title:
Evolution of the Intergalactic Opacity: Implications for the Ionizing
  Background, Cosmic Star Formation, and Quasar Activity

abstract:
  We investigate the implications of the intergalactic opacity for the
evolution of the cosmic UV luminosity density and its sources. Our main
constraint is our measurement of the Lya forest opacity at redshifts 2<z<4.2
from 86 high-resolution quasar spectra. In addition, we impose the requirements
that HI must be reionized by z=6 and HeII by z~3, and consider estimates of the
hardness of the ionizing background from HI to HeII column density ratios. The
derived hydrogen photoionization rate is remarkably flat over the Lya forest
redshift range covered. Because the quasar luminosity function is strongly
peaked near z~2, the lack of redshift evolution indicates that star-forming
galaxies likely dominate the photoionization rate at z>~3. Combined with direct
measurements of the galaxy UV luminosity function, this requires only a small
fraction f_esc~0.5% of galactic hydrogen ionizing photons to escape their
source for galaxies to solely account for the entire ionizing background. Under
the assumption that the galactic UV emissivity traces the star formation rate,
current state-of-the-art observational estimates of the star formation rate
density appear to underestimate the total photoionization rate at z~4 by a
factor ~4, are in tension with recent determinations of the UV luminosity
function, and fail to reionize the Universe by z~6 if extrapolated to
arbitrarily high redshift. A theoretical star formation history peaking earlier
fits the Lya forest photoionization rate well, reionizes the Universe in time,
and is in better agreement with the rate of z~4 gamma-ray bursts observed by
Swift. Quasars suffice to doubly ionize helium by z~3 and likely contribute a
non-negligible and perhaps dominant fraction of the hydrogen ionizing
background at their z~2 peak. [Abridged]


title: The Rise and Fall of Galaxy Activity in Dark Matter Haloes

abstract:
  We use a SDSS galaxy group catalogue to study the dependence of galaxy
activity on stellar mass, halo mass, and group hierarchy (centrals vs.
satellites). We split our galaxy sample in star-forming galaxies, galaxies with
optical AGN activity and radio sources. We find a smooth transition in halo
mass as the activity of central galaxies changes from star formation to optical
AGN activity to radio emission. Star-forming centrals preferentially reside in
haloes with M<10^{12} Msun, central galaxies with optical-AGN activity
typically inhabit haloes with M \sim 10^{13} Msun, and centrals emitting in the
radio mainly reside in haloes more massive than 10^{14} Msun. Although this
seems to suggest that the environment (halo mass) determines the type of
activity of its central galaxy, we find a similar trend with stellar mass:
central star formers typically have stellar masses below 10^{10} Msun, while
optical-AGN hosts and central radio sources have characteristic stellar masses
of 10^{10.8} Msun and 10^{11.6} Msun, respectively. Since more massive haloes
typically host more massive centrals, it is unclear whether the activity of a
central galaxy is causally connected to its stellar mass or to its halo mass.
In general, satellite galaxies have their activity suppressed wrt central
galaxies of the same stellar mass. At fixed stellar mass, we find that the
activity of satellite galaxies depends only weakly on halo mass. In fact, for
satellite galaxies the dependence of galaxy activity on halo mass is more than
four times weaker than the dependence on stellar mass. As we discuss, all these
results are consistent with a picture in which low mass haloes accrete cold
gas, while massive haloes have coronae of hot gas that promote radio activity
of their central galaxies. [Abridged]


title:
PReBeaM for Planck: A Polarized Regularized Beam Deconvolution
  Map-Making Method

abstract:
  We describe a maximum likelihood regularized beam deconvolution map-making
algorithm for data from high resolution, polarization sensitive instruments,
such as the Planck data set. The resulting algorithm, which we call PReBeaM, is
pixel-free and solves for the map directly in spherical harmonic space,
avoiding pixelization artifacts. While Fourier methods like ours are expected
to work best when applied to smooth, large-scale asymmetric beam systematics
(such as far-side lobe effects) we show that our m-truncated spherical harmonic
representation of the beam results in negligible reconstruction error -- even
for m as small as 4 for a polarized elliptically asymmetric beam. We describe a
hybrid OpenMP/MPI parallelization scheme which allows us to store and
manipulate the time-ordered data from instruments with arbitrary scanning
strategy. Finally, we apply our technique to noisy data and show that it
succeeds in removing visible power spectrum artifacts without generating excess
noise on small scales.


title: Habitable Climates: The Influence of Obliquity

abstract:
  Extrasolar terrestrial planets with the potential to host life might have
large obliquities or be subject to strong obliquity variations. We revisit the
habitability of oblique planets with an energy balance climate model (EBM)
allowing for dynamical transitions to ice-covered snowball states as a result
of ice-albedo feedback. Despite the great simplicity of our EBM, it captures
reasonably well the seasonal cycle of global energetic fluxes at Earth's
surface. It also performs satisfactorily against a full-physics climate model
of a highly oblique Earth-like planet, in an unusual regime of circulation
dominated by heat transport from the poles to the equator. Climates on oblique
terrestrial planets can violate global radiative balance through much of their
seasonal cycle, which limits the usefulness of simple radiative equilibrium
arguments. High obliquity planets have severe climates, with large amplitude
seasonal variations, but they are not necessarily more prone to global snowball
transitions than low obliquity planets. We find that terrestrial planets with
massive CO2 atmospheres, typically expected in the outer regions of habitable
zones, can also be subject to such dynamical snowball transitions. Some of the
snowball climates investigated for CO2-rich atmospheres experience partial
atmospheric collapse. Since long-term CO2 atmospheric build-up acts as a
climatic thermostat for habitable planets, partial CO2 collapse could limit the
habitability of such planets. A terrestrial planet's habitability may thus
depend sensitively on its short-term climatic stability.


title: The canonical shrinking soliton associated to a Ricci flow

abstract:
  To every Ricci flow on a manifold M over a time interval I, we associate a
shrinking Ricci soliton on the space-time M x I. We relate properties of the
original Ricci flow to properties of the new higher-dimensional Ricci flow
equipped with its own time-parameter. This geometric construction was
discovered by consideration of the theory of optimal transportation, and in
particular the results of the second author, and McCann and the second author;
we briefly survey the link between these subjects.


title:
The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Triple-Mode and 1O/3O
  Double-Mode Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud

abstract:
  We report the discovery of three new triple-mode classical Cepheids in the
Large Magellanic Cloud, two of them with the fundamental, first overtone and
second overtone excited, and one pulsating simultaneously in the first three
overtones. Thus, the number of triple-mode Cepheids in the LMC is increased to
five. We also present two objects belonging probably to a new type of
double-mode Cepheids having the first and third overtones excited. We measure
the rates of period change in these stars and detect decrease of periods in two
of them, what is in conflict with theoretical predictions.


title: Dynamic scanning probe microscopy of adsorbed molecules on graphite

abstract:
  We have used a combined dynamic scanning tunneling and atomic force
microscope to study the organisation of weakly bound adsorbed molecules on a
graphite substrate. Specifically we have acquired images of islands of the
perylene derivative molecules. These weakly bound molecules may be imaged in
dynamic STM, in which the probe is oscillated above the surface. We show that
molecular resolution may be readily attained and that a similar mode of imaging
may be realised using conventional STM arrangement. We also show, using
tunnelling spectroscopy, the presence of an energy gap for the adsorbed
molecules confirming a weak molecule-substrate interaction.


title: Predicting d$^0$ magnetism

abstract:
  Predicting magnetism originating from 2$p$ orbitals is a delicate problem,
which depends on the subtle interplay between covalency and Hund's coupling.
Calculations based on density functional theory and the local spin density
approximation fail in two remarkably different ways. On the one hand the
excessive delocalization of spin-polarized holes leads to half-metallic ground
states and the expectation of room temperature ferromagnetism. On the other
hand, in some cases a magnetic ground state may not be predicted at all. We
demonstrate that a simple self-interaction correction scheme modifies both
these situations via an enhanced localization of the holes responsible for the
magnetism and possibly Jahn-Teller distortion. In both cases the ground state
becomes insulating and the magnetic coupling between the impurities weak.


title:
Critical properties of 1D spin-gapped fermions at the onset of
  magnetization

abstract:
  We develop an effective field theory for finding critical properties of 1D
spin gapped fermions at the onset of magnetization. It is shown how the
spin-charge interaction leads to a linear critical behavior and finite
susceptibility for a wide range of models. We also discuss possible
manifestations of spin-charge coupling in cold atomic gases.


title:
Extrasolar Planet Eccentricities from Scattering in the Presence of
  Residual Gas Disks

abstract:
  Gravitational scattering between massive planets has been invoked to explain
the eccentricity distribution of extrasolar planets. For scattering to occur,
the planets must either form in -- or migrate into -- an unstable
configuration. In either case, it is likely that a residual gas disk, with a
mass comparable to that of the planets, will be present when scattering occurs.
Using explicit hydrodynamic simulations, we study the impact of gas disks on
the outcome of two-planet scattering. We assume a specific model in which the
planets are driven toward instability by gravitational torques from an outer
low mass disk. We find that the accretion of mass and angular momentum that
occurs when a scattered planet impacts the disk can strongly influence the
subsequent dynamics by reducing the number of close encounters. The
eccentricity of the innermost surviving planet at the epoch when the system
becomes Hill stable is not substantially altered from the gas-free case, but
the outer planet is circularized by its interaction with the disk. The
signature of scattering initiated by gas disk migration is thus a high fraction
of low eccentricity planets at larger radii accompanying known eccentric
planets. Subsequent secular evolution of the two planets in the presence of
damping can further damp both eccentricities, and tends to push systems away
from apsidal alignment and toward anti-alignment. We note that the late burst
of accretion when the outer planet impacts the disk is in principle observable,
probably via detection of a strong near-IR excess in systems with otherwise
weak disk and stellar accretion signatures.


title: Search for B+ --> mu+ nu_mu with inclusive reconstruction at BaBar

abstract:
  We search for the purely leptonic decay $B^{\pm} \to \mu^{\pm} \nu_{\mu}$ in
the full BaBar dataset, having an integrated luminosity of approximately 426
fb$^{-1}$. We adopt a fully inclusive approach, where the signal candidate is
identified by the highest momentum lepton in the event and the companion $B$ is
inclusively reconstructed without trying to identify its decay products. We set
a preliminary upper limit on the branching fraction of $\BR(B^{\pm} \to
\mu^{\pm} \nu_{\mu}) < 1.3 \times 10^{-6}$ at the 90% confidence level, using a
Bayesian approach.


title: Jacobi-Bernoulli cohomology and deformations of schemes and maps

abstract:
  We introduce a notion of Jacobi-Bernoulli cohomology associated to a
semi-simplicial Lie algebra (SELA). For an algebraic scheme $X$ over $\C$, we
construct a tangent SELA $\t_X$ and show that the Jacobi-Bernoulli cohomology
of $\t_X$ is related to infinitesimal deformations of $X$.


title: High Velocity Features in the Orion Nebula

abstract:
  We have used widely spaced in time Hubble Space Telescope images to determine
tangential velocities of features associated with outflows from young stars.
These observations were supplemented by groundbased telescope spectroscopy and
from the resultant radial velocities, space velocities were determined for many
outflows. Numerous new moving features were found and grouped into known and
newly assigned Herbig Haro objects.
  It was found that stellar outflow is highly discontinuous, as frequently is
the case, with long-term gaps of a few hundred years and that these outflow
periods are marked by staccato bursts over periods of about ten years. Although
this has been observed in other regions, the Orion Nebula Cluster presents the
richest display of this property.
  Most of the large scale Herbig Haro objects in the brightest part of the
Orion Nebula appear to originate from a small region northeast of the strong
Orion-S radio and infrared sources. With the possible exception of HH 203, we
are not able to identify specific stellar sources, but do identify candidate
sources for several other bright Herbig Haro objects.
  We find that there are optical features in the BN-KL region that can be
related to the known large scale outflow that originates there. We find
additional evidence for this outflow originating 500 to 1000 years ago.


title: Mechanisms for Spin-Supersolidity in S=1/2 Spin-Dimer Antiferromagnets

abstract:
  Using perturbative expansions and the contractor renormalization (CORE)
algorithm, we obtain effective hard-core bosonic Hamiltonians describing the
low-energy physics of $S=1/2$ spin-dimer antiferromagnets known to display
supersolid phases under an applied magnetic field. The resulting effective
models are investigated by means of mean-field analysis and quantum Monte Carlo
simulations. A "leapfrog mechanism", through means of which extra singlets
delocalize in a checkerboard-solid environment via correlated hoppings, is
unveiled that accounts for the supersolid behavior.


title: Two-Pulse Propagation in a Partially Phase-Coherent Medium

abstract:
  We analyze the effects of partial coherence of ground state preparation on
two-pulse propagation in a three-level $\Lambda$ medium, in contrast to
previous treastments that have considered the cases of media whose ground
states are characterized by probabilities (level populations) or by probability
amplitudes (coherent pure states). We present analytic solutions of the
Maxwell-Bloch equations, and we extend our analysis with numerical solutions to
the same equations. We interpret these solutions in the bright/dark dressed
state basis, and show that they describe a population transfer between the
bright and dark state. For mixed-state $\Lambda$ media with partial ground
state phase coherence the dark state can never be fully populated. This has
implications for phase-coherent effects such as pulse matching, coherent
population trapping, and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We
show that for partially phase-coherent three-level media, self induced
transparency (SIT) dominates EIT and our results suggest a corresponding
three-level area theorem.


title: Black Hole Entropy and the Problem of Universality

abstract:
  To derive black hole thermodynamics in any quantum theory of gravity, one
must introduce constraints that ensure that a black hole is actually present.
For a large class of black holes, the imposition of such ``horizon
constraints'' allows the use of conformal field theory methods to compute the
density of states, reproducing the correct Bekenstein-Hawking entropy in a
nearly model-independent manner. This approach may explain the ``universality''
of black hole entropy, the fact that many inequivalent descriptions of quantum
states all seem to give the same thermodynamic predictions. It also suggests an
elegant picture of the relevant degrees of freedom, as Goldstone-boson-like
excitations arising from symmetry breaking by a conformal anomaly induced by
the horizon constraints.


title:
Solving Einstein Field Equations in Observational Coordinates with
  Cosmological Data Functions: Spherically Symmetric Universes with
  Cosmological Constant

abstract:
  Extending the approach developed by Ara\'ujo and Stoeger [1] and improved in
Ara\'ujo {\it et al} [2], we have shown how to construct dust-filled $\Lambda
\neq 0$ Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmological models
from FLRW cosmological data on our past light cone. Apart from being of
interest in its own right -- demonstrating how such data fully determines the
models -- it is also illustrated in the flat case how the more general
spherically symmetric (SS) Einstein field equations can be integrated in
observational coordinates with data fit to FLRW forms arrayed on our past light
cone, thus showing how such data determines a FLRW universe -- which is not
{\it a priori} obvious. It is also shown how to integrate these exact SS
equations, in cases where the data are not FLRW, and the space-time is not
known to be flat. It is essential for both flat and non-flat cases to have data
giving the maximum of the observer area (angular-diameter) distance, and the
redshift $z_{max}$ at which that occurs. This enables the determination of the
vacuum-energy density $\mu_{\Lambda}$, which would otherwise remain
undetermined.


title:
Compatible Transformations for a Qudit Decoherence-free/Noiseless
  Encoding

abstract:
  The interest in decoherence-free, or noiseless subsystems (DFS/NSs) of
quantum systems is both of fundamental and practical interest. Understanding
the invariance of a set of states under certain transformations is mutually
associated with a better understanding of some fundamental aspects of quantum
mechanics as well as the practical utility of invariant subsystems. For
example, DFS/NSs are potentially useful for protecting quantum information in
quantum cryptography and quantum computing as well as enabling universal
computation. Here we discuss transformations which are compatible with a DFS/NS
that is composed of d-state systems which protect against collective noise.
They are compatible in the sense that they do not take the logical (encoded)
states outside of the DFS/NS during the transformation. Furthermore, it is
shown that the Hamiltonian evolutions derived here can be used to perform
universal quantum computation on a three qudit DFS/NS. Many of the methods used
in our derivations are directly applicable to a large variety of DFS/NSs. More
generally, we may also state that these transformations are compatible with
collective motions.


title:
Spin, orbital ordering and magnetic dynamics of LaVO3: magnetization,
  heat capacity and neutron scattering studies

abstract:
  We report the results of magnetization, heat capacity and neutron scattering
studies of LaVO3 single crystals. From the neutron diffraction studies, it was
found that the compound is magnetically ordered with a C-type antiferromagnetic
spin structure at about 136 K. In the vicinity of the ordering temperature, we
also observed hysteresis in the neutron diffraction data measured on cooling
and heating which indicates the first order nature of the phase transition. In
the antiferromagnetically ordered phase, the inelastic neutron scattering
studies reveal the presence of a temperature independent c axis spin-wave gap
of about 6 meV which is similar to that previously reported for the sister
compound YVO3.


title:
Caloric Determination of the Upper Critical Fields and Anisotropy of
  NdFeAsO1-xFx Single Crystals

abstract:
  We present heat capacity measurements of the upper critical fields of
single-crystal NdFeAsO1-xFx. In zero-magnetic field a clear step in the heat
capacity is observed at Tc = 47K . In fields applied perpendicular to the
FeAs-layers the step broadens significantly whereas for the in-plane
orientation the field effects are small. This behavior is reminiscent of the
CuO2-high-Tc superconductors and is a manifestation of pronounced fluctuation
effects. Using an entropy conserving construction we determine the transition
temperatures in applied fields and the upper critical field slopes of dHc2,a =
-0.72 T/K and dHc2,ab = -3.1 T/K. Zero-temperature coherence lengths of xiab =
3.7 nm and xic = 0.9 nm and a modest superconducting anisotropy of gamma ~ 4
can be deduced in a single-band model.


title: Bars in Cuspy Dark Halos

abstract:
  We examine the bar instability in models with an exponential disk and a cuspy
NFW-like dark matter (DM) halo inspired by cosmological simulations. Bar
evolution is studied as a function of numerical resolution in a sequence of
models spanning 10K to 100M DM particles - including a multi-mass model with an
effective resolution of 10G. The goal is to find convergence in dynamical
behaviour. We characterize the bar growth, the buckling instability, pattern
speed decay through resonant transfer of angular momentum, and possible
destruction of the DM halo cusp. Overall, most characteristics converge in
behaviour in detail for halos containing more than 10M particles. Notably, the
formation of the bar does not destroy the density cusp in this case. These
higher resolution simulations clearly illustrate the importance of discrete
resonances in transporting angular momentum from the bar to the halo.


title:
Positive factor networks: A graphical framework for modeling
  non-negative sequential data

abstract:
  We present a novel graphical framework for modeling non-negative sequential
data with hierarchical structure. Our model corresponds to a network of coupled
non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) modules, which we refer to as a
positive factor network (PFN). The data model is linear, subject to
non-negativity constraints, so that observation data consisting of an additive
combination of individually representable observations is also representable by
the network. This is a desirable property for modeling problems in
computational auditory scene analysis, since distinct sound sources in the
environment are often well-modeled as combining additively in the corresponding
magnitude spectrogram. We propose inference and learning algorithms that
leverage existing NMF algorithms and that are straightforward to implement. We
present a target tracking example and provide results for synthetic observation
data which serve to illustrate the interesting properties of PFNs and motivate
their potential usefulness in applications such as music transcription, source
separation, and speech recognition. We show how a target process characterized
by a hierarchical state transition model can be represented as a PFN. Our
results illustrate that a PFN which is defined in terms of a single target
observation can then be used to effectively track the states of multiple
simultaneous targets. Our results show that the quality of the inferred target
states degrades gradually as the observation noise is increased. We also
present results for an example in which meaningful hierarchical features are
extracted from a spectrogram. Such a hierarchical representation could be
useful for music transcription and source separation applications. We also
propose a network for language modeling.


title:
Model-Independent Constraints on Lepton-Flavor-Violating Decays of the
  Top Quark

abstract:
  The imminent start of the Large Hadron Collider, which is expected to produce
$\sim 10^8$ $t\bar{t}$ pairs per year, provides an unprecedented opportunity
for top physics. As the top quark is widely expected to be rather sensitive to
effects of new physics, a detailed study of its properties, including rare
decays, is called for. A possible, experimentally distinctive decay is the case
where a top decays to a light quark and a flavor-violating lepton-antilepton
pair. We use an effective operator analysis to place model-independent bounds
on contributions to the decays $t\to u e^{\pm} \mu^{\mp}$ and $t\to c e^{\pm}
\mu^{\mp}$. We enumerate the dimension-six operators which contribute to these
decays and which are invariant under the Standard Model gauge group. We
separate these operators into two classes, one with operators where the top
quark belongs to an SU(2) doublet and thus can contribute at tree level to
low-energy processes, and one class with operators where the top quark is a
right-handed singlet and can only contribute to low-energy processes via loop
diagrams. We use $B$ and $K$ decays to place limits on the coefficients of some
of these operators, but find that several remain unconstrained and could
potentially make observable contributions to top decay.


title: Aggregation of Risks and Asymptotic independence

abstract:
  We study the tail behavior of the distribution of the sum of asymptotically
independent risks whose marginal distributions belong to the maximal domain of
attraction of the Gumbel distribution. We impose conditions on the distribution
of the risks $(X,Y)$ such that $P(X + Y > x) \sim (const)P (X > x)$. With the
further assumption of non-negativity of the risks, the result is extended to
more than two risks. We note a sufficient condition for a distribution to
belong to both the maximal domain of attraction of the Gumbel distribution and
the subexponential class. We provide examples of distributions which satisfy
our assumptions. The examples include cases where the marginal distributions of
$X$ and $Y$ are subexponential and also cases where they are not. In addition,
the asymptotic behavior of linear combinations of such risks with positive
coefficients is explored leading to an approximate solution of an optimization
problem which is applied to portfolio design.


title: J/psi->VP decays and the quark and gluon content of the eta and eta'

abstract:
  The $\eta$-$\eta^\prime$ pseudoscalar mixing angle and the gluonium content
of the $\eta^\prime$ meson are deduced from an updated phenomenological
analysis of $J/\psi$ decays into a vector and a pseudoscalar meson. In absence
of gluonium, the value of the mixing angle in the quark-flavour basis is found
to be $\phi_P=(40.7\pm 2.3)^\circ$. In presence of gluonium, the values for the
mixing angle and the gluonic content of the $\eta^\prime$ wave function are
$\phi_P=(44.6\pm 4.4)^\circ$ and $Z^2_{\eta^\prime}=0.29^{+0.18}_{-0.26}$,
respectively. The newly reported values of $B(J/\psi\to\rho\pi)$ by the BABAR
and BES Collaborations are crucial to get a consistent description of data.


title:
Competing order, Fermi surface reconstruction, and quantum oscillations
  in underdoped high temperature superconductors

abstract:
  We consider incommensurate $d$-density wave order in underdoped high
temperature superconductors. We find that Fermi surface reconstruction can
correctly capture the phenomenology of the recent quantum oscillation
experiments that suggest incommensurate order. The predicted frequencies are a
frequency around 530 T arising from the electron pocket, a hole frequency at
around 1650 T, and a new low frequency from a smaller hole pocket at 250 T for
which there are some indications that require further investigation. The
oscillation corresponding to the electron pocket will be further split due to
bilayer coupling but the splitting is sufficiently small to require more
refined measurements. The truly incommensurate $d$-density wave breaks both
time reversal and inversion but the product of these two symmetry operations is
preserved. There is some similarity of our results with the spiral spin density
wave order, which, as pointed out by Overhauser, also breaks time reversal and
inversion. Calculations corresponding to higher order commensuration produces
results similar to anti-phase spin stripes, but appear to us to be an unlikely
explanation of the experiments. The analysis of the Gorkov equation in the
mixed state shows that the oscillation frequencies are unshifted from the
putative normal state and the additional Dingle factor arising from the
presence of the mixed state can provide a subtle distinction between the spiral
spin density wave and the $d$-density wave.


title: The weight filtration for real algebraic varieties

abstract:
  Using the work of Guillen and Navarro Aznar we associate to each real
algebraic variety a filtered chain complex, the weight complex, which is
well-defined up to filtered quasi-isomorphism, and which induces on Borel-Moore
homology with Z/2 coefficients an analog of the weight filtration for complex
algebraic varieties.


title: Invariant expansion for the trigonal band structure of graphene

abstract:
  We present a symmetry analysis of the trigonal band structure in graphene,
elucidating the transformational properties of the underlying basis functions
and the crucial role of time-reversal invariance. Group theory is used to
derive an invariant expansion of the Hamiltonian for electron states near the K
points of the graphene Brillouin zone. Besides yielding the characteristic
k-linear dispersion and higher-order corrections to it, this approach enables
the systematic incorporation of all terms arising from external electric and
magnetic fields, strain, and spin-orbit coupling up to any desired order.
Several new contributions are found, in addition to reproducing results
obtained previously within tight-binding calculations. Physical ramifications
of these new terms are discussed.


title: Eta' gluonic content and J/psi->VP decays

abstract:
  The $\eta$-$\eta^\prime$ pseudoscalar mixing angle and the gluonium content
of the $\eta^\prime$ meson are deduced from an updated phenomenological
analysis of $J/\psi$ decays into a vector and a pseudoscalar meson. The values
for the mixing angle and the gluonic content of the $\eta^\prime$ wave function
are $\phi_P=(44.5\pm 4.3)^\circ$ and $Z^2_{\eta^\prime}=0.28\pm 0.21$,
respectively.


title: The running fine structure constant alpha(E) via the Adler function

abstract:
  We present an up-to-date analysis for a precise determination of the
effective fine structure constant and discuss the prospects for future
improvements. We advocate to use a determination monitored by the Adler
function which allows us to exploit perturbative QCD in an optimal well
controlled way. Together with a long term program of hadronic cross section
measurements at energies up to a few GeV, a determination of alpha(M_Z) at a
precision comparable to the one of the Z mass M_Z should be feasible. Presently
alpha(E) at E>1 GeV is the least precisely known of the fundamental parameters
of the SM. Since, in spite of substantial progress due to new BaBar exclusive
data, the region 1.4 to 2.4 GeV remains the most problematic one a major step
in the reduction of the uncertainties are expected from VEPP-2000 and from a
possible ``high-energy'' option DAFNE-2 at Frascati. The up-to-date evaluation
reads Delta alpha^{(5)}_{had}(M_Z^2) = 0.027515 +/- 0.000149 or
alpha^{-1}(M_Z)=128.957 +/- 0.020.


title: High-energy hadron physics at J-PARC

abstract:
  The J-PARC facility is near completion and experiments will start in 2009 on
nuclear and particle physics projects. In this article, the J-PARC facility is
introduced, and possible projects are discussed in high-energy hadron physics
by using the primary proton beam of 30-50 GeV. There are proposed experiments
on charm-production and Drell-Yan processes as well as single spin asymmetries
for investigating quark and gluon structure of the nucleon and nuclei.
Parton-energy loss could be studied in the Drell-Yan processes. There is also a
proposal on hadron-mass modifications in a nuclear medium by using the proton
beam. In addition, possible topics include transition from hadron to quark
degrees of freedom by elastic pp scattering, color transparency by (p,2p),
short-range correlation in nuclear force by (p,2pN), tensor structure functions
for spin-one hadrons, fragmentation functions, and generalized parton
distributions in the ERBL region although proposals are not written on these
projects. If proton-beam polarization is attained, it is possible to
investigate details of nucleon spin structure. In the last part of this
article, our own studies are explained on parton distribution functions in
connection with the J-PARC projects.


title:
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Observations of the Bullet Cluster (1E
  0657-56) with APEX-SZ

abstract:
  We present observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) in the Bullet
cluster (1E 0657--56) using the APEX-SZ instrument at 150 GHz with a resolution
of 1 arcmin. The main results are maps of the SZE in this massive, merging
galaxy cluster. The cluster is detected with 23 sigma significance within the
central 1 arcmin radius of the source position. The SZE map has a broadly
similar morphology to that in existing X-ray maps of this system, and we find
no evidence for significant contamination of the SZE emission by radio or IR
sources. In order to make simple quantitative comparisons with cluster gas
models derived from X-ray observations, we fit our data to an isothermal
elliptical beta model, despite the inadequacy of such a model for this complex
merging system. With an X-ray derived prior on the power-law index, beta = 1.04
+0.16 -0.10, we find a core radius r_c =142 +/- 18 arcsec, an axial ratio of
0.889 +/- 0.072, and a central temperature decrement of -771 +/- 71
micro-K_CMB, including a +/-5.5% flux calibration uncertainty. Combining the
APEX-SZ map with a map of projected electron surface density from Chandra X-ray
observations, we determine the mass-weighted temperature of the cluster gas to
be T_mg=10.8 +/- 0.9 keV, significantly lower than some previously reported
X-ray spectroscopic temperatures. Under the assumption of an isothermal cluster
gas distribution in hydrostatic equilibrium, we compute the gas mass fraction
for prolate and oblate spheroidal geometries and find it to be consistent with
previous results from X-ray and weak lensing observations. This work is the
first result from the APEX-SZ experiment, and represents the first reported
scientific result from observations with a large array of multiplexed
superconducting transition-edge sensor bolometers.


title:
Constraining coronal heating: employing Bayesian analysis techniques to
  improve the determination of solar atmospheric plasma parameters

abstract:
  One way of revealing the nature of the coronal heating mechanism is by
comparing simple theoretical one dimensional hydrostatic loop models with
observations at the temperature and/or density structure along these features.
The most well-known method for dealing with comparisons like that is the
$\chi^2$ approach. In this paper we consider the restrictions imposed by this
approach and present an alternative way for making model comparisons using
Bayesian statistics. In order to quantify our beliefs we use Bayes factors and
information criteria such as AIC and BIC. Three simulated datasets are analyzed
in order to validate the procedure and assess the effects of varying error bar
size. Another two datasets (Ugarte-Urra et al., 2005; Priest et al., 2000) are
re-analyzed using the method described above. In one of these two datasets
(Ugarte-Urra et al., 2005), due to the error estimates in the observed
temperature values, it is not posible to distinguish between the different
heating mechanisms. For this we suggest that both Classical and Bayesian
statistics should be applied in order to make safe assumptions about the nature
of the coronal heating mechanisms.


title:
Second-order effects on the hyperfine structure of $P$ states of
  alkali-metal atoms

abstract:
  We analyze second-order $M1$-$M1$ and $M1$-$E2$ effects to the hyperfine
structure (HFS) of the lowest energy $P$ states of alkali-metal atoms arising
from the coupling of the two ($J=1/2,3/2$) fine-structure levels through the
hyperfine interaction. We find these effects to be especially sizable in Li,
leading to a $9\sigma$ correction to the most accurate reported experimental
value of the $A(P_{1/2})$ HFS constant of $^7$Li [D. Das and V. Natarajan, J.
Phys. B \textbf{41}, 035001 (2008)]. For the remaining alkali-metal systems,
the results tabulated within may be referenced as higher precision is sought in
experimental determination of the HFS constants.


title:
A Monte Carlo Method for Modeling Thermal Damping: Beyond the
  Brownian-Motion Master Equation

abstract:
  The "standard" Brownian motion master equation, used to describe thermal
damping, is not completely positive, and does not admit a Monte Carlo method,
important in numerical simulations. To eliminate both these problems one must
add a term that generates additional position diffusion. He we show that one
can obtain a completely positive simple quantum Brownian motion, efficiently
solvable, without any extra diffusion. This is achieved by using a stochastic
Schroedinger equation (SSE), closely analogous to Langevin's equation, that has
no equivalent Markovian master equation. Considering a specific example, we
show that this SSE is sensitive to nonlinearities in situations in which the
master equation is not, and may therefore be a better model of damping for
nonlinear systems.


title: Single-mode phonon transmission in symmetry broken carbon nanotubes

abstract:
  Normal mode phonon transmissions are studied in carbon nanotubes with the
presence of Stone-Wales (SW) defect, using a mode-matching method and through
the analysis of symmetry. The calculation shows that the transmission for low
group velocity acoustic phonons is evidently reduced at high frequency range,
and that this SW defect induced symmetry breaking strongly inhibits the
transmission of long wave optical phonons in carbon nanotubes. The
characteristic features of transmission for each phonon mode depend on the
symmetry. These findings suggest that the local heating in the defective
nanotubes may be contributed mainly from the low group velocity acoustic
phonons and optical phonons near the $\Gamma$-point.


title: Matzoh ball soup in spaces of constant curvature

abstract:
  In this paper, we generalize Magnanini-Sakaguchi's result [MS3] from
Euclidean space to spaces of constant curvature. More precisely, we show that
if a conductor satisfying the exterior geodesic sphere condition in the space
of constant curvature has initial temperature 0 and its boundary is kept at
temperature 1 (at all times), if the thermal conductivity of the conductor is
inverse of its metric, and if the conductor contains a proper sub-domain,
satisfying the interior geodesic cone condition and having constant boundary
temperature at each given time, then the conductor must be a geodesic ball.
Moreover, we show similar result for the wave equations and the Schr\"{o}dinger
equations in spaces of constant curvature.


title:
Constraints on the Leading-Twist Pion Distribution Amplitude from A QCD
  Light-Cone Sum Rule with Chiral Current

abstract:
  We present an improved analysis of the constraints on the first two
Gegenbauer moments, $a^\pi_2$ and $a^\pi_4$, of the pion's leading-twist
distribution amplitude from a QCD light-cone sum rule analysis of $B\to\pi$
weak transition form factor $f_{+}(q^2)$. Proper chiral current is adopted in
QCD light-cone sum rule so as to eliminate the most uncertain twist-3
contributions to $f_{+}(q^2)$, and then we concentrate our attention on the
properties of the leading-twist pion DA. A nearly model-independent $f_+(q^2)$
as shown in Ref.\cite{pball0} that is based on the spectrum of $B\to\pi l\nu$
decays from BaBar, together with their uncertainties, are adopted as the
standard shape for $f_+(q^2)$ to do our discussion. From a minimum $\chi^2$-fit
and by taking the theoretical uncertainties into account, we obtain
$a^\pi_2(1GeV)=0.17^{+0.15}_{-0.17}$ and $a^\pi_4(1GeV)=-0.06^{+0.20}_{-0.22}$
at the $1\sigma$ confidence level for $m^*_b\in[4.7,4,8] GeV$.


title:
Coordinate transformation based design of confined metamaterial
  structures

abstract:
  The coordinate transformation method is applied to bounded domains to design
metamaterial devices for steering spatially confined electromagnetic fields.
Both waveguide and free-space beam applications are considered as these are
analogous within the present approach. In particular, we describe devices that
bend the propagation direction and squeeze confined electromagnetic fields. Two
approaches in non-magnetic realization of these structures are examined. The
first is based on using a reduced set of material parameters, and the second on
finding non-magnetic transformation media. It is shown that transverse-magnetic
fields can be bent or squeezed to an arbitrary extent and without reflection
using only dielectric structures.


title:
Yukawa Corrections from Four-Point Functions in Intersecting D6-Brane
  Models

abstract:
  We discuss corrections to the Yukawa matrices of the Standard Model (SM)
fermions in intersecting D-brane models due to four-point interactions.
Recently, an intersecting D-brane model has been found where it is possible to
obtain correct masses and mixings for all quarks as well as the tau lepton.
However, the masses for the first two charged leptons come close to the right
values but are not quite correct. Since the electron and muon are quite light,
it is likely that there are additional corrections to their masses which cannot
be neglected. With this in mind, we consider contributions to the SM fermion
mass matrices from four-point interactions. In an explicit model, we show that
it is indeed possible to obtain the SM fermion masses and mixings which are a
better match to those resulting from experimental data extrapolated at the
unification scale when these corrections are included. These corrections may
have broader application to other models.


title: Sources for Chern-Simons theories

abstract:
  The coupling between Chern-Simons theories and matter sources defined by
branes of different dimensionalities is examined. It is shown that the standard
coupling to membranes, such as the one found in supergravity or in string
theory, does not operate in the same way for CS theories; the only p-branes
that naturally couple seem to be those with p=2n; these p-branes break the
gauge symmetry (and supersymmetry) in a controlled and sensible manner.


title:
Adiabatic approximation, Gell-Mann and Low theorem and degeneracies: A
  pedagogical example

abstract:
  We study a simple system described by a 2x2 Hamiltonian and the evolution of
the quantum states under the influence of a perturbation. More precisely, when
the initial Hamiltonian is not degenerate,we check analytically the validity of
the adiabatic approximation and verify that, even if the evolution operator has
no limit for adiabatic switchings, the Gell-Mann and Low formula allows to
follow the evolution of eigenstates. In the degenerate case, for generic
initial eigenstates, the adiabatic approximation (obtained by two different
limiting procedures) is either useless or wrong, and the Gell-Mann and Low
formula does not hold. We show how to select initial states in order to avoid
such failures.


title: Statistical properties of world investment networks

abstract:
  We have performed a detailed investigation on the world investment networks
constructed from the Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS) data of the
International Monetary Fund, ranging from 2001 to 2006. The distributions of
degrees and node strengthes are scale-free. The weight distributions can be
well modeled by the Weibull distribution. The maximum flow spanning trees of
the world investment networks possess two universal allometric scaling
relations, independent of time and the investment type. The topological scaling
exponent is $1.17\pm0.02$ and the flow scaling exponent is $1.03\pm0.01$.


title:
Non-Local Conductance Modulation by Molecules: STM of Substituted
  Styrene Heterostructures on H-Terminated Si(100)

abstract:
  One-dimensional organic heterostructures consisting of contiguous lines of
CF3- and OCH3-substituted styrene molecules on silicon are studied by scanning
tunneling microscopy and ab initio simulation. Dipole fields of OCH3-styrene
molecules are found to enhance conduction through molecules near
OCH3-styrene/CF3-styrene heterojunctions. Those of CF3-styrene depress
transport through the nearby silicon. Thus choice of substituents and their
attachment site on host molecules provide a means of differentially tuning
molecule and substrate transport at the molecular scale.


title: The impact of the oblateness of Regulus on the motion of its companion

abstract:
  The fast spinning B-star Regulus has recently been found to be orbited by a
fainter companion in a close circular path with orbital period P_b = 40.11(2)
d. Being its equatorial radius R_e 32% larger than the polar one R_p, Regulus
possesses a remarkable quadrupole mass moment Q. We investigate the effects of
Q on the orbital period P_b of its companion in order to see if they are
measurable, given the present-day level of accuracy in measuring P_b.
Conversely, we will look for deviations from the third Kepler law, attributed
to the quadrupole mass moment Q of Regulus, to constrain the ratio \gamma=m/M
of the system's masses.


title:
Instanton sector of correlated electron systems as the origin of
  populated pseudo-gap and flat "band" behavior: analytic solution

abstract:
  Finite temperature instantons between meta-stable vacua of correlated
electronic system are solved analytically for quasi one-dimensional Hubbard
model. The instantons produce dynamic symmetry breaking and connect metallic
state with the dual vacua: superconducting (SC) and spin-density wave (SDW)
states. The instantons spread along the Matsubara's imaginary time and possess
the structure similar to the coordinate-space solitonic lattices previously
discovered in quasi one-dimensional Peierls model. On the microscopic level the
inter-vacua excursion is described by mutual transformations between the
"resonating quartets" of the couples of electron-hole and Cooper pairs.
Spectral properties of the electrons in the "instantonic crystal" reveal
pseudo-gap (PG) behavior, with finite fermionic density of states in the center
of the PG and ``flat-band'' outside of it. Analytically derived inverse
temperature scaling of the pseudo-gap and the densities of the SC and SDW
condensates is discussed in the context of ARPES and STM data in high-Tc
cuprates.


title: Comments on higher-spin symmetries

abstract:
  The unconstrained frame-like formulation of an infinite tower of completely
symmetric tensor gauge fields is reviewed and examined in the limit where the
cosmological constant goes to zero. By partially fixing the gauge and solving
the torsion constraints, the form of the gauge transformations in the
unconstrained metric-like formulation are obtained till first order in a weak
field expansion. The algebra of the corresponding gauge symmetries is shown to
be equivalent, at this order and modulo (unphysical) gauge parameter
redefinitions, to the Lie algebra of Hermitian differential operators on R^n,
the restriction of which to the spin-two sector is the Lie algebra of
infinitesimal diffeomorphisms.


title: Encapsulation theory fundamentals

abstract:
  This paper proposes a theory of encapsulation, establishing a relationship
between encapsulation and information hiding through the concept of potential
structural complexity (P.S.C.), the maximum possible number of source code
dependencies that can exist between program units in a software system. The
P.S.C. of various, simple systems is examined in an attempt to demonstrate how
P.S.C. changes as program units are encapsulated among different configurations
of subsystems.


title:
Construction of bilinear control Hamiltonians using the series product
  and quantum feedback

abstract:
  We show that it is possible to construct closed quantum systems governed by a
bilinear Hamiltonian depending on an arbitrary input signal. This is achieved
by coupling the system to a quantum input field and performing a feedback of
the output field back into the system to cancel out the stochastic effects,
with the signal being added to the field between these events and later
subtracted. Here we assume the zero time delay limit between the various
connections and operations.


title:
Measurement of CP Asymmetries and Branching Fractions in B0 -> pi+ pi-,
  B0 -> K+ pi-, B0 -> pi0 pi0, B0 -> K0 pi0 and Isospin Analysis of B -> pi pi
  Decays

abstract:
  We present preliminary results of improved measurements of the CP-violating
asymmetries and branching fractions in the decays B0 -> pi+ pi-, B0 -> K+ pi-,
B0 -> pi0 pi0, and B0 -> K0 pi0. This update includes all data taken at the
Y(4S) resonance by the BaBar experiment at the asymmetric PEP-II B-meson
factory at SLAC, corresponding to 467 +- 5 million BBbar pairs. We find
  Spipi = -0.68 +- 0.10 +- 0.03,
  Cpipi = -0.25 +- 0.08 +- 0.02,
  AKpi = -0.107 +- 0.016 +0.006-0.004,
  Cpi0pi0 = -0.43 +- 0.26 +- 0.05,
  BF(B0 -> pi0 pi0) = (1.83 +- 0.21 +- 0.13) x 10^-6, BF(B0 -> K0 pi0) = (10.1
+- 0.6 +- 0.4) x 10^-6, where the first error is statistical and the second is
systematic. We observe CP violation with a significance of 6.7 sigma in B0 ->
pi+ pi- and 6.1 sigma in B0 -> K+ pi-. Constraints on the Unitarity Triangle
angle alpha are determined from the isospin relation between all B -> pipi
rates and asymmetries.


title:
Cooperative Behavior in a Model of Evolutionary Snowdrift Games with
  $N$-person Interactions

abstract:
  We propose a model of evolutionary snowdrift game with $N$-person
interactions and study the effects of multi-person interactions on the
emergence of cooperation. An exact $N$-th-order equation for the equilibrium
density of cooperators $x^*$ is derived for a well-mixed population using the
approach of replicator dynamics. The results show that the extent of
cooperation drops with increasing cost-to-benefit ratio and the number $N$ of
interaction persons in a group, with $x^{*}\sim1/N$ for large $N$. An algorithm
for numerical simulations is constructed for the model. The simulation results
are in good agreements with theoretical results of the replicator dynamics.


title:
Modification of the gamma-ray spectra by internal absorption in OVV
  blazars: The example cases of 3C 273 and 3C 279

abstract:
  Recent observations with the low threshold Cherenkov telescopes proved that
sub-TeV gamma-rays are able to arrive from active galaxies at relatively large
distances in spite of expected severe absorption in the extragalactic
background light (EBL). We calculate the gamma-ray spectra at TeV energies from
two example OVV quasars, 3C 273 and 3C 279, assuming that gamma-rays are
injected in the inner parts of the jets launched by the accretion disks. It is
assumed that gamma-rays in the broad energy range (from MeV up to TeV) are
produced in these blazars with the power law spectrum with the spectral index
as observed from these objects by the EGRET telescope at GeV energies. We take
into account the internal absorption of these gamma-rays by considering a few
different models for the radiation field surrounding the jet. The classical
picture of the relativistic blob in jet model for the injection of primary
gamma-rays is considered with the injection rate of gamma-rays as observed by
the EGRET telescope in the GeV energy range. The results of calculations are
compared with positive detection and the upper limits on the sub-TeV gamma-ray
fluxes from these two sources. It is concluded that even with the Stecker EBL
model, the level of the gamma-ray emission from 3C~279 is close to the recent
measurements in the sub-TeV gamma-ray energies provided that the injected
gamma-ray spectrum extends from the GeV energies over the next two decades with
this same spectral index. We also suggest that a few day time scale flare from
3C 273 can be detected by the MAGIC II stereo telescopes.


title:
Positive circuits and maximal number of fixed points in discrete
  dynamical systems

abstract:
  We consider the Cartesian product X of n finite intervals of integers and a
map F from X to itself. As main result, we establish an upper bound on the
number of fixed points for F which only depends on X and on the topology of the
positive circuits of the interaction graph associated with F. The proof uses
and strongly generalizes a theorem of Richard and Comet which corresponds to a
discrete version of the Thomas' conjecture: if the interaction graph associated
with F has no positive circuit, then F has at most one fixed point. The
obtained upper bound on the number of fixed points also strongly generalizes
the one established by Aracena et al for a particular class of Boolean
networks.


title:
Inhomogeneous Bulk Viscous Fluid Universe with Electromagnetic Field and
  Variable $\Lambda$-Term

abstract:
  Cylindrically symmetric inhomogeneous cosmological model for bulk viscous
fluid distribution with electromagnetic field is obtained. The source of the
magnetic field is due to an electric current produced along the z-axis.
$F_{12}$ is the non-vanishing component of electromagnetic field tensor. To get
the deterministic solution, it has been assumed that the expansion $\theta$ in
the model is proportional to the shear $\sigma$. The values of cosmological
constant for these models are found to be small and positive at late time,
which are consistent with the results from recent supernovae Ia observations.
Physical and geometric aspects of the models are also discussed in presence and
absence of magnetic field.


title:
QR-Adjustment for Clustering Tests Based on Nearest Neighbor Contingency
  Tables

abstract:
  The spatial interaction between two or more classes of points may cause
spatial clustering patterns such as segregation or association, which can be
tested using a nearest neighbor contingency table (NNCT). A NNCT is constructed
using the frequencies of class types of points in nearest neighbor (NN) pairs.
For the NNCT-tests, the null pattern is either complete spatial randomness
(CSR) of the points from two or more classes (called CSR independence) or
random labeling (RL). The distributions of the NNCT-test statistics depend on
the number of reflexive NNs (denoted by $R$) and the number of shared NNs
(denoted by $Q$), both of which depend on the allocation of the points. Hence
$Q$ and $R$ are fixed quantities under RL, but random variables under CSR
independence. Using their observed values in NNCT analysis makes the
distributions of the NNCT-test statistics conditional on $Q$ and $R$ under CSR
independence. In this article, I use the empirically estimated expected values
of $Q$ and $R$ under CSR independence pattern to remove the conditioning of
NNCT-tests (such a correction is called the \emph{QR-adjustment}, henceforth).
I present a Monte Carlo simulation study to compare the conditional NNCT-tests
and QR-adjusted tests under CSR independence and segregation and association
alternatives. I demonstrate that QR-adjustment does not significantly improve
the empirical size estimates under CSR independence and power estimates under
segregation or association alternatives. For illustrative purposes, I apply the
conditional and empirically corrected tests on two example data sets.


title: Large scale behavior of semiflexible heteropolymers

abstract:
  We consider a general discrete model for heterogeneous semiflexible polymer
chains. Both the thermal noise and the inhomogeneous character of the chain
(the disorder) are modeled in terms of random rotations. We focus on the
quenched regime, i.e., the analysis is performed for a given realization of the
disorder. Semiflexible models differ substantially from random walks on short
scales, but on large scales a Brownian behavior emerges. By exploiting
techniques from tensor analysis and non-commutative Fourier analysis, we
establish the Brownian character of the model on large scale and we obtain an
expression for the diffusion constant. We moreover give conditions yielding
quantitative mixing properties.


title:
The fraction of second generation stars in Globular Clusters from the
  analysis of the Horizontal Branch

abstract:
  Most Globular Clusters (GC) show chemical inhomogeneities in the composition
of their stars, apparently due to a second stellar generation (SG) in which the
forming gas is enriched by hot-CNO cycled material processed in stars belonging
to a first stellar generation (FG). We propose to use the horizontal branch
(HB) to infer which is today the relative number fraction of ''normal" and
anomalous stars in clusters. We assume that the anomalies also include enhanced
helium abundance. Helium variations have been recognized to be able to explain
several puzzling peculiarities (gaps, RR Lyr periods and period distribution,
ratio of blue to red stars, blue tails) in HBs. We extend the analysis to as
many clusters as possible. We show that, with few exceptions, 50% or more of
the stars belong to the SG. In other cases, where one would think of a simple
stellar population, we suggest that the stars might all belong to the SG. We
fit the optical and UV data of NGC2808, including a reproduction of the main
sequence splittings and an exam of the problem of "blue hook" stars. We also
show a detailed fit of the totally blue HB of M13, one among the clusters that
are possibly fully made up by SG stars. We conclude that the formation of the
SG is a crucial event in the life of GCs. A high fraction of SG stars can be
achieved only if the initial cluster was much more massive than the present one
and most of the FG low mass stars have been lost. As shown by D'Ercole et al.,
the mass loss due to type II supernovae of the FG may be the process
responsible for triggering the expansion of the cluster, the stripping of its
outer layers and the loss of most of the FG low-mass stars.


title: Linear Coloring and Linear Graphs

abstract:
  Motivated by the definition of linear coloring on simplicial complexes,
recently introduced in the context of algebraic topology \cite{Civan}, and the
framework through which it was studied, we introduce the linear coloring on
graphs. We provide an upper bound for the chromatic number $\chi(G)$, for any
graph $G$, and show that $G$ can be linearly colored in polynomial time by
proposing a simple linear coloring algorithm. Based on these results, we define
a new class of perfect graphs, which we call co-linear graphs, and study their
complement graphs, namely linear graphs. The linear coloring of a graph $G$ is
a vertex coloring such that two vertices can be assigned the same color, if
their corresponding clique sets are associated by the set inclusion relation (a
clique set of a vertex $u$ is the set of all maximal cliques containing $u$);
the linear chromatic number $\mathcal{\lambda}(G)$ of $G$ is the least integer
$k$ for which $G$ admits a linear coloring with $k$ colors. We show that linear
graphs are those graphs $G$ for which the linear chromatic number achieves its
theoretical lower bound in every induced subgraph of $G$. We prove inclusion
relations between these two classes of graphs and other subclasses of chordal
and co-chordal graphs, and also study the structure of the forbidden induced
subgraphs of the class of linear graphs.


title: Analytic subdivision invariants

abstract:
  This paper introduces an inner product on chain complexes of finite
simplicial complexes that is well-adapted to the harmonic study of
subdivisions. Its definition utilizes a decomposition of the chain spaces that
suggests a sequence of subdivision invariants which we show do not all vanish
for non-trivial subdivisions. We exhibit a combinatorial lower bound for these
invariants and provide an effective algorithm for their computation.
Unfortunately, these invariants cannot distinguish every subdivision nor do
they necessarily increase over successive subdivisions.


title:
On the Use of Nearest Neighbor Contingency Tables for Testing Spatial
  Segregation

abstract:
  For two or more classes (or types) of points, nearest neighbor contingency
tables (NNCTs) are constructed using nearest neighbor (NN) frequencies and are
used in testing spatial segregation of the classes. Pielou's test of
independence, Dixon's cell-specific, class-specific, and overall tests are the
tests based on NNCTs (i.e., they are NNCT-tests). These tests are designed and
intended for use under the null pattern of random labeling (RL) of completely
mapped data. However, it has been shown that Pielou's test is not appropriate
for testing segregation against the RL pattern while Dixon's tests are. In this
article, we compare Pielou's and Dixon's NNCT-tests; introduce the one-sided
versions of Pielou's test; extend the use of NNCT-tests for testing complete
spatial randomness (CSR) of points from two or more classes (which is called
\emph{CSR independence}, henceforth). We assess the finite sample performance
of the tests by an extensive Monte Carlo simulation study and demonstrate that
Dixon's tests are also appropriate for testing CSR independence; but Pielou's
test and the corresponding one-sided versions are liberal for testing CSR
independence or RL. Furthermore, we show that Pielou's tests are only
appropriate when the NNCT is based on a random sample of (base, NN) pairs. We
also prove the consistency of the tests under their appropriate null
hypotheses. Moreover, we investigate the edge (or boundary) effects on the
NNCT-tests and compare the buffer zone and toroidal edge correction methods for
these tests. We illustrate the tests on a real life and an artificial data set.


title: Evolution of stellar disk truncations since z=1

abstract:
  We present our recent results on the cosmic evolution of the outskirst of
disk galaxies. In particular we focus on disk-like galaxies with stellar disk
truncations. Using UDF, GOODS and SDSS data we show how the position of the
break (i.e. a direct estimator of the size of the stellar disk) evolves with
time since z~1. Our findings agree with an evolution on the radial position of
the break by a factor of 1.3+-0.1 in the last 8 Gyr for galaxies with similar
stellar masses. We also present radial color gradients and how they evolve with
time. At all redshift we find a radial inside-out bluing reaching a minimum at
the position of the break radius, this minimum is followed by a reddening
outwards. Our results constraint several galaxy disk formation models and
favour a scenario where stars are formed inside the break radius and are
relocated in the outskirts of galaxies through secular processes.


title: Dissipation and nonlocality in a general expanding braneworld universe

abstract:
  We study the evolution of both scalar and tensor cosmological perturbations
in a Randall-Sundrum braneworld having an arbitrary expansion history. We adopt
a four dimensional point of view where the degrees of freedom on the brane
constitute an open quantum system coupled to an environment composed of the
bulk gravitons. Due to the expansion of the universe, the brane degrees of
freedom and the bulk degrees of freedom interact as they propagate forward in
time. Brane excitations may decay through the emission of bulk gravitons which
may escape to future infinity, leading to a sort of dissipation from the four
dimensional point of view of an observer on the brane. Bulk gravitons may also
be reflected off of the curved bulk and reabsorbed by the brane, thereby
transformed into quanta on the brane, leading to a sort of nonlocality from the
four dimensional point of view. The dissipation and the nonlocality are encoded
into the retarded bulk propagator. We estimate the dissipation rates of the
bound state as well as of the matter degrees of freedom at different
cosmological epochs and for different sources of matter on the brane. We use a
near-brane limit of the bulk geometry for the study when purely nonlocal bulk
effects are encountered.


title:
CMB Temperature Anisotropy from Broken Spatial Isotropy due to an
  Homogeneous Cosmological Magnetic Field

abstract:
  We derive the cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropy two-point
correlation function (including off-diagonal correlations) from broken spatial
isotropy due to an arbitrarily oriented homogeneous cosmological magnetic
field.


title:
Lepton Flavor Violating $l \to l' \gamma$ and $Z \to l \bar l'$ Decays
  Induced by Scalar Leptoquarks

abstract:
  Motivated by the recent muon $g-2$ data, we study the lepton flavor violating
$l \to l' \gamma$ and $Z \to l \bar l'$ ($l, l' = e, \mu, \tau$) decays with $l
\neq l'$ in a scalar leptoquark model. Leptoquarks can produce sizable LFV
$l\to l'\gamma$ decay rates that can be easily reached by present or near
future experiments. % Leptoquark masses and couplings are constrained by the
muon $g-2$ data and the current $l \to l' \gamma$ bounds. We predict $Br(Z \to
\tau^\mp e^\pm)$ reaching the present limit ($10^{-5}$) and $Br(Z \to \mu^\mp
\tau^\pm)$ reaching $2\times 10^{-8}$, which will be accessible by future
linear colliders, whereas, the current bounds on LFV impose very strong
constraints on the $Br(Z \to \mu^\mp e^\pm)$ and the ratio is too low to be
observed in the near future.


title: Three-dimensional Chern-Simons black holes

abstract:
  We construct black hole solutions to three-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell
theory with both gravitational and electromagnetic Chern-Simons terms. These
intrinsically rotating solutions are geodesically complete, and causally
regular within a certain parameter range. Their mass, angular momentum and
entropy are found to satisfy the first law of black hole thermodynamics. These
Chern-Simons black holes admit a four-parameter local isometry algebra, which
generically is $sl(2,R)\times R$, and may be generated from the corresponding
vacua by local coordinate transformations.


title: Introduction to Normed *-Algebras and their Representations, 6th ed

abstract:
  This book treats:
  - spectral theory of Banach *-algebras,
  - basic representation theory of normed *-algebras,
  - spectral theory of representations of commutative *-algebras.
  A novel feature of the book is the construction of the enveloping C*-algebra
of a general normed *-algebra.


title: Powers of Ideals and Fibers of Morphisms

abstract:
  Let X\subset PP^n be a projective scheme over a field, and let phi:X --> Y be
a finite morphism. Our main result is a formula in terms of global data for the
maximum of the Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity of the fibers of \phi, considered
as subschemes of \PP^n.
  From an algebraic point of view, our formula is related to the theorem of
Cutkosky-Herzog-Trung and Kodiyalam showing that for any homogeneous ideal I in
a standard graded algebra S, the regularity of I^t can be written as
dt+\epsilon for some non-negative integers d, \epsilon, and all large t. In the
special case where I contains a power of S_+ and is generated by forms of a
single degree, our formula gives an interpretation of \epsilon: it is one less
than the maximum regularity of a fiber of the morphism associated to I.
  These formulas have strong consequences for ideals generated by generic
forms.


title: Temperature dependence of the nodal Fermi velocity in layered cuprates

abstract:
  We explain recently observed linear temperature dependence of the nodal Fermi
velocity $v_F (T)$ in near-optimally doped cuprates. We argue that it
originates from electron-electron interaction, and is a fundamental property of
an arbitrary 2D Fermi liquid. We consider a spin-fermion model with the same
parameters as in earlier studies, and show that the T term is about 30% at
300K, in agreement with the data. We show that the sub-leading term in $v_F
(T)$ is a regular (and small) $T^2$ correction. We also show that at a $2k_F$
quantum-critical point, temperature corrections to the dispersion are singular.


title:
Dirac-point engineering and topological phase transitions in honeycomb
  optical lattices

abstract:
  We study the electronic structure and the phase diagram of non-interacting
fermions confined to hexagonal optical lattices. In the first part, we compare
the properties of Dirac points arising in the eigenspectrum of either honeycomb
or triangular lattices. Numerical results are complemented by analytical
equations for weak and strong confinements. In the second part we discuss the
phase diagram and the evolution of Dirac points in honeycomb lattices applying
a tight-binding description with arbitrary nearest-neighbor hoppings. With
increasing asymmetry between the hoppings the Dirac points approach each other.
At a critical asymmetry the Dirac points merge to open an energy gap, thus
changing the topology of the eigenspectrum. We analyze the trajectory of the
Dirac points and study the density of states in the different phases.
Manifestations of the phase transition in the temperature dependence of the
specific heat and in the structure factor are discussed.


title:
Photon propagation and the VHE gamma-ray spectra of blazars: how
  transparent is really the Universe?

abstract:
  Recent findings by gamma-ray Cherenkov telescopes suggest a higher
transparency of the Universe to very-high-energy (VHE) photons than expected
from current models of the Extragalactic Background Light. It has been shown
that such transparency can be naturally explained by the DARMA scenario, in
which the photon mixes with a new, very light, axion-like particle predicted by
many extensions of the Standard Model of elementary particles. We discuss the
implications of DARMA for the VHE gamma-ray spectra of blazars, and show that
it successfully accounts for the observed correlation between spectral slope
and redshift by adopting for far-away sources the same emission spectrum
characteristic of nearby ones. DARMA also predicts the observed blazar spectral
index to become asymptotically independent of redshift for far-away sources.
Our prediction can be tested with the satellite-borne Fermi/LAT detector as
well as with the ground-based Cherenkov telescopes HESS, MAGIC, CANGAROOIII,
VERITAS and the Extensive Air Shower arrays ARGO-YBJ and MILAGRO.


title: Z2Z4-linear codes: rank and kernel

abstract:
  A code C is Z2Z4-additive if the set of coordinates can be partitioned into
two subsets X and Y such that the punctured code of C by deleting the
coordinates outside X (respectively, Y) is a binary linear code (respectively,
a quaternary linear code). In this paper, the rank and dimension of the kernel
for Z2Z4-linear codes, which are the corresponding binary codes of
Z2Z4-additive codes, are studied. The possible values of these two parameters
for Z2Z4-linear codes, giving lower and upper bounds, are established. For each
possible rank r between these bounds, the construction of a Z2Z4-linear code
with rank r is given. Equivalently, for each possible dimension of the kernel
k, the construction of a Z2Z4-linear code with dimension of the kernel k is
given. Finally, the bounds on the rank, once the kernel dimension is fixed, are
established and the construction of a Z2Z4-additive code for each possible pair
(r,k) is given.


title: Exotic Structures on smooth 4-manifolds

abstract:
  A short survey of exotic smooth structutes on 4-manifolds is given with a
special emphasis on the corresponding cork structures. Along the way we discuss
some of the more recent results in this direction, obtained jointly with
R.Matveyev, B.Ozbagci, C.Karakurt and K.Yasui.


title:
Maxwell's equations in Minkowski's world: their premetric generalization
  and the electromagnetic energy-momentum tensor

abstract:
  In December 1907, Minkowski expressed the Maxwell equations in the very
beautiful and compact 4-dimensional form: lor f=-s, lor F^*=0. Here `lor', an
abbreviation of Lorentz, represents the 4-dimensional differential operator. We
study Minkowski's derivation and show how these equations generalize to their
modern premetric form in the framework of tensor and exterior calculus (valid
also in general relativity). After mentioning some applications of premetric
electrodynamics, we turn to Minkowski's discovery of the energy-momentum tensor
of the electromagnetic field. We discuss how he arrived at it and how its
premetric formulation looks like.


title: Dual operator systems

abstract:
  We characterize weak* closed unital vector spaces of operators on a Hilbert
space $H$. More precisely, we first show that an operator system, which is the
dual of an operator space, can be represented completely isometrically and
weak* homeomorphically as a weak* closed operator subsystem of $B(H)$. An
analogous result is proved for unital operator spaces. Finally, we give some
somewhat surprising examples of dual unital operator spaces.


title:
Quantum control of dispersion in electromagnetically induced
  transparency via interacting dressed ground states

abstract:
  We offer a general treatment of electromagnetically induced transparency
(EIT) in a five level system consisting of four metastable ground states. Two
additional RF/microwave fields coherently couple the two ground states of the
standard EIT $\Lambda$ atom to a pair of additional hyperfine states in the
ground state manifold, generating two sets of dressed states that interact via
the probe and control lasers, which couple to the electronic excited state.
These new hyperfine dressed states manifest themselves in the linear optical
susceptibility of the probe as new resonances in addition to the Autler-Townes
doublet characteristic of EIT. In particular, we show that the existence of two
new narrow resonances, whose width are limited only by ground state
decoherence, appear inside the normal EIT transparency window. We show that by
controlling the intensity of these RF/microwave fields, one can engineer both
the position and width of these narrow resonances and thereby exercise
additional control over both the dispersion and group velocity of the probe.


title: Cluster algebras and Grassmannians of type G2

abstract:
  We prove a conjecture of Geiss, Leclerc and Schr\"{o}er, producing cluster
algebra structures on multi-homogeneous coordinate ring of partial flag
varieties, for the case $G_2$. As a consequence we sharpen the known fact that
coordinate ring of the double Bruhat cell $G^{e,w_0}$ is an upper cluster
algebra, by proving that it is a cluster algebra.


title: Quantum Particle Production at Sudden Singularities

abstract:
  We investigate the effects of quantum particle production on a classical
sudden singularity occurring at fine time in a Friedmann universe. We use an
exact solution to describe an initially radiation-dominated universe that
evolves into a sudden singularity at finite time. We calculate the density of
created particles exactly and find that it is generally much smaller than the
classical background density and pressure which produce the sudden singularity.
We conclude that, in the example studied, the quantum particle production does
not lead to the avoidance or modification to the sudden future singularity. We
argue that the effects of small residual anisotropies in the expansion will not
change these results and show how they can be related to studies of classical
particle production using a bulk viscosity. We conclude that we do not expect
to see significant observable effects from local sudden singularities on our
past light cone.


title: The AGILE Mission

abstract:
  AGILE is an Italian Space Agency mission dedicated to the observation of the
gamma-ray Universe. The AGILE very innovative instrumentation combines for the
first time a gamma-ray imager (sensitive in the energy range 30 MeV - 50 GeV),
a hard X-ray imager (sensitive in the range 18-60 keV) together with a
Calorimeter (sensitive in the range 300 keV - 100 MeV) and an anticoincidence
system. AGILE was successfully launched on April 23, 2007 from the Indian base
of Sriharikota and was inserted in an equatorial orbit with a very low particle
background. AGILE provides crucial data for the study of Active Galactic
Nuclei, Gamma-Ray Bursts, pulsars, unidentified gamma-ray sources, Galactic
compact objects, supernova remnants, TeV sources, and fundamental physics by
microsecond timing. An optimal angular resolution (reaching 0.1-0.2 degrees in
gamma-rays, 1-2 arcminutes in hard X-rays) and very large fields of view (2.5
sr and 1 sr, respectively) are obtained by the use of Silicon detectors
integrated in a very compact instrument. The paper describes the AGILE Mission
and its space and ground segments.


title: Fractional Poisson Bracket

abstract:
  In the present paper fractional Hamilton-Jacobi equation has been derived for
dynamical systems involving Caputo derivative. Fractional Poisson-bracket is
introduced. Further Hamilton's canonical equations are formulated and quantum
wave equation corresponds to the fractional Hamilton-Jacobi equation is
suggested. Illustrative examples have been worked out to explain the formalism.


title: Concrete Duality for Strict Infinity Categories

abstract:
  An elementary theory of strict $\infty $-categories with application to
concrete duality is given. All known famous dualities (Gelfand-Naimark,
Pontryagin, Stone, etc.) are so-called natural. A criterion of existence of
such a duality for higher categories is formulated. New examples are presented.


title:
Strong correlation effects and optical conductivity in electron doped
  cuprates

abstract:
  We demonstrate that most features ascribed to strong correlation effects in
various spectroscopies of the cuprates are captured by a calculation of the
self-energy incorporating effects of spin and charge fluctuations. The self
energy is calculated over the full doping range of electron-doped cuprates from
half filling to the overdoped system. The spectral function reveals four
subbands, two widely split incoherent bands representing the remnant of the
split Hubbard bands, and two additional coherent, spin- and charge-dressed
in-gap bands split by a spin-density wave, which collapses in the overdoped
regime. The incoherent features persist to high doping, producing a remnant
Mott gap in the optical spectra, while transitions between the in-gap states
lead to pseudogap features in the mid-infrared.


title: Direct Measurement of Neutrino Mass

abstract:
  The sum of the masses of the three neutrino mass eigenstates is now
constrained both from above and below, and lies between 55 and 6900 meV. The
lower limit is set by neutrino oscillations and the fact that masses are
non-negative. The upper limit is set by laboratory measurements on the beta
decay of tritium. These determinations share a common characteristic of being
essentially model independent, or "direct." The clustering on large scales in
the universe depends on this quantity, and, within the framework of Lambda-CDM
cosmology, favors a mass sum below about 600 meV. In this article, the
laboratory approach to neutrino mass via beta decay is emphasized, particularly
an experiment now under construction, KATRIN, on the beta decay of tritium.
Another candidate beta-active nuclide, Re-187, offers an advantage in phase
space but calls for a very different experimental approach.


title: On the escape of particles from cosmic ray modified shocks

abstract:
  Stationary solutions to the problem of particle acceleration at shock waves
in the non-linear regime, when the dynamical reaction of the accelerated
particles on the shock cannot be neglected, are known to show a prominent
energy flux escaping from the shock towards upstream infinity. On physical
grounds, the escape of particles from the upstream region of a shock has to be
expected in all those situations in which the maximum momentum of accelerated
particles, $p_{max}$, decreases with time, as is the case for the Sedov-Taylor
phase of expansion of a shell Supernova Remnant, when both the shock velocity
and the cosmic ray induced magnetization decrease. In this situation, at each
time $t$, particles with momenta larger than $p_{max}(t)$ leave the system from
upstream, carrying away a large fraction of the energy if the shock is strongly
modified by the presence of cosmic rays. This phenomenon is of crucial
importance for explaining the cosmic ray spectrum detected at Earth. In this
paper we discuss how this escape flux appears in the different approaches to
non-linear diffusive shock acceleration, and especially in the quasi-stationary
semi-analytical kinetic ones. We apply our calculations to the Sedov-Taylor
phase of a typical supernova remnant, including in a self-consistent way
particle acceleration, magnetic field amplification and the dynamical reaction
on the shock structure of both particles and fields. Within this framework we
calculate the temporal evolution of the maximum energy reached by the
accelerated particles and of the escape flux towards upstream infinity. The
latter quantity is directly related to the cosmic ray spectrum detected at
Earth.


title: Poincare dodecahedral space parameter estimates

abstract:
  We aim to improve the surface of last scattering (SLS) optimal
cross-correlation method in order to refine estimates of the Poincar\'e
dodecahedral space (PDS) cosmological parameters. We analytically derive the
formulae required to exclude points on the sky that cannot be members of close
SLS-SLS cross-pairs. These enable more efficient pair selection without
sacrificing uniformity of the underlying selection process. In certain cases
this decreases the calculation time and increases the number of pairs per
separation bin. (i) We recalculate Monte Carlo Markov Chains (MCMC) on the
five-year WMAP data; and (ii) we seek PDS solutions in a small number of
Gaussian random fluctuation (GRF) simulations. For 5 < alpha/deg < 60, a
calculation speed-up of 3-10 is obtained. (i) The best estimates of the PDS
parameters for the five-year WMAP data are similar to those for the three-year
data. (ii) Comparison of the optimal solutions found by the MCMC chains in the
observational map to those found in the simulated maps yields a slightly
stronger rejection of the simply connected model using $\alpha$ than using the
twist angle $\phi$. The best estimate of $\alpha$ implies that_given a large
scale auto-correlation as weak as that observed,_ the PDS-like
cross-correlation signal in the WMAP data is expected with a probability of
less than about 10%. The expected distribution of $\phi$ from the GRF
simulations is approximately Gaussian around zero, it is not uniform on
$[-\pi,\pi]$. We infer that for an infinite, flat, cosmic concordance model
with Gaussian random fluctuations, the chance of finding_both_ (a) a large
scale auto-correlation as weak as that observed,_and_ (b) a PDS-like signal
similar to that observed is less than about 0.015% to 1.25%.


title:
Dynamical Feedback of Self-generated Magnetic Fields in Cosmic Ray
  Modified Shocks

abstract:
  We present a semi-analytical kinetic calculation of the process of non-linear
diffusive shock acceleration (NLDSA) which includes the magnetic field
amplification due to cosmic ray induced streaming instability, the dynamical
reaction of the amplified magnetic field and the possible effects of turbulent
heating. The approach is specialized to parallel shock waves and the parameters
we chose are the ones appropriate to forward shocks in Supernova Remnants. Our
calculation allows us to show that the net effect of the amplified magnetic
field is to enhance the maximum momentum of accelerated particles while
reducing the concavity of the spectra, with respect to the standard predictions
of NLDSA. This is mainly due to the dynamical reaction of the amplified field
on the shock, which noticeably reduces the modification of the shock precursor.
The total compression factors which are obtained for parameters typical of
supernova remnants are $R_{tot}\sim 7-10$, in good agreement with the values
inferred from observations. The strength of the magnetic field produced through
excitation of streaming instability is found in good agreement with the values
inferred for several remnants if the thickness of the X-ray rims are
interpreted as due to severe synchrotron losses of high energy electrons. We
also discuss the relative role of turbulent heating and magnetic dynamical
reaction in driving the reduction of the precursor modification.


title:
Measurement of the fraction of t-tbar production via gluon-gluon fusion
  in p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV

abstract:
  We present a measurement of the ratio of t-tbar production cross section via
gluon-gluon fusion to the total t-tbar production cross section in p-pbar
collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV at the Tevatron. Using a data sample with an
integrated luminosity of 955/pb recorded by the CDF II detector at Fermilab, we
select events based on the t-tbar decay to lepton+jets. Using an artificial
neural network technique we discriminate between t-tbar events produced via
q-qbar annihilation and gluon-gluon fusion, and find
Cf=(gg->ttbar)/(pp->ttbar)<0.33 at the 68% confidence level. This result is
combined with a previous measurement to obtain the most precise measurement of
this quantity, Cf=0.07+0.15-0.07.


title: Cohomological rigidity of real Bott manifolds

abstract:
  A real Bott manifold is the total space of iterated RP^1 bundles starting
with a point, where each RP^1 bundle is projectivization of a Whitney sum of
two real line bundles. We prove that two real Bott manifolds are diffeomorphic
if their cohomology rings with Z/2 coefficients are isomorphic.
  A real Bott manifold is a real toric manifold and admits a flat riemannian
metric invariant under the natural action of an elementary abelian 2-group. We
also prove that the converse is true, namely a real toric manifold which admits
a flat riemannian metric invariant under the action of an elementary abelian
2-group is a real Bott manifold.


title: A Massive Core in Jupiter Predicted From First-Principles Simulations

abstract:
  Hydrogen-helium mixtures at conditions of Jupiter's interior are studied with
first-principles computer simulations. The resulting equation of state (EOS)
implies that Jupiter possesses a central core of 14-18 Earth masses of heavier
elements, a result that supports core accretion as standard model for the
formation of hydrogen-rich giant planets. Our nominal model has about 2 Earth
masses of planetary ices in the H-He-rich mantle, a result that is, within
modeling errors, consistent with abundances measured by the 1995 Galileo Entry
Probe mission (equivalent to about 5 Earth masses of planetary ices when
extrapolated to the mantle), suggesting that the composition found by the probe
may be representative of the entire planet. Interior models derived from this
first-principles EOS do not give a match to Jupiter's gravity moment J4 unless
one invokes interior differential rotation, implying that jovian interior
dynamics has an observable effect on the measured gravity field.


title:
Branching ratios and CP asymmetries of $B \to K \eta^{(\prime)}$ decays
  in the pQCD approach

abstract:
  We calculate the branching ratios and CP violating asymmetries of the four $B
\to K \etap$ decays in the perturbative QCD (pQCD) factorization approach.
Besides the full leading order contributions, the partial next-to-leading order
(NLO) contributions from the QCD vertex corrections, the quark loops, and the
chromo-magnetic penguins are also taken into account. The NLO pQCD predictions
for the CP-averaged branching ratios are $Br(B^+ \to K^+ \eta) \approx 3.2
\times 10^{-6}$, $Br(B^\pm \to K^\pm \etar) \approx 51.0 \times 10^{-6}$,
$Br(B^0 \to K^0 \eta) \approx 2.1 \times 10^{-6}$, and $Br(B^0 \to K^0 \etar)
\approx 50.3 \times 10^{-6}$. The NLO contributions can provide a 70%
enhancement to the LO $Br(B \to K \etar)$, but a 30% reduction to the LO $Br(B
\to K \eta)$, which play the key role in understanding the observed pattern of
branching ratios. The NLO pQCD predictions for the CP-violating asymmetries,
such as $\acp^{dir} (K^0_S \etar) \sim 2.3% $ and $\acp^{mix}(K^0_S \etar)\sim
63%$, agree very well with currently available data. This means that the
deviation $\Delta S=\acp^{mix}(K^0_S \etar) - \sin{2\beta}$ in pQCD approach is
also very small.


title:
Comparison of Jupiter Interior Models Derived from First-Principles
  Simulations

abstract:
  Recently two groups used first-principles computer simulations to model
Jupiter's interior. While both studies relied on the same simulation technique,
density functional molecular dynamics, the groups derived very different
conclusions. In particular estimates for the size of Jupiter's core and the
metallicity of its hydrogen-helium mantle differed substantially. In this
paper, we discuss the differences of the approaches and give an explanation for
the differing conclusions.


title:
Effect of pressure on the anomalous response functions of a confined
  water monolayer at low temperature

abstract:
  We study a coarse-grained model for a water monolayer that cannot crystallize
due to the presence of confining interfaces, such as protein powders or
inorganic surfaces. Using both Monte Carlo simulations and mean field
calculations, we calculate three response functions: the isobaric specific heat
$C_P$, the isothermal compressibility $K_T$, and the isobaric thermal
expansivity $\alpha_P$. At low temperature $T$, we find two distinct maxima in
$C_P$, $K_T$ and $|\alpha_P|$, all converging toward a liquid-liquid critical
point (LLCP) with increasing pressure $P$. We show that the maximum in $C_P$ at
higher $T$ is due to the fluctuations of hydrogen (H) bond formation and that
the second maximum at lower $T$ is due to the cooperativity among the H bonds.
We discuss a similar effect in $K_T$ and $|\alpha_P|$. If this cooperativity
were not taken into account, both the lower-$T$ maximum and the LLCP would
disappear. However, comparison with recent experiments on water hydrating
protein powders provides evidence for the existence of the lower-$T$ maximum,
supporting the hypothesized LLCP at positive $P$ and finite $T$. The model also
predicts that when $P$ moves closer to the critical $P$ the $C_P$ maxima move
closer in $T$ until they merge at the LLCP. Considering that other scenarios
for water are thermodynamically possible, we discuss how an experimental
measurement of the changing separation in $T$ between the two maxima of $C_P$
as $P$ increases could determine the best scenario for describing water.


title: Phase Diagrams of Network Traffic

abstract:
  This paper has been withdrawn due to errors in the analysis of data with
Carrier Access Rate control and statistical methodologies.


title: Modified dispersion relations and (A)dS Schwarzschild Black holes

abstract:
  In this paper we investigate the impact of modified dispersion relations
(MDR) on (Anti)de Sitter-Schwarzschild black holes. In this context we find the
temperature of black holes can be derived with important corrections. In
particular given a specific MDR the temperature has a maximal value such that
it can prevent black holes from total evaporation. The entropy of the (A)dS
black holes is also obtained with a logarithmic correction.


title: On a class of II_1 factors with at most one Cartan subalgebra II

abstract:
  This is a continuation of our previous paper studying the structure of Cartan
subalgebras of von Neumann factors of type II_1. We provide more examples of
II_1 factors having either zero, one or several Cartan subalgebras. We also
prove a rigidity result for some group measure space II_1 factors.


title: Evidence for Neutral B Meson Decays to wK*0

abstract:
  We present the results of a study of the charmless vector-vector decay
B0->wK*0 with 657x10^6 BB(bar) pairs collected with the Belle detector at the
KEKB e+e- collider. We measure the branching fraction to be
B(B0->wK*0)=[1.8+/-0.7(stat)+/-0.3(syst)]x10^-6 with 3.0sigma significance. We
also perform a helicity analysis of the w and K*0 vector mesons, and obtain the
longitudinal polarization fraction
fL(B0->wK*0)=0.56+/-0.29(stat)+0.18-0.08(syst). Finally, we measure a large
non-resonant branching fraction B[B->wK+pi-; M(Kpi)\in(0.755,1.250)
GeV/c^2]=[5.1+/-0.7(stat)+/-0.7(syst)]x10^-6 with a significance of 9.5sigma.


title: A Theoretical Model of Chaotic Attractor in Tumor Growth and Metastasis

abstract:
  This paper proposes a novel chaotic reaction-diffusion model of cellular
tumor growth and metastasis. The model is based on the multiscale diffusion
cancer-invasion model (MDCM) and formulated by introducing strong nonlinear
coupling into the MDCM. The new model exhibits temporal chaotic behavior (which
resembles the classical Lorenz strange attractor) and yet retains all the
characteristics of the MDCM diffusion model. It mathematically describes both
the processes of carcinogenesis and metastasis, as well as the sensitive
dependence of cancer evolution on initial conditions and parameters. On the
basis of this chaotic tumor-growth model, a generic concept of carcinogenesis
and metastasis is formulated.
  Keywords: reaction-diffusion tumor growth model, chaotic attractor, sensitive
dependence on initial tumor characteristics


title: Quantum Zeno and Anti-Zeno Effect without Rotating Wave Approximation

abstract:
  The effect of the anti-rotating terms on the short-time evolution and the
quantum Zeno (QZE) and anti-Zeno (AQZE) effects is studied for a two-level
system coupled to a bosonic environment. A unitary transformation and
perturbation theory are used to obtain the electron self-energy, energy shift
and the enhanced QZE or the AQZE, simultaneously. The calculated Zeno time
depends on the atomic transition frequency sensitively. When the atomic
transition frequency is smaller than the central frequency of the spectrum of
boson environment, the Zeno time is prolonged and the anti-rotating terms
enhance the QZE; when it is larger than that the Zeno time is reduced and the
anti-rotating terms enhance the AQZE.


title:
Connections of activated hopping processes with the breakdown of the
  Stokes-Einstein relation and with aspects of dynamical heterogeneities

abstract:
  We develop a new extended version of the mode-coupling theory (MCT) for glass
transition, which incorporates activated hopping processes via the dynamical
theory originally formulated to describe diffusion-jump processes in crystals.
The dynamical-theory approach adapted here to glass-forming liquids treats
hopping as arising from vibrational fluctuations in quasi-arrested state where
particles are trapped inside their cages, and the hopping rate is formulated in
terms of the Debye-Waller factors characterizing the structure of the
quasi-arrested state. The resulting expression for the hopping rate takes an
activated form, and the barrier height for the hopping is ``self-generated'' in
the sense that it is present only in those states where the dynamics exhibits a
well defined plateau. It is discussed how such a hopping rate can be
incorporated into MCT so that the sharp nonergodic transition predicted by the
idealized version of the theory is replaced by a rapid but smooth crossover. We
then show that the developed theory accounts for the breakdown of the
Stokes-Einstein relation observed in a variety of fragile glass formers. It is
also demonstrated that characteristic features of dynamical heterogeneities
revealed by recent computer simulations are reproduced by the theory. More
specifically, a substantial increase of the non-Gaussian parameter, double-peak
structure in the probability distribution of particle displacements, and the
presence of a growing dynamic length scale are predicted by the extended MCT
developed here, which the idealized version of the theory failed to reproduce.
These results of the theory are demonstrated for a model of the Lennard-Jones
system, and are compared with related computer-simulation results and
experimental data.


title: C^0-rigidity of the double Poisson bracket

abstract:
  The paper is devoted to function theory on symplectic manifolds. We study a
natural class of functionals involving the double Poisson brackets from the
viewpoint of their robustness properties with respect to small perturbations in
the uniform norm. We observe an hierarchy of such robustness properties. The
methods involve Hofer's geometry on the symplectic side and
Landau-Hadamard-Kolmogorov inequalities on the function-theoretic side.


title:
Spectral Relationships Between Kicked Harper and On-Resonance Double
  Kicked Rotor Operators

abstract:
  Kicked Harper operators and on-resonance double kicked rotor operators model
quantum systems whose semiclassical limits exhibit chaotic dynamics. Recent
computational studies indicate a striking resemblance between the spectrums of
these operators. In this paper we apply C*-algebra methods to explain this
resemblance. We show that each pair of corresponding operators belong to a
common rotation C*-algebra B_\alpha, prove that their spectrums are equal if
\alpha is irrational, and prove that the Hausdorff distance between their
spectrums converges to zero as q increases if \alpha = p/q with p and q coprime
integers. Moreover, we show that corresponding operators in B_\alpha are
homomorphic images of mother operators in the universal rotation C*-algebra
A_\alpha that are unitarily equivalent and hence have identical spectrums.
These results extend analogous results for almost Mathieu operators. We also
utilize the C*-algebraic framework to develop efficient algorithms to compute
the spectrums of these mother operators for rational \alpha and present
preliminary numerical results that support the conjecture that their spectrums
are Cantor sets if \alpha is irrational. This conjecture for almost Mathieu
operators, called the Ten Martini Problem, was recently proved after intensive
efforts over several decades. This proof for the almost Mathieu operators
utilized transfer matrix methods, which do not exist for the kicked operators.
We outline a strategy, based on a special property of loop groups of semisimple
Lie groups, to prove this conjecture for the kicked operators.


title:
Generating families and Legendrian contact homology in the standard
  contact space

abstract:
  We show that if a Legendrian knot in standard contact ${\bb R}^3$ possesses a
generating family then there exists an augmentation of the Chekanov-Eliashberg
DGA so that the associated linearized contact homology (LCH) is isomorphic to
singular homology groups arising from the generating family. In this setting we
show Sabloff's duality result for LCH may be viewed as Alexander duality. In
addition, we provide an explicit construction of a generating family for a
front diagram with graded normal ruling and give a new approach to augmentation
$\Rightarrow$ normal ruling.