
this method may provide a valid alternative to standard multivariable
identification techniques such as MATLAB's PEM and MATLAB's N4SID.


title: Tunable Graphene System with Two Decoupled Monolayers

abstract:
  The use of two truly two-dimensional gapless semiconductors, monolayer and
bilayer graphene, as current-carrying components in field-effect transistors
(FET) gives access to new types of nanoelectronic devices. Here, we report on
the development of graphene-based FETs containing two decoupled graphene
monolayers manufactured from a single one folded during the exfoliation
process. The transport characteristics of these newly-developed devices differ
markedly from those manufactured from a single-crystal bilayer. By analyzing
Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, we demonstrate the possibility to independently
control the carrier densities in both layers using top and bottom gates,
despite there being only a nano-meter scale separation between them.


title: Dust processing in photodissociation regions - Mid-IR emission modelling

abstract:
  Mid-infrared spectroscopy of dense illuminated ridges (or photodissociation
regions, PDRs) suggests dust evolution. Such evolution must be reflected in the
gas physical properties through processes like photo-electric heating or H_2
formation. With Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) and ISOCAM data, we study
the mid-IR emission of closeby, well known PDRs. Focusing on the band and
continuum dust emissions, we follow their relative contributions and analyze
their variations in terms of abundance of dust populations. In order to
disentangle dust evolution and excitation effects, we use a dust emission model
that we couple to radiative transfer. Our dust model reproduces extinction and
emission of the standard interstellar medium that we represent with diffuse
high galactic latitude clouds called Cirrus. We take the properties of dust in
Cirrus as a reference to which we compare the dust emission from more excited
regions, namely the Horsehead and the reflection nebula NGC 2023 North. We show
that in both regions, radiative transfer effects cannot account for the
observed spectral variations. We interpret these variations in term of changes
of the relative abundance between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs,
mid-IR band carriers) and very small grains (VSGs, mid-IR continuum carriers).
We conclude that the PAH/VSG abundance ratio is 2.4 times smaller at the peak
emission of the Horsehead nebula than in the Cirrus case. For NGC2023 North
where spectral evolution is observed across the northern PDR, we conclude that
this ratio is ~5 times lower in the dense, cold zones of the PDR than in its
diffuse illuminated part where dust properties seem to be the same as in
Cirrus. We conclude that dust in PDRs seems to evolve from "dense" to "diffuse"
properties at the small spatial scale of the dense illuminated ridge.


title:
3-D Radiative Transfer Modelling of Massive-Star UV Wind Line
  Variability

abstract:
  We present detailed semi-empiric models for rotational modulations observed
in ultraviolet wind lines of B0.5 supergiant HD 64760. We model the Rotational
Modulation Regions (RMRs) with advanced 3-D radiative transfer calculations in
the stellar wind and quantitatively fit the time-evolution of the Si IV 1395
resonance line. We find that the RMRs are due to linearly-shaped narrow
sector-like density enhancements in the equatorial wind. Unlike the Co-rotating
Interaction Regions (CIRs) which produce Discrete Absorption Components in the
line, the RMRs do not spread out with larger distance above the stellar
surface. The detailed best fit shows that the RMRs of HD 64760 have maximum
density enhancements of ~17% above the surrounding smooth wind density, about
twice smaller than the hydrodynamic models of CIRs that warp around the star.
The semi-empiric 3-D transfer modelling reveals that the narrow spoke-like RMRs
must co-exist with broader and curved large-scale CIR wind density structures
in the equatorial plane of this fast rotating Ib-supergiant.


title:
WMAP 5-year constraints on time variation of $\alpha$ and $m_e$ in a
  detailed recombination scenario

abstract:
  We study the role of fundamental constants in an updated recombination
scenario. We focus on the time variation of the fine structure constant, and
the electron mass in the early Universe, and put bounds on these quantities by
using data from CMB including WMAP 5-yr release and the 2dFGRS power spectrum.
We analyze how the constraints are modified when changing the recombination
scenario.


title: Multicolour photometry of the M0V+M5V eclipsing binary V405 And

abstract:
  We present multicolour photometry and modelling of the active eclipsing
binary star V405 And. The components of 0.2 and 0.5 solar masses are just below
and above the theoretical limit of the full convection, that is thought to be
around 0.3 solar mass. The light curves are compositions of constant and
variable features: the distorted shape of the components (about 25%), a small
eclipse, and mainly of spots (about 75%) and flares.


title: Unstable Gravitino Dark Matter and Neutrino Flux

abstract:
  The gravitino is a promising supersymmetric dark matter candidate which does
not require exact R-parity conservation. In fact, even with some small R-parity
breaking, gravitinos are sufficiently long-lived to constitute the dark matter
of the Universe, while yielding a cosmological scenario consistent with
primordial nucleosynthesis and the high reheating temperature required for
thermal leptogenesis. In this paper, we compute the neutrino flux from direct
gravitino decay and gauge boson fragmentation in a simple scenario with
bilinear R-parity breaking. Our choice of parameters is motivated by a proposed
interpretation of anomalies in the extragalactic gamma-ray spectrum and the
positron fraction in terms of gravitino dark matter decay. We find that the
generated neutrino flux is compatible with present measurements. We also
discuss the possibility of detecting these neutrinos in present and future
experiments and conclude that it is a challenging task. However, if detected,
this distinctive signal might bring significant support to the scenario of
gravitinos as decaying dark matter.


title:
Non annulation des fonctions $L$ des formes modulaires de Hilbert en le
  point central

abstract:
  Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture allows for sharp estimates on the rank
of certain abelian varieties defined over $ \Q$. in the case of the jacobian of
the modular curves, this problem is equivalent to the estimation of the order
of vanishing at 1/2 of $L$-functions of classical modular forms, and was
treated, without assuming the Riemann hypothesis, by Kowalski, Michel and
VanderKam. The purpose of this paper is to extend this approach in the case of
an arbitrary totally real field, which necessitates an appeal of
Jacquet-Langlands' theory and the adelization of the problem. To show that the
$L$-function (resp. its derivative) of a positive density of forms does not
vanish at 1/2, we follow Selberg's method of mollified moments (Iwaniec,
Sarnak, Kowalski, Michel and VanderKam among others applied it successfully in
the case of classical modular forms). We generalize the Petersson formula, and
use it to estimate the first two harmonic moments, this then allows us to match
the same unconditional densities as the ones proved over $\Q$ by Kowalski,
Michel and VanderKam. In this setting, there is an additional term, coming from
old forms, to control. Finally we convert our estimates for the harmonic
moments into ones for the natural moments.


title:
Identifiability of parameters in latent structure models with many
  observed variables

abstract:
  While hidden class models of various types arise in many statistical
applications, it is often difficult to establish the identifiability of their
parameters. Focusing on models in which there is some structure of independence
of some of the observed variables conditioned on hidden ones, we demonstrate a
general approach for establishing identifiability utilizing algebraic
arguments. A theorem of J. Kruskal for a simple latent-class model with finite
state space lies at the core of our results, though we apply it to a diverse
set of models. These include mixtures of both finite and nonparametric product
distributions, hidden Markov models and random graph mixture models, and lead
to a number of new results and improvements to old ones. In the parametric
setting, this approach indicates that for such models, the classical definition
of identifiability is typically too strong. Instead generic identifiability
holds, which implies that the set of nonidentifiable parameters has measure
zero, so that parameter inference is still meaningful. In particular, this
sheds light on the properties of finite mixtures of Bernoulli products, which
have been used for decades despite being known to have nonidentifiable
parameters. In the nonparametric setting, we again obtain identifiability only
when certain restrictions are placed on the distributions that are mixed, but
we explicitly describe the conditions.


title: Casimir energy in the gauge/gravity description of Bjorken flow?

abstract:
  In the AdS/CFT description of four-dimensional QCD matter undergoing Bjorken
expansion, does the holographic energy-momentum tensor contain a Casimir-type
contribution that should not be attributed to thermal matter? When the bulk
isometry ansatz that yielded such a Casimir term for (1+1)-dimensional boundary
matter is generalised to a four-dimensional boundary, we show that a Casimir
term does not arise, owing to singularities in the five-dimensional bulk
solution. The geometric reasons are traced to a difference between the
isometries of AdS_3 and AdS_{d+1} for d>=3.