title:
Triply-resonant micro-optical parametric oscillators based on Kerr
  nonlinearity: nonlinear loss, unequal resonance-port couplings, and
  coupled-cavity implementations

abstract:
  We develop a theoretical model of triply-resonant optical parametric
oscillators (OPOs) based on degenerate four-wave mixing (FWM) that includes
physics and degrees of freedom relevant to microphotonic (on-chip) device
implementations, including nonlinear loss, a general resonant mode field
structure, and mode-selective coupling to external ports. The coupled mode
theory model addresses the effect of two-photon absorption and free-carrier
absorption on parametric gain and oscillation thresholds, and ultimately on the
optimum design for an OPO. The model goes beyond a typical free-space cavity
configuration by incorporating a full modal analysis that admits distributed
modes with non-uniform field distribution, relevant to photonic microcavity
systems on chip. This leads to a generalization of the concept of nonlinear
figure of merit (NFOM) to a vector of coefficients. In addition, by considering
unconstrained signal, pump and idler resonance coupling strengths to excitation
ports, not usually available in simple cavity geometry, we show that the
efficiency-maximizing design will have unequal external Q for the three
resonances. We arrive at generalized formulas for OPO oscillation threshold
that include nonlinear absorption and free carrier lifetime, and provide a
normalized solution to the design problem in the presence of nonlinear loss in
terms of optimum choice of coupling. Based on the results, we suggest a family
of coupled-cavity systems to implement optimum FWM, where control of resonant
wavelengths can be separated from optimizing nonlinear conversion efficiency,
and where furthermore pump, signal, and idler coupling to bus waveguides can be
controlled independently, using interferometric cavity supermode coupling as an
example. Using the generalized NFOM, we address the efficiency of single and
multi-cavity geometry, as well as standing and traveling wave excitation.


title:
Three independent one-dimensional margins for single-fraction frameless
  stereotactic radiosurgery brain cases using CBCT

abstract:
  Setting a proper margin is crucial for not only delivering the required
radiation dose to a target volume, but also reducing the unnecessary radiation
to the adjacent organs at risk. This study investigated the independent
one-dimensional symmetric and asymmetric margins between the clinical target
volume (CTV) and the planning target volume (PTV) for linac-based
single-fraction frameless stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS).


title: Toda lattice hierarchy and Goldstein-Petrich flows for plane curves

abstract:
  A relation between the Goldstein-Petrich hierarchy for plane curves and the
Toda lattice hierarchy is investigated. A representation formula for plane
curves is given in terms of a special class of $\tau$-functions of the Toda
lattice hierarchy. A representation formula for discretized plane curves is
also discussed.


title:
Compound kernel estimates for the transition probability density of a
  L\'evy process in $\rn$

abstract:
  We construct in the small-time setting the upper and lower estimates for the
transition probability density of a L\'evy process in $\rn$. Our approach
relies on the complex analysis technique and the asymptotic analysis of the
inverse Fourier transform of the characteristic function of the respective
process.


title: Concentration of small Willmore spheres in Riemannian 3-manifolds

abstract:
  Given a 3-dimensional Riemannian manifold $(M,g)$, we prove that if
$(\Phi_k)$ is a sequence of Willmore spheres (or more generally
area-constrained Willmore spheres), having Willmore energy bounded above
uniformly strictly by $8 \pi$, and Hausdorff converging to a point $\bar{p}\in
M$, then $Scal(\bar{p})=0$ and $\nabla Scal(\bar{p})=0$ (resp. $\nabla
Scal(\bar{p})=0$). Moreover, a suitably rescaled sequence smoothly converges,
up to subsequences and reparametrizations, to a round sphere in the euclidean
3-dimensional space. This generalizes previous results of Lamm and Metzger
contained in \cite{LM1}-\cite{LM2}. An application to the Hawking mass is also
established.


title:
Cellular network entropy as the energy potential in Waddington's
  differentiation landscape

abstract:
  Differentiation is a key cellular process in normal tissue development that
is significantly altered in cancer. Although molecular signatures
characterising pluripotency and multipotency exist, there is, as yet, no single
quantitative mark of a cellular sample's position in the global differentiation
hierarchy. Here we adopt a systems view and consider the sample's network
entropy, a measure of signaling pathway promiscuity, computable from a sample's
genome-wide expression profile. We demonstrate that network entropy provides a
quantitative, in-silico, readout of the average undifferentiated state of the
profiled cells, recapitulating the known hierarchy of pluripotent, multipotent
and differentiated cell types. Network entropy further exhibits dynamic changes
in time course differentiation data, and in line with a sample's
differentiation stage. In disease, network entropy predicts a higher level of
cellular plasticity in cancer stem cell populations compared to ordinary cancer
cells. Importantly, network entropy also allows identification of key
differentiation pathways. Our results are consistent with the view that
pluripotency is a statistical property defined at the cellular population
level, correlating with intra-sample heterogeneity, and driven by the degree of
signaling promiscuity in cells. In summary, network entropy provides a
quantitative measure of a cell's undifferentiated state, defining its elevation
in Waddington's landscape.


title:
The reduction of Laplace equation in certain Riemannian spaces and the
  resulting Type II hidden symmetries

abstract:
  We prove a general theorem which allows the determination of Lie symmetries
of Laplace equation in a general Riemannian space using the conformal group of
the space. Algebraic computing is not necessary. We apply the theorem in the
study of the reduction of Laplace equation in certain classes of Riemannian
spaces which admit a gradient Killing vector, a gradient Homothetic vector and
a special Conformal Killing vector. In each reduction we identify the source of
Type II hidden symmetries. We find that in general the Type II hidden
symmetries of Laplace equation are directly related to the transition of the
CKVs from the space where the original equation is defined to the space where
the reduced equation resides. In particular we consider the reduction of
Laplace equation (i.e. the wave equation) in Minkowski space and obtain the
results of all previous studies in a straightforward manner. We consider the
reduction of Laplace equation in spaces which admit Lie point symmetries
generated from a non gradient HV and a proper CKV and we show that the
reduction with these vectors does not produce Type II hidden symmetries. We
apply the results to General Relativity and consider the reduction of Laplace
equation in locally rotational symmetric space times (LRS) and in algebraically
special vacuum solutions of Einstein's equations which admit a homothetic
algebra acting simply transitively. In each case we determine the Type II
hidden symmetries.


title: Generalized wreath products of graphs and groups

abstract:
  Inspired by the definition of generalized wreath product of permutation
groups, we define the generalized wreath product of graphs, containing the
classical Cartesian and wreath product of graphs as particular cases. We prove
that the generalized wreath product of Cayley graphs of finite groups is the
Cayley graph of the generalized wreath product of the corresponding groups.


title:
Spatiotemporal Binary Interaction and Designer quasi particle
  condensates

abstract:
  We introduce a new integrable model to investigate the dynamics of two
component quasi particle condensates with spatio temporal interaction
strengths. We derive the associated Lax-pair of the coupled GP equation and
construct matter wave solitons. We show that the spatio temporal binary
interaction strengths not only facilitate the stabilization of the condensates,
but also enables one to fabricate condensates with desirable densities,
geometries and properties leading to the so called "designer quasi particle
condensates".


title:
QCDGPU: open-source package for Monte Carlo lattice simulations on
  OpenCL-compatible multi-GPU systems

abstract:
  The multi-GPU open-source package QCDGPU for lattice Monte Carlo simulations
of pure SU(N) gluodynamics in external magnetic field at finite temperature and
O(N) model is developed. The code is implemented in OpenCL, tested on AMD and
NVIDIA GPUs, AMD and Intel CPUs and may run on other OpenCL-compatible devices.
The package contains minimal external library dependencies and is OS
platform-independent. It is optimized for heterogeneous computing due to the
possibility of dividing the lattice into non-equivalent parts to hide the
difference in performances of the devices used. QCDGPU has client-server part
for distributed simulations. The package is designed to produce lattice gauge
configurations as well as to analyze previously generated ones. QCDGPU may be
executed in fault-tolerant mode. Monte Carlo procedure core is based on PRNGCL
library for pseudo-random numbers generation on OpenCL-compatible devices,
which contains several most popular pseudo-random number generators.


title: Elliptic Curves over Real Quadratic Fields are Modular

abstract:
  We prove that all elliptic curves defined over real quadratic fields are
modular.


title:
Resonant waves in elastic structured media: dynamic homogenisation
  versus Green's functions

abstract:
  We address an important issue of a dynamic homogenisation in vector
elasticity for a doubly periodic mass-spring elastic lattice. The notion of
logarithmically growing resonant waves is used in a complete analysis of
star-shaped wave forms induced by an oscillating point force. We note that the
dispersion surfaces for Floquet-Bloch waves in an elastic lattice main contain
critical points of the saddle type. Based on the local quadratic approximations
of the frequency, as a function of wave vector components, we deduce properties
of a transient asymptotic solution as the contribution of the point source to
the wave form. In this way, we describe local Green's functions as localized
wave forms corresponding to the resonant frequency. The peculiarity of the
problem lies in the fact that, at the same resonant frequency, the Taylor
quadratic approximations for different groups of the resonant points are
different, and hence we deal with different local Green's functions. Thus,
there is no uniformly defined homogenisation procedure for a given resonant
frequency. Instead, the continuous approximation of the wave field can be
obtained through the asymptotic analysis of the lattice Green's functions.


title:
Addition Chains Meet Postage Stamps: Reducing the Number of
  Multiplications

abstract:
  We introduce stamp chains. A stamp chain is a finite integer sequence that is
both an addition chain and an additive 2-basis, i.e., a solution to the postage
stamp problem. We provide a simple method for converting known postage stamp
solutions of length k into stamp chains of length k+1. Using stamp chains, we
construct an algorithm that computes u(x^i) for i=1,...,n in less than n-1
multiplications, if u is a function that can be computed at zero cost, and if
there exists another zero-cost function v such that v(a,b) = u(ab). This can
substantially reduce the computational cost of repeated multiplication, as
illustrated by application examples related to matrix multiplication and data
clustering using subset convolution. In addition, we report the extremal
postage stamp solutions of length k=24.


title: Quasi-elastic scattering, RPA, 2p2h and neutrino--energy reconstruction

abstract:
  We discuss some nuclear effects, RPA correlations and 2p2h (multinucleon)
mechanisms, on charged-current neutrino-nucleus reactions that do not produce a
pion in the final state. We study a wide range of neutrino energies, from few
hundreds of MeV up to 10 GeV. We also examine the influence of 2p2h mechanisms
on the neutrino energy reconstruction.


title: Multiple spiral patterns in the transitional disk of HD 100546

abstract:
  Protoplanetary disks around young stars harbor many structures related to
planetary formation. Of particular interest, spiral patterns were discovered
among several of these disks and are expected to be the sign of gravitational
instabilities leading to giant planets formation or gravitational perturbations
caused by already existing planets. In this context, the star HD100546 presents
some specific characteristics with a complex gas and dusty disk including
spirals as well as a possible planet in formation. The objective of this study
is to analyze high contrast and high angular resolution images of this
emblematic system to shed light on critical steps of the planet formation. We
retrieved archival images obtained at Gemini in the near IR (Ks band) with the
instrument NICI and processed the data using advanced high contrast imaging
technique taking advantage of the angular differential imaging. These new
images reveal the spiral pattern previously identified with HST with an
unprecedented resolution, while the large-scale structure of the disk is mostly
erased by the data processing. The single pattern at the southeast in HST
images is now resolved into a multi-armed spiral pattern. Using two models of a
gravitational perturber orbiting in a gaseous disk we attempted to bring
constraints on the characteristics of this perturber assuming each spiral being
independent and we derived qualitative conclusions. The non-detection of the
northeast spiral pattern observed in HST allows to put a lower limit on the
intensity ratio between the two sides of the disk, which if interpreted as
forward scattering yields a larger anisotropic scattering than derived in the
visible. Also, we found that the spirals are likely spatially resolved with a
thickness of about 5-10AU. Finally, we did not detect the candidate forming
planet recently discovered in the Lp band, with a mass upper limit of 16-18 MJ.


title:
Nominal Regular Expressions for Languages over Infinite Alphabets.
  Extended Abstract

abstract:
  We propose regular expressions to abstractly model and study properties of
resource-aware computations. Inspired by nominal techniques -- as those popular
in process calculi -- we extend classical regular expressions with names (to
model computational resources) and suitable operators (for allocation,
deallocation, scoping of, and freshness conditions on resources). We discuss
classes of such nominal regular expressions, show how such expressions have
natural interpretations in terms of languages over infinite alphabets, and give
Kleene theorems to characterise their formal languages in terms of nominal
automata.


title:
Mechanism of preferential adsorption of SO$_2$ into two microporous
  paddle wheel frameworks M(bdc)(ted)0.5

abstract:
  The selective adsorption of a corrosive gas, SO$_2$, into two microporous
pillared paddle-wheel frameworks M(bdc)(ted)0.5 [M = Ni, Zn; bdc =
1,4-benzenedicarboxylate; ted = triethylenediamine] is studied by volumetric
adsorption measurements and a combination of in-situ infrared spectroscopy and
ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The uptake of SO$_2$ in
M(bdc)(ted)0.5 at room temperature is quite significant, 9.97 mol/kg at 1.13
bar. The major adsorbed SO$_2$ molecules contributing to the isotherm
measurements are characterized by stretching bands at 1326 and 1144 cm$^{-1}$.
Theoretical calculations including van der Waals interactions (based on vdW-DF)
suggest that two adsorption configurations are possible for these SO$_2$
molecules. One geometry involves an SO$_2$ molecule bonded through its sulfur
atom to the oxygen atom of the paddle-wheel building unit and its two oxygen
atoms to the C-H groups of the organic linkers by formation of hydrogen bonds.
Such a configuration results in a distortion of the benzene rings, which is
consistent with the experimentally observed shift of the ring deformation mode.
In the other geometry, SO$_2$ establishes hydrogen bonding with -CH$_2$ group
of the ted linker through its two oxygen atoms simultaneously. The
vdW-DF-simulated frequency shifts of the SO$_2$ stretching bands in these two
configurations are similar and in good agreement with spectroscopically
measured values of physisorbed SO$_2$.In addition, the IR spectra reveal the
presence of another minor species, characterized by stretching modes at 1242
and 1105 cm$^{-1}$ and causing significant perturbations of MOFs vibrational
modes (CH$_x$ and carboxylate groups). This species is more strongly bound,
requiring a higher temperature ($\sim$150 $^\circ$C) to remove it than for the
main physisorbed species.


title: Parameter estimation of monomial-exponential sums

abstract:
  We propose a numerical method, based upon matrix-pencils, for the
identification of parameters and coefficients of a monomial-exponential sum. We
note that this method can be considered an extension of the numerical methods
for the parameter estimation of exponential sums. The application of the method
is applied to several examples, some already present in the literature and
others, to our knowledge, never considered before.


title:
A topological necessary condition for the existence of compact
  Clifford-Klein forms

abstract:
  We provide a necessary condition for the existence of a compact
Clifford-Klein form of a given homogeneous space of reductive type. The key to
the proof is to combine a result of Kobayashi-Ono with an elementary fact that
certain two different Clifford-Klein forms have the same cohomology ring. We
give some examples, SL(p+q, R)/SO(p, q) (p, q: odd) for instance, of
homogeneous spaces which do not admit compact Clifford-Klein forms.


title: Conformal Transformations and Weak Field Limit of Scalar-Tensor Gravity

abstract:
  The weak field limit of scalar tensor theories of gravity is discussed in
view of conformal transformations. Specifically, we consider how physical
quantities, like gravitational potentials derived in the Newtonian
approximation for the same scalar-tensor theory, behave in the Jordan and in
the Einstein frame. The approach allows to discriminate features that are
invariant under conformal transformations and gives contributions in the debate
of selecting the true physical frame. As a particular example, the case of
$f(R)$ gravity is considered.


title:
Charged Higgs Pair Production in a General Two Higgs Doublet Model at
  $e^+e^-$ and $\mu^+\mu^-$ Linear Colliders

abstract:
  In this paper, charged Higgs pair production through $\ell^+ \ell^-
\rightarrow H^+ H^-$ where $\ell = e$ or $\mu$, is studied within the framework
of a general Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM). The analysis is relevant to a
future $e^+e^-$ or $\mu^+\mu^-$ collider operating at center of mass energy of
$\sqrt{s}=500$ GeV. Two different scenarios of small and large $\alpha$ values
is studied. Here $\alpha$ is the parameter which diagonalizes the neutral
CP-even Higgs boson mass matrix. Within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard
Model (MSSM), cross section of this process is almost the same at $e^+e^-$ and
$\mu^+\mu^-$ colliders. It is shown that at $e^+e^-$ colliders within a general
2HDM, cross section is not sensitive to the mass of neutral Higgs bosons,
however, it can acquire large values up to several picobarn at $\mu^+\mu^-$
colliders with the presence of heavy neutral Higgs bosons. A scan over Higgs
boson mass parameter space is performed to analyze the effect of large masses
of neutral Higgs bosons involved in the s-channel propagator and thus in the
total cross section of this process.


title:
NACRE II: an update of the NACRE compilation of charged-particle-induced
  thermonuclear reaction rates for nuclei with mass number $A < 16$

abstract:
  An update of the NACRE compilation [Angulo et al., Nucl. Phys. A 656 (1999)
3] is presented. This new compilation, referred to as NACRE II, reports
thermonuclear reaction rates for 34 charged-particle induced, two-body exoergic
reactions on nuclides with mass number $A<16$, of which fifteen are
particle-transfer reactions and the rest radiative capture reactions. When
compared with NACRE, NACRE II features in particular (1) the addition to the
experimental data collected in NACRE of those reported later, preferentially in
the major journals of the field by early 2013, and (2) the adoption of
potential models as the primary tool for extrapolation to very low energies of
astrophysical $S$-factors, with a systematic evaluation of uncertainties.
  As in NACRE, the rates are presented in tabular form for temperatures in the
$10^{6}$ $\simeq\leq$ T $\leq$ $10^{10}$ K range. Along with the 'adopted'
rates, their low and high limits are provided. The new rates are available in
electronic form as part of the Brussels Library (BRUSLIB) of nuclear data. The
NACRE II rates also supersede the previous NACRE rates in the Nuclear Network
Generator (NETGEN) for astrophysics.
[http://www.astro.ulb.ac.be/databases.html.]


title:
Semi-Decentralized Approximation of Optimal Control of Distributed
  Systems Based on a Functional Calculus

abstract:
  This paper discusses a new approximation method for operators which are
solution to an operational Riccati equation (ORE). The latter is derived from
the theory of optimal control of linear problems posed in Hilbert spaces. The
approximation is based on the functional calculus of self-adjoint operators and
the Cauchy formula. Under a number of assumptions the approximation is suitable
for implementation on a semi-decentralized computing architecture in view of
real-time control. Our method is particularly applicable to problems in optimal
control of systems governed by partial differential equations with distributed
observation and control. Some relatively academic applications are presented
for illustration. More realistic examples relating to microsystem arrays have
already been published.


title:
Possible solution to the riddle of HD 82943 multiplanet system: the
  three-planet resonance 1:2:5?

abstract:
  We carry out a new analysis of the published radial velocity data for the
planet-hosting star HD82943. We include the recent Keck/HIRES measurements as
well as the aged but much more numerous CORALIE data. We find that the CORALIE
radial velocity measurements are polluted by a systematic annual variation
which affected the robustness of many previous results. We show that after
purging this variation, the residuals still contain a clear signature of an
additional $\sim 1100$ days periodicity. The latter variation leaves
significant hints in all three independent radial velocity subsets that we
analysed: the CORALIE data, the Keck data acquired prior to a hardware upgrade,
and the Keck data taken after the upgrade.
  We mainly treat this variation as a signature of a third planet in the
system, although we cannot rule out other interpretations, such as long-term
stellar activity. We find it easy to naturally obtain a stable three-planet
radial-velocity fit close to the three-planet mean-motion resonance 1:2:5, with
the two main planets (those in the 1:2 resonance) in an aligned apsidal
corotation. The dynamical status of the third planet is still uncertain: it may
reside in as well as slightly out of the 5:2 resonance. We obtain the value of
$\sim 1075$ days for its orbital period and of $\sim 0.3 M_{\rm Jup}$ for its
minimum mass, while the eccentric parameters are uncertain.


title: Blow-up of Smooth Solutions to the Euler-Poisson Equations

abstract:
  In this paper, the finite time blow-up of smooth solutions to the Cauchy
problem for full Euler-Poisson equations and isentropic Euler-Poisson equations
with repulsive forces or attractive forces in high dimensions $(n\geq3)$ is
proved for a large class of initial data. It is not required that the initial
data has compact support or contains vacuum in any finite regions.


title: Higher-order Changhee numbers and polynomials

abstract:
  In this paper, we consider the higher-order Changhee numbers and polynomials
which are derived from the fermionic p-adic integral on Zp and give some
relations between higher-order Changhee polynomials and special polynomials.


title: The use of gravitational lenses in the study of distant galaxy mergers

abstract:
  Gravlenses are efficiently explored for detecting the most distant galaxies
(up to z=10 redshifts). As an example of the role played by gravlenses we refer
to the observation of the galaxy merger at z=3 (Borys, et al; Berciano Alba, et
al). We derived solutions for the Smoluchowski kinetic equation for the mass
function of galaxies, which describes mergers in differential approximation
(minor mergers).
  It is shown that the evolution of the slope of luminosity function observed
in the Ultra Deep Hubble Field (Bouwence et al) can be described as a result of
explosive evolution driven by galaxy mergers.


title:
Scattering from dust in molecular clouds: Constraining the dust grain
  size distribution through near-infrared cloudshine and infrared coreshine

abstract:
  Context. The largest grains (0.5-1 micron) in the interstellar size
distribution are efficient in scattering near- and mid-infrared radiation.
These wavelengths are therefore particularly well suited to probe the still
uncertain high-end of the size distribution. Aims. We investigate the change in
appearance of a typical low-mass molecular core from the Ks (2.2 micron) band
to the Spitzer IRAC 3.6 and 8 micron bands, and compare with model
calculations, which include variations of the grain size distribution. Methods.
We combine Spitzer IRAC and ground-based near-infrared observations to
characterize the scattered light observed at the near- and mid-infrared
wavelengths from the core L260. Using a spherical symmetric model core, we
perform radiative transfer calculations to study the impact of various dust
size distributions on the intensity profiles across the core. Results. The
observed scattered light patterns in the Ks and 3.6 micron bands are found to
be similar. By comparison with radiative transfer models the two profiles place
constraints on the relative abundance of small and large (more than 0.25
micron) dust grains. The scattered light profiles are found to be inconsistent
with an interstellar silicate grain distribution extending only to 0.25 micron
and large grains are needed to reach the observed fluxes and the flux ratios.
The shape of the Ks band surface brightness profile limits the largest grains
to 1-1.5 micron. Conclusions. In addition to observing coreshine in the Spitzer
IRAC channels, the combination with ground-based near-infrared observations are
suited to constrain the properties of large grains in cores.


title: Evanescent Artificial Gauge Potentials for Neutral Atoms

abstract:
  We show that atoms interacting with evanescent light fields, generated at the
interface of a dielectric with vacuum, experience artificial gauge potentials.
These potentials depend crucially on the physical parameters which characterize
the evanescent fields most notably the refractive index of the dielectric
material and the angle of incidence of the laser beam totally internaly
reflected at the interface. Gauge fields are derived for various evanescent
light fields and for both two-level and three-level systems. The use of such
artificial gauge potentials for the manipulation of atoms trapped at the
interfaces is pointed out and discussed.


title: Multi-shell effective interactions

abstract:
  Background: Effective interactions, either derived from microscopic theories
or based on fitting selected properties of nuclei in specific mass regions, are
widely used inputs to shell-model studies of nuclei. Until recently, most
shell-model calculations have been confined to a single oscillator shell.
Recent interest in nuclei away from the stability line, requires however larger
shell-model spaces. Since the derivation of microscopic effective interactions
has been limited to degenerate model spaces, there are both conceptual and
practical limits to present shell-model calculations that utilize such
interactions. Purpose: The aim of this work is to present a novel microscopic
method to calculate effective interactions for the nuclear shell model. Its
main difference from existing theories is that it can be applied not only to
degenerate model spaces but also to non-degenerate model spaces. Methods: The
formalism is presented in the form of many-body perturbation theory based on
the recently developed Extended Kuo-Krenciglowa method. Our method enables us
to microscopically construct effective interactions not only in one oscillator
shell but also for several oscillator shells. Results: We present numerical
results using effective interactions within (i) a single oscillator shell like
the sd-shell and the pf-shell, and (ii) two major shells like the sdf7p3-shell
and the pfg9-shell. We also present energy levels of several nuclei which have
two valence nucleons on top of a given closed-shell core. Conclusions: Our
results show that the present method works excellently in shell-model spaces
that comprise several oscillator shells, as well as in a single oscillator
shell. We show in particular that the microscopic inter-shell interactions are
much more attractive than has been expected by degenerate perturbation theory.
The consequences for shell-model studies are discussed.


title: Finiteness of hitting times under taboo

abstract:
  We consider a continuous-time Markov chain with a finite or countable state
space. For a site y and subset H of the state space, the hitting time of y
under taboo H is defined to be infinite if the process trajectory hits H before
y, and the first hitting time of y otherwise. We investigate the probability
that such times are finite. In particular, if the taboo set is finite, an
efficient iterative scheme reduces the study to the known case of a singleton
taboo. A similar procedure applies in the case of finite complement of the
taboo set. The study is motivated by classification of branching processes with
finitely many catalysts.
  Keywords and phrases: Markov chain, hitting time, taboo probabilities,
catalytic branching process.


title:
Crossover from the weak to strong-field behavior of the longitudinal
  interlayer magnetoresistance in quasi-two-dimensional conductors

abstract:
  We investigate the monotonic growth of longitudinal interlayer
magnetoresistance $\bar{R}_{zz}(B_z) $, analytically and numerically in the
self-consistent Born approximation. We show that in a weak magnetic field the
monotonic part of $\bar{R}_{zz}(B_z)$ is almost constant and starts to grow
only above the crossover field $B_{c}$, when the Landau levels (LL) become
isolated, i.e. when the LL separation becomes greater than the LL broadening.
In higher field $B_{z}>>B_{c}$, $\bar{R}_{zz}(B_{z}) \propto B_{z}^{1/2}$ in
agreement with previous works.


title: Nonlinear Bethe-Heitler Pair Creation in an Intense Two-Mode Laser Field

abstract:
  We investigate electron-positron pair creation in the interaction of a
nuclear Coulomb field and a highly intense two-mode laser field. For
bichromatic laser fields, we examine the differences arising for commensurable
and incommensurable frequencies in a continuous variation of the laser
frequency ratio and the quantum interference effects, which may occur in the
commensurable case. We show that the interference manifests in the angular
distributions and the total pair-production rates of the created particles.
Additionally, by varying the amplitudes of the two modes we study pair creation
in a monochromatic laser wave of arbitrarily elliptical polarization.


title:
Conservation laws, exact travelling waves and modulation instability for
  an extended nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation

abstract:
  We study various properties of solutions of an extended nonlinear
Schr\"{o}dinger (ENLS) equation, which arises in the context of geometric
evolution problems -- including vortex filament dynamics -- and governs
propagation of short pulses in optical fibers and nonlinear metamaterials. For
the periodic initial-boundary value problem, we derive conservation laws
satisfied by local in time, weak $H^2$ (distributional) solutions, and
establish global existence of such weak solutions. The derivation is obtained
by a regularization scheme under a balance condition on the coefficients of the
linear and nonlinear terms -- namely, the Hirota limit of the considered ENLS
model. Next, we investigate conditions for the existence of traveling wave
solutions, focusing on the case of bright and dark solitons. The balance
condition on the coefficients is found to be essential for the existence of
exact analytical soliton solutions; furthermore, we obtain conditions which
define parameter regimes for the existence of traveling solitons for various
linear dispersion strengths. Finally, we study the modulational instability of
plane waves of the ENLS equation, and identify important differences between
the ENLS case and the corresponding NLS counterpart. The analytical results are
corroborated by numerical simulations, which reveal notable differences between
the bright and the dark soliton propagation dynamics, and are in excellent
agreement with the analytical predictions of the modulation instability
analysis.


title: Computation Over Gaussian Networks With Orthogonal Components

abstract:
  Function computation of arbitrarily correlated discrete sources over Gaussian
networks with orthogonal components is studied. Two classes of functions are
considered: the arithmetic sum function and the type function. The arithmetic
sum function in this paper is defined as a set of multiple weighted arithmetic
sums, which includes averaging of the sources and estimating each of the
sources as special cases. The type or frequency histogram function counts the
number of occurrences of each argument, which yields many important statistics
such as mean, variance, maximum, minimum, median, and so on. The proposed
computation coding first abstracts Gaussian networks into the corresponding
modulo sum multiple-access channels via nested lattice codes and linear network
coding and then computes the desired function by using linear Slepian-Wolf
source coding. For orthogonal Gaussian networks (with no broadcast and
multiple-access components), the computation capacity is characterized for a
class of networks. For Gaussian networks with multiple-access components (but
no broadcast), an approximate computation capacity is characterized for a class
of networks.


title:
Singleton sets random attractor for stochastic FitzHugh-Nagumo lattice
  equations driven by fractional Brownian motions

abstract:
  The paper is devoted to the study of the dynamical behavior of the solutions
of stochastic FitzHugh-Nagumo lattice equations, driven by fractional Brownian
motions, with Hurst parameter greater than $1/2$. Under some usual
dissipativity conditions, the system considered here features different
dynamics from the same one perturbed by Brownian motion. In our case, the
random dynamical system has a unique random equilibrium, which constitutes a
singleton sets random attractor.


title: Efficient Information Theoretic Clustering on Discrete Lattices

abstract:
  We consider the problem of clustering data that reside on discrete, low
dimensional lattices. Canonical examples for this setting are found in image
segmentation and key point extraction. Our solution is based on a recent
approach to information theoretic clustering where clusters result from an
iterative procedure that minimizes a divergence measure. We replace costly
processing steps in the original algorithm by means of convolutions. These
allow for highly efficient implementations and thus significantly reduce
runtime. This paper therefore bridges a gap between machine learning and signal
processing.


title: Studying a Chaotic Spiking Neural Model

abstract:
  Dynamics of a chaotic spiking neuron model are being studied mathematically
and experimentally. The Nonlinear Dynamic State neuron (NDS) is analysed to
further understand the model and improve it. Chaos has many interesting
properties such as sensitivity to initial conditions, space filling, control
and synchronization. As suggested by biologists, these properties may be
exploited and play vital role in carrying out computational tasks in human
brain. The NDS model has some limitations; in thus paper the model is
investigated to overcome some of these limitations in order to enhance the
model. Therefore, the models parameters are tuned and the resulted dynamics are
studied. Also, the discretization method of the model is considered. Moreover,
a mathematical analysis is carried out to reveal the underlying dynamics of the
model after tuning of its parameters. The results of the aforementioned methods
revealed some facts regarding the NDS attractor and suggest the stabilization
of a large number of unstable periodic orbits (UPOs) which might correspond to
memories in phase space.


title: Nice enumerations and extreme amenability

abstract:
  We study properties related to nice enumerability of countably categorical
structures and properties related to extreme amenability of automorphism groups
of these structures. The text substantially differs from the previous version.
In particular the example of Section 3 is transported to arXiv: 1403.7610. This
version is not final.


title: On infinite words avoiding a finite set of squares

abstract:
  Building an infinite square-free word by appending one letter at a time while
simultaneously avoiding the creation of squares is most likely to fail. When
the alphabet has two letters this approach is impossible. When the alphabet has
three or more letters, one will most probably create a word in which the
addition of any letter invariably creates a square. When one restricts the set
of undesired squares to a finite one, this can be possible. We study the
constraints on the alphabet and the set of squares which permit this approach
to work.


title:
Phase-sensitive transport at a normal metal-superconductor interface
  close to a Josephson junction

abstract:
  Phase- and voltage bias-sensitive quasiparticle transport at a double
$NIS_1IS_2$ interface is considered. The barriers $I$ range from tunnel to
transparent, and the intermediate region $S_1$ has a width comparable to the
superconducting coherence length. A phase difference $\varphi$ is applied to
the Josephson junction $S_1IS_2$. The normal and Andreev reflections at the
$NIS_1$ interface become $\varphi$-sensitive, and transport is governed by
interferences within the narrow $S_1$ region, both in the normal and anomalous
channels. The subgap conductance is separately (energy $E$)- and (phase
$\varphi$)- symmetric. Above the superconducting gap, the conductance is in
general not symmetric even if $(E,\varphi)$ is changed in $(-E,-\varphi)$, but
the symmetry is restored by averaging Fermi oscillations. The Tomasch
oscillations are amplified by the phase difference. The subgap conductance
exhibits a resonant structure at the energy of the Andreev bound states (ABS)
of the $S_1IS_2$ junction, providing a side-spectroscopy of such states.
Depending on the relative transparencies of the junctions, the resonance can
increase or reduce the conductance, and it can even vanish for $\varphi=\pi$,
featuring total reflection of quasiparticles at $NS_1$ by the ABS at $S_1S_2$.


title: Polarity Reversed Robust Carrier Mobility in Monolayer MoS2 Nanoribbons

abstract:
  Using first-principles calculations and deformation potential theory, we
investigate the intrinsic carrier mobility ({\mu}) of monolayer MoS2 sheet and
nanoribbons. In contrast to the dramatic three orders of magnitude of
deterioration of {\mu} in graphene upon forming nanoribbons, the magnitude of
{\mu} in armchair MoS2 nanoribbons is comparable to that in monolayer MoS2
sheet, albeit oscillating with width. Surprisingly, a room-temperature
transport polarity reversal is observed with {\mu} of hole (h) and electron (e)
being 200.52 (h) and 72.16 (e) cm2V-1s-1 in sheet, and 49.72 (h) and 190.89 (e)
cm2V-1s-1 in 4 nm-wide nanoribbon. The robust magnitudes of {\mu} and polarity
reversal are attributable to the different characteristics of edge states
inherent in MoS2 nanoribbons. Our study suggests that width-reduction together
with edge engineering provide a promising route for improving the transport
properties of MoS2 nanostructures.


title:
Bounds on entanglement assisted source-channel coding via the Lovasz
  theta number and its variants

abstract:
  We study zero-error entanglement assisted source-channel coding
(communication in the presence of side information). Adapting a technique of
Beigi, we show that such coding requires existence of a set of vectors
satisfying orthogonality conditions related to suitably defined graphs $G$ and
$H$. Such vectors exist if and only if $\vartheta(\overline{G}) \le
\vartheta(\overline{H})$ where $\vartheta$ represents the Lov\'asz number. We
also obtain similar inequalities for the related Schrijver $\vartheta^-$ and
Szegedy $\vartheta^+$ numbers.
  These inequalities reproduce several known bounds and also lead to new
results. We provide a lower bound on the entanglement assisted cost rate. We
show that the entanglement assisted independence number is bounded by the
Schrijver number: $\alpha^*(G) \le \vartheta^-(G)$. Therefore, we are able to
disprove the conjecture that the one-shot entanglement-assisted zero-error
capacity is equal to the integer part of the Lov\'asz number. Beigi introduced
a quantity $\beta$ as an upper bound on $\alpha^*$ and posed the question of
whether $\beta(G) = \lfloor \vartheta(G) \rfloor$. We answer this in the
affirmative and show that a related quantity is equal to $\lceil \vartheta(G)
\rceil$. We show that a quantity $\chi_{\textrm{vect}}(G)$ recently introduced
in the context of Tsirelson's conjecture is equal to $\lceil
\vartheta^+(\overline{G}) \rceil$.
  In an appendix we investigate multiplicativity properties of Schrijver's and
Szegedy's numbers, as well as projective rank.


title: Habitability in the Solar System and New Planetary Missions

abstract:
  Definition of habitability depends on the organisms under consideration. One
way to determine habitability of some environment is to compare its certain
parameters to environments where extremophilic micro-organisms thrive on Earth.
We can also define more common habitability criteria from the life as we know
it. These criteria include basic elements, liquid water and an energy source.
We know that some locations in our Solar System provide at least some of these
limits and criteria. This article describes the aims and technical
specifications of some planetary missions, such as NASAs MSL in 2012, ESAs
ExoMars missions in 2016 and 2018, and JUICE in 2033. These missions will
explore habitability of Mars, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Here we compare
defined habitability criteria to instrumentation documentation to determine
whether these missions could validate the habitability of Mars and those Jovian
moons. These missions have about 13 habitability assessment related instruments
for Mars, 3 for Europa, 5 for Ganymede and Callisto. I conclude that these
missions will yield important information for habitability assessment of these
targets.


title:
Level Curve Configurations and Conformal Equivalence of Meromorphic
  Functions

abstract:
  Let $f=B_1/B_2$ be a ratio of finite Blaschke products having no critical
points on $\partial\mathbb{D}$. Then $f$ has finitely many critical level
curves (level curves containing critical points of $f$) in the disk, and the
non-critical level curves interpolate smoothly between the critical level
curves. Thus, to understand the geometry of all the level curves of $f$, one
needs only understand the finitely many critical level curves of $f$. In this
paper, we show that in fact such a function $f$ is determined not just
geometrically but conformally by the configuration of critical level curves.
That is, if $f_1$ and $f_2$ have the same configuration of critical level
curves, then there is a conformal map $\phi$ such that $f_1\equiv
f_2\circ\phi$. We then show that every configuration of critical level curves
which could come from an analytic function is instantiated by a polynomial. We
also include a new proof of a theorem of B\^{o}cher (which is an extension of
the Gauss--Lucas theorem to rational functions) using level curves.


title:
Nomographic Functions: Efficient Computation in Clustered Gaussian
  Sensor Networks

abstract:
  In this paper, a clustered wireless sensor network is considered that is
modeled as a set of coupled Gaussian multiple-access channels. The objective of
the network is not to reconstruct individual sensor readings at designated
fusion centers but rather to reliably compute some functions thereof. Our
particular attention is on real-valued functions that can be represented as a
post-processed sum of pre-processed sensor readings. Such functions are called
nomographic functions and their special structure permits the utilization of
the interference property of the Gaussian multiple-access channel to reliably
compute many linear and nonlinear functions at significantly higher rates than
those achievable with standard schemes that combat interference. Motivated by
this observation, a computation scheme is proposed that combines a suitable
data pre- and post-processing strategy with a nested lattice code designed to
protect the sum of pre-processed sensor readings against the channel noise.
After analyzing its computation rate performance, it is shown that at the cost
of a reduced rate, the scheme can be extended to compute every continuous
function of the sensor readings in a finite succession of steps, where in each
step a different nomographic function is computed. This demonstrates the
fundamental role of nomographic representations.


title: Non-Perturbative Hydrodynamic Limits

abstract:
  We introduce non-perturbative analytical techniques for the derivation of the
hydrodynamic manifolds from kinetic equations. The new approach is analogous to
the Schwinger-Dyson equation of quantum field theories, and its derivation is
demonstrated with the construction of the exact diffusion manifold for a model
kinetic equation. The novel approach is superior to the classical
Chapman-Enskog method.


title:
The unified form of Pollaczek--Khinchine formula for L\'evy processes
  with matrix-exponential negative jumps

abstract:
  For L\'evy processes with matrix-exponential negative jumps, the unified form
of the Pollaczek-Khinchine formula is established.


title: Black Hole Interior Mass Formula

abstract:
  We argue by explicit computations that, although the area product, horizon
radii product, entropy product and \emph {irreducible mass product} of the
event horizon and Cauchy horizon are universal, the \emph{surface gravity
product}, \emph{surface temperature product} and \emph{Komar energy product} of
the said horizons do not seem to be universal for Kerr-Newman (KN) black hole
space-time. We show the black hole mass formula on the \emph{Cauchy horizon}
following the seminal work by Smarr\cite{smarr} for the outer horizon. We also
prescribed the \emph{four} laws of black hole mechanics for the \emph{inner
horizon}. New definition of the extremal limit of a black hole is discussed.


title:
From kinetic to collective behavior in thermal transport on
  semiconductors and semiconductor nanostructures

abstract:
  We present a model which deepens into the role that normal scattering has on
the thermal conductivity in semiconductor bulk, micro and nanoscale samples.
Thermal conductivity as a function of the temperature undergoes a smooth
transition from a kinetic to a collective regime that depends on the importance
of normal scattering events. We demonstrate that in this transition, the key
point to fit experimental data is changing the way to perform the average on
the scattering rates. We apply the model to bulk Si with different isotopic
compositions obtaining an accurate fit. Then we calculate the thermal
conductivity of Si thin films and nanowires by only introducing the effective
size as additional parameter. The model provides a better prediction of the
thermal conductivity behavior valid for all temperatures and sizes above 30 nm
with a single expression. Avoiding the introduction of confinement or quantum
effects, the model permits to establish the limit of classical theories in the
study of the thermal conductivity in nanoscopic systems.


title: Restructuring the "one-way CSA" counterparty risk in a CDO

abstract:
  We show how to restructure the counterparty risk faced by the originator of a
securitization or covered bond arising from an interest rate hedging swap
assisted by a "one-way" collateral agreement. This risk emerges when the swap
is negotiated between the special purpose vehicle and a third party that covers
itself through a back-to-back swap with the originator. We show that the
counterparty risk of the originator may be removed by adding a chain of
back-to-back credit derivatives between the three parties (originator,
counterparty and vehicle).


title:
The C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS): Design and implementation of the
  northern receiver

abstract:
  The C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS) is a project to map the full sky in total
intensity and linear polarization at 5 GHz. The northern component of the
survey uses a broadband single-frequency analogue receiver fitted to a 6.1-m
telescope at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory in California, USA. The
receiver architecture combines a continuous-comparison radiometer and a
correlation polarimeter in a single receiver for stable simultaneous
measurement of both total intensity and linear polarization, using
custom-designed analogue receiver components. The continuous-comparison
radiometer measures the temperature difference between the sky and
temperature-stabilized cold electrical reference loads. A cryogenic front-end
is used to minimize receiver noise, with a system temperature of $\approx
30\,$K in both linear polarization and total intensity. Custom cryogenic notch
filters are used to counteract man-made radio frequency interference. The
radiometer $1/f$ noise is dominated by atmospheric fluctuations, while the
polarimeter achieves a $1/f$ noise knee frequency of 10 mHz, similar to the
telescope azimuthal scan frequency.


title:
Structural and Optical Studies on Manganese doped, Modified Sodium
  Potassium Lithium Niobate Lead-free Piezoelectric Ceramics

abstract:
  Structural and Optical properties of the (Na0.5 K0.5)y Li 1-y NbO3 (y = 0.934
& 0.936) ceramics have been explored in terms of the X-Ray diffraction patters,
Rietveld analysis, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and Kubelka-Munk functions. Rietveld
analysis of both these structures reveals them to be tetragonal with space
group P4mm. It is found that increase in Li doping increases the optical band
gap. Presence of additional hardening dopant MnO2 is found to have a uniform
behavior for both these composition. With increasing MnO2 concentration, the
band gap decreases indicative of increase in B-site cation and O-p orbitals.
Different valences of the Mn ions and relative difference in the ionic radii of
the Mn ions and Nb ion are most likely the reason for these optical properties.


title:
Speciation and introgression between Mimulus nasutus and Mimulus
  guttatus

abstract:
  Mimulus guttatus and M. nasutus are an evolutionary and ecological model
sister species pair differentiated by ecology, mating system, and partial
reproductive isolation. Despite extensive research on this system, the history
of divergence and differentiation in this sister pair is unclear. We present
and analyze a novel population genomic data set which shows that M. nasutus
"budded" off of a central Californian M. guttatus population within the last
200 to 500 thousand years. In this time, the M. nasutus genome has accrued
numerous genomic signatures of the transition to predominant selfing. Despite
clear biological differentiation, we document ongoing, bidirectional
introgression. We observe a negative relationship between the recombination
rate and divergence between M. nasutus and sympatric M. guttatus samples,
suggesting that selection acts against M. nasutus ancestry in M. guttatus.


title: Chiral transition of fundamental and adjoint quarks

abstract:
  The chiral symmetry breaking transition of quarks in the fundamental and
adjoint representation is studied in a model where the gap equation contains
two contributions, one containing a confining propagator and another
corresponding to the exchange of one-dressed dynamically massive gluons. When
quarks are in the fundamental representation the confinement effect dominates
the chiral symmetry breaking while the gluon exchange is suppressed due to the
dynamical gluon mass effect in the propagator and coupling constant. In this
case the chiral and deconfinement transition temperatures are approximately the
same. For quarks in the adjoint representation, due to the larger Casimir
eigenvalue, the gluon exchange is operative and the chiral transition happens
at a larger temperature than the deconfinement one.


title:
Complete systems of partial derivatives of entire functions and
  frequently hypercyclic operators

abstract:
  We find some sufficient conditions for a system of partial derivatives of an
entire function to be complete in the space $H(\mathbb{C}^d)$ of all entire
functions of $d$ variables. As an appliation of this result we describe new
classes of frequently hypercyclic operators on $H(\mathbb{C}^d)$.


title:
Modeling Oligarchs' Campaign Donations and Ideological Preferences with
  Simulated Agent-Based Spatial Elections

abstract:
  In this paper, we investigate the interactions among oligarchs, political
parties, and voters using an agent-based modeling approach. We introduce the
OLIGO model, which is based on the spatial model of democracy, where voters
have positions in a policy space and vote for the party that appears closest to
them, and parties move in policy space to seek more votes. We extend the
existing literature on agent-based models of political economy in the following
manner: (1) by introducing a new class of agents- oligarchs - that represent
leaders of firms in a common industry who lobby for beneficial subsidies
through campaign donations; and (2) by investigating the effects of ideological
preferences of the oligarchs on legislative action. We test hypotheses from the
literature in political economics on the behavior of oligarchs and political
parties as they interact, under conditions of imperfect information and bounded
rationality. Our key results indicate that (1) oligarchs tend to donate less to
political campaigns when the parties are more resistant to changing their
policies, or when voters are more informed; and (2) if Oligarchs donate to
parties based on a combination of ideological and profit motivations, Oligarchs
will tend to donate at a lower equilibrium level, due to the influence of lost
profits. We validate these outcomes via comparisons to real world polling data
on changes in party support over time.


title: Model Predictive Regulation

abstract:
  We show how optimal nonlinear regulation can be achieved in a model
predictive control fashion.


title:
Are the Angular Correlations in pA Collisions due to a Glasmion or Bose
  Condensation ?

abstract:
  Experiments at the LHC have recently reported results on the angular
asymmetry coefficients $v_n[m]$, for various angular moments $n$ and orders of
cumulants $m$, in high multiplicity p+Pb collisions. These coefficients are
large, and have both even and odd moments. We discuss here some of the
implications of these results for our understanding of the initial state of the
collision (Color Glass Condensate) and for the evolution in the final state
(Glasma and thermalized Quark Gluon Plasma). We show the Color Glass Condensate
predicts large even moments, $v_n$ with $n$ an even integer. Odd moments are
generated by final state interactions or fragmentation. For a multi-particle
determination of $v_2[m]$, where m is the number of particles used to determine
the correlation, we argue that if these coefficients approach equality for
large $m$ in high multiplicity events, this may imply the existence of either
solitonic solutions or Bose condensation either for the JIMWLK action that
describes the CGC, or for the Glasma that might be produced in such a
collision.


title:
A characterization of those automata that structurally generate finite
  groups

abstract:
  Antonenko and Russyev independently have shown that any Mealy automaton with
no cycles with exit--that is, where every cycle in the underlying directed
graph is a sink component--generates a fi- nite (semi)group, regardless of the
choice of the production functions. Antonenko has proved that this constitutes
a characterization in the non-invertible case and asked for the invertible
case, which is proved in this paper.


title: Margin conditions for vector quantization

abstract:
  In this report, oracle inequalities on the excess risk of the empirical risk
minimizer in the quantization framework are derived. These inequalities are
based on conditions which may be thought of as margin type conditions, such as
one derived in the statistical learning framework. Furthermore, these
inequalities derive from innovative chaining techniques and its use for
Dudley's entropy integral.


title:
On an isomorphic Banach-Mazur rotation problem and maximal norms in
  Banach spaces

abstract:
  We prove that the spaces $\ell_p$, $1<p<\infty, p\ne 2$, and all
infinite-dimensional subspaces of their quotient spaces do not admit equivalent
almost transitive renormings. This is a step towards the solution of the
Banach-Mazur rotation problem, which asks whether a separable Banach space with
a transitive norm has to be isometric or isomorphic to a Hilbert space. We
obtain this as a consequence of a new property of almost transitive spaces with
a Schauder basis, namely we prove that in such spaces the unit vector basis of
$\ell_2^2$ belongs to the two-dimensional asymptotic structure and we obtain
some information about the asymptotic structure in higher dimensions.
  Further, we prove that the spaces $\ell_p$, $1<p<\infty$, $p\ne 2$, have
continuum different renormings with 1-unconditional bases each with a different
maximal isometry group, and that every symmetric space other than $\ell_2$ has
at least a countable number of such renormings. On the other hand we show that
the spaces $\ell_p$, $1<p<\infty$, $p\ne 2$, have continuum different
renormings each with an isometry group which is not contained in any maximal
bounded subgroup of the group of isomorphisms of $\ell_p$.


title:
Feshbach-optimized photoassociation of ultracold $^6$Li$^{87}$Rb
  molecules with short pulses

abstract:
  Two-color photoassociation of ground state $^6$Li$^{87}$Rb molecules via the
$\mathrm{B}^1\Pi$ electronic state using short pulses near a magnetic Feshbach
resonance is studied theoretically. A near-resonant magnetic field is applied
to mix the hyperfine singlet and triplet components of the initial wave
function and enhance the photoassociation rate, before the population is
transferred to the ground state by a second pulse. We show that an increase of
up to three orders of magnitude in the absolute number of molecules produced is
attainable for deeply bound vibrational levels. This technique can be
generalized to other molecules with accessible magnetic Feshbach resonances.


title:
Meeting Student Needs for Multivariate Data Analysis: A Case Study in
  Teaching a Multivariate Data Analysis Course with No Pre-requisites

abstract:
  Modern students encounter big, messy data sets long before setting foot in
our classrooms. Many of our students need to develop skills in exploratory data
analysis and multivariate analysis techniques for their jobs after college, but
these topics are not covered in introductory statistics courses. This case
study describes my experience in designing and teaching a course on
multivariate data analysis with no pre-requisites, using real data, active
learning, and other activities to help students tackle the material.


title:
Rotating charged hairy black hole in (2+1) dimensions and particle
  acceleration

abstract:
  In this paper we construct rotating charged hairy black hole in (2+1)
dimensions for infinitesimal black hole charge and rotation parameters. Then we
consider this black hole as particle accelerator and calculate the
center-of-mass energy of two colliding test particles near the rotating charged
hairy black hole in (2+1) dimensions. As we expected, the center-of-mass energy
has infinite value.


title: A stability conjecture for the colored Jones polynomial

abstract:
  We formulate a stability conjecture for the coefficients of the colored Jones
polynomial of a knot, colored by irreducible representations in a fixed ray of
a simple Lie algebra, and verify it for all torus knots and all simple Lie
algebras of rank $2$. Our conjecture is motivated by a structure theorem for
the degree and the coefficients of a $q$-holonomic sequence of polynomials
given in [Ga2] and by a stability theorem of the colored Jones polynomial of an
alternating knot given in \cite{GL2}. We illustrate our results with sample
computations.


title:
Testing baryon number conservation in braneworld models with cold
  neutrons

abstract:
  In the context of multi-brane Universe models, matter swapping between two
braneworlds is allowed leading to a baryon number violation in our visible
world. An experimental framework is described to test such a phenomenology with
cold neutrons thanks to a neutron-shining-through-a-wall experiment.


title:
Arbitrarily accurate passband composite pulses for dynamical suppression
  of amplitude noise

abstract:
  We introduce flexible high-fidelity passband (PB) composite pulse sequences
constructed by concatenation of recently derived arbitrarily large and
arbitrarily accurate broadband $\mathcal{B}$ and narrowband $\mathcal{N}$
composite sequences. Our PB sequences allow to produce flexible and tunable
nearly rectangular two-state inversion profiles as a function of the individual
pulse area because the width and the rectangularity of these profiles can be
adjusted at will. Moreover, these PB sequences suppress excitation around pulse
area $0$ and $2\pi$, and suppress deviations from complete population inversion
around pulse area $\pi$ to arbitrarily high orders. These features makes them a
valuable tool for high-fidelity qubit operations in the presence of relatively
strong amplitude noise. We construct two types of PB pulses:
$\mathcal{N}(\mathcal{B})$ in which a broadband pulse is nested into a
narrowband pulse, and $\mathcal{B}(\mathcal{N})$ in which a narrowband pulse is
nested into a broadband pulse; the latter sequences deliver narrower profiles.
We derive exact analytic formulas for the composite phases of the PB pulses and
exact analytic formulas for the inversion profiles. These formulas allow an
easy estimation of the experimental resources needed for any desired qubit
inversion profile.


title: Embedded Star Formation in S4G Galaxy Dust Lanes

abstract:
  Star-forming regions that are visible at 3.6 microns and Halpha but not in
the u,g,r,i,z bands of the Sloan Digital Sky survey (SDSS), are measured in
five nearby spiral galaxies to find extinctions averaging ~3.8 mag and stellar
masses averaging ~5x10^4 Msun. These regions are apparently young star
complexes embedded in dark filamentary shock fronts connected with spiral arms.
The associated cloud masses are ~10^7 Msun. The conditions required to make
such complexes are explored, including gravitational instabilities in spiral
shocked gas and compression of incident clouds. We find that instabilities are
too slow for a complete collapse of the observed spiral filaments, but they
could lead to star formation in the denser parts. Compression of incident
clouds can produce a faster collapse but has difficulty explaining the
semi-regular spacing of some regions along the arms. If gravitational
instabilities are involved, then the condensations have the local Jeans mass.
Also in this case, the near-simultaneous appearance of equally spaced complexes
suggests that the dust lanes, and perhaps the arms too, are relatively young.


title: Stochastic perturbations method for a system of Riemann invariants

abstract:
  Basing on our results [1] on a representation of solutions to the Cauchy
problem for multidimensional non-viscous Burgers equation obtained by a method
of stochastic perturbation of the associated Langevin system, we deduce an
explicit asymptotic formula for smooth solutions to the Cauchy problem for any
genuinely nonlinear hyperbolic system of equations written in the Riemann
invariants.


title: Bayesian Probabilistic Projection of International Migration Rates

abstract:
  We propose a method for obtaining joint probabilistic projections of
migration rates for all countries, broken down by age and sex. Joint
trajectories for all countries are constrained to satisfy the requirement of
zero global net migration. We evaluate our model using out-of-sample validation
and compare point projections to the projected migration rates from a
persistence model similar to the method used in the United Nations' World
Population Prospects, and also to a state of the art gravity model. We also
resolve an apparently paradoxical discrepancy between growth trends in the
proportion of the world population migrating and the average absolute migration
rate across countries.


title: Adaptation in a class of linear inverse problems

abstract:
  We consider the linear inverse problem of estimating an unknown signal $f$
from noisy measurements on $Kf$ where the linear operator $K$ admits a
wavelet-vaguelette decomposition (WVD). We formulate the problem in the
Gaussian sequence model and propose estimation based on complexity penalized
regression on a level-by-level basis. We adopt squared error loss and show that
the estimator achieves exact rate-adaptive optimality as $f$ varies over a wide
range of Besov function classes.


title: Twistor Topology of the Fermat Cubic

abstract:
  We describe topologically the discriminant locus of a smooth cubic surface in
the complex projective space ${\mathbb{CP}}^3$ that contains 5 fibres of the
projection ${\mathbb{CP}}^3 \longrightarrow S^4$.


title:
Existence of Entropy Solutions to Two-Dimensional Steady Exothermically
  Reacting Euler Equations

abstract:
  We are concerned with the global existence of entropy solutions of the
two-dimensional steady Euler equations for an ideal gas, which undergoes a
one-step exothermic chemical reaction under the Arrhenius-type kinetics. The
reaction rate function $\phi(T)$ is assumed to have a positive lower bound. We
first consider the Cauchy problem (the initial value problem), that is, seek a
supersonic downstream reacting flow when the incoming flow is supersonic, and
establish the global existence of entropy solutions when the total variation of
the initial data is sufficiently small. Then we analyze the problem of steady
supersonic, exothermically reacting Euler flow past a Lipschitz wedge,
generating an additional detonation wave attached to the wedge vertex, which
can be then formulated as an initial-boundary value problem. We establish the
globally existence of entropy solutions containing the additional detonation
wave (weak or strong, determined by the wedge angle at the wedge vertex) when
the total variation of both the slope of the wedge boundary and the incoming
flow is suitably small. The downstream asymptotic behavior of the global
solutions is also obtained.


title:
Radial Velocity Variations of Photometrically Quiet, Chromospherically
  Inactive Kepler Stars: A Link Between RV Jitter and Photometric Flicker

abstract:
  We compare stellar photometric variability, as measured from Kepler light
curves by Basri et al. (2011), with measurements of radial velocity (RV)
root-mean-square (RMS) variations of all California Planet Search overlap
stars. We newly derive rotation periods from the Kepler light curves for all of
the stars in our study sample. The RV variations reported herein range from
less than 4 m/s to 135 m/s, yet the stars all have amplitudes of photometric
variability less than 3 mmag, reflecting the preference of the RV program for
chromospherically "quiet" stars. Despite the small size of our sample, we find
with high statistical significance that the RV RMS manifests strongly in the
Fourier power spectrum of the light curve: stars that are noisier in RV have a
greater number of frequency components in the light curve. We also find that
spot models of the observed light curves systematically underpredict the
observed RV variations by factors of ~2--1000, likely because the low level
photometric variations in our sample are driven by processes not included in
simple spot models. The stars best fit by these models tend to have simpler
light curves, dominated by a single relatively high amplitude component of
variability. Finally, we demonstrate that the RV RMS behavior of our sample can
be explained in the context of the photometric variability evolutionary diagram
introduced by Bastien et al. (2013). We use this diagram to derive the surface
gravities of the stars in our sample, revealing many of them to have moved off
the main-sequence. More generally, we find that the stars with the largest RV
RMS are those that have evolved onto the "flicker floor" sequence in that
diagram, characterized by relatively low amplitude but highly complex
photometric variations which grow as the stars evolve to become subgiants.


title: On limit Brody curves in $\mathbb C^n$ and $(\mathbb C^*)^2$

abstract:
  In this paper, the conjecture on the Zalcmanness of $\mathbb C^n \ (n\geq 2)$
and $(\mathbb C^*)^2$, which is posed in \cite{Do}, is proved in the case where
the derivatives of limit holomorphic curves are bounded. Moreover, several
criteria for normality of families of holomorphic mappings are given.


title:
Statistical repulsion/attraction of electrons in graphene in a magnetic
  field

abstract:
  The aim of this work is to describe the thermodynamic properties of an
electron gas in graphene placed in a constant magnetic field. The electron gas
is constituted by $N$ Bloch electrons in the long wavelength approximation. The
partition function is analyzed in terms of a perturbation expansion of the
dimensionless constant $(\sqrt{eB}L)^{-1}$. The statistical
repulsion/attraction potential for electrons in graphene is obtained in the
respective case in which antisymmetric/symmetric states in the coordinates are
chosen. Thermodynamic functions are computed for different orders in the
perturbation expansion and the different contributions are compared for
symmetric and antisymmetric states, showing remarkable differences between them
due to the spin exchange correlation. A detailed analysis of the statistical
potential is done, showing that, although electrons satisfy Fermi statistics,
attractive potential at some interparticle distances can be found.


title:
Voids in the SDSS DR9: observations, simulations, and the impact of the
  survey mask

abstract:
  We present and study cosmic voids identified using the watershed void finder
VIDE in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 9, compare these voids to
ones identified in mock catalogs, and assess the impact of the survey mask on
void statistics such as number functions, ellipticity distributions, and radial
density profiles. The nearly 1,000 identified voids span three nearly
volume-limited samples from redshift z = 0.43 to 0.7. For comparison we use 98
of the publicly available 2LPT-based mock galaxy catalogs of Manera et al., and
also generate our own mock catalogs by applying a Halo Occupation Distribution
model to an N-body simulation. We find that the mask reduces the number density
of voids at all scales by a factor of three and slightly skews the relative
size distributions. This engenders an increase in the mean ellipticity by
roughly 30%. However, we find that radial density profiles are largely robust
to the effects of the mask. We see excellent agreement between the data and
both mock catalogs, and find no tension between the observed void properties
and the properties derived from {\Lambda}CDM simulations. We have added the
void catalogs from both data and mock galaxy populations discussed in this work
to the Public Cosmic Void Catalog at http://www.cosmicvoids.net.


title: The Broken Ray Transform in $n$ Dimensions with Flat Reflecting Boundary

abstract:
  We study the broken ray transform on $n$-dimensional Euclidean domains where
the reflecting parts of the boundary are flat and establish injectivity and
stability under certain conditions. Given a subset $E$ of the boundary
$\partial \Omega$ such that $\partial \Omega \setminus E$ is itself flat
(contained in a union of hyperplanes), we measure the attenuation of all broken
rays starting and ending at $E$ with the standard optical reflection rule
applied to $\partial \Omega \setminus E$. By localizing the measurement
operator around broken rays which reflect off a fixed sequence of flat
hyperplanes, we can apply the analytic microlocal approach of Frigyik,
Stefanov, and Uhlmann for the ordinary ray transform by means of a local path
unfolding. This generalizes the author's previous result for the square,
although we can no longer treat reflections from corner points. Similar to the
result for the two dimensional square, we show that the normal operator is a
classical pseudo differential operator of order -1 plus a smoothing term with
$C_{0}^{\infty}$ Schwartz kernel.


title: Charge Scattering and Mobility in Atomically Thin Semiconductors

abstract:
  The electron transport properties of atomically thin semiconductors such as
MoS2 have attracted significant recent scrutiny and controversy. In this work,
the scattering mechanisms responsible for limiting the mobility of single layer
semiconductors are evaluated. The roles of individual scattering rates are
tracked as the 2D electron gas density is varied over orders of magnitude at
various temperatures. From a comparative study of the individual scattering
mechanisms, we conclude that all current reported values of mobilities in
atomically thin transition-metal dichalcogenide semiconductors are limited by
ionized impurity scattering. When the charged impurity densities are reduced,
remote optical phonon scattering will determine the ceiling of the highest
mobilities attainable in these ultrathin materials at room temperature. The
intrinsic mobilities will be accessible only in clean suspended layers, as is
also the case for graphene. Based on the study, we identify the best choices
for surrounding dielectrics that will help attain the highest mobilities.


title: Outage Constrained Robust Secure Transmission for MISO Wiretap Channels

abstract:
  In this paper we consider the robust secure beamformer design for MISO
wiretap channels. Assume that the eavesdroppers' channels are only partially
available at the transmitter, we seek to maximize the secrecy rate under the
transmit power and secrecy rate outage probability constraint. The outage
probability constraint requires that the secrecy rate exceeds certain threshold
with high probability. Therefore including such constraint in the design
naturally ensures the desired robustness. Unfortunately, the presence of the
probabilistic constraints makes the problem non-convex and hence difficult to
solve. In this paper, we investigate the outage probability constrained secrecy
rate maximization problem using a novel two-step approach. Under a wide range
of uncertainty models, our developed algorithms can obtain high-quality
solutions, sometimes even exact global solutions, for the robust secure
beamformer design problem. Simulation results are presented to verify the
effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithms.


title: Using concatenated algebraic geometry codes in channel polarization

abstract:
  Polar codes were introduced by Arikan in 2008 and are the first family of
error-correcting codes achieving the symmetric capacity of an arbitrary
binary-input discrete memoryless channel under low complexity encoding and
using an efficient successive cancellation decoding strategy. Recently,
non-binary polar codes have been studied, in which one can use different
algebraic geometry codes to achieve better error decoding probability. In this
paper, we study the performance of binary polar codes that are obtained from
non-binary algebraic geometry codes using concatenation. For binary polar codes
(i.e. binary kernels) of a given length $n$, we compare numerically the use of
short algebraic geometry codes over large fields versus long algebraic geometry
codes over small fields. We find that for each $n$ there is an optimal choice.
For binary kernels of size up to $n \leq 1,800$ a concatenated Reed-Solomon
code outperforms other choices. For larger kernel sizes concatenated Hermitian
codes or Suzuki codes will do better.


title:
Bulk Nature of Layered Perovskite Iridates beyond the Mott Scenario : An
  Approach from Bulk Sensitive Photoemission Study

abstract:
  We present genuine bulk Ir 5d jeff states of layered perovskite iridates
obtained by hard-x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES) with s- and
p-polarized lights. HAXPES spectra of Sr2IrO4 and Ba2IrO4 are well reproduced
by the quasi-particle densities of states calculated by the local density
approximation with dynamical mean-field theory (LDA+DMFT). It is demonstrated
that the insulating nature of the iridates is triggered by antiferromagnetic
correlation (Slater type) combined with electron correlation (Mott type). The
extremely-low-energy bulk-sensitive photoemission spectroscopy reveals "bad
metallic" states in the paramagnetic phase of the iridates, suggesting strongly
renormalized metallic states above the Neel temperature as predicted by the
LDA+DMFT.


title: Deterministic control of randomly-terminated processes

abstract:
  We consider both discrete and continuous "uncertain horizon" deterministic
control processes, for which the termination time is a random variable. We
examine the dynamic programming equations for the value function of such
processes, explore their connections to infinite-horizon and optimal-stopping
problems, and derive sufficient conditions for the applicability of
non-iterative (label-setting) methods. In the continuous case, the resulting
PDE has a free boundary, on which all characteristic curves originate. The
causal properties of "uncertain horizon" problems can be exploited to design
efficient numerical algorithms: we derive causal semi-Lagrangian and Eulerian
discretizations for the isotropic randomly-terminated problems, and use them to
build a modified version of the Fast Marching Method. We illustrate our
approach using numerical examples from optimal idle-time processing and
expected response-time minimization.


title:
Unobstructedness of deformations of Calabi-Yau varieties with a line
  bundle

abstract:
  We generalize the Tian-Todorov Theorem in the case of Calabi-Yau varieties
equipped with a line bundle.


title: Generalized Thompson Sampling for Contextual Bandits

abstract:
  Thompson Sampling, one of the oldest heuristics for solving multi-armed
bandits, has recently been shown to demonstrate state-of-the-art performance.
The empirical success has led to great interests in theoretical understanding
of this heuristic. In this paper, we approach this problem in a way very
different from existing efforts. In particular, motivated by the connection
between Thompson Sampling and exponentiated updates, we propose a new family of
algorithms called Generalized Thompson Sampling in the expert-learning
framework, which includes Thompson Sampling as a special case. Similar to most
expert-learning algorithms, Generalized Thompson Sampling uses a loss function
to adjust the experts' weights. General regret bounds are derived, which are
also instantiated to two important loss functions: square loss and logarithmic
loss. In contrast to existing bounds, our results apply to quite general
contextual bandits. More importantly, they quantify the effect of the "prior"
distribution on the regret bounds.


title: On the law of a triplet associated with the pseudo-Brownian bridge

abstract:
  We identify the distribution of a natural triplet associated with the
pseudo-Brownian bridge. In particular, for $B$ a Brownian motion and $T_1$ its
first hitting time of the level one, this remarkable law allows us to
understand some properties of the process $(B_{uT_1}/\sqrt{T_1}, u\leq 1)$
under uniform random sampling.


title: Around finite-dimensionality in functional analysis

abstract:
  As objects of study in functional analysis, Hilbert spaces stand out as
special objects of study as do nuclear spaces in view of a rich geometrical
structure they possess as Banach and Frechet spaces, respectively. On the other
hand, there is the class of Banach spaces including certain function spaces and
sequence spaces which are distinguished by a poor geometrical structure and are
subsumed under the class of so-called Hilbert-Schmidt spaces. It turns out that
these three classes of spaces are mutually disjoint in the sense that they
intersect precisely in finite dimensional spaces. However, it is remarkable
that despite this mutually exclusive character, there is an underlying
commonality of approach to these disparate classes of objects in that they crop
up in certain situations involving a single phenomenon-the phenomenon of finite
dimensionality-which, by definition, is a generic term for those properties of
Banach spaces which hold good in finite dimensional spaces but fail in infinite
dimension.


title:
Global well-posedness for the nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equation with
  derivative in energy space

abstract:
  In this paper, we prove that there exists some small $\varepsilon_*>0$, such
that the derivative nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equation (DNLS) is global
well-posedness in the energy space, provided that the initial data $u_0\in
H^1(\mathbb{R})$ satisfies $\|u_0\|_{L^2}<\sqrt{2\pi}+\varepsilon_*$. This
result shows us that there are no blow up solutions whose masses slightly
exceed $2\pi$, even if their energies are negative. This phenomenon is much
different from the behavior of nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with critical
nonlinearity. The technique is a variational argument together with the
momentum conservation law. Further, for the DNLS on half-line $\mathbb{R}^+$,
we show the blow-up for the solution with negative energy.


title: Arbitrary scalar field and quintessence cosmological models

abstract:
  The mechanism of the initial inflationary scenario of the universe and of its
late-time acceleration can be described by assuming the existence of some
gravitationally coupled scalar fields $\phi $, with the inflaton field
generating inflation and the quintessence field being responsible for the late
accelerated expansion. Various inflationary and late-time accelerated scenarios
are distinguished by the choice of an effective self-interaction potential
$V(\phi )$, which simulates a temporarily non-vanishing cosmological term. In
this work, we present a new formalism for the analysis of scalar fields in flat
isotropic and homogeneous cosmological models. The basic evolution equation of
the models can be reduced to a first order non-linear differential equation.
Approximate solutions of this equation can be constructed in the limiting cases
of the scalar field kinetic energy and potential energy dominance,
respectively, as well as in the intermediate regime. Moreover, we present
several new accelerating and decelerating exact cosmological solutions, based
on the exact integration of the basic evolution equation for scalar field
cosmologies. More specifically, exact solutions are obtained for exponential,
generalized cosine hyperbolic, and power law potentials, respectively.
Cosmological models with power law scalar field potentials are also analyzed in
detail.


title:
Error Analysis of Explicit Partitioned Runge-Kutta Schemes for
  Conservation Laws

abstract:
  An error analysis is presented for explicit partitioned Runge-Kutta methods
and multirate methods applied to conservation laws. The interfaces, across
which different methods or time steps are used, lead to order reduction of the
schemes. Along with cell-based decompositions, also flux-based decompositions
are studied. In the latter case mass conservation is guaranteed, but it will be
seen that the accuracy may deteriorate.


title:
A solution of an $L^{2}$ extension problem with optimal estimate and
  applications

abstract:
  In this paper, we prove an $L^2$ extension theorem with optimal estimate in a
precise way, which implies optimal estimate versions of various well-known
$L^2$ extension theorems. As applications, we give proofs of a conjecture of
Suita on the equality condition in Suita's conjecture, the so-called
$L-$conjecture, and the extended Suita conjecture. As other applications, we
give affirmative answer to a question by Ohsawa about limiting case for the
extension operators between the weighted Bergman spaces, and we present a
relation of our result to Berndtsson's important result on
log-plurisubharmonicity of Bergman kernel.


title:
Object Recognition System Design in Computer Vision: a Universal
  Approach

abstract:
  The first contribution of this paper is architecture of a multipurpose
system, which delegates a range of object detection tasks to a classifier,
applied in special grid positions of the tested image. The second contribution
is Gray Level-Radius Co-occurrence Matrix, which describes local image texture
and topology and, unlike common second order statistics methods, is robust to
image resolution. The third contribution is a parametrically controlled
automatic synthesis of unlimited number of numerical features for
classification. The fourth contribution is a method of optimizing parameters C
and gamma in LibSVM-based classifier, which is 20-100 times faster than the
commonly applied method. The work is essentially experimental, with
demonstration of various methods for definition of objects of interest in
images and video sequences.


title:
Radio limits on off-axis GRB afterglows and VLBI observations of SN
  2003gk

abstract:
  We report on a VLA survey for late-time radio emission from 59 supernovae
(SNe) of Type I b/c, which have been associated with long-duration gamma-ray
bursts (GRBs). An "off-axis" GRB burst (i.e. whose relativistic jet points away
from us) is expected to have late-time radio emission even in the absence of
significant prompt gamma-ray emission. From our sample, we detected only SN
2003gk with an 8.4-GHz flux density of $2260 \pm 130 \,\mu$Jy. Our subsequent
VLBI observations of SN 2003gk, at an age of $\sim$8 yr, allowed us to
determine its radius to be $(2.4 \pm 0.4) \times 10^{17}$ cm, or $94 \pm 15$
light days. This radius rules out relativistic expansion as expected for an
off-axis GRB jet, and instead suggests an expansion speed of $\sim 10\:000$ km
s$^{-1}$ typical for non-relativistic core-collapse supernovae. We attribute
the late-onset radio emission to interaction of the ejecta with a dense shell
caused by episodic mass-loss from the progenitor.
  In addition, we present new calculations for the expected radio lightcurves
from GRB jets at various angles to the line of sight, and compare these to our
observed limits on the flux densities of the remainder of our SN sample. From
this comparison we can say that only a fraction of broadlined Type I b/c SNe
have a radio-bright jet similar to those seen for GRB afterglows at
cosmological distances. However, we also find that for a reasonable range of
parameters, as might be representative of the actual population of GRB events
rather than the detected bright ones, the radio emission from the GRB jets can
be quite faint, and that at present, radio observations do not place strong
constraints on off-axis GRB jets.


title:
New results on possible higher twist contributions in proton diffractive
  structure functions at low x

abstract:
  The data on the diffractive deep inelastic scattering (DDIS) at HERA exhibit
a strong excess, up to about 100%, above the twist-two NLO DGLAP description at
low $Q^2$ and at large energy. I show, that complementing the DGLAP fit by
twist 4 and 6 components of the saturation model leads to a good description of
data at low $Q^2$ and conclude that the DDIS at HERA provides the first
evidence of higher twist effects in DIS.


title: Earthquake forecasting: Statistics and Information

abstract:
  We present an axiomatic approach to earthquake forecasting in terms of
multi-component random fields on a lattice. This approach provides a method for
constructing point estimates and confidence intervals for conditional
probabilities of strong earthquakes under conditions on the levels of
precursors. Also, it provides an approach for setting multilevel alarm system
and hypothesis testing for binary alarms. We use a method of comparison for
different earthquake forecasts in terms of the increase of Shannon information.
'Forecasting' and 'prediction' of earthquakes are equivalent in this approach.


title: Fundamental limitations of half-metallicicity in spintronic materials

abstract:
  Zero-point spin fluctuations are shown to strongly influence the ground state
of ferromagnetic metals and to impose limitations for the fully spin polarized
state assumed in half-metallic ferromagnets, which may influence their
applications in spintronics. This phenomenon leads to the low-frequency Stoner
excitations and cause strong damping and softening of magnons in
magnetoresistive manganites observed experimentally.


title:
Self-assembly of complex salts of cationic surfactants and
  anionic-neutral block copolymers. Dispersions with liquid-crystalline
  internal structure

abstract:
  We report the synthesis of complex salts made from the cationic surfactant
dodecyltrimethyl-ammonium and diblock copolymers poly(acrylic
acid)-block-poly(acrylamide) of different molecular weights. In water, the
complex salts self-assemble into stable hierarchical aggregates with a dense
core and a diffuse shell. In contrast to earlier reports, the
surfactant/polymer aggregates exhibit a liquid crystalline structure of Pm3n
cubic symmetry. The crystal structure is analogous to that obtained with
homopolymer. Size and aggregation numbers were estimated from a combination of
light and small-angle x-ray scattering experiments. It is found that the size
of the aggregates decreases with increasing diblock asymmetry. The complex salt
methodology presents many advantages, among which to be insensitive to the
preparation conditions and to the mixing pathway.


title:
Averaged dynamics of soliton molecules in dispersion-managed optical
  fibers

abstract:
  The existence regimes and dynamics of soliton molecules in dispersion-managed
(DM) optical fibers have been studied. Initially we develop a variational
approximation (VA) for description of periodic dynamics of a soliton molecule
within each unit cell of the dispersion map. The obtained system of coupled
equations for the pulse width and chirp allows to find the parameters of DM
soliton molecules for the given dispersion map and pulse energy. Then by means
of a scaling transformation and averaging procedure we reduce the original
nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (NLSE) with piecewise-constant periodic
dispersion to its counterpart with constant coefficients and additional
parabolic potential. The obtained averaged NLSE with expulsive potential can
explain the essential features of solitons and soliton molecules in DM fibers
related to their energy loss during propagation. Also, the model of averaged
NLSE predicts the instability of the temporal position of the soliton, which
may lead to difficulty in holding the pulse in the middle of its time slot. All
numerical simulations are performed using the parameters of the existing DM
fiber setup, and illustrated via pertinent examples.


title: Bandwidth Selection In Pre-Smoothed Particle Filters

abstract:
  For the purpose of maximum likelihood estimation of static parameters, we
apply a kernel smoother to the particles in the standard SIR filter for
non-linear state space models with additive Gaussian observation noise. This
reduces the Monte Carlo error in the estimates of both the posterior density of
the states and the marginal density of the observation at each time point. We
correct for variance inflation in the smoother, which together with the use of
Gaussian kernels, results in a Gaussian (Kalman) update when the amount of
smoothing turns to infinity. We propose and study of a criterion for choosing
the optimal bandwidth $h$ in the kernel smoother. Finally, we illustrate our
approach using examples from econometrics. Our filter is shown to be highly
suited for dynamic models with high signal-to-noise ratio, for which the SIR
filter has problems.


title: alpha-z-relative Renyi entropies

abstract:
  We consider a two-parameter family of R\'enyi relative entropies
$D_{\alpha,z}(\rho||\sigma)$ that are quantum generalisations of the classical
R\'enyi divergence $D_{\alpha}(p||q)$. This family includes many known relative
entropies (or divergences) such as the quantum relative entropy, the recently
defined quantum R\'enyi divergences, as well as the quantum R\'enyi relative
entropies. All its members satisfy the quantum generalizations of R\'enyi's
axioms for a divergence. We consider the range of the parameters $\alpha,z$ for
which the data processing inequality holds. We also investigate a variety of
limiting cases for the two parameters, obtaining explicit formulas for each one
of them.


title: The physical mechanism of AdS instability and Holographic Thermalization

abstract:
  Gravitational falling in AdS has two characteristic properties \cite{ohsin}:
i) A thick shell becomes a thin shell. ii) Any shape become spherical. Such
focusing character of AdS, for the collapse of dusts, leads to the rapid
thermalization mechanism in strongly interacting system. For the collapse of a
wave, it explains the cascade of energy to UV through repeated bounces, which
has been extensively discussed in recent numerical works. Therefore the
focusing is the physical mechanism of instability of AdS. Such sharp contrast
between the dust and wave in collapse, together with the experimental
observation of rapid thermalization, suggest that the initial condition of
created particles in RHIC is in a state with random character rather than a
coherent one. Two time scales, one for thermalization and the other for
hydro-nization are defined and calculated in terms of the total mass density
and energy distribution of the initial particles. We find $t_{th}\sim
(1-c_1/E^2)^{1/2}/T $ so that softer modes thermalize earlier. However, for
hydro-nization, $t_{hyd} \sim 1/E^{2/3}T^{1/3}$ therefore harder modes come
earlier. We also show that near horizon limit of Dp brane solutions have
similar focusing effect which is enough to guarantee the early thermalization.


title: Surface effect on the wrinkling of an elastic sheet under tension

abstract:
  Wrinkling of stretched elastic sheets is widely observed, and the scaling
relations between the amplitude and wavelength of the wrinkles have been
proposed by Cerda and Mahadevan. However, the surface effects should be taken
into account when the sheet is even thinner. The surface energy was considered
in this work, and the discrepancies with the classical theory has been
discussed. A dimensionless parameter has been proposed to represent the
size-dependence. A method of characterizing mechanical properties of thin film
using wrinkles considering surface effects has also been proposed.


title: Asteroseismology of the ZZ Ceti star KUV 11370+4222

abstract:
  KUV 11370+4222 is a ZZ Ceti star discovered in 1996, which has not been
observed since then. We performed observations for KUV 11370+4222 in 2010
January. From the Fourier transform spectrum of the light curves, ten
independent modes are detected. We searched for the best-fitting model by using
the observed periods to match the model periods and get it with the total mass
of 0.625 ${\rm M_{\odot}}$, the effective temperature of 10950 K, and the
helium mass fraction and hydrogen mass fraction of $10^{-2.2}$ and $10^{-4.0}$,
respectively. We have found a triplet of frequency split by rotation, which are
$l=1$ modes. Using the frequency shifts we estimate a rotation period of
$5.56\pm0.08$ h. Besides it, another $l=1$ mode is identified. The other
observed periods are identified as $l=2$ modes. At last we investigated the
property of the mode trapping.


title: Overt and covert paths for sound in the auditory system of mammals

abstract:
  The consensus, according to which the transmission of sound from the tympanum
to the Outer Hair Cells is solely mechanical, is problematic, especially with
respect to high pitched sounds. We demonstrate that the collagenous fibers of
the tympanum produce electric potentials synchronous to acoustic vibrations and
that, contrary to expectations, their amplitude increases as the frequency of
the vibration increases. These electrical potentials cannot be reduced to the
cochlear microphonic. Moreover, the alteration of collagen as well as that of
the gap junctions (electric synapses) necessary for the transmission of the
electric potentials to the complex formed by the Deiters Cells and Outer Hair
Cells, results in hypoacousis or deafness. The discovery of an electronic
pathway, complementary to air and bone conduction has the potential for
elucidating certain important as yet unexplained aspects of hearing with
respect to cochlear amplification, otoacoustic emissions, and hypoacusis
related to the deterioration of collagen or of gap-junctions. Thus, our
findings have important implications for both theory and practice.


title: Partial twisting for scalar mesons

abstract:
  The possibility of imposing partially twisted boundary conditions is
investigated for the scalar sector of lattice QCD. According to the commonly
shared belief, the presence of quark-antiquark annihilation diagrams in the
intermediate state generally hinders the use of the partial twisting. Using
effective field theory techniques in a finite volume, and studying the scalar
sector of QCD with total isospin I=1, we however demonstrate that partial
twisting can still be performed, despite the fact that annihilation diagrams
are present. The reason for this are delicate cancellations, which emerge due
to the graded symmetry in partially quenched QCD with valence, sea and ghost
quarks. The modified Luescher equation in case of partial twisting is given.