title:
Momentum transfer dependence of the proton's electric and magnetic
  polarizabilities

abstract:
  The Q^2-dependence of the sum of the electric and magnetic polarizabilities
of the proton is calculated over the range 0 \leq Q^2 \leq 6 GeV^2 using the
generalized Baldin sum rule. Employing a parametrization of the F_1 structure
function valid down to Q^2 = 0.06 GeV^2, the polarizabilities at the real
photon point are found by extrapolating the results of finite Q^2 to Q^2 = 0
GeV^2. We determine the evolution over four-momentum transfer to be consistent
with the Baldin sum rule using photoproduction data, obtaining \alpha + \beta =
13.7 \pm 0.7 \times 10^{-4}\, \text{fm}^3.


title:
Spontaneous parity breaking with broken supersymmetry : cosmological
  constraint

abstract:
  Unified models incorporating the right handed neutrino in a symmetric way
generically possess parity symmetry. If this is broken spontaneously it results
in the formation of domain walls in the early Universe, whose persistence is
unwanted. A generic mechanism for destabilisation of such walls is a small
pressure difference signalled by difference in the free energy across the
walls. It is interesting to explore the possibility of such effects in
conjunction with the effects that break supersymmetry in a phenomenologically
acceptable way. Realising this possibility in the context of several scenarios
of supersymmetry breaking results in an upper bound on the scale of spontaneous
parity breaking, often much lower than the GUT scale. In the left-right
symmetric models studied, the upper bound is no higher than $10^{11}$GeV but a
scale as low as $10^5$GeV is acceptable.


title:
Priority-Aware Private Matching Schemes for Proximity-Based Mobile
  Social Networks

abstract:
  The rapid developments of mobile devices and online social networks have
resulted in increasing attention to Mobile Social Networking (MSN). The
explosive growth of mobile-connected and location-aware devices makes it
possible and meaningful to do the Proximity-based Mobile Social Networks
(PMSNs). Users can discover and make new social interactions easily with
physical-proximate mobile users through WiFi/Bluetooth interfaces embedded in
their smartphones. However, users enjoy these conveniences at the cost of their
growing privacy concerns. To address this problem, we propose a suit of
priority-aware private matching schemes to privately match the similarity with
potential friends in the vicinity. Unlike most existing work, our proposed
priority-aware matching scheme (P-match) achieves the privacy goal by combining
the commutative encryption function and the Tanimoto similarity coefficient
which considers both the number of common attributes between users as well as
the corresponding priorities on each common attribute. Further, based on the
newly constructed similarity function which takes the ratio of attributes
matched over all the input set into consideration, we design an enhanced
version to deal with some potential attacks such as unlimitedly inputting the
attribute set on either the initiator side or the responder side, etc. Finally,
our proposed E-match avoids the heavy cryptographic operations and improves the
system performance significantly by employing a novel use of the Bloom filter.
The security and communication/computation overhead of our schemes are
thoroughly analyzed and evaluated via detailed simulations and implementation.


title:
Financial Brownian particle in the layered order book fluid and
  Fluctuation-Dissipation relations

abstract:
  We introduce a novel description of the dynamics of the order book of
financial markets as that of an effective colloidal Brownian particle embedded
in fluid particles. The analysis of a comprehensive market data enables us to
identify all motions of the fluid particles. Correlations between the motions
of the Brownian particle and its surrounding fluid particles reflect specific
layering interactions; in the inner-layer, the correlation is strong and with
short memory while, in the outer-layer, it is weaker and with long memory. By
interpreting and estimating the contribution from the outer-layer as a drag
resistance, we demonstrate the validity of the fluctuation-dissipation relation
(FDR) in this non-material Brownian motion process.


title:
A Unifying Framework in Vector-valued Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces
  for Manifold Regularization and Co-Regularized Multi-view Learning

abstract:
  This paper presents a general vector-valued reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces
(RKHS) framework for the problem of learning an unknown functional dependency
between a structured input space and a structured output space. Our formulation
encompasses both Vector-valued Manifold Regularization and Co-regularized
Multi-view Learning, providing in particular a unifying framework linking these
two important learning approaches. In the case of the least square loss
function, we provide a closed form solution, which is obtained by solving a
system of linear equations. In the case of Support Vector Machine (SVM)
classification, our formulation generalizes in particular both the binary
Laplacian SVM to the multi-class, multi-view settings and the multi-class
Simplex Cone SVM to the semi-supervised, multi-view settings. The solution is
obtained by solving a single quadratic optimization problem, as in standard
SVM, via the Sequential Minimal Optimization (SMO) approach. Empirical results
obtained on the task of object recognition, using several challenging datasets,
demonstrate the competitiveness of our algorithms compared with other
state-of-the-art methods.


title: Jamming transition in a driven lattice gas

abstract:
  We study a two-lane driven lattice gas model with oppositely directed
particles moving on two periodic lanes with correlated lane switching
processes, so that particles can switch lanes with finite probability only when
oppositely directed particles meet on the same lane. This system exhibits an
unique behavior, wherein a phase transition is observed between a homogeneous
absorbing phase, characterized by complete segregation of oppositely directed
particles between the two lanes, and a jammed phase where each species of
particles occupy both the lanes, along with formation of large cluster. This
transition is accompanied by a finite drop of current in the lattice, emergence
of cluster comprising of both species of particles, and is determined by the
interplay of the relative rates of translation of particles on the same lane
and their lane switching rates. These findings may have interesting
implications for understanding the phenomenon of jamming in microtubule
filaments observed in context of axonal transport.


title: Baroclinic Instability in Stellar Radiation Zones

abstract:
  Surfaces of constant pressure and constant density do not coincide in
differentially rotating stars. Stellar radiation zones with baroclinic
stratification can be unstable. Instabilities in radiation zones are of crucial
importance for angular momentum transport, mixing of chemical species and,
possibly, for magnetic field generation. This paper performs linear analysis of
baroclinic instability in differentially rotating stars. Linear stability
equations are formulated for differential rotation of arbitrary shape and then
solved numerically for rotation non-uniform in radius. As the differential
rotation increases, r- and g-modes of initially stable global oscillations
transform smoothly into growing modes of baroclinic instability. The
instability can therefore be interpreted as stability loss to r- and g-modes
excitation. Regions of stellar parameters where r- or g-modes are
preferentially excited are defined. Baroclinic instability onsets at a very
small differential rotation of below 1%. The characteristic time of instability
growth is about one thousand rotation periods. Growing disturbances possess
kinetic helicity. Magnetic field generation by the turbulence resulting from
baroclinic instability in differentially rotating radiation zones is,
therefore, possible.


title: Defect Detection Efficiency A Combined Approach

abstract:
  Survival of IT industries depends much upon the development of high quality
and customer satisfied software products. Quality however can be viewed from
various perspectives such as deployment of the products within estimated
resources, constrains and also being defect free. Testing is one of the
promising techniques ever since the inception of software in the global market.
Though there are several testing techniques existing, the most widely accepted
is the conventional scripted testing. Despite of advancement in the technology,
achieving defect free deliverables is yet a challenge. This paper therefore
aims to enhance the existing testing techniques in order to achieve nearly zero
defect products through the combined approach of scripted and exploratory
testing. This approach thus enables the testing team to capture maximum defects
and thereby reduce the expensive nature of overheads. Further, it leads towards
generation of high quality products and assures the continued customer
satisfaction.


title: Special rectangular (double-well and hole) potentials

abstract:
  We revisit a rectangular barrier as well as a rectangular well (pit) between
two rigid walls. The former is the well known double-well potential and the
latter is a hole potential. Let $|V_0|$ be the height (depth) of the barrier
(well) then for a fixed geometry of the potential, we show that in the
double-well, $E=V_0(>0)$, and in the hole potential ($V_0 <0$), $E=0$, can be
energy eigenvalues provided $V_0$ admits some special discrete values. These
states have been missed out earlier which emerge only when one seeks the
special zero-energy solution of one-dimensional Schr{\"o}dinger equation as
$\psi(x)=Bx+C$.


title:
An exact column-generation approach for the lot-type design problem --
  extended abstract

abstract:
  We consider a fashion discounter that supplies any of its many branches with
an integral multiple of lots whose size assortment structure stems from a set
of many applicable lot-types. We design a column generation algorithm for the
optimal approximation of the branch and size dependent demand by a supply using
a bounded number of lot-types.


title:
Scoping Software Process Models - Initial Concepts and Experience from
  Defining Space Standards

abstract:
  Defining process standards by integrating, harmonizing, and standardizing
heterogeneous and often implicit processes is an important task, especially for
large development organizations. However, many challenges exist, such as
limiting the scope of process standards, coping with different levels of
process model abstraction, and identifying relevant process variabilities to be
included in the standard. On the one hand, eliminating process variability by
building more abstract models with higher degrees of interpretation has many
disadvantages, such as less control over the process. Integrating all kinds of
variability, on the other hand, leads to high process deployment costs. This
article describes requirements and concepts for determining the scope of
process standards based on a characterization of the potential products to be
produced in the future, the projects expected for the future, and the
respective process capabilities needed. In addition, the article sketches
experience from determining the scope of space process standards for satellite
software development. Finally, related work with respect to process model
scoping, conclusions, and an outlook on future work are presented.


title:
Primitive recursive bounds for the finite version of Gowers' $c_0$
  theorem

abstract:
  We provide primitive recursive bounds for the finite version of Gowers' $c_0$
theorem for both the positive and the general case. We also provide
multidimensional versions of these results.


title: Empirically Evaluating Multiagent Learning Algorithms

abstract:
  There exist many algorithms for learning how to play repeated bimatrix games.
Most of these algorithms are justified in terms of some sort of theoretical
guarantee. On the other hand, little is known about the empirical performance
of these algorithms. Most such claims in the literature are based on small
experiments, which has hampered understanding as well as the development of new
multiagent learning (MAL) algorithms. We have developed a new suite of tools
for running multiagent experiments: the MultiAgent Learning Testbed (MALT).
These tools are designed to facilitate larger and more comprehensive
experiments by removing the need to build one-off experimental code. MALT also
provides baseline implementations of many MAL algorithms, hopefully eliminating
or reducing differences between algorithm implementations and increasing the
reproducibility of results. Using this test suite, we ran an experiment
unprecedented in size. We analyzed the results according to a variety of
performance metrics including reward, maxmin distance, regret, and several
notions of equilibrium convergence. We confirmed several pieces of conventional
wisdom, but also discovered some surprising results. For example, we found that
single-agent $Q$-learning outperformed many more complicated and more modern
MAL algorithms.


title: An Entanglement-Enhanced Microscope

abstract:
  Among the applications of optical phase measurement, the differential
interference contrast microscope is widely used for the evaluation of opaque
materials or biological tissues. However, the signal to noise ratio for a given
light intensity is limited by the standard quantum limit (SQL), which is
critical for the measurements where the probe light intensity is limited to
avoid damaging the sample. The SQL can only be beaten by using {\it N} quantum
correlated particles, with an improvement factor of $\sqrt{N}$. Here we report
the first demonstration of an entanglement-enhanced microscope, which is a
confocal-type differential interference contrast microscope where an entangled
photon pair ({\it N}=2) source is used for illumination. An image of a Q shape
carved in relief on the glass surface is obtained with better visibility than
with a classical light source. The signal to noise ratio is 1.35$\pm$0.12 times
better than that limited by the SQL.


title:
The Long and Viscous Road: Uncovering Nuclear Diffusion Barriers in
  Closed Mitosis

abstract:
  During Saccharomyces cerevisiae closed mitosis, parental identity is
sustained by the asymmetric segregation of ageing factors. Such asymmetry has
been hypothesized to occur via diffusion barriers, constraining protein lateral
exchange in cellular membranes. Diffusion barriers have been extensively
studied in the plasma membrane, but their identity and organization within the
nucleus remain unknown. Here, we propose how sphingolipid domains, protein
rings, and morphological changes of the nucleus may coordinate to restrict
protein exchange between nuclear lobes. Our spatial stochastic model is based
on several lines of experimental evidence and predicts that, while a
sphingolipid domain and a protein ring could constitute the barrier during
early anaphase; a sphingolipid domain spanning the bridge between lobes during
late anaphase would be entirely sufficient. Additionally, we explore the
structural organization of plausible diffusion barriers. Our work shows how
nuclear diffusion barriers in closed mitosis may be emergent properties of
simple nanoscale biophysical interactions.


title:
Doubts about the crucial role of the rising-tube mechanism in the
  formation of sunspot groups

abstract:
  Some preliminary processing results are presented for a dataset obtained with
the Solar Optical Telescope on the Hinode satellite. The idea of the project is
to record, nearly simultaneously, the full velocity and magnetic-field vectors
in growing active regions and sunspot groups at a photospheric level. Our
ultimate aim is to elaborate observational criteria to distinguish between the
manifestations of two mechanisms of sunspot-group formation --- the rising of
an Omega-shaped flux tube of a strong magnetic field and the in situ
amplification and structuring of magnetic field by convection (the convective
mechanism is briefly described). Observations of a young bipolar subregion
developing within AR 11313 were carried out on 9--10 October 2011. Based on the
series of filtergrams, the trajectories of corks are computed, using a
technique similar to but more reliable than local correlation tracking (LCT),
and compared with the magnetic maps. At this stage of the investigation, only
the vertical magnetic field and the horizontal flows are used for a qualitative
analysis. According to our preliminary findings, the velocity pattern in the
growing active region has nothing to do with a spreading flow on the scale of
the entire bipolar region, which could be expected if a tube of strong magnetic
field emerged. No violent spreading flows on the scale of the entire growing
magnetic region can be identified. Instead, normal mesogranular and
supergranular flows are preserved. The observed scenario of evolution seems to
agree with Bumba's inference that the development of an active region does not
entail the destruction of the existing convective-velocity field. The
convective mechanism appears to be better compatible with observations than the
rising-tube mechanism.


title:
Marginal and simultaneous predictive classification using stratified
  graphical models

abstract:
  An inductive probabilistic classification rule must generally obey the
principles of Bayesian predictive inference, such that all observed and
unobserved stochastic quantities are jointly modeled and the parameter
uncertainty is fully acknowledged through the posterior predictive
distribution. Several such rules have been recently considered and their
asymptotic behavior has been characterized under the assumption that the
observed features or variables used for building a classifier are conditionally
independent given a simultaneous labeling of both the training samples and
those from an unknown origin. Here we extend the theoretical results to
predictive classifiers acknowledging feature dependencies either through
graphical models or sparser alternatives defined as stratified graphical
models. We also show through experimentation with both synthetic and real data
that the predictive classifiers based on stratified graphical models have
consistently best accuracy compared with the predictive classifiers based on
either conditionally independent features or on ordinary graphical models.


title: Interval colorings of edges of a multigraph

abstract:
  Let $G=(V_1(G),V_2(G),E(G))$ be a bipartite multigraph, and $R\subseteq
V_1(G)\cup V_2(G)$. A proper coloring of edges of $G$ with the colors
$1,\ldots,t$ is called interval (respectively, continuous) on $R$, if each
color is used for at least one edge and the edges incident with each vertex
$x\in R$ are colored by $d(x)$ consecutive colors (respectively, by the colors
$1,\ldots,d(x))$, where $d(x)$ is a degree of the vertex $x$. We denote by
$w_1(G)$ and $W_1(G)$, respectively, the least and the greatest values of $t$,
for which there exists an interval on $V_1(G)$ coloring of the multigraph $G$
with the colors $1,\ldots,t$.
  In the paper the following basic results are obtained.
  \textbf{Theorem 2.} For an arbitrary $k$, $w_1(G)\leq k\leq W_1(G)$, there is
an interval on $V_1(G)$ coloring of the multigraph $G$ with the colors
$1,\ldots,k$.
  \textbf{Theorem 3.} The problem of recognition of the existence of a
continuous on $V_1(G)$ coloring of the multigraph $G$ is $NP$-complete.
  \textbf{Theorem 4.} If for any edge $(x,y)\in E(G)$, where $x\in V_1(G)$, the
inequality $d(x)\geq d(y)$ holds then there is a continuous on $V_1(G)$
coloring of the multigraph $G$.
  \textbf{Theorem 1.} If $G$ has no multiple edges and triangles, and there is
an interval on $V(G)$ coloring of the graph $G$ with the colors $1,\ldots,k$,
then $k\leq|V(G)|-1$.


title:
Simultaneous prediction for independent Poisson processes with different
  durations

abstract:
  Simultaneous predictive densities for independent Poisson observables are
investigated. The observed data and the target variables to be predicted are
independently distributed according to different Poisson distributions
parametrized by the same parameter. The performance of predictive densities is
evaluated by the Kullback-Leibler divergence. A class of prior distributions
depending on the objective of prediction is introduced. A Bayesian predictive
density based on a prior in this class dominates the Bayesian predictive
density based on the Jeffreys prior.


title:
Minima Hopping Guided Path Search: An Efficient Method for Finding
  Complex Chemical Reaction Pathways

abstract:
  The Minima Hopping global optimization method uses physically realizable
molecular dynamics moves in combination with an energy feedback that guarantees
the escape from any potential energy funnel. For the purpose of finding
reactions pathways, we argue that Minima Hopping is particularly suitable as a
guide through the potential energy landscape and as a generator for pairs of
minima that can be used as input structures for methods capable of finding
transition states between two minima. For Lennard-Jones benchmark systems we
compared this Minima Hopping guided path search method to a known approach for
the exploration of potential energy landscapes that is based on deterministic
mode-following. Although we used a stabilized mode-following technique that
reliably allows to follow distinct directions when escaping from a local
minimum, we observed that Minima Hopping guided path search is far superior in
finding lowest-barrier reaction pathways. We therefore suggest that Minima
Hopping guided path search can be used as a simple and efficient way to
identify energetically low-lying chemical reaction pathways. Finally we applied
the Minima Hopping guided path search approach to 75-atom and 102-atom Lennard
Jones systems. For the 75-atom system we found pathways whose highest energies
are significantly lower than the highest energy along the previously published
lowest-barrier pathway. Furthermore, many of these pathways contain a smaller
number of intermediate transition states than the previously publish
lowest-barrier pathway. In case of the 102-atom system Minima Hopping guided
path search found a previously unknown and energetically low-lying funnel.


title: Resolving the Inflationary Power Spectrum

abstract:
  Recently there have been differing viewpoints on how to evaluate the
curvature power spectrum generated during inflation. In a series of papers by
some authors it has been argued that the renormalization scheme adopted for the
inflaton field phi(x) to make <phi^2(x)> finite should also be applied to
|phi_k|^2. But this then modifies the curvature power spectrum in a non-trivial
way. On the other hand, others have criticized this approach and suggested
alternatives, which have been further countered by the original authors. We
discuss these differing viewpoints and indicate inconsistencies in both
approaches. We then resolve the issue by showing why the standard expression,
without any non-trivial regularization, is still valid.


title:
Representations of finite group schemes and morphisms of projective
  varieties

abstract:
  Given a finite group scheme $\cG$ over an algebraically closed field $k$ of
characteristic $\Char(k)=p>0$, we introduce new invariants for a $\cG$-module
$M$ by associating certain morphisms $\deg^j_M : U_M \lra \Gr_d(M) \ \
(1\!\le\!j\!\le\! p\!-\!1)$ to $M$ that take values in Grassmannians of $M$.
These maps are studied for two classes of finite algebraic groups,
infinitesimal group schemes and elementary abelian group schemes. The maps
associated to the so-called modules of constant $j$-rank have a well-defined
degree ranging between $0$ and $j\rk^j(M)$, where $\rk^j(M)$ is the generic
$j$-rank of $M$. The extreme values are attained when the module $M$ has the
equal images property or the equal kernels property. We establish a formula
linking the $j$-degrees of $M$ and its dual $M^\ast$. For a self-dual module
$M$ of constant Jordan type this provides information concerning the
indecomposable constituents of the pull-back $\alpha^\ast(M)$ of $M$ along a
$p$-point $\alpha : k[X]/(X^p) \lra k\cG$.


title:
High order solution of Poisson problems with piecewise constant
  coefficients and interface jumps

abstract:
  We present a fast and accurate algorithm to solve Poisson problems in complex
geometries, using regular Cartesian grids. We consider a variety of
configurations, including Poisson problems with interfaces across which the
solution is discontinuous (of the type arising in multi-fluid flows). The
algorithm is based on a combination of the Correction Function Method (CFM) and
Boundary Integral Methods (BIM). Interface and boundary conditions can be
treated in a fast and accurate manner using boundary integral equations, and
the associated BIM. Unfortunately, BIM can be costly when the solution is
needed everywhere in a grid, e.g. fluid flow problems. We use the CFM to
circumvent this issue. The solution from the BIM is used to rewrite the problem
as a series of Poisson problems in rectangular domains - which requires the BIM
solution at interfaces/boundaries only. These Poisson problems involve
discontinuities at interfaces, of the type that the CFM can handle. Hence we
use the CFM to solve them (to high order of accuracy) with finite differences
and a Fast Fourier Transform based fast Poisson solver. We present 2-D examples
of the algorithm applied to Poisson problems involving complex geometries,
including cases in which the solution is discontinuous. We show that the
algorithm produces solutions that converge with either 3rd or 4th order of
accuracy, depending on the type of boundary condition and solution
discontinuity.


title:
Dissipative Spherical Collapse of Charged Anisotropic Fluid in f(R)
  Gravity

abstract:
  This manuscript is devoted to study the combined effect of a viable model,
f(R) = R + \alpha R^n, and electromagnetic field on the instability range of
gravitational collapse. We assume charged anisotropic fluid that dissipate
energy via heat flow and discuss that electromagnetic field, density
inhomogeneity, shear and phase transition on astrophysical bodies can be
incorporated by locally anisotropic background. Dynamical equations help to
investigate the evolution of self-gravitating objects and leads to the
conclusion that adiabatic index depend upon the electromagnetic background,
mass and radius of the spherical objects.


title:
Number of vertices in graphs with locally small chromatic number and
  large chromatic number

abstract:
  We discuss the minimal number of vertices in a graph with a large chromatic
number such that each ball of a fixed radius in it has a small chromatic
number. It is shown that for every graph $G$ on $\sim((n+rc)/(c+rc))^{r+1}$
vertices such that each ball of radius $r$ is properly $c$-colorable, we have
$\chi(G)\leq n$.


title: Non-reversible Metropolis-Hastings

abstract:
  The classical Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithm can be extended to generate
non-reversible Markov chains. This is achieved by means of a modification of
the acceptance probability, using the notion of vorticity matrix. The resulting
Markov chain is non-reversible. Results from the literature on asymptotic
variance, large deviations theory and mixing time are mentioned, and in the
case of a large deviations result, adapted, to explain how non-reversible
Markov chains have favorable properties in these respects.
  We provide an application of NRMH in a continuous setting by developing the
necessary theory and applying, as first examples, the theory to Gaussian
distributions in three and nine dimensions. The empirical autocorrelation and
estimated asymptotic variance for NRMH applied to these examples show
significant improvement compared to MH with identical stepsize.


title:
Self-Oscillation in Spin Torque Oscillator Stabilized by Field-like
  Torque

abstract:
  The self-oscillation of the magnetization in a spin torque oscillator (STO)
with a perpendicularly magnetized free layer and an in-plane magnetized pinned
layer in the absence of an applied magnetic field was studied by numerically
solving the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. It was pointed out that
field-like torque was necessary to realize stable self-oscillation in this type
of STO at zero field. The numerical simulation at finite temperature showed
that the presence of the field-like torque led to a high power with a
relatively high oscillation frequency.


title:
Interaction between graphene and copper substrate: The role of lattice
  orientation

abstract:
  We present a comprehensive study of graphene grown by chemical vapor
deposition on copper single crystals with exposed (100), (110) and (111) faces.
Direct examination of the as-grown graphene by Raman spectroscopy using a range
of visible excitation energies and microRaman mapping shows distinct strain and
doping levels for individual Cu surfaces. Comparison of results from Raman
mapping with X-ray diffraction techniques and Atomic Force Microscopy shows it
is neither the crystal quality nor the surface topography responsible for the
specific strain and doping values, but it is the Cu lattice orientation itself.
We also report an exceptionally narrow Raman 2D band width caused by the
interaction between graphene and metallic substrate. The appearance of this
extremely narrow 2D band with full-width-at-half maximum (FWHM) as low as 16
cm-1 is correlated with flat and undoped regions on the Cu(100) and (110)
surfaces. The generally compressed (~ 0.3% of strain) and n-doped (Fermi level
shift of ~250 meV) graphene on Cu(111) shows the 2D band FWHM minimum of ~20
cm-1. In contrast, graphene grown on Cu foil under the same conditions reflects
the heterogeneity of the polycrystalline surface and its 2D band is accordingly
broader with FWHM > 24 cm-1.


title: Analyzing Finite-length Protograph-based Spatially Coupled LDPC Codes

abstract:
  The peeling decoding for spatially coupled low-density parity-check (SC-LDPC)
codes is analyzed for a binary erasure channel. An analytical calculation of
the mean evolution of degree-one check nodes of protograph-based SC-LDPC codes
is given and an estimate for the covariance evolution of degree-one check nodes
is proposed in the stable decoding phase where the decoding wave propagates
along the chain of coupled codes. Both results are verified numerically.
Protograph-based SC-LDPC codes turn out to have a more robust behavior than
unstructured random SC-LDPC codes. Using the analytically calculated
parameters, the finite- length scaling laws for these constructions are given
and verified by numerical simulations.


title:
Quantitative constraints on starburst cycles in galaxies with stellar
  masses in the range 10**8-10**10 Msol

abstract:
  We have used 4000 \AA\ break and H$\delta_A$ indices in combination with
SFR/M* derived from emission line flux measurements, to constrain the recent
star formation histories of galaxies with stellar masses in the range
10**8-10**10 Msol. The fraction of the total SFR density in galaxies with
ongoing bursts is a strong function of stellar mass, declining from 0.85 at a
stellar mass of 10**8 Msol to 0.25 for galaxies with M* = 10**10 Msol. Low mass
galaxies are not all young. The distribution of half mass formation times for
galaxies with stellar masses less than 10**9 Msol is broad, spanning the range
1-10 Gyr. The peak-to-trough variation in star formation rate among the
bursting population ranges lies in the range 10-25. In low mass galaxies, the
average duration of the burst is comparable to the dynamical time of the
galaxy. Galaxy structure is correlated with estimated burst mass fraction, but
in different ways in low and in high mass galaxies. High mass galaxies with
large burst mass fractions are more centrally concentrated, indicating that
bulge formation is at work. In low mass galaxies, stellar surface mass
densities decrease as a function of F_{burst}. These results are in good
agreement with the observational predictions of Teyssier et al (2013) and lend
further credence to the idea that the cuspy halo problem can be solved by
energy input from multiple starbursts over the lifetime of the galaxy. We note
that there is no compelling evidence for IMF variations in the population of
star-forming galaxies in the local Universe.


title: Cross-calibration of Time-of-flight and Colour Cameras

abstract:
  Time-of-flight cameras provide depth information, which is complementary to
the photometric appearance of the scene in ordinary images. It is desirable to
merge the depth and colour information, in order to obtain a coherent scene
representation. However, the individual cameras will have different viewpoints,
resolutions and fields of view, which means that they must be mutually
calibrated. This paper presents a geometric framework for this multi-view and
multi-modal calibration problem. It is shown that three-dimensional projective
transformations can be used to align depth and parallax-based representations
of the scene, with or without Euclidean reconstruction. A new evaluation
procedure is also developed; this allows the reprojection error to be
decomposed into calibration and sensor-dependent components. The complete
approach is demonstrated on a network of three time-of-flight and six colour
cameras. The applications of such a system, to a range of automatic
scene-interpretation problems, are discussed.


title: Explicit Serre duality on complex spaces

abstract:
  In this paper we use recently developed calculus of residue currents together
with integral formulas to give a new explicit analytic realization, as well as
a new analytic proof of Serre duality on any reduced pure $n$-dimensional
paracompact complex space $X$. At the core of the paper is the introduction of
concrete fine sheaves $\mathscr{B}_X^{n,q}$ of certain currents on $X$ of
bidegree $(n,q)$, such that the Dolbeault complex
$(\mathscr{B}_X^{n,\bullet},\,\bar{\partial})$ becomes, in a certain sense, a
dualizing complex. In particular, if $X$ is Cohen-Macaulay (e.g., Gorenstein or
a complete intersection) then $(\mathscr{B}_X^{n,\bullet},\,\bar{\partial})$ is
an explicit fine resolution of the Grothendieck dualizing sheaf.


title: Non coherent continuum scattering as a line polarization mechanism

abstract:
  Line scattering polarization can be strongly affected by Rayleigh scattering
by neutral hydrogen and Thompson scattering by free electrons. Often a
continuum depolarization results, but the Doppler redistribution produced by
the continuum scatterers, which are light (hence, fast), induces more complex
interactions between the polarization in spectral lines and in the continuum.
Here we formulate and solve the radiative transfer problem of scattering line
polarization with non coherent continumm scattering consistently. The problem
is formulated within the spherical tensor representation of atomic and light
polarization. The numerical method of solution is a generalization of the
Accelerated Lambda Iteration that is applied to both, the atomic system and the
radiation field. We show that the redistribution of the spectral line radiation
due to the non coherence of the continuum scattering may modify significantly
the shape of the emergent fractional linear polarization patterns, even
yielding polarization signals above the continuum level in intrinsically
unpolarizable lines.


title:
Temperature dependence of the axial magnetic effect in two-color
  quenched QCD

abstract:
  The Axial Magnetic Effect is the generation of an equilibrium dissipationless
energy flow of chiral fermions in the direction of the axial (chiral) magnetic
field. At finite temperature the dissipationless energy transfer may be
realized in the absence of any chemical potentials. We numerically study the
temperature behavior of the Axial Magnetic Effect in quenched SU(2) lattice
gauge theory. We show that in the confinement (hadron) phase the effect is
absent. In the deconfinement transition region the conductivity quickly
increases, reaching the asymptotic $T^2$ behavior in a deep deconfinement
(plasma) phase. Apart from an overall proportionality factor, our results
qualitatively agree with theoretical predictions for the behavior of the energy
flow as a function of temperature and strength of the axial magnetic field.


title: Shortest node-disjoint paths on random graphs

abstract:
  A localized method to distribute paths on random graphs is devised, aimed at
finding the shortest paths between given source/destination pairs while
avoiding path overlaps at nodes. We propose a method based on message-passing
techniques to process global information and distribute paths optimally.
Statistical properties such as scaling with system size and number of paths,
average path-length and the transition to the frustrated regime are analysed.
The performance of the suggested algorithm is evaluated through a comparison
against a greedy algorithm.


title: An Algorithm for Nonlinear, Nonparametric Model Choice and Prediction

abstract:
  We introduce an algorithm which, in the context of nonlinear regression on
vector-valued explanatory variables, chooses those combinations of vector
components that provide best prediction. The algorithm devotes particular
attention to components that might be of relatively little predictive value by
themselves, and so might be ignored by more conventional methodology for model
choice, but which, in combination with other difficult-to-find components, can
be particularly beneficial for prediction. Additionally the algorithm avoids
choosing vector components that become redundant once appropriate combinations
of other, more relevant components are selected. It is suitable for very high
dimensional problems, where it keeps computational labour in check by using a
novel sequential argument, and also for more conventional prediction problems,
where dimension is relatively low. We explore properties of the algorithm using
both theoretical and numerical arguments.


title: X-ray emission from massive stars in Cyg OB2

abstract:
  We report on the analysis of the Chandra-ACIS data of O, B and WR stars in
the young association Cyg OB2. X-ray spectra of 49 O-stars, 54 B-stars and 3
WR-stars are analyzed and for the brighter sources, the epoch dependence of the
X-ray fluxes is investigated. The O-stars in Cyg\,OB2 follow a well-defined
scaling relation between their X-ray and bolometric luminosities: log(Lx/Lbol)
= -7.2 +/- 0.2. This relation is in excellent agreement with the one previously
derived for the Carina OB1 association. Except for the brightest O-star
binaries, there is no general X-ray overluminosity due to colliding winds in
O-star binaries. Roughly half of the known B-stars in the surveyed field are
detected, but they fail to display a clear relationship between Lx and Lbol.
Out of the three WR stars in Cyg OB2, probably only WR144 is itself responsible
for the observed level of X-ray emission, at a very low log(Lx/Lbol) = -8.8 +/-
0.2. The X-ray emission of the other two WR-stars (WR145 and 146) is most
probably due to their O-type companion along with a moderate contribution from
a wind-wind interaction zone.


title:
Generation and subwavelength focusing of longitudinal magnetic fields in
  a metallized fiber tip

abstract:
  We demonstrate experimentally and numerically that in fiber tips as they are
used in NSOMs azimuthally polarized electrical fields
(|E$_{\text{azi}}$|$^2$/|E$_{\text{tot}}$|$^2$ $\approx$ 55% $\pm $ 5% for
1.4\mu m tip aperture diameter and \lambda$_0$ = 1550nm), respectively
subwavelength confined (FWHM $\approx$ 450nm $\approx$ \lambda$_0$/3.5)
magnetic fields, are generated for a certain tip aperture diameter (d = 1.4\mu
m). We attribute the generation of this field distribution in metal-coated
fiber tips to symmetry breaking in the bend and subsequent plasmonic mode
filtering in the truncated conical taper.


title: Mechanical properties of inclined frictional granular layers

abstract:
  We investigate the mechanical properties of inclined frictional granular
layers prepared with different protocols by means of DEM numerical simulations.
We perform an orthotropic elastic analysis of the stress response to a
localized overload at the layer surface for several substrate tilt angles. The
distance to the unjamming transition is controlled by the tilt angle $\alpha$
with respect to the critical angle $\alpha_c$. We find that the shear modulus
of the system decreases with $\alpha$, but tends to a finite value as $\alpha
\to \alpha_c$. We also study the behaviour of various microscopic quantities
with $\alpha$, and show in particular the evolution of the contact orientation
with respect to the orthotropic axes and that of the distribution of the
friction mobilisation at contact.


title:
Cold gas properties of the Herschel Reference Survey. II. Molecular and
  total gas scaling relations

abstract:
  We study the properties of the cold gas component of the interstellar medium
of the Herschel Reference Survey, a complete volume-limited (15<D<25 Mpc),
K-band-selected sample of galaxies spanning a wide range in morphological type
(from E to Im) and stellar mass (10^9<M*<10^11 Mo). The multifrequency data in
our hands are used to trace the molecular gas mass distribution and the main
scaling relations of the sample, which put strong constraints on galaxy
formation simulations. We extend the main scaling relations concerning the
total and the molecular gas component determined for massive galaxies (M* >
10^10 Mo) from the COLD GASS survey down to stellar masses M* ~ 10^9 Mo. As
scaling variables we use M*, the stellar surface density mu*, the specific star
formation rate SSFR, and the metallicity of the target galaxies. By comparing
molecular gas masses determined using a constant or a luminosity dependent
conversion factor, we estimate the robustness of these scaling relations on the
very uncertain assumptions used to transform CO line intensities into molecular
gas masses. The molecular gas distribution of a K-band-selected sample is
different from that of a far-infrared-selected sample since it includes a
significantly smaller number of objects with M(H2) < 6 10^9 Mo. In spiral
galaxies the molecular gas phase is only 25-30% of the atomic gas. The analysis
also indicates that the slope of the main scaling relations depends on the
adopted conversion factor. Among the sampled relations, all those concerning
M(gas)/M* are statistically significant and show little variation with X_CO. We
observe a significant correlation between M(H2)/M* and SSFR, M(H2)/M(HI) and
mu*, M(H2)/M(HI), and 12+log(O/H) regardless of the adopted X_CO. The total and
molecular gas consumption timescales are anticorrelated with the SSFR.


title:
Scanning tunneling spectroscopy study of the proximity effect in a
  disordered two-dimensional metal

abstract:
  The proximity effect between a superconductor and a highly diffusive
two-dimensional metal was revealed in a Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy
experiment. The in-situ elaborated samples consisted of superconducting single
crystalline Pb islands interconnected by a non-superconducting atomically thin
disordered Pb wetting layer. In the vicinity of each superconducting island the
wetting layer acquires specific tunneling characteristics which reflect the
interplay between the proximity-induced superconductivity and the inherent
electron correlations of this ultimate diffusive two-dimensional metal. The
observed spatial evolution of the tunneling spectra was accounted for
theoretically by combining the Usadel equations with the theory of dynamical
Coulomb blockade; the relevant length and energy scales were extracted and
found in agreement with available experimental data.


title: Water: from clouds to planets

abstract:
  Results from recent space missions, in particular Spitzer and Herschel, have
lead to significant progress in our understanding of the formation and
transport of water from clouds to disks, planetesimals, and planets. In this
review, we provide the underpinnings for the basic molecular physics and
chemistry of water and outline these advances in the context of water formation
in space, its transport to a forming disk, its evolution in the disk, and
finally the delivery to forming terrestrial worlds and accretion by gas giants.
Throughout, we pay close attention to the disposition of water as vapor or
solid and whether it might be subject to processing at any stage. The context
of the water in the solar system and the isotopic ratios (D/H) in various
bodies are discussed as grounding data point for this evolution. Additional
advances include growing knowledge of the composition of atmospheres of
extra-solar gas giants, which may be influenced by the variable phases of water
in the protoplanetary disk. Further, the architecture of extra-solar systems
leaves strong hints of dynamical interactions, which are important for the
delivery of water and subsequent evolution of planetary systems. We conclude
with an exploration of water on Earth and note that all of the processes and
key parameters identified here should also hold for exoplanetary systems.


title: Quantile spectral processes: Asymptotic analysis and inference

abstract:
  Quantile- and copula-related spectral concepts recently have been considered
by various authors. Those spectra, in their most general form, provide a full
characterization of the copulas associated with the pairs $(X_t,X_{t-k})$ in a
process $(X_t)_{t\in\mathbb{Z}}$, and account for important dynamic features,
such as changes in the conditional shape (skewness, kurtosis),
time-irreversibility, or dependence in the extremes that their traditional
counterparts cannot capture. Despite various proposals for estimation
strategies, only quite incomplete asymptotic distributional results are
available so far for the proposed estimators, which constitutes an important
obstacle for their practical application. In this paper, we provide a detailed
asymptotic analysis of a class of smoothed rank-based cross-periodograms
associated with the copula spectral density kernels introduced in Dette et al.
[Bernoulli 21 (2015) 781-831]. We show that, for a very general class of
(possibly nonlinear) processes, properly scaled and centered smoothed versions
of those cross-periodograms, indexed by couples of quantile levels, converge
weakly, as stochastic processes, to Gaussian processes. A first application of
those results is the construction of asymptotic confidence intervals for copula
spectral density kernels. The same convergence results also provide asymptotic
distributions (under serially dependent observations) for a new class of
rank-based spectral methods involving the Fourier transforms of rank-based
serial statistics such as the Spearman, Blomqvist or Gini autocovariance
coefficients.


title:
Topological Ramsey spaces from Fra\"iss\'e classes,
  Ramsey-classification theorems, and initial structures in the Tukey types of
  p-points

abstract:
  A general method for constructing a new class of topological Ramsey spaces is
presented. Members of such spaces are infinite sequences of products of
Fra\"iss\'e classes of finite relational structures satisfying the Ramsey
property. The Product Ramsey Theorem of Soki\v{c} is extended to equivalence
relations for finite products of structures from Fra\"iss\'e classes of finite
relational structures satisfying the Ramsey property and the Order-Prescribed
Free Amalgamation Property. This is essential to proving Ramsey-classification
theorems for equivalence relations on fronts, generalizing the Pudl\'ak-R\"odl
Theorem to this class of topological Ramsey spaces.
  To each topological Ramsey space in this framework corresponds an associated
ultrafilter satisfying some weak partition property. By using the correct
Fra\"iss\'e classes, we construct topological Ramsey spaces which are dense in
the partial orders of Baumgartner and Taylor in \cite{Baumgartner/Taylor78}
generating p-points which are $k$-arrow but not $k+1$-arrow, and in a partial
order of Blass in \cite{Blass73} producing a diamond shape in the Rudin-Keisler
structure of p-points. Any space in our framework in which blocks are products
of $n$ many structures produces ultrafilters with initial Tukey structure
exactly the Boolean algebra $\mathcal{P}(n)$. If the number of Fra\"iss\'e
classes on each block grows without bound, then the Tukey types of the p-points
below the space's associated ultrafilter have the structure exactly
$[\omega]^{<\omega}$. In contrast, the set of isomorphism types of any product
of finitely many Fra\"iss\'e classes of finite relational structures satisfying
the Ramsey property and the OPFAP, partially ordered by embedding, is realized
as the initial Rudin-Keisler structure of some p-point generated by a space
constructed from our template.


title:
Cross-correlation asymmetries and causal relationships between stock and
  market risk

abstract:
  We study historical correlations and lead-lag relationships between
individual stock risk (volatility of daily stock returns) and market risk
(volatility of daily returns of a market-representative portfolio) in the US
stock market. We consider the cross-correlation functions averaged over all
stocks, using 71 stock prices from the Standard \& Poor's 500 index for
1994--2013. We focus on the behavior of the cross-correlations at the times of
financial crises with significant jumps of market volatility. The observed
historical dynamics showed that the dependence between the risks was almost
linear during the US stock market downturn of 2002 and after the US housing
bubble in 2007, remaining on that level until 2013. Moreover, the averaged
cross-correlation function often had an asymmetric shape with respect to zero
lag in the periods of high correlation. We develop the analysis by the
application of the linear response formalism to study underlying causal
relations. The calculated response functions suggest the presence of
characteristic regimes near financial crashes, when the volatility of an
individual stock follows the market volatility and vice versa.


abstract:
  We present the characterization of two-dimensionally arranged 64-pixel NbTiN
superconducting nanowire single-photon detector array for spatially resolved
photon detection. NbTiN films deposited on thermally oxidized Si substrates
enabled the high-yield production of high-quality SSPD pixels, and all 64 SSPD
pixels showed uniform superconducting characteristics. Furthermore, all of the
pixels showed single-photon sensitivity, and 60 of the 64 pixels showed a pulse
generation probability higher than 90% after photon absorption. As a result of
light irradiation from the single-mode optical fiber at different distances
between the fiber tip and the active area, the variations of system detection
efficiency in each pixel showed reasonable Gaussian distribution to represent
the spatial distributions of photon flux intensity.


title: Survey on the Tukey theory of ultrafilters

abstract:
  This article surveys results regarding the Tukey theory of ultrafilters on
countable base sets. The driving forces for this investigation are Isbell's
Problem and the question of how closely related the Rudin-Keisler and Tukey
reducibilities are. We review work on the possible structures of cofinal types
and conditions which guarantee that an ultrafilter is below the Tukey maximum.
The known canonical forms for cofinal maps on ultrafilters are reviewed, as
well as their applications to finding which structures embed into the Tukey
types of ultrafilters. With the addition of some Ramsey theory, fine analyses
of the structures at the bottom of the Tukey hierarchy are made.


title: Recent results from Telescope Array

abstract:
  The Telescope Array (TA) observatory, located in midwest Utah, USA, is
designed to detect ultra high energy cosmic rays whose energy is greater than 1
EeV. TA mainly consists of two types of detector. The first type is the
atmospheric Fluorescence Detector (FD). TA's three FDs have been in operation
since Fall 2007. The other type of detector is a ground-covering Surface
Detector (SD), which has been operating at TA since Spring 2008. In addition,
the TA-Rader (TARA) and EUSO-TA associated experiments are co-located with TA,
and the TA Low Energy (TALE) extension recently started partial operation. I
report some recent general results from TA, and describe our future plans.


title:
The Hubbard model beyond the two-pole approximation: a Composite
  Operator Method study

abstract:
  Within the framework of the Composite Operator Method, a three-pole solution
for the two-dimensional Hubbard model is presented and analyzed in detail. In
addition to the two Hubbard operators, the operatorial basis comprises a third
operator describing electronic transitions dressed by nearest-neighbor spin
fluctuations. These latter, compared to charge and pair fluctuations, are
assumed to be preeminent in the region of model-parameter space - small doping,
low temperature and large on-site Coulomb repulsion - where one expects strong
electronic correlations to dominate the physics of the system. This assumption
and the consequent choice for the basic field, as well as the whole analytical
approximation framework, have been validated through a comprehensive comparison
with data for local and single-particle properties obtained by different
numerical methods on varying all model parameters. The results systematically
agree, both quantitatively and qualitatively, up to coincide in many cases.
Many relevant features of the model, reflected by the numerical data, are
exactly caught by the proposed solution and, in particular, the crossover
between weak and intermediate-strong correlations as well as the shape of the
occupied portion of the dispersion. A comprehensive comparison with other
$n$-pole solutions is also reported in order to explore and possibly understand
the reasons of such good performance.


title: A meta-analysis of the magnetic line broadening in the solar atmosphere

abstract:
  A multi-line Bayesian analysis of the Zeeman broadening in the solar
atmosphere is presented. A hierarchical probabilistic model, based on the
simple but realistic Milne-Eddington approximation to the solution of the
radiative transfer equation, is used to explain the data in the optical and
near infrared. Our method makes use of the full line profiles of a more than
500 spectral lines from 4000 $\AA$ to 1.8 $\mu$m. Although the problem suffers
from a strong degeneracy between the magnetic broadening and any other
remaining broadening mechanism, the hierarchical model allows to isolate the
magnetic contribution with reliability. We obtain the cumulative distribution
function for the field strength and use it to put reliable upper limits to the
unresolved magnetic field strength in the solar atmosphere. The field is below
160-180 G with 90% probability.


title: Event-triggered feedback in noise-driven phase oscillators

abstract:
  Using a stochastic nonlinear phase oscillator model, we study the effect of
event-triggered feedback on the statistics of interevent intervals. Events are
associated with the entering of a new cycle. The feedback is modeled by an
instantaneous increase (positive feedback) or decrease (negative feedback) of
the oscillators frequency, whenever an event occurs followed by an exponential
decay on a slow timescale. In contrast to previous works, we also consider
positive feedback that leads to various novel effects. For instance, besides
the known excitable and oscillatory regime, that are separated by a saddle-node
on invariant circle bifurcation, positive feedback can lead to bistable
dynamics and a change of the system's excitability. The feedback has also a
strong effect on noise-induced phenomena like coherence resonance or
anti-coherence resonance. Both positive and negative feedback can lead to more
regular output for particular noise strengths. Finally, we investigate serial
correlation in the sequence of interevent intervals that occur due to the
additional slow dynamics. We derive approximations for the serial correlation
coefficient and show that positive feedback results in extended positive
interval correlations whereas negative feedback yields short-ranging negative
correlations. Investigating the interplay of feedback and the nonlinear phase
dynamics close to the bifurcation, we find that correlations are most
pronounced for an optimal feedback strengths.


title:
Normalized General Relativity: Non-closed Universe and Zero Cosmological
  Constant

abstract:
  We discuss the cosmological constant problem, at the minisuperspace level,
within the framework of the so-called normalized general relativity (NGR). We
prove that the Universe cannot be closed, and reassure that the accompanying
cosmological constant $\Lambda$ generically vanishes, at least classically. The
theory does allow, however, for a special class of $\Lambda \not=0$ solutions
which are associated with static closed Einstein universe and with
Eddington-Lema\^{\i}tre universe.


title:
Realistic shell-model calculations for isotopic chains "north-east'' of
  48Ca in the (N,Z) plane

abstract:
  We perform realistic shell-model calculations for nuclei with valence
nucleons outside 48Ca, employing two different model spaces. The matrix
elements of the effective two-body interaction and electromagnetic multipole
operators have been calculated within the framework of the many-body
perturbation theory, starting from a low-momentum potential derived from the
high-precision CD-Bonn free nucleon-nucleon potential. The role played by the
neutron orbital 1d5/2 has been investigated by comparing experimental data on
yrast quadrupole excitations of isotopic chains north-east of 48Ca with the
results of calculations including or not including this single-particle state
in the model space.


title: Inhomogeneous K-function for germ-grain models

abstract:
  In this paper, we propose a generalization to germ-grain models of the
inhomogeneous K-function of Point Processes. We apply them to a sample of
images of peripheral blood smears obtained from patients with Sickle Cell
Disease, in order to decide whether the sample belongs to the thin, thick or
morphological region.


title: Functoriality of groupoid quantales. I

abstract:
  We provide three functorial extensions of the equivalence between localic
etale groupoids and their quantales. The main result is a biequivalence between
the bicategory of localic etale groupoids, with bi-actions as 1-cells, and a
bicategory of inverse quantal frames whose 1-cells are bimodules. As a
consequence, the category InvQuF of inverse quantale frames, whose morphisms
are the (necessarily involutive) homomorphisms of unital quantales, is
equivalent to a category of localic etale groupoids whose arrows are the
algebraic morphisms in the sense of Buneci and Stachura. We also show that the
subcategory of InvQuF with the same objects and whose morphisms preserve finite
meets is dually equivalent to a subcategory of the category of localic etale
groupoids and continuous functors whose morphisms, in the context of
topological groupoids, have been studied by Lawson and Lenz.


title: Entropy of the holographic dark energy and generalized second law

abstract:
  In this paper we have considered the holographic dark energy and studied it's
cosmology and thermodynamics. We have analysed the generalized second law (GSL)
of thermodynamics in a flat universe consists of interacting dark energy and
dark matter. We did the analysis both under thermal equilibrium and
non-equilibrium conditions. If the apparent horizon is taken as the boundary of
the universe, we have shown that the rate of change of the total entropy of the
universe is proportional to $(1+q)^2,$ which in fact shows that the GSL is
valid at the apparent horizon irrespective of the sign of $q,$ the deceleration
parameter. Hence for any form of dark energy the apparent horizon can be
considered as a perfect thermodynamic boundary of the universe. We made a
confirmation of this conclusion by using the holographic dark energy. When
event horizon is taken as the boundary, we found that the GSL is only partially
satisfied. The analysis under non-equilibrium conditions revealed that the GSL
is satisfied if the dark energy temperature is greater than the temperature of
dark matter.


title:
Proximity effect between two superconductors spatially resolved by
  scanning tunneling spectroscopy

abstract:
  We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the proximity
effect in an atomic-scale controlled junction between two different
superconductors. Elaborated on a Si(111) surface, the junction comprises a Pb
nanocrystal with an energy gap of 1.2 meV, connected to a crystalline atomic
monolayer of lead with a gap of 0.23 meV. Using in situ scanning tunneling
spectroscopy we probe the local density of states of this hybrid system both in
space and in energy, at temperatures below and above the critical temperature
of the superconducting monolayer. Direct and inverse proximity effects are
revealed with high resolution. Our observations are precisely explained with
the help of a self-consistent solution of the Usadel equations. In particular,
our results demonstrate that in the vicinity of the Pb islands, the Pb
monolayer locally develops a finite proximity-induced superconducting order
parameter, well above its own bulk critical temperature. This leads to a giant
proximity effect where the superconducting correlations penetrate inside the
monolayer a distance much larger than in a non-superconducting metal.


title:
No-flux boundaries stabilize scroll rings in excitable media with
  negative filament tension

abstract:
  Scroll rings in an unbounded excitable medium with negative line tension
undergo an instability ending eventually in a "turbulent" state, known as
scroll wave (Winfree) turbulence. In this paper we demonstrate by numerical
simulations based upon the Oregonator model for the photosensitive
Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction (PBZR) that the Winfree turbulence is suppressed
by the interaction of the scroll ring with a confining Neumann boundary.
Instead of the Winfree turbulence a stable scroll ring forms due to the
boundary interaction. Furthermore, we will discuss the conditions under which
boundary-stabilized scroll rings could be observed in the PBZR, taking into
account a light-induced excitability gradient in parallel to the scroll ring's
symmetry axis.


title:
Novel Integrated Approach of Software Development and Design Pattern
  with X-CM

abstract:
  Expert evaluation in software life cycle is playing a vital role. In this
paper, we have discussed about the formal framework for selecting the best
model with some enhanced features. In our work we have introduced a novel
algorithm X Chain Model X-CM. Here XCM overcomes the limitation of Vmodel. In
XCM, we have concentrated on hierarchy of multiple independent sub-projects in
project development phase. XCM merges through the subprojects binding them at
their Integration Testing Phases. Hence combining binary modules at each stage
into a new module through chains of X till the final level in the hierarchy is
implemented. X-CM results in reducing the time and effort for software
developer. In addition to this, X-CM also rules out the dependency errors
between the modules at each stage of combination. Here we have tested our
proposed X-CM with Unit Testing and Integrating test. Finally, we proved that
X-CM Model works better than Spiral, Prototype and V-Model.


title:
Leptonic mixing angle $\theta_{13}$ and ruling out of minimal texture
  for Dirac neutrinos

abstract:
  Implications of recently measured leptonic mixing angle $\theta_{13}$ as well
as the other two mixing angles have been examined for Fritzsch-like mass
matrices with minimal texture for Dirac neutrinos. Interestingly, the existing
data seems to rule out this texture specific case of Dirac neutrinos for
normal, inverted hierarchy as well as degenerate scenario of masses.


title:
Oscillatory Shannon Entropy in the Process of Equilibration of
  Nonequilibrium Systems

abstract:
  We present a study of the equilibration process of nonequilibrium systems by
means of molecular dynamics simulation technique. The nonequilibrium conditions
are achieved in systems by defining velocity components of the constituent
atoms randomly. The calculated Shannon en- tropy from the probability
distribution of the kinetic energy among the atoms at different instants during
the process of equilibration shows oscillation as the system relaxes towards
equilibrium. Fourier transformations of these oscillating Shannon entropies
reveal the existance of Debye frequency of the concerned system. From these
studies it was concluded that the signature of the equilibration process of
dynamical systems is the time invariance of Shannon entropy.


title: Refurbished GOLDMine

abstract:
  We present the refurbished GOLDMine galaxy site (http://goldmine.mib.infn.it)
superseding the one operating since 2002 (Gavazzi et al. 2003). Data for 9704
galaxies selected with r<17.7 mag from the SDSS, belonging to the Cancer
cluster, Local supercluster, Coma supercluster, Hercules, A2197 and A2199
clusters are included.


title:
Centrality and rapidity dependence of inclusive pion and prompt photon
  production in p+Pb collisions at the LHC with EPS09s nPDFs

abstract:
  The centrality dependencies of the inclusive neutral pion and prompt photon
nuclear modification factors for p+Pb collisions at the LHC are studied using a
spatially dependent set of nuclear PDFs, EPS09s. The calculations are performed
at mid- and forward rapidities searching for an observable which would
optimally probe the spatial dependence of the nuclear PDFs. In addition, we
discuss to which $x$ values of the nucleus the different observables are
sensitive.


title: MOMENT: a muon-decay medium-baseline neutrino beam facility

abstract:
  Neutrino beam with about 300 MeV in energy, high-flux and medium baseline is
considered a rational choice for measuring CP violation before the more
powerful Neutrino Factory will be built. Following this concept, a unique
neutrino beam facility based on muon-decayed neutrinos is proposed. The
facility adopts a continuous-wave proton linac of 1.5 GeV and 10 mA as the
proton driver, which can deliver an extremely high beam power of 15 MW. Instead
of pion-decayed neutrinos, unprecedentedly intense muon-decayed neutrinos are
used for better background discrimination. The schematic design for the
facility is presented here, including the proton driver, the assembly of a
mercury-jet target and capture superconducting solenoids, a pion/muon beam
transport line, a long muon decay channel of about 600 m and the detector
concept. The physics prospects and the technical challenges are also discussed.


title:
Extrinsic Methods for Coding and Dictionary Learning on Grassmann
  Manifolds

abstract:
  Sparsity-based representations have recently led to notable results in
various visual recognition tasks. In a separate line of research, Riemannian
manifolds have been shown useful for dealing with features and models that do
not lie in Euclidean spaces. With the aim of building a bridge between the two
realms, we address the problem of sparse coding and dictionary learning over
the space of linear subspaces, which form Riemannian structures known as
Grassmann manifolds. To this end, we propose to embed Grassmann manifolds into
the space of symmetric matrices by an isometric mapping. This in turn enables
us to extend two sparse coding schemes to Grassmann manifolds. Furthermore, we
propose closed-form solutions for learning a Grassmann dictionary, atom by
atom. Lastly, to handle non-linearity in data, we extend the proposed Grassmann
sparse coding and dictionary learning algorithms through embedding into Hilbert
spaces.
  Experiments on several classification tasks (gender recognition, gesture
classification, scene analysis, face recognition, action recognition and
dynamic texture classification) show that the proposed approaches achieve
considerable improvements in discrimination accuracy, in comparison to
state-of-the-art methods such as kernelized Affine Hull Method and
graph-embedding Grassmann discriminant analysis.


title: Computational advantage from quantum-controlled ordering of gates

abstract:
  It is usually assumed that a quantum computation is performed by applying
gates in a specific order. One can relax this assumption by allowing a control
quantum system to switch the order in which the gates are applied. This
provides a more general kind of quantum computing, that allows transformations
on blackbox quantum gates that are impossible in a circuit with fixed order.
Here we show that this model of quantum computing is physically realizable, by
proposing an interferometric setup that can implement such a quantum control of
the order between the gates. We show that this new resource provides a
reduction in computational complexity: we propose a problem that can be solved
using $O(n)$ blackbox queries, whereas the best known quantum algorithm with
fixed order between the gates requires $O(n^2)$ queries. Furthermore, we
conjecture that solving this problem in a classical computer takes exponential
time, which may be of independent interest.


title: Implementing quantum control for unknown subroutines

abstract:
  We present setups for the practical realization of adding control to unknown
subroutines, supplementing the existing quantum optical scheme for black-box
control with a counterpart for the quantum control of the ordering of sequences
of operations. We also provide schemes to realize either task using trapped
ions. These practical circumventions of recent no-go theorems are based on
existing technologies. We argue that the possibility to add control to unknown
operations in practice is a common feature of many physical systems. Based on
the proposed implementations we discuss the apparent contradictions between
theory and practice.


title:
The Partition Function of the Dirichlet Operator
  $\mathcal{D}_{2s}=\sum_{i=1}^{d}(-\partial_i^2)^{s}$ on a d-Dimensional
  Rectangle Cavity

abstract:
  In this letter we study the asymptotic behavior of the free partition
function in the $t\rightarrow 0^+$ limit for a stochastic process which
consists of $d-$independent, one-dimensional, symmetric, $2s-$stable processes
in a hyperrectangular cavity $K \subset \mathbb {R}^d$ with an absorbing
boundary. Each term of the partition function for this polyhedron in
d-dimensions can be represented by a quermassintegral and the geometrical
information inherited by the eigenvalues for this solvable model is complete.
We also demonstrate the correctness of our result by applying the method of
images in one dimension.


title: Kinetics of the Multiferroic Switching in MnWO$_4$

abstract:
  The time dependence of switching multiferroic domains in MnWO$_4$ has been
studied by time-resolved polarized neutron diffraction. Inverting an external
electric field inverts the chiral magnetic component within rise times ranging
between a few and some tens of milliseconds in perfect agreement with
macroscopic techniques. There is no evidence for any faster process in the
inversion of the chiral magnetic structure. The time dependence is well
described by a temperature-dependent rise time suggesting a well-defined
process of domain reversion. As expected, the rise times decrease when heating
towards the upper boundary of the ferroelectric phase. However, switching also
becomes faster upon cooling towards the lower boundary, which is associated
with a first-order phase transition.


title:
Failure Detection and Recovery in Hierarchical Network Using FTN
  Approach

abstract:
  In current scenario several commercial and social organizations are using
computer networks for their business and management purposes. In order to meet
the business requirements networks are also grow. The growth of network also
promotes the handling capability of large networks because it counter raises
the possibilities of various faults in the network. A fault in network degrades
its performance by affecting parameters like throughput, delay, latency,
reliability etc. In hierarchical network models any possibility of fault may
collapse entire network. If a fault occurrence disables a device in
hierarchical network then it may distresses all the devices underneath. Thus it
affects entire networks performance. In this paper we propose Fault Tolerable
hierarchical Network (FTN) approach as a solution to the problems of
hierarchical networks. The proposed approach firstly detects possibilities of
fault in the network and accordingly provides specific recovery mechanism. We
have evaluated the performance of FTN approach in terms of delay and throughput
of network.


title:
Heterogeneous Speed Profiles in Discrete Models for Pedestrian
  Simulation

abstract:
  Discrete pedestrian simulation models are viable alternatives to particle
based approaches based on a continuous spatial representation. The effects of
discretisation, however, also imply some difficulties in modelling certain
phenomena that can be observed in reality. This paper focuses on the
possibility to manage heterogeneity in the walking speed of the simulated
population of pedestrians by modifying an existing multi-agent model extending
the floor field approach. Whereas some discrete models allow pedestrians (or
cars, when applied to traffic modelling) to move more than a single cell per
time step, the present work proposes a maximum speed of one cell per step, but
we model lower speeds by having pedestrians yielding their movement in some
turns. Different classes of pedestrians are associated to different desired
walking speeds and we define a stochastic mechanism ensuring that they maintain
an average speed close to this threshold. In the paper we formally describe the
model and we show the results of its application in benchmark scenarios.
Finally, we also show how this approach can also support the definition of
slopes and stairs as elements reducing the walking speed of pedestrians
climbing them in a simulated scenario.


title: Solid phase properties and crystallization in simple model systems

abstract:
  We review theoretical and simulational approaches to the description of
equilibrium bulk crystal and interface properties as well as to the
nonequilibrium processes of homogeneous and heterogeneous crystal nucleation
for the simple model systems of hard spheres and Lennard-Jones particles. For
the equilibrium properties of bulk and interfaces, density functional theories
employing fundamental measure functionals prove to be a precise and versatile
tool, as exemplified with a closer analysis of the hard sphere crystalliquid
interface. A detailed understanding of the dynamic process of nucleation in
these model systems nevertheless still relies on simulational approaches. We
review bulk nucleation and nucleation at structured walls and examine in closer
detail the influence of walls with variable strength on nucleation in the
Lennard-Jones fluid. We find that a planar crystalline substrate induces the
growth of a crystalline film for a large range of lattice spacings and
interaction potentials. Only a strongly incommensurate substrate and a very
weakly attractive substrate potential lead to crystal growth with a non-zero
contact angle.


title:
The precise shape of the eigenvalue intensity for a class of
  non-selfadjoint operators under random perturbations

abstract:
  We consider a non-selfadjoint $h$-differential model operator $P_h$ in the
semiclassical limit ($h\rightarrow 0$) subject to small random perturbations.
Furthermore, we let the coupling constant $\delta$ be
$\exp\{-\frac{1}{Ch}\}\leq \delta \ll h^{\kappa}$ for constants $C,\kappa>0$
suitably large. Let $\Sigma$ be the closure of the range of the principal
symbol. Previous results on the same model by Hager, Bordeaux-Montrieux and
Sj\"ostrand show that if $\delta \gg\exp\{-\frac{1}{Ch}\}$ there is, with a
probability close to $1$, a Weyl law for the eigenvalues in the interior of the
of the pseudospectrum up to a distance $\gg\left(-h\ln{\delta
h}\right)^{\frac{2}{3}}$ to the boundary of $\Sigma$. We study the intensity
measure of the random point process of eigenvalues and prove an $h$-asymptotic
formula for the average density of eigenvalues. With this we show that there
are three distinct regions of different spectral behavior in $\Sigma$: The
interior of the of the pseudospectrum is solely governed by a Weyl law, close
to its boundary there is a strong spectral accumulation given by a tunneling
effect followed by a region where the density decays rapidly.


title: Competitive learning of monotone Boolean functions

abstract:
  We apply competitive analysis onto the problem of minimizing the number of
queries to an oracle to completely reconstruct a given monotone Boolean
function. Besides lower and upper bounds on the competitivity we determine
optimal deterministic online algorithms for the smallest problem instances.


title: ICT technologies for the refurbishment of wooden structure buildings

abstract:
  Nowadays, one would think that after years of massive concrete and steel
construction in Spain, there are not many wood structure buildings left to be
refurbished except for some palaces or cathedrals. However, if we go for a walk
and have a look at the old part of any city, we will realize that still most of
the buildings have a wood structure. In spite of the fact that the majority of
urban regulations forbid their demolition, other bad practices such as casting
and overloading the wood structure are very common. Considering that we want to
reach a standard of sustainable construction, the economical and environmental
costs, which are implied by the deficient refurbishment makes it well worth a
previous study of the structure, which in most cases represents less than a 1%
of the total budget. The main goal of this paper is to present most relevant
parts of the whole process of diagnosis of a wood structure building by means
of Non-Destructive Testing Techniques. Among the ones to be considered, we
could mention the analysis of the building and its surroundings, on-site
inspection of the building, structural diagnosis, definition of the corrective
actions to be taken, definition of treatments, quality control and a
maintenance plan. For the on-site inspection of the building, in the paper we
will highlight the use of Non-Destructive methods such as resistograph
drilling, X-ray imaging, ultrasound-based testing or moisture measurement. We
will provide practical examples of all this. The aim of this paper is to give
the audience an overall idea on how a pre-assessment work can enhance the
refurbishment of a wood structure building while reducing costs and
environmental impact.


title: Stratification-induced scale splitting in convection

abstract:
  The coexistence of motions on various scales is a remarkable feature of solar
convection, which should be taken into account in analyses of the dynamics of
magnetic fields. Therefore, it is important to investigate the factors
responsible for the observed multiscale structure of solar convection. In this
study, an attempt is made to understand how the scales of convective motions
are affected by the particularities of the static temperature stratification of
a fluid layer. To this end, simple models are considered. The equations of
two-dimensional thermal convection are solved numerically for a plane
horizontal fluid layer heated from below, in an extended Boussinesq
approximation that admits thermal-diffusivity variations. These variations
specify the stratification of the layer. The static temperature gradient in a
thin sublayer near the upper surface of the layer is assumed to be many times
larger than in the remainder of the layer. In some cases, distributed heat
sinks are assumed to produce a stably stratified region overlying the
convective layer. Manifestations of the scale-splitting effect are noted, which
depend on the boundary conditions and stratification; {it becomes more
pronounced with the increase of the Rayleigh number.} Small-scale convection
cells are advected by larger-scale flows. In particular, the phase trajectories
of fluid particles indicate the presence of complex attractors, which reflect
the multiscale structure of the flow. The effect of the stably stratified upper
sublayer on the flow scales is also considered.


title: Small Extended Formulations for Cyclic Polytopes

abstract:
  We provide an extended formulation of size O(log n)^{\lfloor d/2 \rfloor} for
the cyclic polytope with dimension d and n vertices (i,i^2,\ldots,i^d), i in
[n]. First, we find an extended formulation of size log(n) for d= 2. Then, we
use this as base case to construct small-rank nonnegative factorizations of the
slack matrices of higher-dimensional cyclic polytopes, by iterated tensor
products. Through Yannakakis's factorization theorem, these factorizations
yield small-size extended formulations for cyclic polytopes of dimension d>2.


title: Noncommuting Momenta of Topological Solitons

abstract:
  We show that momentum operators of a topological soliton may not commute
among themselves when the soliton is associated with the second cohomology
$H^2$ of the target space. The commutation relation is proportional to the
winding number, taking a constant value within each topological sector. The
noncommutativity makes it impossible to specify the momentum of a topological
soliton, and induces a Magnus force.

categories: hep-th cond-mat.other cond-mat.quant-gas hep-ph


title:
Understanding nonlinear saturation in zonal-flow-dominated ion
  temperature gradient turbulence

abstract:
  We propose a quantitative model of ion temperature gradient driven turbulence
in toroidal magnetized plasmas. In this model, the turbulence is regulated by
zonal flows, i.e. mode saturation occurs by a zonal-flow-mediated energy
cascade ("shearing"), and zonal flow amplitude is controlled by nonlinear
decay. Our model is tested in detail against numerical simulations to confirm
that both its assumptions and predictions are satisfied. Key results include
(1) a sensitivity of the nonlinear zonal flow response to the energy content of
the linear instability, (2) a persistence of zonal-flow-regulated saturation at
high temperature gradients, (3) a physical explanation of the nonlinear
saturation process in terms of secondary and tertiary instabilities, and (4)
dependence of heat flux in terms of dimensionless parameters.


title: The van der Waals interaction in one, two and three dimensions

abstract:
  The van der Waals interaction between two polarizable atoms is considered. In
three dimensions the standard form with an attractive $1/|R|^6$ potential is
obtained from second-order quantum perturbation theory. When the electron
motion is restricted to lower dimensions (but the $1/|R|$ Coulomb potential is
retained), new terms in the expansion appear and alter both the sign and the
$|R|$ dependence of the interaction.


title: The Integrated Size and Price Optimization Problem

abstract:
  We present the Integrated Size and Price Optimization Problem (ISPO) for a
fashion discounter with many branches. Based on a two-stage stochastic
programming model with recourse, we develop an exact algorithm and a
production-compliant heuristic that produces small optimality gaps. In a field
study we show that a distribution of supply over branches and sizes based on
ISPO solutions is significantly better than a one-stage optimization of the
distribution ignoring the possibility of optimal pricing.


title:
XMM-Newton observation of the Galactic supernova remnant W51C
  (G49.1-0.1)

abstract:
  The supernova remnant (SNR) W51C is a Galactic object located in a strongly
inhomogeneous interstellar medium with signs of an interaction of the SNR blast
wave with dense molecular gas. Diffuse X-ray emission from the interior of the
SNR can reveal element abundances in the different emission regions and shed
light on the type of supernova (SN) explosion and its progenitor. The hard
X-ray emission helps to identify possible candidates for a pulsar formed in the
SN explosion and for its pulsar wind nebula (PWN). We have analysed X-ray data
obtained with XMM-Newton. Spectral analyses in selected regions were performed.
Ejecta emission in the bright western part of the SNR, located next to a
complex of dense molecular gas, was confirmed. The Ne and Mg abundances suggest
a massive progenitor with a mass of > 20 M_sun. Two extended regions emitting
hard X-rays were identified (corresponding to the known sources [KLS2002] HX3
west and CXO J192318.5+140305 discovered with ASCA and Chandra, respectively),
each of which has an additional point source inside and shows a power-law
spectrum with Gamma ~ 1.8. Based on their X-ray emission, both sources can be
classified as PWN candidates.


title: Cooperative Product Games

abstract:
  I introduce cooperative product games (CPGs), a cooperative game where every
player has a weight, and the value of a coalition is the product of the weights
of the players in the coalition. I only look at games where the weights are at
least $2$.
  I show that no player in such a game can be a dummy. I show that the game is
convex, and therefore always has a non-empty core. I provide a simple method
for finding a payoff vector in the core.


title: A global cloud map of the nearest known brown dwarf

abstract:
  Brown dwarfs -- substellar bodies more massive than planets but not massive
enough to initiate the sustained hydrogen fusion that powers self-luminous
stars -- are born hot and slowly cool as they age. As they cool below about
2,300 K, liquid or crystalline particles composed of calcium aluminates,
silicates and iron condense into atmospheric 'dust', which disappears at still
cooler temperatures (around 1,300 K). Models to explain this dust dispersal
include both an abrupt sinking of the entire cloud deck into the deep, unob-
servable atmosphere and breakup of the cloud into scattered patches (as seen on
Jupiter and Saturn). Thus far, observations of brown dwarfs have been limited
to globally integrated measurements, which can reveal surface inhomogeneities
but cannot unambiguously resolve surface features. Here we report a
two-dimensional map of a brown dwarf's surface that allows identification of
large-scale bright and dark features, indicative of patchy clouds.


title:
Gauge Symmetry, Spontaneous Breaking of Gauge Symmetry: Philosophical
  Approach

abstract:
  This paper deals with the Berry phase, and the ontology of the
electromagnetic vector potential. When the state of the system is gauge
symmetric, the vector potential may be interpreted as a convenient tool of a
mathematical formulation, with no ontological meaning.
  I argue that this interpretation is in difficulty because the vector
potential depends linearly on the supercurrent in the superfluid state, which
is a spontaneously broken gauge symmetry state, where particle number is not
conserved. I suggest that when gauge symmetry is spontaneously broken, the
vector potential becomes an emergent material object of nature. The revised
version includes sections on scientific realism, and emergence, and new
references on Noether's theorem, among others.


title:
Formulation of the twisted-light--matter interaction at the phase
  singularity: the twisted-light gauge

abstract:
  Twisted light is light carrying orbital angular momentum. The profile of such
a beam is a ring-like structure with a node at the beam axis, where a phase
singularity exits. Due to the strong spatial inhomogeneity the mathematical
description of twisted-light--matter interaction is non-trivial, in particular
close to the phase singularity, where the commonly used dipole-moment
approximation cannot be applied. In this paper we show that, if the
polarization and the orbital angular momentum of the twisted-light beam have
the same sign, a Hamiltonian similar to the dipole-moment approximation can be
derived. However, if the signs of polarization and orbital angular momentum
differ, in general the magnetic parts of the light beam become of significant
importance and an interaction Hamiltonian which only accounts for electric
fields, as in the dipole-moment approximation, is inappropriate. We discuss the
consequences of these findings for twisted-light excitation of a semiconductor
nanostructures, e.g., a quantum dot, placed at the phase singularity.


title:
First-principles calculation of the instability leading to giant inverse
  magnetocaloric efects

abstract:
  The structural and magnetic properties of functional Ni-Mn-Z (Z = Ga, In, Sn)
Heusler alloys are studied by first-principles and Monte Carlo methods. The
\textit{ab initio} calculations give a basic understanding of the underlying
physics which is associated with the strong competition of ferro- and
antiferromagnetic interactions with increasing chemical disorder. The resulting
$d$-electron orbital dependent magnetic ordering is the driving mechanism of
magnetostructural instability which is accompanied by a drop of magnetization
governing the size of the magnetocaloric effect. The thermodynamic properties
are calculated by using the \textit{ab initio} magnetic exchange coupling
constants in finite-temperature Monte Carlo simulations, which are used to
accurately reproduce the experimental entropy and adiabatic temperature changes
across the magnetostructural transition.


title: Geodesics and Jacobi fields of pseudo-Finsler manifolds

abstract:
  In this paper, we derive the first and the second variation of the energy
functional for a pseudo-Finsler metric using the family of affine connections
associated to the Chern connection. This opens the possibility to accomplish
computations with coordinate-free methods. Using the second variation formula,
we introduce the index form and present some properties of Jacobi fields.


title: Atomic decompositions for operators in reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces

abstract:
  In this paper, we give some results concerning atomic decompositions for
operators on reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces, using frame theory techniques.
We provide also generalizations for atomic decompositions of some theorems for
reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces. In particular, we obtain atomic
decomposition results for operators on Bergman spaces and Fock spaces in a
simple manner.


title: Group Activity Selection Problem

abstract:
  We consider a setting where one has to organize one or several group
activities for a set of agents. Each agent will participate in at most one
activity, and her preferences over activities depend on the number of
participants in the activity. The goal is to assign agents to activities based
on their preferences. We put forward a general model for this setting, which is
a natural generalization of anonymous hedonic games. We then focus on a special
case of our model, where agents' preferences are binary, i.e., each agent
classifies all pairs of the form "(activity, group size)" into ones that are
acceptable and ones that are not. We formulate several solution concepts for
this scenario, and study them from the computational point of view, providing
hardness results for the general case as well as efficient algorithms for
settings where agents' preferences satisfy certain natural constraints.


title:
Distributed Area Coverage by Connected Set Cover Partitioning in
  Wireless Sensor Networks

abstract:
  Assuming a random uniform distribution of n sensor nodes over a virtual grid,
this paper addresses the problem of finding the maximum number of connected set
covers each ensuring 100% coverage of the query region. The connected sets
remain active one after another in a round robin fashion such that if there are
P such set covers, it can enhance the network lifetime P-fold. From
graph-theoretic point of view, a centralized O(n3) heuristic is proposed here
to maximize P. Next, for large self-organized sensor networks, a distributed
algorithm is developed. The proposed algorithm is to be executed just once,
during the initialization of the network. In case of failure, a distributed
recovery algorithm is executed to rearrange the partitions. Simulation studies
show that the performance of the proposed distributed algorithm is comparable
with that of the centralized algorithm in terms of number of partitions. Also,
comparison with earlier works shows significant improvement in terms of number
of partitions, message complexity and network lifetime.


title: Pattern-Equivariant Homology

abstract:
  Pattern-equivariant (PE) cohomology is a well-established tool with which to
interpret the \v{C}ech cohomology groups of a tiling space in a highly
geometric way. In this paper we consider homology groups of PE infinite chains.
We establish Poincar\'{e} duality between the PE cohomology and PE homology.
The Penrose kite and dart tilings are taken as our central running example, we
show how through this formalism one may give highly approachable geometric
descriptions of the generators of the \v{C}ech cohomology of their tiling
space. These invariants are also considered in the context of rotational
symmetry. Poincar\'{e} duality fails over integer coefficients for the `ePE
homology groups' based upon chains which are PE with respect to
orientation-preserving Euclidean motions between patches. As a result we
construct a new invariant, which is of relevance to the cohomology of
rotational tiling spaces. We present an efficient method of computation of the
PE and ePE (co)homology groups for hierarchical tilings.


title:
Universal continuous bilinear forms for compactly supported sections of
  Lie algebra bundles and universal continuous extensions of certain current
  algebras

abstract:
  We construct a universal continuous invariant bilinear form for the Lie
algebra of compactly supported sections of a Lie algebra bundle in a
topological sense. Moreover we construct a universal continuous central
extension of a current algebra that is the tensor product of a
finite-dimensional Lie algebra g and a certain topological algebra A. In
particular taking A as the compactly supported smooth functions on a
sigma-compact manifold M, we obtain a more detailed justification for a recent
result of Janssens and Wockel concerning a universal extension for the Lie
algebra of compactly supported g-valued smooth functions on M.


title: The CMS Particle Flow Algorithm

abstract:
  A particle flow event-reconstruction algorithm has been successfully deployed
in the CMS experiment and is nowadays used by most of the analyses. It aims at
identifying and reconstructing individually each particle arising from the LHC
proton-proton collision, by combining the information from all the
subdetectors. The resulting particle-flow event reconstruction leads to an
improved performance for the reconstruction of jets and MET, and for the
identification of electrons, muons, and taus. The algorithm and its performance
will be described. The commissioning phase, during which it was demonstrated
that the algorithm was performing as expected from the simulation up to a high
level of precision, will be presented. Finally, a selection of recent
improvements in the CMS analyses obtained thanks to the particle-flow algorithm
will be discussed.


title:
Theoretical analysis of a dual-probe scanning tunneling microscope setup
  on graphene

abstract:
  Experimental advances allow for the inclusion of multiple probes to measure
the transport properties of a sample surface. We develop a theory of dual-probe
scanning tunnelling microscopy using a Green's Function formalism, and apply it
to graphene. Sampling the local conduction properties at finite length scales
yields real space conductance maps which show anisotropy for pristine graphene
systems and quantum interference effects in the presence of isolated
impurities. The spectral signatures of the Fourier transform of real space
conductance maps include characteristics that can be related to different
scattering processes. We compute the conductance maps of graphene systems with
different edge geometries or height fluctuations to determine the effects of
non-ideal graphene samples on dual-probe measurements.


title: Symmetries of Hamiltonian systems on symplectic and Poisson manifolds

abstract:
  This text presents some basic notions in symplectic geometry, Poisson
geometry, Hamiltonian systems, Lie algebras and Lie groups actions on
symplectic or Poisson manifolds, momentum maps and their use for the reduction
of Hamiltonian systems. It should be accessible to readers with a general
knowledge of basic notions in differential geometry. Full proofs of many
results are provided. The Marsden-Weinstein reduction procedure and the
Euler-Poincar\'e equation are discussed. Symplectic cocycles involved when a
momentum map is equivariant with respect to an affine action whose linear part
is the coadjoint action are presented. The Hamiltonian actions of a Lie group
on its cotangent bundle obtained by lifting the actions of the group on itself
by translations on the left and on the right are fully discussed. We prove that
there exists a two-parameter family of deformations of these actions into a
pair of mutually symplectically orthogonal Hamiltonian actions whose momentum
maps are equivariant with respect to an affine action involving any given Lie
group symplectic cocycle. In the last section three classical examples are
considered: the spherical pendulum, the motion of a rigid body around a fixed
point and the Kepler problem. For each example the Euler-Poincar\'e equation is
derived, the first integrals linked to symmetries are given. In this Section,
the classical concepts of vector calculus on an Euclidean three-dimensional
vector space (scalar, vector and mixed products) are used and their
interpretation in terms of concepts such as the adjoint or coadjoint action of
the group of rotations are explained.