title:
Modeling the cosmological co-evolution of supermassive black holes and
  galaxies: I. BH scaling relations and the AGN luminosity function

abstract:
  We model the cosmological co-evolution of galaxies and their central
supermassive black holes (BHs) within a semi-analytical framework developed on
the outputs of the Millennium Simulation. This model, described in detail in
Croton et al. (2006) and De Lucia & Blaizot (2007), introduces a `radio mode'
feedback from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) at the centre of X-ray emitting
atmospheres in galaxy groups and clusters. Thanks to this mechanism, the model
can simultaneously explain: (i) the low observed mass drop-out rate in cooling
flows; (ii) the exponential cut-off in the bright end of the galaxy luminosity
function; and (iii) the bulge-dominated morphologies and old stellar ages of
the most massive galaxies in clusters. This paper is the first of a series in
which we investigate how well this model can also reproduce the physical
properties of BHs and AGN. Here we analyze the scaling relations, the
fundamental plane and the mass function of BHs, and compare them with the most
recent observational data. Moreover, we extend the semi-analytic model to
follow the evolution of the BH mass accretion and its conversion into
radiation, and compare the derived AGN bolometric luminosity function with the
observed one. While we find for the most part a very good agreement between
predicted and observed BH properties, the semi-analytic model underestimates
the number density of luminous AGN at high redshifts, independently of the
adopted Eddington factor and accretion efficiency. However, an agreement with
the observations is possible within the framework of our model, provided it is
assumed that the cold gas fraction accreted by BHs at high redshifts is larger
than at low redshifts.


title: AP Theory II:Intrinsic 4D Quantum YM Theory with Mass Gap

abstract:
  We describe a sub-theory of Artin Presentation Theory (AP Theory), which has
many genuine,discrete,group-theoretic,non-infinitesimal, qualitative analogues
(including with the mass gap) of the main desiderata of the hypothetical
quantitative infinitesimal '4D Quantum YM Theory' for the so-called Clay
Millenium 'YM Existence and Mass Gap' problem. Our entirely mathematically
rigorous theory is not a model, no new axioms or measures are introduced,does
not rely on SUSY,is free of smooth 4D singularities,moduli spaces,path
integrals, graph/lattice combinatorics and probabilistic,category,twistor or
topos arguments and is intimately related to the theory of pure framed braids.
Despite being based on a rigorous, radical,universal Holographic Principle,the
theory still contains an analogue of Donaldson/Seiberg-Witten Theory, an
infinitely generated, at each stage, graded group of topology-changing
transitions and interactions and more. Our main contention is: the
radical,universal AP-holography, with its strong topology changing
interactions, which reach all the way to the 'vacuum' of discrete group theory,
may destroy any infinitesimal, PDE based Field Theory,required for solving the
actual Clay YM problem in its present quantitative form as a problem of
so-called 'constructive' 3+1 QFT. More generally,due to the fact that AP Theory
is not a model,e.g., does not introduce any new axioms,any rigorous axiomatic
3+1 QFT has to align itself with it in a mathematically rigorous fashion.


title: SWAS Observations of Water in Molecular Outflows

abstract:
  We present SWAS detections of the ground-state 1(10)-1(01) transition of
o-H2O at 557 GHz in 18 molecular outflows. These results are combined with
ground-based observations of the J=1-0 transitions of 12CO and 13CO obtained at
the FCRAO and, for a subset of the outflows, data from ISO. Assuming the SWAS
water line emission originates from the same gas traced by CO emission, we find
that the outflowing gas in most outflows has an o-H2O abundance relative to H2
of between 10(-7) and 10(-6). Analysis of the water abundance as a function of
outflow velocity reveals a strong dependence. The water abundance increases
with velocity, and at the highest outflow velocities some outflows have
relative o-H2O abundances of order 10(-4). However the mass of gas with such
elevated water abundances represents less that 1% of the total outflow gas
mass. The ISO LWS observations of high-J rotational lines of CO and the 179.5
micron transition of o-H2O provide evidence for a warmer outflow component than
required to produce either the SWAS or FCRAO lines. The mass associated with
the ISO emission is similar to that responsible for the highest velocity water
emission detected by SWAS. The bulk of the outflowing gas has an abundance of
o-H2O well below what would be expected if the gas has passed through a C-shock
with shock velocities greater than 10 km/s. Gas-phase water can be depleted in
the post-shock gas due to freeze-out onto grain mantles, however the rate of
freeze-out is too slow to explain our results. Therefore we believe that only a
small fraction of the outflowing molecular gas has passed through shocks strong
enough to fully convert the gas-phase oxygen to water. This result has
implications for the acceleration mechanism of the molecular gas in these
outflows.


title: Transient Mass-Loss Events in the PG 1159 Central Star of Longmore 4

abstract:
  A spectacular, transient mass-loss event in the hydrogen-deficient central
star of the planetary nebula Longmore 4 was discovered in 1992 by Werner et al.
During that event, the star temporarily changed from its normal PG 1159
spectrum to that of an emission-line [WCE] star. I have been monitoring the
spectrum of Lo 4 since 2003. Out of 31 spectra, two of them reveal mass-loss
outbursts similar to the one seen in 1992, showing that the phenomenon recurs.
I speculate on possible mechanisms for these unique outbursts, but emphasize
that we still have no fully convincing explanation.


title:
Column and row operator spaces over QSL_p-spaces and their use in
  abstract harmonic analysis

abstract:
  The notions of column and row operator space were extended by A. Lambert from
Hilbert spaces to general Banach spaces. In this paper, we use column and row
spaces over quotients of subspaces of general $L_p$-spaces to equip several
Banach algebras occurring naturally in abstract harmonic analysis with
canonical, yet not obvious operator space structures that turn them into
completely bounded Banach algebras. We use these operator space structures to
gain new insights on those algebras.


title: Computer Model of a "Sense of Humour". I. General Algorithm

abstract:
  A computer model of a "sense of humour" is proposed. The humorous effect is
interpreted as a specific malfunction in the course of information processing
due to the need for the rapid deletion of the false version transmitted into
consciousness. The biological function of a sense of humour consists in
speeding up the bringing of information into consciousness and in fuller use of
the resources of the brain.


title: Supersymmetry and Nonequilibrium Work Relations

abstract:
  We give a field-theoretic proof of the nonequilibrium work relations for a
space dependent field with stochastic dynamics. The path integral
representation and its symmetries allow us to derive Jarzynski's equality. In
addition, we derive a set of exact identities that generalize the
fluctuation-dissipation relations to far-from equilibrium situations. These
identities are prone to experimental verification. Furthermore, we show that
supersymmetry invariance of the Langevin equation, which is broken when the
external potential is time-dependent, is partially restored by adding to the
action a term which is precisely Jarzynski's work. Jarzynski's equality can
also be deduced from this supersymmetry


title: Ca3(Ru1-xCrx)2O7: A new paradigm for spin valves

abstract:
  The spin valve effect is a quantum phenomenon so far only realized in
multilayer thin films or heterostructures. Here we report a strong spin valve
effect existing in bulk single crystals of Ca3(Ru1-xCrx)2O7 having an
anisotropic, bilayered crystal structure. This discovery opens new avenues to
understand the underlying physics of spin valves, and fully realize its
potential in practical devices.


title:
Computer Model of a "Sense of Humour". II. Realization in Neural
  Networks

abstract:
  The computer realization of a "sense of humour" requires the creation of an
algorithm for solving the "linguistic problem", i.e. the problem of recognizing
a continuous sequence of polysemantic images. Such algorithm may be realized in
the Hopfield model of a neural network after its proper modification.


title: Autoregressive Time Series Forecasting of Computational Demand

abstract:
  We study the predictive power of autoregressive moving average models when
forecasting demand in two shared computational networks, PlanetLab and Tycoon.
Demand in these networks is very volatile, and predictive techniques to plan
usage in advance can improve the performance obtained drastically.
  Our key finding is that a random walk predictor performs best for
one-step-ahead forecasts, whereas ARIMA(1,1,0) and adaptive exponential
smoothing models perform better for two and three-step-ahead forecasts. A Monte
Carlo bootstrap test is proposed to evaluate the continuous prediction
performance of different models with arbitrary confidence and statistical
significance levels. Although the prediction results differ between the Tycoon
and PlanetLab networks, we observe very similar overall statistical properties,
such as volatility dynamics.


title:
A class of residual distribution schemes and their relation to
  relaxation systems

abstract:
  Residual distributions (RD) schemes are a class of of high-resolution finite
volume methods for unstructured grids. A key feature of these schemes is that
they make use of genuinely multidimensional (approximate) Riemann solvers as
opposed to the piecemeal 1D Riemann solvers usually employed by finite volume
methods. In 1D, LeVeque and Pelanti [J. Comp. Phys. 172, 572 (2001)] showed
that many of the standard approximate Riemann solver methods (e.g., the Roe
solver, HLL, Lax-Friedrichs) can be obtained from applying an exact Riemann
solver to relaxation systems of the type introduced by Jin and Xin [Comm. Pure
Appl. Math. 48, 235 (1995)]. In this work we extend LeVeque and Pelanti's
results and obtain a multidimensional relaxation system from which
multidimensional approximate Riemann solvers can be obtained. In particular, we
show that with one choice of parameters the relaxation system yields the
standard N-scheme. With another choice, the relaxation system yields a new
Riemann solver, which can be viewed as a genuinely multidimensional extension
of the local Lax-Friedrichs scheme. This new Riemann solver does not require
the use Roe-Struijs-Deconinck averages, nor does it require the inversion of an
m-by-m matrix in each computational grid cell, where $m$ is the number of
conserved variables. Once this new scheme is established, we apply it on a few
standard cases for the 2D compressible Euler equations of gas dynamics. We show
that through the use of linear-preserving limiters, the new approach produces
numerical solutions that are comparable in accuracy to the N-scheme, despite
being computationally less expensive.


title:
Possible evidence for an inverted temperature-density relation in the
  intergalactic medium from the flux distribution of the Lyman-alpha forest

abstract:
  We compare the improved measurement of the Lya forest flux probability
distribution at 1.7<z<3.2 presented by Kim et al. (2007) to a large set of
hydrodynamical simulations of the Lya forest with different cosmological
parameters and thermal histories. The simulations are in good agreement with
the observational data if the temperature-density relation for the low density
intergalactic medium (IGM), T=T_0 Delta^{gamma-1}, is either close to
isothermal or inverted (gamma<1). Our results suggest that the voids in the IGM
may be significantly hotter and the thermal state of the low density IGM may be
substantially more complex than is usually assumed at these redshifts. We
discuss radiative transfer effects which alter the spectral shape of ionising
radiation during the epoch of HeII reionisation as a possible physical
mechanism for achieving an inverted temperature-density relation at z~3.


title:
On the Origin and Survival of UHE Cosmic-Ray Nuclei in GRBs and
  Hypernovae

abstract:
  The chemical composition of the ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays serves as
an important clue for their origin. Recent measurements of the elongation rates
by the Pierre Auger Observatory hint at the possible presence of heavy or
intermediate mass nuclei in the UHE cosmic rays. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and
hypernovae have been suggested as possible sources of the UHE cosmic rays. Here
we derive the constraints on the physical conditions under which UHE heavy
nuclei, if they are accelerated in these sources, can survive in their intense
photon fields. We find that in the GRB external shock and in the hypernova
scenarios, UHE nuclei can easily survive photo-disintegration. In the GRB
internal shock scenario, UHE nuclei can also survive, provided the dissipation
radius and/or the bulk Lorentz factor of the relativistic outflow are
relatively large, or if the low-energy self-absorption break in the photon
spectrum of the prompt emission occurs above several KeV. In internal shocks
and in the other scenarios, intermediate-mass UHE nuclei have a higher
probability of survival against photo-disintegration than UHE heavy nuclei such
as Fe.


title:
The X-ray Properties of Moderate-redshift Galaxy Groups Selected by
  Association with Gravitational Lenses

abstract:
  We present results from a systematic investigation of the X-ray properties of
a sample of moderate redshift (0.3<z<0.6) galaxy groups. These groups were
selected not by traditional X-ray or optical search methods, but rather by an
association, either physical or along the line of sight, with a strong
gravitational lens. We calculate the properties of seven galaxy groups in the
fields of six lens systems. Diffuse X-ray emission from the intragroup medium
is detected in four of the groups. All of the detected groups have X-ray
luminosities greater than 10^{42} h^{-2} erg/s, and lie on the L_X-sigma_v
relations defined by local groups and clusters. The upper limits for the
non-detections are also consistent with the local L_X-sigma_v relationships.
Although the sample size is small and deeper optical and X-ray data are needed,
these results suggest that lens-selected groups are similar to X-ray selected
samples and, thus, are more massive than the typical poor-group environments of
local galaxies.


title: Effect of Coulomb interaction on current noise in open quantum dots

abstract:
  We analyze the effect of Coulomb interaction on the noise of electric current
through an open quantum dot. We demonstrate that the ensemble average value of
the noise power acquires an interaction correction even for a dot coupled to
the leads by reflectionless point contacts, when the ensemble average
conductance is known to have no interaction corrections. To leading order, the
correction to the noise originates from the formation of a nonequilibrium state
of the Coulomb field describing the interaction between electrons. We find the
dependence of the current noise power on the electron temperature, the applied
voltage bias, and the strength of the Coulomb interaction.


title:
Type Ia Supernovae are Good Standard Candles in the Near Infrared:
  Evidence from PAIRITEL

abstract:
  We have obtained 1087 NIR (JHKs) measurements of 21 SNe Ia using PAIRITEL,
nearly doubling the number of well-sampled NIR SN Ia light curves. These data
strengthen the evidence that SNe Ia are excellent standard candles in the NIR,
even without correction for optical light-curve shape. We construct fiducial
NIR templates for normal SNe Ia from our sample, excluding only the three known
peculiar SNe Ia: SN 2005bl, SN 2005hk, and SN 2005ke. The H-band absolute
magnitudes in this sample of 18 SNe Ia have an intrinsic rms of only 0.15 mag
with no correction for light-curve shape. We found a relationship between the
H-band extinction and optical color excess of AH=0.2E(B-V). This variation is
as small as the scatter in distance modulus measurements currently used for
cosmology based on optical light curves after corrections for light-curve
shape. Combining the homogeneous PAIRITEL measurements with 23 SNe Ia from the
literature, these 41 SNe Ia have standard H-band magnitudes with an rms scatter
of 0.16 mag. The good match of our sample with the literature sample suggests
there are few systematic problems with the photometry. We present a nearby NIR
Hubble diagram that shows no correlation of the residuals from the Hubble line
with light-curve properties. Future samples that account for optical and NIR
light-curve shapes, absorption, spectroscopic variation, or host-galaxy
properties may reveal effective ways to improve the use of SNe Ia as distance
indicators. Since systematic errors due to dust absorption in optical bands
remain the leading difficulty in the cosmological use of supernovae, the good
behavior of SN Ia NIR light curves and their relative insensitivity to
reddening make these objects attractive candidates for future cosmological
work.


title: New constructions of Yang-Baxter systems

abstract:
  The quantum Yang-Baxter equation admits generalisations to systems of
Yang-Baxter type equations called Yang-Baxter systems. Starting from algebra
structures, we propose new constructions of some constant as well as the
spectral-parameter dependent Yang-Baxter systems. Besides, we also present
explicitly the commutation algebra structure associated to the constant type in
dimension two.


title:
The insulating phases and superfluid-insulator transition of disordered
  boson chains

abstract:
  Using a strong disorder real-space renormalization group (RG), we study the
phase diagram of a fully disordered chain of interacting bosons. Since this
approach does not suffer from run-away flows, it allows a direct study of the
insulating phases, which are not accessible in a weak disorder perturbative
treatment. We find that the universal properties of the insulating phase are
determined by the details and symmetries of the onsite chemical-potential
disorder. Three insulating phases are possible: (i) an incompressible Mott
glass with a finite superfluid susceptibility, (ii) a random-singlet glass with
diverging compressibility and superfluid susceptibility, (iii) a Bose glass
with a finite compressibility but diverging superfluid susceptibility. In
addition to characterizing the insulating phases, we show that the
superfluid-insulator transition is always of the Kosterlitz-Thouless
universality class.


title: Toward Equations of Galactic Structure

abstract:
  We find that all classes of galaxies, ranging from disks to spheroids and
from dwarf spheroidals to brightest cluster galaxies, lie on a two dimensional
surface within the space defined by the logarithms of the half-light radius,
r_e, mean surface brightness within r_e, I_e, and internal velocity, V^2 =
(1/2)v_c^2 + sigma^2, where v_c is the rotational velocity and sigma is the
velocity dispersion. If these quantities are expressed in terms of kpc,
L_solar/pc^2, and km/s, then log r_e - log V^2 + log I_e + log Upsilon_e + 0.8
= 0, where we provide a fitting function for Upsilon_e, the mass-to-light ratio
within r_e in units of M_solar/L_solar, that depends only on V and I_e. The
scatter about this surface for our heterogeneous sample of 1925 galaxies is
small (< 0.1 dex) and could be as low as ~ 0.05 dex, or 10%. This small scatter
has three possible implications for how gross galactic structure is affected by
internal factors, such as stellar orbital structure, and by external factors,
such as environment. These factors either 1) play no role beyond generating
some of the observed scatter, 2) move galaxies along the surface, or 3) balance
each other to maintain this surface as the locus of galactic structure
equilibria. We cast the behavior of Upsilon_e in terms of the fraction of
baryons converted to stars, eta, and the concentration of those stars within
the dark matter halo, xi = R_{200}/r_e. We derive eta = 1.9 x 10^{-5} (L/L^*)
Upsilon_* V^{-3} and xi = 1.4 V/r_e. Finally, we present and discuss the
distributions of eta and xi for the full range of galaxies. For systems with
internal velocities comparable to that of the Milky Way (149 < V < 163 km/s),
eta = 0.14 +- 0.05, and xi is, on average, ~ 5 times greater for spheroids than
for disks. (Abridged)


title: Cascading DGP

abstract:
  We present a higher codimension generalization of the DGP scenario which,
unlike previous attempts, is free of ghost instabilities. The 4D propagator is
made regular by embedding our visible 3-brane within a 4-brane, each with their
own induced gravity terms, in a flat 6D bulk. The model is ghost-free if the
tension on the 3-brane is larger than a certain critical value, while the
induced metric remains flat. The gravitational force law `cascades' from a 6D
behavior at the largest distances followed by a 5D and finally a 4D regime at
the shortest scales.


title: AMUSE-Virgo I. Super-massive black holes in low-mass spheroids

abstract:
  We present the first results from the AGN Multiwavelength Survey of
Early-type galaxies in the Virgo cluster (AMUSE-Virgo). This large program
targets 100 early-type galaxies with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on
board the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Multi-band Imaging Photometer on
board the Spitzer Space Telescope, with the aim of providing an unbiased census
of low-level super-massive black hole (SMBH) activity in the local universe.
Here we report on the Chandra observations of the first 16 targets, and combine
them with results from archival data of another, typically more massive, 16
targets. Point-like X-ray emission from a position coincident with the optical
nucleus is detected in 50% of the galaxies (down to our completeness limit of
~4E+38 erg/sec). Two of the X-ray nuclei are hosted by galaxies (VCC1178=N4464
and VCC1297=N4486B) with absolute B magnitudes fainter than -18, where nuclear
star clusters are known to become increasingly common. After carefully
accounting for possible contamination from low mass X-ray binaries, we argue
that the detected nuclear X-ray sources are most likely powered by low-level
accretion on to a SMBH, with a <11% chance contamination in VCC1178, where a
star cluster is barely resolvable in archival Hubble Space Telescope images.
Based on black hole mass estimates from the global properties of the host
galaxies, all the detected nuclei are highly sub-Eddington, with luminosities
in the range -8.4<log(L_0.3-10keV/L_Edd)<-5.9. The incidence of nuclear X-ray
activity increases with the stellar mass M_star of the host galaxy: only
between 3-44% of the galaxies with M_star<1E+10 M_Sun harbor an X-ray active
SMBH. The fraction rises to between 49-87% in galaxies with stellar mass above
1E+10 M_Sun (at the 95% confidence level).


title: Mean Field study of the heavy fermion metamagnetic transition

abstract:
  We investigate the evolution of the heavy fermion ground state under
application of a strong external magnetic field. We present a richer version of
the usual hybridization mean field theory that allows for hybridization in both
the singlet and triplet channels and incorporates a self-consistent Weiss
field. We show that for a magnetic field strength B*, a filling-dependent
fraction of the zero-field hybridization gap, the spin up quasiparticle band
becomes fully polarized--an event marked by a sudden jump in the magnetic
susceptibility. The system exhibits a kind of quantum rigidity in which the
susceptibility (and several other physical observables) are insensitive to
further increases in field strength. This behavior ends abruptly with the
collapse of the hybridization order parameter in a first-order transition to
the normal metallic state. We argue that the feature at B* corresponds to the
"metamagnetic transition" in YbRh2Si2. Our results are in good agreement with
recent experimental measurements.


title:
High-resolution intracellular recordings using a real-time computational
  model of the electrode

abstract:
  Intracellular recordings of neuronal membrane potential are a central tool in
neurophysiology. In many situations, especially in vivo, the traditional
limitation of such recordings is the high electrode resistance, which may cause
significant measurement errors. We introduce a computer-aided technique, Active
Electrode Compensation (AEC), based on a digital model of the electrode
interfaced in real time with the electrophysiological setup. The
characteristics of this model are first estimated using white noise current
injection. The electrode and membrane contribution are digitally separated, and
the recording is then made by online subtraction of the electrode contribution.
Tests comparing AEC to other techniques demonstrate that it yields recordings
with improved accuracy. It enables high-frequency recordings in demanding
conditions, such as injection of conductance noise in dynamic-clamp mode, not
feasible with a single high resistance electrode until now. AEC should be
particularly useful to characterize fast phenomena in neurons, in vivo and in
vitro.


title: {\it f}-mode interactions with thin flux tubes: the scattering matrix

abstract:
  We calculate the scattering effects associated with the interaction of a
surface gravity or {\it f} mode with a thin magnetic flux tube embedded in a
realistically stratified medium. We find that the dominant scattered wave is an
$f$ mode with amplitude and phase of 1.17% and around $49^\circ$ relative to
the incident wave, compared to the values of 0.13% and $40^\circ$ estimated
from observations. The extent of scattering into high-order acoustic $p$ modes
is too weak to be accurately characterized. We recover the result that the
degree of scattering is enhanced as (a) the frequency of the incident wave
increases and (b) the flux tube becomes magnetically dominated.


title: Lie Groupoids as generalized atlases

abstract:
  Starting with some motivating examples (classical atlases for a manifold,
space of leaves of a foliation, group orbits), we propose to view a Lie
groupoid as a generalized atlas for the "virtual structure" of its orbit space,
the equivalence between atlases being here the smooth Morita equivalence. This
"structure" keeps memory of the isotropy groups and of the smoothness as well.
To take the smoothness into account, we claim that we can go very far by
retaining just a few formal properties of embeddings and surmersions, yielding
a very polymorphous unifying theory. We suggest further developments.


title:
Figure-Figure Interaction Between Bodies Having Arbitrary Shapes and
  Mass Distributions: A Power Series Expansion Approach

abstract:
  We derive an expression for the mutual gravitational force and torque of two
bodies having arbitrary shapes and mass distributions, as an expansion in power
series of their products of inertia and of the relative coordinates of their
centres of mass. The absolute convergence of all the power series developed is
rigorously demonstrated. The absence of transcendental functions makes this
formalism suitable for fast numerical applications. The products of inertia
used here are directly related to the spherical harmonics coefficients, and we
provide a detailed analysis of this relationship.


title: Top Jets in the Peak Region: Factorization Analysis with NLL Resummation

abstract:
  We consider top-quarks produced at large energy in e+e- collisions, and
address the question of what top-mass can be measured from reconstruction. The
production process is characterized by well separated scales: the
center-of-mass energy, Q, the top mass, m, the top decay width, Gamma_t, and
also LambdaQCD; scales which can be disentangled with effective theory methods.
In particular we show how the mass measurement depends on the way in which soft
radiation is treated, and that this can shift the mass peak by an amount of
order Q LambdaQCD/m. We sum large logs for Q >> m >> Gamma_t > LambdaQCD and
demonstrate that the renormalization group ties together the jet and soft
interactions below the scale m. Necessary conditions for the invariant mass
spectrum to be protected from large logs are formulated. Results for the
cross-section are presented at next-to-leading order with next-to-leading-log
resummation, for invariant masses in the peak region and the tail region. Using
our results we also predict the thrust distribution for massive quark jets at
NLL order for large thrust. We demonstrate that soft radiation can be precisely
controlled using data on massless jet production, and that in principle, a
short distance mass parameter can be measured using jets with precision better
than LambdaQCD.


title: Hadron Loops: General Theorems and Application to Charmonium

abstract:
  In this paper we develop a formalism for incorporating hadron loops in the
quark model. We derive expressions for mass shifts, continuum components and
mixing amplitudes of "quenched" quark model states due to hadron loops, as
perturbation series in the valence-continuum coupling Hamiltonian. We prove
three general theorems regarding the effects of hadron loops, which show that
given certain constraints on the external "bare" quark model states, the
valence-continuum coupling, and the hadrons summed in the loops, the following
results hold: (1) The loop mass shifts are identical for all states within a
given N,L multiplet. (2) These states have the same total open-flavor decay
widths. (3) Loop-induced valence configuration mixing vanishes provided that
${\L}_i \neq \L_f$ or $\S_i \neq \S_f$. The charmonium system is used as a
numerical case study, with the $^3\P_0$ decay model providing the
valence-continuum coupling. We evaluate the mass shifts and continuum mixing
numerically for all 1S, 1P and 2S charmonium valence states due to loops of D,
D$^*$, D$_s$ and D$_s^*$ meson pairs. We find that the mass shifts are quite
large, but are numerically similar for all the low-lying charmonium states, as
suggested by the first theorem. Thus, loop mass shifts may have been "hidden"
in the valence quark model by a change of parameters. The two-meson continuum
components of the physical charmonium states are also found to be large,
creating challenges for the interpretation of the constituent quark model.


title: Perturbations of the signum-Gordon model

abstract:
  We investigate a perturbation of a scalar field model (called here the
signum-Gordon model) with the potential $V(f)=|f|$. The perturbation
generalizes the signum-Gordon model to the signum-Klein-Gordon model i.e. to
the case $V(f)=|f|-{1/2}\lambda f^2$, where $\lambda$ is a small parameter.
Such a generalization breaks the scaling symmetry of the signum-Gordon model.
In this paper we concentrate on solutions for self-similar initial data. Such
data are particulary useful for identification of the effects caused by the
term that breaks the scaling symmetry. We have found that the behaviour of the
solutions is quite interesting - they escape and return periodically to the
self-similar initial data.


title:
Implementation of a non-equilibrium Green's function method to calculate
  spin transfer torque

abstract:
  We present an implementation of the steady state Keldysh approach in a
Green's function multiple scattering scheme to calculate the non-equilibrium
spin density. This density is used to obtain the spin transfer torque in
junctions showing the magnetoresistance effect. We use our implementation to
study the spin transfer torque in metallic Co/Cu/Co junctions.


title:
Pursuing the double affine Grassmannian I: transversal slices via
  instantons on A_k-singularities

abstract:
  This paper is the first in a series that describe a conjectural analog of the
geometric Satake isomorphism for an affine Kac-Moody group. In this paper we
construct a model for the singularities of some would-be Schubert varieties in
the affine Grassmannian for an affine Kac-Moody group. We formulate a
conjecture describing the (local) intersection cohomology of these varieties in
terms of integrable representations of the Langlands dual affine Kac-Moody
group and check this conjecture in a number of cases. Roughly speaking the
above singularities are constructed by looking at the Uhlenbeck space of
instantons on the quotient of the affine plane by a finite cyclic subgroup of
SL(2).


title: Gauge Drivers for the Generalized Harmonic Einstein Equations

abstract:
  The generalized harmonic representation of Einstein's equation is manifestly
hyperbolic for a large class of gauge conditions. Unfortunately most of the
useful gauges developed over the past several decades by the numerical
relativity community are incompatible with the hyperbolicity of the equations
in this form. This paper presents a new method of imposing gauge conditions
that preserves hyperbolicity for a much wider class of conditions, including as
special cases many of the standard ones used in numerical relativity: e.g.,
K-freezing, Gamma-freezing, Bona-Masso slicing, conformal Gamma-drivers, etc.
Analytical and numerical results are presented which test the stability and the
effectiveness of this new gauge driver evolution system.


title: Evidence for weak magnetic fields in early-type emission stars

abstract:
  We report the results of our study of magnetic fields in a sample of 15 Be
stars using spectropolarimetric data obtained at the European Southern
Observatory with the multi-mode instrument FORS1 installed at the 8m Kueyen
telescope. We detect weak photospheric magnetic fields in four stars, HD56014,
HD148184, HD155806, and HD181615. We note that for HD181615 the evolutionary
status is not obvious due to the fact that it is a binary system currently
observed in the initial rapid phase of mass exchange between the two
components. Further, we notify the possible presence of distinct circular
polarisation features in the circumstellar components of Ca II H&K in three
stars, HD58011, HD117357, and HD181615, hinting at a probable presence of
magnetic fields in the circumstellar mass loss disks of these stars. We
emphasize the need for future spectropolarimetric observations of Be stars with
detected magnetic fields to study the temporal evolution of their magnetic
fields and the correlation of magnetic field properties with dynamical
phenomena taking place in the gaseous circumstellar disks of these stars.


title: Numerical solutions to lattice-refined models in loop quantum cosmology

abstract:
  In this article, we develop an intuitive and efficient, numerical technique
to solve the quantum evolution equation of generic lattice-refined models in
loop quantum cosmology. As an application of this method, we extensively study
the solutions of the recently introduced, lattice-refined anisotropic model of
the Schwarzschild interior geometry. Our calculations suggest that the results
obtained from the approach are accurate, robust and are in complete agreement
with the expectations from the von Neumann stability analysis of the model.


title: Query Evaluation and Optimization in the Semantic Web

abstract:
  We address the problem of answering Web ontology queries efficiently. An
ontology is formalized as a Deductive Ontology Base (DOB), a deductive database
that comprises the ontology's inference axioms and facts. A cost-based query
optimization technique for DOB is presented. A hybrid cost model is proposed to
estimate the cost and cardinality of basic and inferred facts. Cardinality and
cost of inferred facts are estimated using an adaptive sampling technique,
while techniques of traditional relational cost models are used for estimating
the cost of basic facts and conjunctive ontology queries. Finally, we implement
a dynamic-programming optimization algorithm to identify query evaluation plans
that minimize the number of intermediate inferred facts. We modeled a subset of
the Web ontology language OWL Lite as a DOB, and performed an experimental
study to analyze the predictive capacity of our cost model and the benefits of
the query optimization technique. Our study has been conducted over synthetic
and real-world OWL ontologies, and shows that the techniques are accurate and
improve query performance. To appear in Theory and Practice of Logic
Programming (TPLP).


title:
Photon-Photon Correlations as a Probe of Vacuum Induced Coherence
  Effects

abstract:
  We present new experimental implications of the effects of vacuum induced
coherence on the photon -photon correlation in the pi-polarized fluorescence in
j = 1/2 to j = 1/2 transition. These effects should be thus observable in
measurements of photon statistics in for example Hg and Ba ion traps.


title: Redshift Limits of BL Lacertae Objects from Optical Spectroscopy

abstract:
  Context: BL Lacertae objects have been the targets for numerous recent
multiwavelength campaigns, continuum spectral variability studies, and
theoretical spectral and variability modeling. A meaningful interpretation of
the results of such studies requires a reliable knowledge of the objects'
redshifts; however, the redshifts for many are still unknown or uncertain.
Aims: Therefore, we hope to determine or constrain the redshifts of six BL Lac
objects with unknown or poorly known redshifts. Methods: Observations were made
of these objects with the MDM 2.4 m Hiltner telescope. Although no spectral
features were detected, and thus no redshifts could be measured, lower redshift
limits were assigned to the objects based on the expected equivalent widths of
absorption features in their host galaxies. Redshifts were also estimated for
some objects by assuming the host galaxies are standard candles and using host
galaxy apparent magnitudes taken from the literature. Results: The commonly
used redshift of $z=0.102$ for 1219+285 is almost certainly wrong, while the
redshifts of the other objects studied remain undetermined.


title: Dynamics of charged dust particles in protoplanetary discs

abstract:
  We study the effect of an imposed magnetic field on the motion of charged
dust particles in magnetically active regions of a protoplanetary disc.
Assuming a power law structure for the vertical and the toroidal components of
the magnetic field for the regions beyond magnetically dead region of the disc,
the radial and the vertical velocities of the charged particles, in the
asymptotic case of small particles, are calculated analytically. While grains
with radii smaller than a critical radius significantly are affected by the
magnetic force, motion of the particles with larger radii is independent of the
magnetic field. The critical radius depends on the magnetic geometry and the
charge of the grains. Assuming that a grain particle has one elementary charge
and the physical properties of the disc correspond to a minimum-mass solar
nebula, we show that only micron-sized grains are affected by the magnetic
force. Also, charge polarity determines direction of the radial velocity. For
such small particles, both the radial and the vertical velocities increase due
to the magnetic force.


title:
Nuclear burning and mixing in the first stars: entrainment at a
  convective boundary using the PPB advection scheme

abstract:
  The evolution of the first generations of stars at zero or extremly low
metallicity, and especially some crucial properties like the primary N14
production, is charactarized by convective-reactive mixing events that are
mostly absent from similar evolution phases at solar-like metallicity. These
episodes occur when unprocessed H-rich material is mixed accross a convective
boundary into C12 rich He-burning material, as for example in He-shell flashes
of extremely-low metallicity AGB stars. In this paper we describe the
astrophysical context of such convective-reactive events, including the
difficulty of current one-dimensional stellar evolution models to correctly
simulate these evolutionary phases. We then describe the requirements and
current state of modeling convective-reactive processes in the first stars
environment. We demonstrate some of the new concepts that we are applying to
this problem, i.e. the highly accurate PPB advection scheme in the framework of
PPM hydrodynamic simulations of mixing accross a very stiff convective
boundary. We show initial results of such simulations that address the first
non-reactive step of this problem, which is the entrainment of H at the top
boundary of the He-shell flash convection zone.


title: On the 1-density of Unit Ball Covering

abstract:
  Motivated by modern applications like image processing and wireless sensor
networks, we consider a variation of the famous Kepler Conjecture. Given any
infinite set of unit balls covering the whole space, we want to know the
optimal (lim sup) density of the volume which is covered by exactly one ball
(i.e., the maximum such density over all unit ball covers, called the {\em
optimal 1-density} and denoted as $\delta_d$, where $d$ is the dimension of the
Euclidean space). We prove that in 2D the optimal 1-density
$\delta_2=(3\sqrt(3)-\pi)/\pi \approx 0.6539$, which is achieved through a
regular hexagonal covering. In 3D, the problem is widely open and we present a
Dodecehadral Cover Conjecture which states that the optimal 1-density in 3D,
$\delta_3$, is bounded from above by the 1-density of a unit ball whose Voronoi
polyhedron is a regular dodecahedron of circum-radius one (determined by 12
extra unit balls). We show numerically that this 1-density $\delta_3(dc)\approx
0.315$.


title: Metric sparsification and operator norm localization

abstract:
  We study an operator norm localization property and its applications to the
coarse Novikov conjecture in operator K-theory. A metric space X is said to
have operator norm localization property if there exists a positive number c
such that for every r>0, there is R>0 for which, if m is a positive locally
finite Borel measure on X, H is a separable infinite dimensional Hilbert space
and T is a bounded linear operator acting on L^2(X,m) with propagation r, then
there exists an unit vector v satisfying with support of diameter at most R and
such that |Tv| is larger or equal than c|T|. If X has finite asymptotic
dimension, then X has operator norm localization property. In this paper, we
introduce a sufficient geometric condition for the operator norm localization
property. This is used to give many examples of finitely generated groups with
infinite asymptotic dimension and the operator norm localization property. We
also show that any sequence of expanding graphs does not possess the operator
norm localization property.


title:
Nonlinear optical spectroscopy of single, few, and many molecules;
  nonequilibrium Green's function QED approach

abstract:
  Nonlinear optical signals from an assembly of N noninteracting particles
consist of an incoherent and a coherent component, whose magnitudes scale \sim
N and \sim N(N-1), respectively. A unified microscopic description of both
types of signals is developed using a quantum electrodynamical (QED) treatment
of the optical fields. Closed nonequilibrium Green's function expressions are
derived that incorporate both stimulated and spontaneous processes. General
(n+1)-wave mixing experiments are discussed as an example of spontaneously
generated signals. When performed on a single particle, such signals cannot be
expressed in terms of the nth order polarization, as predicted by the
semiclassical theory. Stimulated processes are shown to be purely incoherent in
nature. Within the QED framework, heterodyne-detected wave mixing signals are
simply viewed as incoherent stimulated emission, whereas homodyne signals are
generated by coherent spontaneous emission.


title: An observation of a mutual event between two satellites of Uranus

abstract:
  We present observations of the occultation of Umbriel by Oberon on 4 May,
2007. We believe this is the first observed mutual event between satellites of
Uranus. Fitting a simple geometric model to the lightcurve, we measure the
mid-event time with a precision of 4 seconds. We assume previously measured
values for the albedos of the two satellites (Karkoschka 2001), and measure the
impact parameter to be 500 +/- 80 km. These measurements are more precise than
estimates based on current ephemerides for these satellites. Therefore
observations of additional mutual events during the 2007-2008 Uranian equinox
will provide improved estimates of their orbital and physical parameters.


title:
Cyclooxygenase Inhibition Limits Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption
  following Intracerebral Injection of Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha in the Rat

abstract:
  Increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is important in
neurological disorders. Neuroinflammation is associated with increased BBB
breakdown and brain injury. Tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) is involved in BBB
injury and edema formation through a mechanism involving matrix
metalloproteinase (MMP) upregulation. There is emerging evidence indicating
that cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition limits BBB disruption following ischemic
stroke and bacterial meningitis, but the mechanisms involved are not known. We
used intracerebral injection of TNF-a to study the effect of COX inhibition on
TNF-a-induced BBB breakdown, MMP expression/activity and oxidative stress. BBB
disruption was evaluated by the uptake of 14C-sucrose into the brain and by
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) utilizing Gd-DTPA as a paramagnetic contrast
agent. Using selective inhibitors of each COX isoform, we found that COX-1
activity is more important than COX-2 in BBB opening. TNF-a induced a
significant upregulation of gelatinase B (MMP-9), stromelysin-1 (MMP-3) and
COX-2. In addition, TNF-a significantly depleted glutathione as compared to
saline. Indomethacin (10 mg/kg; i.p.), an inhibitor of COX-1 and COX-2, reduced
BBB damage at 24 h. Indomethacin significantly attenuated MMP-9 and MMP-3
expression and activation, and prevented the loss of endogenous radical
scavenging capacity following intracerebral injection of TNF-a. Our results
show for the first time that BBB disruption during neuroinflammation can be
significantly reduced by administration of COX inhibitors. Modulation of COX in
brain injury by COX inhibitors or agents modulating prostaglandin E2
formation/signaling may be useful in clinical settings associated with BBB
disruption.


title: Production of spin-3 mesons in diffractive DIS

abstract:
  Non-trivial spin effects do not die out with energy growth. Here, we discuss
one example of such effects -- production of spin-3 mesons in diffractive DIS.
Using both explicit k_t-factorization calculations and their
vector-dominance-model interpretation, we argue that diffractive production of
rho_3(1690) is a unique probe of several novel aspects of diffraction.


title:
Proper actions of Lie groups of dimension $n^2+1$ on $n$-dimensional
  complex manifolds

abstract:
  In this paper we continue to study actions of high-dimensional Lie groups on
complex manifolds. We give a complete explicit description of all pairs
$(M,G)$, where $M$ is a connected complex manifold $M$ of dimension $n\ge 2$,
and $G$ is a connected Lie group of dimension $n^2+1$ acting effectively and
properly on $M$ by holomorphic transformations. This result complements a
classification obtained earlier by the first author for $n^2+2\le\hbox{dim}
G<n^2+2n$ and a classical result due to W. Kaup for the maximal group dimension
$n^2+2n$.


title: Euclidean lattice simulation for the dynamical supersymmetry breaking

abstract:
  The global supersymmetry is spontaneously broken if and only if the
ground-state energy is strictly positive. We propose to use this fact to
observe the spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in euclidean lattice
simulations. For lattice formulations that possess a manifest fermionic
symmetry, there exists a natural choice of a hamiltonian operator that is
consistent with a topological property of the Witten index. We confirm validity
of our idea in models of the supersymmetric quantum mechanics. We then examine
a possibility of a dynamical supersymmetry breaking in the two-dimensional
$\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ super Yang-Mills theory with the gauge group $\SU(2)$, for
which the Witten index is unknown. Differently from a recent conjectural claim,
our numerical result tempts us to conclude that supersymmetry is not
spontaneously broken in this system.


title: Low-Luminosity Early-Type Galaxies in the NGC 128 Group

abstract:
  We present spatially resolved kinematics and stellar population parameters
for three low-luminosity galaxies in the NGC128 group obtained by means of 3D
spectroscopy. We briefly discuss their evolutionary scenarii.


title: Central Spiral Structure of Molecular Gas in Maffei 2

abstract:
  Distribution and kinematics of molecular gas in the central region of the
barred spiral galaxy Maffei 2 were investigated using a data set of 12CO(1-0),
12CO(2-1), CS(2-1) lines and 103 GHz continuum. We found that the offset ridges
along the kpc-scale bar continue to the central spiral structure embedded in
the weak oval structure which is regarded as x2 orbit in the bar potential. The
spiral structure continues toward the center diverging from the oval structure.
The size of these structures is less than R ~ 100 pc. The mass concentration
within R = 35 pc is estimated to be 2 X 10^8 Mo. The high mass concentration is
consistent with theoretical predictions concerning the creation of such a
nuclear spiral structure. A comparison with the tracers of dense gas and
star-forming region suggests that the dense molecular gas traced by CS(2-1)
line is formed at the crossing points of x1 and x2 orbits and the star-forming
region appears after 2 X 10^5 yr which is comparable with the free-fall time of
the dense gas traced by the CS line (~ 10^5 cm^-3).


title:
Patterns of i.i.d. Sequences and Their Entropy - Part II: Bounds for
  Some Distributions

abstract:
  A pattern of a sequence is a sequence of integer indices with each index
describing the order of first occurrence of the respective symbol in the
original sequence. In a recent paper, tight general bounds on the block entropy
of patterns of sequences generated by independent and identically distributed
(i.i.d.) sources were derived. In this paper, precise approximations are
provided for the pattern block entropies for patterns of sequences generated by
i.i.d. uniform and monotonic distributions, including distributions over the
integers, and the geometric distribution. Numerical bounds on the pattern block
entropies of these distributions are provided even for very short blocks. Tight
bounds are obtained even for distributions that have infinite i.i.d. entropy
rates. The approximations are obtained using general bounds and their
derivation techniques. Conditional index entropy is also studied for
distributions over smaller alphabets.


title: Science With The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

abstract:
  The future of cm and m-wave astronomy lies with the Square Kilometre Array
(SKA), a telescope under development by a consortium of 17 countries that will
be 50 times more sensitive than any existing radio facility. Most of the key
science for the SKA will be addressed through large-area imaging of the
Universe at frequencies from a few hundred MHz to a few GHz. The Australian SKA
Pathfinder (ASKAP) is a technology demonstrator aimed in the mid-frequency
range, and achieves instantaneous wide-area imaging through the development and
deployment of phased-array feed systems on parabolic reflectors. The large
field-of-view makes ASKAP an unprecedented synoptic telescope that will make
substantial advances in SKA key science. ASKAP will be located at the Murchison
Radio Observatory in inland Western Australia, one of the most radio-quiet
locations on the Earth and one of two sites selected by the international
community as a potential location for the SKA. In this paper, we outline an
ambitious science program for ASKAP, examining key science such as
understanding the evolution, formation and population of galaxies including our
own, understanding the magnetic Universe, revealing the transient radio sky and
searching for gravitational waves.


title: On the Information Rates of the Plenoptic Function

abstract:
  The {\it plenoptic function} (Adelson and Bergen, 91) describes the visual
information available to an observer at any point in space and time. Samples of
the plenoptic function (POF) are seen in video and in general visual content,
and represent large amounts of information. In this paper we propose a
stochastic model to study the compression limits of the plenoptic function. In
the proposed framework, we isolate the two fundamental sources of information
in the POF: the one representing the camera motion and the other representing
the information complexity of the "reality" being acquired and transmitted. The
sources of information are combined, generating a stochastic process that we
study in detail. We first propose a model for ensembles of realities that do
not change over time. The proposed model is simple in that it enables us to
derive precise coding bounds in the information-theoretic sense that are sharp
in a number of cases of practical interest. For this simple case of static
realities and camera motion, our results indicate that coding practice is in
accordance with optimal coding from an information-theoretic standpoint. The
model is further extended to account for visual realities that change over
time. We derive bounds on the lossless and lossy information rates for this
dynamic reality model, stating conditions under which the bounds are tight.
Examples with synthetic sources suggest that in the presence of scene dynamics,
simple hybrid coding using motion/displacement estimation with DPCM performs
considerably suboptimally relative to the true rate-distortion bound.


title:
Radiation Tolerance of Fully-Depleted P-Channel CCDs Designed for the
  SNAP Satellite

abstract:
  Thick, fully depleted p-channel charge-coupled devices (CCDs) have been
developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). These CCDs have
several advantages over conventional thin, n-channel CCDs, including enhanced
quantum efficiency and reduced fringing at near-infrared wavelengths and
improved radiation tolerance. Here we report results from the irradiation of
CCDs with 12.5 and 55 MeV protons at the LBNL 88-Inch Cyclotron and with 0.1-1
MeV electrons at the LBNL Co60 source. These studies indicate that the LBNL
CCDs perform well after irradiation, even in the parameters in which
significant degradation is observed in other CCDs: charge transfer efficiency,
dark current, and isolated hot pixels. Modeling the radiation exposure over a
six-year mission lifetime with no annealing, we expect an increase in dark
current of 20 e/pixel/hr, and a degradation of charge transfer efficiency in
the parallel direction of 3e-6 and 1e-6 in the serial direction. The dark
current is observed to improve with an annealing cycle, while the parallel CTE
is relatively unaffected and the serial CTE is somewhat degraded. As expected,
the radiation tolerance of the p-channel LBNL CCDs is significantly improved
over the conventional n-channel CCDs that are currently employed in space-based
telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope.


title: Hydrodynamic Simulations of Unevenly Irradiated Jovian Planets

abstract:
  We employ a two-dimensional grid-based hydrodynamic model to simulate upper
atmospheric dynamics on extrasolar giant planets. Our model is well-suited to
simulate the dynamics of the atmospheres of planets with high orbital
eccentricity that are subject to widely-varying irradiation conditions. We
identify six such planets, with eccentricities between $e=0.28$ and $e=0.93$
and semimajor axes ranging from $a=0.0508$ A.U. to $a=0.432$ A.U., as
particularly interesting objects for study. For each of these planets, we
determine the temperature profile and resulting infrared light curves in the
8-$\mu$m Spitzer bands. Especially notable are the results for HD 80606b, which
has the largest eccentricity ($e=0.9321$) of any known planet, and HAT-P-2b,
which transits its parent star, so that its physical properties are
well-constrained. Despite the variety of orbital parameters, the atmospheric
dynamics of these eccentric planets display a number of interesting common
properties. In all cases, the atmospheric response is primarily driven by the
intense irradiation at periastron. The resulting expansion of heated air
produces high-velocity turbulent flow, including long-lived circumpolar
vortices. Additionally, a superrotating acoustic front develops on some
planets; the strength of this disturbance depends on both the eccentricity and
the temperature gradient resulting from uneven heating. The specifics of the
resulting infrared light curves depend strongly on the orbital geometry. We
show, however, that the variations on HD 80606 b and HAT-P-2b should be readily
detectable at 4.5 and 8 $\mu$m using the Spitzer Space Telescope. Indeed, these
two objects present the most attractive observational targets of all known
high-$e$ exoplanets.


title: Study of Polarization in B -> VT Decays

abstract:
  In this paper, we examine B -> VT decays (V is a vector and T is a tensor
meson), whose final-state particles can have transverse or longitudinal
polarization. Measurements have been made of B -> \phi K_2^*, and it is found
that fT/fL is small, where fT (fL) is the fraction of transverse (longitudinal)
decays. We find that the standard model (SM) naively predicts that fT/fL << 1.
The two extensions of the naive SM which have been proposed to explain the
large fT/fL in B -> \phi K^* -- penguin annihilation and rescattering -- make
no firm predictions for the polarization in B -> \phi K_2^*. The two
new-physics scenarios, which explain the data in B -> \pi K and the \phi (\rho)
K^* polarization measurements, can reproduce the fT/fL data in B -> \phi K_2^*
only if the B -> T form factors obey a certain hierarchy. Finally, we present
the general angular analysis which can be used to get helicity information
using two- and three-body decays.


title: The Effective Action of N=8 Supergravity

abstract:
  We present a simple form of the on-shell gauge-invariant 1-loop effective
action of N=8 supergravity which is manifestly N=8 supersymmetric at the linear
level. By generalizing the dimensional arguments in superspace to non-local
invariants, we show that the 1-loop effective action does not contain any
contributions from bubble and triangle diagrams. The absence of bubbles implies
the absence of conformal and axial anomalies. We also show that the 1-loop
effective action of N=8 supergravity features a "dual" conformal symmetry in
the momentum space.


title: Detection of extragalactic H3O+

abstract:
  The H3O+ molecule probes the oxygen chemistry and the ionization rate of
dense circumnuclear gas in galaxies. In particular, recent H3O+ observations
show variations in the cosmic-ray ionization rate by factors of $>$10 within
our Galaxy. Using the JCMT, we have observed the 364 GHz line of p-H3O+ in the
centers of M82 and Arp 220. In Arp 220, the line profile suggests that the
emission originates in the Western nucleus. In M82, both the eastern molecular
peak and the circumnuclear region contribute to the emission. The derived
column densities, abundances, and H3O+ / H2O ratios indicate ionization rates
similar to or even exceeding that in the Galactic Center. Model calculations of
the chemistry of irradiated molecular gas indicate a likely origin of this high
ionization rate in the extended, evolved starburst of M82. In contrast,
irradiation by X-rays from the AGN disk is the most likely model for Arp 220.


title:
Magnetic-Field Induced Bose-Einstein Condensation of Magnons and
  Critical Behavior in Interacting Spin Dimer System TlCuCl$_3$

abstract:
  Magnetization measurements were performed to investigate the critical
behavior of the field-induced magnetic ordering in gapped spin system
TlCuCl$_3$. The critical density of the magnons was obtained as a function of
temperature and the magnon-magnon interaction constant was evaluated. The
experimental phase boundary for $T < 5$ K agrees almost perfectly with the
magnon BEC theory based on the Hartree-Fock approximation with realistic
dispersion relations. The phase boundary can be described by the power law
$[H_{N}(T)-H_{c}] propto T^{phi}$. With decreasing fitting temperature range,
the critical exponent ${phi}$ decreases and converges at $phi_{BEC} =3/2$
predicted by the magnon BEC theory.


title:
Warm dust in the terrestrial planet zone of a sun-like Pleiad:
  collisions between planetary embryos?

abstract:
  Only a few solar-type main sequence stars are known to be orbited by warm
dust particles; the most extreme is the G0 field star BD+20 307 that emits ~4%
of its energy at mid-infrared wavelengths. We report the identification of a
similarly dusty star HD 23514, an F6-type member of the Pleiades cluster. A
strong mid-IR silicate emission feature indicates the presence of small warm
dust particles, but with the primary flux density peak at the non-standard
wavelength of ~9 micron. The existence of so much dust within an AU or so of
these stars is not easily accounted for given the very brief lifetime in orbit
of small particles. The apparent absence of very hot (>~1000 K) dust at both
stars suggests the possible presence of a planet closer to the stars than the
dust. The observed frequency of the BD+20 307/HD 23514 phenomenon indicates
that the mass equivalent of Earth's Moon must be converted, via collisions of
massive bodies, to tiny dust particles that find their way to the terrestrial
planet zone during the first few hundred million years of the life of many
(most?) sun-like stars. Identification of these two dusty systems among
youthful nearby solar-type stars suggests that terrestrial planet formation is
common.


title: Bi-capacities -- Part II: the Choquet integral

abstract:
  Bi-capacities arise as a natural generalization of capacities (or fuzzy
measures) in a context of decision making where underlying scales are bipolar.
They are able to capture a wide variety of decision behaviours, encompassing
models such as Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT). The aim of this paper in two
parts is to present the machinery behind bi-capacities, and thus remains on a
rather theoretical level, although some parts are firmly rooted in decision
theory, notably cooperative game theory. The present second part focuses on the
definition of Choquet integral. We give several expressions of it, including an
expression w.r.t. the M\"obius transform. This permits to express the Choquet
integral for 2-additive bi-capacities w.r.t. the interaction index.


title: Accretion Disks and the Nature and Origin of AGN Continuum Variability

abstract:
  Theory and observations of the dominant thermal continuum emission in AGNs
are examined. After correction for reddening, the steady state AGN optical--UV
spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are very similar. The SEDs are dominated
energetically by the big blue bump (BBB), but this bump never shows the
nu^{+1/3} spectrum predicted for a standard thin accretion disk with a
r^{-0.75} radial temperature gradient. Instead, the observed optical-UV SED
implies a temperature gradient of r^{-0.57} independent of the thickness of the
disk. This means that there is some flow of heat outwards in the disk. The disk
is large and the region emitting the optical continuum is as large as the inner
broad-line region (BLR). Because optical variability is seen in all AGNs on the
light-crossing time of the BLR, variations must propagate at close to the speed
of light, rather than on dynamical timescales. This argues that the
energy-generation mechanism is electromagnetic rather that hydrodynamic. Since
the velocities are near the speed of light, there can be significant local
anisotropy in the emission. The large rapid variations of the BBB imply that
the magnetohydrodynamic energy generation is fundamentally unstable. Because of
the inevitable radial temperature gradient in the accreting material, different
spectral regions come predominantly from different radii, and variations in
different spectral regions correspond to variability at different radii. This
explains the frequently observed independence of X-ray and optical variations,
cases of variability at lower energies leading variability at higher energies,
and rapid changes in emission-line reverberation lags. Some observational tests
of the local variability hypothesis are proposed.


title: Bi-capacities -- Part I: definition, M\"obius transform and interaction

abstract:
  Bi-capacities arise as a natural generalization of capacities (or fuzzy
measures) in a context of decision making where underlying scales are bipolar.
They are able to capture a wide variety of decision behaviours, encompassing
models such as Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT). The aim of this paper in two
parts is to present the machinery behind bi-capacities, and thus remains on a
rather theoretical level, although some parts are firmly rooted in decision
theory, notably cooperative game theory. The present first part is devoted to
the introduction of bi-capacities and the structure on which they are defined.
We define the M\"obius transform of bi-capacities, by just applying the well
known theory of M\" obius functions as established by Rota to the particular
case of bi-capacities. Then, we introduce derivatives of bi-capacities, by
analogy with what was done for pseudo-Boolean functions (another view of
capacities and set functions), and this is the key point to introduce the
Shapley value and the interaction index for bi-capacities. This is done in a
cooperative game theoretic perspective. In summary, all familiar notions used
for fuzzy measures are available in this more general framework.


title:
Derivative of functions over lattices as a basis for the notion of
  interaction between attributes

abstract:
  The paper proposes a general notion of interaction between attributes, which
can be applied to many fields in decision making and data analysis. It
generalizes the notion of interaction defined for criteria modelled by
capacities, by considering functions defined on lattices. For a given problem,
the lattice contains for each attribute the partially ordered set of remarkable
points or levels. The interaction is based on the notion of derivative of a
function defined on a lattice, and appears as a generalization of the Shapley
value or other probabilistic values.


title: A numerical approach for 3D manufacturing tolerances synthesis

abstract:
  Making a product conform to the functional requirements indicated by the
customer suppose to be able to manage the manufacturing process chosen to
realise the parts. A simulation step is generally performed to verify that the
expected generated deviations fit with these requirements. It is then necessary
to assess the actual deviations of the process in progress. This is usually
done by the verification of the conformity of the workpiece to manufacturing
tolerances at the end of each set-up. It is thus necessary to determine these
manufacturing tolerances. This step is called "manufacturing tolerance
synthesis". In this paper, a numerical method is proposed to perform 3D
manufacturing tolerances synthesis. This method uses the result of the
numerical analysis of tolerances to determine influent mall displacement of
surfaces. These displacements are described by small displacements torsors. An
algorithm is then proposed to determine suitable ISO manufacturing tolerances.


title: Fractional Stability

abstract:
  A fractional generalization of variations is used to define a stability of
non-integer order. Fractional variational derivatives are suggested to describe
the properties of dynamical systems at fractional perturbations. We formulate
stability with respect to motion changes at fractional changes of variables.
Note that dynamical systems, which are unstable "in sense of Lyapunov", can be
stable with respect to fractional variations.


title: Measurements of dilepton continuum at the PHENIX experiment at RHIC

abstract:
  PHENIX has measured the dielectron continuum in sqrt(s_(NN))=200 GeV Au+Au
and p+p collisions. In minimum bias Au+Au collisions the dielectron yield in
the mass range between 150 and 750 MeV/c^2 is enhanced by a factor of 3.4 +/-
0.2(stat.) +/- 1.3(syst.) +/- 0.7(model) compared to the expectation from our
model of hadron decays that well reproduces the mass spectrum in p+p
collisions. The integrated yield increases faster with the centrality of the
collisions than the number of participating nucleons, suggesting emission from
scattering processes in the dense medium. The continuum yield between the
masses of the phi and the J/psi meson is consistent with expectations from
correlated ccbar production, though other mechanisms are not ruled out.


title: Goodness-of-fit Tests for high-dimensional Gaussian linear models

abstract:
  Let $(Y,(X_i)_{i\in\mathcal{I}})$ be a zero mean Gaussian vector and $V$ be a
subset of $\mathcal{I}$. Suppose we are given $n$ i.i.d. replications of the
vector $(Y,X)$. We propose a new test for testing that $Y$ is independent of
$(X_i)_{i\in \mathcal{I}\backslash V}$ conditionally to $(X_i)_{i\in V}$
against the general alternative that it is not. This procedure does not depend
on any prior information on the covariance of $X$ or the variance of $Y$ and
applies in a high-dimensional setting. It straightforwardly extends to test the
neighbourhood of a Gaussian graphical model. The procedure is based on a model
of Gaussian regression with random Gaussian covariates. We give non asymptotic
properties of the test and we prove that it is rate optimal (up to a possible
$\log(n)$ factor) over various classes of alternatives under some additional
assumptions. Besides, it allows us to derive non asymptotic minimax rates of
testing in this setting. Finally, we carry out a simulation study in order to
evaluate the performance of our procedure.


title:
Non-Abelian gauge field effects and its relevance to spinning particle
  dynamics in the technology of spintronics

abstract:
  We describe formally the precession of spin vector about the k-space
effective magnetic field in condensed matter system with spin orbital effects
as constituting a local transformation of the electron wavefunction which
necessarily invokes the SU(2) transformation rule to ensure covariance. We
showed a "no-precession" condition as pre-requisite for the spin gauge field to
exert its influence on spin particle motion. The effects of the spin gauge
field on spin particle motion were shown to be consistent in both classical and
quantum pictures, which hence should underpin theoretical explanations for
important effects in anomalous Hall, spin Hall, spin torque, optical Magnus,
geometric quantum computation.


title: Radiative Neutralino Production in Low Energy Supersymmetric Models

abstract:
  We study the production of the lightest neutralinos in the radiative process
$e^+e^- \to \tilde\chi^0_1 \tilde\chi^0_1\gamma$ in low energy supersymmetric
models for the International Linear Collider energies. This includes the
minimal supersymmetric standard model as well as its extension with an
additional chiral Higgs singlet superfield, the nonminimal supersymmetric
standard model. We compare and contrast the dependence of the signal cross
section on the parameters of the neutralino sector of the minimal and
nonminimal supersymmetric standard model. We also consider the background to
this process coming from the Standard Model process $e^+e^- \to \nu \bar\nu
\gamma$, as well as from the radiative production of the scalar partners of the
neutrinos (sneutrinos) $e^+e^- \to \tilde\nu \tilde\nu^\ast \gamma$, which can
be a background to the radiative neutralino production when the sneutrinos
decay invisibly. In low energy supersymmetric models radiative production of
the lightest neutralinos may be the only channel to study supersymmetric
partners of the Standard Model particles at the first stage of a linear
collider, since heavier neutralinos, charginos and sleptons may be too heavy to
be pair-produced at a $e^+ e^-$ machine with $\sqrt{s} =500\GeV$.


title: A Note on the Viability of Gauss-Bonnet Cosmology

abstract:
  In this paper, we analyze the viability of a vacuum Gauss-Bonnet cosmology by
examining the dynamics of the homogeneous and anisotropic background in 4+1
dimensions. The trajectories of the system either originate from the standard
singularity or from non-standard type, the later is characterized by the
divergence of time derivative of the Hubble parameters for its finite value. At
the onset, the system should relax to Einstein phase at late times as the
effect of Gauss-Bonnet term becomes negligible in the low energy regime.
However, we find that most of the trajectories emerging from the standard
big-bang singularity lead to future re-collapse whereas the system beginning
its evolution from the non-standard singularity enters the Kasner regime at
late times. This leads to the conclusion that the measure of trajectories
giving rise to a smooth evolution from a standard singularity to the Einstein
phase is negligibly small for generic initial conditions.


title:
Ergodic properties of sub-hyperbolic functions with polynomial
  Schwarzian derivative

abstract:
  The ergodic theory and geometry of the Julia set of meromorphic functions on
the complex plane with polynomial Schwarzian derivative is investigated under
the condition that the forward trajectory of asymptotic values in the Julia set
is bounded and the map $f$ restricted to its closure is expanding, the property
refered to as sub-expanding. We first show the existence, uniqueness,
conservativity and ergodicity of a conformal measure $m$ with minimal exponent
$h$; furthermore, we show weak metrical exactness of this measure. Then we
prove the existence of a $\sg$--finite invariant measure $\mu$ absolutely
continuous with respect to $m$. Our main result states that $\mu$ is finite if
and only if the order $\rho$ of the function $f$ satisfies the condition
$h>3\frac{\rho}{\rho +1}$. When finite, this measure is shown to be metrically
exact. We also establish a version of Bowen's formula showing that the exponent
$h$ equals the Hausdorff dimension of the Julia set of $f$.


title:
Kondo effect in a semiconductor quantum dot coupled to ferromagnetic
  electrodes

abstract:
  Using a laterally-fabricated quantum-dot (QD) spin-valve device, we
experimentally study the Kondo effect in the electron transport through a
semiconductor QD with an odd number of electrons (N). In a parallel magnetic
configuration of the ferromagnetic electrodes, the Kondo resonance at N = 3
splits clearly without external magnetic fields. With applying magnetic fields
(B), the splitting is gradually reduced, and then the Kondo effect is almost
restored at B = 1.2 T. This means that, in the Kondo regime, an inverse
effective magnetic field of B ~ 1.2 T can be applied to the QD in the parallel
magnetic configuration of the ferromagnetic electrodes.


title:
Scalar radius of the pion and two photons into two pions. Strong S-wave
  final state interactions

abstract:
  The quadratic pion scalar radius, <r^2>^\pi_s, plays an important role for
present precise determinations of \pi\pi scattering. The solution of the
Muskhelishvili-Omn\`es equations for the non-strange null isospin (I) pion
scalar form factor determines that <r^2>^\pi_s=(0.61\pm 0.04) fm^2. However, by
using an Omn\`es representation of this form factor, Yndur\'ain recently
obtains <r^2>^\pi_s=(0.75\pm 0.07) fm^2. A large discrepancy between both
values, given the precision, then results. We show that Yndur\'ain's method is
indeed compatible with the determinations from the Muskhelishvili-Omn\`es
equations once a zero in the scalar form factor for some S-wave I=0 T-matrices
is considered. Once this is accounted for, the resulting value is
<r^2>^\pi=(0.63\pm 0.05) fm^2.
  On the other hand, we perform a theoretical study of the reaction
\gamma\gamma\to \pi^0\pi^0 based on dispersion relations. The large source of
uncertainty for \sqrt{s}\gtrsim 0.5 GeV, due to variations in the phase used in
the Omn\`es function above the K\bar{K} threshold, is removed by taking one
more subtraction in the dispersion relation. This allows us to make sharper
predictions for the cross section so that one could use this reaction to
distinguish between different low energy \pi\pi parameterizations, once
independent experiments are available. We also study the role played by the
\sigma or f_0(600) meson in this reaction and determine its width to two
photons.


title:
Direct observation of higher-order whispering-gallery modes in VCSELs at
  room temperature by embedding a defect-free surface micro-structure

abstract:
  We propose and demonstrate a direct method to observe higher-order
whispering-gallery modes in vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) at
room temperature. Instead of introducing any defect mode, we show that
suppression of lower-order cavity modes can be achieved by destroying vertical
reflectors with a surface micro-structure. Up to the 23rd azimuthal order
whispering-gallery mode confined laterally by the native oxide layers is
observed in experiments through collecting near-field radiation patterns.
Various vertical emission transverse modes are identified by the spectrum in
experiments as well as numerical simulations.


title:
Spin-Hall conductivity of a spin-polarized two-dimensional electron gas
  with Rashba spin-orbit interaction and magnetic impurities

abstract:
  The Kubo formula is used to calculate the spin-Hall conductivity in a
spin-polarized two-dimensional electron system with Rashba-type spin-orbit
interaction. As in the case of the unpolarized electron system, spin Hall
conductivity is entirely determined by states at the Fermi level, a property
that persists in the presence of magnetic impurities. In the clean limit, the
spin-Hall conductivity decreases monotonically with the Zeeman splitting, a
result of the ordering effect on the electron spins produced by the magnetic
field. In the presence of magnetic impurities, the spin-dependent scattering
determines a finite renormalization of the static part of the fully dressed
vertex correction of the velocity operator that leads to an enhancement of the
\sigma_{sH}, an opposite behaviour to that registered in the presence of
spin-independent disorder. The variation of \sigma_{sH} with the strength of
the Rashba coupling and the Zeeman splitting is studied.


title:
Support varieties of non-restricted modules over Lie algebras of
  reductive groups: corrigenda and addenda

abstract:
  This paper fixes a gap in my article "Support varieties of non-restricted
modules over Lie algebras of reductive groups" pointed out to me by J.C.
Jantzen. It was written several years ago, but never widely circulated.


title: Strings in strongly correlated electron systems

abstract:
  It is shown that strongly correlated electrons on frustrated lattices like
pyrochlore, checkerboard or kagome lattice can lead to the appearance of closed
and open strings. They are resulting from nonlocal subsidiary conditions which
propagating strongly correlated electrons require. The dynamics of the strings
is discussed and a number of their properties are pointed out. Some of them are
reminiscent of particle physics.


title:
Behavior of some characteristics of EAS in the region of knee and ankle
  of spectrum

abstract:
  The energy dependence of such characteristics as a ratio of the total number
of charged particles to the total flux of EAS Cherenkov radiation, a ratio of
E(thr)>=1GeV muon flux density at the distance of 600m from a shower core to
charged particle flux density, a ratio of the energy transferred to the
electromagnetic component of EAS to the primary particle energy is presented.
Their comparison with two-component mass composition of cosmic rays (p-Fe) in
the framework of calculations by a QGSJET model is given.


title: Dirac b quark on the lattice

abstract:
  We perform the first study of treating b, c, and s quarks as Dirac fermions
in lattice QCD with exact chiral symmetry. On a 32^3 60 lattice with 1/a ~ 7.68
GeV, we compute point-to-point quark propagators, and measure the
time-correlation functions for mesons with quark contents b_bbar, c_bbar,
s_bbar, and c_cbar. The lowest-lying meson mass spectra, the pseudoscalar decay
constants, and the b and c quark masses are determined.


title:
Observing dynamical supersymmetry breaking with euclidean lattice
  simulations

abstract:
  A strict positivity of the ground-state energy is a necessary and sufficient
condition for spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. This ground-state energy may
be directly determined from the expectation value of the Hamiltonian in the
functional integral, defined with an \emph{antiperiodic} temporal boundary
condition for all fermionic variables. We propose to use this fact to observe
the dynamical spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in Euclidean lattice
simulations. If a lattice formulation possesses a manifestly preserved
fermionic symmetry, there exists a natural choice of a Hamiltonian operator
that is consistent with a topological nature of the Witten index. We
numerically confirm the validity of our idea in models of supersymmetric
quantum mechanics. We further examine the possibility of dynamical
supersymmetry breaking in the two-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ super
Yang-Mills theory with the gauge group SU(2), for which the Witten index is
unknown. Although statistical errors are still large, we do not observe
positive ground-state energy, at least within one standard deviation. This
prompts us to draw a different conclusion from a recent conjectural claim that
supersymmetry is dynamically broken in this system.


title: $J/\psi$ suppression in the threshold model at RHIC and LHC energy

abstract:
  In the QGP based threshold model \cite{Blaizot:2000ev,Blaizot:1996nq}, in
addition to the normal nuclear absorption, $J/\psi$'s are subjected to an
'anomalous' suppression such that above a threshold density $n_{J/\psi}$, all
the $J/\psi$'s are melted. In the threshold model we have analysed the recent
PHENIX data on the centrality dependence of $J/\psi$ suppression in Au+Au
collisions at RHIC. Feedback from decay of the state $\chi$ is accounted for.
  $J/\psi$'s are anomalously suppressed above a threshold density,
$n_{J/\psi}=3.57\pm 0.17$ $fm^{-2}$. Threshold density for anomalous
suppression of the state $\chi$ is uncertain to a large extent, $n_\chi=0.32
\pm 0.32$ $fm^{-2}$. The fraction $F$ of the state $\chi$ can not be determined
unambiguously, depending on the nuclear absorption, it can vary from 20% to
40%. We have also predicted for the suppression in Pb+Pb collisions at LHC
energy. In central Pb+Pb collisions, $J/\psi$'s are suppressed by a factor of
3-4. Suppression pattern is rather similar to that in Au+Au collisions, if not
slighty less in central collisions. Using the PHENIX data on the participant
number dependence of the Bjorken energy density, we have also estimated the QGP
formation time. For critical temperature $T_c$=192 MeV, estimated QGP formation
time ranges between 0.07-0.09 fm/c.


title: Asymptotic stability of lattice solitons in the energy space

abstract:
  Orbital and asymptotic stability for 1-soliton solutions to the Toda lattice
equations as well as small solitary waves to the FPU lattice equations are
established in the energy space. Unlike analogous Hamiltonian PDEs, the lattice
equations do not conserve momentum. Furthermore, the Toda lattice equation is a
bidirectional model that does not fit in with existing theory for Hamiltonian
system by Grillakis, Shatah and Strauss.
  To prove stability of 1-soliton solutions, we split a solution around a
1-soliton into a small solution that moves more slowly than the main solitary
wave, and an exponentially localized part. We apply a decay estimate for
solutions to a linearized Toda equation which has been recently proved by
Mizumachi and Pego to estimate the localized part. We improve the asymptotic
stability results for FPU lattices in a weighted space obtained by Friesecke
and Pego.


title: Martingale dimensions for fractals

abstract:
  We prove that the martingale dimensions for canonical diffusion processes on
a class of self-similar sets including nested fractals are always one. This
provides an affirmative answer to the conjecture of S. Kusuoka [Publ. Res.
Inst. Math. Sci. 25 (1989) 659--680].


title:
The orbital and superhump periods of the deeply eclipsing dwarf nova
  SDSS J122740.83+513925.9

abstract:
  During June 2007 the first confirmed superoutburst of the eclipsing dwarf
nova SDSS J122740.83+513925.9 was observed using CCD photometry. The outburst
amplitude was at least 4.7 magnitudes. The orbital period was measured as
0.06296(5) d from times of the 31 observed eclipses. Time series photometry
also revealed superhumps with a period of 0.0653(3) d, thereby establishing it
to be a UGSU-type system. The superhump period excess was 3.7% and the maximum
peak-to-peak amplitude of the superhumps was 0.35 magnitudes. The eclipse
duration declined from a maximum of 23 min at the peak of the outburst to about
12 mins towards the end. The depth of the eclipses was correlated with the beat
period between the orbital and superhump periods.


title:
Rank two filtered $(\phi, N)$-modules with Galois descent data and
  coefficients

abstract:
  Let $K$ be any finite extension of $Q_{p}$, $L$ any finite Galois extension
of $K$ and $E$ any finite large enough coefficient field containing $L$. We
classify two-dimensional, F-semistable $E$-representations of $G_{K}$, by
listing the isomorphism classes of rank two weakly admissible filtered
$(\phi,N,L/K,E)$-modules.


title:
Dispersive and Strichartz estimates for hyperbolic equations with
  constant coefficients

abstract:
  Dispersive and Strichartz estimates for solutions to general strictly
hyperbolic partial differential equations with constant coefficients are
considered. The global time decay estimates of $L^p-L^q$ norms of propagators
are obtained, and it is shown how the time decay rates depend on the geometry
of the problem. The frequency space is separated in several zones each giving a
certain decay rate. Geometric conditions on characteristics responsible for the
particular decay are identified and investigated. Thus, a comprehensive
analysis is carried out for strictly hyperbolic equations of high orders with
lower order terms of a general form. Results are applied to establish time
decay estimates for the Fokker-Planck equation and for semilinear hyperbolic
equations.


title:
Configuration studies for a cubic-kilometre deep-sea neutrino telescope
  - KM3NeT - with NESSY, a fast and flexible approach

abstract:
  Theoretical predictions for neutrino fluxes indicate that km$^{3}$ scale
detectors are needed to detect certain astrophysical sources. The three
Mediterranean experiments, ANTARES, NEMO and NESTOR are working together on a
design study, KM3NeT, for a large deep-sea neutrino telescope. A detector
placed in the Mediterranean Sea will survey a large part of the Galactic disc,
including the Galactic Centre. It will complement the IceCube telescope
currently under construction at the South Pole. Furthermore, the improved
optical properties of sea water, compared to Antarctic ice, will allow a better
angular resolution and hence better background rejection.
  The main work presented in this paper is to evaluate different km$^{3}$ scale
detector geometries in order to optimize the muon neutrino sensitivity between
1 and 100 TeV. For this purpose, we have developed a detailed simulation based
on the {\it Mathematica} software - for the muon track production, the light
transmission in water, the environmental background and the detector response.
To compare different geometries, we have mainly used the effective neutrino
area obtained after the full standard reconstruction chain.}


title: Holonomy for Quantum Channels

abstract:
  A quantum holonomy reflects the curvature of some underlying structure of
quantum mechanical systems, such as that associated with quantum states. Here,
we extend the notion of holonomy to families of quantum channels, i.e., trace
preserving completely positive maps. By the use of the Jamio{\l}kowski
isomorphism, we show that the proposed channel holonomy is related to the
Uhlmann holonomy. The general theory is illustrated for specific examples. We
put forward a physical realization of the channel holonomy in terms of
interferometry. This enables us to identify a gauge invariant physical object
that directly relates to the channel holonomy. Parallel transport condition and
concomitant gauge structure are delineated in the case of smoothly parametrized
families of channels. Finally, we point out that interferometer tests that have
been carried out in the past to confirm the $4\pi$ rotation symmetry of the
neutron spin, can be viewed as early experimental realizations of the channel
holonomy.


title: Macroscopic Periodic Tunneling of Fermi Atoms in the BCS-BEC Crossover

abstract:
  We study the macroscopic quantum tunneling of two weakly-linked superfluids
made of interacting fermionic atoms. We derive atomic Josephson junction
equations and find that zero-mode and pi-mode frequencies of coherent atomic
oscillations depend on the tunneling coefficient and the sound velocity of the
superfluid. By considering a superfluid of ^40K atoms, we calculate these
oscillation frequencies in the crossover from the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer
state of weakly-bound Cooper pairs to the Bose-Einstein Condensate of
strongly-bound molecular dimers.


title: Primary transit of the planet HD189733b at 3.6 and 5.8 microns

abstract:
  The hot Jupiter HD 189733b was observed during its primary transit using the
Infrared Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The transit depths were
measured simultaneously at 3.6 and 5.8 microns. Our analysis yields values of
2.356 +- 0.019 % and 2.436 +- 0.020$ % at 3.6 and 5.8 microns respectively, for
a uniform source. We estimated the contribution of the limb-darkening and
star-spot effects on the final results. We concluded that although the limb
darkening increases by ~0.02-0.03 % the transit depths, and the differential
effects between the two IRAC bands is even smaller, 0.01 %. Furthermore, the
host star is known to be an active spotted K star with observed photometric
modulation. If we adopt an extreme model of 20 % coverage with spots 1000K
cooler of the star surface, it will make the observed transits shallower by
0.19 and 0.18 %. The difference between the two bands will be only of 0.01 %,
in the opposite direction to the limb darkening correction. If the transit
depth is affected by limb darkening and spots, the differential effects between
the 3.6 and 5.8 microns bands are very small. The differential transit depths
at 3.6 and 5.8 microns and the recent one published by Knutson et al.(2007) at
8 microns are in agreement with the presence of water vapour in the upper
atmosphere of the planet. This is the companion paper to Tinetti et al.
(2007b), where the detailed atmosphere models are presented.


title: A Singular Control Model with Application to the Goodwill Problem

abstract:
  We consider a stochastic system whose uncontrolled state dynamics are
modelled by a general one-dimensional It\^{o} diffusion. The control effort
that can be applied to this system takes the form that is associated with the
so-called monotone follower problem of singular stochastic control. The control
problem that we address aims at maximising a performance criterion that rewards
high values of the utility derived from the system's controlled state but
penalises any expenditure of control effort. This problem has been motivated by
applications such as the so-called goodwill problem in which the system's state
is used to represent the image that a product has in a market, while control
expenditure is associated with raising the product's image, e.g., through
advertising. We obtain the solution to the optimisation problem that we
consider in a closed analytic form under rather general assumptions. Also, our
analysis establishes a number of results that are concerned with analytic as
well as probabilistic expressions for the first derivative of the solution to a
second order linear non-homogeneous ordinary differential equation. These
results have independent interest and can potentially be of use to the solution
of other one-dimensional stochastic control problems.


title: Reflecting Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes on pinned path spaces

abstract:
  Consider a set of continuous maps from the interval $[0,1]$ to a domain in
${\mathbb R}^d$. Although the topological boundary of this set in the path
space is not smooth in general, by using the theory of functions of bounded
variation (BV functions) on the Wiener space and the theory of Dirichlet forms,
we can discuss the existence of the surface measure and the Skorokhod
representation of the reflecting Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process associated with the
canonical Dirichlet form on this set.


title:
Sensitivity studies for the cubic-kilometre deep-sea neutrino telescope
  KM3NeT

abstract:
  The observation of high-energy neutrinos from astrophysical sources would
substantially improve our knowledge and understanding of the non-thermal
processes in these sources, and would in particular pinpoint the accelerators
of cosmic rays. The sensitivity of different design options for a future
cubic-kilometre scale neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea is
investigated for generic point sources and in particular for some of the
galactic objects from which TeV gamma emmission has recently been observed by
the H.E.S.S. atmospheric Cherenkov telescope. The effect of atmospheric
background on the source detection probabilities has been taken into account
through full simulation. The estimated event rates are compared to previous
results and limits from present neutrino telescopes.


title:
Hypersurfaces with free boundary and large constant mean curvature:
  concentration along submanifolds

abstract:
  Given a domain $\Omega$ of $\mathbb{R}^{m+1}$ and a $k$-dimensional
non-degenerate minimal submanifold $K$ of $\pa \Omega$ with $1\le k\le m-1$, we
prove the existence of a family of embedded constant mean curvature
hypersurfaces which as their mean curvature tends to infinity concentrate along
$K$ and intersecting $\partial \Omega$ perpendicularly.


title:
A Deconvolution technique for VHE Gamma-ray Astronomy, and its
  application to the morphological study of shell-type supernova remnants

abstract:
  Deconvolution algorithms have been used successfully for
optimization/restoration/deblurring of astronomical images in a variety of
wavelengths, especially in the optical band (e.g., for HST). We present here an
iterative Richardson-Lucy type method designed for treatment of images obtained
with the H.E.S.S. array of ground-based gamma-ray telescopes. Its application
to shell-type supernova remnant images yields refined details relevant for the
study of correlations with other wavelengths, and hence for interpretation in
terms either of hadronic or leptonic origin of the observed VHE gamma-ray
emission.


title:
The Physics of Protoplanetesimal Dust Agglomerates II. Low Velocity
  Collision Properties

abstract:
  For the investigation of collisions among protoplanetesimal dust aggregates,
we performed microgravity experiments in which the impacts of high-porosity
mm-sized dust aggregates into 2.5 cm-sized high-porosity dust aggregates can be
studied. The dust aggregates consisted of micrometer-sized dust grains and were
produced by random ballistic deposition with porosities between 85% and 93%.
Impact velocities ranged from ~0.1 m/s to ~3 m/s and impact angles were almost
randomly distributed. We also used "molded" target aggregates such that the
radii of the local surface curvatures corresponded to the projectile radii. The
experiments showed that impacts into the highest-porosity targets almost always
led to sticking, whereas for the less porous dust aggregates, the collisions
with intermediate velocities and high impact angles resulted in the bouncing of
the projectile with a mass transfer from the target to the projectile
aggregate. Sticking probabilities for the impacts into the "molded" target
aggregates were considerably decreased. For the impacts into smooth targets, we
measured the depth of intrusion and the crater volume and could derive some
interesting dynamical properties which can help to derive a collision model for
protoplanetesimal dust aggregates. Future models of the aggregate growth in
protoplanetary disks should take into account non-central impacts, impact
compression, the influence of the local radius of curvature on the collisional
outcome and the possible mass transfer between target and projectile
agglomerates in non-sticking collisions.


title: Adaptive Finite Element Method for Simulation of Optical Nano Structures

abstract:
  We discuss realization, properties and performance of the adaptive finite
element approach to the design of nano-photonic components. Central issues are
the construction of vectorial finite elements and the embedding of bounded
components into the unbounded and possibly heterogeneous exterior. We apply the
finite element method to the optimization of the design of a hollow core
photonic crystal fiber. Thereby we look at the convergence of the method and
discuss automatic and adaptive grid refinement and the performance of higher
order elements.


title: Keys and alternating sign matrices

abstract:
  Lascoux and Sch\"utzenberger introduced a notion of key associated to any
Young tableau. More recently Lascoux defined the key of an alternating sign
matrix by recursively removing all -1's in such matrices. But alternating sign
matrices are in bijection with monotone triangles, which form a subclass of
Young tableaux. We show that in this case these two notions of keys coincide.
Moreover we obtain an elegant and direct way to compute the key of any Young
tableau, and discuss consequences of our result.