title:
Diffuse UV light associated with the Spiderweb Galaxy: evidence for
  in-situ star formation outside galaxies

abstract:
  We present detailed images of diffuse UV intergalactic light (IGL), situated
in a 60kpc halo that surrounds the radio galaxy MRC 1138-262 at z=2. We discuss
the nature of the IGL and rule out faint cluster galaxies, nebular continuum
emission, synchrotron, inverse Compton emission and scattering of galactic
stellar light as possible sources of the IGL. Dust scattered quasar light is an
unlikely possibility that cannot be ruled out entirely. We conclude that the
source of the IGL is most likely to be a young stellar population distributed
in a halo encompassing the radio and satellite galaxies, undergoing star
formation at a rate greater than 57 Msun/yr. Within 70kpc of the radio core,
approximately 44% of the star formation that is traced by UV light occurs in
this diffuse mode. The average UV colour of the IGL is bluer than the average
galaxy colour, and there is a trend for the IGL to become bluer with increasing
radius from the radio galaxy. Both the galaxies and the IGL show a UV
colour--surface brightness relation which can be obtained by variations in
either stellar population age or extinction. These observations show a
different, but potentially important mode of star formation, that is diffuse in
nature. Star formation, as traced by UV light, occurs in two modes in the high
redshift universe: one in the usual Lyman break galaxy clump-like mode on kpc
scales, and the other in a diffuse mode over a large region surrounding massive
growing galaxies. Such a mode of star formation can easily be missed by high
angular resolution observations that are well suited for detecting high surface
brightness compact galaxies. Extrapolating from these results, it is possible
that a significant amount of star formation occurs in large extended regions
within the halos of the most massive galaxies forming at high redshift.


title: Maps and inverse maps in open quantum dynamics

abstract:
  Two kinds of maps that describe evolution of states of a subsystem coming
from dynamics described by a unitary operator for a larger system, maps defined
for fixed mean values and maps defined for fixed correlations, are found to be
quite different for the same unitary dynamics in the same situation in the
larger system. An affine form is used for both kinds of maps to find necessary
and sufficient conditions for inverse maps. All the different maps with the
same homogeneous part in their affine forms have inverses if and only if the
homogeneous part does. Some of these maps are completely positive; others are
not, but the homogeneous part is always completely positive. The conditions for
an inverse are the same for maps that are not completely positive as for maps
that are. For maps defined for fixed mean values, the homogeneous part depends
only on the unitary operator for the dynamics of the larger system, not on any
state or mean values or correlations. Necessary and sufficient conditions for
an inverse are stated several different ways: in terms of the maps of matrices,
basis matrices, density matrices, or mean values. The inverse maps are
generally not tied to the dynamics the way the maps forward are. A
trace-preserving completely positive map that is unital can not have an inverse
that is obtained from any dynamics described by any unitary operator for any
states of a larger system.


title:
The Impact of Halo Properties, Energy Feedback and Projection Effects on
  the Mass-SZ Flux Relation

abstract:
  We present a detailed analysis of the intrinsic scatter in the integrated SZ
effect - cluster mass (Y-M) relation, using semi-analytic and simulated cluster
samples. Specifically, we investigate the impact on the Y-M relation of energy
feedback, variations in the host halo concentration and substructure
populations, and projection effects due to unresolved clusters along the line
of sight (the SZ background). Furthermore, we investigate at what radius (or
overdensity) one should measure the integrated SZE and define cluster mass so
as to achieve the tightest possible scaling. We find that the measure of Y with
the least scatter is always obtained within a smaller radius than that at which
the mass is defined; e.g. for M_{200} (M_{500}) the scatter is least for
Y_{500} (Y_{1100}). The inclusion of energy feedback in the gas model
significantly increases the intrinsic scatter in the Y-M relation due to larger
variations in the gas mass fraction compared to models without feedback. We
also find that variations in halo concentration for clusters of a given mass
may partly explain why the integrated SZE provides a better mass proxy than the
central decrement. Substructure is found to account for approximately 20% of
the observed scatter in the Y-M relation. Above M_{200} = 2x10^{14} h^{-1}
msun, the SZ background does not significantly effect cluster mass
measurements; below this mass, variations in the background signal reduce the
optimal angular radius within which one should measure Y to achieve the
tightest scaling with M_{200}.


title:
X-Ray Binaries and the Current Dynamical States of Galactic Globular
  Clusters

abstract:
  It has been known for over 30 years that Galactic globular clusters (GCs) are
overabundant by orders of magnitude in bright X-ray sources per unit mass
relative to the disk population. Recently a quantitative understanding of this
phenomenon has developed, with a clear correlation between the number of X-ray
sources in a cluster, $N_X$, and the cluster's encounter frequency, $\Gamma$,
becoming apparent. We derive a refined version of $\Gamma$ that incorporates
the finite lifetime of X-ray sources and the dynamical evolution of clusters.
With it we find we are able to explain the few clusters that lie off the
$N_X$--$\Gamma$ correlation, and resolve the discrepancy between observed GC
core radii and the values predicted by theory. Our results suggest that most
GCs are still in the process of core contraction and have not yet reached the
thermal equilibrium phase driven by binary scattering interactions.


title: Pairing of Solitons in Two-Dimensional S=1 Magnets

abstract:
  We discuss the structure of topological solitons in a general non-Heisenberg
model of isotropic two-dimensional magnet with spin S=1, in the vicinity of a
special point where the model symmetry is enhanced to SU(3). It is shown that
upon perturbing the SU(3) symmetry, solitons with odd topological charge become
unstable and bind into pairs.


title:
Mechanical control of the directional stepping dynamics of the kinesin
  motor

abstract:
  Among the multiple steps constituting the kinesin's mechanochemical cycle,
one of the most interesting events is observed when kinesins move an 8-nm step
from one microtubule (MT)-binding site to another. The stepping motion that
occurs within a relatively short time scale (~100 microsec) is, however, beyond
the resolution of current experiments, therefore a basic understanding to the
real-time dynamics within the 8-nm step is still lacking. For instance, the
rate of power stroke (or conformational change), that leads to the
undocked-to-docked transition of neck-linker, is not known, and the existence
of a substep during the 8-nm step still remains a controversial issue in the
kinesin community. By using explicit structures of the kinesin dimer and the MT
consisting of 13 protofilaments (PFs), we study the stepping dynamics with
varying rates of power stroke (kp). We estimate that 1/kp <~ 20 microsec to
avoid a substep in an averaged time trace. For a slow power stroke with 1/kp>20
microsec, the averaged time trace shows a substep that implies the existence of
a transient intermediate, which is reminiscent of a recent single molecule
experiment at high resolution. We identify the intermediate as a conformation
in which the tethered head is trapped in the sideway binding site of the
neighboring PF. We also find a partial unfolding (cracking) of the binding
motifs occurring at the transition state ensemble along the pathways prior to
binding between the kinesin and MT.


title: Comparative Analysis of Molecular Clouds in M31, M33 and the Milky Way

abstract:
  We present BIMA observations of a 2$\arcmin$ field in the northeastern spiral
arm of M31. In this region we find six giant molecular clouds that have a mean
diameter of 57$\pm$13 pc, a mean velocity width of 6.5$\pm$1.2 \kms, and a mean
molecular mass of 3.0 $\pm$ 1.6 $\times$ 10$^5$\Msun. The peak brightness
temperature of these clouds ranges from 1.6--4.2 K. We compare these clouds to
clouds in M33 observed by \citet{wilson90} using the OVRO millimeter array, and
some cloud complexes in the Milky Way observed by \cite{dame01} using the CfA
1.2m telescope. In order to properly compare the single dish data to the
spatially filtered interferometric data, we project several well-known Milky
Way complexes to the distance of Andromeda and simulate their observation with
the BIMA interferometer. We compare the simulated Milky Way clouds with the M31
and M33 data using the same cloud identification and analysis technique and
find no significant differences in the cloud properties in all three galaxies.
Thus we conclude that previous claims of differences in the molecular cloud
properties between these galaxies may have been due to differences in the
choice of cloud identification techniques. With the upcoming CARMA array,
individual molecular clouds may be studied in a variety of nearby galaxies.
With ALMA, comprehensive GMC studies will be feasible at least as far as the
Virgo cluster. With these data, comparative studies of molecular clouds across
galactic disks of all types and between different galaxy disks will be
possible. Our results emphasize that interferometric observations combined with
the use of a consistent cloud identification and analysis technique will be
essential for such forthcoming studies that will compare GMCs in the Local
Group galaxies to galaxies in the Virgo cluster.


title:
The imprints of primordial non-gaussianities on large-scale structure:
  scale dependent bias and abundance of virialized objects

abstract:
  We study the effect of primordial nongaussianity on large-scale structure,
focusing upon the most massive virialized objects. Using analytic arguments and
N-body simulations, we calculate the mass function and clustering of dark
matter halos across a range of redshifts and levels of nongaussianity. We
propose a simple fitting function for the mass function valid across the entire
range of our simulations. We find pronounced effects of nongaussianity on the
clustering of dark matter halos, leading to strongly scale-dependent bias. This
suggests that the large-scale clustering of rare objects may provide a
sensitive probe of primordial nongaussianity. We very roughly estimate that
upcoming surveys can constrain nongaussianity at the level |fNL| <~ 10,
competitive with forecasted constraints from the microwave background.


title: The action of the Cremona group on the non-commutative ring

abstract:
  The Cremona group acts on the field of two independent commutative variables
over complex numbers. We provide a non-commutative ring that is an analog of
non-commutative field of two independent variables and prove that the Cremona
group embeds in the group of outer automorphisms of this ring. First proof of
this result is technical, the second one is conceptual and gives a way to
obtain non-commutative rings from the bounded derived categories of coherent
sheaves.


title:
Specific Adhesion of Peptides on Semiconductor Surfaces in Experiment
  and Simulation

abstract:
  We report on self-assembly, clustering, and conformational phases of peptides
on inorganic semiconductor surfaces. The peptide-covered surface fraction can
differ by a factor of 25, depending mainly on surface and peptide polarity. Low
adhesion induces large and soft clusters, which also have high contact angles
to the surface. Direct surface adhesion of a peptide molecule competes with
forming molecular aggregates which offer an overall reduced surface contact.
Simulating a simple hybrid model yields a pseudophase diagram with a rich,
temperature and solvent-quality dependent variety of subphases which are
specific to the hydrophobicity and polarity of the considered substrates.


title: High pT correlations with strange particles in STAR

abstract:
  We present the highlights of the current identified strange particles
DeltaPhi and DeltaEta correlations analyses, including system-size and
trigger-pT of the jet and ridge, jet, ridge and away-side meson/baryon ratios,
and the current state of the multi-strange baryon analysis. We see clear
azimuthal peaks of comparable strength for all strange baryons and K0-short
mesons. We see no observable species dependence on the same-side jet or ridge
yields as a function of pT. However, while the away side and the ridge have
Lambda to K0-short ratio similar to that of the bulk, the jet-only ratio is
similar to that in $p+p$. The implications of these findings on current
in-medium jet theoretical explanations are discussed.


title: Kerr Black Holes are Not Unique to General Relativity

abstract:
  Considerable attention has recently focused on gravity theories obtained by
extending general relativity with additional scalar, vector, or tensor degrees
of freedom. In this paper, we show that the black-hole solutions of these
theories are essentially indistinguishable from those of general relativity.
Thus, we conclude that a potential observational verification of the Kerr
metric around an astrophysical black hole cannot, in and of itself, be used to
distinguish between these theories. On the other hand, it remains true that
detection of deviations from the Kerr metric will signify the need for a major
change in our understanding of gravitational physics.


title: Generalised Kummer constructions and Weil restrictions

abstract:
  We use a generalised Kummer construction to realise all but one known weight
four newforms with complex multiplication and rational Fourier coefficients in
smooth Calabi-Yau threefolds defined over the rational numbers. The Calabi-Yau
manifolds are smooth models of quotients of the Weil restrictions of elliptic
curves with CM of class number three.


title: Structural Properties of Small Semiconductor-Binding Synthetic Peptides

abstract:
  We have performed exhaustive multicanonical Monte Carlo simulations of three
12-residue synthetic peptides in order to investigate the thermodynamic and
structural properties as well as the characteristic helix-coil transitions. In
these studies, we employ a realistic model where the interactions between all
atoms are taken into account. Effects of solvation are also simulated by using
an implicit solvent model.


title:
The Nearly Universal Merger Rate of Dark Matter Haloes in Lambda-CDM
  Cosmology

abstract:
  We construct merger trees from the largest database of dark matter haloes to
date provided by the Millennium simulation to quantify the merger rates of
haloes over a broad range of descendant halo mass (1e12 < M0 < 1e15 Msun),
progenitor mass ratio (1e-3 < xi < 1), and redshift (0 < z < 6). We find the
mean merger rate per halo, B/n, to have very simple dependence on M0, xi, and
z, and propose a universal fitting form for B/n that is accurate to 10-20%.
Overall, B/n depends very weakly on the halo mass (proportional to M0^0.08) and
scales as a power law in the progenitor mass ratio (proportional to xi^-2) for
minor mergers (xi < 0.1) with a mild upturn for major mergers. As a function of
time, we find the merger rate per Gyr to evolve as (1+z)^n with n=2-2.3, while
the rate per unit redshift is nearly independent of z. Several tests are
performed to assess how our merger rates are affected by, e.g. the time
interval between Millennium outputs, binary vs multiple progenitor mergers, and
mass conservation and diffuse accretion during mergers. In particular, we find
halo fragmentations to be a general issue in merger tree construction from
N-body simulations and compare two methods for handling these events. We
compare our results with predictions of two analytical models for halo mergers
based on the Extended Press-Schechter (EPS) model and the coagulation theory.
We find the EPS model to overpredict the major merger rates and underpredict
the minor merger rates by up to a factor of a few.


title:
Comment on: ``Zero temperature conductance of parallel T-shape double
  quantum dots'' [Physica E 39 (2007) 214, arXiv:0708.1842v1]

abstract:
  In a recent paper [Physica E 39 (2007) 214, arXiv:0708.1842v1] Crisan, Grosu
and Tifrea revisited the problem of the conductance through a double quantum
dot molecule connected to electrodes in a T-shape configuration. The authors
obtained an expression for the conductance that disagrees with previous results
in the literature. We point out an error in their derivation of the conductance
formula and show that it gives unphysical results even for non-interacting
quantum dots.


title: A Schottky decomposition theorem for complex projective structures

abstract:
  Let S be a closed orientable surface of genus at least two, and let C be an
arbitrary (complex) projective structure on S. We show that there is a
decomposition of S into pairs of pants and cylinders such that the restriction
of C to each component has an injective developing map and a discrete and
faithful holonomy representation. This decomposition implies that every
projective structure can be obtained by the construction of Gallo, Kapovich,
and Marden. Along the way, we show that there is an admissible loop on (S, C),
along which a grafting can be done.


title:
Kinetics of phase transition from lamellar to hexagonally packed
  cylinders for a triblock copolymer in a selective solvent

abstract:
  We examined the kinetics of the transformation from the lamellar (LAM) to the
hexagonally packed cylinder (HEX) phase for the triblock copolymer,
polystyrene-b-poly (ethylene-co-butylene)-b-polystyrene (SEBS) in dibutyl
phthalate (DBP), a selective solvent for polystyrene (PS), using time-resolved
small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). We observe the HEX phase with the EB block
in the cores at a lower temperature than the LAM phase due to the solvent
selectivity of DBP for the PS block. Analysis of the SAXS data for a deep
temperature quench well below the LAM-HEX transition shows that the
transformation occurs in a one-step process. We calculate the scattering using
a geometric model of rippled layers with adjacent layers totally out of phase
during the transformation. The agreement of the calculations with the data
further supports the continuous transformation mechanism from the LAM to HEX
for a deep quench. In contrast, for a shallow quench close to the OOT we find
agreement with a two-step nucleation and growth mechanism.


title:
Minimalistic Hybrid Models for the Adsorption of Polymers and Peptides
  to Solid Substrates

abstract:
  We have performed chain-growth simulations of minimalistic hybrid lattice
models for polymers interacting with interfaces of attractive solid substrates
in order to gain insights into the conformational transitions of the polymers
in the adsorption process. Primarily focusing on the dependence of the
conformational behavior on temperature and solubility we obtained pseudophase
diagrams with a detailed structure of conformational subphases. In the study of
hydrophobic-polar peptides in the vicinity of different types of substrates, we
found a noticeable substrate specificity of the assembly of hydrophobic domains
in the conformations dominating the adsorption subphases.


title: Scanning Superfluid-Turbulence Cascade by Its Low-Temperature Cutoff

abstract:
  On the basis of recently proposed scenario of the transformation of the
Kolmogorov cascade into the Kelvin-wave cascade, we develop a theory of
low-temperature cutoff. The theory predicts a specific behavior of the
quantized vortex line density, $L$, controlled by the frictional coefficient,
$\alpha(T) \ll 1$, responsible for the cutoff. The curve $\ln L(\ln \alpha)$ is
found to directly reflect the structure of the cascade, revealing four
qualitatively distinct wavenumber regions. Excellent agreement with recent
experiment by Walmsley {\it et al.} [arXiv:0710.1033]--in which $L(T)$ has been
measured down to $T \sim 0.08 $K--implies that the scenario of low-temperature
superfluid turbulence is now experimentally validated, and allows to quantify
the Kelvin-wave cascade spectrum.


title: Ordering in red abalone nacre

abstract:
  Red abalone nacre is an intensely studied biomineral, and yet its formation
mechanism remains poorly understood. Here we report quantitative measurements
probing the degree of order of the aragonite tablets in nacre, and show that
order develops over a distance of about 50 microns. These observations indicate
that the orientational order of aragonite tablets in nacre is established
gradually and dynamically, and we show that a model of controlled assembly
based on suppression of the crystal growth rate along a specific direction,
when growth is confined in a layered structure, yields a tablet pattern
consistent with those revealed by detailed experimental measurements. This work
provides strong evidence that the organism s control of crystal orientation in
nacre occurs via regulation of crystal nucleation and growth as opposed to
direct templation or heteroepitaxial growth on organic molecules on the organic
matrix sheets.


title: Spontaneous spin ordering of Dirac spin liquid in a magnetic field

abstract:
  The Dirac spin liquid was proposed to be the ground state of the spin-1/2
Kagome antiferromagnets. In a magnetic field $B$, we show that the state with
Fermi pocket is unstable to the Landau level (LL) state. The LL state breaks
the spin rotation around the axis of the magnetic field. We find that the LL
state has an in-plane 120$^{\circ}$ $q=0$ magnetization $M$ which scales with
the external field $M\sim B^{\alpha}$, where $\alpha$ is an intrinsic
calculable universal number of the Dirac spin liquid. We discuss the related
experimental implications which can be used to detect the possible Dirac spin
liquid phase in Herbertsmithite ZnCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2$.


title: Microcanonical Analyses of Peptide Aggregation Processes

abstract:
  We propose the use of microcanonical analyses for numerical studies of
peptide aggregation transitions. Performing multicanonical Monte Carlo
simulations of a simple hydrophobic-polar continuum model for interacting
heteropolymers of finite length, we find that the microcanonical entropy
behaves convex in the transition region, leading to a negative microcanonical
specific heat. As this effect is also seen in first-order-like transitions of
other finite systems, our results provide clear evidence for recent hints that
the characterisation of phase separation in first-order-like transitions of
finite systems profits from this microcanonical view.


title: Flavor Dynamics

abstract:
  The purpose of BRAHMS is to survey the dynamics of relativistic heavy ion (as
well as pp and d-A) collisions over a very wide range of rapidity and
transverse momentum. The sum of these data may give us a glimpse of the initial
state of the system, its transverse and longitudinal evolution and how the
nature of the system changes with time. Here I will concentrate on the origin
and dynamics of the light flavors, i.e. the creation and transport of the up,
down and strange quarks. The results presented here are certainly not the end
of the story. It is my hope that in a few years new detectors will reveal the
rapidity dependence of the charm and bottom quarks.


title: No-scale supersymmetry breaking vacua and soft terms with torsion

abstract:
  We analyze the conditions to have no-scale supersymmetry breaking solutions
of type IIA and IIB supergravity compactified on manifolds of SU(3)-structure.
The supersymmetry is spontaneously broken by the intrinsic torsion of the
internal space. For type IIB orientifolds with O9 and O5-planes the mass of the
gravitino is governed by the torsion class W_1, and the breaking is mediated
through F-terms associated to descendants of the original N=2 hypermultiplets.
For type IIA orientifolds with O6-planes we find two families of solutions,
depending on whether the breaking is mediated exclusively by hypermultiplets or
by a mixture of hypermultiplets and vector multiplets, the latter case
corresponding to a class of Scherk-Schwarz compactifications not dual to any
geometric IIB setup. We compute the geometrically induced mu-terms for D5, D6
and D9-branes on twisted tori, and discuss the patterns of soft-terms which
arise for pure moduli mediation in each type of breaking. As for D3 and
D7-branes in presence of 3-form fluxes, the effective scalar potential turns
out to possess interesting phenomenological properties.


title:
Two-State Folding, Folding through Intermediates, and Metastability in a
  Minimalistic Hydrophobic-Polar Model for Proteins

abstract:
  Within the frame of an effective, coarse-grained hydrophobic-polar protein
model, we employ multicanonical Monte Carlo simulations to investigate
free-energy landscapes and folding channels of exemplified heteropolymer
sequences, which are permutations of each other. Despite the simplicity of the
model, the knowledge of the free-energy landscape in dependence of a suitable
system order parameter enables us to reveal complex folding characteristics
known from real bioproteins and synthetic peptides, such as two-state folding,
folding through weakly stable intermediates, and glassy metastability.


title: Limits of Calabi-Yau metrics when the Kahler class degenerates

abstract:
  We study the behaviour of families of Ricci-flat Kahler metrics on a
projective Calabi-Yau manifold when the Kahler classes degenerate to the
boundary of the ample cone. We prove that if the limit class is big and nef the
Ricci-flat metrics converge smoothly on compact sets outside a subvariety to a
limit incomplete Ricci-flat metric. The limit can also be understood from
algebraic geometry.


title:
Kinetics of HEX-BCC Transition in a Triblock Copolymer in a Selective
  Solvent: Time Resolved Small Angle X-ray Scattering Measurements and Model
  Calculations

abstract:
  Time-resolved small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) was used to examine the
kinetics of the transition from HEX cylinders to BCC spheres at various
temperatures in poly(styrene-b- ethylene-co-butylene-b-styrene) (SEBS) in
mineral oil, a selective solvent for the middle EB block. Temperature-ramp SAXS
and rheology measurements show the HEX to BCC order-order transition (OOT) at
~127 oC and order-disorder transition (ODT) at ~180 oC. We also observed the
metastability limit of HEX in BCC with a spinodal temperature, Ts ~ 150 oC. The
OOT exhibits 3 stages and occurs via a nucleation and growth mechanism when the
final temperature Tf < Ts. Spinodal decomposition in a continuous ordering
system was seen when Ts< Tf < TODT. We observed that HEX cylinders transform to
disordered spheres via a transient BCC state. We develop a geometrical model of
coupled anisotropic fluctuations and calculate the scattering which shows very
good agreement with the SAXS data. The splitting of the primary peak into two
peaks when the cylinder spacing and modulation wavelength are incommensurate
predicted by the model is confirmed by analysis of the SAXS data.


title:
Preparation and properties of amorphous MgB$_2$/MgO superstructures: A
  new model disordered superconductor

abstract:
  In this paper we introduce a novel method for fabricating MgB$_2$/MgO
multilayers and demonstrate the potential for using them as a new model for
disordered superconductors. In this approach we control the annealing of the
MgB$_2$ to yield an interesting new class of disordered (amorphous)
superconductors with relatively high transition temperatures. The multilayers
appear to exhibit quasi-two-dimensional superconductivity with controlled
anisotropy. We discuss the properties of the multilayers as the thickness of
the components of the bilayers vary.


title:
Ram pressure stripping of an isolated Local Group dwarf galaxy: evidence
  for an intra-group medium

abstract:
  We compare the stellar structure of the isolated, Local Group dwarf galaxy
Pegasus (DDO216) with low resolution HI maps from Young et al. (2003). Our
comparison reveals that Pegasus displays the characteristic morphology of ram
pressure stripping; in particular, the HI has a ``cometary'' appearance which
is not reflected in the regular, elliptical distribution of the stars. This is
the first time this phenomenon has been observed in an isolated Local Group
galaxy. The density of the medium required to ram pressure strip Pegasus is at
least $10^{-5} - 10^{-6}$, cm$^{-3}$. We conclude that this is strong evidence
for an inter-galactic medium associated with the Local Group.


title: The Dynamics of Rabinovich system

abstract:
  The paper presents some dynamical aspects of Rabinovich type, with
distributed delay and with fractional derivatives.


title: Predicting the Properties of the Remnants of Dissipative Galaxy Mergers

abstract:
  We construct a physically motivated model for predicting the properties of
the remnants of gaseous galaxy mergers, given the properties of the progenitors
and the orbit. The model is calibrated using a large suite of SPH merger
simulations. It implements generalized energy conservation while accounting for
dissipative energy losses and star formation. The dissipative effects are
evaluated from the initial gas fractions and from the orbital parameters via an
"impulse" parameter, which characterizes the strength of the encounter. Given
the progenitor properties, the model predicts the remnant stellar mass,
half-mass radius, and velocity dispersion to an accuracy of 25%. The model is
valid for both major and minor mergers. We provide an explicit recipe for
semi-analytic models of galaxy formation.


title: Resistivity of inhomogeneous quantum wires

abstract:
  We study the effect of electron-electron interactions on the transport in an
inhomogeneous quantum wire. We show that contrary to the well-known Luttinger
liquid result, non-uniform interactions contribute substantially to the
resistance of the wire. In the regime of weakly interacting electrons and
moderately low temperatures we find a linear in T resistivity induced by the
interactions. We then use the bosonization technique to generalize this result
to the case of arbitrarily strong interactions.


title:
A universal Stein-Tomas restriction estimate for measures in three
  dimensions

abstract:
  We study restriction estimates in R^3 for surfaces given as graphs of
W^1_1(R^2) (integrable gradient) functions. We obtain a "universal" L^2(mu) ->
L^4(R^3, L^2(SO(3))) estimate for the extension operator f -> \hat{f mu} in
three dimensions. We also prove that the three dimensional estimate holds for
any Frostman measure supported on a compact set of Hausdorff dimension greater
than two. The approach is geometric and is influenced by a connection with the
Falconer distance problem.


title: Spin-orbit induced interference in quantum corrals

abstract:
  Lack of inversion symmetry at a metallic surface can lead to an observable
spin-orbit interaction. For certain metal surfaces, such as the Au(111)
surface, the experimentally observed spin-orbit coupling results in spin
rotation lengths on the order of tens of nanometers, which is the typical
length scale associated with quantum corral structures formed on metal
surfaces. In this work, multiple scattering theory is used to calculate the
local density of states (LDOS) of quantum corral structures comprised of
nonmagnetic adatoms in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. Contrary to
previous theoretical predictions, spin-orbit coupling induced modulations are
observed in the theoretical LDOS, which should be observable using scanning
tunneling microscopy.


title:
Stability of magnetic configurations containing the toroidal and axial
  fields

abstract:
  Stability properties of magnetic-field configurations containing the toroidal
and axial field are considered. The stability is treated by making use of
linear analysis. It is shown that the conditions required for the onset of
instability are essentially different from those given by the necessary
condition $d (s B_{\phi})/ds > 0$, where $s$ is the cylindrical radius. The
growth rate of instability is calculated for a wide range of the parameters. We
argue that the instability can operate in two different regimes depending on
the strength of the axial field and the profile of the toroidal field.


title: Limit theorems for maximum flows on a lattice

abstract:
  We independently assign a non-negative value, as a capacity for the quantity
of flows per unit time, with a distribution F to each edge on the Z^d lattice.
We consider the maximum flows through the edges of two disjoint sets, that is
from a source to a sink, in a large cube. In this paper, we show that the ratio
of the maximum flow and the size of source is asymptotic to a constant. This
constant is denoted by the flow constant.


title: Observations of the Prompt Gamma-Ray Emission of GRB 070125

abstract:
  The long, bright gamma-ray burst GRB 070125 was localized by the
Interplanetary Network. We present light curves of the prompt gamma-ray
emission as observed by Konus-WIND, RHESSI, Suzaku-WAM, and \textit{Swift}-BAT.
We detail the results of joint spectral fits with Konus and RHESSI data. The
burst shows moderate hard-to-soft evolution in its multi-peaked emission over a
period of about one minute. The total burst fluence as observed by Konus is
$1.79 \times 10^{-4}$ erg/cm$^2$ (20 keV--10 MeV). Using the spectroscopic
redshift $z=1.548$, we find that the burst is consistent with the ``Amati''
$E_{peak,i}-E_{iso}$ correlation. Assuming a jet opening angle derived from
broadband modeling of the burst afterglow, GRB 070125 is a significant outlier
to the ``Ghirlanda'' $E_{peak,i}-E_\gamma$ correlation. Its
collimation-corrected energy release $E_\gamma = 2.5 \times 10^{52}$ ergs is
the largest yet observed.


title: Nonstandard Higgs Decays with Visible and Missing Energy

abstract:
  Experimental and theoretical clues both suggest that the Higgs boson has a
mass below the LEP2 lower limit of 114.4 GeV. If true, this suggests that the
dominant Higgs decay is nonstandard while the production cross sections remain
unmodified. We consider the possibility of nonstandard Higgs decays in the
language of On-Shell Effective Theories (OSETs), and discuss a little
considered class of Higgs decays, with a topology of both visible and missing
energy. We study existing LEP constraints on such decays, and find that such
decays would in general be allowed experimentally for ~ 100 GeV mass Higgses.
Simple model realizations of these decays exist, which can occur in
supersymmetric models and also in models with additional massive neutrinos.
Some potential searches that can be performed at Tevatron and LHC, contained in
standard supersymmetry topologies of leptons and missing energy, offer the
possibility of discovering such Higgses.


title:
Stochastic extinction of epidemics in large populations and role of
  vaccinations

abstract:
  We investigate stochastic extinction in an epidemic model and the impact of
random vaccinations in large populations formulated in terms of an optimal
escape path. We find that different random vaccination strategies can have
widely different results in decreasing expected time till extinction, for the
same total amount of vaccines used. Vaccination strategies are considered in
terms of two parameters: average frequency of vaccinations, given by $\gamma$,
and the amplitude of the vaccinations, $\epsilon$, where $\epsilon \ll 1$
refers to the proportion of the population being vaccinated at some particular
instant. It is found that while the average number of individuals vaccinated
per unit time, $\gamma \epsilon$, is kept constant, the particular values of
$\gamma$ and $\epsilon$ can play a highly significant role in increasing the
chance of epidemic extinction. The findings suggest that expected time till
extinction can be significantly shortened if less frequent vaccinations occur
in larger groups, corresponding to low $\gamma$, high $\epsilon$ strategy.


title: A new proof of Gromov's theorem on groups of polynomial growth

abstract:
  We give a new proof of Gromov's theorem that any finitely generated group of
polynomial growth has a finite index nilpotent subgroup. Unlike the original
proof, it does not rely on the Montgomery-Zippin-Yamabe structure theory of
locally compact groups.


title: Topology of magnetic helicity of torsioned filaments in Hall plasmas

abstract:
  A solution of magnetic Hall equations for plasma filaments in the Coulomb
gauge is obtained in the non-holonomic frame. Some physical features of the
solution include, the non-conservation of the magnetic helicity and the decay
of the magnetic field in the filaments. From the mathematical point of view,the
presence of Frenet torsion in the filament is actually shown to be fundamental
for the breaking of conservation of magnetic helicity in the case of helicoidal
filaments. Since the magnetic helicity is not conserved even in the Coulomb
gauge, and the magnetic field decays, one can say that the dynamo action fails.
Actually the presence of torsion enhances the breaking of magnetic field
helicity conservation. A similar formula of the one obtained here without
considering the Hall effect has been obtained by Moffatt and Ricca (PRSA-1992)
in the case of holonomic filaments. It is shown that unknotted magnetic
filaments may place a lower bound on the magnetic energy. Discussions on the
writhe number are also discussed.


title:
Influence of Phonon Scattering on the Performance of p-i-n
  Band-to-Band-Tunneling Transistors

abstract:
  Power dissipation has become a major obstacle in performance scaling of
modern integrated circuits, and has spurred the search for devices operating at
lower voltage swing. In this letter, we study p-i-n band-to-band tunneling
field effect transistors (TFET) taking semiconducting carbon nanotubes as the
channel material. The on-current of these devices is mainly limited by the
tunneling barrier properties, and phonon scattering has only a moderate effect.
We show, however, that the off-current is limited by phonon absorption assisted
tunneling, and thus is strongly temperature-dependent. Subthreshold swings
below the 60mV/decade conventional limit can be readily achieved even at room
temperature. Interestingly, although subthreshold swing degrades due to the
effects of phonon scattering, it remains low under practical biasing
conditions.


title:
Discrete differential geometry of tetrahedrons and encoding of local
  protein structure

abstract:
  Local protein structure analysis is informative to protein structure analysis
and has been used successfully in protein structure prediction and others.
Proteins have recurring structural features, such as helix caps and beta turns,
which often have strong amino acid sequence preferences. And the challenges for
local structure analysis have been identification and assignment of such common
short structural motifs.
  This paper proposes a new mathematical framework that can be applied to
analysis of the local structure of proteins, where local conformations of
protein backbones are described using differential geometry of folded
tetrahedron sequences. Using the framework, we could capture the recurring
structural features without any structural templates, which makes local
structure analysis not only simpler, but also more objective.
  Programs and examples are available from http://www.genocript.com .


title:
A criterion for a proper rational map to be equivalent to a proper
  polynomial map

abstract:
  In this paper, we give an explicit criterion when a rational holomorphic map
between balls is equivalent to a polynomial holomorphic map. Making use of this
criterion, we show that any proper rational holomorphic map from B^2 into B^N
of degree two is equivalent to a polynomial holomorphic map; we also construct
rational holomorphic maps of degree 3 that are almost linear but are not
equivalent to polynomial holomorphic maps.


title: Classical Renormalization of Codimension-two Brane Couplings

abstract:
  The curvature on codimension-two and higher branes is not regular for
arbitrary matter sources. Nevertheless, the low-energy theory for an observer
on such a brane should be well-defined and independent to any regularization
procedure. This is achieved via appropriate classical renormalization of the
brane couplings, and leads to a natural hierarchy between standard model
couplings and couplings to gravity.


title: Dynamics of false vacuum bubbles with nonminimal coupling

abstract:
  We study the dynamics of false vacuum bubbles. A nonminimally coupled scalar
field gives rise to the effect of negative tension. The mass of a false vacuum
bubble from outside observer's point of view can be positive, zero, or
negative. The interior false vacuum has de Sitter geometry, while the exterior
true vacuum background can have geometry depending on the vacuum energy. We
show that there exist expanding false vacuum bubbles without the initial
singularity in the past.


title: Boundary Value Problem for Black Rings

abstract:
  We study the boundary value problem for asymptotically flat stationary black
ring solutions to the five-dimensional vacuum Einstein equations. Assuming the
existence of two additional commuting axial Killing vector fields and the
horizon topology of $S^1\times S^2$, we show that the only asymptotically flat
black ring solution with a regular horizon is the Pomeransky-Sen'kov black ring
solution.


title: Binary coalescence from case A evolution -- mergers and blue stragglers

abstract:
  We constructed some main-sequence mergers from case A binary evolution and
studied their characteristics via Eggleton's stellar evolution code. Both total
mass and orbital angular momentum are conservative in our binary evolutions.
Some mergers might be on the left of the ZAMS as defined by normal surface
composition on a CMD because of enhanced surface helium content. The study also
shows that central hydrogen content of the mergers is independent of mass. As a
consequence, we fit the formula of magnitude and B-V of the mergers when they
return back to thermal equilibrium with maximum error 0.29 and 0.037,
respectively. Employing the consequences above, we performed Monte Carlo
simulations to examine our models in NGC 2682 and NGC 2660. In NGC 2682, binary
mergers from our models cover the region with high luminosity, but its
importance is much less than that of AML. Our results are well-matched to the
observations of NGC2660 if there is about 0.5Mo of mass loss in the merger
process.


title: EXIST's Gamma-Ray Burst Sensitivity

abstract:
  We use semi-analytic techniques to evaluate the burst sensitivity of designs
for the EXIST hard X-ray survey mission. Applying these techniques to the
mission design proposed for the Beyond Einstein program, we find that with its
very large field-of-view and faint gamma-ray burst detection threshold, EXIST
will detect and localize approximately two bursts per day, a large fraction of
which may be at high redshift. We estimate that EXIST's maximum sensitivity
will be ~4 times greater than that of Swift's Burst Alert Telescope. Bursts
will be localized to better than 40 arcsec at threshold, with a burst position
as good as a few arcsec for strong bursts. EXIST's combination of three
different detector systems will provide spectra from 3 keV to more than 10 MeV.
Thus, EXIST will enable a major leap in the understanding of bursts, their
evolution, environment, and utility as cosmological probes.


title:
Noncommutative geometry and compactifications of the moduli space of
  curves

abstract:
  In this paper we show that the homology of a certain natural compactification
of the moduli space, introduced by Kontsevich in his study of Witten's
conjectures, can be described completely algebraically as the homology of a
certain differential graded Lie algebra. This two-parameter family is
constructed by using a Lie cobracket on the space of noncommutative 0-forms, a
structure which corresponds to pinching simple closed curves on a Riemann
surface, to deform the noncommutative symplectic geometry described by
Kontsevich in his subsequent papers.


title: Supersymmetric three dimensional conformal sigma models

abstract:
  We construct supersymmetric conformal sigma models in three dimensions.
Nonlinear sigma models in three dimensions are nonrenormalizable in
perturbation theory. We use the Wilsonian renormalization group equation
method, which is one of the nonperturbative methods, to find the fixed points.
Existence of fixed points is extremely important in this approach to show the
renormalizability. Conformal sigma models are defined as the fixed point
theories of the Wilsonian renormalization group equation. The Wilsonian
renormalization group equation with anomalous dimension coincides with the
modified Ricci flow equation. The conformal sigma models are characterized by
one parameter which corresponds to the anomalous dimension of the scalar
fields. Any Einstein-K\"{a}hler manifold corresponds to a conformal field
theory when the anomalous dimension is $\gamma=-1/2$. Furthermore, we
investigate the properties of target spaces in detail for two dimensional case,
and find the target space of the fixed point theory becomes compact or
noncompact depending on the value of the anomalous dimension. This is a
proceeding to the conference based on the talk given by E.I.


title: Nathanson heights in finite vector spaces

abstract:
  Let $p$ be a prime, and let $\mathbb{Z}_p$ denote the field of integers
modulo $p$. The \emph{Nathanson height} of a point $v \in \mathbb{Z}_p^n$ is
the sum of the least nonnegative integer representatives of its coordinates.
The Nathanson height of a subspace $V \subseteq \mathbb{Z}_p^n$ is the least
Nathanson height of any of its nonzero points. In this paper, we resolve a
conjecture of Nathanson [M. B. Nathanson, Heights on the finite projective
line, International Journal of Number Theory, to appear], showing that on
subspaces of $\mathbb{Z}_p^n$ of codimension one, the Nathanson height function
can only take values about $p, p/2, p/3, ....$ We show this by proving a
similar result for the coheight on subsets of $\mathbb{Z}_p$, where the
\emph{coheight} of $A \subseteq \mathbb{Z}_p$ is the minimum number of times
$A$ must be added to itself so that the sum contains 0. We conjecture that the
Nathanson height function has a similar constraint on its range regardless of
the codimension, and produce some evidence that supports this conjecture.


title: Families of m-convex polygons: m = 2

abstract:
  Polygons are described as almost-convex if their perimeter differs from the
perimeter of their minimum bounding rectangle by twice their `concavity index',
$m$. Such polygons are called \emph{$m$-convex} polygons and are characterised
by having up to $m$ indentations in the side. We use a `divide and conquer'
approach, factorising 2-convex polygons by extending a line along the base of
its indents. We then use the inclusion-exclusion principle, the Hadamard
product and extensions to known methods to derive the generating functions for
each case.


title: Galois groups of Schubert problems via homotopy computation

abstract:
  Numerical homotopy continuation of solutions to polynomial equations is the
foundation for numerical algebraic geometry, whose development has been driven
by applications of mathematics. We use numerical homotopy continuation to
investigate the problem in pure mathematics of determining Galois groups in the
Schubert calculus. For example, we show by direct computation that the Galois
group of the Schubert problem of 3-planes in C^8 meeting 15 fixed 5-planes
non-trivially is the full symmetric group S_6006.


title: M\"{o}ller and Bhabha scattering in the noncommutative standard model

abstract:
  We study the M\"{o}ller and Bhabha scattering in the noncommutative extension
of the standard model(SM) using the Seiberg-Witten maps of this to first order
of the noncommutative parameter $\theta_{\mu \nu}$. We look at the angular
distribution $d\sigma/d\Omega$ to explore the noncommutativity of space-time at
around $\Lambda_{NC} \sim$ TeV and find that the distribution deviates
significantly from the one obtained from the commutative version of the
standard model.


title: Energy Radiation by Cosmic Superstrings in Brane Inflation

abstract:
  The dominant method of energy loss by a loop of cosmic D-strings in models of
warped brane inflation is studied. It is shown that the energy loss via
Ramond-Ramond field radiation can dominate by many orders of magnitude over the
energy radiation via gravitational wave emission. The ratio of these two energy
loss mechanisms depends on the energy scale of inflation, the mass scale of
string theory and whether it is a single-throat or a multi-throat inflationary
scenario. This can have important consequences for the detection of cosmic
superstrings in the near future. It is argued that the bounds from cosmic
microwave background anisotropies and big bang nucleosynthesis are the dominant
cosmological sources to constrain the physical parameters of the network of
cosmic superstrings, whereas the role of the gravitational wave-based
experiments may be secondary.


title:
Damping of Condensate Oscillation of a Trapped Bose Gas in a
  One-Dimensional Optical Lattice at Finite Temperatures

abstract:
  We study damping of a dipole oscillation in a Bose-Condensed gas in a
combined cigar-shaped harmonic trap and one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice
potential at finite temperatures. In order to include the effect of thermal
excitations in the radial direction, we derive a quasi-1D model of the
Gross-Pitaeavskii equation and the Bogoliubov equations. We use the Popov
approximation to calculate the temperature dependence of the condensate
fraction with varying lattice depth. We then calculate the Landau damping rate
of a dipole oscillation as a function of the lattice depth and temperature. The
damping rate increases with increasing lattice depth, which is consistent with
experimental observations. The magnitude of the damping rate is in reasonable
agreement with experimental data. We also find that the damping rate has a
strong temperature dependence, showing a sharp increase with increasing
temperature. Finally, we emphasize the importance of the radial thermal
excitations in both equilibrium properties and the Landau damping.


title: Gaussian random waves in elastic media

abstract:
  Similar to the Berry conjecture of quantum chaos we consider elastic analogue
which incorporates longitudinal and transverse elastic displacements with
corresponding wave vectors. Based on that we derive the correlation functions
for amplitudes and intensities of elastic displacements. Comparison to numerics
in a quarter Bunimovich stadium demonstrates excellent agreement.


title:
Quantum Phase Transition in the Normal State of High-Tc Cuprates at
  Optimum Doping

abstract:
  By using a 60 T magnetic field to suppress superconductivity in La2-pSrpCuO4,
(LSCO) we reveal an anomalous peak in the Hall number, located at optimum
doping and developing at temperatures below the zero-field superconducting
transition temperature, Tc. The anomaly bears a striking resemblance to
observations in Bi2Sr2-xLaxCuO6+delta (BSLCO) [F. F. Balakirev et al., Nature
(London) 424, 912 (2003)], suggesting a normal state phenomenology common to
the cuprates that underlies the high-temperature superconducting phase. The
peak is ascribed to the transformation of the "Fermi arcs" into a conventional
FS, the signature of a Fermi surface reconstruction associated with a quantum
phase transition (QPT) near optimum doping and co-incident with the collapse of
the pseudogap state.


title:
Phase Stability in Ferroelectric Bismuth Titanate: A First Principles
  Study

abstract:
  Experimental data on the structure of ferroelectric oxide Bismuth Titanate
suggests two different kinds of structures i.e. orthorhombic and monoclinic. We
have performed density functional theory (DFT) based first principle
calculations to determine the ground state structure of bismuth titanate, based
on experimentally observed monoclinic and orthorhombic phases of Bi4Ti3O12.
Both of these phases are optimized to zero pressure and lattice parameters were
determined as a = 5.4370 Ang, b = 5.4260 Ang, c = 32.6833 Ang and Z = 4 for
structure with space group B2cb and a = 5.4289 Ang, b = 5.4077 Ang, c = 32.8762
Ang, b = 90.08 deg and Z = 4 for the structure with space group B1a1 . Static
and dynamic calculations show that the monoclinic structure with the space
group B1a1 is the ground state structure. It is noted that small difference in
the energies of both structures could be a factor behind experimental
observation of either of the structure.


title: A Family of Generalized Beta Distributions for Income

abstract:
  The mathematical properties of a family of generalized beta distribution,
including beta-normal, skewed-t, log-F, beta-exponential, beta-Weibull
distributions have recently been studied in several publications. This paper
applies these distributions to the modeling of the size distribution of income
and computes the maximum likelihood estimation estimates of parameters. Their
performances are compared to the widely used generalized beta distributions of
the first and second types in terms of measures of goodness of fit.


title: Nucleon Form Factors and Hidden Symmetry in Holographic QCD

abstract:
  The vector dominance of the electromagnetic form factors both for mesons and
baryons arises naturally in holographic QCD, where both the number of colors
and the 't Hooft coupling are taken to be very large, offering a bona-fide
derivation of the notion of vector dominance. The crucial ingredient for this
is the infinite tower of vector mesons in the approximations made which share
features that are characteristic of the quenched approximation in lattice QCD.
We approximate the infinite sum by contributions from the lowest four vector
mesons of the tower which turn out to saturate the charge and magnetic moment
sum rules within a few percent and compute them totally free of unknown
parameters for momentum transfers Q^2 less than 1GeV^2. We identify certain
observables that can be reliably computed within the approximations and others
that are not, and discuss how the improvement of the latter can enable one to
bring holographic QCD closer to QCD proper.


title: High pressure behavior of CsC8 graphite intercalation compound

abstract:
  The high pressure phase diagram of CsC8 graphite intercalated compound has
been investigated at ambient temperature up to 32 GPa. Combining X-ray and
neutron diffraction, Raman and X- ray absorption spectroscopies, we report for
the first time that CsC8, when pressurized, undergoes phase transitions around
2.0, 4.8 and 8 GPa. Possible candidate lattice structures and the transition
mechanism involved are proposed. We show that the observed transitions involve
the structural re- arrangement in the Cs sub-network while the distance between
the graphitic layers is continuously reduced at least up to 8.9 GPa. Around 8
GPa, important modifications of signatures of the electronic structure measured
by Raman and X-ray absorption spectroscopies evidence the onset of a new
transition.


title:
Limit properties of the monotone rearrangement for density and
  regression function estimation

abstract:
  The monotone rearrrangement algorithm was introduced by Hardy, Littlewood and
P\'olya as a sorting device for functions. Assuming that $x$ is a monotone
function and that an estimate $x_n$ of $x$ is given, consider the monotone
rearrangement $\hat{x}_n$ of $x_n$. This new estimator is shown to be uniformly
consistent. Under suitable assumptions, pointwise limit distribution results
for $\hat{x}_n$ are obtained. The framework is general and allows for weakly
dependent and long range dependent stationary data. Applications in monotone
density and regression function estimation are detailed.


title: The Use of Unlabeled Data in Predictive Modeling

abstract:
  The incorporation of unlabeled data in regression and classification analysis
is an increasing focus of the applied statistics and machine learning
literatures, with a number of recent examples demonstrating the potential for
unlabeled data to contribute to improved predictive accuracy. The statistical
basis for this semisupervised analysis does not appear to have been well
delineated; as a result, the underlying theory and rationale may be
underappreciated, especially by nonstatisticians. There is also room for
statisticians to become more fully engaged in the vigorous research in this
important area of intersection of the statistical and computer sciences. Much
of the theoretical work in the literature has focused, for example, on
geometric and structural properties of the unlabeled data in the context of
particular algorithms, rather than probabilistic and statistical questions.
This paper overviews the fundamental statistical foundations for predictive
modeling and the general questions associated with unlabeled data, highlighting
the relevance of venerable concepts of sampling design and prior specification.
This theory, illustrated with a series of central illustrative examples and two
substantial real data analyses, shows precisely when, why and how unlabeled
data matter.


title:
Energy-momentum non-conservation on noncommutative spacetime and the
  existence of infinite spacetime dimension

abstract:
  From the constructions of the quantum spacetime, a four dimensional quantized
spacetime can be embedded in a five dimensional continuous spacetime. Thus to
observe from the five dimensional continuous spacetime where the four
dimensional quantized spacetime is embedded, there exist the energy-momentum
flows between the five dimensional continuous spacetime and the four
dimensional quantized spacetime. This makes the energy-momentum not locally
conserved generally on the four dimensional quantized spacetime. We propose
that energy-momentum tensors of noncommutative field theories constructed from
the Noether approach are just the correct forms for the energy-momentum tensors
of noncommutative field theories. The non-vanishing of the total divergences of
the energy-momentum tensors of noncommutative field theories just reflect that
energy-momentum are not locally conserved on noncommutative spacetime. At the
same time, from the constructions of the quantum spacetime, we propose that the
total spacetime dimension of the quantum spacetime is infinite.


title: Electromagnetic Properties of the Early Universe

abstract:
  Detailed physical processes of magnetic field generation from density
fluctuations in the pre-recombination era are studied. Solving Maxwell
equations and the generalized Ohm's law, the evolutions of the net charge
density, the electric current and the electromagnetic field are solved. Unlike
most of previous works, we treat electrons and photons as separate components
under the assumption of tight coupling. We find that generation of the magnetic
field due to density fluctuations takes place only from the second order of
both perturbation theory and the tight coupling approximation.


title:
The nucleon to Delta electromagnetic transition form factors in lattice
  QCD

abstract:
  The electromagnetic nucleon to Delta transition form factors are evaluated
using two degenerate flavors of dynamical Wilson fermions and using dynamical
sea staggered fermions with domain wall valence quarks. The two subdominant
quadrupole form factors are evaluated for the first time in full QCD to
sufficient accuracy to exclude a zero value, which is taken as a signal for
deformation in the nucleon-Delta system. For the Coulomb quadrupole form factor
the unquenched results show deviations from the quenched results at low q^2
bringing dynamical lattice results closer to experiment, thereby confirming the
importance of pion cloud contributions on this quantity.


title: Statistical and Clinical Aspects of Hospital Outcomes Profiling

abstract:
  Hospital profiling involves a comparison of a health care provider's
structure, processes of care, or outcomes to a standard, often in the form of a
report card. Given the ubiquity of report cards and similar consumer ratings in
contemporary American culture, it is notable that these are a relatively recent
phenomenon in health care. Prior to the 1986 release of Medicare hospital
outcome data, little such information was publicly available. We review the
historical evolution of hospital profiling with special emphasis on outcomes;
present a detailed history of cardiac surgery report cards, the paradigm for
modern provider profiling; discuss the potential unintended negative
consequences of public report cards; and describe various statistical
methodologies for quantifying the relative performance of cardiac surgery
programs. Outstanding statistical issues are also described.


title:
Observations of the Pulsar PSR B1951+32 with the Solar Tower Atmospheric
  Cherenkov Effect Experiment

abstract:
  We present the analysis and results of 12.5 hours of high-energy gamma-ray
observations of the EGRET-detected pulsar PSR B1951+32 using the Solar Tower
Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE). STACEE is an atmospheric
Cherenkov detector, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that detects cosmic gamma rays
using the shower-front-sampling technique. STACEE's sensitivity to
astrophysical sources at energies around 100 GeV allows it to investigate
emission from gamma-ray pulsars with expected pulsed emission cutoffs below 100
GeV. We discuss the observations and analysis of STACEE's PSR 1951+32 data,
accumulated during the 2005 and 2006 observing seasons.


title: Spontaneous entropy decrease and its statistical formula

abstract:
  Why can the world resist the law of entropy increase and produce
self-organizing structure? Does the entropy of an isolated system always only
increase and never decrease? Can be thermodymamic degradation and
self-organizing evolution united? How to unite? In this paper starting out from
nonequilibrium entropy evolution equation we proved that a new entropy decrease
could spontaneously emerge in nonequilibrium system with internal attractive
interaction. This new entropy decrease coexists with the traditional law of
entropy increase, both of them countervail each other, so that the total
entropy of isolated system can be able to decrease. It not only makes isolated
system but also helps open system to produce self-organizing structure. We
first derived a statistical formula for this new entropy decrease rate, and
compared it both in mathematical form and in microscopic physical foundation
with the statistical formula for the law of entropy increase which was derived
by us some years ago. Furthermore, we gave the formulas for the time rate of
change of total entropy in isolated system and open system. The former is equal
to the sum of the formula for the law of entropy increase and the formula for
the new entropy decrease rate, the latter is the algebraic sum of the formulas
for entropy increase, entropy decrease and entropy flow. All of them manifest
the unity of thermodynamic degradation and self-organizing evolution. As the
application of the new theoretical formulas, we discussed qualitatively the
emergency of inhomogeneous structure in two real isolated systems including
clarifying the inference about the heat death of the universe.


title: Steady-State Chemotactic Response in E. coli

abstract:
  The bacterium E. coli maneuvers itself to regions with high chemoattractant
concentrations by performing two stereotypical moves: `runs', in which it moves
in near straight lines, and `tumbles', in which it does not advance but changes
direction randomly. The duration of each move is stochastic and depends upon
the chemoattractant concentration experienced in the recent past. We relate
this stochastic behavior to the steady-state density of a bacterium population,
and we derive the latter as a function of chemoattractant concentration. In
contrast to earlier treatments, here we account for the effects of temporal
correlations and variable tumbling durations. A range of behaviors obtains,
that depends subtly upon several aspects of the system - memory, correlation,
and tumbling stochasticity in particular.

categories: q-bio.CB cond-mat.stat-mech physics.bio-ph q-bio.QM


title: Alternative approach to the description of metallic clusters

abstract:
  A detailed simple model is applied to study a metallic cluster. It is assumed
that the ions and delocalized electrons are distributed randomly throughout the
cluster. The delocalized electrons are assumed to be degenerate. A spherical
ball models the shape of a cluster. The energy of the microscopic electrostatic
field around the ions is taken into account and calculated. It is shown in the
framework of the model that the cluster is stable. Equilibrium radius of a ball
and the energy of the equilibrium cluster are calculated. Bulk modulus of a
cluster is calculated also.


title:
Functional renormalisation group approach to far-from-equilibrium
  quantum field dynamics

abstract:
  Dynamic equations for quantum fields far from equilibrium are derived by use
of functional renormalisation group techniques. The obtained equations are
non-perturbative and lead substantially beyond mean-field and quantum Boltzmann
type approximations. The approach is based on a regularised version of the
generating functional for correlation functions where times greater than a
chosen cutoff time are suppressed. As a central result, a time evolution
equation for the non-equilibrium effective action is derived, and the
time-evolution of the Green functions is computed within a vertex expansion. It
is shown that this agrees with the dynamics derived from the 1/N-expansion of
the two-particle irreducible effective action.


title: The de Haas - van Alphen Effect Study of the Fermi Surface of ZrB12

abstract:
  The de Haas - van Alphen (dHvA) effect in the cluster superconductor ZrB12
was studied by magnetic torque measurements in magnetic fields up to 28 T at
temperatures down to 0.35 K. The dHvA oscillations due to orbits from the Neck
sections and "Cubic Box" of the Fermi surface were detected. We measured
cyclotron effective masses of 0.5m_0 for Neck section of the FS. The dHvA
frequencies as well as the cyclotron effective masses were calculated using the
full potential Linear Muffin-Tin Orbital (LMTO) method within the Generalized
Gradient Approximation. Comparison of the angular dependence of the dHvA
frequencies with the band-structure calculations implies overall agreement with
theoretical model, while one section could not be definitely identified.


title: Space-Efficient Bounded Model Checking

abstract:
  Current algorithms for bounded model checking use SAT methods for checking
satisfiability of Boolean formulae. These methods suffer from the potential
memory explosion problem. Methods based on the validity of Quantified Boolean
Formulae (QBF) allow an exponentially more succinct representation of formulae
to be checked, because no "unrolling" of the transition relation is required.
These methods have not been widely used, because of the lack of an efficient
decision procedure for QBF. We evaluate the usage of QBF in bounded model
checking (BMC), using general-purpose SAT and QBF solvers. We develop a
special-purpose decision procedure for QBF used in BMC, and compare our
technique with the methods using general-purpose SAT and QBF solvers on
real-life industrial benchmarks.


title:
CAFFEINE: Template-Free Symbolic Model Generation of Analog Circuits via
  Canonical Form Functions and Genetic Programming

abstract:
  This paper presents a method to automatically generate compact symbolic
performance models of analog circuits with no prior specification of an
equation template. The approach takes SPICE simulation data as input, which
enables modeling of any nonlinear circuits and circuit characteristics. Genetic
programming is applied as a means of traversing the space of possible symbolic
expressions. A grammar is specially designed to constrain the search to a
canonical form for functions. Novel evolutionary search operators are designed
to exploit the structure of the grammar. The approach generates a set of
symbolic models which collectively provide a tradeoff between error and model
complexity. Experimental results show that the symbolic models generated are
compact and easy to understand, making this an effective method for aiding
understanding in analog design. The models also demonstrate better prediction
quality than posynomials.


title: The nature of light in an expanding universe

abstract:
  In this paper, we prove the existence of two degrees of freedom that govern
the movement of light in an expanding universe. The use of the fractal manifold
model leads to reciprocal causality between variation of geometry and gravity,
which both play a complementary role in the universe architecture. This study
unravels new facts about the distribution of matter in the universe, and
provides a new interpretation of Dark Matter and Dark Energy.


title:
Hardware Support for Arbitrarily Complex Loop Structures in Embedded
  Applications

abstract:
  In this paper, the program control unit of an embedded RISC processor is
enhanced with a novel zero-overhead loop controller (ZOLC) supporting arbitrary
loop structures with multiple-entry/exit nodes. The ZOLC has been incorporated
to an open RISC processor core to evaluate the performance of the proposed unit
for alternative configurations of the selected processor. It is proven that
speed improvements of 8.4% to 48.2% are feasible for the used benchmarks.


title:
Nano-Sim: A Step Wise Equivalent Conductance based Statistical Simulator
  for Nanotechnology Circuit Design

abstract:
  New nanotechnology based devices are replacing CMOS devices to overcome CMOS
technology's scaling limitations. However, many such devices exhibit
non-monotonic I-V characteristics and uncertain properties which lead to the
negative differential resistance (NDR) problem and the chaotic performance.
This paper proposes a new circuit simulation approach that can effectively
simulate nanotechnology devices with uncertain input sources and negative
differential resistance (NDR) problem. The experimental results show a 20-30
times speedup comparing with existing simulators.


title:
A Probabilistic Collocation Method Based Statistical Gate Delay Model
  Considering Process Variations and Multiple Input Switching

abstract:
  Since the advent of new nanotechnologies, the variability of gate delay due
to process variations has become a major concern. This paper proposes a new
gate delay model that includes impact from both process variations and multiple
input switching. The proposed model uses orthogonal polynomial based
probabilistic collocation method to construct a delay analytical equation from
circuit timing performance. From the experimental results, our approach has
less that 0.2% error on the mean delay of gates and less than 3% error on the
standard deviation.


title: OS Debugging Method Using a Lightweight Virtual Machine Monitor

abstract:
  Demands for implementing original OSs that can achieve high I/O performance
on PC/AT compatible hardware have recently been increasing, but conventional OS
debugging environments have not been able to simultaneously assure their
stability, be easily customized to new OSs and new I/O devices, and assure
efficient execution of I/O operations. We therefore developed a novel OS
debugging method using a lightweight virtual machine. We evaluated this
debugging method experimentally and confirmed that it can transfer data about
5.4 times as fast as the conventional virtual machine monitor.


title: Why Systems-on-Chip Needs More UML like a Hole in the Head

abstract:
  Let's be clear from the outset: SoC can most certainly make use of UML; SoC
just doesn't need more UML, or even all of it. The advent of model mappings,
coupled with marks that indicate which mapping rule to apply, enable a major
simplification of the use of UML in SoC.


title:
The Accidental Detection Index as a Fault Ordering Heuristic for
  Full-Scan Circuits

abstract:
  We investigate a new fault ordering heuristic for test generation in
full-scan circuits. The heuristic is referred to as the accidental detection
index. It associates a value ADI (f) with every circuit fault f. The heuristic
estimates the number of faults that will be detected by a test generated for f.
Fault ordering is done such that a fault with a higher accidental detection
index appears earlier in the ordered fault set and targeted earlier during test
generation. This order is effective for generating compact test sets, and for
obtaining a test set with a steep fault coverage curve. Such a test set has
several applications. We present experimental results to demonstrate the
effectiveness of the heuristic.


title:
Buffer Insertion for Bridges and Optimal Buffer Sizing for Communication
  Sub-System of Systems-on-Chip

abstract:
  We have presented an optimal buffer sizing and buffer insertion methodology
which uses stochastic models of the architecture and Continuous Time Markov
Decision Processes CTMDPs. Such a methodology is useful in managing the scarce
buffer resources available on chip as compared to network based data
communication which can have large buffer space. The modeling of this problem
in terms of a CT-MDP framework lead to a nonlinear formulation due to usage of
bridges in the bus architecture. We present a methodology to split the problem
into several smaller though linear systems and we then solve these subsystems.


title:
Modeling the Non-Linear Behavior of Library Cells for an Accurate Static
  Noise Analysis

abstract:
  In signal integrity analysis, the joint effect of propagated noise through
library cells, and of the noise injected on a quiet net by neighboring
switching nets through coupling capacitances, must be considered in order to
accurately estimate the overall noise impact on design functionality and
performances. In this work the impact of the cell non-linearity on the noise
glitch waveform is analyzed in detail, and a new macromodel that allows to
accurately and efficiently modeling the non-linear effects of the victim driver
in noise analysis is presented. Experimental results demonstrate the
effectiveness of our method, and confirm that existing noise analysis
approaches based on linear superposition of the propagated and
crosstalk-injected noise can be highly inaccurate, thus impairing the sign-off
functional verification phase.


title:
FORAY-GEN: Automatic Generation of Affine Functions for Memory
  Optimizations

abstract:
  In today's embedded applications a significant portion of energy is spent in
the memory subsystem. Several approaches have been proposed to minimize this
energy, including the use of scratch pad memories, with many based on static
analysis of a program. However, often it is not possible to perform static
analysis and optimization of a program's memory access behavior unless the
program is specifically written for this purpose. In this paper we introduce
the FORAY model of a program that permits aggressive analysis of the
application's memory behavior that further enables such optimizations since it
consists of 'for' loops and array accesses which are easily analyzable. We
present FORAY-GEN: an automated profile-based approach for extraction of the
FORAY model from the original program. We also demonstrate how FORAY-GEN
enhances applicability of other memory subsystem optimization approaches,
resulting in an average of two times increase in the number of memory
references that can be analyzed by existing static approaches.


title: UML 2.0 - Overview and Perspectives in SoC Design

abstract:
  The design productivity gap requires more efficient design methods. Software
systems have faced the same challenge and seem to have mastered it with the
introduction of more abstract design methods. The UML has become the standard
for software systems modeling and thus the foundation of new design methods.
Although the UML is defined as a general purpose modeling language, its
application to hardware and hardware/software codesign is very limited. In
order to successfully apply the UML at these fields, it is essential to
understand its capabilities and to map it to a new domain.


title: Modeling and Propagation of Noisy Waveforms in Static Timing Analysis

abstract:
  A technique based on the sensitivity of the output to input waveform is
presented for accurate propagation of delay information through a gate for the
purpose of static timing analysis (STA) in the presence of noise. Conventional
STA tools represent a waveform by its arrival time and slope. However, this is
not an accurate way of modeling the waveform for the purpose of noise analysis.
The key contribution of our work is the development of a method that allows
efficient propagation of equivalent waveforms throughout the circuit.
Experimental results demonstrate higher accuracy of the proposed
sensitivity-based gate delay propagation technique, SGDP, compared to the best
of existing approaches. SGDP is compatible with the current level of gate
characterization in conventional ASIC cell libraries, and as a result, it can
be easily incorporated into commercial STA tools to improve their accuracy.


title:
Generic Pipelined Processor Modeling and High Performance Cycle-Accurate
  Simulator Generation

abstract:
  Detailed modeling of processors and high performance cycle-accurate
simulators are essential for today's hardware and software design. These
problems are challenging enough by themselves and have seen many previous
research efforts. Addressing both simultaneously is even more challenging, with
many existing approaches focusing on one over another. In this paper, we
propose the Reduced Colored Petri Net (RCPN) model that has two advantages:
first, it offers a very simple and intuitive way of modeling pipelined
processors; second, it can generate high performance cycle-accurate simulators.
RCPN benefits from all the useful features of Colored Petri Nets without
suffering from their exponential growth in complexity. RCPN processor models
are very intuitive since they are a mirror image of the processor pipeline
block diagram. Furthermore, in our experiments on the generated cycle-accurate
simulators for XScale and StrongArm processor models, we achieved an order of
magnitude (~15 times) speedup over the popular SimpleScalar ARM simulator.


title:
Cycle Accurate Binary Translation for Simulation Acceleration in Rapid
  Prototyping of SoCs

abstract:
  In this paper, the application of a cycle accurate binary translator for
rapid prototyping of SoCs will be presented. This translator generates code to
run on a rapid prototyping system consisting of a VLIW processor and FPGAs. The
generated code is annotated with information that triggers cycle generation for
the hardware in parallel to the execution of the translated program. The VLIW
processor executes the translated program whereas the FPGAs contain the
hardware for the parallel cycle generation and the bus interface that adapts
the bus of the VLIW processor to the SoC bus of the emulated processor core.


title: At-Speed Logic BIST for IP Cores

abstract:
  This paper describes a flexible logic BIST scheme that features high fault
coverage achieved by fault-simulation guided test point insertion, real
at-speed test capability for multi-clock designs without clock frequency
manipulation, and easy physical implementation due to the use of a low-speed SE
signal. Application results of this scheme to two widely used IP cores are also
reported.


title:
Fast Dynamic Memory Integration in Co-Simulation Frameworks for
  Multiprocessor System on-Chip

abstract:
  In this paper is proposed a technique to integrate and simulate a dynamic
memory in a multiprocessor framework based on C/C++/SystemC. Using host
machine's memory management capabilities, dynamic data processing is supported
without compromising speed and accuracy of the simulation. A first prototype in
a shared memory context is presented.


title:
Numerical study of the effect of structure and geometry on van der Waals
  forces

abstract:
  We use multipolar expansions to find the force on a gold coated sphere above
a gold substrate; we study both an empty gold shell and a gold coated
polystyrene sphere. We find four characteristic separation ranges. In the first
region, which for the empty gold shell occurs for distances, d, smaller than
the thickness of the coating, the result agrees with that on a solid gold
sphere and varies as d^(-2); for larger separations there is a region where the
force behaves as if the coating is strictly two dimensional and varies as
d^(-5/2); in the third region the dependence is more unspecific; in the forth
region when d is larger than the radius, the force varies as d^(-4). For
homogeneous objects of more general shapes we introduce a numerical method
based on the solution of an integral equation for the electric field over a
system of objects with arbitrary shapes. We study the effect of shape and
orientation on the van der Waals interaction between an object and a substrate
and between two objects.


title: Ahlfors theorems for differential forms

abstract:
  Some counterparts of theorems of Phragm\'en-Lindel\"of and of Ahlfors are
proved for differential forms of ${\cal WT}$--classes.}


title: Stochastic Power Grid Analysis Considering Process Variations

abstract:
  In this paper, we investigate the impact of interconnect and device process
variations on voltage fluctuations in power grids. We consider random
variations in the power grid's electrical parameters as spatial stochastic
processes and propose a new and efficient method to compute the stochastic
voltage response of the power grid. Our approach provides an explicit
analytical representation of the stochastic voltage response using orthogonal
polynomials in a Hilbert space. The approach has been implemented in a
prototype software called OPERA (Orthogonal Polynomial Expansions for Response
Analysis). Use of OPERA on industrial power grids demonstrated speed-ups of up
to two orders of magnitude. The results also show a significant variation of
about $\pm$ 35% in the nominal voltage drops at various nodes of the power
grids and demonstrate the need for variation-aware power grid analysis.


title: Time transfer by laser link between China and France

abstract:
  To advance from milli-arcsecond to micro-arcsecond astrometry, time keeping
capability and its comparison among different stations need to be improved and
enhanced. The T2L2 (Time transfer by laser link) experiment under development
at OCA and CNES to be launched in 2008 on Jason-2, allows the synchronization
of remote clocks on Earth. It is based on the propagation of light pulses in
space which is better controlled than the radio waves propagation. In this
paper, characteristics are presented for both common view and non-common view
T2L2 comparisons of clocks between China and France.


title: Recurrence for branching Markov chains

abstract:
  The question of recurrence and transience of branching Markov chains is more
subtle than for ordinary Markov chains; they can be classified in transience,
weak recurrence, and strong recurrence. We review criteria for transience and
weak recurrence and give several new conditions for weak recurrence and strong
recurrence. These conditions make a unified treatment of known and new examples
possible and provide enough information to distinguish between weak and strong
recurrence. This represents a step towards a general classification of
branching Markov chains. In particular, we show that in \emph{homogeneous}
cases weak recurrence and strong recurrence coincide. Furthermore, we discuss
the generalization of positive and null recurrence to branching Markov chains
and show that branching random walks on $\Z$ are either transient or positive
recurrent.


title: Locality-Aware Process Scheduling for Embedded MPSoCs

abstract:
  Utilizing on-chip caches in embedded multiprocessor-system-on-a-chip (MPSoC)
based systems is critical from both performance and power perspectives. While
most of the prior work that targets at optimizing cache behavior are performed
at hardware and compilation levels, operating system (OS) can also play major
role as it sees the global access pattern information across applications. This
paper proposes a cache-conscious OS process scheduling strategy based on data
reuse. The proposed scheduler implements two complementary approaches. First,
the processes that do not share any data between them are scheduled at
different cores if it is possible to do so. Second, the processes that could
not be executed at the same time (due to dependences) but share data among each
other are mapped to the same processor core so that they share the cache
contents. Our experimental results using this new data locality aware OS
scheduling strategy are promising, and show significant improvements in task
completion times.


title: Simultaneous Reduction of Dynamic and Static Power in Scan Structures

abstract:
  Power dissipation during test is a major challenge in testing integrated
circuits. Dynamic power has been the dominant part of power dissipation in CMOS
circuits, however, in future technologies the static portion of power
dissipation will outreach the dynamic portion. This paper proposes an efficient
technique to reduce both dynamic and static power dissipation in scan
structures. Scan cell outputs which are not on the critical path(s) are
multiplexed to fixed values during scan mode. These constant values and primary
inputs are selected such that the transitions occurred on non-multiplexed scan
cells are suppressed and the leakage current during scan mode is decreased. A
method for finding these vectors is also proposed. Effectiveness of this
technique is proved by experiments performed on ISCAS89 benchmark circuits.


title:
Modeling Interconnect Variability Using Efficient Parametric Model Order
  Reduction

abstract:
  Assessing IC manufacturing process fluctuations and their impacts on IC
interconnect performance has become unavoidable for modern DSM designs.
However, the construction of parametric interconnect models is often hampered
by the rapid increase in computational cost and model complexity. In this paper
we present an efficient yet accurate parametric model order reduction algorithm
for addressing the variability of IC interconnect performance. The efficiency
of the approach lies in a novel combination of low-rank matrix approximation
and multi-parameter moment matching. The complexity of the proposed parametric
model order reduction is as low as that of a standard Krylov subspace method
when applied to a nominal system. Under the projection-based framework, our
algorithm also preserves the passivity of the resulting parametric models.


title: A Fast Diagnosis Scheme for Distributed Small Embedded SRAMs

abstract:
  This paper proposes a diagnosis scheme aimed at reducing diagnosis time of
distributed small embedded SRAMs (e-SRAMs). This scheme improves the one
proposed in [A parallel built-in self-diagnostic method for embedded memory
buffers, A parallel built-in self-diagnostic method for embedded memory
arrays]. The improvements are mainly two-fold. On one hand, the diagnosis of
time-consuming Data Retention Faults (DRFs), which is neglected by the
diagnosis architecture in [A parallel built-in self-diagnostic method for
embedded memory buffers, A parallel built-in self-diagnostic method for
embedded memory arrays], is now considered and performed via a DFT technique
referred to as the "No Write Recovery Test Mode (NWRTM)". On the other hand, a
pair comprising a Serial to Parallel Converter (SPC) and a Parallel to Serial
Converter (PSC) is utilized to replace the bi-directional serial interface, to
avoid the problems of serial fault masking and defect rate dependent diagnosis.
Results from our evaluations show that the proposed diagnosis scheme achieves
an increased diagnosis coverage and reduces diagnosis time compared to those
obtained in [A parallel built-in self-diagnostic method for embedded memory
buffers, A parallel built-in self-diagnostic method for embedded memory
arrays], with neglectable extra area cost.


title:
A Memory Hierarchical Layer Assigning and Prefetching Technique to
  Overcome the Memory Performance/Energy Bottleneck

abstract:
  The memory subsystem has always been a bottleneck in performance as well as
significant power contributor in memory intensive applications. Many
researchers have presented multi-layered memory hierarchies as a means to
design energy and performance efficient systems. However, most of the previous
work do not explore trade-offs systematically. We fill this gap by proposing a
formalized technique that takes into consideration data reuse, limited lifetime
of the arrays of an application and application specific prefetching
opportunities, and performs a thorough trade-off exploration for different
memory layer sizes. This technique has been implemented on a prototype tool,
which was tested successfully using nine real-life applications of industrial
relevance. Following this approach we have able to reduce execution time up to
60%, and energy consumption up to 70%.


title: New Schemes for Self-Testing RAM

abstract:
  This paper gives an overview of a new technique, named pseudo-ring testing
(PRT). PRT can be applied for testing wide type of random access memories
(RAM): bit- or word-oriented and single- or dual-port RAM's. An essential
particularity of the proposed methodology is the emulation of a linear
automaton over Galois field by memory own components.


title: Compositional Memory Systems for Multimedia Communicating Tasks

abstract:
  Conventional cache models are not suited for real-time parallel processing
because tasks may flush each other's data out of the cache in an unpredictable
manner. In this way the system is not compositional so the overall performance
is difficult to predict and the integration of new tasks expensive. This paper
proposes a new method that imposes compositionality to the system?s performance
and makes different memory hierarchy optimizations possible for multimedia
communicating tasks when running on embedded multiprocessor architectures. The
method is based on a cache allocation strategy that assigns sets of the unified
cache exclusively to tasks and to the communication buffers. We also
analytically formulate the problem and describe a method to compute the cache
partitioning ratio for optimizing the throughput and the consumed power. When
applied to a multiprocessor with memory hierarchy our technique delivers also
performance gain. Compared to the shared cache case, for an application
consisting of two jpeg decoders and one edge detection algorithm 5 times less
misses are experienced and for an mpeg2 decoder 6.5 times less misses are
experienced.


title: Synchronization Processor Synthesis for Latency Insensitive Systems

abstract:
  In this paper we present our contribution in terms of synchronization
processor for a SoC design methodology based on the theory of the latency
insensitive systems (LIS) of Carloni et al. Our contribution consists in IP
encapsulation into a new wrapper model which speed and area are optimized and
synthetizability guarantied. The main benefit of our approach is to preserve
the local IP performances when encapsulating them and reduce SoC silicon area.


title: Thermal-Aware Task Allocation and Scheduling for Embedded Systems

abstract:
  Temperature affects not only the reliability but also the performance, power,
and cost of the embedded system. This paper proposes a thermal-aware task
allocation and scheduling algorithm for embedded systems. The algorithm is used
as a sub-routine for hardware/software co-synthesis to reduce the peak
temperature and achieve a thermally even distribution while meeting real time
constraints. The paper investigates both power-aware and thermal-aware
approaches to task allocation and scheduling. The experimental results show
that the thermal-aware approach outperforms the power-aware schemes in terms of
maximal and average temperature reductions. To the best of our knowledge, this
is the first task allocation and scheduling algorithm that takes temperature
into consideration.


title: Bright-Field AAPSM Conflict Detection and Correction

abstract:
  As feature sizes shrink, it will be necessary to use AAPSM
(Alternating-Aperture Phase Shift Masking) to image critical features,
especially on the polysilicon layer. This imposes additional constraints on the
layouts beyond traditional design rules. Of particular note is the requirement
that all critical features be flanked by opposite-phase shifters, while the
shifters obey minimum width and spacing requirements. A layout is called
phase-assignable if it satisfies this requirement. If a layout is not
phase-assignable, the phase conflicts have to removed to enable the use of
AAPSM for the layout. Previous work has sought to detect a suitable set of
phase Conflicts to be removed, as well as correct them. The contribution of
this paper are the following: (1) a new approach to detect a minimal set of
phase conflicts (also referred to as AAPSM conflicts), which when corrected
will produce a phase-assignable layout; (2) a novel layout modification scheme
for correcting these AAPSM conflicts. The proposed approach for conflict
detection shows significant improvements in the quality of results and runtime
for real industrial circuits, when compared to previous methods. To the best of
our knowledge, this is the first time layout modification results are presented
for bright-field AAPSM. Our experiments show that the percentage area increase
for making a layout phase-assignable ranges from 0.7-11.8%.


title: Bounding the number of rational places using Weierstrass semigroups

abstract:
  Let Lambda be a numerical semigroup. Assume there exists an algebraic
function field over GF(q) in one variable which possesses a rational place that
has Lambda as its Weierstrass semigroup. We ask the question as to how many
rational places such a function field can possibly have and we derive an upper
bound in terms of the generators of Lambda and q. Our bound is an improvement
to a bound by Lewittes which takes into account only the multiplicity of Lambda
and q. From the new bound we derive significant improvements to Serre's upper
bound in the cases q=2, 3 and 4. We finally show that Lewittes' bound has
important implications to the theory of towers of function fields.


title:
Statistical Modeling of Pipeline Delay and Design of Pipeline under
  Process Variation to Enhance Yield in sub-100nm Technologies

abstract:
  Operating frequency of a pipelined circuit is determined by the delay of the
slowest pipeline stage. However, under statistical delay variation in sub-100nm
technology regime, the slowest stage is not readily identifiable and the
estimation of the pipeline yield with respect to a target delay is a
challenging problem. We have proposed analytical models to estimate yield for a
pipelined design based on delay distributions of individual pipe stages. Using
the proposed models, we have shown that change in logic depth and imbalance
between the stage delays can improve the yield of a pipeline. A statistical
methodology has been developed to optimally design a pipeline circuit for
enhancing yield. Optimization results show that, proper imbalance among the
stage delays in a pipeline improves design yield by 9% for the same area and
performance (and area reduction by about 8.4% under a yield constraint) over a
balanced design.


title:
Confronting the trans-Planckian question of inflationary cosmology with
  dissipative effects

abstract:
  We provide a class of QFTs which exhibit dissipation above a threshold
energy, thereby breaking Lorentz invariance. Unitarity is preserved by coupling
the fields to additional degrees of freedom (heavy fields) which introduce the
rest frame. Using the Equivalence Principle, we define these theories in
arbitrary curved spacetime. We then confront the trans-Planckian question of
inflationary cosmology. When dissipation increases with the energy, the quantum
field describing adiabatic perturbations is completely damped at the onset of
inflation. However it still exists as a composite operator made with the
additional fields. And when these are in their ground state, the standard power
spectrum obtains if the threshold energy is much larger that the Hubble
parameter. In fact, as the energy redshifts below the threshold, the composite
operator behaves as if it were a free field endowed with standard vacuum
fluctuations. The relationship between our models and the Brane World scenarios
studied by Libanov and Rubakov displaying similar effects is discussed. The
signatures of dissipation will be studied in a forthcoming paper.


title:
New Perspectives and Opportunities From the Wild West of Microelectronic
  Biochips

abstract:
  Application of Microelectronic to bioanalysis is an emerging field which
holds great promise. From the standpoint of electronic and system design,
biochips imply a radical change of perspective, since new, completely different
constraints emerge while other usual constraints can be relaxed. While
electronic parts of the system can rely on the usual established design-flow,
fluidic and packaging design, calls for a new approach which relies
significantly on experiments. We hereby make some general considerations based
on our experience in the development of biochips for cell analysis.