title: Height-conserving quantum dimer models

abstract:
  We propose a height-conserving quantum dimer model (hQDM) such that the
lattice sum of its associated height field is conserved, and that it admits a
Rokhsar-Kivelson (RK) point. The hQDM with minimal interaction range on the
square lattice exhibits Hilbert space fragmentation and maps exactly to the XXZ
spin model on the square lattice in certain Krylov subspaces. We obtain the
ground-state phase diagram of hQDM via quantum Monte Carlo simulations, and
demonstrate that a large portion of it is within the Krylov subspaces which
admit the exact mapping to the XXZ model, with dimer ordered phases
corresponding to easy-axis and easy-plane spin orders. At the RK point, the
apparent dynamical exponents obtained from the single mode approximation and
the height correlation function show drastically different behavior across the
Krylov subspaces, exemplifying Hilbert space fragmentation and emergent glassy
phenomena.


title: A Note on Proton Stability in the Standard Model

abstract:
  In this short note we describe the symmetry responsible for absolute,
nonperturbative proton stability in the Standard Model. The SM with $N_c$
colors and ${N_g}$ generations has an exact, anomaly-free,
generation-independent, global symmetry group $U(1)_{B-N_c L} \times
\mathbb{Z}_{N_g}^L$, which contains a subgroup of baryon plus lepton number of
order $2 N_c {N_g}$. This disallows proton decay for ${N_g}>1$. Many
well-studied models beyond the SM explicitly break this global symmetry, and
the alternative deserves further attention.


title: Snowmass White Paper: String Theory and Particle Physics

abstract:
  We review recent developments and outstanding questions regarding connecting
the top-down UV complete physical framework of string theory with the observed
physics of the Standard Model and beyond the Standard Model physics,
emphasizing the global nonperturbative framework of F-theory and general
lessons from UV physics. This paper, prepared for the TF01 conveners of the
Snowmass 2022 process, provides a brief synopsis of this important area,
focusing on ongoing developments and opportunities.


title:
Biadjoint Scalars and Associahedra from Residues of Generalized
  Amplitudes

abstract:
  Generalized scattering amplitudes $m^{(k)}_n$, discovered by Cachazo, Early,
Guevara and Mizera (CEGM), form a symmetric hierarchy which is essentially
recursive in nature. In the Generalized Feynman Diagrams framework, $m^{(k)}_n$
becomes an \textit{interpolation} of $n$ copies of $m^{(k-1)}_{n-1}$ which can
be reconstituted from compatible combinatorial data on the facets of the
hypersimplex $\Delta_{k,n}$.
  The interpolation, solved by CEGM generalized amplitudes, is tightly
constrained: the combinatorial data on the $n$ facets of $\Delta_{k,n}$ must
extend into its interior to a particular kind of subdivision that is matroidal
and \textit{regular}: the internal faces of the subdivision should be
projections of the bends of a piecewise linear surface over $\Delta_{k,n}$.
Numerous physical and combinatorial questions have been raised; one of these
was to determine if and how the standard biadjoint scalar amplitude $m^{(2)}_n$
itself exists systematically "inside" $m^{(k)}_n$.
  In this paper we find an entire forest of identifications of $m^{(2)}_n$ with
multi-dimensional residues of $m^{(3)}_n$, where the kinematic space for each
$m^{(2)}_n$ maps into a twisted chart in the bulk kinematic space. We find
$n\cdot C^{(2)}_{n-5}$ such identifications, where $C^{(2)}_p$ are the Catalan
numbers. We show that after a suitable one-parameter deformation which we call
a \textit{parallel hard limit}, these residues aggregate to produce $n$
distinct, cyclically permuted copies of a product $m^{(2)}_n \cdot
m^{(2)}_{n-3}$.
  We propose a generalization which would give rise to identifications of
$m^{(2)}_n$ inside $m^{(k)}_n$ for $k\ge 4$, via $(k-2)(n-k-2)$-dimensional
residues. Our proof for $k=3$ uses the CEGM formula for $m^{(3)}_n$; it
predicts a new Minkowski sum realization of the associahedron in terms of
certain positroid polytopes in the second hypersimplex $\Delta_{2,n}$.


title: Dark Matter-Induced Multi-Phase Dynamical Symmetry Breaking

abstract:
  We consider the classically scale invariant Higgs-dilaton model of dynamical
symmetry breaking extended with an extra scalar field that plays the role of
dark matter. The Higgs boson is light near a critical boundary between
different symmetry breaking phases, where quantum corrections beyond the usual
Gildener-Weinberg approximation become relevant. This implies a tighter
connection between dark matter and Higgs phenomenology. The model has only
three free parameters, yet it allows for the observed relic abundance of dark
matter while respecting all constraints. The direct detection cross section
mediated by the Higgs boson is determined by the dark matter mass alone and is
testable at future experiments.


title: Prominent quantum many-body scars in a truncated Schwinger model

abstract:
  The high level of control and precision achievable in current synthetic
quantum matter setups has enabled first attempts at quantum-simulating various
intriguing phenomena in condensed matter physics, including those probing
thermalization or its absence in closed quantum systems. In a recent work
[Desaules \textit{et al.} [arXiv:2203.08830], we have shown that quantum
many-body scars -- special low-entropy eigenstates that weakly break ergodicity
in nonintegrable systems -- arise in spin-$S$ quantum link models that converge
to $(1+1)-$D lattice quantum electrodynamics (Schwinger model) in the
Kogut--Susskind limit $S\to\infty$. In this work, we further demonstrate that
quantum many-body scars exist in a truncated version of the Schwinger model,
and are qualitatively more prominent than their counterparts in spin-$S$
quantum link models. We illustrate this by, among other things, performing a
finite-$S$ scaling analysis that strongly suggests that scarring persists in
the truncated Schwinger model in the limit $S\to\infty$. Although it does not
asymptotically converge to the Schwinger model, the truncated formulation is
relevant to synthetic quantum matter experiments, and also provides fundamental
insight into the nature of quantum many-body scars, their connection to lattice
gauge theories, and the thermalization dynamics of the latter. Our conclusions
can be readily tested in current cold-atom setups.

categories: cond-mat.quant-gas cond-mat.str-el hep-lat quant-ph


title:
Perspectives for multi-messenger astronomy with the next generation of
  gravitational-wave detectors and high-energy satellites

abstract:
  The Einstein Telescope (ET) is going to bring a revolution for the future of
multi-messenger astrophysics. In order to detect the counterparts of binary
neutron star (BNS) mergers at high redshift, the high-energy observations will
play a crucial role. Here, we explore the perspectives of ET, as single
observatory and in a network of gravitational-wave (GW) detectors, operating in
synergy with future $\gamma$-ray and X-ray satellites. We predict the
high-energy emission of BNS mergers and its detectability in a theoretical
framework which is able to reproduce the properties of the current sample of
observed short GRBs (SGRB). We estimate the joint GW and high-energy detection
rate for both the prompt and afterglow emissions, testing several combinations
of instruments and observational strategies. We find that the vast majority of
SGRBs detected in $\gamma$-rays will have a detectable GW counterpart; the
joint detection efficiency approaches $100\%$ considering a network of third
generation GW observatories. The probability of identifying the electromagnetic
counterpart of BNS mergers is significantly enhanced if the sky localisation
provided by GW instruments is observed by wide field X-ray monitors. We
emphasize that the role of the future X-ray observatories will be very crucial
for the detection of the fainter emission outside the jet core, which will
allow us to probe the yet unexplored population of low-luminosity SGRBs in the
nearby Universe, as well as to unveil the nature of the jet structure and the
connections with the progenitor properties.


title: The S-Matrix of 2D Type 0B String Theory Part 2: D-Instanton Effects

abstract:
  We study the effect of D-instantons on closed string scattering amplitudes in
the two-dimensional type 0B string theory from the worldsheet perspective. We
find that the contribution from a pair of D-instanton and anti-D-instanton to
the closed string reflection amplitude, with a suitable contour prescription
for the integration over the D-instanton moduli space, agrees with the
corresponding leading non-perturbative corrections in the proposed dual matrix
quantum mechanics. This analysis is further extended to thermal observables
defined at finite temperature. The infrared divergence in charged processes is
understood through the measure factor for charged D-instantons, and can be
treated with spacetime dimensional regularization.


title:
Non-equatorial scalar rings supported by magnetized Schwarzschild-Melvin
  black holes

abstract:
  It has recently been demonstrated that magnetized black holes in composed
Einstein-Maxwell-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet field theories with a non-minimal negative
coupling of the scalar field to the Gauss-Bonnet curvature invariant may
support spatially regular scalar hairy configurations. In particular, it has
been revealed that, for Schwarzschild-Melvin black-hole spacetimes, the onset
of the near-horizon spontaneous scalarization phenomenon is marked by the
numerically computed dimensionless critical relation
$(BM)_{\text{crit}}\simeq0.971$, where $\{M,B\}$ are respectively the mass and
the magnetic field of the spacetime. In the present paper we prove, using
analytical techniques, that the boundary between bald Schwarzschild-Melvin
black-hole spacetimes and hairy (scalarized) black-hole solutions of the
composed Einstein-Maxwell-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet theory is characterized by the
exact dimensionless relation
$(BM)_{\text{crit}}=\sqrt{{{\sqrt{6}-2}\over{2\sqrt{6}}}+\sqrt{{{\sqrt{6}-1}\over{2}}}}$
for the critical magnetic strength. Intriguingly, we prove that the critical
dimensionless magnetic parameter $(BM)_{\text{crit}}$ corresponds to magnetized
black holes that support a pair of linearized non-minimally coupled thin scalar
rings that are characterized by the non-equatorial polar angular relation
$(\sin^2\theta)_{\text{scalar-ring}}={{690-72\sqrt{6}+4\sqrt{3258\sqrt{6}-7158}}\over{789}}<1$.
It is also proved that the classically allowed angular region for the
negative-coupling near-horizon spontaneous scalarization phenomenon of
magnetized Schwarzschild-Melvin spacetimes is restricted to the black-hole
poles, $\sin^2\theta_{\text{scalar}}\to0$, in the asymptotic large-strength
magnetic regime $BM\gg1$.


title:
Average bolometric corrections and optical to X-ray flux measurements as
  a function of accretion rate for X-ray binaries

abstract:
  In this paper we use an RXTE library of spectral models from 10 black-hole
and 9 pulsar X-ray binaries, as well as model spectra available in the
literature from 13 extra-galactic Ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs). We
compute average bolometric corrections (BC=$\mathrm{L_{band}/L_{bol}}$) for our
sample as a function of different accretion rates. We notice the same behaviour
between black-hole and pulsars BCs only when ULX pulsars are included. These
measurements provide a picture of the energetics of the accretion flow for an
X-ray binary based solely on its observed luminosity in a given band. Moreover
it can be a powerful tool in X-ray binary population synthesis models.
Furthermore we calculate the X-ray (2-10 keV) to optical (V-band) flux ratios
at different Eddington ratios for the black-hole X-ray binaries in our sample.
This provides a metric of the maximum contribution of the disk to the optical
emission of a binary system and better constraints on its nature (donor type
etc). We find that the optical to X-ray flux ratio shows very little variation
as a function of accretion rate, but testing for different disk geometries
scenarios we find that the optical contribution of the disk increases as the
$p$ value decreases ($T(r)\sim r^{-p}$). Moreover observational data are in
agreement with a thicker disk scenario ($p<0.65$), which could also possibly
explain the lack of observed high-inclination systems.


title:
A Cosmological Lithium Solution from Discrete Gauged Baryon Minus Lepton
  Number

abstract:
  We propose the infrared gauge symmetry of our sector includes an unbroken
discrete gauged subgroup of baryon minus lepton number of order $2 \times 3
\text{ colors} \times 3 \text{ generations}$, the inclusion of which does not
modify local physics. We UV complete this at a scale $\Lambda$ as the familiar
$U(1)_{B-N_cL}$ Abelian Higgs theory, and the early universe phase transition
forms cosmic strings which are charged under an emergent higher-form gauge
symmetry. These topological defects catalyze interactions which turn $3$
baryons into $3$ leptons at strong scale rates in an analogue of the
Callan-Rubakov effect.
  The cosmological lithium problem -- that the observed primordial abundance is
lower than theoretical expectations by a factor of a few -- is perhaps the most
statistically significant anomaly of $\text{SM}+\Lambda\text{CDM}$, and has
resisted decades of attempts by cosmologists, nuclear physicists, and
astronomers alike to root out systematics. We write down a model in which
$B-N_cL$ strings superconduct bosonic global baryon plus lepton number currents
and catalyze solely $3p^+ \rightarrow 3e^+$. We suggest that such cosmic
strings have disintegrated $\mathcal{O}(1)$ of the lithium nuclei formed during
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and estimate the rate, with our benchmark model
finding $\Lambda \sim 10^8 \text{ GeV}$ gives the right number density of
strings.


title:
Second-order gauge-invariant formalism for the cosmological observables:
  Complete verification of their gauge-invariance

abstract:
  Accounting for all the relativistic effects, we have developed the fully
nonlinear gauge-invariant formalism for describing the cosmological observables
and presented the second-order perturbative expressions associated with light
propagation and observations without choosing a gauge condition. For the first
time, we have performed a complete verification of the validity of our
second-order expressions by comparing their gauge-transformation properties
from two independent methods: one directly obtained from their expressions in
terms of metric perturbations and the other expected from their nonlinear
relations. The expressions for the cosmological observables such as galaxy
clustering and the luminosity distance are invariant under diffeomorphism and
gauge-invariant at the observed position. We compare our results to the
previous work and discuss the differences in the perturbative expressions. Our
second-order gauge-invariant formalism constitutes a major step forward in the
era of precision cosmology and its applications in the future will play a
crucial role for going beyond the power spectrum and probing the early
universe.


title: Magnetocaloric properties of (RE)$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$ (RE=Tb,Gd,Nd,Dy)

abstract:
  We report the characteristic magnetic properties of several members of the
rare earth garnet family, Gd$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$ (GGG), Dy$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$
(DGG), Tb$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$ (TGG), and Nd$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$ (NGG), and compare
their relative potential utility for magnetocaloric cooling, including their
minimal adiabatic demagnetisation refrigeration (ADR) temperatures and relative
cooling parameters. A main objective of this work was to find potential
improvements over the magnetocaloric properties of GGG for use in low
temperature ADR cryostats. Using Tb$^{+3}$ and Dy$^{+3}$ in the RE-site offers
in principle higher saturation magnetisation and Nd$^{+3}$ gives a lower de
Gennes factor and therefore potentially low transition temperature. Our results
show that Dy$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$ yields an optimal relative cooling parameter
($RCP$) at low applied fields and a low transition temperature, which would
allow for the design of more efficient ADR cryostats.


title:
Is Terzan 5 the remnant of a building block of the Galactic bulge?
  Evidence from APOGEE

abstract:
  It has been proposed that the globular cluster-like system Terzan 5 is the
surviving remnant of a primordial building block of the Milky Way bulge, mainly
due to the age/metallicity spread and the distribution of its stars in the
$\alpha$-Fe plane. We employ Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) data from the
Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE 2) to test this
hypothesis. Adopting a random sampling technique, we contrast the abundances of
10 elements in Terzan 5 stars with those of their bulge field counterparts with
comparable atmospheric parameters, finding that they differ at statistically
significant levels. Abundances between the two groups differ by more than
1$\sigma$ in Ca, Mn, C, O, and Al, and more than 2$\sigma$ in Si and Mg. Terzan
5 stars have lower [$\alpha$/Fe] and higher [Mn/Fe] than their bulge
counterparts. Given those differences, we conclude that Terzan 5 is not the
remnant of a $major$ building block of the bulge. We also estimate the stellar
mass of the Terzan 5 progenitor based on predictions by the Evolution and
Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments (EAGLE) suite of cosmological
numerical simulations, concluding that it may have been as low as
$\sim3\times10^8$ M$_\odot$ so that it was likely unable to significantly
influence the mean chemistry of the bulge/inner disk, which is significantly
more massive ($\sim10^{10}$ M$_\odot$). We briefly discuss existing scenarios
for the nature of Terzan 5 and propose an observational test that may help
elucidate its origin.


title:
Exact analytical relation between the entropies and the dominant
  eigenvalue of random reduced density matrices

abstract:
  In this paper, we show how the entropies (including Shannon entropy obtained
by tracing across various sizes of subsystems, different degrees of Renyi
entropy, as well as the entanglement gap) of the random reduced density
matrices are related to their dominant (biggest) eigenvalue. This relationship
is derived from a hypothesis that combines the Marchenko-Pastur distribution
with the Perron-Frobenius theorem. Analytical results are backed up by computer
simulations.


title: Effective Field Theory of St\"uckelberg Vector Bosons

abstract:
  We explore the effective field theory of a vector field $X^\mu$ that has a
St\"uckelberg mass. The absence of a gauge symmetry for $X^\mu$ implies
Lorentz-invariant operators are constructed directly from $X^\mu$. Beyond the
kinetic and mass terms, allowed interactions at the renormalizable level
include $X_\mu X^\mu H^\dagger H$, $(X_\mu X^\mu)^2$, and $X_\mu j^\mu$, where
$j^\mu$ is a global current of the SM or of a hidden sector. We show that all
of these interactions lead to scattering amplitudes that grow with powers of
$\sqrt{s}/m_X$, except for the case of $X_\mu j^\mu$ where $j^\mu$ is a
nonanomalous global current. The latter is well-known when $X$ is identified as
a dark photon coupled to the electromagnetic current, often written
equivalently as kinetic mixing between $X$ and the photon. The power counting
for the energy growth of the scattering amplitudes is facilitated by isolating
the longitudinal enhancement. We examine in detail the interaction with an
anomalous global vector current $X_\mu j_{anom}^\mu$, carefully isolating the
finite contribution to the fermion triangle diagram. We calculate the
longitudinally-enhanced observables $Z \rightarrow X\gamma$ (when $m_X < m_Z$),
$f\bar{f} \rightarrow X \gamma$, and $Z\gamma \to Z\gamma$ when $X$ couples to
the baryon number current. Introducing a fake gauge-invariance by writing
$X^\mu = A^\mu - \partial^\mu \pi/m_X$, the would-be gauge anomaly associated
with $A_\mu j_{anom}^\mu$ is canceled by $j_{anom}^\mu \partial_\mu \pi/m_X$;
this is the four-dimensional Green-Schwarz anomaly-cancellation mechanism at
work. Our analysis suggests there is no free lunch by appealing to
St\"uckelberg for the mass of a vector field: the price paid for avoiding a
dark Higgs sector is replaced by the non-generic set of interactions that the
St\"uckelberg vector field must have to avoid amplitudes that grow with energy.


title: Quantum dimer model on fullerenes: resonance, scarring and confinement

abstract:
  The earliest known examples of quantum superposition were found in organic
chemistry -- in molecules that `resonate' among multiple arrangements of
$\pi$-bonds. Small molecules such as benzene resonate among a few bond
arrangements. In contrast, a large system that stretches over a macroscopic
lattice may resonate among an extensive number of configurations. This is
analogous to a quantum spin liquid as described by Anderson's resonating
valence bond (RVB) picture. In this article, we study the intermediate case of
somewhat large molecules, the C$_{20}$ and C$_{60}$ fullerenes. We build a
minimal description in terms of quantum dimer models, allowing for local
resonance processes and repulsion between proximate $\pi$-bonds. This allows us
to characterize ground-states, e.g., with C$_{60}$ forming a superposition of
5828 dimer covers. Despite the large number of contributing dimer covers, the
ground state shows strong dimer-dimer correlations. Going beyond the ground
state, the full spectrum of C$_{60}$ shows many interesting features. Its
Hilbert space is bipartite, leading to spectral reflection symmetry. It has a
large number of protected zero-energy states. In addition, the spectrum
contains many scar-like states, corresponding to localized
dimer-rearrangement-dynamics. Resonance dynamics in QDMs can manifest in the
behaviour of defects, potentially binding defects via an effective attractive
interaction. To test this notion, we introduce pairs of vacancies at all
possible separations. Resonance energy reaches its lowest value when the
vacancies are closest to one another. This suggests confinement of monomers,
albeit within a finite cluster. We discuss qualitative pictures for
understanding bonding in fullerenes and draw connections with results from
quantum chemistry.


title:
A New Residual Distribution Hydrodynamics Solver for Astrophysical
  Simulations

abstract:
  A wide array of astrophysical systems can only be accurately modelled when
the behaviour of their baryonic gas components is well understood. The residual
distribution (RD) family of partial differential equation (PDE) solvers can be
used to solve the fluid equations, which govern this gas. We present a new
implementation of the RD method to do just this. The solver efficiently and
accurately calculates the evolution of the fluid, to second order accuracy in
both time and space, across an unstructured Delaunay triangulation, built from
an arbitrary distribution of vertices, in either 2D and 3D. We implement a
novel new variable time stepping routine, which applies a drifting mechanism to
greatly improve the computational efficiency of the method. We conduct
extensive testing of the new implementation, demonstrating its innate ability
to resolve complex fluid structures, even at very low resolution. Our
implementation can resolve complex fluid structures with as few as 3-5
resolution elements, demonstrated by Kelvin-Helmholtz and Sedov blast tests. It
includes three residual calculation modes, the LDA, N and blended schemes, each
designed for different scenarios. These range from smooth flows (LDA), to
extreme shocks (N), and scenarios where either may be encountered (blended). We
compare our RD solver results to state-of-the-art solvers used in other
astrophysical codes, demonstrating the competitiveness of the new approach,
particularly at low resolution. This is of particular interest in large scale
astrophysical simulations, where important structures, such as star forming gas
clouds, are often resolved by small numbers of fluid elements.


title:
Disk Evolution Study Through Imaging of Nearby Young Stars (DESTINYS): A
  Panchromatic View of DO Tau's Complex Kilo-au Environment

abstract:
  While protoplanetary disks are often treated as isolated systems in planet
formation models, observations increasingly suggest that vigorous interactions
between Class II disks and their environments are not rare. DO Tau is a T Tauri
star that has previously been hypothesized to have undergone a close encounter
with the HV Tau system. As part of the DESTINYS ESO Large Programme, we present
new VLT/SPHERE polarimetric observations of DO Tau and combine them with
archival HST scattered light images and ALMA observations of CO isotopologues
and CS to map a network of complex structures. The SPHERE and ALMA observations
show that the circumstellar disk is connected to arms extending out to several
hundred au. HST and ALMA also reveal stream-like structures northeast of DO
Tau, some of which are at least several thousand au long. These streams appear
not to be gravitationally bound to DO Tau, and comparisons with previous
Herschel far-IR observations suggest that the streams are part of a bridge-like
structure connecting DO Tau and HV Tau. We also detect a fainter redshifted
counterpart to a previously known blueshifted CO outflow. While some of DO
Tau's complex structures could be attributed to a recent disk-disk encounter,
they might be explained alternatively by interactions with remnant material
from the star formation process. These panchromatic observations of DO Tau
highlight the need to contextualize the evolution of Class II disks by
examining processes occurring over a wide range of size scales.


title: Searching for dark radiation at the LHC

abstract:
  In this work we explore the intriguing connections between searches for
long-lived particles (LLPs) at the LHC and early universe cosmology. We study
the non-thermal production of ultra-relativistic particles (i.e. dark
radiation) in the early universe via the decay of weak-scale LLPs and show that
the cosmologically interesting range $\Delta N_\text{eff} \sim 0.01-0.1$
corresponds to LLP decay lengths in the mm to cm range. These decay lengths lie
at the boundary between prompt and displaced signatures at the LHC and can be
comprehensively explored by combining searches for both. To illustrate this
point, we consider a scenario where the LLP decays into a charged lepton and a
(nearly) massless invisible particle. By reinterpreting searches for promptly
decaying sleptons and for displaced leptons at both ATLAS and CMS we can then
directly compare LHC exclusions with cosmological observables. We find that the
CMB-S4 target value of $\Delta N_\text{eff}=0.06$ is already excluded by
current LHC searches and even smaller values can be probed for LLP masses at
the electroweak scale.


title: Face Recognition In Children: A Longitudinal Study

abstract:
  The lack of high fidelity and publicly available longitudinal children face
datasets is one of the main limiting factors in the development of face
recognition systems for children. In this work, we introduce the Young Face
Aging (YFA) dataset for analyzing the performance of face recognition systems
over short age-gaps in children. We expand previous work by comparing YFA with
several publicly available cross-age adult datasets to quantify the effects of
short age-gap in adults and children. Our analysis confirms a statistically
significant and matcher independent decaying relationship between the match
scores of ArcFace-Focal, MagFace, and Facenet matchers and the age-gap between
the gallery and probe images in children, even at the short age-gap of 6
months. However, our result indicates that the low verification performance
reported in previous work might be due to the intra-class structure of the
matcher and the lower quality of the samples. Our experiment using YFA and a
state-of-the-art, quality-aware face matcher (MagFace) indicates 98.3% and
94.9% TAR at 0.1% FAR over 6 and 36 Months age-gaps, respectively, suggesting
that face recognition may be feasible for children for age-gaps of up to three
years.


title:
Prethermal nematic order and staircase heating in a driven frustrated
  Ising magnet with dipolar interactions

abstract:
  Many-body systems subject to a high-frequency drive can show intriguing
thermalization behavior. Prior to heating to a featureless infinite-temperature
state, these systems can spend an exponentially long time in prethermal phases
characterized by various kinds of order. Here, we uncover the rich
non-equilibrium phase diagram of a driven frustrated two-dimensional Ising
magnet with competing short-range ferromagnetic and long-range dipolar
interactions. We show that the ordered stripe and nematic phases, which appear
in equilibrium as a function of temperature, underpin subsequent prethermal
phases in a new multi-step heating process en route towards the ultimate heat
death. We discuss implications for experiments on ferromagnetic thin films and
other driving induced phenomena in frustrated magnets.


title: Restriction theorems for semistable sheaves

abstract:
  In this paper we prove restriction theorems for torsion-free sheaves that are
(semi)stable with respect to the truncated Hilbert polynomial over a smooth
projective variety. Our results apply in particular to Gieseker-semistable
sheaves and generalize the well-known restriction theorems of Mehta and
Ramanathan. As an application we construct a moduli space of sheaves in higher
dimensions.


title:
The flair of Higgsflare: Distinguishing electroweak EFTs with $W_LW_L
  \to n\times h$

abstract:
  The electroweak symmetry-breaking sector is one of the most promising and
uncharted parts of the Standard Model; but it seems likely that new electroweak
physics may be out of reach of the present accelerator effort and the hope is
to observe small deviations from the SM. Given that, Effective Field Theory
becomes the logic method to use, and SMEFT has become the standard. However,
the most general theory with the known particle content is HEFT, and whether
SMEFT suffices should be investigated in future experimental efforts. Building
on investigations by other groups that established geometric criteria to
distinguish SMEFT from HEFT (useful for theorists examining specific beyond-SM
completions), we seek more phenomenological understanding and present an
analogous discussion aimed at a broader audience.
  We discuss various aspects of (multi-) Higgs boson production from
longitudinal electroweak gauge bosons $W_LW_L\to n\times h$ in the TeV region
as the necessary information to characterise the Flare function,
$\mathcal{F}(h)$, that determines whether SMEFT or HEFT is needed. We also
present tree-level amplitudes including contact and exchange channels, as well
as a short discussion on accessing $\mathcal{F}(h)$ from the statistical limit
of many bosons. We also discuss the status of the coefficients of its series
expansion, its validity, whether its complex-$h$ extension can be used to
predict or not a tell-tale zero, and how they relate to the dimension-6 and -8
SMEFT operators in the electroweak sector. We derive a set of new correlations
among BSM corrections to the HEFT coefficients that help decide, from
experimental data, whether we have a viable SMEFT. This analysis can be useful
for machines beyond the LHC that could address the challenging final state with
several Higgs bosons.


title: Baby Universes born from the Void

abstract:
  We propose a novel construction of a third quantised baby universe Hilbert
space $\mathcal{H}_{BU}$ for the quantum gravity path integral. In contrast to
the original description of $\alpha$-parameters, both the bulk and boundary
microscopic parameters are fixed in our proposal. Wormholes and baby universes
appear due to refined observables, of the boundary dual quantum field theories,
that crucially involve the space of representations of the gauge group.
Irreducible representations, on which the path integral factorises, give rise
to field theoretic superselection sectors and replace the $\alpha$ states.


title: Self-regulated AGN feedback of light jets in cool-core galaxy clusters

abstract:
  Heating from active galactic nuclei (AGN) is thought to stabilize cool-core
clusters, limiting star formation and cooling flows. We employ radiative
magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to model light AGN jet feedback with
different accretion modes (Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton and cold accretion) in an
idealised Perseus-like cluster. Independent of the probed accretion model,
accretion efficiency, jet density and resolution, the cluster self-regulates
with central entropies and cooling times consistent with observed cool-core
clusters in this non-cosmological setting. We find that increased jet
efficiencies lead to more intermittent jet powers and enhanced star formation
rates. Our fiducial low-density jets can easily be deflected by orbiting cold
gaseous filaments, which redistributes angular momentum and leads to more
extended cold gas distributions and isotropic bubble distributions. In
comparison to our fiducial low momentum-density jets, high momentum-density jet
heats less efficiently and enables the formation of a persistent cold-gas disc
perpendicular to the jet that is centrally confined. Cavity luminosities
measured from our simulations generally reflect the cooling luminosities of the
intracluster medium (ICM) and correspond to averaged jet powers that are
relatively insensitive to short periods of low-luminosity jet injection. Cold
gas structures in our MHD simulations with low momentum-density jets generally
show a variety of morphologies ranging from discy to very extended filamentary
structures. In particular, magnetic fields are crucial to inhibit the formation
of unrealistically massive cold gas discs by redistributing angular momentum
between the hot and cold phases and by fostering the formation of elongated
cold filaments that are supported by magnetic pressure.


title:
A new type of cyclotron resonance from charge-impurity scattering in the
  bulk-insulating Bi$_2$Se$_3$ thin films

abstract:
  We have utilized time-domain terahertz spectroscopy to investigate the low
frequency Drude response of bulk-insulating topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$
films grown on buffer layers under a magnetic field up to 7 Tesla. With both
field and frequency dependence, such experiments measure the mobility and
carrier density of multiple surface conduction channels simultaneously. We
observe sharp cyclotron resonances (CRs), and it is consistent with conduction
from two different topological surface states (TSSs) on top and bottom of the
films. The CR sharpens at high fields, an effect that we attribute to an
electron-impurity scattering. This work shows that cyclotron resonance is a
powerful tool to study many-body interactions in topological materials.


title: A higher dispersion KdV equation on the half-line

abstract:
  The initial-boundary value problem (ibvp) for the $m$-th order dispersion
Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation on the half-line with rough data and solution
in restricted Bourgain spaces is studied using the Fokas Unified Transform
Method (UTM). Thus, this work advances the implementation of the Fokas method,
used earlier for the KdV on the half-line with smooth data and solution in the
classical Hadamard space, consisting of function that are continuous in time
and Sobolev in the spatial variable, to the more general Bourgain spaces
framework of dispersive equations with rough data on the half-line. The spaces
needed and the estimates required arise at the linear level and in particular
in the estimation of the linear pure ibvp, which has forcing and initial data
zero but non-zero boundary data. Using the iteration map defined by the Fokas
solution formula of the forced linear ibvp in combination with the bilinear
estimates in modified Bourgain spaces introduced by this map, well-posedness of
the nonlinear ibvp is established for rough initial and boundary data belonging
in Sobolev spaces of the same optimal regularity as in the case of the initial
value problem for this equation on the whole line.


title:
Comment on "Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of
  quantum theory" by Catani et al

abstract:
  It was recently argued by Catani et al that it is possible to reproduce the
phenomenology of the double-slit experiment with a deterministic, local, and
classical model (arXiv:2111.13727). The stated aim of their argument is to
falsify the claim made by Feynman (in his third book of Lectures on Physics)
that the double-slit experiment is "impossible, absolutely impossible, to
explain in any classical way" and that it "contains the only mystery" of
quantum mechanics. We here want to point out some problems with their argument,
and defend Feynman's position.


title:
Deep learning for the rare-event rational design of 3D printed
  multi-material mechanical metamaterials

abstract:
  Emerging multi-material 3D printing techniques have paved the way for the
rational design of metamaterials with not only complex geometries but also
arbitrary distributions of multiple materials within those geometries. Varying
the spatial distribution of multiple materials gives rise to many interesting
and potentially unique combinations of anisotropic elastic properties. While
the availability of a design approach to cover a large portion of all possible
combinations of elastic properties is interesting in itself, it is even more
important to find the extremely rare designs that lead to highly unusual
combinations of material properties (e.g., double-auxeticity and high elastic
moduli). Here, we used a random distribution of a hard phase and a soft phase
within a regular lattice to study the resulting anisotropic mechanical
properties of the network in general and the abovementioned rare designs in
particular. The primary challenge to take up concerns the huge number of design
parameters and the extreme rarity of such designs. We, therefore, used
computational models and deep learning algorithms to create a mapping from the
space of design parameters to the space of mechanical properties, thereby (i)
reducing the computational time required for evaluating each designand (ii)
making the process of evaluating the different designs highly parallelizable.
Furthermore, we selected ten designs to be fabricated using polyjet
multi-material 3D printing techniques, mechanically tested them, and
characterized their behavior using digital image correlation (DIC, 3 designs)
to validate the accuracy of our computational models. The results of our
simulations show that deep learning-based algorithms can accurately predict the
mechanical properties of the different designs, which match the various
deformation mechanisms observed in the experiments.


title: Dimension Estimates on Circular $(s,t)$-Furstenberg Sets

abstract:
  In this paper, we show that circular $(s,t)$-Furstenberg sets in $\mathbb
R^2$ have Hausdorff dimension at least $$\max\{\frac{t}3+s,(2t+1)s-t\} \text{
for all $0<s,t\le 1$}.$$ This result extends the previous dimension estimates
on circular Kakeya sets by Wolff.


title: Quantum resolution of the cosmological singularity

abstract:
  We study a quantum Hot Big Bang with matter characterized by a constant of
motion m, whose conjugate defines time. A superposition in m suggests a
natural, conserved inner product. For two quantum theories in connection and
metric variables, unitarity resolves the classical singularity. For connection
variables, the most likely value for the curvature saturates at a finite
maximum, followed by a regular transition between contraction and expansion. In
metric variables unitarity implies a boundary condition reflecting a
contracting Universe into an expanding one. No appeal to new physics is needed.


title: Partitioning axis-parallel lines in 3D

abstract:
  Let $L$ be a set of $n$ axis-parallel lines in $\mathbb{R}^3$. We are are
interested in partitions of $\mathbb{R}^3$ by a set $H$ of three planes such
that each open cell in the arrangement $\mathcal{A}(H)$ is intersected by as
few lines from $L$ as possible. We study such partitions in three settings,
depending on the type of splitting planes that we allow. We obtain the
following results.
  $\bullet$ There are sets $L$ of $n$ axis-parallel lines such that, for any
set $H$ of three splitting planes, there is an open cell in $\mathcal{A}(H)$
that intersects at least~$\lfloor n/3 \rfloor-1 \approx \frac{1}{3}n$ lines.
  $\bullet$ If we require the splitting planes to be axis-parallel, then there
are sets $L$ of $n$ axis-parallel lines such that, for any set $H$ of three
splitting planes, there is an open cell in $\mathcal{A}(H)$ that intersects at
least $\frac{3}{2}\lfloor n/4 \rfloor -1 \approx \left(
\frac{1}{3}+\frac{1}{24}\right) n$ lines. Furthermore, for any set $L$ of $n$
axis-parallel lines, there exists a set $H$ of three axis-parallel splitting
planes such that each open cell in $\mathcal{A}(H)$ intersects at most
$\frac{7}{18} n = \left( \frac{1}{3}+\frac{1}{18}\right) n$ lines.
  $\bullet$ For any set $L$ of $n$ axis-parallel lines, there exists a set $H$
of three axis-parallel and mutually orthogonal splitting planes, such that each
open cell in $\mathcal{A}(H)$ intersects at most $\lceil \frac{5}{12} n \rceil
\approx \left( \frac{1}{3}+\frac{1}{12}\right) n$ lines.


title: Contracts with Information Acquisition, via Scoring Rules

abstract:
  We consider a principal-agent problem where the agent may privately choose to
acquire relevant information prior to taking a hidden action. This model
generalizes two special cases: a classic moral hazard setting, and a more
recently studied problem of incentivizing information acquisition (IA). We show
that all of these problems can be reduced to the design of a proper scoring
rule. Under a limited liability condition, we consider the special cases
separately and then the general problem. We give novel results for the special
case of IA, giving a closed form "pointed polyhedral cone" solution for the
general multidimensional problem. We also describe a geometric, scoring-rules
based solution to the case of the classic contracts problem. Finally, we give
an efficient algorithm for the general problem of Contracts with Information
Acquisition.


title: Reducing SAT to Max2XOR

abstract:
  Representing some problems with XOR clauses (parity constraints) can allow to
apply more efficient reasoning techniques. In this paper, we present a gadget
for translating SAT clauses into Max2XOR constraints, i.e., XOR clauses of at
most 2 variables equal to zero or to one. Additionally, we present new
resolution rules for the Max2XOR problem which asks for which is the maximum
number of constraints that can be satisfied from a set of 2XOR equations.


title:
Lipschitz p-summing multilinear operators correspond to Lipschitz
  p-summing operators

abstract:
  We give conditions that ensure that an operator satisfying a Piestch
domination in a given setting also satisfies a Piestch domination in a
different setting. From this we derive that a bounded mutlilinear operator $T$
is Lipschitz $p$-summing if and only if the mapping $ f_T(x_1\otimes\cdots
\otimes x_n):=T(x_1,\ldots, x_n)$ is Lipschitz $p$-summing. The results are
based on the projective tensor norm. An example with the Hilbert tensor norm is
provided to show that the statement may not hold when a reasonable cross-norm
other than the projective tensor norm is considered.


title:
A Game-theoretic Approach for Dynamic Service Scheduling at Charging
  Facilities

abstract:
  Electric vehicle (EV) charging patterns are highly uncertain in both
location, time, and duration particularly in association with the predicted
high demand for electric mobility in the future. An EV can be charged at home,
at charging stations near highway ramps, or on parking lots next to office
buildings, shops, airports, among other locations. Charging time and duration
can be fixed and continuous or flexible and intermittent. EV user preferences
of charging services depend on many factors (e.g., charging prices, choice of
destinations), causing EV charging patterns to shift in real-time. Hence, there
is a need for a highly flexible EV charging network to support the rapid
adoption of the technology. This study presents a dynamic scheduling scheme for
EV charging facilities considering uncertainties in charging demand, charger
availability, and charging rate. The problem is formulated as a dynamic
programming model that minimizes the travel and waiting costs and charging
expenses while penalizing overcharging attempts. An integrated generalized Nash
equilibrium technique is introduced to solve the problem that incorporates a
Monte Carlo tree search algorithm to efficiently capture the uncertainties and
approximate the value function of the dynamic program. Numerical experiments on
hypothetical and real-world networks confirm the solution quality and
computational efficiency of the proposed methodology. This study will promote
EV adoption and support environmental sustainability by helping users lower the
charging spot search burden via a real-time, user-adaptive optimizer.
Stakeholders can retrieve charger utilization and pricing data and get feedback
on their charging network policies.


title: Wavefunction Embedding for Molecular Polaritons

abstract:
  Polaritonic chemistry relies on the strong light-matter interaction phenomena
for altering the chemical reaction rates inside optical cavities. To explain
and to understand these processes, the development of reliable theoretical
models is essential. While computationally efficient quantum electrodynamics
self-consistent field (QED-SCF) methods, such as quantum electrodynamics
density functional theory (QEDFT) needs accurate functionals, quantum
electrodynamics coupled cluster (QED-CC) methods provide a systematic increase
in accuracy but at much greater cost. To overcome this computational
bottleneck, herein we introduce and develop the QED-CC-in-QED-SCF
projection-based embedding method that inherits all the favorable properties
from the two worlds, computational efficiency and accuracy. The performance of
the embedding method is assessed by studying some prototypical but relevant
reactions, such as methyl transfer reaction, proton transfer reaction, as well
as protonation reaction in a complex environment. The results obtained with the
new embedding method are in excellent agreement with more expensive QED-CC
results. The analysis performed on these reactions indicate that the strong
light-matter interaction is very local in nature and that only a small region
should be treated at the QED-CC level for capturing important effects due to
cavity. This work sets the stage for future developments of polaritonic quantum
chemistry methods and it will serve as a guideline for development of other
polaritonic embedding models.


title:
Quasi-stationary sequences of hyper massive neutron stars with exotic
  equations of state

abstract:
  In this work, we study the effect of differential rotation, finite
temperature and strangeness on the quasi stationary sequences of hyper massive
neutron stars (HMNS). We generate constant rest mass sequences of
differentially rotating and uniformly rotating stars. The nucleonic matter
relevant to the star interior is described within the framework of the
relativistic mean field model with the DD2 parameter set. We also consider the
strange $\Lambda$ hyperons using the BHB$\Lambda\phi$ equation of state (EoS).
Additionally, we probe the behaviour of neutron stars (NS) with these
compositions at different temperatures. We report that the addition of hyperons
to the EoS produces a significant boost to the spin-up phenomenon. Moreover,
increasing the temperature can make the spin-up more robust. We also study the
impact of strangeness and thermal effects on the T/W instability. Finally, we
analyse equilibrium sequences of a NS following a stable transition from
differential rotation to uniform rotation. The decrease in frequency relative
to angular momentum loss during this transition is significantly smaller for
EoS containing hyperons, compared to nucleonic EoS.


title:
Model-free Learning for Risk-constrained Linear Quadratic Regulator with
  Structured Feedback in Networked Systems

abstract:
  We develop a model-free learning algorithm for the infinite-horizon linear
quadratic regulator (LQR) problem. Specifically, (risk) constraints and
structured feedback are considered, in order to reduce the state deviation
while allowing for a sparse communication graph in practice. By reformulating
the dual problem as a nonconvex-concave minimax problem, we adopt the gradient
descent max-oracle (GDmax), and for modelfree setting, the stochastic (S)GDmax
using zero-order policy gradient. By bounding the Lipschitz and smoothness
constants of the LQR cost using specifically defined sublevel sets, we can
design the stepsize and related parameters to establish convergence to a
stationary point (at a high probability). Numerical tests in a networked
microgrid control problem have validated the convergence of our proposed SGDmax
algorithm while demonstrating the effectiveness of risk constraints. The SGDmax
algorithm has attained a satisfactory optimality gap compared to the classical
LQR control, especially for the full feedback case.


title: Generic infrared corrections when combining quantum theory and gravity

abstract:
  The unification of quantum theory and gravity is one of the central open
problems in physics. While most of the effort in the literature is focused on
the UV modifications of quantum theory due to gravity, in this work, we show
that generic infrared (IR) modifications arise when we describe quantum theory
in curved space-time. We explicitly demonstrate that the modifications to the
position-momentum algebra are proportional to the curvature invariants (like
Ricci scalar, Kretschmann scalar). Thus, our results show that infrared effects
in quantum systems do not require any extra assumptions. We study particle
dynamics in an arbitrary curved spacetime by embedding them in a
higher-dimensional flat geometry. Dirac's quantization procedure allows us to
completely capture the dynamics of a particle in 4-dimensional curved spacetime
through the modified position-momentum algebra. We apply the method to a few
spacetimes and show that the corrections due to the space-time curvature are
generic. Furthermore, we compare our results with those derived using extended
uncertainty principles. Finally, we discuss the implications of our work for
black holes and entanglement.


title: Constraints on Multi-Field Inflation from the BOSS Galaxy Survey

abstract:
  We use redshift-space galaxy clustering data from the BOSS survey to
constrain local primordial non-Gaussianity (LPNG). This is of particular
importance due to the consistency relations, which imply that a detection of
LPNG would rule out all single-field inflationary models. Our constraints are
based on the consistently analyzed redshift-space galaxy power spectra and
bispectra, extracted from the public BOSS data with optimal window-free
estimators. We use a complete perturbation theory model including all one-loop
power spectrum corrections generated by LPNG. Our constraint on the amplitude
of the local non-Gaussian shape is $f_{\rm NL}^{\rm local}=-33\pm 28$ at
68\%\,CL, yielding no evidence for primordial non-Gaussianity. The addition of
the bispectrum tightens the $f_{\rm NL}^{\rm local}$ constraints from BOSS by
$20\%$, and allows breaking of degeneracies with non-Gaussian galaxy bias.
These results set the stage for the analysis of future surveys, whose larger
volumes will yield significantly tighter constraints on LPNG.


title: The First Principles of Deep Learning and Compression

abstract:
  The deep learning revolution incited by the 2012 Alexnet paper has been
transformative for the field of computer vision. Many problems which were
severely limited using classical solutions are now seeing unprecedented
success. The rapid proliferation of deep learning methods has led to a sharp
increase in their use in consumer and embedded applications. One consequence of
consumer and embedded applications is lossy multimedia compression which is
required to engineer the efficient storage and transmission of data in these
real-world scenarios. As such, there has been increased interest in a deep
learning solution for multimedia compression which would allow for higher
compression ratios and increased visual quality.
  The deep learning approach to multimedia compression, so called Learned
Multimedia Compression, involves computing a compressed representation of an
image or video using a deep network for the encoder and the decoder. While
these techniques have enjoyed impressive academic success, their industry
adoption has been essentially non-existent. Classical compression techniques
like JPEG and MPEG are too entrenched in modern computing to be easily
replaced. This dissertation takes an orthogonal approach and leverages deep
learning to improve the compression fidelity of these classical algorithms.
This allows the incredible advances in deep learning to be used for multimedia
compression without threatening the ubiquity of the classical methods.
  The key insight of this work is that methods which are motivated by first
principles, i.e., the underlying engineering decisions that were made when the
compression algorithms were developed, are more effective than general methods.
By encoding prior knowledge into the design of the algorithm, the flexibility,
performance, and/or accuracy are improved at the cost of generality...


title: Non-Geometric T-Duality as Higher Groupoid Bundles with Connections

abstract:
  We describe T-duality between general geometric and non-geometric backgrounds
as higher groupoid bundles with connections. Our description extends the
previous observation by Nikolaus and Waldorf that the topological aspects of
geometric and half-geometric T-dualities can be described in terms of higher
geometry. We extend their construction in two ways. First, we endow the higher
geometries with adjusted connections, which allow us to discuss explicit
formulas for the metric and the Kalb-Ramond field of a T-background. Second, we
extend the principal 2-bundles to augmented 2-groupoid bundles, which
accommodate the scalar fields arising in T-duality along several directions as
well as $Q$- and $R$-fluxes. Our description is manifestly covariant under the
full T-duality group $\mathsf{GO}(n,n;\mathbb{Z})$, and it has interesting
physical and mathematical implications.


title: Object Permanence Emerges in a Random Walk along Memory

abstract:
  This paper proposes a self-supervised objective for learning representations
that localize objects under occlusion - a property known as object permanence.
A central question is the choice of learning signal in cases of total
occlusion. Rather than directly supervising the locations of invisible objects,
we propose a self-supervised objective that requires neither human annotation,
nor assumptions about object dynamics. We show that object permanence can
emerge by optimizing for temporal coherence of memory: we fit a Markov walk
along a space-time graph of memories, where the states in each time step are
non-Markovian features from a sequence encoder. This leads to a memory
representation that stores occluded objects and predicts their motion, to
better localize them. The resulting model outperforms existing approaches on
several datasets of increasing complexity and realism, despite requiring
minimal supervision and assumptions, and hence being broadly applicable.


title: Code Verification for Practically Singular Equations

abstract:
  The method-of-moments implementation of the electric-field integral equation
(EFIE) yields many code-verification challenges due to the various sources of
numerical error and their possible interactions. Matters are further
complicated by singular integrals, which arise from the presence of a Green's
function. To address these singular integrals, an approach was previously
presented wherein both the solution and Green's function are manufactured.
Because the arising equations are poorly conditioned, they are reformulated as
a set of constraints for an optimization problem that selects the solution
closest to the manufactured solution. In this paper, we demonstrate how, for
such practically singular systems of equations, computing the truncation error
by inserting the exact solution into the discretized equations cannot detect
certain orders of coding errors. On the other hand, the discretization error
from the optimal solution is a more sensitive metric.


title: Bootstrapping the $a$-anomaly in $4d$ QFTs

abstract:
  We study gapped 4d quantum field theories (QFTs) obtained from a relevant
deformation of a UV conformal field theory (CFT). For simplicity, we assume the
existence of a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry and a single $\mathbb{Z}_2$-odd stable
particle and no $\mathbb{Z}_2$-even particles at low energies. Using unitarity,
crossing and the assumption of maximal analyticity we compute numerically a
lower bound on the value of the $a$-anomaly of the UV CFT as a function of
various non-perturbative parameters describing the two-to-two scattering
amplitude of the particle.


title: GWA: A Large High-Quality Acoustic Dataset for Audio Processing

abstract:
  We present the Geometric-Wave Acoustic (GWA) dataset, a large-scale audio
dataset of over 2 million synthetic room impulse responses (IRs) and their
corresponding detailed geometric and simulation configurations. Our dataset
samples acoustic environments from over 6.8K high-quality diverse and
professionally designed houses represented as semantically labeled 3D meshes.
We also present a novel real-world acoustic materials assignment scheme based
on semantic matching that uses a sentence transformer model. We compute
high-quality impulse responses corresponding to accurate low-frequency and
high-frequency wave effects by automatically calibrating geometric acoustic
ray-tracing with a finite-difference time-domain wave solver. We demonstrate
the higher accuracy of our IRs by comparing with recorded IRs from complex
real-world environments. The code and the full dataset will be released at the
time of publication. Moreover, we highlight the benefits of GWA on audio deep
learning tasks such as automated speech recognition, speech enhancement, and
speech separation. We observe significant improvement over prior synthetic IR
datasets in all tasks due to using our dataset.


title:
Efficient machine-learning model for fast assessment of elastic
  properties of high-entropy alloys

abstract:
  We combined descriptor-based analytical models for stiffness-matrix and
elastic-moduli with mean-field methods to accelerate assessment of
technologically useful properties of high-entropy alloys, such as strength and
ductility. Model training for elastic properties uses Sure-Independence
Screening (SIS) and Sparsifying Operator (SO) method yielding an optimal
analytical model, constructed with meaningful atomic features to predict target
properties. Computationally inexpensive analytical descriptors were trained
using a database of the elastic properties determined from density functional
theory for binary and ternary subsets of Nb-Mo-Ta-W-V refractory alloys. The
optimal Elastic-SISSO models, extracted from an exponentially large feature
space, give an extremely accurate prediction of target properties, similar to
or better than other models, with some verified from existing experiments. We
also show that electronegativity variance and elastic-moduli can directly
predict trends in ductility and yield strength of refractory HEAs, and reveals
promising alloy concentration regions.


title:
The Number of Closed Essential Surfaces in Montesinos Knots with Four
  Rational Tangles

abstract:
  In the complement of a hyperbolic Montesinos knot with 4 rational tangles, we
investigate the number of closed, connected, essential, orientable surfaces of
a fixed genus $g$, up to isotopy. We show that there are exactly 12 genus 2
surfaces and $8\phi(g - 1)$ surfaces of genus greater than 2, where $\phi(g -
1)$ is the Euler totient function of $g - 1$. Observe that this count is
independent of the number of crossings of the knot. Moreover, this class of
knots form an infinite class of hyperbolic 3-manifolds and the result applies
to all such knot complements.


title: Leaders or Followers? A Temporal Analysis of Tweets from IRA Trolls

abstract:
  The Internet Research Agency (IRA) influences online political conversations
in the United States, exacerbating existing partisan divides and sowing
discord. In this paper we investigate the IRA's communication strategies by
analyzing trending terms on Twitter to identify cases in which the IRA leads or
follows other users. Our analysis focuses on over 38M tweets posted between
2016 and 2017 from IRA users (n=3,613), journalists (n=976), members of
Congress (n=526), and politically engaged users from the general public
(n=71,128). We find that the IRA tends to lead on topics related to the 2016
election, race, and entertainment, suggesting that these are areas both of
strategic importance as well having the highest potential impact. Furthermore,
we identify topics where the IRA has been relatively ineffective, such as
tweets on military, political scandals, and violent attacks. Despite many
tweets on these topics, the IRA rarely leads the conversation and thus has
little opportunity to influence it. We offer our proposed methodology as a way
to track the strategic choices of future influence operations in real-time.


title:
Boiling quantum vacuum- Thermal subsystems from ground state
  entanglement

abstract:
  In certain special circumstances, such as in the vicinity of a black hole or
in a uniformly accelerating frame, vacuum fluctuations appear to give rise to a
finite-temperature environment. This effect, currently without experimental
confirmation, can be interpreted as a manifestation of quantum entanglement
after tracing out vacuum modes in an unobserved region. In this work, we
identify a class of experimentally accessible quantum systems where thermal
density matrices emerge from vacuum entanglement. We show that reduced density
matrices of lower-dimensional subsystems embedded in $D$-dimensional gapped
Dirac fermion vacuum, either on a lattice or continuum, have a thermal form
with respect to a lower-dimensional Dirac Hamiltonian. Strikingly, we show that
vacuum entanglement can even conspire to make a subsystem of a gapped system at
zero temperature appear as a hot gapless system. We propose concrete
experiments in cold atom quantum simulators to observe the vacuum entanglement
induced thermal states.

categories: quant-ph cond-mat.mes-hall cond-mat.quant-gas cond-mat.stat-mech


title: Compactness of supermassive dark objects at galactic centers

abstract:
  We define compactness of a gravitational lens as the scaled closest distance
of approach (i.e., $r_0/M$) of the null geodesic giving rise to an image. We
model forty supermassive dark objects as Schwarzschild lenses and compute
compactness of lenses (determined by the formation of the first order
relativistic image). We then obtain a novel formula for the compactness of a
lens as a function of mass to the distance ratio ($M/D_d$) and the ratio of
lens-source to the observer-source distances ($D_{ds}/D_s$). This formula
yields an interesting result: Just an observation of a relativistic image would
give an incredibly accurate upper bound to the compactness of the lens without
having any knowledge of mass of the lens, angular source position, and
observer-source and lens-source distances. Similarly, we show that the
observation of the second order relativistic image would give a lower value of
upper bound to the compactness. These results, though obtained for supermassive
dark objects at galactic centers, are valid for any object compact enough to
give rise to relativistic images.

categories: gr-qc astro-ph.CO astro-ph.GA astro-ph.HE hep-th


title:
Using random graphs to sample repulsive Gibbs point processes with
  arbitrary-range potentials

abstract:
  We study computational aspects of Gibbs point processes that are defined by a
fugacity $\lambda \in \mathbb{R}_{\ge 0}$ and a repulsive symmetric pair
potential $\phi$ on bounded regions $\mathbb V$ of a Polish space, equipped
with a volume measure $\nu$. We introduce a new approximate sampler for such
point processes and a new randomized approximation algorithm for their
partition functions $\Xi_{\mathbb V}(\lambda, \phi)$. Our algorithms have
running time polynomial in the volume $\nu(\mathbb V)$ for all fugacities
$\lambda < \text e/C_{\phi}$, where $C_{\phi}$ is the temperedness constant of
$\phi$. In contrast to previous results, our approach is not restricted to
finite-range potentials.
  Our approach is based on mapping repulsive Gibbs point processes to hard-core
models on a natural family of geometric random graphs. Previous discretizations
based on hard-core models used deterministic graphs, which limited the results
to hard-constraint potentials and box-shaped regions in Euclidean space. We
overcome both limitations by randomization. Specifically, we define a
distribution $\zeta^{(n)}_{\mathbb V, \phi}$ on graphs of size $n$, such that
the hard-core partition function of graphs from this distribution concentrates
around $\Xi_{\mathbb V}(\lambda, \phi)$. We show this by deriving a corollary
of the Efron-Stein inequality, which establishes concentration for a function
$f$ of independent random inputs, given the output of $f$ only exhibits small
relative changes when an input is altered. Our approximation algorithm follows
from approximating the hard-core partition function of a random graph from
$\zeta^{(n)}_{\mathbb V, \phi}$. Further, we derive a sampling algorithm using
an approximate sampler for the hard-core model on a random graph from
$\zeta^{(n)}_{\mathbb V, \phi}$ and prove that its density is close to the
desired point process via R\'enyi-M\"onch theorem.


title:
Observing EAGLE galaxies with JWST: predictions for Milky Way
  progenitors and their building blocks

abstract:
  We present predictions, derived from the EAGLE $\Lambda$CDM cosmological
hydrodynamical simulations, for the abundance and of galaxies expected to be
detected at high redshift by the {\it James Webb Space Telescope} (\JWST). We
consider the galaxy as a whole and focus on the sub-population of progenitors
of Milky Way (MW) analogues, defined to be galaxies with accretion histories
similar to the MW's, that is, galaxies that underwent a merger the
Gaia-Enceladus-Sausage (GES) event and that contain an analogue of the Large
Magellanic Cloud (LMC) satellite today. We the luminosity function of all EAGLE
galaxies in \JWST/NIRCam passbands, in the redshift range $z=2-8$, taking into
account dust obscuration and different exposure times. For an exposure time of
$T=10^5$s, average MW progenitors are observable as far back as $z\sim6$ in
most bands, and this changes to $z\sim5$ and $z\sim4$ for the GES and LMC
progenitors, respectively. The progenitors of GES and LMC analogues are, on
average, $\sim 2$ and $\sim 1$ mag fainter than the MW progenitors at most
redshifts. They lie, on average, within $\sim 60$ and $30$ arcsec,
respectively, of their future MW host at all times, and thus will appear within
the field-of-view of \JWST/NIRCam. We conclude that galaxies resembling the
main progenitor of the MW and its major accreted components should be
observable with \JWST\ beyond redshift $2$, providing a new and unique window
in studying the formation history of our own galaxy.


title:
Lightweight HDR Camera ISP for Robust Perception in Dynamic Illumination
  Conditions via Fourier Adversarial Networks

abstract:
  The limited dynamic range of commercial compact camera sensors results in an
inaccurate representation of scenes with varying illumination conditions,
adversely affecting image quality and subsequently limiting the performance of
underlying image processing algorithms. Current state-of-the-art (SoTA)
convolutional neural networks (CNN) are developed as post-processing techniques
to independently recover under-/over-exposed images. However, when applied to
images containing real-world degradations such as glare, high-beam, color
bleeding with varying noise intensity, these algorithms amplify the
degradations, further degrading image quality. We propose a lightweight
two-stage image enhancement algorithm sequentially balancing illumination and
noise removal using frequency priors for structural guidance to overcome these
limitations. Furthermore, to ensure realistic image quality, we leverage the
relationship between frequency and spatial domain properties of an image and
propose a Fourier spectrum-based adversarial framework (AFNet) for consistent
image enhancement under varying illumination conditions. While current
formulations of image enhancement are envisioned as post-processing techniques,
we examine if such an algorithm could be extended to integrate the
functionality of the Image Signal Processing (ISP) pipeline within the camera
sensor benefiting from RAW sensor data and lightweight CNN architecture. Based
on quantitative and qualitative evaluations, we also examine the practicality
and effects of image enhancement techniques on the performance of common
perception tasks such as object detection and semantic segmentation in varying
illumination conditions.


title:
Free Energy Principle for the Noise Smoothness Estimation of Linear
  Systems with Colored Noise

abstract:
  The free energy principle (FEP) from neuroscience provides a framework called
active inference for the joint estimation and control of state space systems,
subjected to colored noise. However, the active inference community has been
challenged with the critical task of manually tuning the noise smoothness
parameter. To solve this problem, we introduce a novel online noise smoothness
estimator based on the idea of free energy principle. We mathematically show
that our estimator can converge to the free energy optimum during smoothness
estimation. Using this formulation, we introduce a joint state and noise
smoothness observer design called DEMs. Through rigorous simulations, we show
that DEMs outperforms state-of-the-art state observers with least state
estimation error. Finally, we provide a proof of concept for DEMs by applying
it on a real life robotics problem - state estimation of a quadrotor hovering
in wind, demonstrating its practical use.


title:
Pseudo-gauges and relativistic spin hydrodynamics for interacting Dirac
  and Proca fields

abstract:
  We present the explicit expressions of different pseudo-gauge transformations
for Dirac and Proca fields considering a general interaction term. The
particular case of the interaction of Dirac and Proca fields with a background
electromagnetic field is also studied. Starting from the quantum kinetic theory
with collisions derived from the Wigner-function formalism for massive spin-1/2
and spin-1 particles, we establish a connection between different pseudo-gauges
and relativistic spin hydrodynamics. The physical implications of the various
decompositions of orbital and spin angular momentum are discussed.


title: A combinatorial property of rho-functions

abstract:
  We show that if $\mathcal{T}$ is any Hausdorff topology on ${\omega}_{1}$,
then any subset of ${\omega}_{1}$ which is homeomorphic to the rationals under
$\mathcal{T}$ can be refined to a homeomorphic copy of the rationals on which
$\bar{\rho}$ is shift-increasing.


title: Galvin's problem in higher dimensions

abstract:
  It is proved that for each natural number $n$, if $\left| \mathbb{R} \right|
= {\aleph}_{n}$, then there is a coloring of ${\left[ \mathbb{R}
\right]}^{n+2}$ into ${\aleph}_{0}$ colors that takes all colors on ${\left[ X
\right]}^{n+2}$ whenever $X$ is any set of reals which is homeomorphic to
$\mathbb{Q}$. This generalizes a theorem of Baumgartner and sheds further light
on a problem of Galvin from the 1970s. Our result also complements and
contrasts with our earlier result saying that any coloring of ${\left[
\mathbb{R} \right]}^{2}$ into finitely many colors can be reduced to at most
$2$ colors on the pairs of some set of reals which is homeomorphic to
$\mathbb{Q}$ when large cardinals exist.


title: The Fast Johnson-Lindenstrauss Transform is Even Faster

abstract:
  The seminal Fast Johnson-Lindenstrauss (Fast JL) transform by Ailon and
Chazelle (SICOMP'09) embeds a set of $n$ points in $d$-dimensional Euclidean
space into optimal $k=O(\varepsilon^{-2} \ln n)$ dimensions, while preserving
all pairwise distances to within a factor $(1 \pm \varepsilon)$. The Fast JL
transform supports computing the embedding of a data point in $O(d \ln d +k
\ln^2 n)$ time, where the $d \ln d$ term comes from multiplication with a $d
\times d$ Hadamard matrix and the $k \ln^2 n$ term comes from multiplication
with a sparse $k \times d$ matrix. Despite the Fast JL transform being more
than a decade old, it is one of the fastest dimensionality reduction techniques
for many tradeoffs between $\varepsilon, d$ and $n$.
  In this work, we give a surprising new analysis of the Fast JL transform,
showing that the $k \ln^2 n$ term in the embedding time can be improved to $(k
\ln^2 n)/\alpha$ for an $\alpha =
\Omega(\min\{\varepsilon^{-1}\ln(1/\varepsilon), \ln n\})$. The improvement
follows by using an even sparser matrix. We also complement our improved
analysis with a lower bound showing that our new analysis is in fact tight.


title: Robust Fingerprinting of Genomic Databases

abstract:
  Database fingerprinting has been widely used to discourage unauthorized
redistribution of data by providing means to identify the source of data
leakages. However, there is no fingerprinting scheme aiming at achieving
liability guarantees when sharing genomic databases. Thus, we are motivated to
fill in this gap by devising a vanilla fingerprinting scheme specifically for
genomic databases. Moreover, since malicious genomic database recipients may
compromise the embedded fingerprint by launching effective correlation attacks
which leverage the intrinsic correlations among genomic data (e.g., Mendel's
law and linkage disequilibrium), we also augment the vanilla scheme by
developing mitigation techniques to achieve robust fingerprinting of genomic
databases against correlation attacks.
  We first show that correlation attacks against fingerprinting schemes for
genomic databases are very powerful. In particular, the correlation attacks can
distort more than half of the fingerprint bits by causing a small utility loss
(e.g.,database accuracy and consistency of SNP-phenotype associations measured
via p-values). Next, we experimentally show that the correlation attacks can be
effectively mitigated by our proposed mitigation techniques. We validate that
the attacker can hardly compromise a large portion of the fingerprint bits even
if it pays a higher cost in terms of degradation of the database utility. For
example, with around 24% loss in accuracy and 20% loss in the consistency of
SNP-phenotype associations, the attacker can only distort about 30% fingerprint
bits, which is insufficient for it to avoid being accused. We also show that
the proposed mitigation techniques also preserve the utility of the shared
genomic databases.


title:
An Algebraic System for Constructing Cryptographic Permutations over
  Finite Fields

abstract:
  In this paper we identify polynomial dynamical systems over finite fields as
the central component of almost all iterative block cipher design strategies
over finite fields. We propose a generalized triangular polynomial dynamical
system (GTDS), and give a generic algebraic definition of iterative (keyed)
permutation using GTDS. Our GTDS-based generic definition is able to describe
widely used and well-known design strategies such as substitution permutation
network (SPN), Feistel network and their variants among others. We show that
the Lai-Massey design strategy for (keyed) permutations is also described by
the GTDS. Our generic algebraic definition of iterative permutation is
particularly useful for instantiating and systematically studying block ciphers
and hash functions over $\mathbb{F}_p$ aimed for multiparty computation and
zero-knowledge based cryptographic protocols. Finally, we provide the
discrepancy analysis a technique used to measure the (pseudo-)randomness of a
sequence, for analyzing the randomness of the sequence generated by the generic
permutation or block cipher described by GTDS.


title: Testing for independence in high dimensions based on empirical copulas

abstract:
  Testing for pairwise independence for the case where the number of variables
may be of the same size or even larger than the sample size has received
increasing attention in the recent years. We contribute to this branch of the
literature by considering tests that allow to detect higher-order dependencies.
The proposed methods are based on connecting the problem to copulas and making
use of the Moebius transformation of the empirical copula process; an approach
that has already been used successfully for the case where the number of
variables is fixed. Based on a martingale central limit theorem, it is shown
that respective test statistics converge to the standard normal distribution,
allowing for straightforward definition of critical values. The results are
illustrated by a Monte Carlo simulation study.


title:
q-AQUA: a many-body CCSD(T) water potential, including 4-body
  interactions, demonstrates the quantum nature of water from clusters to the
  liquid phase

abstract:
  Many model potential energy surfaces (PESs) have been reported for water;
however, none are strictly from "first principles". Here we report such a
potential, based on a many-body representation at the CCSD(T) level of theory
up to the ultimate 4-body interaction. The new PES is benchmarked for the
isomers of the water hexamer for dissociation energies, harmonic frequencies,
and unrestricted diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) calculations of the zero-point
energies of the Prism, Book, and Cage isomers. Dissociation energies of several
isomers of the 20-mer agree well with recent benchmark energies. Exploratory
DMC calculations on this cluster verify the robustness of the new PES for
quantum simulations. The accuracy and speed of the new PES are demonstrated for
standard condensed phase properties, i.e., the radial distribution function and
the self-diffusion constant. Quantum effects are shown to be substantial for
these observables and also needed to bring theory into an excellent agreement
with experiment.


title:
Using Elo Rating as a Metric for Comparative Judgement in Educational
  Assessment

abstract:
  Marking and feedback are essential features of teaching and learning, across
the overwhelming majority of educational settings and contexts. However, it can
take a great deal of time and effort for teachers to mark assessments, and to
provide useful feedback to the students. Furthermore, it also creates a
significant cognitive load on the assessors, especially in ensuring fairness
and equity. Therefore, an alternative approach to marking called comparative
judgement (CJ) has been proposed in the educational space. Inspired by the law
of comparative judgment (LCJ). This pairwise comparison for as many pairs as
possible can then be used to rank all submissions. Studies suggest that CJ is
highly reliable and accurate while making it quick for the teachers.
Alternative studies have questioned this claim suggesting that the process can
increase bias in the results as the same submission is shown many times to an
assessor for increasing reliability. Additionally, studies have also found that
CJ can result in the overall marking process taking longer than a more
traditional method of marking as information about many pairs must be
collected.
  In this paper, we investigate Elo, which has been extensively used in rating
players in zero-sum games such as chess. We experimented on a large-scale
Twitter dataset on the topic of a recent major UK political event ("Brexit",
the UK's political exit from the European Union) to ask users which tweet they
found funnier between a pair selected from ten tweets. Our analysis of the data
reveals that the Elo rating is statistically significantly similar to the CJ
ranking with a Kendall's tau score of 0.96 and a p-value of 1.5x10^(-5). We
finish with an informed discussion regarding the potential wider application of
this approach to a range of educational contexts.


title: Inexact reduced gradient methods in smooth nonconvex optimization

abstract:
  This paper proposes and develops new line search methods with inexact
gradient information for finding stationary points of nonconvex continuously
differentiable functions on finite-dimensional spaces. Some abstract
convergence results for a broad class of line search methods are reviewed and
extended. A general scheme for inexact reduced gradient (IRG) methods with
different stepsize selections are proposed to construct sequences of iterates
with stationary accumulation points. Convergence results with convergence rates
for the developed IRG methods are established under the Kurdyka-Lojasiewicz
property. The conducted numerical experiments confirm the efficiency of the
proposed algorithms.


title: Revisiting Near/Remote Sensing with Geospatial Attention

abstract:
  This work addresses the task of overhead image segmentation when auxiliary
ground-level images are available. Recent work has shown that performing joint
inference over these two modalities, often called near/remote sensing, can
yield significant accuracy improvements. Extending this line of work, we
introduce the concept of geospatial attention, a geometry-aware attention
mechanism that explicitly considers the geospatial relationship between the
pixels in a ground-level image and a geographic location. We propose an
approach for computing geospatial attention that incorporates geometric
features and the appearance of the overhead and ground-level imagery. We
introduce a novel architecture for near/remote sensing that is based on
geospatial attention and demonstrate its use for five segmentation tasks. The
results demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms the previous
state-of-the-art methods.


title: Difference of sequence topologies

abstract:
  We argue that topology can be interpreted as an area of mathematics studying
preserved properties under an equivalence relation, and representation,
classification and comparison of the corresponding equivalence classes. With
this understanding, we can generalize ideas in topology to non-geometric
objects. In this paper, which presents an example of such generalization, we
define a sequence topology to be an equivalence class of finite integer
sequences of the same length under relabeling or permutations. The difference
for a set of finite integer sequences of the same length is defined to be the
number of mismatches in the sequences. While the difference for a set of
sequence topologies is defined to be the minimum difference over all sets of
sequences constructed by choosing one sequence from each sequence topology. We
count the number of different sequence topologies of a given length and a set
of possible labels and determine the minimum upper bound of the difference for
sequence topologies. Finally, we compute the exact difference for a set of
sequence topologies of the same length.


title: RF Electronics

abstract:
  For many decades High Energy Physics (HEP) instrumentation has been
concentrated on detectors of ionizing radiation -- where the energy of incident
particles or photons is sufficient to create mobile charge in gas, liquid, or
solid material, which can be processed by front end electronics (FEE) to
provide information about the position, energy, and timing of the incident
radiation. However, recently-proposed HEP experiments need to sense or control
EM radiation in the radiofrequency (RF) range, where ionization detectors are
unavailable. These experiments can take advantage of emerging microelectronics
developments fostered by the explosive growth of wireless data communications
in the commercial sector.
  Moore's Law advances in semiconductor technology have brought about the
recent development of advanced microelectronic components with groundbreaking
levels of analog-digital integration and processing speed. In particular, RF
"System-on-Chip" (RFSoC) platforms offer multiple data converter interfaces to
the analog world (ADCs and DACs) having bandwidths approaching 10GHz and
abundant digital signal processing resources on the same silicon die. Such
devices eliminate the complex PC board interfaces that have long been used to
couple discrete ADCs and DACs to FPGA processors, thus radically reducing power
consumption, impedance mismatch, and footprint area, while allowing analog
preconditioning circuits to be eliminated in favor of digital processing.
Costed for wide deployment, these devices are helping to accelerate the trend
towards "software defined radio" in several high-volume commercial markets. In
this whitepaper we highlight some HEP applications where leading-edge RF
microelectronics can be a key enabler.


title: Minimal Zero Forcing Sets

abstract:
  In this paper, we study minimal (with respect to inclusion) zero forcing
sets. We first investigate when a graph can have polynomially or exponentially
many distinct minimal zero forcing sets. We also study the maximum size of a
minimal zero forcing set $\overline{\operatorname{Z}}(G)$, and relate it to the
zero forcing number $\operatorname{Z}(G)$. Surprisingly, we show that the
equality $\overline{\operatorname{Z}}(G)=\operatorname{Z}(G)$ is preserved by
deleting a universal vertex, but not by adding a universal vertex. We also
characterize graphs with extreme values of $\overline{\operatorname{Z}}(G)$ and
explore the gap between $\overline{\operatorname{Z}}(G)$ and
$\operatorname{Z}(G)$.


title:
Towards Infield Navigation: leveraging simulated data for crop row
  detection

abstract:
  Agricultural datasets for crop row detection are often bound by their limited
number of images. This restricts the researchers from developing deep learning
based models for precision agricultural tasks involving crop row detection. We
suggest the utilization of small real-world datasets along with additional data
generated by simulations to yield similar crop row detection performance as
that of a model trained with a large real world dataset. Our method could reach
the performance of a deep learning based crop row detection model trained with
real-world data by using 60% less labelled real-world data. Our model performed
well against field variations such as shadows, sunlight and grow stages. We
introduce an automated pipeline to generate labelled images for crop row
detection in simulation domain. An extensive comparison is done to analyze the
contribution of simulated data towards reaching robust crop row detection in
various real-world field scenarios.


title: A basis for the Diagonal Harmonic Alternants

abstract:
  It will be shown here that there are differential operators $E,F$ and
$H=[E,F]$ for each $n\ge 1$, acting on Diagonal Harmonics, yielding that $DH_n$
is a representation of $sl[2]$ (see [3] Chapter 3). Our main effort here is to
use $sl[2]$ theory to predict a basis for the Diagonal Harmonic Alternants,
$DHA_n$. It can be shown that the irreducible representations $sl[2]$ are all
of the form $P,EP,E^2P,\cdots,E^kP$, with $FP=0$ and $E^{k+1}P=0$. The
polynomial $P$ is known to be called a "String Starter". From $sl[2]$ theory it
follows that $DHA_n$ is a direct sum of strings. Our main result so far is a
formula for the number of string starters. A recent paper by Carlsson and
Oblomkov (see [2]) constructs a basis for the space of Diagonal Coinvariants by
Algebraic Geometrical tools. It would be interesting to see if any our results
can be derived from theirs.


title:
Distinctive g-factor of moire-confined excitons in van der Waals
  heterostructures

abstract:
  We investigated experimentally the valley Zeeman splitting of excitonic peaks
in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of high-quality hBN/WS2/MoSe2/hBN
heterostructures at near-zero twist angles under perpendicular magnetic fields
up to 20 T. We identify two neutral exciton peaks in the PL spectra: the lower
energy one exhibits a reduced g-factor relative to that of the higher energy
peak, and much lower than the recently reported values for interlayer excitons
in other van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures. We provide evidence that such a
discernible g-factor stems from the spatial confinement of the exciton in the
potential landscape created by the moire pattern, due tolattice mismatch and/or
inter-layer twist in heterobilayers. This renders magneto-PL an important tool
to reach deeper understanding of the effect of moire patterns on excitonic
confinement in vdW heterostructures.


title:
Sharp estimates for the first Robin eigenvalue of nonlinear elliptic
  operators

abstract:
  The aim of this paper is to obtain optimal estimates for the first Robin
eigenvalue of the anisotropic $p$-Laplace operator, namely: \begin{equation*}
\lambda_1(\beta,\Omega)=\min_{\psi\in W^{1,p}(\Omega)\setminus\{0\} }
\frac{\displaystyle\int_\Omega F(\nabla \psi)^p dx +\beta
\displaystyle\int_{\partial\Omega}|\psi|^pF(\nu_{\Omega}) d\mathcal H^{N-1}
}{\displaystyle\int_\Omega|\psi|^p dx}, \end{equation*} where
$p\in]1,+\infty[$, $\Omega$ is a bounded, mean convex domain in $\mathcal
R^{N}$, $\nu_{\Omega}$ is its Euclidean outward normal, $\beta$ is a real
number, and $F$ is a sufficiently smooth norm on $\mathcal R^{N}$. The
estimates we found are in terms of the first eigenvalue of a one-dimensional
nonlinear problem, which depends on $\beta$ and on geometrical quantities
associated to $\Omega$. More precisely, we prove a lower bound of $\lambda_{1}$
in the case $\beta>0$, and a upper bound in the case $\beta<0$. As a
consequence, we prove, for $\beta>0$, a lower bound for
$\lambda_{1}(\beta,\Omega)$ in terms of the anisotropic inradius of $\Omega$
and, for $\beta<0$, an upper bound of $\lambda_{1}(\beta,\Omega)$ in terms of
$\beta$.


title:
A Unit-Consistent Tensor Completion with Applications in Recommender
  Systems

abstract:
  In this paper we introduce a new consistency-based approach for defining and
solving nonnegative/positive matrix and tensor completion problems. The novelty
of the framework is that instead of artificially making the problem well-posed
in the form of an application-arbitrary optimization problem, e.g., minimizing
a bulk structural measure such as rank or norm, we show that a single
property/constraint - preserving unit-scale consistency - guarantees both
existence of a solution and, under relatively weak support assumptions,
uniqueness. The framework and solution algorithms also generalize directly to
tensors of arbitrary dimension while maintaining computational complexity that
is linear in problem size for fixed dimension d. In the context of recommender
system (RS) applications, we prove that two reasonable properties that should
be expected to hold for any solution to the RS problem are sufficient to permit
uniqueness guarantees to be established within our framework. This is
remarkable because it obviates the need for heuristic-based statistical or AI
methods despite what appear to be distinctly human/subjective variables at the
heart of the problem. Key theoretical contributions include a general
unit-consistent tensor-completion framework with proofs of its properties,
including algorithms with optimal runtime complexity, e.g., O(1)
term-completion with preprocessing complexity that is linear in the number of
known terms of the matrix/tensor.


title: Global $N_\infty$-operads

abstract:
  We define $N_\infty$-operads in the globally equivariant setting and
completely classify them. These global $N_\infty$-operads model intermediate
levels of equivariant commutativity in the global world, i. e. in the setting
where objects have compatible actions by all compact Lie groups. We classify
global $N_\infty$-operads by giving an equivalence between the homotopy
category of global $N_\infty$-operads and the partially ordered set of global
transfer systems, which are much simpler, algebraic objects. We also explore
the relation between global $N_\infty$-operads and $N_\infty$-operads for a
single group, recently introduced by Blumberg and Hill. One interesting
consequence of our results is the fact that not all equivariant
$N_\infty$-operads can appear as restrictions of global $N_\infty$-operads.


title: Double $J/\psi$ production in pion-nucleon scattering at COMPASS

abstract:
  We present the study of the production of double $J/\psi$ mesons using
COMPASS data collected with a 190 GeV/$c$ $\pi^-$ beam scattering off NH$_{3}$,
Al and W targets. Kinematic distributions of the collected double $J/\psi$
events are analysed, and the double $J/\psi$ production cross section is
estimated for each of the COMPASS targets. The results are compared to
predictions from single- and double-parton scattering models as well as the
pion intrinsic charm and the tetraquark exotic resonance hypotheses. It is
demonstrated that the single parton scattering production mechanism gives the
dominant contribution that is sufficient to describe the data. An upper limit
on the double intrinsic charm content of pion is evaluated. No significant
signatures that could be associated with exotic tetraquarks are found in the
double $J/\psi$ mass spectrum.


title:
$\bar B \to D^{(*)} \ell \bar{X}$ decays in effective field theory with
  massive right-handed neutrinos

abstract:
  We calculate the complete differential decay distribution for the $B$ meson
decay, $\bar B \to D^{(*)} \ell \bar{X}$, to a massive right-handed (RH)
neutrino in the low-energy effective field theory (LEFT) framework. We find
that a massive RH neutrino does not introduce any new angular structures
compared to the massless case, but can cause significant distortions in angular
observables. We study the phenomenology of low-energy four-fermion operators
permitted by the standard model effective field theory (SMEFT) extended with RH
neutrinos (SMNEFT). We show that to explain the positive value of the
difference in forward-backward asymmetries, $\Delta A_{\text{FB}}\equiv
A_{\text{FB}}^\mu-A_{\text{FB}}^e$, tentatively inferred from Belle data, the
RH neutrino must be massive. We also make predictions for $q^2$ dependent
angular observables to motivate future measurements.


title: Achieving Long-Term Fairness in Sequential Decision Making

abstract:
  In this paper, we propose a framework for achieving long-term fair sequential
decision making. By conducting both the hard and soft interventions, we propose
to take path-specific effects on the time-lagged causal graph as a quantitative
tool for measuring long-term fairness. The problem of fair sequential decision
making is then formulated as a constrained optimization problem with the
utility as the objective and the long-term and short-term fairness as
constraints. We show that such an optimization problem can be converted to a
performative risk optimization. Finally, repeated risk minimization (RRM) is
used for model training, and the convergence of RRM is theoretically analyzed.
The empirical evaluation shows the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm on
synthetic and semi-synthetic temporal datasets.


title: Recovering the CMB Signal with Machine Learning

abstract:
  The cosmic microwave background (CMB), carrying the inhomogeneous information
of the very early universe, is of great significance for understanding the
origin and evolution of our universe. However, observational CMB maps contain
serious foreground contaminations from several sources, such as galactic
synchrotron and thermal dust emissions. Here, we build a deep convolutional
neural network (CNN) to recover the tiny CMB signal from various huge
foreground contaminations. Focusing on the CMB temperature fluctuations, we
find that the CNN model can successfully recover the CMB temperature maps with
high accuracy, and that the deviation of the recovered power spectrum $C_\ell$
is smaller than the cosmic variance at $\ell>10$. We then apply this method to
the current Planck observation, and find that the recovered CMB is quite
consistent with that disclosed by the Planck collaboration, which indicates
that the CNN method can provide a promising approach to the component
separation of CMB observations. Furthermore, we test the CNN method with
simulated CMB polarization maps based on the CMB-S4 experiment. The result
shows that both the EE and BB power spectra can be recovered with high
accuracy. Therefore, this method will be helpful for the detection of
primordial gravitational waves in current and future CMB experiments. The CNN
is designed to analyze two-dimensional images, thus this method is not only
able to process full-sky maps, but also partial-sky maps. Therefore, it can
also be used for other similar experiments, such as radio surveys like the
Square Kilometer Array.


title:
Peptide conformational sampling using the Quantum Approximate
  Optimization Algorithm

abstract:
  Protein folding -- the problem of predicting the spatial structure of a
protein given its sequence of amino-acids -- has attracted considerable
research effort in biochemistry in recent decades. In this work, we explore the
potential of quantum computing to solve a simplified version of protein
folding. More precisely, we numerically investigate the performance of a
variational quantum algorithm, the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm
(QAOA), in sampling low-energy conformations of short peptides. We start by
benchmarking the algorithm on an even simpler problem: sampling self-avoiding
walks, which is a necessary condition for a valid protein conformation.
Motivated by promising results achieved by QAOA on this problem, we then apply
the algorithm to a more complete version of protein folding, including a
simplified physical potential. In this case, based on numerical simulations on
20 qubits, we find less promising results: deep quantum circuits are required
to achieve accurate results, and the performance of QAOA can be matched by
random sampling up to a small overhead. Overall, these results cast serious
doubt on the ability of QAOA to address the protein folding problem in the near
term, even in an extremely simplified setting. We believe that the approach and
conclusions presented in this work could offer valuable methodological insights
on how to systematically evaluate variational quantum optimization algorithms
on real-world problems beyond protein folding.