title: How hot can a heat bath get?

abstract:
  We study a model of two interacting Hamiltonian particles subject to a common
potential in contact with two Langevin heat reservoirs: one at finite and one
at infinite temperature. This is a toy model for 'extreme' non-equilibrium
statistical mechanics. We provide a full picture of the long-time behaviour of
such a system, including the existence / non-existence of a non-equilibrium
steady state, the precise tail behaviour of the energy in such a state, as well
as the speed of convergence toward the steady state.
  Despite its apparent simplicity, this model exhibits a surprisingly rich
variety of long time behaviours, depending on the parameter regime: if the
surrounding potential is 'too stiff', then no stationary state can exist. In
the softer regimes, the tails of the energy in the stationary state can be
either algebraic, fractional exponential, or exponential. Correspondingly, the
speed of convergence to the stationary state can be either algebraic, stretched
exponential, or exponential. Regarding both types of claims, we obtain matching
upper and lower bounds.


title: Removal of Pollutants by Atmospheric Non Thermal Plasmas

abstract:
  Results on the application of non thermal plasmas in two environmentally
important fields: oxidative removal of VOC and NOx in excess of oxygen were
presented. The synergetic application of a plasma-catalytic treatment of NOx in
excess of oxygen is also described.


title:
Degradation of organic compounds and production of activated species in
  Dielectric Barrier Discharges and Glidarc reactors

abstract:
  Major sterilization mechanisms are related to atoms and radicals, charged
parti-cles, excited molecules, ozone, and UV radiation. The ROS (Reactive
Oxygen Species) are well known as evildoers. These species are easily created
in ambient air and water and they live long enough to reach the cell and attack
the organic matter. Test molecules conversion in dry and wet air is studied
using Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) and Gliding Arc Reactors (GAR). The
effects of tem-perature and energy deposition into the media on the active
species production and then on the organic compounds degradation are presented
for two non thermal plasma reactors: DBD and GAR. Main production species
investigated are OH, O3, NOx, CO and CxHyOz by-products. It is shown from
experiment analysis that the reactive species production is quite different
from one reactor to another. GAR and pulsed DBD are two chemical processing
ways in which the temperature of heavy species in ionized gas is determinant.
By reviewing the species production obtained from both reactors, a discussion
is open about plasma decontamination.


title: Efficient seeding techniques for protein similarity search

abstract:
  We apply the concept of subset seeds proposed in [1] to similarity search in
protein sequences. The main question studied is the design of efficient seed
alphabets to construct seeds with optimal sensitivity/selectivity trade-offs.
We propose several different design methods and use them to construct several
alphabets.We then perform an analysis of seeds built over those alphabet and
compare them with the standard Blastp seeding method [2,3], as well as with the
family of vector seeds proposed in [4]. While the formalism of subset seed is
less expressive (but less costly to implement) than the accumulative principle
used in Blastp and vector seeds, our seeds show a similar or even better
performance than Blastp on Bernoulli models of proteins compatible with the
common BLOSUM62 matrix.


title:
A note on Talagrand's transportation inequality and logarithmic Sobolev
  inequality

abstract:
  We give by simple arguments sufficient conditions, so called Lyapunov
conditions, for Talagrand's transportation information inequality and for the
logarithmic Sobolev inequality. Those sufficient conditions work even in the
case where the Bakry-Emery curvature is not lower bounded. Several new examples
are provided.


title: Spin-Orbit gauge and quantum spin Hall effect

abstract:
  We have shown that the non-Abelian spin-orbit gauge field strength of the
Rashba and Dresselhaus interactions, when split into two Abelian field
strengths, the Hamiltonian of the system can be re-expressed as a Landau level
problem with a particular relation between the two coupling parameters. The
quantum levels are created with up and down spins with opposite chirality and
leads to the quantum spin Hall effect.


title: Learning about Galactic structure with Gaia astrometry

abstract:
  The Gaia mission is reviewed together with the expected contents of the final
catalogue. It is then argued that the ultimate goal of Galactic structure
studies with Gaia astrometry should be to build a dynamical model of our galaxy
which is capable of explaining the contents of the Gaia catalogue. This will be
possible only by comparing predicted catalogue data to Gaia's actual
measurements. To complement this approach the Gaia catalogue should be used to
recalibrate photometric distance and abundance indicators across the HR-diagram
in order to overcome the lack of precise parallax data at the faint end of the
astrometric survey. Using complementary photometric and spectroscopic data from
other surveys will be essential in this respect.


title:
Self-averaging and criticality: A comparative study in 2d random bond
  spin models

abstract:
  We investigate and contrast, via the Wang-Landau (WL) algorithm, the effects
of quenched bond randomness on the self-averaging properties of two Ising spin
models in 2d. The random bond version of the superantiferromagnetic (SAF)
square model with nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor competing interactions and
the corresponding version of the simple ferromagnetic Ising model are studied.
We find that, the random bond SAF model shows a strong violation of
self-averaging, much stronger than that observed in the case of the random bond
Ising model. Our analysis of the asymptotic scaling behavior of the variance of
the distribution of the sample-dependent pseudocritical temperatures is found
to be consistent with the renormalization group prediction of Aharony and
Harris. Using this alternative approach, we find estimates of the correlation
length exponent $\nu$ in agreement with results obtained from the usual
finite-size scaling (FSS) methodology.


title: The Multi-Core Era - Trends and Challenges

abstract:
  Since the very beginning of hardware development, computer processors were
invented with ever-increasing clock frequencies and sophisticated in-build
optimization strategies. Due to physical limitations, this 'free lunch' of
speedup has come to an end.
  The following article gives a summary and bibliography for recent trends and
challenges in CMP architectures. It discusses how 40 years of parallel
computing research need to be considered in the upcoming multi-core era. We
argue that future research must be driven from two sides - a better expression
of hardware structures, and a domain-specific understanding of software
parallelism.


title: Projective pairs of profinite groups

abstract:
  We generalize the notion of a projective profinite group to a projective pair
of a profinite group and a closed subgroup. We establish the connection with
Pseudo Algebraically Closed (PAC) extensions of PAC fields: Let M be an
algebraic extension of a PAC field K. Then M/K is PAC if and only if the
corresponding pair of absolute Galois groups (Gal(M),Gal(K)) is projective.
Moreover any projective pair can be realized as absolute Galois groups of a PAC
extension of a PAC field.
  Using this characterization we construct new examples of PAC extensions of
relatively small fields, e.g., unbounded abelian extensions of the rational
numbers.


title: Collision Dynamics and Rung Formation of Non-Abelian Vortices

abstract:
  We investigate the collision dynamics of two non-Abelian vortices and find
that, unlike Abelian vortices, they neither reconnect themselves nor pass
through each other, but create a rung between them in a topologically stable
manner. Our predictions are verified using the model of the cyclic phase of a
spin-2 spinor Bose-Einstein condensate.


title: Stochastic Jet Quenching in High Energy Nuclear Collisions

abstract:
  Energy losses of fast color particles in random inhomogeneous color medium
created in high energy nuclear collisions are estimated.


title: Bayesian Constraints on theta_{13} from Solar and KamLAND Neutrino Data

abstract:
  We present the results of a Bayesian analysis of solar and KamLAND neutrino
data in the framework of three-neutrino mixing. We adopt two approaches for the
prior probability distribution of the oscillation parameters Delta m^2_{21},
sin^2 theta_{12}, sin^2 theta_{13}: 1) a traditional flat uninformative prior;
2) an informative prior which describes the limits on sin^2 theta_{13} obtained
in atmospheric and long-baseline accelerator and reactor neutrino experiments.
In both approaches, we present the allowed regions in the sin^2 theta_{13} -
Delta m^2_{21} and sin^2 theta_{12} - sin^2 theta_{13} planes, as well as the
marginal posterior probability distribution of sin^2 theta_{13}. We confirm the
1.2 sigma hint of theta_{13} > 0 found in hep-ph/0806.2649 from the analysis of
solar and KamLAND neutrino data. We found that the statistical significance of
the hint is reduced to about 0.8 sigma by the constraints on sin^2 theta_{13}
coming from atmospheric and long-baseline accelerator and reactor neutrino
data, in agreement with arXiv:0808.2016.


title: Multi-Skyrmions with Vector Mesons

abstract:
  It is known that including vector mesons stabilizes the size of a Skyrmion
without the need for a Skyrme term. This paper provides the first results for
static multi-Skyrmions in such a theory. The rational map ansatz is used to
investigate multi-Skyrmions in a theory which includes the omega vector meson
and has no Skyrme term. Bound states with baryon numbers two, three and four
are found, which have axial, tetrahedral and cubic symmetries, respectively.
The results reveal a qualitative similarity with the standard Skyrme model with
a Skyrme term and no vector mesons, suggesting that some features are universal
and do not depend on the details of the theory. Setting the pion decay constant
and meson masses to their experimental values leaves only a single free
parameter in the model. Fixing this parameter, by equating the energy of the
baryon number four Skyrmion to the Helium-4 mass, yields reasonable results for
other baryon numbers.


title: Raman spectroscopy of (K,Na)NbO3 and ((K,Na)1-xLix)NbO3

abstract:
  A Raman scattering spectroscopy study is reported through all four phases of
a (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 crystal and ((K0.5Na0.5)1-xLix)NbO3 for x=0.02 and 0.03. The
transitions among the ferroelectric phases in the Li-free crystal are
homogeneous and strongly hysteretic, with no evidence of a mixed-phase region
between the rhombohedral and orthorhombic phases. The Raman pattern in the
lowest-temperature phase in the Li-doped material differs significantly from
that found for x=0 and suggest a structural phase boundary exists at for a Li
concentration of less than 2%.


title:
Swift monitoring of Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients: the
  out-of-outburst behaviour and the flares from IGRJ17544-2916 and XTEJ1739-302

abstract:
  Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs) are a sub-class of High Mass X-ray
Binaries (HMXBs) associated with OB supergiant companions and displaying
transient X-ray activity. This behaviour is quite surprising since HMXBs
hosting supergiants were known to be persistent sources, until the INTEGRAL
discoveries obtained by means of the monitoring of the Galactic plane. We have
been performing a monitoring campaign with Swift of four SFXTs with the main
aim of characterizing both the long-term behaviour of these transients and the
properties during bright outbursts. Here we discuss the properties of the X-ray
emission observed outside the outbursts as well as the flares observed from two
SFXTs: IGRJ17544-2916 and XTEJ1739-302. Contrarily to what previously thought,
Swift allowed us to discover that SFXTs spend most of the time in accretion at
a low level, even outside the bright outbursts, with an accretion luminosity of
1E33-1E34 erg/s, and that the quiescent level at ~1E32 erg/s is a much rarer
state.


title:
Discovery of molecular shells associated with supernova remnants. (II)
  Kesteven 75

abstract:
  The young composite supernova remnant (SNR) Kesteven 75, with a pulsar wind
nebula at its center, has an unusual morphology with a bright southern
half-shell structure in multiwavelengths. The distance to Kes 75 has long been
uncertain. Aiming to address these issues, we have made millimeter
spectroscopic observations of the molecular gas toward the remnant. The
V_{LSR}~83--96 km/s molecular clouds (MCs) are found to overlap a large
north-western region of the remnant and are suggested to be located in front of
the SNR along the line of sight. Also in the remnant area, the V_{LSR}= 45--58
km/s MC shows a blue-shifted broadening in the 12CO (J=1-0) line profile and a
perturbed position-velocity structure near the edge of the remnant, with the
intensity centroid sitting in the northern area of the remnant. In particular,
a cavity surrounded by a molecular shell is unveiled in the intensity map in
the broadened blue wing (45--51 km/s), and the southern molecular shell follows
the bright partial SNR shell seen in X-rays, mid-infrared, and radio continuum.
These observational features provide effective evidences for the association of
Kes 75 with the adjacent 54 km/s MC. This association leads to a determination
of the kinematic distance at ~10.6 kpc to the remnant, which agrees with a
location at the far side of the Sagittarius arm. The morphological coincidence
of the shell seen in multiwavelengths is consistent with a scenario in which
the SNR shock hits a pre-existing dense shell. This dense molecular shell is
suggested to likely represent the debris of the cooled, clumpy shell of the
progenitor's wind bubble proximately behind the 54 km/s cloud. The discovery of
the association with MC provides a possible explanation for the gamma-ray
excess of the remnant.


title:
Supersolid phases of hardcore bosons on the square lattice: Correlated
  hopping, next-nearest neighbor hopping and frustration

abstract:
  We discuss the appearance of supersolid phases for interacting hardcore
bosons on the square lattice when, in addition to the standard nearest neighbor
hopping and repulsion, correlated or next-nearest neighbor hopping is present.
Having in mind dimer-based quantum magnets in a field described by effective
bosonic models of this kind, we put special emphasis on a comparison between
the different cases of relative signs of the kinetic processes, which
correspond to unfrustrated or frustrated magnetic models. In the unfrustrated
case, we compare Quantum Monte Carlo simulations with a mean-field (classical)
approach, which is shown to give qualitatively correct results. Using this
classical approach for the frustrated case, we find that the phase diagram is
generically richer than in the unfrustrated case. We also investigate in detail
the differences between standard next-nearest neighbour and correlated hopping
over the diagonal, with the conclusion that both cases are similar if
checkerboard order is present at half-filling, while a supersolid phase can be
stabilized without any adjacent solid phase only in the case of correlated
hopping.


title:
Temperature dependence investigation of dissipation processes in
  strongly anisotropic high-temperature superconductors of Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O
  system synthesized using solar energy

abstract:
  The investigation of temperature dependence of damping and period of
vibrations of HTSC superconductive cylinder of Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system
suspended by a thin elastic thread and performing axial-torsional vibrations in
a magnetic field at temperatures above the critical one for the main phase
Tc=107 K were carried out. It was observed some "chaos" temperature region in
the temperature interval 107-138 K, where it is seen separate ripples of
dissipation and oscillation frequency. It is assumed that the "chaos" region
could point to a possibility of existence of other magnetic and more
high-temperature phases as single islands in a normal materials matrix.


title:
High resolution in z-direction: The simulation of disc-bulge-halo
  galaxies using the particle-mesh code SUPERBOX

abstract:
  SUPERBOX is known as a very efficient particle-mesh code with
highly-resolving sub-grids. Nevertheless, the height of a typical galactic disc
is small compared to the size of the whole system. Consequently, the numerical
resolution in z-direction, i.e. vertically with respect to the plane of the
disc, remains poor. Here, we present a new version of SUPERBOX that allows for
a considerably higher resolution along z. The improved code is applied to
investigate disc heating by the infall of a galaxy satellite. We describe the
improvement and communicate our results. As an important application we discuss
the disruption of a dwarf galaxy within a disc-bulge-halo galaxy that consists
of some 10^6 particles.


title: Duality cascade of softly broken supersymmetric theories

abstract:
  We study the duality cascade of softly broken supersymmetric theories. We
investigate the renormalization group (RG) flow of SUSY breaking terms as well
as supersymmetric couplings. It is found that the magnitudes of SUSY breaking
terms are suppressed in most regimes of the RG flow through the duality
cascade. At one stage of cascading, the gaugino mass of the strongly coupled
sector and scalar masses converge to certain values, which are determined by
the gauge coupling and the gaugino mass of the weakly coupled sector. At the
next stage, the strongly and weakly coupled sectors are interchanged with each
other. We also show the possibility that cascading would be terminated by the
gauge symmetry breaking, which is induced by the so-called B-term.


title:
Towards the parameterisation of the Hubbard model for salts of BEDT-TTF:
  A density functional study of isolated molecules

abstract:
  We calculate the effective Coulomb repulsion between electrons/holes, U, and
site energy for an isolated BEDT-TTF [bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene]
molecule in vacuo. U=4.2 \pm 0.1 eV for 44 experimental geometries taken from a
broad range of conformations, polymorphs, anions, temperatures, and pressures
(the quoted `error' is one standard deviation). Hence we conclude that U is
essentially the same for all of the compounds studied. This shows that the
strong (hydrostatic and chemical) pressure dependence observed in the phase
diagrams of the BEDT-TTF salts is not due to U. Therefore, if the Hubbard model
is sufficient to describe the phase diagram of the BEDT-TTF salts there must be
significant pressure dependence on the intramolecular terms in the Hamiltonian
and/or the reduction of the Hubbard U due to the interaction of the molecule
with the polarisable crystal environment. The renormalised value of U is
significantly smaller than the bare value of the Coulomb integral:
F_0=5.2\pm0.1 eV across the same set of geometries, emphasising the importance
of using the renormalised value of U. The site energy (for holes), xi=5.0\pm0.2
eV, varies only a little more than U across the same set of geometries.
However, we argue that this plays a key role in understanding the role of
disorder in ET salts in general and in explaining the difference between the
beta_L and beta_H phases of beta-(BEDT-TTF)_2I_3 in particular.


title: INTEGRAL observes the 2007 outburst of the Be transient SAX J2103.5+4545

abstract:
  We performed a detailed study of the 2007 outburst of the 352s pulsar
SAXJ2103.5+4545, a Be/X-ray transient observed by INTEGRAL, to study its
spectral and temporal properties during the evolution of the outburst.
SAXJ2103.5+4545 was observed with IBIS/ISGRI from 25 to 27 April 2007 and from
6 to 8 May 2007. The 20-100keV spectrum is well described by a bremsstrahlung
model with a temperature kT = 24keV. The pulse profiles are variable with time
and energy. A pulse period derivative of pdot = -3.4E-7 s/s has been observed
during the outburst. Instead, a spin-down of pdot = 5.5E-9 s/s is observed
between the 2007 outburst reported here and the previous one occurred in
December 2004. This is the largest spin-down measured for SAXJ2103.5+4545 since
its discovery. We estimate a neutron star magnetic field in the range
(1.6-3)E13 G using the Ghosh & Lamb torque model.


title:
$G$-Chaplygin systems with internal symmetries, truncation, and an
  (almost) symplectic view of Chaplygin's ball

abstract:
  Via compression ([11, 7]) we write the $n$-dimensional Chaplygin sphere
system as an almost Hamiltonian system on $T^*SO(n)$ with internal symmetry
group $SO(n-1)$. We show how this symmetry group can be factored out, and pass
to the fully reduced system on (a fiber bundle over) $T^*S^{n-1}$. This
approach yields an explicit description of the reduced system in terms of the
geometric data involved. Due to this description we can study Hamiltonizability
of the system. It turns out that the homogeneous Chaplygin ball, which is not
Hamiltonian at the $T^*SO(n)$-level is Hamiltonian at the $T^*S^{n-1}$-level.
Moreover, the 3-dimensional ball becomes Hamiltonian at the $T^*S^2$-level
after time reparametrization, whereby we re-prove a result of [4, 5] in
symplecto-geometric terms. We also study compression followed by reduction of
generalized Chaplygin systems.


title: A radio and near-infrared mini-survey of the MGRO J2019+37 complex

abstract:
  MGRO J2019+37 is an unidentified source of very high energy gamma-rays
originally reported by the MILAGRO collaboration as the brightest TeV source in
the Cygnus region. Despite the poor angular resolution of MILAGRO, this object
seems to be most likely an extended source or, alternatively, a superposition
of point-like TeV sources.
  In order to contribute to the understanding of this peculiar object, we have
mosaiced it with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune, India, at
the 610 MHz frequency covering a field of view of about 6 square degrees down
to a typical rms noise of a few tenths of mJy. We also observed the central
square degree of this mosaic in the near infrared Ks-band using the 3.5 m
telescope and the OMEGA2000 camera at the Calar Alto observatory (Spain). We
present here a first account of our observations and results, together with a
preliminar cross correlation of the radio and infrared source catalog as well
as a correlation with the available X-ray observations of the region.


title: The study of heavy flavors via non-photonic electrons in STAR

abstract:
  The strong suppression of hadrons with high transverse momenta in central
Au+Au collisions observed at RHIC is generally interpreted as a consequence of
energy loss of energetic partons in the hot and dense matter before
fragmenting. The study of heavy quark production tests our understanding of
energy loss mechanisms.
  Heavy quarks were expected to lose less energy in the medium than light
quarks and gluons due to the suppression of small-angle gluon radiation.
However, the high transverse momentum non-photonic electron spectra, which are
dominated by semi-leptonic decays of heavy quarks, show a strong suppression in
central Au+Au collisions as well. Current theoretical models do not
satisfactory explain this observation.
  Preliminary non-photonic electron spectra are being extracted for Cu+Cu
collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. They are compared to the non-photonic
electron yields from p+p and Au+Au collisions at the same collision energy.
This provides a direct experimental test of the dependence of the non-photonic
electron yield on collision system size.


title: Classical limit for semi-relativistic Hartree systems

abstract:
  We consider the three-dimensional semi-relativistic Hartree model for fast
quantum mechanical particles moving in a self-consistent field. Under
appropriate assumptions on the initial density matrix as a (fully) mixed
quantum state we prove, using Wigner transformation techniques, that its
classical limit yields the well known relativistic Vlasov-Poisson system. The
result holds for the case of attractive and repulsive mean-field interaction,
with an additional size constraint in the attractive case.


title: Center-symmetric dimensional reduction of hot Yang-Mills theory

abstract:
  It is expected that incorporating the center symmetry in the conventional
dimensionally reduced effective theory for high-temperature SU(N) Yang-Mills
theory, EQCD, will considerably extend its applicability towards the
deconfinement transition. The construction of such a center-symmetric effective
theory for the case of two colors is reviewed and lattice simulation results
are presented. The simulations demonstrate that unlike EQCD, the new
center-symmetric theory undergoes a second order confining phase transition in
complete analogy with the full theory.


title:
Slow Relaxation and Equilibrium Dynamics in a 2 D Coulomb Glass:
  Demonstration of Stretched Exponential Energy Correlations

abstract:
  We have simulated energy relaxation and equilibrium dynamics in Coulomb
Glasses using the random energy lattice model. We show that in a temperature
range where the Coulomb Gap is already well developed, (T=0.03-0.1) the system
still relaxes to an equilibrium behavior within the simulation time scale. For
all temperatures T, the relaxation is slower than exponential. Analyzing the
energy correlations of the system at equilibrium, we find a stretched
exponential behavior. We define a time \tau_\gamma from these stretched
exponential correlations, and show that this time corresponds well with the
time required to reach equilibrium. From our data it is not possible to
determine whether \tau_\gamma diverges at any finite temperature, indicating a
glass transition, or whether this divergence happens at zero temperature. While
the time dependence of the system energy can be well fitted by a random walker
in a harmonic potential for high temperatures (T=10), this simple model fails
to describe the long time scales observed at lower temperatures. Instead we
present an interpretation of the configuration space as a structure with
fractal properties, and the time evolution as a random walk on this
fractal-like structure.


title:
Bipolar Charge Transport in Poly(3-hexyl thiophene)/Methanofullerene
  Blends: A Ratio Dependent Study

abstract:
  We investigated the charge carrier mobility in pristine poly(3-hexyl
thiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT):[6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)
blend devices by applying the time resolved photoconductivity experiment in
dependence on the donor:acceptor ratio. We observe a bipolar transport in all
studied samples ranging from pure polymer to polymer:fullerene with 90% PCBM
content. For the ratios P3HT:PCBM 1:4 and 1:1 we observe two transit times in
the electron current transients, as well as hole double transients for
P3HT:PCBM 1:2. We find high hole and electron mobilities in the order of
10^(-3) - 10^(-2) cm^2/Vs for a concentration of 90% PCBM in the blend.


title:
On the relationship between instability and Lyapunov times for the
  3-body problem

abstract:
  In this study we consider the relationship between the survival time and the
Lyapunov time for 3-body systems. It is shown that the Sitnikov problem
exhibits a two-part power law relationship as demonstrated previously for the
general 3-body problem. Using an approximate Poincare map on an appropriate
surface of section, we delineate escape regions in a domain of initial
conditions and use these regions to analytically obtain a new functional
relationship between the Lyapunov time and the survival time for the 3-body
problem. The marginal probability distributions of the Lyapunov and survival
times are discussed and we show that the probability density function of
Lyapunov times for the Sitnikov problem is similar to that for the general
3-body problem.


title:
Electron- and phonon transport in silicon nanowires: an atomistic
  approach to thermoelectric properties

abstract:
  We compute both electron- and phonon transmissions in thin disordered silicon
nanowires. Our atomistic approach is based on tight-binding and empirical
potential descriptions of the electronic and phononic systems, respectively.
Surface disorder is modeled by including surface silicon vacancies. It is shown
that the average phonon- and electron transmissions through long SiNWs
containing many vacancies can be accurately estimated from the scattering
properties of the isolated vacancies using a recently proposed averaging method
[Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 076803 (2007)]. We apply this averaging method to surface
disordered SiNWs in the diameter range 1-3 nm to compute the thermoelectric
figure of merit, ZT. It is found that the phonon transmission is affected more
by the vacancies than the electronic transmission leading to an increased
thermoelectric performance of disordered wires, in qualitative agreement with
recent experiments. The largest ZT>3 is found in strongly disordered <111>
oriented wires with a diameter of 2 nm.


title:
Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients: interpretation of archival INTEGRAL
  data

abstract:
  INTEGRAL monitoring of the Galactic Plane in the last 5 years revealed a new
subclass of High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), the Supergiant Fast X-ray
Transients (SFXTs). They display flares lasting from minutes to hours, with
peak luminosity of 1E36-1E37 erg/s and a frequent long term flaring activity
reaching an X-ray luminosity of 1E33-1E34 erg/s, as recently detected by the
Swift satellite. The quiescent level is around 1E32 erg/s. We performed a
systematic re-analysis of archival INTEGRAL data of four SFXTs: IGRJ16479-4514,
XTEJ1739-302, IGRJ17544-2619, IGRJ18410-0535. This led to the discovery of
previously unnoticed outbursts from IGRJ16479-4514 and IGRJ17544-2619. We
discuss these results in the framework of the different structure of the
supergiant wind proposed to explain the outburst from this new class of
sources.


title: Vector product algebras

abstract:
  Vector products can be defined on spaces of dimensions 0, 1, 3 and 7 only,
and their isomorphism types are determined entirely by their adherent symmetric
bilinear forms. We present a short and elementary proof for this classical
result.


title: Age-dependent equations with non-linear diffusion

abstract:
  We consider the well-posedness of models involving age structure and
non-linear diffusion. Such problems arise in the study of population dynamics.
It is shown how diffusion and age boundary conditions can be treated that
depend non-linearly and possibly non-locally on the density itself. The
abstract approach is depicted with examples.


title:
Slow relaxation of magnetoresistance in doped p -GaAs/AlGaAs layers with
  partially filled upper Hubbard band

abstract:
  We observed slow relaxation of magnetoresistance in quantum well structures
GaAs-AlGaAs with a selective doping of both wells and barrier regions which
allowed partial filling of the upper Hubbard band. Such a behavior is explained
as related to magnetic-field driven redistribution of the carriers between
sites with different occupation numbers due to spin correlation on the doubly
occupied centers. This redistribution, in its turn, leads to slow
multi-particle relaxations in the Coulomb glass formed by the charged centers.


title: Design of a Nanometer Beam Size Monitor for ATF2

abstract:
  We developed an electron beam size monitor for extremely small beam sizes. It
uses a laser interference fringe for a scattering target with the electron
beam. Our target performance is < 2 nm systematic error for 37 nm beam size and
< 10% statistical error in a measurement using 90 electron bunches for 25 -
6000 nm beam size. A precise laser interference fringe control system using an
active feedback function is incorporated to the monitor to achieve the target
performance. We describe an overall design, implementations, and performance
estimations of the monitor.


title: Dynamics of Dipoles and Quantum Phases in Noncommutative Coordinates

abstract:
  The dynamics of a spin--1/2 neutral particle possessing electric and magnetic
dipole moments interacting with external electric and magnetic fields in
noncommutative coordinates is obtained. Noncommutativity of space is interposed
in terms of a semiclassical constrained Hamiltonian system. The relation
between the quantum phase acquired by a particle interacting with an
electromagnetic field and the (semi)classical force acting on the system is
examined and generalized to establish a formulation of the quantum phases in
noncommutative coordinates. The general formalism is applied to physical
systems yielding the Aharonov-Bohm, Aharonov-Casher, He-McKellar-Wilkens and
Anandan phases in noncommutative coordinates. Bounds for the noncommutativity
parameter theta are derived comparing the deformed phases with the experimental
data on the Aharonov-Bohm and Aharonov-Casher phases.


title:
The Casimir force between dissimilar mirrors and the role of the surface
  plasmons

abstract:
  We investigate the Casimir force between two dissimilar plane mirrors the
material properties of which are described by Drude or Lorentz models. We
calculate analytically the short and long distance asymptote of the force and
relate its behavior to the influence of interacting surface plasmons. In
particular we discuss conditions under which Casimir repulsion could be
achieved.


title:
INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton Spectroscopy of GX 339-4 During Hard/Soft
  Intermediate and High/Soft States in the 2007 Outburst

abstract:
  We present simultaneous XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL observations of the luminous
black hole transient and relativistic jet source GX 339-4. GX 339-4 started an
outburst on November of 2006 and our observations were undertaken from January
to March of 2007. We triggered five INTEGRAL and three XMM-Newton target of
Opportunity observations within this period. Our data cover different spectral
states, namely Hard Intermediate, Soft Intermediate and High/Soft. We performed
spectral analysis to the data with both phenomenological and more physical
models and find that a non-thermal component seems to be required by the data
in all the observations. We find a hardening of the spectrum in the third
observation coincident with appearance of a broad and skewed Fe K alpha line.
In all spectral states joint XMM/EPIC-pn,JEM-X, ISGRI and SPI data were fit
with the hybrid thermal/non-thermal Comptonization model (EQPAIR). While this
model accounts very well for the high/energy emission observed, it has several
drawbacks in the description of the lower energy channels. Our results imply
evolution in the coronal properties, the most important one being the
transition from a compact corona in the first observation to the disappearance
of coronal material in the second and re-appearance in the third. This fact,
accompanied by the plasma ejection events detected in radio on February 4 to
18, suggest that the ejected medium is the coronal material responsible for the
hard X-ray emission.


title: Non-linear non-local Cosmology

abstract:
  Non-local equations of motion contain an infinite number of derivatives and
commonly appear in a number of string theory models. We review how these
equations can be rewritten in the form of a diffusion-like equation with
non-linear boundary conditions. Moreover, we show that this equation can be
solved as an initial value problem once a set of non-trivial initial conditions
that satisfy the boundary conditions is found. We find these initial conditions
by looking at the linear approximation to the boundary conditions. We then
numerically solve the diffusion-like equation, and hence the non-local
equations, as an initial value problem for the full non-linear potential and
subsequently identify the cases when inflation is attained.


title:
Quantum state reconstruction using binary data from on/off
  photodetection

abstract:
  The knowledge of the density matrix of a quantum state plays a fundamental
role in several fields ranging from quantum information processing to
experiments on foundations of quantum mechanics and quantum optics. Recently, a
method has been suggested and implemented in order to obtain the reconstruction
of the diagonal elements of the density matrix exploiting the information
achievable with realistic on/off detectors, e.g. silicon avalanche
photo-diodes, only able to discriminate the presence or the absence of light.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the theoretical and
experimental developments of the on/off method, including its extension to the
reconstruction of the whole density matrix.


title: Top Quark Cross Sections

abstract:
  This article describes the analyses presented at the XXVIII Physics in
Collision conference about top quark cross sections performed at Tevatron.


title: Approximating the marginal likelihood using copula

abstract:
  Model selection is an important activity in modern data analysis and the
conventional Bayesian approach to this problem involves calculation of marginal
likelihoods for different models, together with diagnostics which examine
specific aspects of model fit. Calculating the marginal likelihood is a
difficult computational problem. Our article proposes some extensions of the
Laplace approximation for this task that are related to copula models and which
are easy to apply. Variations which can be used both with and without
simulation from the posterior distribution are considered, as well as use of
the approximations with bridge sampling and in random effects models with a
large number of latent variables. The use of a t-copula to obtain higher
accuracy when multivariate dependence is not well captured by a Gaussian copula
is also discussed.


title: Modelling the outburst profile of X-ray powered millisecond pulsars

abstract:
  The outbursts of low mass X-ray binaries are prolonged relative to those of
dwarf nova cataclysmic variables as a consequence of X-ray irradiation of the
disc. We show that the time-scale of the decay light curve and its luminosity
at a characteristic time are linked to the radius of the accretion disc. Hence
a good X-ray light curve permits two independent estimates of the disc radius.
In the case of the millisecond pulsars SAX J1808.4-3658 and XTE J0929-314 the
agreement between these estimates is very strong. Our analysis allows new
determinations of distances and accretion disc radii. Our analysis will allow
determination of accretion disc radii for sources in external galaxies, and
hence constrain system parameters where other observational techniques are not
possible. We also use the X-ray light curves to estimate the mass transfer
rate. The broken exponential decay observed in the 2002 outburst of SAX
J1808.4-3658 may be caused by the changing self-shadowing of the disc.


title:
Structure prediction based on ab initio simulated annealing for boron
  nitride

abstract:
  Possible crystalline modifications of chemical compounds at low temperatures
correspond to local minima of the energy landscape. Determining these minima
via simulated annealing is one method for the prediction of crystal structures,
where the number of atoms per unit cell is the only information used. It is
demonstrated that this method can be applied to covalent systems, at the
example of boron nitride, using ab initio energies in all stages of the
optimization, i.e. both during the global search and the subsequent local
optimization. Ten low lying structure candidates are presented, including both
layered structures and 3d-network structures such as the wurtzite and zinc
blende types, as well as a structure corresponding to the beta-BeO type.


title: Worst-case time decremental connectivity and k-edge witness

abstract:
  We give a simple algorithm for decremental graph connectivity that handles
edge deletions in worst-case time $O(k \log n)$ and connectivity queries in
$O(\log k)$, where $k$ is the number of edges deleted so far, and uses
worst-case space $O(m^2)$. We use this to give an algorithm for $k$-edge
witness (``does the removal of a given set of $k$ edges disconnect two vertices
$u,v$?'') with worst-case time $O(k^2 \log n)$ and space $O(k^2 n^2)$. For $k =
o(\sqrt{n})$ these improve the worst-case $O(\sqrt{n})$ bound for deletion due
to Eppstein et al. We also give a decremental connectivity algorithm using
$O(n^2 \log n / \log \log n)$ space, whose time complexity depends on the
toughness and independence number of the input graph. Finally, we show how to
construct a distributed data structure for \kvw by giving a labeling scheme.
This is the first data structure for \kvw that can efficiently distributed
without just giving each vertex a copy of the whole structure. Its complexity
depends on being able to construct a linear layout with good properties.


title: Complexity of PL-manifolds

abstract:
  We extend Matveev's complexity of 3-manifolds to PL compact manifolds of
arbitrary dimension, and we study its properties. The complexity of a manifold
is the minimum number of vertices in a simple spine. We study how this quantity
changes under the most common topological operations (handle additions, finite
coverings, drilling and surgery of spheres, products, connected sums) and its
relations with some geometric invariants (Gromov norm, spherical volume, volume
entropy, systolic constant).
  Complexity distinguishes some homotopically equivalent manifolds and is
positive on all closed aspherical manifolds (in particular, on manifolds with
non-positive sectional curvature). There are finitely many closed hyperbolic
manifolds of any given complexity. On the other hand, there are many closed
4-manifolds of complexity zero (manifolds without 3-handles, doubles of
2-handlebodies, infinitely many exotic K3 surfaces, symplectic manifolds with
arbitrary fundamental group).


title: Arithmetic Fujita approximation

abstract:
  We prove an arithmetic analogue of Fujita's approximation theorem in Arakelov
geometry, conjectured by Moriwaki, by using slope method and measures
associated to $\mathbb R$-filtrations.


title: Planck Oscillators and Elementary Particles

abstract:
  In this paper we argue that it is possible to model the Universe along
thermodynamic lines, using oscillators in the background Dark Energy at the
Planck scale. This leads to meaningful results in agreement with observation.


title: Numerably Contractible Spaces

abstract:
  Numerably contractible spaces play an important role in the theory of
homotopy pushouts and pullbacks. The corresponding results imply that a number
of well known weak homotopy equivalences are genuine ones if numerably
contractible spaces are involved. In this paper we give a first systematic
investigation of numerably contractible spaces. We list the elementary
properties of the category of these spaces. We then study simplicial objects in
this category. In particular, we show that the topological realization functor
preserves fibration sequences if the base is path-connected and numerably
contractible in each dimension. Consequently, the loop space functor commutes
with realization up to homotopy. We give simple conditions which assure that
free algebras over a topological operad are numerably contractible.


title:
On the length of attractors in boolean networks with an interaction
  graph by layers

abstract:
  We consider a boolean network whose interaction graph has no circuit of
length >1. Under this hypothesis, we establish an upper bound on the length of
the attractors of the network which only depends on its interaction graph.


title: Exact potential-density pairs for flattened dark haloes

abstract:
  Cosmological simulations suggest that dark matter haloes are not spherical,
but typically moderately to strongly triaxial systems. We investigate methods
to convert spherical potential-density pairs into axisymmetric ones, in which
the basic characteristics of the density profile (such as the slope at small
and large radii) are retained. We achieve this goal by replacing the spherical
radius r by an oblate radius m in the expression of the gravitational
potential.
  We extend and formalize the approach pioneered by Miyamoto & Nagai (1975) to
be applicable to arbitrary potential-density pairs. Unfortunately, an
asymptotic study demonstrates that, at large radii, such models always show a
R^(-3) disc superposed on a smooth roughly spherical density distribution. As a
result, this recipe cannot be used to construct simple flattened
potential-density pairs for dynamical systems such as dark matter haloes.
Therefore we apply a modification of our original recipe that cures the problem
of the discy behaviour. An asymptotic analysis now shows that the density
distribution has the desired asymptotic behaviour at large radii (if the
density falls less rapidly than r^(-4)). We also show that the flattening
procedure does not alter the shape of the density distribution at small radii:
while the inner density contours are flattened, the slope of the density
profile is unaltered.
  We apply this recipe to construct a set of flattened dark matter haloes based
on the realistic spherical halo models by Dehnen & McLaughlin (2005). This
example illustrates that the method works fine for modest flattening values,
whereas stronger flattening values lead to peanut-shaped density distributions.


title: A Novel Clustering Algorithm Based on a Modified Model of Random Walk

abstract:
  We introduce a modified model of random walk, and then develop two novel
clustering algorithms based on it. In the algorithms, each data point in a
dataset is considered as a particle which can move at random in space according
to the preset rules in the modified model. Further, this data point may be also
viewed as a local control subsystem, in which the controller adjusts its
transition probability vector in terms of the feedbacks of all data points, and
then its transition direction is identified by an event-generating function.
Finally, the positions of all data points are updated. As they move in space,
data points collect gradually and some separating parts emerge among them
automatically. As a consequence, data points that belong to the same class are
located at a same position, whereas those that belong to different classes are
away from one another. Moreover, the experimental results have demonstrated
that data points in the test datasets are clustered reasonably and efficiently,
and the comparison with other algorithms also provides an indication of the
effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.


title:
Nonequilibrium dynamics of polariton entanglement in a cluster of
  coupled traps

abstract:
  We study in detail the generation and relaxation of quantum coherences
(entanglement) in a system of coupled polariton traps. By exploiting a Lie
algebraic based super-operator technique we provide an analytical exact
solution for the Markovian dissipative dynamics (Master equation) of such
system which is valid for arbitrary cluster size, polariton-polariton
interaction strength, temperature and initial state. Based on the exact
solution of the Master equation at T=0K, we discuss how dissipation affects the
quantum entanglement dynamics of coupled polariton systems.


title: A differential Chevalley theorem

abstract:
  We prove a differential analog of a theorem of Chevalley on extending
homomorphisms for rings with commuting derivations, generalizing a theorem of
Kac. As a corollary, we establish that, under suitable hypotheses, the image of
a differential scheme under a finite morphism is a constructible set. We also
obtain a new algebraic characterization of differentially closed fields. We
show that similar results hold for differentially closed fields that are
saturated, in the sense of model theory. In characteristic p > 0, we obtain
related results and establish a differential Nullstellensatz. Analogs of these
theorems for difference fields are also considered.


title: Remarks on missing faces and generalized lower bounds on face numbers

abstract:
  We consider simplicial polytopes, and more general simplicial complexes,
without missing faces above a fixed dimension. Sharp analogues of McMullen's
generalized lower bounds, and of Barnette's lower bounds, are conjectured for
these families of complexes. Some partial results on these conjectures are
presented.


title: The Magnus expansion and some of its applications

abstract:
  Approximate resolution of linear systems of differential equations with
varying coefficients is a recurrent problem shared by a number of scientific
and engineering areas, ranging from Quantum Mechanics to Control Theory. When
formulated in operator or matrix form, the Magnus expansion furnishes an
elegant setting to built up approximate exponential representations of the
solution of the system. It provides a power series expansion for the
corresponding exponent and is sometimes referred to as Time-Dependent
Exponential Perturbation Theory. Every Magnus approximant corresponds in
Perturbation Theory to a partial re-summation of infinite terms with the
important additional property of preserving at any order certain symmetries of
the exact solution. The goal of this review is threefold. First, to collect a
number of developments scattered through half a century of scientific
literature on Magnus expansion. They concern the methods for the generation of
terms in the expansion, estimates of the radius of convergence of the series,
generalizations and related non-perturbative expansions. Second, to provide a
bridge with its implementation as generator of especial purpose numerical
integration methods, a field of intense activity during the last decade. Third,
to illustrate with examples the kind of results one can expect from Magnus
expansion in comparison with those from both perturbative schemes and standard
numerical integrators. We buttress this issue with a revision of the wide range
of physical applications found by Magnus expansion in the literature.


title: Perturbations of Black p-Branes

abstract:
  We consider black $p$-brane solutions of the low energy string action,
computing scalar perturbations. Using standard methods, we derive the wave
equations obeyed by the perturbations and treat them analytically and
numerically. We have found that tensorial perturbations obtained via a
gauge-invariant formalism leads to the same results as scalar perturbations. No
instability has been found. Asymptotically, these solutions typically reduce to
a $AdS_{(p+2)}\times S^{(8-p)}$ space, which, in the framework of Maldacena's
conjecture, can be regarded as a gravitational dual to a conformal field theory
defined in a $(p+1)$-dimensional flat space-time. The results presented open
the possibility of a better understanding the AdS/CFT correspondence, as
originally formulated in terms of the relation among brane structures and gauge
theories.


title:
Three-dimensional discrete systems of Hirota-Kimura type and deformed
  Lie-Poisson algebras

abstract:
  Recently Hirota and Kimura presented a new discretization of the Euler top
with several remarkable properties. In particular this discretization shares
with the original continuous system the feature that it is an algebraically
completely integrable bi-Hamiltonian system in three dimensions. The
Hirota-Kimura discretization scheme turns out to be equivalent to an approach
to numerical integration of quadratic vector fields that was introduced by
Kahan, who applied it to the two-dimensional Lotka-Volterra system.
  The Euler top is naturally written in terms of the $\mathfrak{so}(3)$
Lie-Poisson algebra. Here we consider algebraically integrable systems that are
associated with pairs of Lie-Poisson algebras in three dimensions, as presented
by G\"umral and Nutku, and construct birational maps that discretize them
according to the scheme of Kahan and Hirota-Kimura. We show that the maps thus
obtained are also bi-Hamiltonian, with pairs of compatible Poisson brackets
that are one-parameter deformations of the original Lie-Poisson algebras, and
hence they are completely integrable. For comparison, we also present analogous
discretizations for three bi-Hamiltonian systems that have a transcendental
invariant, and finally we analyze all of the maps obtained from the viewpoint
of Halburd's Diophantine integrability criterion.


title: Nonequilibrium phase transition in a spreading process on a timeline

abstract:
  We consider a nonequilibrium process on a timeline with discrete sites which
evolves by a non-Markovian update rule in such a way that an active site at
time t activates one or several sites in the future at time t+dt. The time
intervals dt are distributed algebraically as dt^(-1-kappa), where 0<kappa<1 is
a control paramter. Depending on the activation rate, the system display a
nonequilibrium phase transition which may be interpreted as directed
percolation transition driven by temporal Levy flights in the limit of zero
space dimensions. The critical properties are investigated by extensive
numerical simulations and compared with field-theoretic predictions.


title: The Frolicher-Nijenhuis Calculus in Synthetic Differential Geometry

abstract:
  Just as the Jacobi identity of vector fields is a natural consequence of the
general Jacobi identity of microcubes in synthetic differential geometry, it is
to be shown in this paper that the graded Jacobi identity of the
Frolicher-Nijenhuis bracket is also a natural consequence of the general Jacobi
identity.


title:
Geometric construction of crystal bases for quantum generalized
  Kac-Moody algebras

abstract:
  We provide a geometric realization of the crystal $B(\infty)$ for quantum
generalized Kac-Moody algebras in terms of the irreducible components of
certain Lagrangian subvarieties in the representation spaces of a quiver.


title:
A problem in the Kourovka notebook concerning the number of conjugacy
  classes of a finite group

abstract:
  In this paper, we consider Problem 14.44 in the Kourovka notebook, which is a
conjecture about the number of conjugacy classes of a finite group. While
elementary, this conjecture is still open and appears to elude any
straightforward proof, even in the soluble case. However, we do prove that a
minimal soluble counterexample must have certain properties, in particular that
it must have Fitting height at least 3 and order at least 2000.


title: Two-dimensional quantum random walk

abstract:
  We analyze several families of two-dimensional quantum random walks. The
feasible region (the region where probabilities do not decay exponentially with
time) grows linearly with time, as is the case with one-dimensional QRW. The
limiting shape of the feasible region is, however, quite different. The limit
region turns out to be an algebraic set, which we characterize as the rational
image of a compact algebraic variety. We also compute the probability profile
within the limit region, which is essentially a negative power of the Gaussian
curvature of the same algebraic variety. Our methods are based on analysis of
the space-time generating function, following the methods of Pemantle and
Wilson (2002).


title: Neighboring ternary cyclotomic coefficients differ by at most one

abstract:
  A cyclotomic polynomial Phi_n(x) is said to be ternary if n=pqr with p,q and
r distinct odd prime factors. Ternary cyclotomic polynomials are the simplest
ones for which the behaviour of the coefficients is not completely understood.
Eli Leher showed in 2007 that neighboring ternary cyclotomic coefficients
differ by at most four. We show that, in fact, they differ by at most one.
Consequently, the set of coefficients occurring in a ternary cyclotomic
polynomial consists of consecutive integers.
  As an application we reprove in a simpler way a result of Bachman from 2004
on ternary cyclotomic polynomials with an optimally large set of coefficients.


title: Results from NEMO 3

abstract:
  The NEMO 3 experiment is located in the Modane Underground Laboratory and has
been taking data since 2003 with seven isotopes. It is searching for the double
beta decay process with two or zero neutrinos emitted in the final state.
Precision measurements of the half-life of the isotopes due to two neutrino
double beta decay have been performed and new results for 96Zr, 48Ca and 150Nd
are presented here. Measurements of this process are important for reducing the
uncertainties on the nuclear matrix elements. No evidence for zero neutrino
double beta decay has been found and a 90% Confidence Level lower limit on the
half-life of this process is derived. From this an upper limit can be set on
the effective Majorana neutrino mass using the most recent nuclear matrix
elements calculations.


title:
Linear dynamics of weakly viscous accretion disks: A disk analog of
  Tollmien-Schlichting waves

abstract:
  This paper discusses new perspectives and approaches to the problem of disk
dynamics where, in this study, we focus on the effects of viscous instabilities
influenced by boundary effects. The Boussinesq approximation of the viscous
large shearing box equations is analyzed in which the azimuthal length scale of
the disturbance is much larger than the radial and vertical scales. We examine
the stability of a non-axisymmetric potential vorticity mode, i.e. a
PV-anomaly. in a configuration in which buoyant convection and the
strato-rotational instability do not to operate. We consider a series of
boundary conditions which show the PV-anomaly to be unstable both on a finite
and semi-infinite radial domains. We find these conditions leading to an
instability which is the disk analog of Tollmien-Schlichting waves. When the
viscosity is weak, evidence of the instability is most pronounced by the
emergence of a vortex sheet at the critical layer located away from the
boundary where the instability is generated. For some boundary conditions a
necessary criterion for the onset of instability for vertical wavelengths that
are a sizable fraction of the layer's thickness and when the viscosity is small
is that the appropriate Froude number of the flow be greater than one. This
instability persists if more realistic boundary conditions are applied,
although the criterion on the Froude number is more complicated. The unstable
waves studied here share qualitative features to the instability seen in
rotating Blasius boundary layers. The implications of these results are
discussed. An overall new strategy for exploring and interpreting disk
instability mechanisms is also suggested.


title: Dust-enshrouded star formation in XMM-LSS galaxy clusters

abstract:
  We present an investigation of the dust-enshrouded activity in a sample of
X-ray selected clusters drawn from the XMM-LSS survey in the redshift range z ~
0.05 - 1.05. By taking advantage of the contiguous mid-IR coverage of the
XMM-LSS field by the Spitzer SWIRE legacy survey, we examined the distribution
and number density of mid-IR bright sources out to the cluster periphery and
its dependence on redshift to probe the obscured side of the Butcher-Oemler
effect. Toward intermediate redshift clusters we identified surprisingly high
numbers of bright 24um sources, whose photometric redshifts are compatible with
cluster membership. The stacked surface density profile of 24um sources in
clusters within four redshift bins gives evidence for an excess of bright
mid-IR sources at redshift z $\geq$ 0.4 at cluster-centric radii ~ 200 - 500
kpc. Some traces of excess appear to be present at larger radii as well.


title:
Full Salpeter Equation with Confining Interactions: Analytic Stability
  Proof

abstract:
  The most popular 3-dimensional reduction of the Bethe-Salpeter formalism for
the description of bound states within quantum field theory is the Salpeter
equation, found as the instantaneous limit of the Bethe-Salpeter framework if
allowing, in addition, for free propagation of the bound-state constituents.
Unfortunately, depending on the Lorentz nature of the Bethe-Salpeter kernel,
supposedly stable results of Salpeter's equation with confining interactions
exhibit (un-)expected instabilities, probably related to Klein's paradox.
Clearly, bound states may be regarded as stable if, for appropriate
interactions, their mass eigenvalues belong to a real and discrete (part of
the) spectrum that is bounded from below. Some general features of the
eigenvalue spectra of any Salpeter equation are well-established: all
bound-state masses squared are real and, for a large class of sufficiently
reasonable Bethe-Salpeter kernels - which includes all interactions of
phenomenological relevance for QCD -, the spectrum of mass eigenvalues
consists, in the complex bound-state mass plane, at most of real pairs of
opposite sign and imaginary points. For time-component vector
harmonic-oscillator kernels, a straightforward stability proof is given.


title:
New Constraints on Hidden Photons using Very High Energy Gamma-Rays from
  the Crab Nebula

abstract:
  Extensions of the standard model of particle physics, in particular those
based on string theory, often predict a new U(1) gauge symmetry in a hidden
sector. The corresponding gauge boson, called hidden photon, naturally
interacts with the ordinary photon via gauge kinetic mixing, leading to photon
- hidden photon oscillations. In this framework, one expects photon
disappearance as a function of the mass of the hidden photon and the mixing
angle, loosely constrained from theory. Several experiments have been carried
out or are planned to constrain the mass-mixing plane.
  In this contribution we derive new constraints on the hidden photon
parameters, using very high energy gamma-rays detected from the Crab Nebula,
whose broad-band spectral characteristics are well understood. The very high
energy gamma-ray observations offer the possibility to provide bounds in a
broad mass range at a previously unexplored energy and distance scale. Using
existing data that were taken with several Cherenkov telescopes, we discuss our
results in the context of current constraints and consider the possibilities of
using astrophysical data to search for hidden photon signatures.


title: Collective observables in repeated experiments of population dynamics

abstract:
  We here discuss the outcome of an hypothetic experiments of populations
dynamics, where a set of independent realizations is made available. The
importance of ensemble average is clarified with reference to the registered
time evolution of key collective indicators. The problem is here tackled for
the logistic case study. Theoretical prediction are compared to numerical
simulations.


title:
Determination of atomic scattering lengths from measurements of
  molecular binding energies near Feshbach resonances

abstract:
  We present an analytic model to calculate the atomic scattering length near a
Feshbach resonance from data on the molecular binding energy. Our approach
considers finite-range square-well potentials and can be applied near broad,
narrow, or even overlapping Feshbach resonances. We test our model on Cs$_2$
Feshbach molecules. We measure the binding energy using magnetic-field
modulation spectroscopy in a range where one broad and two narrow Feshbach
resonances overlap. From the data we accurately determine the Cs atomic
scattering length and the positions and widths of two particular resonances.


title: Gap solitons on a ring

abstract:
  We introduce a new species of gap solitons (GSs) supported by an azimuthally
modulated guiding ring in defocusing cubic media. The periodicity in the
azimuthal direction strongly modifies properties and existence domains of GSs.
In addition to the fundamental solitons, we report even and twisted bound
states. The former type is found to be stable, while the twisted states are
always unstable in defocusing media.


title: Thermodynamics of vesicle growth and instability

abstract:
  We describe the growth of vesicles, due to the accretion of lipid molecules
to their surface, in terms of linear irreversible thermodynamics. Our treatment
differs from those previously put forward by consistently including the energy
of the membrane in the thermodynamic description. We calculate the critical
radius at which the spherical vesicle becomes unstable to a change of shape in
terms of the parameters of the model. The analysis is carried out both for the
case when the increase in volume is due to the absorption of water and when a
solute is also absorbed through the walls of the vesicle.


title: Attractor Solution in Coupled Yang-Mills Field Dark Energy Models

abstract:
  We investigate the attractor solution in the coupled Yang-Mills field dark
energy models with the general interaction term, and obtain the constraint
equations for the interaction if the attractor solution exists. The research
also shows that, if the attractor solution exists, the equation-of-state of the
dark energy must evolve from $w_y>0$ to $w_y\le-1$, which is slightly suggested
by the observation. At the same time, the total equation-of-state in the
attractor solution is $w_{tot}=-1$, the universe is a de Sitter expansion, and
the cosmic big rip is naturally avoided. These features are all independent of
the interacting forms.


title: Hydrodynamics, probability and the geometry of the diffeomorphisms group

abstract:
  We characterize the solution of Navier-Stokes equation as a stochastic
geodesic on the diffeomorphisms group, thus generalizing Arnold's description
of the Euler flow.


title: Effective thermal dynamics following a quantum quench in a spin chain

abstract:
  We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of the Quantum Ising Model following an
abrupt quench of the transverse field. We focus on the on-site autocorrelation
function of the order parameter, and extract the phase coherence time
$\tau^{\phi}_Q$ from its asymptotic behavior. We show that the initial state
determines $\tau^{\phi}_Q$ only through an effective temperature set by its
energy and the final Hamiltonian. Moreover, we observe that the dependence of
$\tau^{\phi}_Q$ on the effective temperature fairly agrees with that obtained
in thermal equilibrium as a function of the equilibrium temperature.


title: Kaehler Metrics and Yukawa Couplings in Magnetized Brane Models

abstract:
  Using the field theoretical approach introduced by Cremades, Ibanez and
Marchesano for describing open strings attached to D9 branes having different
magnetizations, we give a procedure for determining the Kaehler metrics of
those open strings in toroidal compactifications.


title:
Kaon condensation in the color-flavor-locked phase of quark matter, the
  Goldstone theorem, and the 2PI Hartree approximation

abstract:
  At very high densities, QCD is in the color-flavor locked phase, which is a
color-superconducting phase. The diquark condensates break chiral symmetry in
the same way as it is broken in vacuum QCD and gives rise to an octet of
pseudo-Goldstone bosons and a superfluid mode. The lightest of these are the
charged and neutral kaons. For energies below the superconducting gap, the
kaons are described by an $O(2)\times O(2)$-symmetric effective scalar field
theory with chemical potentials. We use this effective theory to study
Bose-condensation of kaons and their properties as functions of the temperature
and the chemical potentials. We use the 2-particle irreducible effective action
formalism in the Hartree approximation. The renormalization of the gap
equations and the effective potential is studied in detail and we show that the
counterterms are independent of temperature and chemical potentials.We
determine the phase diagram and the medium-dependent quasiparticle masses. It
is shown that the Goldstone theorem is satisfied to a very goodapproximation.
The effects of imposing electric charge neutrality is examined as well.


title: Stochastic jump processes for non-Markovian quantum dynamics

abstract:
  It is shown that non-Markovian master equations for an open system which are
local in time can be unravelled through a piecewise deterministic quantum jump
process in its Hilbert space. We derive a stochastic Schr\"odinger equation
that reveals how non-Markovian effects are manifested in statistical
correlations between different realizations of the process. Moreover, we
demonstrate that possible violations of the positivity of approximate master
equations are closely connected to singularities of the stochastic
Schr\"odinger equation, which could lead to important insights into the
structural characterization of positive non-Markovian equations of motion.


title: Light scalar mesons in 2+1 flavor full QCD

abstract:
  We study the a_0 and K_0^* light scalar mesons in 2+1 flavor full QCD.
Particular attention is paid to fitting excited states, with an eye toward
determining whether scattering states are revealed. An ultimate goal will be to
see how dynamical quarks affect the picture outlined with an earlier quenched
study using overlap fermions, namely, that it is the a_0(1450), not the
a_0(980), which is the lowest $\bar{q}q$ isovector scalar state.


title: Alvis-Curtis duality, central characters, and real-valued characters

abstract:
  We prove that Alvis-Curtis duality preserves the Frobenius-Schur indicators
of characters of connected reductive groups of Lie type with connected center.
This allows us to extend a result of D. Prasad which relates the
Frobenius-Schur indicator of a regular real-valued character to its central
character. We apply these results to compute the Frobenius-Schur indicators of
certain real-valued, irreducible, Frobenius-invariant Deligne-Lusztig
characters, and the Frobenius-Schur indicators of real-valued regular and
semisimple characters of finite unitary groups.


title: Structure of Business Firm Networks and Scale-Free Models

abstract:
  We study the structure of business firm networks and scale-free models with
degree distribution $P(q) \propto (q+c)^{-\lambda}$ using the method of
$k$-shell decomposition.We find that the Life Sciences industry network consist
of three components: a ``nucleus,'' which is a small well connected subgraph,
``tendrils,'' which are small subgraphs consisting of small degree nodes
connected exclusively to the nucleus, and a ``bulk body'' which consists of the
majority of nodes. At the same time we do not observe the above structure in
the Information and Communication Technology sector of industry. We also
conduct a systematic study of these three components in random scale-free
networks. Our results suggest that the sizes of the nucleus and the tendrils
decrease as $\lambda$ increases and disappear for $\lambda \geq 3$. We compare
the $k$-shell structure of random scale-free model networks with two real world
business firm networks in the Life Sciences and in the Information and
Communication Technology sectors. Our results suggest that the observed
behavior of the $k$-shell structure in the two industries is consistent with a
recently proposed growth model that assumes the coexistence of both
preferential and random agreements in the evolution of industrial networks.


title:
Probing the Improbable: Methodological Challenges for Risks with Low
  Probabilities and High Stakes

abstract:
  Some risks have extremely high stakes. For example, a worldwide pandemic or
asteroid impact could potentially kill more than a billion people.
Comfortingly, scientific calculations often put very low probabilities on the
occurrence of such catastrophes. In this paper, we argue that there are
important new methodological problems which arise when assessing global
catastrophic risks and we focus on a problem regarding probability estimation.
When an expert provides a calculation of the probability of an outcome, they
are really providing the probability of the outcome occurring, given that their
argument is watertight. However, their argument may fail for a number of
reasons such as a flaw in the underlying theory, a flaw in the modeling of the
problem, or a mistake in the calculations. If the probability estimate given by
an argument is dwarfed by the chance that the argument itself is flawed, then
the estimate is suspect. We develop this idea formally, explaining how it
differs from the related distinctions of model and parameter uncertainty. Using
the risk estimates from the Large Hadron Collider as a test case, we show how
serious the problem can be when it comes to catastrophic risks and how best to
address it.


title: Symbolic model checking of tense logics on rational Kripke models

abstract:
  We introduce the class of rational Kripke models and study symbolic model
checking of the basic tense logic Kt and some extensions of it in models from
that class. Rational Kripke models are based on (generally infinite) rational
graphs, with vertices labeled by the words in some regular language and
transitions recognized by asynchronous two-head finite automata, also known as
rational transducers. Every atomic proposition in a rational Kripke model is
evaluated in a regular set of states. We show that every formula of Kt has an
effectively computable regular extension in every rational Kripke model, and
therefore local model checking and global model checking of Kt in rational
Kripke models are decidable. These results are lifted to a number of extensions
of Kt. We study and partly determine the complexity of the model checking
procedures.


title: Model checking memoryful linear-time logics over one-counter automata

abstract:
  We study complexity of the model-checking problems for LTL with registers
(also known as freeze LTL) and for first-order logic with data equality tests
over one-counter automata. We consider several classes of one-counter automata
(mainly deterministic vs. nondeterministic) and several logical fragments
(restriction on the number of registers or variables and on the use of
propositional variables for control locations). The logics have the ability to
store a counter value and to test it later against the current counter value.
We show that model checking over deterministic one-counter automata is
PSPACE-complete with infinite and finite accepting runs. By constrast, we prove
that model checking freeze LTL in which the until operator is restricted to the
eventually operator over nondeterministic one-counter automata is undecidable
even if only one register is used and with no propositional variable. As a
corollary of our proof, this also holds for first-order logic with data
equality tests restricted to two variables. This makes a difference with the
facts that several verification problems for one-counter automata are known to
be decidable with relatively low complexity, and that finitary satisfiability
for the two logics are decidable. Our results pave the way for model-checking
memoryful (linear-time) logics over other classes of operational models, such
as reversal-bounded counter machines.


title: The Standard Candle Method for Type II-Plateau Supernovae

abstract:
  In this thesis we study the "standardized candle method" using a sample of 37
nearby (redshift < 0.06) Type II-plateau supernovae with BVRI photometry and
optical spectroscopy. An analytic procedure is implemented to fit light, color,
and velocity curves. We find that the V-I color toward the end of the plateau
can be used to estimate host-galaxy reddening with a precision of 0.2 mag. The
luminosity-expansion velocity relation previously reported in the literature is
recovered. Using this relation and assuming a standard reddening law (R_V =
3.1), we obtain Hubble diagrams in the BVI bands with approximate dispersions
of 0.4 mag. Allowing R_V to vary and minimizing the spread in the Hubble
diagrams, we obtain a dispersion of 0.25-0.30 mag, which implies that these
objects can deliver distances with a precision of 12-14 %. The resulting value
of R_V is 1.4 +/- 0.1. Using two supernovae with known Cepheid host-galaxy
distances, we obtain H_0 = 70 +/- 8 km/s/Mpc, in very good agreement with the
average value obtained with other modern, reliable methods.


title:
Meservey-Tedrow-Fulde effect in a quantum dot embedded between metallic
  and superconducting electrodes

abstract:
  Magnetic field applied to the quantum dot coupled between one metallic and
one superconducting electrode can produce a similar effect as has been
experimentally observed by Meservey, Tedrow and Fulde [Phys. Rev. Lett. 25,
1270 (1970)] for the planar normal metal -- superconductor junctions. We
investigate the tunneling current and show that indeed the square root
singularities of differential conductance exhibit the Zeeman splitting near the
gap edge features V = +/- Delta/e. Since magnetic field affects also the in-gap
states of quantum dot it furthermore imposes a hyperfine structure on the
anomalous (subgap) Andreev current which has a crucial importance for a
signature of the Kondo resonance.


title: Representations of cyclic groups acting on complete simplicial fans

abstract:
  Let $sigma$ be a complete simplicial fan in finite dimensional real Euclidean
space $V$, and let $G$ be a cyclic subgroup of $GL(V)$ which acts properly on
$\sigma$. We show that the representation of $G$ carried by the cohomology of
$X_{sigma}$, the toric variety associated to $sigma$, is a permutation
representation.


title: Reconnection Dynamics for Quantized Vortices

abstract:
  By analyzing trajectories of solid hydrogen tracers in superfluid $^4$He, we
identify tens of thousands of individual reconnection events between quantized
vortices. We characterize the dynamics by the minimum separation distance
$\delta(t)$ between the two reconnecting vortices both before and after the
events. Applying dimensional arguments, this separation has been predicted to
behave asymptotically as $\delta(t) \approx A(\kappa |t-t_0|)^{1/2}$, where
$\kappa=h/m$ is the quantum of circulation. The major finding of the
experiments and their analysis is strong support for this asymptotic form with
$\kappa$ as the dominant controlling feature, although there are significant
event to event fluctuations. At the three-parameter level the dynamics may be
about equally well-fit by two modified expressions: (a) an arbitrary power-law
expression of the form $\delta(t)=B|t-t_0|^{\alpha}$ and (b) a
correction-factor expression $\delta(t)=A(\kappa|t-t_0|)^{1/2}(1+c|t-t_0|)$. In
light of possible physical interpretations we regard the correction-factor
expression (b), which attributes the observed deviations from the predicted
asymptotic form to fluctuations in the local environment and in boundary
conditions, as best describing our experimental data. The observed dynamics
appear statistically time-reversible, which suggests that an effective
equilibrium has been established in quantum turbulence on the time scales
investigated. We discuss the impact of reconnection on velocity statistics in
quantum turbulence and, as regards classical turbulence, we argue that forms
analogous to (b) could well provide an alternative interpretation of the
observed deviations from Kolmogorov scaling exponents of the longitudinal
structure functions.


title: Introduction to Graph-Link Theory

abstract:
  The present paper is an introduction to a combinatorial theory arising as a
natural generalisation of classical and virtual knot theory. There is a way to
encode links by a class of `realisable' graphs. When passing to generic graphs
with the same equivalence relations we get `graph-links'. On one hand
graph-links generalise the notion of virtual link, on the other hand they do
not feel link mutations. We define the Jones polynomial for graph-links and
prove its invariance. We also prove some a generalisation of the
Kauffman-Murasugi-Thistlethwaite theorem on `minmal diagrams' for graph-links


title: Jet-BLR connection in the radio galaxy 3C 390.3

abstract:
  Variations of the optical continuum emission in the radio galaxy 3C 390.3 are
compared to the properties of radio emission from the compact, sub-parsec-scale
jet in this object. We showed that very long-term variations of optical
continuum emission (>10 years) is correlated with the radio emission from the
base of the jet located above the disk, while the optical long-term variations
(1-2 years) follows the radio flares from the stationary component in the jet
with time delay of about 1 year. This stationary feature is most likely to be a
standing shock formed in the continuous relativistic flow seen at a distance of
~0.4 parsecs from the base of the jet. To account for the correlations observed
we propose a model of the nuclear region of 3C 390.3 in which the beamed
continuum emission from the jet and counterjet ionizes material in a
subrelativistic outflow surrounding the jet. This results in the formation of
two conical regions with double-peaked broad emission lines (in addition to the
conventional broad line region around the central nucleus) at a distance ~0.6
parsecs from the central engine.


title: Boxicity of Circular Arc Graphs

abstract:
  A $k$-dimensional box is the cartesian product $R_1 \times R_2 \times ...
\times R_k$ where each $R_i$ is a closed interval on the real line. The {\it
boxicity} of a graph $G$, denoted as $box(G)$, is the minimum integer $k$ such
that $G$ can be represented as the intersection graph of a collection of
$k$-dimensional boxes: that is two vertices are adjacent if and only if their
corresponding boxes intersect. A circular arc graph is a graph that can be
represented as the intersection graph of arcs on a circle.
  Let $G$ be a circular arc graph with maximum degree $\Delta$. We show that if
$\Delta <\lfloor \frac{n(\alpha-1)}{2\alpha}\rfloor$, $\alpha \in \mathbb{N}$,
$\alpha \geq 2$ then $box(G) \leq \alpha$. We also demonstrate a graph with
boxicity $> \alpha$ but with
$\Delta=n\frac{(\alpha-1)}{2\alpha}+\frac{n}{2\alpha(\alpha+1)}+(\alpha+2)$. So
the result cannot be improved substantially when $\alpha$ is large. Let
$r_{inf}$ be minimum number of arcs passing through any point on the circle
with respect to some circular arc representation of $G$. We also show that for
any circular arc graph $G$, $box(G) \leq r_{inf} + 1$ and this bound is tight.
Given a family of arcs $F$ on the circle, the circular cover number $L(F)$ is
the cardinality of the smallest subset $F'$ of $F$ such that the arcs in $F'$
can cover the circle. Maximum circular cover number $L_{max}(G)$ is defined as
the maximum value of $L(F)$ obtained over all possible family of arcs $F$ that
can represent $G$. We will show that if $G$ is a circular arc graph with
$L_{max}(G)> 4$ then $box(G) \leq 3$.


title:
Description of Superdeformed Nuclei in the A~190 Region by Generalized
  Deformed su_{q}(2)

abstract:
  The generalised deformed su_{q}(2) model is applied to 79 superdeformed bands
in the region A~190. The transition energies and the moments of inertia are
calculated within the model, Its validity is investigated by comparing it with
the experimental data. Both the standard su_{q}(2) and the generalized one fail
to account for the uprising and the downturn of the dynamic moment of inertia.
Both models, however, show remarkable agreement with the available experimental
data at low angular frequancy (hw <= 0.25MeV).


title:
Review and interpretation of the new heavy states discovered at the
  $B$-factories

abstract:
  I discuss some recent discoveries in the spectroscopy of the charmonium-like
resonances, and some of their theoretical interpretations are reviewed.


title:
The inverse conjecture for the Gowers norm over finite fields via the
  correspondence principle

abstract:
  The inverse conjecture for the Gowers norms $U^d(V)$ for finite-dimensional
vector spaces $V$ over a finite field $\F$ asserts, roughly speaking, that a
bounded function $f$ has large Gowers norm $\|f\|_{U^d(V)}$ if and only if it
correlates with a phase polynomial $\phi = e_\F(P)$ of degree at most $d-1$,
thus $P: V \to \F$ is a polynomial of degree at most $d-1$. In this paper, we
develop a variant of the Furstenberg correspondence principle which allows us
to establish this conjecture in the large characteristic case $\charac(F) \geq
d$ from an ergodic theory counterpart, which was recently established by
Bergelson and the authors. In low characteristic we obtain a partial result, in
which the phase polynomial $\phi$ is allowed to be of some larger degree
$C(d)$. The full inverse conjecture remains open in low characteristic; the
counterexamples by Lovett-Meshulam-Samorodnitsky or Green-Tao in this setting
can be avoided by a slight reformulation of the conjecture.


title: ULTRACAM observations of two accreting white dwarf pulsators

abstract:
  In this paper we present high time-resolution observations of GW Librae and
SDSS J161033.64-010223.3 -- two cataclysmic variables which have shown periodic
variations attributed to non-radial pulsations of the white dwarf. We observed
both these systems in their quiescent states and detect the strong pulsations
modes reported by previous authors. The identification of further periodicities
in GW Lib is limited by the accretion-driven flickering of the source, but in
the case of SDSS 1610 we identify several additional low-amplitude
periodicities. In the case of SDSS 1610, there is evidence to suggest that the
two primary signals have a different colour dependence, suggesting that they
may be different spherical harmonic modes. We additionally observed GW Lib
during several epochs following its 2007 dwarf nova outburst: the first time a
dwarf nova containing a pulsating white dwarf has been observed in such a
state. We do not observe any periodicities, suggesting that the heating of the
white dwarf had either switched-off the pulsations entirely, or reduced their
relative amplitude in flux to the point where they are undetectable. Further
observations eleven months after the outburst still do not show the pulsation
modes previously observed, but do show the emergence of two new periodic
signals. In addition to the WD pulsations, our observations of GW Lib in
quiescence show a larger-amplitude modulation in luminosity with a period of
approximately 2.1 hours. This has been previously observed, and its origin is
unclear: it is unrelated to the orbital period. We find this modulation to vary
over the course of our observations in phase and/or period. Our data support
the conclusion that this is an accretion-related phenomenon which originates in
the accretion disc.


title: The strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma created at RHIC

abstract:
  The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) was built to re-create and study
in the laboratory the extremely hot and dense matter that filled our entire
universe during its first few microseconds. Its operation since June 2000 has
been extremely successful, and the four large RHIC experiments have produced an
impressive body of data which indeed provide compelling evidence for the
formation of thermally equilibrated matter at unprecedented temperatures and
energy densities -- a "quark-gluon plasma (QGP)". A surprise has been the
discovery that this plasma behaves like an almost perfect fluid, with extremely
low viscosity. Theorists had expected a weakly interacting gas of quarks and
gluons, but instead we seem to have created a strongly coupled plasma liquid.
The experimental evidence strongly relies on a feature called "elliptic flow"
in off-central collisions, with additional support from other observations.
This article explains how we probe the strongly coupled QGP, describes the
ideas and measurements which led to the conclusion that the QGP is an almost
perfect liquid, and shows how they tie relativistic heavy-ion physics into
other burgeoning fields of modern physics, such as strongly coupled Coulomb
plasmas, ultracold systems of trapped atoms, and superstring theory.


title:
Bulge-Disk Decompositions and Structural Bimodality of Ursa Major
  Cluster Spiral Galaxies

abstract:
  We present bulge and disk (B/D) decompositions of existing K'-band surface
brightness profiles for 65 Ursa Major cluster spiral galaxies. This improves
upon the disk-only fits of Tully et al. (1996). The 1996 disk fits were used by
Tully & Verheijen (1997) for their discovery of the bimodality of structural
parameters in the UMa cluster galaxies. It is shown that our new 1D B/D
decompositions yield disk structural parameters that differ only slightly from
the basic fits of Tully et al. and evidence for structural bimodality of UMa
galaxies is maintained. Our B/D software for the decomposition of 1D surface
brightness profiles of galaxies uses a non-linear minimization scheme to
recover the best fitting Sersic bulge and exponential disk while accounting for
the possible presence of a compact nucleus and spiral arms and for the effects
of seeing and disk truncations. In agreement with Tully & Verheijen, we find
that the distribution of near-infrared disk central surface brightnesses is
bimodal with an F-test confidence of 80%. There is also strong evidence for a
local minimum in the luminosity function at M_K' ~ -22. A connection between
the brightness bimodality and a dynamical bimodality, based on new HI line
widths, is identified. The B/D parameters are presented in an Appendix.


title:
Multilayer Adsorption of Polyatomic Species on Homogeneous and
  Heterogeneous Surfaces

abstract:
  In this work we study the multilayer adsorption of polyatomic species on
homogeneous and heterogeneous bivariate surfaces. A new approximate analytic
isotherm is obtained and validated by comparing with Monte Carlo simulation.
Then, we use the well-known Brunauer-Emmet-Teller's (BET) approach to analyze
these isotherms and to estimate the monolayer volume, $v_\mathrm{m}$. The
results show that the value of the $v_\mathrm{m}$ obtained in this way depends
strongly on adsorbate size and surface topography. In all cases, we find that
the use of the BET equation leads to an underestimate of the true monolayer
capacity.


title: Inflation with a stringy minimal length, reworked

abstract:
  In this paper we revisit the formulation of scalar field theories on de
Sitter backgrounds subject to the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP). The
GUP arises in several contexts in string theory, but is most readily thought of
as resulting from using strings as effective probes of geometry, which suggests
an uncertainty relation incorporating the string scale $l_s$. After reviewing
the string theoretic case for the GUP, which implies a minimum length scale
$l_s$, we follow in the footsteps of Kempf and concern ourselves with how one
might write down field theories which respect the GUP. We uncover a new
representation of the GUP, which unlike previous studies, readily permits exact
analytical solutions for the mode functions of a scalar field on de Sitter
backgrounds. We find that scalar fields cannot be quantized on inflationary
backgrounds with a Hubble radius $H^{-1}$ smaller than the string scale,
implying a sensibly stringy (as opposed to Planckian) cutoff on the scale of
inflation resulting from the GUP. We also compute $(H l_s)^2$ corrections to
the two point correlation function analytically and comment on the future
prospects of observing such corrections in the fortunate circumstance our
universe is described by a very weakly coupled string theory.


title:
Characterization of Line Arrangement for which the Fundamental Group of
  the Complement is a Direct Product of Free Groups

abstract:
  Kwai Man Fan proved that if the intersection lattice of a line arrangement
does not contain a cycle, then the fundamental group of its complement is a
direct sum of infinite and cyclic free groups. He also conjectured that the
converse is true as well. The main purpose of this paper is to prove this
conjecture


title: 10 $\mu$m interferometry of disks around young stars

abstract:
  This contribution reviews results from interferometric observations of
circumstellar disks around young stars of $\lesssim$3 M$_{\odot}$, performed
with the MIDI instrument operating in the 10 $\mu$m spectral region. Two main
topics, the disk structure on $\sim$1-10 AU scales and the dust properties in
the same region, are illustrated with several examples of MIDI studies,
covering various evolutionary stages. The spatially resolved observations
largely confirm SED-only based hypotheses on disk structure, yet also reveal
degeneracies that may occur in such SED modeling. The properties of the dust on
the disk surface show a strong radial dependence: the dust close to the central
star has generally larger grain sizes and in particular a much higher
crystallinity than the dust in more remote disk regions.


title: A Combinatorial-Probabilistic Diagnostic Entropy and Information

abstract:
  A new combinatorial-probabilistic diagnostic entropy has been introduced. It
describes the pair-wise sum of probabilities of system conditions that have to
be distinguished during the diagnosing process. The proposed measure describes
the uncertainty of the system conditions, and at the same time complexity of
the diagnosis problem. Treating the assumed combinatorial-diagnostic entropy as
a primary notion, the information delivered by the symptoms has been defined.
The relationships have been derived to facilitate explicit, quantitative
assessment of the information of a single symptom as well as that of a symptoms
set. It has been proved that the combinatorial-probabilistic information shows
the property of additivity. The presented measures are focused on diagnosis
problem, but they can be easily applied to other disciplines such as decision
theory and classification.


title:
Effectively irreversible fringe contrast attenuation induced by one
  degree of freedom

abstract:
  The attenuation of fringe contrast in a Ramsey interferometer induced by the
atom-field interaction is analyzed. We show that short-time power series
expansion is not the proper tool to find the relevant time scale for such
process. Analytical expressions to quantify the relevant time scale for the
fringe contrast decay and to characterize the long-term effectiveness of this
process are proposed. For Pegg-Barnett phase state initial conditions, these
expressions suggest that: the increase of the energy of the field leads to
slower vanishing of fringe contrast; the increase of the field photon number
variance leads to more effective attenuation in the final regime. Numerical
simulations with coherent and thermal initial states are in qualitative
agreement with such results.


title:
Uniform H\"older bounds for nonlinear Schr\"odinger systems with strong
  competition

abstract:
  For the positive solutions of the competitive Gross-Pitaevskii system of two
equations, we prove that L^\infty boundedness implies uniform H\"older
boundedness as the competition parameter goes to infinity. Moreover we prove
that the limiting profile is Lipschitz continuous. The proof relies upon the
blow-up technique and the monotonicity formulae by Almgren and
Alt-Caffarelli-Friedman. This system arises in the Hartree-Fock approximation
theory for binary mixtures of Bose-Einstein condensates in different hyperfine
states. Extensions to systems with more than two densities are given.


title:
Distance determination to 12 Type II Supernovae using the Expanding
  Photosphere Method

abstract:
  We used early time photometry and spectroscopy of 12 Type II plateau
Supernovae (SNe IIP) to derive their distances using the Expanding Photosphere
Method (EPM). We performed this study using two sets of Type II supernovae (SNe
II) atmosphere models (E96, D05), three filter subsets (BV, BVI, VI) and two
methods for the host galaxy extinctions, which led to 12 Hubble diagrams. Using
the VI filter subset and the D05 models we obtained a dispersion in the Hubble
diagram of sigma = 0.32 mag and a Hubble constant of H0 = 52.4 +/- 4.3 km s-1
Mpc-1. We also applied the EPM analysis to the well-observed SN IIP SN 1999em.
With the VI filter subset and the D05 models we derived a distance of 13.9 +/-
1.4 Mpc, agreement with the Cepheid distance of 11.7 +/- 1.0 Mpc to the SN
1999em host galaxy (NGC 1637).


title: Criticality in multicomponent spherical models : results and cautions

abstract:
  To enable the study of criticality in multicomponent fluids, the standard
spherical model is generalized to describe an $\ns$-species hard core lattice
gas. On introducing $\ns$ spherical constraints, the free energy may be
expressed generally in terms of an $\ns\times\ns$ matrix describing the species
interactions. For binary systems, thermodynamic properties have simple
expressions, while all the pair correlation functions are combinations of just
two eigenmodes. When only hard-core and short-range overall attractive
interactions are present, a choice of variables relates the behavior to that of
one-component systems. Criticality occurs on a locus terminating a coexistence
surface; however, except at some special points, an unexpected
``demagnetization effect'' suppresses the normal divergence of susceptibilities
at criticality and distorts two-phase coexistence. This effect, unphysical for
fluids, arises from a general lack of symmetry and from the vectorial and
multicomponent character of the spherical model. Its origin can be understood
via a mean-field treatment of an XY spin system below criticality.


title: Uniform approximation on ideals of multilinear mappings

abstract:
  For each ideal of multilinear mappings $\cal M$ we explicitly construct a
corresponding ideal $^{a}{\cal M}$ such that multilinear forms in $^{a}{\cal
M}$ are exactly those which can be approximated, in the uniform norm, by
multilinear forms in ${\cal M}$. This construction is then applied to finite
type, compact, weakly compact and absolutely summing multilinear mappings. It
is also proved that the correspondence ${\cal M} \mapsto ^{a}{\cal M}$ is
Aron-Berner stability preserving.


title: Double Binary Pulsar Test of Dynamical Chern-Simons Modified Gravity

abstract:
  Chern-Simons modified gravity is a string-theory and loop-quantum-gravity
inspired effective theory that modifies General Relativity by adding a
parity-violating Pontryagin density to the Einstein-Hilbert action multiplied
by a coupling scalar. We strongly constrain non-dynamical Chern-Simons modified
gravity with a timelike Chern-Simons scalar through observations of the double
binary pulsar PSR J0737-3039A/B. We first calculate Chern-Simons corrections to
the orbital evolution of binary systems. We find that the ratio of the
correction to periastron precession to the general relativistic prediction
scales quadratically with the semi-major axis and inversely with the square of
the object's radius. Binary pulsar systems are thus ideal to test this theory,
since periastron precession can be measured with sub-degree accuracies and the
semi-major axis is millions of times larger than the stellar radius. Using data
from PSR J0737-3039A/B we dramatically constrain the non-dynamical Chern-Simons
coupling to $M_{\CS} := 1/|\dot{\vartheta}| > 33 {\textrm{meV}}$, approximately
a hundred billion times better than current Solar System tests.