title: Operation of a Stark decelerator with optimum acceptance

abstract:
  With a Stark decelerator, beams of neutral polar molecules can be
accelerated, guided at a constant velocity, or decelerated. The effectiveness
of this process is determined by the 6D volume in phase space from which
molecules are accepted by the Stark decelerator. Couplings between the
longitudinal and transverse motion of the molecules in the decelerator can
reduce this acceptance. These couplings are nearly absent when the decelerator
operates such that only every third electric field stage is used for
deceleration, while extra transverse focusing is provided by the intermediate
stages. For many applications, the acceptance of a Stark decelerator in this
so-called $s=3$ mode significantly exceeds that of a decelerator in the
conventionally used ($s=1$) mode. This has been experimentally verified by
passing a beam of OH radicals through a 2.6 meter long Stark decelerator. The
experiments are in quantitative agreement with the results of trajectory
calculations, and can qualitatively be explained with a simple model for the 6D
acceptance. These results imply that the 6D acceptance of a Stark decelerator
in the $s=3$ mode of operation approaches the optimum value, i.e. the value
that is obtained when any couplings are neglected.


title: Long-time behavior of stochastically perturbed neuronal networks

abstract:
  Our investigation is specially motivated by the stochastic version of a
common model of potential spread in a dendritic tree. We do not assume the
noise in the junction points to be Markovian. In fact, we allow for long-range
dependence in time of the stochastic perturbation. This leads to an abstract
formulation in terms of a stochastic diffusion with dynamic boundary
conditions, featuring fractional Brownian motion. We prove results on
existence, uniqueness and asymptotics of weak and strong solutions to such a
stochastic differential equation.


title:
Universality of Uhrig dynamical decoupling for suppressing qubit pure
  dephasing and relaxation

abstract:
  The optimal $N$-pulse dynamical decoupling discovered by Uhrig for a
spin-boson mmodel [Phys. Rev. Lett, {\bf 98}, 100504 (2007)] is proved to be
universal in suppressing to $O(T^{N+1})$ the pure dephasing or the longitudinal
relaxation of a qubit (or spin-1/2) coupled to a generic bath in a short-time
evolution of duration $T$. It is also found that for the purpose of suppressing
the longitudinal relaxation, an ideal Uhrig $\pi$-pulse sequence can be
generalized to a sequence consisting of the ideal one superimposed with
finite-duration pulses satisfying certain symmetry requirements.


title: Bound states of two-dimensional Schr\"{o}dinger-Newton equations

abstract:
  We prove an existence and uniqueness result for ground states and for purely
angular excitations of two-dimensional Schr\"{o}dinger-Newton equations. From
the minimization problem for ground states we obtain a sharp version of a
logarithmic Hardy-Littlewood-Sobolev type inequality.


title:
Fermions in gravity and the skyrmion backgrounds in six dimensional
  brane-worlds

abstract:
  We construct brane solutions in six dimensional Einstein-Skyrme systems. A
class of baby skyrmion solutions realize warped compactification of the extra
dimensions and gravity localization on the brane for negative bulk cosmological
constant. Coupling of the fermions with the brane skyrmions successfully lead
to the brane localized fermions. The standard representation of the gamma
matrices is used to obtain massive localized modes as well as the massless one.
Nonlinear nature of the skyrmions brings richer information for the fermions
level structure. In terms of the level crossing picture, emergence of the
massive localized modes as well as the zero mode are observed.


title: Polynomial selections and separation by polynomials

abstract:
  Necessary and sufficient conditions under which two real functions defined on
the real interval can be separated by a polynomial are given. An immediate
consequence of the main result is the existence of the polynomial separation of
convex functions of higher order. Another application is some
Hyers-Ulam-stability-type result.


title:
Birth and Death in a Continuous Opinion Dynamics Model. The consensus
  case

abstract:
  We here discuss the process of opinion formation in an open community where
agents are made to interact and consequently update their beliefs. New actors
(birth) are assumed to replace individuals that abandon the community (deaths).
This dynamics is simulated in the framework of a simplified model that accounts
for mutual affinity between agents. A rich phenomenology is presented and
discussed with reference to the original (closed group) setting. Numerical
findings are supported by analytical calculations.


title:
Broadening the bandwidth of entangled photons: a step towards the
  generation of extremely short biphotons

abstract:
  We demonstrate a technique that allows to fully control the bandwidth of
entangled photons independently of the frequency band of interest and of the
nonlinear crystal. We show that this technique allows to generate nearly
transform-limited biphotons with almost one octave of bandwidth (hundreds of
THz) which corresponds to correlation times of just a few femtoseconds. The
presented method becomes an enabling tool for attosecond entangled-photons
quantum optics. The technique can also be used to generate paired photons with
a very high degree of entanglement.


title: PANIC: the new panoramic NIR camera for Calar Alto

abstract:
  PANIC is a wide-field NIR camera, which is currently under development for
the Calar Alto observatory (CAHA) in Spain. It uses a mosaic of four Hawaii-2RG
detectors and covers the spectral range from 0.8-2.5 micron(z to K-band). The
field-of-view is 30x30 arcmin. This instrument can be used at the 2.2m
telescope (0.45arcsec/pixel, 0.5x0.5 degree FOV) and at the 3.5m telescope
(0.23arcsec/pixel, 0.25x0.25 degree FOV). The operating temperature is about
77K, achieved by liquid Nitrogen cooling. The cryogenic optics has three flat
folding mirrors with diameters up to 282 mm and nine lenses with diameters
between 130 mm and 255 mm. A compact filter unit can carry up to 19 filters
distributed over four filter wheels. Narrow band (1%) filters can be used. The
instrument has a diameter of 1.1 m and it is about 1 m long. The weight limit
of 400 kg at the 2.2m telescope requires a light-weight cryostat design. The
aluminium vacuum vessel and radiation shield have wall thicknesses of only 6 mm
and 3 mm respectively.


title:
Higher Newton polygons in the computation of discriminants and prime
  ideal decomposition in number fields

abstract:
  We present an algorithm for computing discriminants and prime ideal
decomposition in number fields. The algorithm is a refinement of a p-adic
factorization method based on Newton polygons of higher order. The running-time
and memory requirements of the algorithm appear to be very good: for a given
prime number p, it computes the p-valuation of the discriminant and the
factorization of p in a number field of degree 1000 in a few seconds, in a
personal computer.


title: Geometric potentials in quantum optics: A semi-classical interpretation

abstract:
  We propose a semi-classical interpretation of the geometric scalar and vector
potentials that arise due to Berry's phase when an atom moves slowly in a light
field. Starting from the full quantum Hamiltonian, we turn to a classical
description of the atomic centre-of-mass motion while still treating the
internal degrees of freedom as quantum variables. We show that the scalar
potential can be identified as the kinetic energy of an atomic micro-motion
caused by quantum fluctuations of the radiative force, and that the
Lorentz-type force appears as a result of the motion-induced perturbation of
the internal atomic state. For a specific configuration involving two
counter-propagating Gaussian laser beams, we relate the geometric forces to the
radiation pressure and dipole forces known from quantum optics. The simple
physical pictures provided by the present analysis may help for the design and
the implementation of novel geometric forces.


title:
Analytical Solution for Wave Propagation in Stratified Poroelastic
  Medium. Part II: the 3D Case

abstract:
  We are interested in the modeling of wave propagation in poroelastic media.
We consider the biphasic Biot's model in an infinite bilayered medium with a
plane interface. We adopt the Cagniard-De Hoop's technique. This report is
devoted to the calculation of analytical solution in three dimension.


title: Bas du spectre de surfaces hyperboliques de volume infini

abstract:
  This article presents some methods to control the bottom of the spectrum of
the Laplacian $\lambda_0$ on hyperbolic surfaces with infinite volume. Our
first result bounds the $\lambda_0$ of a geometrically finite surface in terms
of the geometry of its convex core. We then focus on infinite type periodic
hyperbolic surfaces built by gluing copies of a geometrically finite surface
with boundary according to the plan of an infinite graph. We control the
$\lambda_0$ of the so-obtained infinite surfaces by constants coming from
spectral properties of the building brick and combinatorial datae of the graph.
We then use these methods to control the $\lambda_0$ of two other kind of
infinite type hyperbolic surfaces : those admitting a splitting into bounded
pieces, and some riemannian coverings.


title:
Analytical Solution for Wave Propagation in Stratified Acoustic/Porous
  Media. Part II: the 3D Case

abstract:
  We are interested in the modeling of wave propagation in an infinite
bilayered acoustic/poroelastic media. We consider the biphasic Biot's model in
the poroelastic layer. The first part is devoted to the calculation of
analytical solution in two dimensions, thanks to Cagniard de Hoop method. In
this second part we consider the 3D case.


title:
On the hydrogen wave function in Momentum-space, Clifford algebra and
  the Generating function of Gegenbauer polynomial

abstract:
  Using the quadratic transformation and the generating function method we
Perform the Fourier transformation of the wave function of coordinates of
hydrogen atom and we find the analytic expression of the wave function in
momentum space. We derive the matrix elements between the basis to 4-dimensions
and integral representation of the generating functions of Gegenbauer
polynomials. We find a relationship between a class of Clifford algebra and the
generating functions of these polynomials.


title:
Forecasting time series of inhomogeneous Poisson processes with
  application to call center workforce management

abstract:
  We consider forecasting the latent rate profiles of a time series of
inhomogeneous Poisson processes. The work is motivated by operations management
of queueing systems, in particular, telephone call centers, where accurate
forecasting of call arrival rates is a crucial primitive for efficient staffing
of such centers. Our forecasting approach utilizes dimension reduction through
a factor analysis of Poisson variables, followed by time series modeling of
factor score series. Time series forecasts of factor scores are combined with
factor loadings to yield forecasts of future Poisson rate profiles. Penalized
Poisson regressions on factor loadings guided by time series forecasts of
factor scores are used to generate dynamic within-process rate updating.
Methods are also developed to obtain distributional forecasts. Our methods are
illustrated using simulation and real data. The empirical results demonstrate
how forecasting and dynamic updating of call arrival rates can affect the
accuracy of call center staffing.


title: Sylvester's question and the Random Acceleration Process

abstract:
  Let n points be chosen randomly and independently in the unit disk.
"Sylvester's question" concerns the probability p_n that they are the vertices
of a convex n-sided polygon. Here we establish the link with another problem.
We show that for large n this polygon, when suitably parametrized by a function
r(phi) of the polar angle phi, satisfies the equation of the random
acceleration process (RAP), d^2 r/d phi^2 = f(phi), where f is Gaussian noise.
On the basis of this relation we derive the asymptotic expansion log p_n = -2n
log n + n log(2 pi^2 e^2) - c_0 n^{1/5} + ..., of which the first two terms
agree with a rigorous result due to Barany. The nonanalyticity in n of the
third term is a new result. The value 1/5 of the exponent follows from recent
work on the RAP due to Gyorgyi et al. [Phys. Rev. E 75, 021123 (2007)]. We show
that the n-sided polygon is effectively contained in an annulus of width \sim
n^{-4/5} along the edge of the disk. The distance delta_n of closest approach
to the edge is exponentially distributed with average 1/(2n).


title: Rational streams coalgebraically

abstract:
  We study rational streams (over a field) from a coalgebraic perspective.
Exploiting the finality of the set of streams, we present an elementary and
uniform proof of the equivalence of four notions of representability of
rational streams: by finite dimensional linear systems; by finite stream
circuits; by finite weighted stream automata; and by finite dimensional
subsystems of the set of streams.


title: Low-delay, Low-PAPR, High-rate Non-square Complex Orthogonal Designs

abstract:
  The maximal rate for non-square Complex Orthogonal Designs (CODs) with $n$
transmit antennas is ${1/2}+\frac{1}{n}$ if $n$ is even and
${1/2}+\frac{1}{n+1}$ if $n$ is odd, which are close to 1/2 for large values of
$n.$ A class of maximal rate non-square CODs have been constructed by Liang
(IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, 2003) and Lu et. al. (IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory,
2005) have shown that the decoding delay of the codes given by Liang, can be
reduced by 50% when number of transmit antennas is a multiple of 4. Adams et.
al. (IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, 2007) have shown that the designs of Liang are
of minimal-delay for $n$ equal to 1 and 3 modulo 4 and that of Lu et.al. are of
minimal delay when $n$ is a multiple of $4.$ However, these minimal delays are
large compared to the delays of the rate 1/2 non-square CODs constructed by
Tarokh et al (IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, 1999) from rate-1 real orthogonal
designs (RODs). In this paper, we construct a class of rate-1/2 non-square CODs
for any $n$ with the decoding delay equal to 50% of that of the delay of the
rate-1/2 codes given by Tarokh et al. This is achieved by giving first a
general construction of rate-1 square Real Orthogonal Designs (RODs) which
includes as special cases the well known constructions of Adams, Lax and
Phillips and Geramita and Pullman, and then making use of it to obtain the
desired rate-1/2 non-square COD. For the case of 9 transmit antennas, our
rate-1/2 COD is shown to be of minimal-delay. The proposed construction results
in designs with zero entries which may have high Peak-to-Average Power Ratio
(PAPR) and it is shown that by appropriate postmultiplication, a design with no
zero entries can be obtained with no change in the code parameters.


title: Meet, Discuss and Trust each other: large versus small groups

abstract:
  In this paper we propose a dynamical interpretation of the sociological
distinction between large and small groups of interacting individuals. In the
former case individual behaviors are largely dominated by the group effect,
while in the latter mutual relationships do matter. Numerical and analytical
tools are combined to substantiate our claims.


title: Exclusive b \to s (d) ll Decays

abstract:
  New BABAR measurements are presented for the exclusive rare decays B -> K(*)
l+ l- including branching fractions, isospin asymmetries, direct CP violation,
and lepton flavor universality for dilepton masses below and above the J/psi
resonance. Unexpectedly large isospin asymmetries are observed in both K l+l-
and K* l+ l- decays. For the combined K l+l- and K* l+l- data a 3.9 sigma
significant deviation from the SM prediction is found. Furthermore, recent
BABAR results from an angular analysis in B -> K* l+l- are reported in which
both the K* longitudinal polarization and the lepton forward-backward asymmetry
are measured for dilepton masses below and above the J/psi resonance. Finally,
results of recent searches for B -> pi l+l-$ from Belle and B -> K(*) nu anti
nu$ from BABAR are summarized.


title:
Investigating the borderline between a young star cluster and a small
  stellar association: a test case with Bochum1

abstract:
  Usually, a loose stellar distribution can be classified as an OB stellar
group, an association, or a young open cluster. We make use of comparisons with
the typical OB association Vul OB1. In the present paper we discuss the nature
of Bochum 1, a typical example of an object affected by the above
classification problem.The field-decontaminated CMD of Bochum 1 presents main
sequence (MS) and pre-main sequence (PMS) stars. We report two new small
angular-size, compact young clusters and one embedded cluster in the area of
Bochum 1. Vul OB1 harbours the young open cluster NGC 6823 and the very compact
embedded cluster Cr 404. The Vul OB1 association includes the H II region
Sh2-86, and its stellar content is younger ($\approx3$ Myr) than that of Bochum
1 ($\approx9$ Myr), which shows no gas emission. Bochum 1 harbours one of the
newly found compact clusters as its core. The RDP of Bochum 1 is irregular and
cannot be fitted by a King-like profile, which suggests important erosion or
dispersion of stars from a primordial cluster. Similarly to Bochum 1, the
decontaminated CMD of NGC 6823 presents conspicuous MS and PMS sequences. Taken
separately, RDPs of MS and PMS stars follow a King-like profile. The core shows
an important excess density of MS stars that mimics the profile of a post-core
collapse cluster. At such young age, it can be explained by an excess of stars
formed in the prominent core. The present study suggests that Bochum 1 is a
star cluster fossil remain that might be dynamically evolving into an OB
association. Bochum 1 can be a missing link connecting early star cluster
dissolution with the formation of low-mass OB associations.


title:
Effect of grain refinement on enhancing critical current density and
  upper critical field in undoped MgB2 ex-situ tapes

abstract:
  Ex-situ Powder-In-Tube MgB2 tapes prepared with ball-milled, undoped powders
showed a strong enhancement of the irreversibility field H*, the upper critical
field Hc2 and the critical current density Jc(H) together with the suppression
of the anisotropy of all of these quantities. Jc reached 104 A/cm2 at 4.2 K and
10 T, with an irreversibility field of about 14 T at 4.2 K, and Hc2 of 9 T at
25 K, high values for not-doped MgB2. The enhanced Jc and H* values are
associated with significant grain refinement produced by milling of the MgB2
powder, which enhances grain boundary pinning, although at the same time also
reducing the connectivity from about 12% to 8%. Although enhanced pinning and
diminished connectivity are in opposition, the overall influence of ball
milling on Jc is positive because the increased density of grains with a size
comparable with the mean free path produces strong electron scattering that
substantially increases Hc2, especially Hc2 perpendicular to the Mg and B
planes.


title: Asymptotics of work distributions in non-equilibrium systems

abstract:
  The asymptotic behaviour of the work probability distribution in driven
non-equilibrium systems is determined using the method of optimal fluctuations.
For systems described by Langevin dynamics the corresponding Euler-Lagrange
equation together with the appropriate boundary conditions and an equation for
the leading pre-exponential factor are derived. The method is applied to three
representative examples and the results are used to improve the accuracy of
free energy estimates based on the application of the Jarzynski equation.


title: Strongly Coupled Quark-Gluon Plasma: Equation of State near Tc

abstract:
  We test the quark mass dependence implemented in the quasiparticle dispersion
relations of our quasiparticle model for the QCD equation of state by comparing
with recently available lattice QCD data near $T_c$ employing almost physical
quark masses. In addition, we emphasize the capability of our model to
successfully describe lattice QCD results for imaginary chemical potential and
to analytically continue the latter to real chemical potential.


title: Optimal weighting for false discovery rate control

abstract:
  How to weigh the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure? In the context of multiple
hypothesis testing, we propose a new step-wise procedure that controls the
false discovery rate (FDR) and we prove it to be more powerful than any
weighted Benjamini-Hochberg procedure. Both finite-sample and asymptotic
results are presented. Moreover, we illustrate good performance of our
procedure in simulations and a genomics application. This work is particularly
useful in the case of heterogeneous $p$-value distributions.


title:
Gold, copper, silver and aluminum nanoantennas to enhance spontaneous
  emission

abstract:
  We compute the decay rates of emitters coupled to spheroidal nanoantennas
made of gold, copper, silver, and aluminum. The spectral position of the
localized surface plasmon-polariton resonance, the enhancement factors and the
quantum efficiency are investigated as a function of the aspect ratio,
background index and the metal composing the nanoantenna. While copper yields
results similar to gold, silver and aluminum exhibit different performances.
Our results show that with a careful choice of the parameters these
nanoantennas can enhance emitters ranging from the UV to the near-IR spectrum.


title: Observational Evidences of the Cosmological Deceleration of Time

abstract:
  Constancy of the speed of light together with the Hubble law lead in a
doctrine of expanding universe to a conclusion that universe evolution is not
only an expansion of space but also a deceleration of the course of physical
time (Taganov, 2003). Duration of any physical process measured by decelerating
physical time is always longer, than corresponding duration, measured by a
scale of invariable uniform Newtonian time. All the processes uniform or
moderately decelerating in physical time appear accelerating when interpreted
in terms of uniform invariable Newtonian time. The article describes several
observational evidences of a phenomenon of the cosmological deceleration of
time: the redshift survey of distant supernovae demonstrates apparent
acceleration of the universe expansion; accelerations in the Earth-Moon system
reveal reliable differences if estimated with the use of ancient and
contemporary astronomical data. Deceleration of the physical time reveals
itself in isotopic chronology by systematic divergence of samples Newtonian
ages, estimated with the use of isotopes with different rates of decay.


title: Spinor-Vector Duality in Heterotic SUSY Vacua

abstract:
  We elaborate on the recently discovered spinor-vector duality in realistic
free fermionic heterotic vacua. We emphasize the interpretation of the
freely-acting orbifolds carried out on the six internal dimensions as
coordinate-dependent compactifications; they play a central role in the
duality, especially because of their ability to break the right-moving
superconformal algebra of the space-time supersymmetric heterotic vacua. These
considerations lead to a simple and intuitive proof of the spinor-vector
duality, and to the formulation of explicit rules to find the dual of a given
model. We discuss the interest of such a duality, notably concerning the
structure of the space of vacua of superstring theory.


title:
The cylinder over the Koras-Russell cubic threefold has a trivial
  Makar-Limanov invariant

abstract:
  We show that the Makar-Limanov invariant of the cylinder over the
Koras-Russell cubic affine threefold is trivial. This means that regular
functions which are invariant under all algebraic actions of the additive group
on this variety are constants.


title:
Estimating a difference between Kullback-Leibler risks by a normalized
  difference of AIC

abstract:
  AIC is commonly used for model selection but the precise value of AIC has no
direct interpretation. We are interested in quantifying a difference of risks
between two models. This may be useful for both an explanatory point of view or
for prediction, where a simpler model may be preferred if it does nearly as
well as a more complex model. The difference of risks can be interpreted by
linking the risks with relative errors in the computation of probabilities and
looking at the values obtained for simple models. A scale of values going from
negligible to large is proposed. We propose a normalization of a difference of
Akaike criteria for estimating the difference of expected Kullback-Leibler
risks between maximum likelihood estimators of the distribution in two
different models. The variability of this statistic can be estimated. Thus, an
interval can be constructed which contains the true difference of expected
Kullback-Leibler risks with a pre-specified probability. A simulation study
shows that the method works and it is illustrated on two examples. The first is
a study of the relationship between body-mass index and depression in elderly
people. The second is the choice between models of HIV dynamics, where one
model makes the distinction between activated CD4+ T lymphocytes and the other
does not.


title:
Exceptional orthogonal polynomials, exactly solvable potentials and
  supersymmetry

abstract:
  We construct two new exactly solvable potentials giving rise to bound-state
solutions to the Schr\"odinger equation, which can be written in terms of the
recently introduced Laguerre- or Jacobi-type $X_1$ exceptional orthogonal
polynomials. These potentials, extending either the radial oscillator or the
Scarf I potential by the addition of some rational terms, turn out to be
translationally shape invariant as their standard counterparts and isospectral
to them.


title: Discrete versus continuous wires on quantum networks

abstract:
  Mesoscopic systems and large molecules are often modeled by graphs of
one-dimensional wires, connected at vertices. In this paper we discuss the
solutions of the Schr\"odinger equation on such graphs, which have been named
"quantum networks". Such solutions are needed for finding the energy spectrum
of single electrons on such finite systems or for finding the transmission of
electrons between leads which connect such systems to reservoirs. Specifically,
we compare two common approaches. In the "continuum" approach, one solves the
one-dimensional Schr\"odinger equation on each continuous wire, and then uses
the Neumann-Kirchoff-de Gennes matching conditions at the vertices.
Alternatively, one replaces each wire by a finite number of "atoms", and then
uses the tight binding model for the solution. Here we show that these
approaches cannot generally give the same results, except for special energies.
Even in the limit of vanishing lattice constant, the two approaches coincide
only if the tight binding parameters obey very special relations. The different
consequences of the two approaches are demonstrated via the example of a
T-shaped scatterer.


title:
Self diffusion of particles in complex fluids: temporary cages and
  permanent barriers

abstract:
  We study the self diffusion of individual particles in dense (non-)uniform
complex fluids within dynamic density functional theory and explicitly account
for their coupling to the temporally fluctuating background particles. Applying
the formalism to rod-like particles in uniaxial nematic and smectic liquid
crystals, we find correlated diffusion in different directions: The temporary
cage formed by the neighboring particles competes with permanent barriers in
periodic inhomogeneous systems such as the lamellar smectic state and delays
self diffusion of particles even in uniform systems. We compare our theory with
recent experimental data on the self diffusion of fluorescently labelled
filamentous virus particles in aqueous dispersions in the smectic phase and
find qualitative agreement. This demonstrates the importance of explicitly
dealing with the time-dependent self-consistent molecular field that every
particle experiences.


title:
Orbital stability of traveling waves for the one-dimensional
  Gross-Pitaevskii equation

abstract:
  In this paper, we prove the nonlinear orbital stability of the stationary
traveling wave of the one-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation by using
Zakharov-Shabat's inverse scattering method.


title: Spontaneous Unknotting of a Polymer Confined in a Nanochannel

abstract:
  We study the dynamics of a knot in a semiflexible polymer confined to a
narrow channel of width comparable to the polymers' persistence length. Using a
combination of Brownian dynamics simulations and a coarse-grained stochastic
model, we characterize the coupled dynamics of knot size variation and knot
diffusion along the polymer, which ultimately leads to spontaneous unknotting.
We find that the knot grows to macroscopic size before disappearing.
Interestingly, an external force applied to the ends of the confined polymer
speeds up spontaneous unknotting.


title: On spatial extremes: with application to a rainfall problem

abstract:
  We consider daily rainfall observations at 32 stations in the province of
North Holland (the Netherlands) during 30 years. Let $T$ be the total rainfall
in this area on one day. An important question is: what is the amount of
rainfall $T$ that is exceeded once in 100 years? This is clearly a problem
belonging to extreme value theory. Also, it is a genuinely spatial problem.
Recently, a theory of extremes of continuous stochastic processes has been
developed. Using the ideas of that theory and much computer power
(simulations), we have been able to come up with a reasonable answer to the
question above.


title: Commutative limit of a renormalizable noncommutative model

abstract:
  Renormalizable $\phi^{\star 4}_4$ models on Moyal space have been obtained by
modifying the commutative propagator. But these models have a divergent "naive"
commutative limit. We explain here how to obtain a coherent such commutative
limit for a recently proposed translation-invariant model. The mechanism relies
on the analysis of the uv/ir mixing in general Feynman graphs.


title: Coplanar Waveguide Resonators for Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics

abstract:
  We have designed and fabricated superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators
with fundamental frequencies from 2 to $9 \rm{GHz}$ and loaded quality factors
ranging from a few hundreds to a several hundred thousands reached at
temperatures of $20 \rm{mK}$. The loaded quality factors are controlled by
appropriately designed input and output coupling capacitors. The measured
transmission spectra are analyzed using both a lumped element model and a
distributed element transmission matrix method. The experimentally determined
resonance frequencies, quality factors and insertion losses are fully and
consistently characterized by the two models for all measured devices. Such
resonators find prominent applications in quantum optics and quantum
information processing with superconducting electronic circuits and in single
photon detectors and parametric amplifiers.


title: Gluon Saturation and the Formation Stage of Heavy Ion Collisions

abstract:
  The high energy limit of QCD is controlled by very high energy density
gluonic matter, the Color Glass Condensate. In the first instants of the
collisions of two sheets of Colored Glass Condensate, a Glasma is formed with
longitudinal flux tubes of color electric and magnetic fields. These flux tubes
decay and might form a turbulent liquid that eventually thermalizes into a
Quark Gluon Plasma


title: Superconductivity and Crystal Structures of (Ba1-xKx)Fe2As2 (x = 0 - 1)

abstract:
  We report on doping dependencies of structural parameters and superconducting
transition temperatures in the solid solution (Ba1-xKx)Fe2As2. As the main
effect of doping on the crystal structure, we find linear decreasing As-Fe-As
bond angles and Fe-Fe distances, equivalent to an elongation of the FeAs4
tetrahedra along [001]. The structural changes are intimately coupled to the
electronic states at the Fermi level, because the most relevant Fe-3dx2-y2
orbitals are strongly affected by the As-Fe-As bond angle. Superconductivity is
present over the whole doping range in (Ba1-xKx)Fe2As2 with a maximum Tc of 38
K at x ~ 0.4. The superconducting transitions in the orthorhombic compounds
(Ba0.9K0.1)Fe2As2 (Tc ~ 3 K) and (Ba0.8K0.2)Fe2As2 (Tc ~ 25 K) is strong
evidence for the coexistence of superconductivity with the structurally
distorted and potentially magnetically ordered state in the BaFe2As2 family of
iron arsenide superconductors.


title:
A note on dual superconformal symmetry of the N=4 super Yang-Mills
  S-matrix

abstract:
  We present a supersymmetric recursion relation for tree-level scattering
amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills. Using this recursion relation, we prove
that the tree-level S-matrix of the maximally supersymmetric theory is
covariant under dual superconformal transformations. We further analyse the
consequences that the transformation properties of the trees under this
symmetry have on those of the loops. In particular, we show that the
coefficients of the expansion of generic one-loop amplitudes in a basis of
pseudo-conformally invariant scalar box functions transform covariantly under
dual superconformal symmetry, and in exactly the same way as the corresponding
tree-level amplitudes.


title: Non-perturbative effective interactions from fluxes

abstract:
  Motivated by possible implications on the problem of moduli stabilization and
other phenomenological aspects, we study D-brane instanton effects in flux
compactifications. We focus on a local model and compute non-perturbative
interactions generated by gauge and stringy instantons in a N = 1 quiver theory
with gauge group U(N_0) x U(N_1) and matter in the bifundamentals. This model
is engineered with fractional D3-branes at a C^3/(Z_2 x Z_2) singularity, and
its non-perturbative sectors are described by introducing fractional
D-instantons. We find a rich variety of instanton-generated F- and D-term
interactions, ranging from superpotentials and Beasley-Witten like
multi-fermion terms to non-supersymmetric flux-induced instanton interactions.


title: Cohomology of the toroidal compactification of A_3

abstract:
  We prove that the cohomology groups with rational coefficients of the Voronoi
compactification of the moduli space of abelian threefolds coincide with the
Chow groups of that space, as determined by Van der Geer.


title: Magneto optical trapping of Barium

abstract:
  First laser cooling and trapping of the heavy alkaline earth element barium
has been achieved based on the strong 6s$^2$ $^1$S$_0$ - 6s6p $^1$P$_1$
transition for the main cooling. Due to the large branching into metastable
D-states several additional laser driven transitions are required to provide a
closed cooling cycle. A total efficiency of $0.4(1) \cdot 10^{-2}$ for slowing
a thermal atomic beam and capturing atoms into a magneto optical trap was
obtained. Trapping lifetimes of more than 1.5 s were observed. This lifetime is
shortened at high laser intensities by photo ionization losses. The developed
techniques will allow to extend significantly the number of elements that can
be optically cooled and trapped.


title: On the non-generic representation theory of the symplectic blob algebra

abstract:
  This paper reports some advances in the study of the symplectic blob algebra.
We find a presentation for this algebra. We find a minimal poset for this as a
quasi-hereditary algebra. We discuss how to reduce the number of parameters
defining the algebra from 6 to 4 (or even 3) without loss of representation
theoretic generality. We then find some non-semisimple specialisations by
calculating Gram determinants for certain cell modules (or standard modules)
using the good parametrisation defined. We finish by considering some quotients
of specialisations of the symplectic blob algebra which are isomorphic to
Temperley--Lieb algebras of type $A$.


title: Radio spectra of intermediate-luminosity broad-line radio galaxies

abstract:
  Within the context of investigating possible differences between the
mechanisms at play in Radio Loud AGN and those in Radio Quiet ones, we study
the spectral characteristics of a selected sample of Intermediate-Luminosity
Broad-Line Radio Galaxies in X-rays, optical, IR and radio. Here, we present
the radio spectra acquired with the 100-m radio telescope in Effelsberg between
2.6 and 32 GHz. These measurements reveal a large variety of spectral shapes
urging for radio imaging that would disclose the source morphology. Such
studies could potentially discriminate between different mechanisms.


title:
Support-type properties of convex functions of higher order and
  Hadamard-type inequalities

abstract:
  It is well-known that every convex function admits an affine support at every
interior point of a domain. Convex functions of higher order (precisely of an
odd order) have a similar property: they are supported by the polynomials of
degree no greater than the order of convexity. In this paper the attaching
method is developed. It is applied to obtain the general result Theorem 2, from
which the mentioned above support theorem and some related properties of convex
functions of higher (both odd and even) order are derived. They are applied to
obtain some known and new Hadamard-type inequalities between the quadrature
operators and the integral approximated by them. It is also shown that the
error bounds of quadrature rules follow by inequalities of this kind.


title: On a remark by Y. Namikawa

abstract:
  The aim of the present paper is on the one hand to produce examples
supporting the conclusion of Y. Namikawa in Remark 2.8 of \cite{N} and
improving considerations of Example 1.11 of the same paper. On the other hand,
it is intended to give a geometric interpretation of the rigidity properties of
some trees of exceptional rational curves, as observed by Namikawa, which can
be obtained by factorizing small resolutions through nodal threefolds.


title: A study of pre-validation

abstract:
  Given a predictor of outcome derived from a high-dimensional dataset,
pre-validation is a useful technique for comparing it to competing predictors
on the same dataset. For microarray data, it allows one to compare a newly
derived predictor for disease outcome to standard clinical predictors on the
same dataset. We study pre-validation analytically to determine if the
inferences drawn from it are valid. We show that while pre-validation generally
works well, the straightforward "one degree of freedom" analytical test from
pre-validation can be biased and we propose a permutation test to remedy this
problem. In simulation studies, we show that the permutation test has the
nominal level and achieves roughly the same power as the analytical test.


title: Constraints on an Asymptotic Safety Scenario for the Wess-Zumino Model

abstract:
  Using the nonrenormalization theorem and Pohlmeyer's theorem, it is proven
that there cannot be an asymptotic safety scenario for the Wess-Zumino model
unless there exists a non-trivial fixed point with (i) a negative anomalous
dimension (ii) a relevant direction belonging to the Kaehler potential.


title: Description of the free motion with momentums in Godel's universe

abstract:
  We study the geodesic motion in Godel's universe, using conserved quantities.
We give a necessary and sufficient condition for curves to be geodesic curves
in terms of conserved quantities, which can be computed from the initial values
of the curve. We check our result with numerical simulations too.


title: Phase variance of squeezed vacuum states

abstract:
  We consider the problem of estimating the phase of squeezed vacuum states
within a Bayesian framework. We derive bounds on the average Holevo variance
for an arbitrary number $N$ of uncorrelated copies. We find that it scales with
the mean photon number, $n$, as dictated by the Heisenberg limit, i.e., as
$n^{-2}$, only for $N>4$. For $N\leq 4$ this fundamental scaling breaks down
and it becomes $n^{-N/2}$. Thus, a single squeezed vacuum state performs worse
than a single coherent state with the same energy. We find the optimal
splitting of a fixed given energy among various copies. We also compute the
variance for repeated individual measurements (without classical communication
or adaptivity) and find that the standard Heisenberg-limited scaling $n^{-2}$
is recovered for large samples.


title: Exact Results for the Kepler Problem in General Relativity

abstract:
  Exact results are derived, specifically the perihelion shift and the Kepler
orbit, for a bound test particle in the Schwarzschild metric with cosmological
constant $\Lambda=0$. A series expansion, of $\Delta\phi =
2(2(1-2M/p(3-e))^{-1/2} K((4eM/p)/(1-2M/p(3-e)))-\pi)$, the exact perihelion
shift, admits the standard approximation $\Delta\phi=6M\pi/p$ as the leading
order term. In a similar fashion, a series expansion of the exact Kepler orbit,
represented by a Jacobi elliptic function, gives $u(\phi)=(1+e\cos\phi)/p$ to
first order. The results are valid for $M/p<1/(2(3+e))$ or $r_s<p/(3+e)$.


title: Analytic equivalence of geometric transitions

abstract:
  In this paper \emph{analytic equivalence} of geometric transition is defined
in such a way that equivalence classes of geometric transitions turn out to be
the \emph{arrows} of the \cy web. Then it seems natural and useful, both from
the mathematical and physical point of view, look for privileged arrows'
representatives, called \emph{canonical models}, laying the foundations of an
\emph{analytic} classification of geometric transitions. At this purpose a
numerical invariant, called \emph{bi--degree}, summarizing the topological,
geometric and physical changing properties of a geometric transition, is
defined for a large class of geometric transitions.


title: A High Speed, Post-Processing Free, Quantum Random Number Generator

abstract:
  A quantum random number generator (QRNG) based on gated single photon
detection of an InGaAs photodiode at GHz frequency is demonstrated. Owing to
the extremely long coherence time of each photon, each photons' wavefuntion
extends over many gating cycles of the photodiode. The collapse of the photon
wavefunction on random gating cycles as well as photon random arrival time
detection events are used to generate sequences of random bits at a rate of
4.01 megabits/s. Importantly, the random outputs are intrinsically bias-free
and require no post-processing procedure to pass random number statistical
tests, making this QRNG an extremely simple device.


title: Narrow-width approximation accuracy

abstract:
  A study of general properties of the narrow-width approximation (NWA) with
polarization/spin decorrelation is presented. We prove for total rates of
arbitrary resonant decay or scattering processes with an on-shell intermediate
state decaying via a cubic or quartic vertex that decorrelation effects vanish
and the NWA is of order Gamma. Its accuracy is then determined numerically for
all resonant 3-body decays involving scalars, spin-1/2 fermions or vector
bosons. We specialize the general results to MSSM benchmark scenarios.
Significant off-shell corrections can occur - similar in size to QCD
corrections. We qualify the configurations in which a combined consideration is
advisable. For this purpose, we also investigate process-independent methods to
improve the NWA.


title:
Non-Abelian self-organized criticality model with one stochastic site in
  any avalanche shows multifractal scaling

abstract:
  I have proposed a\textit{non-Abelian}and stochastic self-organized
criticality model in which each avalanche contains one stochastic site and all
remaining sites in the avalanche are deterministic with a constant threshold
$E_{c}^{I}$. Studies of avalanche structures, waves and autocorrelations, size
moments and probability distribution functions of avalanche size, for the
thresholds $4\leq E_{c}^{I}\leq256$, were performed. The shell-like avalanche
structures, correlated waves within avalanches, complex size moments and
probability distribution functions show multifractal scaling like the
\textit{Abelian} and deterministic BTW model despite the fact that the model is
\textit{non-Abelian}and stochastic with unbalanced relaxation rules at each
stochastic site.


title: Production of $(\tau^+\tau^-)_b$ in electron positron collisions

abstract:
  $(\tau^+\tau^-)_b$ is an atom of simple hydrogenlike structure similar to
positronium $(e^+e^-)_b$ and $(\mu^+\mu^-)_b$. In this paper energy levels and
decay widths of different decay channels of $(\tau^+\tau^-)_b$ are given. Cross
section of production of this atomic system in $e^+e^-$ annihilation taking
into account radiative corrections is calculated. According to our estimates
886 $(\tau^+\tau^-)_b$ atoms may be produced at BEPCII and 29
$(\tau^+\tau^-)_b$ atoms are produced at VEPP-4M under the present experimental
conditions.


title: Diffractive dissociation re-visited for predictions at the LHC

abstract:
  We describe the formalism, and present the results, for a triple-Regge
analysis of the available pp and p\bar{p} high-energy data which explicitly
accounts for absorptive corrections. In particular, we allow for the gap
survival probability, S^2, in single proton diffractive dissociation. Since for
pp scattering the value of S^2 is rather small, the triple-Pomeron vertex
obtained in this analysis is larger than that obtained in the old analyses
where the suppression caused by the absorptive corrections was implicitly
included in an effective vertex. We show that the bare triple-Pomeron coupling
that we extract from the pp and p\bar{p} data is consistent with that obtained
in a description of the gamma p -> J/psi + Y HERA data. The analyses of the
data prefer a zero slope, corresponding to the small size of the bare vertex,
giving the hope of a smooth matching to the perturbative QCD treatment of the
triple-Pomeron coupling.


title:
A block decomposition of finite-dimensional representations of twisted
  loop algebras

abstract:
  In this paper we consider the category of F^\sigma of finite-dimensional
representations of a twisted loop algebra corresponding to a finite-dimensional
Lie algebra with non-trivial diagram automorphism. Although F^\sigma is not
semisimple, it can be written as a sum of indecomposable subcategories (the
blocks of the category). To describe these summands, we introduce the twisted
spectral characters for the twisted loop algebra. These are certain equivalence
classes of the spectral characters defined by Chari and Moura for an untwisted
loop algebra, which were used to provide a description of the blocks of
finite--dimensional representations of the untwisted loop algebra. Here we
adapt this decomposition to parametrize and describe the blocks of F^\sigma,
via the twisted spectral characters.


title:
Shock Vorticity Generation from Accelerated Ion Streaming in the
  Precursor of Ultrarelativistic Gamma-Ray Burst External Shocks

abstract:
  We investigate the interaction of nonthermal ions (protons and nuclei)
accelerated in an ultrarelativistic blastwave with the pre-existing magnetic
field of the medium into which the blastwave propagates. While particle
acceleration processes such as diffusive shock acceleration can accelerate ions
and electrons, the accelerated electrons suffer larger radiative losses. Under
certain conditions, the ions can attain higher energies and reach farther ahead
of the shock than the electrons, and so the nonthermal particles can be
partially charge-separated. To compensate for the charge separation, the
upstream plasma develops a return current, which, as it flows across the
magnetic field, drives transverse acceleration of the upstream plasma and a
growth of density contrast in the shock upstream. If the density contrast is
strong by the time the fluid is shocked, vorticity is generated at the shock
transition. The resulting turbulence can amplify the post-shock magnetic field
to the levels inferred from gamma-ray burst afterglow spectra and light curves.
Therefore, since the upstream inhomogeneities are induced by the ions
accelerated in the shock, they are generic even if the blastwave propagates
into a medium of uniform density. We speculate about the global structure of
the shock precursor, and delineate several distinct physical regimes that are
classified by an increasing distance from the shock and, correspondingly, a
decreasing density of nonthermal particles that reach that distance.


title: The Dynamical Dipole Mode in Fusion Reactions with Exotic Nuclear Beams

abstract:
  We report the properties of the prompt dipole radiation, produced via a
collective bremsstrahlung mechanism, in fusion reactions with exotic beams. We
show that the gamma yield is sensitive to the density dependence of the
symmetry energy below/around saturation. Moreover we find that the angular
distribution of the emitted photons from such fast collective mode can
represent a sensitive probe of its excitation mechanism and of fusion dynamics
in the entrance channel.


title:
Direct CP, Lepton Flavor and Isospin Asymmetries in the Decays
  B->K(*)l+l-

abstract:
  We measure rate asymmetries for the rare decays B->K(*)l+l-, where l+l- is
either e+e- or mu+mu-, using a sample of 384 million BBbar events collected
with the Babar detector at the PEP-II e+e- collider. We find no evidence for
direct CP or lepton-flavor asymmetries. For dilepton masses below the J/psi
resonance, we find evidence for unexpectedly large isospin asymmetries in both
B->Kl+l- and B->K*l+l-, which differ respectively by 3.2 sigma and 2.7 sigma,
including systematic uncertainties, from the Standard Model expectations.


title: Supersymmetry breaking in ISS coupled to gravity

abstract:
  We analyse the breakdown of supersymmetry in an ISS model in the presence of
gravity, under the requirement that the cosmological constant vanishes
dynamically. The gravitational backreaction is calculated in the metastable
minimum and, in conjuction with the condition V=0, this is shown to generate
non-zero F-terms for the squarks. Once the squarks are coupled to the messenger
sector, a gauge mediation scheme is realised and it leads to a distinctive soft
spectrum, with a two order of magnitude split between the gaugino and the soft
scalar masses.


title:
Young massive stars and their environment in the mid-infrared at high
  angular resolution

abstract:
  We present interferometric and single-dish mid-infrared observations of a
sample of massive young stellar objects (BN-type objects), using VLTI-MIDI (10
micron) and Subaru-COMICS (24.5 micron). We discuss the regions S140, Mon R2,
M8E-IR, and W33A. The observations probe the inner regions of the dusty
envelope at scales of 50 milli arcsecond and 0.6 arcsec (100-1000 AU),
respectively. Simultaneous model fits to spectral energy distributions and
spatial data are achieved using self-consistent spherical envelope modelling.
We conclude that those MYSO envelopes that are best described by a spherical
geometry, the commensurate density distribution is a powerlaw with index -1.0.
Such a powerlaw is predicted if the envelope is supported by turbulence on the
100-1000AU scales probed with MIDI and COMICS, but the role of rotation at
these spatial scales need testing.


title: Tree Quantum Field Theory

abstract:
  We propose a new formalism for quantum field theory which is neither based on
functional integrals, nor on Feynman graphs, but on marked trees. This
formalism is constructive, i.e. it computes correlation functions through
convergent rather than divergent expansions. It applies both to Fermionic and
Bosonic theories. It is compatible with the renormalization group, and it
allows to define non-perturbatively {\it differential} renormalization group
equations. It accommodates any general stable polynomial Lagrangian. It can
equally well treat noncommutative models or matrix models such as the
Grosse-Wulkenhaar model. Perhaps most importantly it removes the space-time
background from its central place in QFT, paving the way for a nonperturbative
definition of field theory in noninteger dimension.


title: Relative injectivity as cocompleteness for a class of distributors

abstract:
  Notions and techniques of enriched category theory can be used to study
topological structures, like metric spaces, topological spaces and approach
spaces, in the context of topological theories. Recently in [D. Hofmann,
Injective spaces via adjunction, arXiv:0804.0326 [math.CV]] the construction of
a Yoneda embedding allowed to identify injectivity of spaces as cocompleteness
and to show monadicity of the category of injective spaces and left adjoints
over $\mathsf{Set}$. In this paper we generalise these results, studying
cocompleteness with respect to a given class of distributors. We show in
particular that the description of several semantic domains presented in [M.
Escard\'o and B. Flagg, Semantic domains, injective spaces and monads,
Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science 20 (1999)] can be translated
into the $\mathsf{V}$-enriched setting.


title:
Electroweak corrections to squark--anti-squark pair production at the
  LHC

abstract:
  We present the complete NLO electroweak contribution to the production of
diagonal squark--anti-squark pairs in proton--proton collisions. We discuss
their effects for the production of squarks different from top squarks, in the
SPS1a' scenario.


title:
Expansion of nanoplasmas and laser-driven nuclear fusion in single
  exploding clusters

abstract:
  The expansion of laser-irradiated clusters or nanodroplets depends strongly
on the amount of energy delivered to the electrons and can be controlled by
using appropriately shaped laser pulses. In this paper, a self-consistent
kinetic model is used to analyze the transition from quasineutral,
hydrodinamic-like expansion regimes to the Coulomb explosion (CE) regime when
increasing the ratio between the thermal energy of the electrons and the
electrostatic energy stored in the cluster. It is shown that a suitable
double-pump irradiation scheme can produce hybrid expansion regimes, wherein a
slow hydrodynamic expansion is followed by a fast CE, leading to ion overtaking
and producing multiple ion flows expanding with different velocities. This can
be exploited to obtain intracluster fusion reactions in both homonuclear
deuterium clusters and heteronuclear deuterium-tritium clusters, as also proved
by three-dimensional molecular-dynamics simulations.


title: Some properties of generalized higher-order convexity

abstract:
  The generalized divided differences are introduced. They are applied to
investigate some properties characterizing generalized higher-order convexity.
Among others some support-type property is proved.


title: Monte Carlo for top background at the Tevatron

abstract:
  We review the use of Monte Carlo simulation to model backgrounds to top
signal at the Tevatron experiments, CDF and D0, as well as the relevant
measurements done by the experiments. We'll concentrate on the modeling of W
and Z boson production in association with jets, in particular heavy flavor
jets, and also comment on the Tevatron experience using matched Monte Carlo.


title: Square Complex Orthogonal Designs with Low PAPR and Signaling Complexity

abstract:
  Space-Time Block Codes from square complex orthogonal designs (SCOD) have
been extensively studied and most of the existing SCODs contain large number of
zero. The zeros in the designs result in high peak-to-average power ratio
(PAPR) and also impose a severe constraint on hardware implementation of the
code when turning off some of the transmitting antennas whenever a zero is
transmitted. Recently, rate 1/2 SCODs with no zero entry have been reported for
8 transmit antennas. In this paper, SCODs with no zero entry for $2^a$ transmit
antennas whenever $a+1$ is a power of 2, are constructed which includes the 8
transmit antennas case as a special case. More generally, for arbitrary values
of $a$, explicit construction of $2^a\times 2^a$ rate $\frac{a+1}{2^a}$ SCODs
with the ratio of number of zero entries to the total number of entries equal
to $1-\frac{a+1}{2^a}2^{\lfloor log_2(\frac{2^a}{a+1}) \rfloor}$ is reported,
whereas for standard known constructions, the ratio is $1-\frac{a+1}{2^a}$. The
codes presented do not result in increased signaling complexity. Simulation
results show that the codes constructed in this paper outperform the codes
using the standard construction under peak power constraint while performing
the same under average power constraint.


title: Feynman Integral Evaluation by a Sector decomposiTion Approach (FIESTA)

abstract:
  Up to the moment there are two known algorithms of sector decomposition: an
original private algorithm of Binoth and Heinrich and an algorithm made public
lastyear by Bogner and Weinzierl. We present a new program performing the
sector decomposition and integrating the expression afterwards. The program
takes a set of propagators and a set of indices as input and returns the
epsilon-expansion of the corresponding integral.


title: Hermite-Hadamard-type inequalities in the approximate integration

abstract:
  We give a slight extension of the Hermite-Hadamard inequality on simplices
and we use it to establish error bounds of the operators connected with the
approximate integration.


title:
Optical gaps, mode patterns and dipole radiation in two-dimensional
  aperiodic photonic structures

abstract:
  Based on the rigorous generalized Mie theory solution of Maxwell's equations
for dielectric cylinders we theoretically investigate the optical properties of
two-dimensional deterministic structures based on the Fibonacci, Thue-Morse and
Rudin-Shapiro aperiodic sequences. In particular, we investigate band-gap
formation and mode localization properties in aperiodic photonic structures
based on the accurate calculation of their Local Density of States (LDOS). In
addition, we explore the potential of photonic structures based on aperiodic
order for the engineering of radiative rates and emission patterns in
Erbium-doped silicon-rich nitride photonic structures.


title: Modeling Time in Computing: A Taxonomy and a Comparative Survey

abstract:
  The increasing relevance of areas such as real-time and embedded systems,
pervasive computing, hybrid systems control, and biological and social systems
modeling is bringing a growing attention to the temporal aspects of computing,
not only in the computer science domain, but also in more traditional fields of
engineering.
  This article surveys various approaches to the formal modeling and analysis
of the temporal features of computer-based systems, with a level of detail that
is suitable also for non-specialists. In doing so, it provides a unifying
framework, rather than just a comprehensive list of formalisms.
  The paper first lays out some key dimensions along which the various
formalisms can be evaluated and compared. Then, a significant sample of
formalisms for time modeling in computing are presented and discussed according
to these dimensions. The adopted perspective is, to some extent, historical,
going from "traditional" models and formalisms to more modern ones.


title: On some extremalities in the approximate integration

abstract:
  Some extremalities for quadrature operators are proved for convex functions
of higher order. Such results are known in the numerical analysis, however they
are often proved under suitable differentiability assumptions. In our
considerations we do not use any other assumptions apart from higher order
convexity itself. The obtained inequalities refine the inequalities of Hadamard
type. They are applied to give error bounds of quadrature operators under the
assumptions weaker from the commonly used.


title: The planar algebra of group-type subfactors

abstract:
  If $G$ is a countable, discrete group generated by two finite subgroups $H$
and $K$ and $P$ is a II$_1$ factor with an outer G-action, one can construct
the group-type subfactor $P^H \subset P \rtimes K$ introduced in \cite{BH}.
This construction was used in \cite{BH} to obtain numerous examples of infinite
depth subfactors whose standard invariant has exotic growth properties. We
compute the planar algebra (in the sense of Jones \cite{J2}) of this subfactor
and prove that any subfactor with an abstract planar algebra of "group type"
arises from such a subfactor. The action of Jones' planar operad is determined
explicitly.


title:
Study of a confined Hydrogen-like atom by the Asymptotic Iteration
  Method

abstract:
  The asymptotic iteration method (AIM) is used to obtain both special exact
solutions and general approximate solutions for a Hydrogen-like atom confined
in a spherical box of arbitrary radius R. Critical box radii, at which states
are no longer bound, are also calculated. The results are compared with those
in the literature.


title: Chandra evidence for AGN feedback in the spiral galaxy NGC 6764

abstract:
  We report the Chandra detection of X-ray emission spatially coincident with
the kpc-scale radio bubbles in the nearby (D_L ~ 31 Mpc) AGN-starburst galaxy
NGC 6764. The X-ray emission originates in hot gas (kT ~ 0.75 keV), which may
either be contained within the radio bubbles, or in a shell of hot gas
surrounding them. We consider three models for the origin of the hot gas: (1) a
starburst-driven galactic wind, (2) shocked gas associated with the expanding
radio bubbles, and (3) gas heated and entrained into the bubbles by jet/ISM
interactions in the inner AGN outflow. We rule out a galactic wind based on
significant differences from known galactic wind systems. The tight
correspondence between the brightest X-ray emission and the radio emission in
the inner outflow from the Seyfert nucleus, as well as a correlation between
X-ray and radio spectral features suggestive of shocks and particle
acceleration, lead us to favour the third model; however, we cannot firmly rule
out a model in which the bubbles are driving large-scale shocks into the galaxy
ISM. In either AGN-driven heating scenario, the total energy stored in the hot
gas is high, ~10^56 ergs, comparable to the energetic impact of low-power radio
galaxies such as Centaurus A, and will have a dramatic impact on the galaxy and
its surroundings.


title: Adaptation of the Bridgman anvil cell to liquid pressure mediums

abstract:
  The advantage of Bridgman anvil pressure cells is their wide pressure range
and the large number of wires which can be introduced into the pressure
chamber. In these pressure cells soft solid pressure mediums like steatite are
used. We have succeeded in adapting the Bridgman cell to liquid pressure
mediums. With this breakthrough it is now possible to measure in very good
hydrostatic pressure conditions up to 7 GPa, which is about twice the pressure
attainable in piston-cylinder cells. The pressure gradient in the cell,
estimated from the superconducting transition width of lead, is reduced by a
factor of five in the liquid medium with respect to steatite. By the use of
non-magnetic materials for the anvils and the clamp and due to the small
dimensions of the latter, our device is specially suitable for
magneto-transport measurements in dilution fridges. This pressure cell has been
developed to measure very fragile and brittle samples like organic conductors.
Resistivity measurements of (TMTTF)2BF4 performed in a solid and liquid
pressure medium demonstrate the necessity of hydrostatic pressure conditions
for the study of organic conductors at high pressures.


title: Braid Group Representations arising from the Yang Baxter Equation

abstract:
  This paper aims to determine the images of the braid group under
representations afforded by the Yang Baxter equation when the solution is a
nontrivial $4 \times 4$ matrix. Making the assumption that all the eigenvalues
of the Yang Baxter solution are roots of unity, leads to the conclusion that
all the images are finite.
  Using results of Turaev, we have also identified cases in which one would get
a link invariant. Finally, by observing the group algebra generated by the
image of the braid group sometimes factor through known algebras, in certain
instances we can identify the invariant as particular specializations of a
known invariant.


title:
Precise Astrometry of Visual Binaries with Adaptive Optics. A Way for
  Finding Exoplanets?

abstract:
  We present the results of our study of astrometric stability of 200-in Hale
(Mt. Palomar) and 10-m Keck II (Mauna Kea) telescopes, both with Adaptive
Optics (AO) facilities. A group of nearby visual binaries and multiples was
observed in near infrared, relative separations and position angles measured.
We have also checked the influence of some systematic effects (e.g.
atmospherical refraction, varying plate scale factor) on result and precision
of astrometric measurements. We conclude that in visual binaries astrometrical
observations it is possible to achieve much better precision than 1
miliarcsecond, which in many cases allows detection of the astrometrical signal
produced by planetary-mass object.


title:
Bond Energy Sums in Benzene, Cyclohexatriene and Cyclohexane Prove
  Resonance Unnecessary

abstract:
  The recent new structure of benzene shows that it consists of three C atoms
of radii as in graphite alternating with three C atoms with double bond radii.
This is different from the hypothetical cyclohexatriene (Kekule structure)
involving alternate double and single bonds. It was shown that the difference
in the bond energy sum of the atomic structure of benzene from that of the
Kekule structure is the energy (erroneously) assumed to be due to resonance.
Here it is shown that the present structure of benzene also explains the energy
of hydrogenation into cyclohexane and its difference from that of
cyclohexatriene.


title:
Size evolution of the most massive galaxies at 1.7<z<3 from GOODS NICMOS
  survey imaging

abstract:
  We measure the sizes of 82 massive (M>10^11 M_sun) galaxies at 1.7<z<3
utilizing deep HST NICMOS data taken in the GOODS North and South fields. Our
sample is almost an order of magnitude larger than previous studies at these
redshifts, providing the first statistical study of massive galaxy sizes at
z>2, confirming the extreme compactness of these galaxies. We split our sample
into disk-like (n<2) and spheroid-like (n>2) galaxies based on their Sersic
indices, and find that at a given stellar mass disk-like galaxies at z~2.3 are
a factor of 2.6+/-0.3 smaller than present day equal mass systems, and
spheroid-like galaxies at the same redshifts are 4.3+/-0.7 smaller than
comparatively massive elliptical galaxies today. At z>2 our results are
compatible with both a leveling off, or a mild evolution in size. Furthermore,
the high density (~2x10^10 M_sun kpc^-3) of massive galaxies at these
redshifts, which are similar to present day globular clusters, possibly makes
any further evolution in sizes beyond z=3 unlikely.


title:
Gutzwiller approach to the Bose-Hubbard model with random local
  impurities

abstract:
  Recently it has been suggested that fermions whose hopping amplitude is
quenched to extremely low values provide a convenient source of local disorder
for lattice bosonic systems realized in current experiment on ultracold atoms.
Here we investigate the phase diagram of such systems, which provide the
experimental realization of a Bose-Hubbard model whose local potentials are
randomly extracted from a binary distribution. Adopting a site-dependent
Gutzwiller description of the state of the system, we address one- and
two-dimensional lattices and obtain results agreeing with previous findings, as
far as the compressibility of the system is concerned. We discuss the expected
peaks in the experimental excitation spectrum of the system, related to the
incompressible phases, and the superfluid character of the {\it partially
compressible phases} characterizing the phase diagram of systems with binary
disorder. In our investigation we make use of several analytical results whose
derivation is described in the appendices, and whose validity is not limited to
the system under concern.


title: Probing Hidden Sector Photons through the Higgs Window

abstract:
  We investigate the possibility that a (light) hidden sector extra photon
receives its mass via spontaneous symmetry breaking of a hidden sector Higgs
boson, the so-called hidden-Higgs. The hidden-photon can mix with the ordinary
photon via a gauge kinetic mixing term. The hidden-Higgs can couple to the
Standard Model Higgs via a renormalizable quartic term - sometimes called the
Higgs Portal. We discuss the implications of this light hidden-Higgs in the
context of laser polarization and light-shining-through-the-wall experiments as
well as cosmological, astrophysical, and non-Newtonian force measurements. For
hidden-photons receiving their mass from a hidden-Higgs we find in the small
mass regime significantly stronger bounds than the bounds on massive hidden
sector photons alone.


title: Examining the evidence for dust destruction in GRB 980703

abstract:
  The effects that gamma-ray bursts have on their environments is an important
and outstanding issue. Dust destruction in particular has long been predicted
while observational evidence is difficult to obtain. We examine the evidence
for dust destruction by GRB 980703, in which various inconsistent measurements
of the host galaxy extinction have been made using the GRB afterglow emission.
We construct a spectral energy distribution from nIR to X-ray to measure the
extinction at early times and compare this with previous findings. We also
construct nIR/optical SEDs at intermediate epochs to examine a previously
reported decrease in extinction. The extinction is very high for a GRB host
galaxy. The earliest extinction measurement is likely to be lower than
previously estimated, and consistent with most later measurements. In a series
of SEDs we do not find any evidence of variable extinction. We therefore
conclude that there is no clear evidence of dust destruction in this case.


title:
Une suite de matrices sym\'etriques en rapport avec la fonction de
  Mertens

abstract:
  In this paper we explore a class of equivalence relations over $\N^\ast$ from
which is constructed a sequence of symetric matrices related to the Mertens
function. From numerical experimentations we suggest a conjecture, about the
growth of the quadratic norm of these matrices, which implies the Riemann
hypothesis. This suggests that matrix analysis methods may play a more
important part in this classical and difficult problem.


title: An orthogonal approach to the subfactor of a planar algebra

abstract:
  By changing to an orthogonal basis, we give a short proof that the subfactor
of the graded algebra of a planar algebra reproduces the planar algebra.


title: Sensitivity of Hawking radiation to superluminal dispersion relations

abstract:
  We analyze the Hawking radiation process due to collapsing configurations in
the presence of superluminal modifications of the dispersion relation. With
such superluminal dispersion relations, the horizon effectively becomes a
frequency-dependent concept. In particular, at every moment of the collapse,
there is a critical frequency above which no horizon is experienced. We show
that, as a consequence, the late-time radiation suffers strong modifications,
both quantitative and qualitative, compared to the standard Hawking picture.
Concretely, we show that the radiation spectrum becomes dependent on the
measuring time, on the surface gravities associated with different frequencies,
and on the critical frequency. Even if the critical frequency is well above the
Planck scale, important modifications still show up.


title:
Integral stability of Calder\'on inverse conductivity problem in the
  plane

abstract:
  It is proved that, in two dimensions, the Calder\'on inverse conductivity
problem in Lipschitz domains is stable in the $L^p$ sense when the
conductivities are uniformly bounded in any fractional Sobolev space
$W^{\alpha,p}$ $\alpha>0, 1<p<\infty$.


title: The representation theory of cyclotomic BMW algebras

abstract:
  In this paper, we go on Rui-Xu's work on cyclotomic Birman-Wenzl algebras
$\W_{r, n}$ in \cite{RX}. In particular, we use the representation theory of
cellular algebras in \cite{GL} to classify the irreducible $\W_{r, n}$-modules
for all positive integers $r$ and $n$. By constructing cell filtrations for all
cell modules of $\W_{r, n}$, we compute the discriminants associated to all
cell modules for $\W_{r, n} $. Via such discriminats together with induction
and restriction functors given in section~5, we determine explicitly when
$\W_{r, n}$ is semisimple over a field. This generalizes our previous result on
Birman-Wenzl algebras in \cite{RS1}.


title: Magnetic moments of vector, axial, and tensor mesons in lattice QCD

abstract:
  We present a calculation of magnetic moments for selected spin-1 mesons using
the techniques of lattice QCD. This is carried out by introducing progressively
small static magnetic field on the lattice and measuring the linear response of
a hadron's mass shift. The calculations are done on $24^4$ quenched lattices
using standard Wilson actions, with $\beta$=6.0 and pion mass down to 500 MeV.
The results are compared to those from the form factor method where available.


title:
How precisely neutrino emission from supernova remnants can be
  constrained by gamma ray observations?

abstract:
  We propose a conceptually and computationally simple method to evaluate the
neutrinos emitted by supernova remnants using the observed gamma-ray spectrum.
The proposed method does not require any preliminary parametrization of the
gamma ray flux; the gamma ray data can be used as an input. In this way, we are
able to propagate easily the observational errors and to understand how well
the neutrino flux and the signal in neutrino telescopes can be constrained by
gamma-ray data. We discuss the various possible sources of theoretical and
systematical uncertainties (e.g., neutrino oscillation parameters, hadronic
modeling, etc.), obtaining an estimate of the accuracy of our calculation.
Furthermore, we apply our approach to the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946,
showing that neutrino emission is very-well constrained by the H.E.S.S.
gamma-ray data: indeed, the accuracy of our prediction is limited by
theoretical uncertainties. Neutrinos from RX J1713.7-3946 can be detected with
an exposure of the order km^2 year, provided that the detection threshold in
future neutrino telescopes will be equal to about 1 TeV.


title: The Constraint Algebra of Topologically Massive AdS Gravity

abstract:
  Three-dimensional topologically massive AdS gravity has a complicated
constraint algebra, making it difficult to count nonperturbative degrees of
freedom. I show that a new choice of variables greatly simplifies this algebra,
and confirm that the theory contains a single propagating mode for all values
of the mass parameter and the cosmological constant. As an added benefit, I
rederive the central charges and conformal weights of the boundary conformal
field theory from an explicit analysis of the asymptotic algebra of
constraints.


title:
Frustration-induced quantum phase transitions in a quasi-one-dimensional
  ferrimagnet: Hard-core boson map and the Ton ks-Girardeau limit

abstract:
  We provide evidence of a superfluid-insulator transition (SIT) of magnons in
a quasi-one-dimensional quantum ferrimagnet with {\it isotropic} competing
antiferromagnetic spin interactions. This SIT occurs between two distinct
ferrimagnetic phases due to the frustration-induced closing of the gap to a
magnon excitation. It thus causes a coherent superposition of singlet and
triplet states at lattice unit cells and a power-law decay on the staggered
spin correlation function along the transverse direction to the spontaneous
magnetization. A hard-core boson map suggests that asymptotically close to the
SIT the magnons attain the Tonks-Girardeau limit. The quantized nature of the
condensed singlets is observed before a first-order transition to a singlet
magnetic spiral phase accompanied by critical antiferromagnetic ordering. In
the limit of strong frustration, the system undergoes a decoupling transition
to an isolated gapped two-leg ladder and a critical single linear chain.


title: Universal blind quantum computation

abstract:
  We present a protocol which allows a client to have a server carry out a
quantum computation for her such that the client's inputs, outputs and
computation remain perfectly private, and where she does not require any
quantum computational power or memory. The client only needs to be able to
prepare single qubits randomly chosen from a finite set and send them to the
server, who has the balance of the required quantum computational resources.
Our protocol is interactive: after the initial preparation of quantum states,
the client and server use two-way classical communication which enables the
client to drive the computation, giving single-qubit measurement instructions
to the server, depending on previous measurement outcomes. Our protocol works
for inputs and outputs that are either classical or quantum. We give an
authentication protocol that allows the client to detect an interfering server;
our scheme can also be made fault-tolerant.
  We also generalize our result to the setting of a purely classical client who
communicates classically with two non-communicating entangled servers, in order
to perform a blind quantum computation. By incorporating the authentication
protocol, we show that any problem in BQP has an entangled two-prover
interactive proof with a purely classical verifier.
  Our protocol is the first universal scheme which detects a cheating server,
as well as the first protocol which does not require any quantum computation
whatsoever on the client's side. The novelty of our approach is in using the
unique features of measurement-based quantum computing which allows us to
clearly distinguish between the quantum and classical aspects of a quantum
computation.


title:
Ejecta, Dust, and Synchrotron Radiation in B0540-69.3: A More Crab-Like
  Remnant than the Crab

abstract:
  We present near and mid-infrared observations of the pulsar-wind nebula (PWN)
B0540-69.3 and its associated supernova remnant made with the {\it Spitzer
Space Telescope}. We report detections of the PWN with all four IRAC bands, the
24 $\mu$m band of MIPS, and the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS). We find no
evidence of IR emission from the X-ray/radio shell surrounding the PWN
resulting from the forward shock of the supernova blast wave. The flux of the
PWN itself is dominated by synchrotron emission at shorter (IRAC) wavelengths,
with a warm dust component longward of 20 $\mu$m. We show that this dust
continuum can be explained by a small amount ($\sim 1-3 \times 10^{-3} \msun$)
of dust at a temperature of $\sim 50-65$ K, heated by the shock wave generated
by the PWN being driven into the inner edge of the ejecta. This is evidently
dust synthesized in the supernova. We also report the detection of several
lines in the spectrum of the PWN, and present kinematic information about the
PWN as determined from these lines. Kinematics are consistent with previous
optical studies of this object. Line strengths are also broadly consistent with
what one expects from optical line strengths. We find that lines arise from
slow ($\sim 20$ km s$^{-1}$) shocks driven into oxygen-rich clumps in the shell
swept-up by an iron-nickel bubble, which have a density contrast of $\sim
100-200$ relative to the bulk of the ejecta, and that faster shocks ($\sim 250$
km s$^{-1}$) in the hydrogen envelope are required to heat dust grains to
observed temperatures. We infer from estimates of heavy-element ejecta
abundances that the progenitor star was likely in the range of 20-25 $M_\odot$.


title: Magnetism and Electronic Correlations in Quasi-One-Dimensional Compounds

abstract:
  In this contribution on the celebration of the 80th birthday anniversary of
Prof. Ricardo Ferreira, we present a brief survey on the magnetism of
quasi-one-dimensional compounds. This has been a research area of intense
activity particularly since the first experimental announcements of magnetism
in organic and organometallic polymers in the mid 80s. We review experimental
and theoretical achievements on the field, featuring chain systems of
correlated electrons in a special AB2 unit cell structure present in inorganic
and organic compounds.


title: On affine selections of set-valued functions

abstract:
  The main result states that every convex set-valued function defined on a
real interval with compact values in a locally convex space, admits an affine
selection. In the case if the target space is a real line and the values are
closed real intervals, we can replace the convexity assumption by the more
general condition.


title: Remarks on Fisher information

abstract:
  Some situations are discussed where subquantum oscillations in momentum arise
in connectiion with Fisher information and the quantum potential.


title: Marked tubes and the graph multiplihedron

abstract:
  Given a graph G, we construct a convex polytope whose face poset is based on
marked subgraphs of G. Dubbed the graph multiplihedron, we provide a
realization using integer coordinates. Not only does this yield a natural
generalization of the multiphihedron, but features of this polytope appear in
works related to quilted disks, bordered Riemann surfaces, and operadic
structures. Certain examples of graph multiplihedra are related to Minkowski
sums of simplices and cubes and others to the permutohedron.


title: Non-Asymptotic Thermodynamic Ensembles

abstract:
  Boltzmann's principle is used to select the "most probable" realization
(macrostate) of an isolated or closed thermodynamic system, containing a small
number of particles ($N \llsp \infty$), for both classical and quantum
statistics. The inferred probability distributions provide the means to define
intensive variables and construct thermodynamic relationships for small
microcanonical systems, which do not satisfy the thermodynamic limit. This is
of critical importance to nanoscience and quantum technology.


title:
The non-coplanar baselines effect in radio interferometry: The
  W-Projection algorithm

abstract:
  We consider a troublesome form of non-isoplanatism in synthesis radio
telescopes: non-coplanar baselines. We present a novel interpretation of the
non-coplanar baselines effect as being due to differential Fresnel diffraction
in the neighborhood of the array antennas.
  We have developed a new algorithm to deal with this effect. Our new
algorithm, which we call "W-projection", has markedly superior performance
compared to existing algorithms. At roughly equivalent levels of accuracy,
W-projection can be up to an order of magnitude faster than the corresponding
facet-based algorithms. Furthermore, the precision of result is not tightly
coupled to computing time.
  W-projection has important consequences for the design and operation of the
new generation of radio telescopes operating at centimeter and longer
wavelengths.


title: Analytic relations on a dynamical orbit

abstract:
  Let $(K,|\cdot|)$ be a complete discretely valued field and $f:{\mathbb
B}_1(K,1) \to {\mathbb B}_1(K,1)$ a nonconstant analytic map from the unit back
to itself. We assume that 0 is an attracting fixed point of $f$. Let $a \in K$
with $\lim_{n \to \infty} f^n(a) = 0$ and consider the orbit ${\mathcal O}_f(a)
:= \{f^n(a) : n \in {\mathbb N} \}$. We show that if 0 is a
\emph{superattracting} fixed point, then every irreducible analytic subvariety
of ${\mathbb B}_n(K,1)$ meeting ${\mathcal O}_f(a)^n$ in an analytically
Zariski dense set is defined by equations of the form $x_i = b$ and $x_j =
f^\ell(x_k)$. When 0 is an attracting, non-superattracting point, we show that
all analytic relations come from algebraic tori.


title:
The Ups and Downs of Modeling Financial Time Series with Wiener Process
  Mixtures

abstract:
  Starting from inhomogeneous time scaling and linear decorrelation between
successive price returns, Baldovin and Stella recently proposed a way to build
a model describing the time evolution of a financial index. We first make it
fully explicit by using Student distributions instead of power law-truncated
L\'evy distributions; we also show that the analytic tractability of the model
extends to the larger class of symmetric generalized hyperbolic distributions
and provide a full computation of their multivariate characteristic functions;
more generally, the stochastic processes arising in this framework are
representable as mixtures of Wiener processes. The Baldovin and Stella model,
while mimicking well volatility relaxation phenomena such as the Omori law,
fails to reproduce other stylized facts such as the leverage effect or some
time reversal asymmetries. We discuss how to modify the dynamics of this
process in order to reproduce real data more accurately.


title: Two-Photon Beatings Using Biphotons Generated from a Two-Level System

abstract:
  We propose a two-photon beating experiment based upon biphotons generated
from a resonant pumping two-level system operating in a backward geometry. On
the one hand, the linear optical-response leads biphotons produced from two
sidebands in the Mollow triplet to propagate with tunable refractive indices,
while the central-component propagates with unity refractive index. The
relative phase difference due to different refractive indices is analogous to
the pathway-length difference between long-long and short-short in the original
Franson interferometer. By subtracting the linear Rayleigh scattering of the
pump, the visibility in the center part of the two-photon beating interference
can be ideally manipulated among [0, 100%] by varying the pump power, the
material length, and the atomic density, which indicates a Bell-type inequality
violation. On the other hand, the proposed experiment may be an interesting way
of probing the quantum nature of the detection process. The interference will
disappear when the separation of the Mollow peaks approaches the fundamental
timescales for photon absorption in the detector.


title: Combinatorial cell complexes and Poincare duality

abstract:
  We define and study a class of finite topological spaces, which model the
cell structure of a space obtained by gluing finitely many Euclidean convex
polyhedral cells along congruent faces. We call these finite topological
spaces, combinatorial cell complexes (or c.c.c). We define orientability,
homology and cohomology of c.c.c's and develop enough algebraic topology in
this setting to prove the Poincare duality theorem for a c.c.c satisfying
suitable regularity conditions. The definitions and proofs are completely
finitary and combinatorial in nature.


title:
Stable suspension and dispersion-induced transitions from repulsive
  Casimir forces between fluid-separated eccentric cylinders

abstract:
  Using an exact numerical method for finite nonplanar objects, we demonstrate
a stable mechanical suspension of a silica cylinder within a metallic cylinder
separated by ethanol, via a repulsive Casimir force between the silica and the
metal. We investigate cylinders with both circular and square cross sections,
and show that the latter exhibit a stable orientation as well as a stable
position, via a method to compute Casimir torques for finite objects.
Furthermore, the stable orientation of the square cylinder is shown to undergo
an unusual 45 degrees transition as a function of the separation lengthscale,
which is explained as a consequence of material dispersion.


title:
Supersymmetric Higgs Singlet Effects on B-Meson FCNC Observables at
  Large tan(beta)

abstract:
  Higgs singlet superfields are usually present in most extensions of the
Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) that address the mu-problem, such
as the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) and the Minimal
Nonminimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MNSSM). Employing a gauge- and
flavour-covariant effective Lagrangian formalism, we show how the singlet Higgs
bosons of such theories can have significant contributions to B-meson
flavour-changing neutral current (FCNC) observables for large values of
$\tan\beta \stackrel{>}{{}_\sim} 50$ at the 1-loop level. Illustrative results
are presented including effects on the B_s and B_d mass differences and on the
rare decay $B_s\to\mu^+\mu^-$. In particular, we find that depending on the
actual value of the lightest singlet pseudoscalar mass in the NMSSM, the
branching ratio for $B_s\to\mu^+\mu^-$ can be enhanced or even suppressed with
respect to the Standard Model prediction by more than one order of magnitude.


title:
Multi-directional sorting modes in deterministic lateral displacement
  devices

abstract:
  Deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) devices separate micrometer-scale
particles in solution based on their size using a laminar microfluidic flow in
an array of obstacles. We investigate array geometries with rational row-shift
fractions in DLD devices by use of a simple model including both advection and
diffusion. Our model predicts novel multi-directional sorting modes that could
be experimentally tested in high-throughput DLD devices containing obstacles
that are much smaller than the separation between obstacles.


title: Hopf algebras and the logarithm of the S-transform in free probability

abstract:
  Let k be a positive integer and let G_k denote the set of non-commutative
k-variable distributions \mu such that \mu (X_1) = ... = \mu (X_k) = 1. G_k is
a group under the operation of free multiplicative convolution. We identify G_k
as the group of characters of a certain Hopf algebra Y_k. Then, by using the
log map from characters to infinitesimal characters of Y_k, we introduce a
transform LS_{\mu} for distributions \mu in G_k. The main property of the
LS-transform is that it linearizes commuting products in G_k. For \mu in G_k,
the transform LS_{\mu} is a power series in k non-commuting indeterminates; its
coefficients can be computed from the coefficients of the R-transform of \mu by
using summations over chains in the lattices NC(n) of non-crossing partitions.
  In the particular case k=1 one has that Y_1 is naturally isomorphic to the
Hopf algebra Sym of symmetric functions, and that the LS-transform is very
closely related to the logarithm of the S-transform of Voiculescu, by the
formula LS(z) = - z log S(z). In this case the group G_1 can be identified as
the group of characters of Sym, in such a way that the S-transform, its
reciprocal 1/S and its logarithm log S relate in a natural sense to the
sequences of complete, elementary and respectively power sum symmetric
functions.


title: The Heliospheric Termination Shock

abstract:
  The heliospheric Termination Shock is the largest (by dimension) shock in the
heliosphere. It is believed that it is also the strongest shock and is
responsible for the generation of the Anomalous Cosmic Ray component in the
heliosphere. This chapter review the gross properties and observations of the
Termination Shock. It is structured as follows: 1. The heliosphere, providing
the heliospheric stage for Termination Shock formation, 2. The argument for a
heliospheric Termination Shock, 3. The global heliospheric system, 4.
Termination Shock properties, 5. Observations: the Voyager passages, radio
observations, plasma waves and electron beams, traces of plasma and magnetic
field, energetic particles, galactic cosmic rays, Termination Shock particles,
the anomalous cosmic ray component, 6. Conclusions.


title: Source Tracking for Sco X-1

abstract:
  Sco X-1, the brightest low mass X-ray binary, is likely to be a source for
gravitational wave emission. In one mechanism, emission of a gravitational wave
arrests the increase in spin frequency due to the accretion torque in a low
mass X-ray binary. Since the gravitational waveform is unknown, a detection
method assuming no apriori knowledge of the signal is preferable. In this
paper, we propose to search for a gravitational wave from Sco X-1 using a {{\it
source tracking}} method based on a coherent network analysis. In the method,
we combine data from several interferometric gravitational wave detectors
taking into account of the direction to Sco X-1, and reconstruct two
polarization waveforms at the location of Sco X-1 in the sky as Sco X-1 is
moving. The source tracking method opens up the possibility of searching for a
wide variety of signals. We perform Monte Carlo simulations and show results
for bursts, modeled, short duration periodic sources using a simple excess
power and a matched filter method on the reconstructed signals.


title:
The quantum-limited comb lineshape of a mode-locked laser: Fundamental
  limits on frequency uncertainty

abstract:
  We calculate the quantum-limited shape of the comb lines from a mode-locked
Ti:sapphire laser using experimentally-derived parameters for the linear
response of the laser to perturbations. The free-running width of the comb
lines is found across the laser spectrum. By modeling the effect of a simple
feedback loop, we calculate the spectrum of the residual phase noise in terms
of the quantum noise and the feedback parameters. Finally, we calculate the
frequency uncertainty in an optical frequency measurement if the limiting
factor is quantum noise in the detection of the optical heterodyne beat.


title:
Heavy Quark Vacuum Polarization Function at O(alpha_s^2) and
  O(alpha_s^3)

abstract:
  We determine the full mass and $q^2$ dependence of the heavy quark vacuum
polarization function $\Pi(q^2)$ and its contribution to the total $e^+e^-$
cross section at ${\cal O}(\alpha_s^2)$ and ${\cal O}(\alpha_s^3)$ in
perturbative QCD. We use known results for the expansions of $\Pi(q^2)$ at high
energies, in the threshold region and around $q^2=0$, conformal mapping and the
Pad\'e approximation method. From our results for $\Pi(q^2)$ we determine
numerically at ${\cal O}(\alpha_s^3)$ the previously unknown non-logarithmic
contributions in the high-energy expansion at order $(m^2/q^2)^i$ for $i=0,1$
and the coefficients in the expansion around $q^2=0$ at order $q^{2n}$ with
$n\ge 2$. We also determine at ${\cal O}(\alpha_s^2)$ the previously unknown
${\cal O}(v^0)$ constant term in the expansion of $\Pi(q^2)$ in the threshold
region, where $v$ is the quark velocity. Our method allows for a quantitative
estimate of uncertainties and can be systematically improved once more
information in the three kinematic regions becomes available by future
multi-loop computations. For the contributions to the total $e^+e^-$ cross
section at ${\cal O}(\alpha_s^2)$ we confirm results obtained earlier by
Chetyrkin, K\"uhn and Steinhauser.


title: Discovery of a Giant Lya Emitter Near the Reionization Epoch

abstract:
  We report the discovery of a giant Lya emitter (LAE) with a Spitzer/IRAC
counterpart near the reionization epoch at z=6.595. The giant LAE is found from
the extensive 1 deg^2 Subaru narrow-band survey for z=6.6 LAEs in the
Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS) field, and subsequently identified by deep
spectroscopy of Keck/DEIMOS and Magellan/IMACS. Among our 207 LAE candidates,
this LAE is not only the brightest narrow-band object with L(Lya) = 3.9+/-0.2 x
10^43 erg/s in our survey volume of 10^6 Mpc^3, but also a spatially extended
Lya nebula with the largest isophotal area whose major axis is at least ~3''.
This object is more likely to be a large Lya nebula with a size of >~17 kpc
than to be a strongly-lensed galaxy by a foreground object. Our Keck spectrum
with medium-high spectral and spatial resolutions suggests that the velocity
width is v(FWHM)=251+/-21 km/s, and that the line-center velocity changes by
~60 km/s in a 10-kpc range. The stellar mass and star-formation rate are
estimated to be 0.9-5.0 x 10^10 Mo and >34 Mo/yr, respectively, from the
combination of deep optical to infrared images of Subaru, UKIDSS-Ultra Deep
Survey, and Spitzer/IRAC. Although the nature of this object is not yet clearly
understood, this could be an important object for studying cooling clouds
accreting onto a massive halo, or forming-massive galaxies with significant
outflows contributing to cosmic reionization and metal enrichment of
inter-galactic medium.


title:
The Einstein Cross: constraint on dark matter from stellar dynamics and
  gravitational lensing

abstract:
  [Abridged] We present two-dimensional line-of-sight stellar kinematics of the
lens galaxy in the Einstein Cross, obtained with the GEMINI 8m telescope, using
the GMOS integral-field spectrograph. The velocity map shows regular rotation
up to ~100 km/s around the minor axis of the bulge, consistent with
axisymmetry. The velocity dispersion map shows a weak gradient increasing
towards a central (R<1") value of sigma_0=170+/-9 km/s. We deproject the
observed surface brightness from HST imaging to obtain a realistic luminosity
density of the lens galaxy, which in turn is used to build axisymmetric
dynamical models that fit the observed kinematic maps. We also construct a
gravitational lens model that accurately fits the positions and relative fluxes
of the four quasar images. We find that the resulting luminous and total mass
distribution are nearly identical around the Einstein radius R_E = 0.89", with
a slope that is close to isothermal, but which becomes shallower towards the
center if indeed mass follows light. The dynamical model fits to the observed
kinematic maps result in a total mass-to-light ratio (M/L)_dyn=3.7+/-0.5
M_sun/L_sun,I (in the I-band). This is consistent with the Einstein mass M_E =
1.54 x 10^10 M_sun divided by the (projected) luminosity within R_E, which
yields a total mass-to-light ratio of (M/L)_E=3.4 M_sun/L_sun,I, with an error
of at most a few per cent. We estimate from stellar populations model fits to
colors of the lens galaxy a stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L)_* from 2.8 to 4.1
M_sun/L_sun,I. Although a constant dark matter fraction of 20 per cent is not
excluded, dark matter may play no significant role in the bulge of this ~L*
early-type spiral galaxy.


title: Tribimaximal Mixing, Leptogenesis, and theta13

abstract:
  We show that seesaw models based on flavor symmetries (such as A_4 and Z_7 X
Z_3) which produce exact tribimaximal neutrino mixing, also imply a vanishing
leptogenesis asymmetry. We show that higher order symmetry breaking corrections
in these models can give a non-zero leptogenesis asymmetry and generically also
give deviations from tribimaximal mixing and a non-zero theta13 >~ 10^(-2)