title: A polarized beam splitter using an anisotropic medium slab

abstract:
  The propagation of electromagnetic waves in the anisotropic medium with a
single-sheeted hyperboloid dispersion relation is investigated. It is found
that in such an anisotropic medium E- and H-polarized waves have the same
dispersion relation, while E- and H-polarized waves exhibit opposite amphoteric
refraction characteristics. E- (or H-) polarized waves are positively refracted
whereas H- (or E-) polarized waves are negatively refracted at the interface
associated with the anisotropic medium. By suitably using the properties of
anomalous refraction in the anisotropic medium it is possible to realize a very
simple and very efficient beam splitter to route the light. It is shown that
the splitting angle and the splitting distance between E- and H- polarized beam
is the function of anisotropic parameters, incident angle and slab thickness.


title: Measurement of Earth's Free-Oscillations using a Pendulum

abstract:
  One of the best ways to measure low-frequency eigenmode oscillations of the
Earth is to monitor a simple pendulum responding to tilt. A theoretical basis
for the method is given, by investigating a particular, well-known standing
wave-the one with 53 minute period corresponding to oblate/prolate spheroidal
deviations from the geoid.


title: Frequency shift of hyperfine transitions due to blackbody radiation

abstract:
  We have performed calculations of the size of the frequency shift induced by
a static electric field on the clock transition frequencies of the hyperfine
splitting in Yb+, Rb, Cs, Ba+, and Hg+. The calculations are used to find the
frequency shifts due to blackbody radiation which are needed for accurate
frequency measurements and improvements of the limits on variation of the fine
structure constant, alpha. Our result for Cs (delta nu E^2=-2.26 times
10^{-10}Hz/(V/m)^2) is in good agreement with early measurements and ab initio
calculations. We present arguments against recent claims that the actual value
might be smaller. The difference (approx 10%) is due to the contribution of the
continuum spectrum in the sum over intermediate states.


title: Energy flow in a hadronic cascade: Application to hadron calorimetry

abstract:
  The hadronic cascade description developed in an earlier paper is extended to
the response of an idealized fine-sampling hadron calorimeter. Calorimeter
response is largely determined by the transfer of energy $E_e$ from the
hadronic to the electromagnetic sector via $\pi^0$ production. Fluctuations in
this quantity produce the "constant term" in hadron calorimeter resolution. The
increase of its fractional mean, $f_{\rm em}^0 = \vev{E_e}/E$, with increasing
incident energy $E$ causes the energy dependence of the $\pi/e$ ratio in a
noncompensating calorimeter. The mean hadronic energy fraction, $f_h^0 =
1-f_{\rm em}^0$, was shown to scale very nearly as a power law in $E$: $f_h^0 =
(E/E_0)^{m-1}$, where $E_0\approx1$ GeV for pions, and $m\approx0.83$. It
follows that $\pi/e=1-(1-h/e)(E/E_0)^{m-1}$, where electromagnetic and hadronic
energy deposits are detected with efficiencies $e$ and $h$, respectively.
Fluctuations in these quantities, along with sampling fluctuations, are
incorporated to give an overall understanding of resolution, which is different
from the usual treatments in interesting ways. The conceptual framework is also
extended to the response to jets and the difference between $\pi$ and $p$
response.


title:
Toward the Stable Optical Trapping of a Droplet with Counter Laser Beams
  under Microgravity

abstract:
  To identify the optimum conditions for the optical trapping of a droplet
under microgravity, we theoretically analyzed the efficiency of trapping with
counter laser beams. We found that the distance between the two foci is an
important parameter for obtaining stable trapping conditions. We also performed
an optical trapping experiment with counter laser beams under microgravity. The
experimental results correspond well to the theoretical prediction.


title:
Correlation length and negative phase velocity in isotropic
  dielectric-magnetic materials

abstract:
  A composite material comprising randomly distributed spherical particles of
two different isotropic dielectric-magnetic materials is homogenized using the
second-order strong-property-fluctuation theory in the long-wavelength
approximation. Whereas neither of the two constituent materials by itself
supports planewave propagation with negative phase velocity (NPV), the
homogenized composite material (HCM) can. The propensity of the HCM to support
NPV propagation is sensitive to the distributional statistics of the
constituent material particles, as characterized by a two--point covariance
function and its associated correlation length. The scope for NPV propagation
diminishes as the correlation length increases.


title: Essence of inviscid shear instability: a point view of vortex dynamics

abstract:
  The essence of shear instability is fully revealed both mathematically and
physically. A general sufficient and necessary stable criterion is obtained
analytically within linear context. It is the analogue of Kelvin-Arnol'd
theorem, i.e., the stable flow minimizes the kinetic energy associated with
vorticity. Then the mechanism of shear instability is explored by combining the
mechanisms of both Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (K-H instability) and resonance
of waves. It requires both concentrated vortex and resonant waves for the
instability. The waves, which have same phase speed with the concentrated
vortex, have interactions with the vortex to trigger the instability. We call
this mechanism as "concentrated vortex instability". The physical explanation
of shear instability is also sketched. Finally, some useful criteria are
derived from the theorem. These results would intrigue future works to
investigate the other hydrodynamic instabilities.


title:
Apparent violation of thermodynamics second law under Van der Waals gas
  expansion in vacuum

abstract:
  Examining textbooks of thermodynamics we have not able to find a proof of
increasing of entropy under free adiabatic expansion in vacuum based on the
state equation of the Van der Waals gas. This communication remedies the
situation. During proving we faced with an amusing example of apparent
violation of thermodynamics second law.


title: Nonlinear interaction between three inertial Alfv\'{e}n waves

abstract:
  The resonant coupling between Alfv\'{e}n waves is reconsidered. New results
are found for cold plasmas there temperature effects are negligible.


title:
Changes in fractal properties of geomagnetic indexes as possible
  magnetic storms precursors

abstract:
  Records of Dst, Kp and Sym-H indexes are analyzed looking for evidences of
possible precursors for magnetic storms. To accomplish this task the main
magnetic storms were located and some periods immediately before storms and
some periods well before them studied. Statistical properties of both types of
periods were then compared. In particular, were compared the slopes of the
power laws that have been found for the distributions of indexes values. A
systematic deviation was found between both distributions for the Kp index. It
was no so for Dst and Sym-H indexes. For the three indexes it was found a
correlation between slopes and the corresponding storm intensity, which could
serve as a probabilistic approach to magnetic storms forecasting. The data for
the analysis was obtained at the World Data Centre for Geomagnetism at Kyoto.


title: Coupled applications on distributed resources

abstract:
  Coupled models are set to become increasingly important in all aspects of
science and engineering as tools with which to study complex systems in an
integrated manner. Such coupled, hybrid simulations typically communicate data
between the component models of which they are comprised relatively
infrequently, and so a Grid is expected to present an ideal architecture on
which to run them. In the present paper, we describe a simple, flexible and
extensible architecture for a two-component hybrid molecular-continuum coupled
model (hybrid MD). We discuss its deployment on distributed resources and the
extensions to the RealityGrid computational-steering system to handle coupled
models.


title: Generalized Ideal Gas Equations for Structureful Universe

abstract:
  We have derived generalized ideal gas equations for a structureful universe
consisting of all forms of matters. We have assumed a universe that contains
superclusters. Superclusters are then made of clusters. Each cluster can be
further divided into smaller ones and so on. We have derived an expression for
the entropy of such a universe. Our model is rather independent of the geometry
of the intermediate clusters. Our calculations are valid for a non-interacting
universe within non-relativistic limits. We suggest that structure formation
can reduce the expansion rate of the universe.


title:
Microwave Generation Power in a Nonrelativistic Electron Beam with
  Virtual Cathode in a Retarding Electric Field

abstract:
  The power of microwave generation in a nonrelativistic electron beam with
virtual cathode formed in a static retarding electric field (low-voltage
vircator system) has been studied experimentally and by means of numerical
simulation within the framework of a one-dimensional theory. The limits of
applicability of the one-dimensional theory have been experimentally
determined.


title:
A Proposed Experiment to Study Relaxation Formation of a Spherical
  Tokamak with a Plasma Center Column

abstract:
  A spherical tokamak (ST) with a plasma center column (PCC) can be formed via
driven magnetic relaxation of a screw pinch plasma. An ST-PCC could in
principle eliminate many problems associated with a material center column, a
key weakness of the ST reactor concept. This work summarizes the design space
for an ST-PCC in terms of flux amplification, aspect ratio, and elongation,
based on the zero-beta Taylor-relaxed analysis of Tang & Boozer [Phys. Plasmas
13, 042514 (2006)]. The paper will discuss (1) equilibrium and stability
properties of the ST-PCC, (2) issues for an engineering design, and (3) key
differences between the proposed ST-PCC and the ongoing Proto-Sphera effort in
Italy.


title: To the Fluid Motion Dynamics

abstract:
  A fluid motion through the flow element is presented in the kind of an
autooscillating system with the distributed parameters: mass, elasticity,
viscosity. The system contains a self-excited oscillator and possesses a
self-regulation on base of the intrinsic voluntary negative servo output
feedback. The interaction dynamics of the submerged jet, out-flowing out of a
flow element, with the homogeneous for it surrounding medium as well as
dynamics of evolution of the spiral-vortex structures, appearing at the
relative motion of fluids, are described for the first time. The conceptual
model of a flow in the kind of the completed system of the cause and effect
relationship, that presents the fluid motion process as a result in interaction
of the motive power, applied from without, and the internal wave mechanism,
selfregulating the flow structure and its intensity, is created.


title: Phase-dependent light propagation in atomic vapors

abstract:
  Light propagation in an atomic medium whose coupled electronic levels form a
diamond-configuration exhibits a critical dependence on the input conditions.
In particular, the relative phase of the input fields gives rise to
interference phenomena in the electronic excitation whose interplay with
relaxation processes determines the stationary state. We integrate numerically
the Maxwell-Bloch equations and observe two metastable behaviors for the
relative phase of the propagating fields corresponding to two possible
interference phenomena. These phenomena are associated to separate types of
response along propagation, minimize dissipation, and are due to atomic
coherence. These behaviors could be studied in gases of isotopes of
alkali-earth atoms with zero nuclear spin, and offer new perspectives in
control techniques in quantum electronics.


title:
Impact of Boundary Conditions on Entrainment and Transport in Gravity
  Currents

abstract:
  Gravity currents have been studied numerically and experimentally both in the
laboratory and in the ocean. The question of appropriate boundary conditions is
still challenging for most complex flows. Gravity currents make no exception -
appropriate, physically and mathematically sound boundary conditions are yet to
be found. This task is further complicated by the technical limitations imposed
by the current oceanographic techniques.
  In this paper, we make a first step toward a better understanding of the
impact of boundary conditions on gravity currents. Specifically, we use direct
numerical simulations to investigate the effect that the popular Neumann, and
less popular Dirichlet boundary conditions on the bottom continental shelf have
on the entrainment and transport of gravity currents.
  The finding is that gravity currents under these two different boundary
conditions differ most in the way they transport heat from the top towards the
bottom. This major difference occurs at medium temperature ranges. Entrainment
and transport at high temperatures also show significant differences.


title:
Transverse Dynamics and Energy Tuning of Fast Electrons Generated in
  Sub-Relativistic Intensity Laser Pulse Interaction with Plasmas

abstract:
  The regimes of quasi-mono-energetic electron beam generation were
experimentally studied in the sub-relativistic intensity laser plasma
interaction. The observed electron acceleration regime is unfolded with
two-dimensional-particle-in-cell simulations of laser-wakefield generation in
the self-modulation regime.


title:
Microeconomic co-evolution model for financial technical analysis
  signals

abstract:
  Technical analysis (TA) has been used for a long time before the availability
of more sophisticated instruments for financial forecasting in order to suggest
decisions on the basis of the occurrence of data patterns. Many mathematical
and statistical tools for quantitative analysis of financial markets have
experienced a fast and wide growth and have the power for overcoming classical
technical analysis methods. This paper aims to give a measure of the
reliability of some information used in TA by exploring the probability of
their occurrence within a particular $microeconomic$ agent based model of
markets, i.e., the co-evolution Bak-Sneppen model originally invented for
describing species population evolutions. After having proved the practical
interest of such a model in describing financial index so called avalanches, in
the prebursting bubble time rise, the attention focuses on the occurrence of
trend line detection crossing of meaningful barriers, those that give rise to
some usual technical analysis strategies. The case of the NASDAQ crash of April
2000 serves as an illustration.


title: Rhythmic Motion of a Droplet under a DC Electric Field

abstract:
  The effect of a stationary electric field on a water droplet with a diameter
of several tens micrometers in oil was examined. Such a droplet exhibits
repetitive translational motion between the electrodes in a spontaneous manner.
The state diagram of this oscillatory motion was deduced; at 0-20 V the droplet
is fixed at the surface of the electrode, at 20-70 V the droplet exhibits
small-amplitude oscillatory motion between the electrodes, and at 70-100 V the
droplet shows large-amplitude periodic motion between the electrodes. The
observed rhythmic motion is explained in a semi-quantitative manner by using
differential equations, which includes the effect of charging the droplet under
an electric field. We also found that twin droplets exhibit synchronized
rhythmic motion between the electrodes.


title: Rb*He_n exciplexes in solid 4_He

abstract:
  We report the observation of emission spectra from Rb*He_n exciplexes in
solid 4He. Two different excitation channels were experimentally identified,
viz., exciplex formation via laser excitation to the atomic 5P3/2 and to the
5P1/2 levels. While the former channel was observed before in liquid helium, on
helium nanodroplets and in helium gas by different groups, the latter creation
mechanism occurs only in solid helium or in gaseous helium above 10 Kelvin. The
experimental results are compared to theoretical predictions based on the
extension of a model, used earlier by us for the description of Cs*He_n
exciplexes. We also report the first observation of fluorescence from atomic
rubidium in solid helium, and discuss striking differences between the
spectroscopic feature of Rb-He and Cs-He systems.


title:
Time-invariant person-specific frequency templates in human brain
  activity

abstract:
  The various human brain tasks are performed at different locations and time
scales. Yet, we discovered the existence of time-invariant (above an essential
time scale) partitioning of the brain activity into personal state-specific
frequency bands. For that, we perform temporal and ensemble averaging of best
wavelet packet bases from multi-electrode EEG recordings. These personal
frequency-bands provide new templates for quantitative analyses of brain
function, e.g., normal vs. epileptic activity.


title: Social Balance on Networks: The Dynamics of Friendship and Enmity

abstract:
  How do social networks evolve when both friendly and unfriendly relations
exist? Here we propose a simple dynamics for social networks in which the sense
of a relationship can change so as to eliminate imbalanced triads--relationship
triangles that contains 1 or 3 unfriendly links. In this dynamics, a friendly
link changes to unfriendly or vice versa in an imbalanced triad to make the
triad balanced. Such networks undergo a dynamic phase transition from a steady
state to "utopia"--all friendly links--as the amount of network friendliness is
changed. Basic features of the long-time dynamics and the phase transition are
discussed.


title: Nonrelativistic double photoeffect on lithiumlike ions at high energies

abstract:
  The total cross section for double ionization of lithiumlike ions by a
high-energy photon is calculated in leading order of the nonrelativistic
perturbation theory. The partial contributions due to simultaneous and
sequential emissions of two electrons are taken into account. The cross section
under consideration is shown to be related to those for double photoeffect on
the ground and excited 2^{1,3}S states of heliumlike ions. The double-to-single
ionization ratio is equal to R = 0.288/Z^2 for lithiumlike ions with moderate
nuclear charge numbers Z. However, even for the lightest three-electron targets
such as Li and Be^+, analytical predictions are found to be in good agreement
with the numerical calculations performed within the framework of different
rather involved approaches.


title: Photoionization of helium-like ions in asymptotic nonrelativistic region

abstract:
  The cross section for single K-shell ionization by a high-energy photon is
evaluated in the next-to-leading order of the nonrelativistic perturbation
theory with respect to the electron-electron interaction. The screening
corrections are of particular importance for light helium-like ions. Even in
the case of neutral He atom, our analytical predictions turn out to be in good
agreement with the numerical calculations performed with the use of the
sophisticated wave functions. The universal high-energy behavior is studied for
the ratio of double-to-single photoionization cross sections. We also discuss
the fast convergence of the perturbation theory over the reversed nuclear
charge number 1/Z.


title: Model of molecular bonding based on the Bohr-Sommerfeld picture of atoms

abstract:
  We develop a model of molecular binding based on the Bohr-Sommerfeld
description of atoms together with a constraint taken from conventional quantum
mechanics. The model can describe the binding energy curves of H2, H3 and other
molecules with striking accuracy. Our approach treats electrons as point
particles with positions determined by extrema of an algebraic energy function.
Our constrained model provides a physically appealing, accurate description of
multi-electron chemical bonds.


title: Pushing the hyperpolarizability to the limit

abstract:
  We use numerical optimization to find a one-dimensional potential energy
function that yields the largest hyperpolarizability, which we find is within
30% of the fundamental limit. Our results reveal insights into the character of
the potential energy functions and wavefunctions that lead to the largest
hyperpolarizability. We suggest that donor-acceptor molecules with a conjugated
bridge with many sites of reduced conjugation to impart conjugation modulation
may be the best paradigm for making materials with huge hyperpolarizabilities
that approach the fundamental limit.


title: Backward Tamm states in left-handed metamaterials

abstract:
  We study the electromagnetic surface waves localized at an interface
separating a one-dimensional photonic crystal and left-handed metamaterial, the
so-called surface Tamm states. We demonstrate that the metamaterial allows for
a flexible control of the dispersion properties of surface states, and can
support the Tamm states with a backward energy flow and a vortex-like
structure.


title: Correlated Binomial Models and Correlation Structures

abstract:
  We discuss a general method to construct correlated binomial distributions by
imposing several consistent relations on the joint probability function. We
obtain self-consistency relations for the conditional correlations and
conditional probabilities. The beta-binomial distribution is derived by a
strong symmetric assumption on the conditional correlations. Our derivation
clarifies the 'correlation' structure of the beta-binomial distribution. It is
also possible to study the correlation structures of other probability
distributions of exchangeable (homogeneous) correlated Bernoulli random
variables. We study some distribution functions and discuss their behaviors in
terms of their correlation structures.


title:
Wave propagation in the anisotropic media with single-sheeted
  hyperboloid dispersion relation

abstract:
  We investigate the wave propagation in the anisotropic metamaterial with
single-sheeted hyperboloid dispersion relation. Based on boundary conditions
and dispersion relations, we find that the opposite amphoteric refraction, such
that E- (or H-) polarized waves are positively refracted whereas H- (or E-)
polarized waves are negatively refracted, can occur at the interface associated
with the anisotropic metamaterial. Under a certain condition, both E- and
H-polarized waves can exhibit the same single-sheeted hyperboloid or straight
dispersion relation, while the two polarized waves exhibit different
propagation characteristics. We expect some potential device applications can
be derived based on based on the unique amphoteric refraction properties.


title:
Near-infrared negative-index metamaterials consisting of multiple layers
  of perforated metal-dielectric stacks

abstract:
  In this paper, we numerically demonstrate a near-infrared negative-index
metamaterial (NIM) slab consisting of multiple layers of perforated
metal-dielectric stacks and exhibiting low imaginary part of index over the
wavelength of negative refraction. The effective index is obtained using two
different numerical methods and found to be consistent. Backward phase
propagation is verified by calculation of fields inside the metamaterial. These
results point to a new design of low loss thick metamaterial at optical
frequencies.


title:
On-off Intermittence as a Possible Mechanism of Geomagnetic Impulse
  Generation

abstract:
  Using the many-year observations at several high-latitude observatories in
the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the regularities in distribution of
magnetic impulse events (MIEs) amplitudes are studied. It is shown that the
tails of the functions of statistical distributions of impulse amplitudes are
approximated by a power function of the form f (A) = A**(-b), where A is the
impulse amplitude, and b is the power index laying in the range from 1 to 5.
Experimental confirmation is obtained to the hypothesis suggested earlier that
the impulse generation regime qualitatively corresponds to the model of on-off
intermittency. It is assumed that the model of the on-off intermittency may be
considered as one of the possible mechanisms of MIEs generation. It is found
that the majority of the analyzed statistical distributions of MIEs amplitudes
have the index b exceeding 2, the fact being typical for chaotic regimes called
the strong turbulence. In some cases the index b is close to the unity, this
fact being typical for the regimes generated in weakly turbulized medium. The
results obtained make it possible to assume that: a) at higher magnetospheric
latitudes, the plasma turbulence degree is higher that at lower latitudes, b)
in the afternoon sector of the magnetosphere, the plasma is stronger turbulized
than in the prenoon sector; c) in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres the
magnetospheric plasma is stronger turbulized in summer and winter,
respectively; d) at the growth phase of solar activity the magnetospheric
plasma is stronger turbulized than at the declining phase. The dependence of
the power index b on the solar wind parameters and IMF demonstrates the
influence of interplanetary conditions on the high-latitude magnetosphere
plasma where MIEs are formed.


title:
Gap plasmon polariton structure for very efficient micro to nano scale
  interfacing

abstract:
  The seamless transition between micro-scale photonics and nano-scale
plasmonics requires the mitigation between different waveguiding mechanisms as
well as between few orders of magnitude in the field lateral size, down to a
small fraction of a wavelength. By exploiting gap plasmon polariton waves both
at the micro and nano scale, very high power transfer efficiency (>60%) can be
achieved using an ultrashort (few microns) non adiabatic tapered gap plasmon
waveguide. Same mechanism may be used to harvest impinging light waves and
direct them into a nano hole or slit, to exhibit an anomalous transmission -
without the conventional periodic structures. The special interplay of
plasmonic and oscillating modes is analyzed.


title:
Slow-light optical bullets in arrays of nonlinear Bragg-grating
  waveguides

abstract:
  We demonstrate how to control independently both spatial and temporal
dynamics of slow light. We reveal that specially designed nonlinear waveguide
arrays with phase-shifted Bragg gratings demonstrate the frequency-independent
spatial diffraction near the edge of the photonic bandgap, where the group
velocity of light can be strongly reduced. We show in numerical simulations
that such structures allow a great flexibility in designing and controlling
dispersion characteristics, and open a way for efficient spatiotemporal
self-trapping and the formation of slow-light optical bullets.


title:
Classical threshold behaviour in a 1+1-dimensional model for double
  ionization in strong fields

abstract:
  Building on insights about the classical pathways to double ionization in
strong laser fields we here propose a 1+1-dimensional model that captures
essentials of the 3-d potential landscape and allows efficient studies of the
process in reduced dimensions. The reduction to one degree of freedom for each
electron is obtained by confining their motion to lines at an angle of pi/6
with respect to the field axis; the justification for this choice is that upon
variation of the electric field the Stark saddles move along the same lines. In
this way we obtain a low-dimensional representation in which symmetric electron
escape is possible. As a demonstration of the advantages of this model we
confirm numerically the equivalent of the Wannier threshold behaviour for
constant electric field and identify several classes of trajectories that can
contribute to the ionization process.


title: Photodetachment of H- in a quantum well

abstract:
  The photodetachement of H- in a quantum well is investigated based on closed
orbit theory. It is found the distances between the ion and the two hard walls
modulate the cross section of photodetachment. For the hard walls perpendicular
the polarization of photons, the detachment spectrum displays a staircase
structure. The pattern of staircase is modulated by the ratio of distances from
the ion to the two walls while the distance controls step interval of the
staircase structure.


title: Optimal Data-Based Binning for Histograms

abstract:
  Histograms are convenient non-parametric density estimators, which continue
to be used ubiquitously. Summary quantities estimated from histogram-based
probability density models depend on the choice of the number of bins. We
introduce a straightforward data-based method of determining the optimal number
of bins in a uniform bin-width histogram. By assigning a multinomial likelihood
and a non-informative prior, we derive the posterior probability for the number
of bins in a piecewise-constant density model given the data. In addition, we
estimate the mean and standard deviations of the resulting bin heights, examine
the effects of small sample sizes and digitized data, and demonstrate the
application to multi-dimensional histograms.

categories: physics.data-an math.PR math.ST physics.comp-ph stat.TH


title: Coherent thermodynamical modelling of geomaterial reinforced by wires

abstract:
  The TexSol is a composite geomaterial : a sand matrix and a wire network
reinforcement. For small strains a thermodynamical continuous model of the
TexSol including the unilaterality of the wire network is postulated. This
model is described by two potentials which depend on some internal variables
and a state variable either strain or stress tensor (the choice of this last
one gives two different ways of identification). The TexSol continuous model is
implemented in a finite element code to recover the mechanical behaviour given
by discrete elements numerical experiments.


title: Moving Observers in an Isotropic Universe

abstract:
  We show how the anisotropy resulting from the motion of an observer in an
isotropic universe may be determined by measurements. This provides a means to
identify inertial frames, yielding a simple resolution to the twins paradox of
relativity theory. We propose that isotropy is a requirement for a frame to be
inertial; this makes it possible to relate motion to the large scale structure
of the universe.


title: An accurate optical lattice clock with 87Sr atoms

abstract:
  We report a frequency measurement of the 1S0-3P0 transition of 87Sr atoms in
an optical lattice clock. The frequency is determined to be 429 228 004 229 879
(5) Hz with a fractional uncertainty that is comparable to state-of-the-art
optical clocks with neutral atoms in free fall. Two previous measurements of
this transition were found to disagree by about 2x10^{-13}, i.e. almost four
times the combined error bar, instilling doubt on the potential of optical
lattice clocks to perform at a high accuracy level. In perfect agreement with
one of these two values, our measurement essentially dissipates this doubt.


title: A versatile sensor for string motion

abstract:
  The full characterization of a stringed musical instrument requires measuring
the motion of the strings in at least two dimensions. Traditionally this has
been done using electromagnetic means or by optical transmission. However in
many instruments the strings are not made of steel, nor are the strings easily
accessible on both sides. In this work it is shown that string positions can be
measured by inexpensive optical reflection sensors which neither require
metallic strings nor obtrusive access. We have demonstrated a versatile and
non-invasive technique for measuring the position of a vibrating string in a 1
mm^2 area with an accuracy of tens of microns for thin strings, and better than
0.1 mm for thick ones.


title: Rotational Energy Transfer in H2+H2

abstract:
  Quantum-mechanical close-coupling calculations for state-to-state cross
sections and thermal rates are reported for H2+H2 collisions. Two recently
developed potential energy surfaces (PES) for the H2-H2 system are applied,
namely, the global potential surface from the work of A.I. Boothroyd, P.G.
Martin, W.J. Keogh, M.J. Peterson, J. Chem. Phys., 116 (2002) 666, and a
restricted, model surface from the works of P. Diep, J.K. Johnson, J. Chem.
Phys., 113 (2000) 3480; ibid. 112, 4465. The low temperature limit is
investigated. We found significant differences in cross sections and
corresponding thermal rates calculated with these two PESs.


title: Relativistic dynamics without conservation laws

abstract:
  We show that relativistic dynamics can be approached without using
conservation laws (conservation of momentum, of energy and of the centre of
mass). Our approach avoids collisions that are not easy to teach without
mnemonic aids. The derivations are based on the principle of relativity and on
its direct consequence, the addition law of relativistic velocities.


title: Special Theory of Relativity through the Doppler Effect

abstract:
  We present the special theory of relativity taking the Doppler effect as the
starting point, and derive several of its main effects, such as time dilation,
length contraction, addition of velocities, and the mass-energy relation, and
assuming energy and momentum conservation, we discuss how to introduce the
4-momentum in a natural way. We also use the Doppler effect to explain the
"twin paradox", and its version on a cylinder. As a by-product we discuss
Bell's spaceship paradox, and the Lorentz transformation for arbitrary
velocities in one dimension.


title: Statistical Self-Similar Properties of Complex Networks

abstract:
  It has been shown that many complex networks shared distinctive features,
which differ in many ways from the random and the regular networks. Although
these features capture important characteristics of complex networks, their
applicability depends on the type of networks. To unravel ubiquitous
characteristics that complex networks may have in common, we adopt the
clustering coefficient as the probability measure, and present a systematic
analysis of various types of complex networks from the perspective of
statistical self-similarity. We find that the probability distribution of the
clustering coefficient is best characterized by the multifractal; moreover, the
support of the measure had a fractal dimension. These two features enable us to
describe complex networks in a unified way; at the same time, offer unforeseen
possibilities to comprehend complex networks.


title: Alpha-muon sticking and chaos in muon-catalysed "in flight" d-t fusion

abstract:
  We discuss the alpha-muon sticking coefficient in the muon-catalysed ``in
flight" d-t fusion in the framework of the Constrained Molecular Dynamics
model. Especially the influence of muonic chaotic dynamics on the sticking
coefficient is brought into focus. The chaotic motion of the muon affects not
only the fusion cross section but also the $\mu-\alpha$ sticking coefficient.
Chaotic systems lead to larger enhancements with respect to regular systems
because of the reduction of the tunneling region. Moreover they give smaller
sticking probabilities than those of regular events. By utilizing a
characteristic of the chaotic dynamics one can avoid losing the muon in the
$\mu$CF cycle. We propose the application of the so-called ``microwave
ionization of a Rydberg atom" to the present case which could lead to the
enhancement of the reactivation process by using X-rays.


title:
The Development of Sealed UV Sensitive Gaseous Detectors and their
  Applications

abstract:
  We have developed commercial prototypes of sealed gaseous detectors combined
with CsI photocathodes and/or filled with photosensitive vapors. The rirst
results of application of these devices for the detection of flames in daylight
conditions and for the detection of scintillation lights from noble liquids
will be presented. The main conclusion from our studies is that for some
applications the sealed UV sensitive gaseous detectors have superior
performance (higher practical quantum efficiency and better signal to noise
ratio) than existing commercial UV sensitive detectors. Additionally, they are
much cheaper.


title: START as the detector of choice for large-scale muon triggering systems

abstract:
  Further progress in building high-granular large-scale systems based on
Scintillation Tiles with MRS APD light readout (START) became possible thanks
to the creation of an improved version of MRS APD. The cost of the system may
now be significantly reduced by using inexpensive extruded scintillator. More
than 160 START samples were assembled based on this design modification and
proved to possess 100% MIP detection efficiency and the intrinsic noise rate of
less than 0.08 Hz. Long-term stability of START characteristics was confirmed
after 3.5 months of operation.


title: A correlation between drag and an integral property of the wake

abstract:
  An integral quantity is presented that relates the wake of a body in
nominally two-dimensional flow to its drag, for Reynolds numbers ranging from
9,000 to 144,000. It is defined as the ratio of the kinetic energy to the
vorticity in the fluid boundary and, for the special case of laminar flow, is
proportional to the angular momentum in the wake bubble. The new quantity is
useful for correlating drag data for circular and rectangular cylinders,
wedges, v-gutters, and normal flat plates with and without splitter plates. The
correlation indicates that the drag force is proportional to the flow speed and
the mass flow rate stored in the boundary of the fluid, where the fluid
boundary is defined so as to include the wake bubble. Order-of-magnitude
arguments indicate that, absent any quantization of vortex size, this mass flow
rate, and hence the drag force, can become unbounded as the vortices contained
in the wake becomes finer.


title:
Comparing a current-carrying circular wire with polygons of equal
  perimeter; Magnetic field versus magnetic flux

abstract:
  We compare the magnetic field at the center of and the self-magnetic flux
through a current-carrying circular loop, with those obtained for
current-carrying polygons with the same perimeter. As the magnetic field
diverges at the position of the wires, we compare the self-fluxes utilizing
several regularization procedures. The calculation is best performed utilizing
the vector potential, thus highlighting its usefulness in practical
applications. Our analysis answers some of the intuition challenges students
face when they encounter a related simple textbook example. These results can
be applied directly to the determination of mutual inductances in a variety of
situations.


title:
Mode hopping strongly affects observability of dynamical instability in
  optical parametric oscillators

abstract:
  Theoretical investigations of dynamical behavior in optical parametric
oscillators (OPO) have generally assumed that the cavity detunings of the
interacting fields are controllable parameters. However, OPOs are known to
experience mode hops, where the system jumps to the mode of lowest cavity
detuning. We note that this phenomenon significantly limits the range of
accessible detunings and thus may prevent instabilities predicted to occur
above a minimum detuning from being evidenced experimentally. As a simple
example among a number of instability mechanisms possibly affected by this
limitation, we discuss the Hopf bifurcation leading to periodic behavior in the
monomode mean-field model of a triply resonant OPO and show that it probably
can be observed only in very specific setups.


title: Lorentz Transformation from Symmetry of Reference Principle

abstract:
  The Lorentz Transformation is traditionally derived requiring the Principle
of Relativity and light-speed universality. While the latter can be relaxed,
the Principle of Relativity is seen as core to the transformation. The present
letter relaxes both statements to the weaker, Symmetry of Reference Principle.
Thus the resulting Lorentz transformation and its consequences (time
dilatation, length contraction) are, in turn, effects of how we manage space
and time.


title: Vector mixed-gap surface solitons

abstract:
  We elucidate the properties of mixed-gap vector surface solitons supported by
the interface between a uniform medium and an optical lattice imprinted in a
Kerr-type nonlinear media. The components of such mixed-gap solitons emerge
from different gaps of lattice spectrum and their mutual trapping results in
the formation of stable vector states. The unstable soliton component is
stabilized by the cross-coupling with the stable component. We show that vector
mixed-gap surface solitons exhibit a new combination of properties of vectorial
surface waves and gap solitons.


title:
Historical and interpretative aspects of quantum mechanics: a
  physicists' naive approach

abstract:
  Many theoretical predictions derived from quantum mechanics have been
confirmed experimentally during the last 80 years. However, interpretative
aspects have long been subject to debate. Among them, the question of the
existence of hidden variables is still open. We review these questions, paying
special attention to historical aspects, and argue that one may definitively
exclude local realism on the basis of present experimental outcomes. Other
interpretations of Quantum Mechanics are nevertheless not excluded.


title: Simulation of Heavily Irradiated Silicon Pixel Detectors

abstract:
  We show that doubly peaked electric fields are necessary to describe
grazing-angle charge collection measurements of irradiated silicon pixel
sensors. A model of irradiated silicon based upon two defect levels with
opposite charge states and the trapping of charge carriers can be tuned to
produce a good description of the measured charge collection profiles in the
fluence range from 0.5x10^{14} Neq/cm^2 to 5.9x10^{14} Neq/cm^2. The model
correctly predicts the variation in the profiles as the temperature is changed
from -10C to -25C. The measured charge collection profiles are inconsistent
with the linearly-varying electric fields predicted by the usual description
based upon a uniform effective doping density. This observation calls into
question the practice of using effective doping densities to characterize
irradiated silicon. The model is now being used to calibrate pixel hit
reconstruction algorithms for CMS.


title:
High-harmonic generation from arbitrarily oriented diatomic molecules
  including nuclear motion and field-free alignment

abstract:
  We present a theoretical model of high-harmonic generation from diatomic
molecules. The theory includes effects of alignment as well as nuclear motion
and is used to predict results for N$_2$, O$_2$, H$_2$ and D$_2$. The results
show that the alignment dependence of high-harmonics is governed by the
symmetry of the highest occupied molecular orbital and that the inclusion of
the nuclear motion in the theoretical description generally reduces the
intensity of the harmonic radiation. We compare our model with experimental
results on N$_2$ and O$_2$, and obtain very good agreement.


title: Torus instability

abstract:
  The expansion instability of a toroidal current ring in low-beta magnetized
plasma is investigated. Qualitative agreement is obtained with experiments on
spheromak expansion and with essential properties of solar coronal mass
ejections, unifying the two apparently disparate classes of fast and slow
coronal mass ejections.


title: The CP(N-1) Affine Gauge Theory in the Dynamical Space-time

abstract:
  An attempt to build quantum theory of field (extended) objects without a
priori space-time geometry has been represented. Space-time coordinates are
replaced by the intrinsic coordinates in the tangent fibre bundle over complex
projective Hilbert state space $CP(N-1)$. The fate of a quantum system modeled
by the generalized coherent states is rooted in this manifold. Dynamical
(state-dependent) space-time arises only at the stage of the quantum "yes/no"
measurement. The quantum measurement of the gauge ``field shell'' of the
generalized coherent state is described in terms of the affine parallel
transport of the local dynamical variables in $CP(N-1)$.


title:
The strange transformation for point rotation coordinate frames and its
  experimental verification

abstract:
  We consider the general form of the linear transformation for point rotation
coordinate frames. The frames have the rotation axis at every point. In the
transformation the frequency of one frame relative to another is not equivalent
to the reverse frequency. Using symmetry of the direct and reverse
transformation as well as symmetry of the frame coordinates we show that two
different type of the transformation are possible. The first type is a
generalization of the Lorentz transformation. This case can not be checked in
optical measurements. In contrast to that the second unusual type allows us to
observe consequences of the transformation in an optical experiment even though
the characteristic constant inherent in the transformation is less than
"nuclear time" of the order of 10^{-23} sec. We describe the experiment.


title: Correlations among centrality measures in complex networks

abstract:
  In this paper, we empirically investigate correlations among four centrality
measures, originated from the social science, of various complex networks. For
each network, we compute the centrality measures, from which the partial
correlation as well as the correlation coefficient among measures is estimated.
We uncover that the degree and the betweenness centrality are highly
correlated; furthermore, the betweenness follows a power-law distribution
irrespective of the type of networks. This characteristic is further examined
in terms of the conditional probability distribution of the betweenness, given
the degree. The conditional distribution also exhibits a power-law behavior
independent of the degree which explains partially, if not whole, the origin of
the power-law distribution of the betweenness. A similar analysis on the random
network reveals that these characteristics are not found in the random network.


title:
Effect of Feedback on Oscillation Characteristics of a Device with
  Virtual Cathode

abstract:
  The effect of external feedback on the oscillation characteristics of a
device with the virtual cathode is investigated by the method of numerical
modeling. A strong influence of the feedback phase delay onthe frequency and
power level of signals generated in the system is demonstrated.


title:
Oscillations of a System of Coupled Oscillators with a Virtod-Type
  Virtual Cathode

abstract:
  The results of numerical modeling of oscillations in a system of two coupled
oscillators operatingon the basis of a virtual cathode with controlled external
feedback are presented. It is shown that thereexist the modes with generation
of chaotic signals and synchronization modes with high signal-to-noise
ratio.The effect of parameters of the electron beam and external feedback on
the generation frequency of the systemand phase relations between the signals
generated in each module is analyzed


title:
Chaos and Formation of Structures in an Electron Flow with a Virtual
  Cathode in the Bounded Drift Tube

abstract:
  The electron beam with a virtual cathode (VC) in the drift tube is
investigated with the help of a 1.5-dimensional relativistic electromagnetic
code. The existence of complex modes, including chaotic modes,is demonstrated.
The dynamic nature of chaos in the considered system is revealed. Physical
processes in the flow are investigated, and it is found that the initiation of
chaotic dynamics of the electron beam with VC isrelated to the nonlinear
interaction of structures formed in the system.


title:
Oscillation Conditions of the Vircator Klystron with External Delayed
  Feedback: A Computer Simulation

abstract:
  A new version of the virtual cathode oscillator, vircator klystron, is
suggested and studied numerically. It essentially includes adjustable external
feedback. The non-steady-state nonlinear dynamics of the oscillator is analyzed
in relation to the beam current and feedback parameters. Physical processes in
the electron beam during transitions between oscillation conditions are
considered.


title:
Worm Algorithm and Diagrammatic Monte Carlo: A New Approach to
  Continuous-Space Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulations

abstract:
  A detailed description is provided of a new Worm Algorithm, enabling the
accurate computation of thermodynamic properties of quantum many-body systems
in continuous space, at finite temperature. The algorithm is formulated within
the general Path Integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) scheme, but also allows one to
perform quantum simulations in the grand canonical ensemble, as well as to
compute off-diagonal imaginary-time correlation functions, such as the
Matsubara Green function, simultaneously with diagonal observables. Another
important innovation consists of the expansion of the attractive part of the
pairwise potential energy into elementary (diagrammatic) contributions, which
are then statistically sampled. This affords a complete microscopic account of
the long-range part of the potential energy, while keeping the computational
complexity of all updates independent of the size of the simulated system. The
computational scheme allows for efficient calculations of the superfluid
fraction and off-diagonal correlations in space-time, for system sizes which
are orders of magnitude larger than those accessible to conventional PIMC. We
present illustrative results for the superfluid transition in bulk liquid
helium-four in two and three dimensions, as well as the calculation of the
chemical potential of solid helium-four.


title: Majorana: from atomic and molecular, to nuclear physics

abstract:
  In the centennial of Ettore Majorana's birth (1906-1938?), we re-examine some
aspects of his fundamental scientific production in atomic and molecular
physics, including a not well known short communication. There, Majorana
critically discusses Fermi's solution of the celebrated Thomas-Fermi equation
for electron screening in atoms and positive ions. We argue that some of
Majorana's seminal contributions in molecular physics already prelude to the
idea of exchange interactions (or Heisenberg-Majorana forces) in his later
workson theoretical nuclear physics. In all his papers, he tended to emphasize
the symmetries at the basis of a physical problem, as well as the limitations,
rather than the advantages, of the approximations of the method employed.


title: Notes on Conformal Invisibility Devices

abstract:
  As a consequence of the wave nature of light, invisibility devices based on
isotropic media cannot be perfect. The principal distortions of invisibility
are due to reflections and time delays. Reflections can be made exponentially
small for devices that are large in comparison with the wavelength of light.
Time delays are unavoidable and will result in wave-front dislocations. This
paper considers invisibility devices based on optical conformal mapping. The
paper shows that the time delays do not depend on the directions and impact
parameters of incident light rays, although the refractive-index profile of any
conformal invisibility device is necessarily asymmetric. The distortions of
images are thus uniform, which reduces the risk of detection. The paper also
shows how the ideas of invisibility devices are connected to the transmutation
of force, the stereographic projection and Escheresque tilings of the plane.


title: Negative-Index Metamaterials: Going Optical

abstract:
  The race to engineering metamaterials comprising of a negative refractive
index in the optical range has been fueled by the realization of negative index
materials for GHz frequencies six years ago. Sheer miniaturization of the GHz
resonant structures is one approach. Alternative designs make use of localized
plasmon resonant metal nanoparticles or nanoholes in metal films. Following
this approach, a negative refractive index has been realized in the optical
range very recently. We review these recent results and summarize how to
unambiguously retrieve the effective refractive index of thin layers from data
accessible to measurements. Numerical simulations show that a composite
material comprising of silver strips and a gain providing material can have a
negative refractive index of -1.3 and 100% transmission, simultaneously.


title:
Competition of coarsening and shredding of clusters in a driven
  diffusive lattice gas

abstract:
  We investigate a driven diffusive lattice gas model with two oppositely
moving species of particles. The model is motivated by bi-directional traffic
of ants on a pre-existing trail. A third species, corresponding to pheromones
used by the ants for communication, is not conserved and mediates interactions
between the particles. Here we study the spatio-temporal organization of the
particles. In the uni-directional variant of this model it is known to be
determined by the formation and coarsening of ``loose clusters''. For our
bi-directional model, we show that the interaction of oppositely moving
clusters is essential. In the late stages of evolution the cluster size
oscillates because of a competition between their `shredding' during encounters
with oppositely moving counterparts and subsequent "coarsening" during
collision-free evolution. We also establish a nontrivial dependence of the
spatio-temporal organization on the system size.


title:
Indoor-Atmospheric Radon-Related Radioactivity Affected by a Change of
  Ventilation Strategy

abstract:
  The present author has kept observation for concentrations of atmospheric
radon, radon progeny and thoron progeny for several years at the campus of
Fukushima Medical University. Accidentally, in the midst of an observation
term, i.e., February 2005, the facility management group of the university
changed a strategy for the manner of ventilation, probably because of a
recession: (I) tidy everyday ventilation of 7:30-24:00 into (II) shortened
weekday ventilation of 8:00-21:00 with weekend halts. This change of
ventilation manner brought a clear alteration for the concentrations of
radon-related natural radioactivity in indoor air. The present paper concerns
an investigation of the effect of the ventilation strategy on the
indoor-atmospheric radon-related radioactivity.


title:
Competition between Electromagnetically Induced Transparency and Raman
  Processes

abstract:
  We present a theoretical formulation of competition among electromagnetically
induced transparency (EIT) and Raman processes. The latter become important
when the medium can no longer be considered to be dilute. Unlike the standard
formulation of EIT, we consider all fields applied and generated as interacting
with both the transitions of the $\Lambda$ scheme. We solve Maxwell equations
for the net generated field using a fast-Fourier-transform technique and obtain
predictions for the probe, control and Raman fields. We show how the intensity
of the probe field is depleted at higher atomic number densities due to the
build up of multiple Raman fields.


title: Shark skin effect in creeping films

abstract:
  If a body in a stream is provided with small ridges aligned in the local flow
direction, a remarkable drag reduction can be reached under turbulent flow
conditions. This surprising phenomenon is called the 'shark skin effect'. We
demonstrate, that a reduction of resistance can also be reached in creeping
flows if the ridges are aligned perpendicular to the flow direction. We
especially consider in gravity-driven film flows the effect of the bottom
topography on the mean transport velocity.


title:
Development of a Time Projection Chamber Using Gas Electron Multipliers
  (GEM-TPC)

abstract:
  We developed a prototype time projection chamber using gas electron
multipliers (GEM-TPC) for high energy heavy ion collision experiments. To
investigate its performance, we conducted a beam test with 3 kinds of gases
(Ar(90%)-CH4(10%), Ar(70%)-C2H6(30%) and CF4). Detection efficiency of 99%, and
spatial resolution of 79 $\mu$m in the pad-row direction and 313 $\mu$m in the
drift direction were achieved. The test results show that the GEM-TPC meets the
requirements for high energy heavy ion collision experiments. The configuration
and performance of the GEM-TPC are described.


title: Theory of double resonance magnetometers based on atomic alignment

abstract:
  We present a theoretical study of the spectra produced by
optical-radio-frequency double resonance devices, in which resonant linearly
polarized light is used in the optical pumping and detection processes. We
extend previous work by presenting algebraic results which are valid for atomic
states with arbitrary angular momenta, arbitrary rf intensities, and arbitrary
geometries. The only restriction made is the assumption of low light intensity.
The results are discussed in view of their use in optical magnetometers.


title: Clustering as a measure of the local topology of networks

abstract:
  Usual formulations of the clustering coefficient can be shown to be
insufficient in the task of describing the local topology of very simple
networks. Motivated by this, we review some alternatives in order to present an
extension, the clustering profile. We show, both conceptually and through
applications to well studied networks, that this measure is a more complete and
robust measure of clustering. It imposes stringent constraints on theoretical
growth models, specially on aspects of the network structure that play a
central role in dynamics on networks. In addition, we study how it provides a
richer perspective of phenomena such as hierarchy, small-worlds and
clusterization.


title:
A more exact solution for incorporating multiplicative systematic
  uncertainties in branching ratio limits

abstract:
  A method to include multiplicative systematic uncertainties into branching
ratio limits was proposed by M. Convery. That solution used approximations
which are not necessarily valid. This note provides a solution without
approximations and compares the results.


title: Integrating static and dynamic information for routing traffic

abstract:
  The efficiency of traffic routing on complex networks can be reflected by two
key measurements i.e. the system capacity and the average data packets travel
time. In this paper, we propose a mixing routing strategy by integrating local
static and dynamic information for enhancing the efficiency of traffic on
scale-free networks. The strategy is governed by a single parameter. Simulation
results show that there exists a optimal parameter value by considering both
maximizing the network capacity and reducing the packet travel time. Comparing
with the strategy by adopting exclusive local static information, the new
strategy shows its advantages in improving the efficiency of the system. The
detailed analysis of the mixing strategy is provided. This work suggests that
how to effectively utilize the larger degree nodes plays the key role in the
scale-free traffic systems.


abstract:
  This paper reviews the development of CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors
(MAPS) for future vertex detectors. MAPS are developed in a standard CMOS
technology. In the imaging field, where the technology found its first
applications, they are also known as CMOS Image Sensors. The use of MAPS as a
detector for particle physics was first proposed at the end of 1999. Since
then, their good performance in terms of spatial resolution, efficiency,
radiation hardness have been demonstrated and work is now well under way to
deliver the first MAPS-based vertex detectors.


title:
Amplification and Increased Duration of Earthquake Motion on Uneven
  Stress-Free Ground

abstract:
  When a flat stress-free surface (i.e., the ground in seismological
applications) separating air from a isotropic, homogeneous or
horizontally-layered, solid substratum is solicited by a SH plane body wave
incident in the substratum, the response in the substratum is a single
specularly-reflected body wave. When the stress-free condition, equivalent to
vanishing surface impedance, is relaxed by the introduction of a {spatially-
constant, non- vanishing surface impedance}, the response in the substratum is
again a single reflected body wave whose amplitude is less than the one in the
situation of a stress-free ground. When the stress-free condition is relaxed by
the introduction of a a {spatially-modulated surface impedance}, which
simulates the action of an uneven (i.e., not entirely-flat) ground, the
frequency-domain response takes the form of a spectrum of {plane body waves}
and {surface waves} and {resonances} are produced at the frequencies of which
one or several surface wave amplitudes can become large. It is shown, that at
resonance, the amplitude of one, or of several, components of the motion on the
surface can be amplified with respect to the situation in which the surface
impedance is either constant or vanishes. Also, when the solicitation is
pulse-like, the integrated time history of the square of surface displacement
and of the square of velocity can be larger, and the duration of the signal can
be considerably longer, for a spatially-modulated impedance surface than for a
constant, or vanishing, impedance surface.


title:
Self-guiding of 100 TW Femtosecond Laser Pulses in Centimeter-scale
  Underdense Plasma

abstract:
  An experiment for studying laser self-guiding has been carried out for the
high power ultrashort pulse laser interaction with an underdense plasma slab.
Formation of an extremely long plasma channel and its bending are observed when
the laser pulse power is much higher than the critical power for relativistic
self-focusing. The long self-guiding channel formation is accompanied by
electron acceleration with a low transverse emittance and high electric
current. Particle-in-cell simulations show that laser bending occurs when the
accelerated electrons overtake the laser pulse and modify the refractive index
in the region in front of the laser pulse.


title: Development of Multi-Pixel Photon Counters

abstract:
  The multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) is a newly developed photodetector with
an excellent photon counting capability. It also has many attractive features
such as small size, high gain, low operation voltage and power consumption, and
capability of operating in magnetic fields and in room temperature. The basic
performance of samples has been measured. A gain of ~10^6 is achieved with a
noise rate less than 1 MHz with 1 p.e. threshold, and cross-talk probability of
less than 30% at room temperature. The photon detection efficiency for green
light is twice or more that of the photomultiplier tubes. It is found that the
basic performance of the MPPC is satisfactory for use in real experiments.


title: MTF Optimization in Digital Dental X-ray Systems

abstract:
  In this work, we have studied the MTF optimisation relative to the detector
aperture of four digital dental X-ray image systems: 1) Digora and Denoptix
systems, based on PSPL detectors; 2) CDR and Sens-A-Ray 2000, based on CCD
detectors. The MTF was evaluated by ERF method and linearized as a Gaussian
process. The CCD based systems presented Gaussian characteristics. The PSPL
based systems presented a composition of two Gaussian processes. We conclude
that one process is due to the laser and stimulated light scattering inside the
PSPL plate and the other is due to the laser beam focal aperture. Matching
focal aperture to laser scattering allows the optimization of the PSPL systems
resolution. An optimal pixel width found to be 62 um.


title:
Vector circuit theory for spatially dispersive uniaxial
  magneto-dielectric slabs

abstract:
  We present a general dyadic vector circuit formalism, applicable for uniaxial
magneto-dielectric slabs, with strong spatial dispersion explicitly taken into
account. This formalism extends the vector circuit theory, previously
introduced only for isotropic and chiral slabs. Here we assume that the problem
geometry imposes strong spatial dispersion only in the plane, parallel to the
slab interfaces. The difference arising from taking into account spatial
dispersion along the normal to the interface is briefly discussed. We derive
general dyadic impedance and admittance matrices, and calculate corresponding
transmission and reflection coefficients for arbitrary plane wave incidence. As
a practical example, we consider a metamaterial slab built of conducting wires
and split-ring resonators, and show that neglecting spatial dispersion and
uniaxial nature in this structure leads to dramatic errors in calculation of
transmission characteristics.


title:
The peculiarities of cross-correlation between two secondary precursors
  - radon and magnetic field variations, induced by stress transfer changes

abstract:
  A model of precursor manifestation mechanisms, stimulated by tectonic
activity and some peculiarities of observer strategy, whose main task is the
effective measurement of precursors in the spatial area of their occurrence on
the Earth's daylight, are considered. In particular, the applicability of
Dobrovolsky's approximation is analyzed, when an unperturbed medium
(characterized by the simple shear state) and the area of tectonic activity
(local inhomogeneity caused by the change only of shear modulus) are linearly
elastic, and perturbation, in particular, surface displacement is calculated as
a difference of the solutions of two independent static problems of the theory
of elasticity with the same boundary condition on the surface. Within the
framework of this approximation a formula for the spatial distribution (of
first component) of magnetic field variations caused by piezomagnetic effect in
the case of perturbed regular medium, which is in simple shear state is
derived. Cogent arguments in favor of linear dependence between the radon
spatial distribution and conditional deformation are obtained.
  Changes in magnetic field strength and radon concentrations were measured
along a tectonomagnetic profile of the total length of 11 km in the
surroundings of the "Academician Vernadsky" Station on the Antarctic Peninsula
(W 64{\deg}16', S 65{\deg}15'). Results showed a positive correlation between
the annual surface radon concentration and annual changes of magnetic field
relative to a base point, and also the good coincidence with theoretical
calculation.


title: Collisions of Slow Highly Charged Ions with Surfaces

abstract:
  Progress in the study of collisions of multiply charged ions with surfaces is
reviewed with the help of a few recent examples. They range from fundamental
quasi-one electron processes to highly complex ablation and material
modification processes. Open questions and possible future directions will be
discussed.


title: An Outlook on Correlations in Stock Prices

abstract:
  We present an outlook of the studies on correlations in the price timeseries
of stocks, discussing the construction and applications of "asset tree". The
topic discussed here should illustrate how the complex economic system
(financial market) enrichens the list of existing dynamical systems that
physicists have been studying for long.


title:
The Power (Law) of Indian Markets: Analysing NSE and BSE trading
  statistics

abstract:
  The nature of fluctuations in the Indian financial market is analyzed in this
paper. We have looked at the price returns of individual stocks, with
tick-by-tick data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and daily closing
price data from both NSE and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the two largest
exchanges in India. We find that the price returns in Indian markets follow a
fat-tailed cumulative distribution, consistent with a power law having exponent
$\alpha \sim 3$, similar to that observed in developed markets. However, the
distributions of trading volume and the number of trades have a different
nature than that seen in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Further, the price
movement of different stocks are highly correlated in Indian markets.


title: Temperature behavior of NaI (Tl) scintillation detectors

abstract:
  It is a familiar fact that the total measured light yield of NaI (Tl)
detectors is a nonlinear function of temperature. Here we present new
experimental data for the temperature behavior of doped NaI(Tl) scintillators
that instead shows a linear dependence of light output over a wide temperature
range- including that for outdoor applications. The shape of the light pulse
shows in general two decay processes: a single dominant process above room
temperature and two decay time constants below. We show that redistribution of
the intensities is temperature-dependent; the second (slow) decay component is
negligible at room temperatures, but, by -20C, it contributes up to 40 percents
of the total light and has a duration of several microseconds. We discuss the
profound effect this new understanding of the light output has on the pulse
height analysis instrumentation. We introduce a theoretical model to explain
the experimental results. In addition, we describe a unique technique for
correcting both amplitude and shape temperature changes inside the NaI(Tl)
detector package.


title:
Three-dimensional fast electron transport for ignition-scale inertial
  fusion capsules

abstract:
  Three-dimensional hybrid PIC simulations are presented to study electron
energy transport and deposition in a full-scale fast ignition configuration.
Multi-prong core heating close to ignition is found when a few GA, few PW beam
is injected. Resistive beam filamentation in the corona seeds the 3D current
pattern that penetrates the core. Ohmic heating is important in the low-density
corona, while classical Coulomb deposition heats the core. Here highest energy
densities (few Tbar at 10 keV) are observed at densities above 200 g/cc. Energy
coupling to the core ranges from 20 to 30%; it is enhanced by beam collimation
and decreases when raising the beam particle energy from 1.5 to 5.5 MeV.


title:
Interplay between evolutionary game and network structure: the
  coevolution of social net, cooperation and wealth

abstract:
  We study the interplay between evolutionary game and network structure and
show how the dynamics of the game affect the growth pattern of the network and
how the evolution of the network influence the cooperative behavior in the
game. Simulation results show that the payoff-based preferential attachment
mechanism leads to the emergence of a scale-free structural property, $P(k)\sim
k^{-\gamma}$. Moreover, we investigate the average path length and the
assortative mixing features. The obtained results indicate that the network has
small-world and positive assortative behaviors, which are consistent with the
observations of some real social networks. In parallel, we found that the
evolution of the underlying network structure effectively promotes the
cooperation level of the game. We also investigate the wealth distribution
obtained by our model, which is consistent with the Pareto law in the real
observation. In addition, the analysis of the generated scale-free network
structure is provided for better understanding the evolutionary dynamics of our
model.


title:
Correlation based networks of equity returns sampled at different time
  horizons

abstract:
  We investigate the planar maximally filtered graphs of the portfolio of the
300 most capitalized stocks traded at the New York Stock Exchange during the
time period 2001-2003. Topological properties such as the average length of
shortest paths, the betweenness and the degree are computed on different planar
maximally filtered graphs generated by sampling the returns at different time
horizons ranging from 5 min up to one trading day. This analysis confirms that
the selected stocks compose a hierarchical system progressively structuring as
the sampling time horizon increases. Finally, a cluster formation, associated
to economic sectors, is quantitatively investigated.


title: World University Rankings - A Principal Component Analysis

abstract:
  In order to establish which parameters and corresponding weights are more
appropriate for the assessment of academic excellence in the context of
university rankings, I have made a multivariate data analysis on a set of 13
parameters for 178 institutions. I found that the three more relevant
components are academic excellence (48%), internationalism (14%) and
faculty/student ratio (8%). It is shown that these components are not
correlated.


title:
Identifying the underlying structure and dynamic interactions in a
  voting network

abstract:
  We analyse the structure and behaviour of a specific voting network using a
dynamic structure-based methodology which draws on Q-Analysis and social
network theory. Our empirical focus is on the Eurovision Song Contest over a
period of 20 years. For a multicultural contest of this kind, one of the key
questions is how the quality of a song is judged and how voting groups emerge.
We investigate structures that may identify the winner based purely on the
topology of the network. This provides a basic framework to identify what the
characteristics associated with becoming a winner are, and may help to
establish a homogenous criterion for subjective measures such as quality.
Further, we measure the importance of voting cliques, and present a dynamic
model based on a changing multidimensional measure of connectivity in order to
reveal the formation of emerging community structure within the contest.
Finally, we study the dynamic behaviour exhibited by the network in order to
understand the clustering of voting preferences and the relationship between
local and global properties.


title:
Statistical properties of geomagnetic measurements as possible
  precursors for magnetic storms

abstract:
  Records of geomagnetic measurements have been analyzed looking for evidences
of possible precursors for magnetic storms. With this objective, the main
magnetic storms in the period 1998-2002 have been located in Dst index record.
Periods immediately before storms and periods well before them were studied by
applying a method recently introduced in the literature. Statistical properties
of both types of periods have been compared. One of the compared quantities was
the slope of the power laws that have been found for some relevant
distributions. A systematic deviation between slope distributions was found.
This might be the fingerprint of a non self-organized component in records.
There has also been found a correlation between slope values and the
corresponding storm intensities, which could serve as a probabilistic approach
to magnetic storms forecasting. Data is from the low latitude Vassouras
Magnetic Observatory.


title: Crystal vibration limit of nanoscale dynamic etalon. Rough estimate

abstract:
  The paper analyzes the limits of nanoscale dynamic etalon caused by thermal
vibration of crystalline structure. It is shown that exactly sufficiently long
one-dimensional defect of crystal lattice should confine the standard accuracy
within angstroms.


title: An estimate of the circulation generated by a bluff body

abstract:
  A loss in circulation is sometimes cited in connection with bluff-body wakes
as a result of comparing the circulation actually observed downstream with a
well-known theoretical estimate of the total circulation generated by a
cylinder. In an effort to better understand this reported loss in circulation,
an alternative estimate of the circulation generated by a cylinder is derived
by integrating the velocity on a closed loop containing the attached boundary
layer. Predictions of the dimensionless circulation for a cylinder in cross
flow are less than the previous theoretical estimate and agree with observed
values. This suggests that the total circulation generated by bluff bodies may
have been overestimated in the past, and that comparison of observed values
with this overestimate is the origin of the perceived "loss" in circulation.


title: An Asymmetry in the Maxwell Equations

abstract:
  A term in the Maxwell-Ampere law describes a linear displacement current that
is symmetrically enclosed by the curl of a magnetic field. In this context
symmetry calls for a term in the Faraday-Lenz law, which in the absence of a
conducting coil would describe a loop of displacement current about a linear
increment of magnetic flux. This term, introduced to satisfy symmetry, predicts
a physical phenomenon that has recently been observed.


title: Coulomb oscillation in the hydrogen atom and molecule ion

abstract:
  Semiclassical oscillation of the electron through the nucleus of the H atom
yields both the exact energy and the correct orbital angular momentum for l=0
quantum states. Similarly, electron oscillation through the nuclei of H2+
accounts for a stable molecule ion with energy close to the quantum mechanical
solution. The small discrepancy arises from the neglect of the electron's wave
nature.


title:
Acoustic wave propagation in a macroscopically inhomogeneous porous
  medium saturated by a fluid

abstract:
  The equations of motion in a macroscopically inhomogeneous porous medium
saturated by a fluid are derived. As a first verification of the validity of
these equations, a two-layer rigid frame porous system considered as one single
porous layer with a sudden change in physical properties is studied. A simple
wave equation is derived and solved for this system. The reflection and
transmission coefficients are calculated numerically using a wave
splitting-Green's function approach (WS-GF). The reflected and transmitted wave
time histories are also simulated. Experimental results obtained for materials
saturated by air are compared to the results given by this approach and to
those of the classical transfer matrix method (TMM).


title: Theory of Earthquake Recurrence Times

abstract:
  The statistics of recurrence times in broad areas have been reported to obey
universal scaling laws, both for single homogeneous regions (Corral, 2003) and
when averaged over multiple regions (Bak et al.,2002). These unified scaling
laws are characterized by intermediate power law asymptotics. On the other
hand, Molchan (2005) has presented a mathematical proof that, if such a
universal law exists, it is necessarily an exponential, in obvious
contradiction with the data. First, we generalize Molchan's argument to show
that an approximate unified law can be found which is compatible with the
empirical observations when incorporating the impact of the Omori law of
earthquake triggering. We then develop the full theory of the statistics of
inter-event times in the framework of the ETAS model of triggered seismicity
and show that the empirical observations can be fully explained. Our
theoretical expression fits well the empirical statistics over the whole range
of recurrence times, accounting for different regimes by using only the physics
of triggering quantified by Omori's law. The description of the statistics of
recurrence times over multiple regions requires an additional subtle
statistical derivation that maps the fractal geometry of earthquake epicenters
onto the distribution of the average seismic rates in multiple regions. This
yields a prediction in excellent agreement with the empirical data for
reasonable values of the fractal dimension $d \approx 1.8$, the average
clustering ratio $n \approx 0.9$, and the productivity exponent $\alpha \approx
0.9$ times the $b$-value of the Gutenberg-Richter law.


title: Response to Worrying Trends in Econophysics

abstract:
  This article is a response to the recent Worrying Trends in Econophysics
critique written by four respected theoretical economists. Two of the four have
written books and papers that provide very useful critical analyses of the
shortcomings of the standard textbook economic model, neo-classical economic
theory and have even endorsed my book. Largely, their new paper reflects
criticism that I have long made and that our group as a whole has more recently
made. But I differ with the authors on some of their criticism, and partly with
their proposed remedy.


title:
Constraints on the Global Structure of Magnetic Clouds: Transverse Size
  and Curvature

abstract:
  We present direct evidence that magnetic clouds (MCs) have highly flattened
and curved cross section resulting from their interaction with the ambient
solar wind. Lower limits on the transverse size are obtained for three MCs
observed by ACE and Ulysses from the latitudinal separation between the two
spacecraft, ranging from 40$^{\circ}$ to 70$^{\circ}$. The cross-section aspect
ratio of the MCs is estimated to be no smaller than $6:1$. We offer a simple
model to extract the radius of curvature of the cross section, based on the
elevation angle of the MC normal distributed over latitude. Application of the
model to Wind observations from 1995 - 1997 (close to solar minimum) shows that
the cross section is bent concavely outward by a structured solar wind with a
radius of curvature of $\sim$ 0.3 AU. Near solar maximum, MCs tend to be convex
outward in the solar wind with a uniform speed; the radius of curvature is
proportional to the heliographic distance of MCs, as demonstrated by Ulysses
observations between 1999 and 2003. These results improve our knowledge of the
global morphology of MCs in the pre-Stereo era, which is crucial for space
weather prediction and heliosphere studies.


title: Spatial separation of large dynamical blue shift and harmonic generation

abstract:
  We study the temporal and spatial dynamics of the large amplitude and
frequency modulation that can be induced in an intense, few cycle laser pulse
as it propagates through a rapidly ionizing gas. Our calculations include both
single atom and macroscopic interactions between the non-linear medium and the
laser field. We analyze the harmonic generation by such pulses and show that it
is spatially separated from the ionization dynamics which produce a large
dynamical blue shift of the laser pulse. This means that small changes in the
initial laser focusing conditions can lead to large differences in the laser
frequency modulation, even though the generated harmonic spectrum remains
essentially unchanged.


title:
On the gap between an empirical distribution and an exponential
  distribution of waiting times for price changes in a financial market

abstract:
  We analyze waiting times for price changes in a foreign currency exchange
rate. Recent empirical studies of high frequency financial data support that
trades in financial markets do not follow a Poisson process and the waiting
times between trades are not exponentially distributed. Here we show that our
data is well approximated by a Weibull distribution rather than an exponential
distribution in a non-asymptotic regime. Moreover, we quantitatively evaluate
how much an empirical data is far from an exponential distribution using a
Weibull fit. Finally, we discuss a phase transition between a Weibull-law and a
power-law in the asymptotic long waiting time regime.


title: A Test for the Presence of a Signal

abstract:
  We describe a statistical hypothesis test for the presence of a signal based
on the likelihood ratio statistic. We derive the test for a case of interest
and also show that for that case the test works very well, even far out in the
tails of the distribution. We also study extensions of the test to cases where
there are multiple channels.


title: On the Frequency of Severe Terrorist Events

abstract:
  In the spirit of Richardson's original (1948) study of the statistics of
deadly conflicts, we study the frequency and severity of terrorist attacks
worldwide since 1968. We show that these events are uniformly characterized by
the phenomenon of scale invariance, i.e., the frequency scales as an inverse
power of the severity, P(x) ~ x^-alpha. We find that this property is a robust
feature of terrorism, persisting when we control for economic development of
the target country, the type of weapon used, and even for short time-scales.
Further, we show that the center of the distribution oscillates slightly with a
period of roughly tau ~ 13 years, that there exist significant temporal
correlations in the frequency of severe events, and that current models of
event incidence cannot account for these variations or the scale invariance
property of global terrorism. Finally, we describe a simple toy model for the
generation of these statistics, and briefly discuss its implications.


title:
A new view on relativity: Part 1. Kinematic relations between inertial
  and relativistically accelerated systems based on symmetry

abstract:
  Several new ideas related to Special and General Relativity are proposed. The
black-box method is used for the synchronization of the clocks and the space
axes between two inertial systems or two accelerated systems and for the
derivation of the transformations between them. There are two consistent ways
of defining the inputs and outputs to describe the transformations and relative
motion between the systems. The standard approach uses a mixture of the two
ways. By formulating the principle of special and general relativity as a
symmetry principle we are able to specify these transformations to depend only
on a constant.
  The transformations become Galilean if the constant is zero. Validity of the
Clock Hypothesis for uniformly accelerated systems implies zero constant. If
the constant is not zero, we can introduce a metric under which the
transformations become self adjoint. In case of inertial systems, the metric is
the Minkowski metric and we obtain a unique invariant maximal velocity. The
ball of the relativistically admissible velocities is a bounded symmetric
domain under projective maps. For uniformly accelerated systems the existence
of an invariant \textit{maximal acceleration} is predicted. This is the only
method of describing transformations between uniformly accelerated systems
without assuming the Clock Hypothesis.


title: A new view on relativity: Part 2. Relativistic dynamics

abstract:
  The Lorentz transformations are represented on the ball of relativistically
admissible velocities by Einstein velocity addition and rotations. This
representation is by projective maps. The relativistic dynamic equation can be
derived by introducing a new principle which is analogous to the Einstein's
Equivalence Principle, but can be applied for any force. By this principle, the
relativistic dynamic equation is defined by an element of the Lie algebra of
the above representation. If we introduce a new dynamic variable, called
symmetric velocity, the above representation becomes a representation by
conformal, instead of projective maps. In this variable, the relativistic
dynamic equation for systems with an invariant plane, becomes a non-linear
analytic equation in one complex variable. We obtain explicit solutions for the
motion of a charge in uniform, mutually perpendicular electric and magnetic
fields. By the above principle, we show that the relativistic dynamic equation
for the four-velocity leads to an analog of the electromagnetic tensor. This
indicates that force in special relativity is described by a differential
two-form.


title: Understanding d'Alembert's principle: System of Pendulums

abstract:
  Lagrangian mechanics uses d'Alembert's principle of zero virtual work as an
important starting point. The orthogonality of the force of constraint and
virtual displacement is emphasized in literature, without a clear warning that
this is true usually for a single particle system. For a system of particles
connected by constraints, it is shown, that the virtual work of the entire
system is zero, even though the virtual displacements of the particles are not
perpendicular to the respective constraint forces. It is also demonstrated why
d'Alembert's principle involves virtual work rather than the work done by
constraint forces on allowed displacements.


title: Martingale Option Pricing

abstract:
  We show that our generalization of the Black-Scholes partial differential
equation (pde) for nontrivial diffusion coefficients is equivalent to a
Martingale in the risk neutral discounted stock price. Previously, this was
proven for the case of the Gaussian logarithmic returns model by Harrison and
Kreps, but we prove it for much a much larger class of returns models where the
diffusion coefficient depends on both returns x and time t. That option prices
blow up if fat tails in logarithmic returns x are included in the market
dynamics is also explained.


title: Econophysics of Stock and Foreign Currency Exchange Markets

abstract:
  Econophysics is a science in its infancy, born about ten years ago at this
time of writing, at the crossing roads of physics, mathematics, computing and
of course economics and finance. It also covers human sciences, because all
economics is ultimately driven by human decision. From this human factor,
econophysics has no hope to achieve the status of an exact science, but it is
interesting to discover what can be achieved, discovering potential limits and
trying try to push further away these limits. A few data analysis techniques
are described with emphasis on the Detrended Fluctuation Analysis ($DFA$) and
the Zipf Analysis Technique ($ZAT$). Information about the original data
aresketchy, but the data concerns mainly the foreign currency exchange market.
The robustness of the $DFA$ technique is underlined. Additional remarks are
given for suggesting further work. Models about financial value evolutions are
recalled, again without going into elaborate work discussing typical agent
behaviors, but rather with hopefully sufficient information such that the basic
ingredients can be memorized before reading some of the vast literature on
price formation. Crashes being spectacular phenomena retain our attention and
do so through data analysis and basic intuitive models. A few statistical and
microscopic models are outlined.


title: Universal low-energy properties of three two-dimensional particles

abstract:
  Universal low-energy properties are studied for three identical bosons
confined in two dimensions. The short-range pair-wise interaction in the
low-energy limit is described by means of the boundary condition model. The
wave function is expanded in a set of eigenfunctions on the hypersphere and the
system of hyper-radial equations is used to obtain analytical and numerical
results. Within the framework of this method, exact analytical expressions are
derived for the eigenpotentials and the coupling terms of hyper-radial
equations. The derivation of the coupling terms is generally applicable to a
variety of three-body problems provided the interaction is described by the
boundary condition model. The asymptotic form of the total wave function at a
small and a large hyper-radius $\rho$ is studied and the universal logarithmic
dependence $\sim \ln^3 \rho$ in the vicinity of the triple-collision point is
derived. Precise three-body binding energies and the $2 + 1$ scattering length
are calculated.


title:
In situ evidence for the structure of the magnetic null in a 3D
  reconnection event in the Earth's magnetotail

abstract:
  Magnetic reconnection is one of the most important processes in
astrophysical, space and laboratory plasmas. Identifying the structure around
the point at which the magnetic field lines break and subsequently reform,
known as the magnetic null point, is crucial to improving our understanding
reconnection. But owing to the inherently three-dimensional nature of this
process, magnetic nulls are only detectable through measurements obtained
simultaneously from at least four points in space. Using data collected by the
four spacecraft of the Cluster constellation as they traversed a diffusion
region in the Earth's magnetotail on 15 September, 2001, we report here the
first in situ evidence for the structure of an isolated magnetic null. The
results indicate that it has a positive-spiral structure whose spatial extent
is of the same order as the local ion inertial length scale, suggesting that
the Hall effect could play an important role in 3D reconnection dynamics.


title: On the Feasibility of Portfolio Optimization under Expected Shortfall

abstract:
  We address the problem of portfolio optimization under the simplest coherent
risk measure, i.e. the expected shortfall. As it is well known, one can map
this problem into a linear programming setting. For some values of the external
parameters, when the available time series is too short, the portfolio
optimization is ill posed because it leads to unbounded positions, infinitely
short on some assets and infinitely long on some others. As first observed by
Kondor and coworkers, this phenomenon is actually a phase transition. We
investigate the nature of this transition by means of a replica approach.


title: Football fever: goal distributions and non-Gaussian statistics

abstract:
  Analyzing football score data with statistical techniques, we investigate how
the not purely random, but highly co-operative nature of the game is reflected
in averaged properties such as the probability distributions of scored goals
for the home and away teams. As it turns out, especially the tails of the
distributions are not well described by the Poissonian or binomial model
resulting from the assumption of uncorrelated random events. Instead, a good
effective description of the data is provided by less basic distributions such
as the negative binomial one or the probability densities of extreme value
statistics. To understand this behavior from a microscopical point of view,
however, no waiting time problem or extremal process need be invoked. Instead,
modifying the Bernoulli random process underlying the Poissonian model to
include a simple component of self-affirmation seems to describe the data
surprisingly well and allows to understand the observed deviation from Gaussian
statistics. The phenomenological distributions used before can be understood as
special cases within this framework. We analyzed historical football score data
from many leagues in Europe as well as from international tournaments,
including data from all past tournaments of the ``FIFA World Cup'' series, and
found the proposed models to be applicable rather universally. In particular,
here we analyse the results of the German women's premier football league and
consider the two separate German men's premier leagues in the East and West
during the cold war times and the unified league after 1990 to see how scoring
in football and the component of self-affirmation depend on cultural and
political circumstances.


title:
On Special Cases of General Geometry: geometries with changing length of
  vectors

abstract:
  We find relations between quantities defining geometry and quantities
defining the length of a curve in geometries underlying Electromagnetism and
unified model of Electromagnetism and Gravitation. We show that the length of a
vector changes along a curve in these geometries.


title: Nondiffractive sonic crystals

abstract:
  We predict theoretically the nondiffractive propagation of sonic waves in
periodic acoustic media (sonic crystals), by expansion into a set of plane
waves (Bloch mode expansion), and by finite difference time domain calculations
of finite beams. We also give analytical evaluations of the parameters for
nondiffractive propagation, as well as the minimum size of the nondiffractively
propagating acoustic beams.


title: No motions of bodies produce GW's

abstract:
  A close comparison between Maxwell field and Einstein field makes
conceptually and immediately evident that in general relativity (GR) no motions
of bodies can generate gravitational waves (GW's).


title: Complexity characteristics of currency networks

abstract:
  A large set of daily FOREX time series is analyzed. The corresponding
correlation matrices (CM) are constructed for USD, EUR and PLZ used as the base
currencies. The triangle rule is interpreted as constraints reducing the number
of independent returns. The CM spectrum is computed and compared with the cases
of shuffled currencies and a fictitious random currency taken as a base
currency. The Minimal Spanning Tree (MST) graphs are calculated and the
clustering effects for strong currencies are found. It is shown that for MSTs
the node rank has power like, scale free behavior. Finally, the scaling
exponents are evaluated and found in the range analogous to those identified
recently for various complex networks.


title:
Strong-field ionization of atoms and molecules: The two-term saddle
  point method

abstract:
  We derive an analytical formula for the ionization rate of neutral atoms and
molecules in a strong monochromatic field. Our model is based on the
strong-field approximation with transition amplitudes calculated by an extended
saddle point method. We show that the present two-term saddle point method
reproduces even complicated structures in angular resolved photo electron
spectra.


title:
Improved final doublet designs for the ILC baseline small crossing angle
  scheme

abstract:
  The ILC baseline consists of two interaction regions, one with a 20mrad
crossing angle and the other with a 2mrad crossing angle. It is known that the
outgoing beam losses in the final doublet and subsequent extraction line are
larger in the 2mrad than in the 20mrad layout. In this work, we exploit NbTi
and Nb$_3$Sn superconducting magnet technologies to redesign and optimise the
final doublet, with the aim of providing satisfactory outgoing disrupted beam
power losses in this region. We present three new final doublet layouts,
specifically optimised for the 500 GeV and the 1 TeV machines.