title:
Smooth minimization of nonsmooth functions with parallel coordinate
  descent methods

abstract:
  We study the performance of a family of randomized parallel coordinate
descent methods for minimizing the sum of a nonsmooth and separable convex
functions. The problem class includes as a special case L1-regularized L1
regression and the minimization of the exponential loss ("AdaBoost problem").
We assume the input data defining the loss function is contained in a sparse
$m\times n$ matrix $A$ with at most $\omega$ nonzeros in each row. Our methods
need $O(n \beta/\tau)$ iterations to find an approximate solution with high
probability, where $\tau$ is the number of processors and $\beta = 1 +
(\omega-1)(\tau-1)/(n-1)$ for the fastest variant. The notation hides
dependence on quantities such as the required accuracy and confidence levels
and the distance of the starting iterate from an optimal point. Since
$\beta/\tau$ is a decreasing function of $\tau$, the method needs fewer
iterations when more processors are used. Certain variants of our algorithms
perform on average only $O(\nnz(A)/n)$ arithmetic operations during a single
iteration per processor and, because $\beta$ decreases when $\omega$ does,
fewer iterations are needed for sparser problems.


title:
Generalized three-intensity decoy state method for measurement device
  independent quantum key distribution

abstract:
  We present improved results and more general results for the decoy-state
measurement device independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) where the
intensities of all 3 pulses can be non-zero. We present a more tightened
explicit formula for the lower bound of the yield of two single-photon pulses
for this generalized 3-intensity protocol, which can be applied to the recently
proposed MDI-QKD with imperfect single-photon sources such as the coherent
states or the heralded states from the parametric down-conversion. We strictly
prove that our result is better than the prior art result. With this result,
the final key rate rises drastically.


title: The chemically controlled synthesis of dust in type II-P supernovae

abstract:
  We study the formation of molecules and dust clusters in the ejecta of solar
metallicity, Type II-P supernovae using a chemical kinetic approach. We follow
the evolution of molecules and small dust cluster masses from day 100 to day
1500 after explosion. We consider stellar progenitors with initial mass of 12,
15, 19 and 25 Msun that explode as supernovae with stratified ejecta. The
molecular precursors to dust grains comprise molecular chains, rings and small
clusters of silica, silicates, metal oxides, sulphides and carbides, pure
metals, and carbon, where the nucleation of silicate clusters is described by a
two-step process of metal and oxygen addition. We study the impact of the 56Ni
mass on the type and amount of synthesised dust. We predict that large masses
of molecules including CO, SiO, SiS, O2, and SO form in the ejecta. We show
that the discrepancy between the small dust masses detected at infrared
wavelengths some 500 days post-explosion and the larger amounts of dust
recently detected with Herschel in supernova remnants can be explained by the
non-equilibrium chemistry linked to the formation of molecules and dust
clusters in the ejected material. Dust gradually builds up from small (~10^{-5}
Msun) to large masses (~5x 10^{-2} Msun) over a 5 yr period after explosion.
Subsequent dust formation and/or growth is hampered by the shortage of chemical
agents participating in the dust nucleation and the long time scale for
accretion. The results highlight the dependence of the dust chemical
composition and mass on the amount of 56Ni synthesised during the explosion.
This dependence may partly explain the diversity of epochs at which dust forms
in supernovae. More generally, our results indicate that type II-P supernovae
are efficient but moderate dust producers with an upper limit on the mass of
synthesised dust ranging from ~ 0.03 to 0.09 Msun.


title: Pulsar timing signal from ultralight scalar dark matter

abstract:
  An ultralight free scalar field with mass around 10^{-23} - 10^{-22} eV is a
viable dark mater candidate, which can help to resolve some of the issues of
the cold dark matter on sub-galactic scales. We consider the gravitational
field of the galactic halo composed out of such dark matter. The scalar field
has oscillating in time pressure, which induces oscillations of gravitational
potential with amplitude of the order of 10^{-15} and frequency in the
nanohertz range. This frequency is in the range of pulsar timing array
observations. We estimate the magnitude of the pulse arrival time residuals
induced by the oscillating gravitational potential. We find that for a range of
dark matter masses, the scalar field dark matter signal is comparable to the
stochastic gravitational wave signal and can be detected by the planned SKA
pulsar timing array experiment.


title: Testing the quantum superposition principle in the frequency domain

abstract:
  New technological developments allow to explore the quantum properties of
very complex systems, bringing the question of whether also macroscopic systems
share such features, within experimental reach. The interest in this question
is increased by the fact that, on the theory side, many suggest that the
quantum superposition principle is not exact, departures from it being the
larger, the more macroscopic the system. Here we propose a novel way to test
the possible violation of the superposition principle, by analyzing its effect
on the spectral properties of a generic two-level system. We will show that
spectral lines shapes are modified, if the superposition principle is violated,
and we quantify the magnitude of the violation. We show how this effect can be
distinguished from that of standard environmental noises. We argue that
accurate enough spectroscopic experiments are within reach, with current
technology.

categories: quant-ph physics.atm-clus physics.atom-ph physics.chem-ph


title: Covariant Photon Quantization in the SME

abstract:
  The Gupta Bleuler quantization procedure is applied to the SME photon sector.
A direct application of the method to the massless case fails due to an
unavoidable incompleteness in the polarization states. A mass term can be
included into the photon lagrangian to rescue the quantization procedure and
maintain covariance.


title: The Unitary Group In Its Strong Topology

abstract:
  The unitary group $\mathrm U(\mathcal H)$ on an infinite dimensional complex
Hilbert space $\mathcal H$ in its strong topology is a topological group and
has some further nice properties, e.g. it is metrizable and contractible if
$\mathcal H$ is separable. As an application Hilbert bundles are classified by
homotopy.


title: Regularity for the supercritical fractional Laplacian with drift

abstract:
  We consider the linear stationary equation defined by the fractional
Laplacian with drift. In the supercritical case, that is the case when the
dominant term is given by the drift instead of the diffusion component, we
prove local regularity of solutions in Sobolev spaces em- ploying tools from
the theory of pseudo-differential operators. The regularity of solutions in the
supercritical case is as expected in the subcritical case, when the diffusion
is at least as strong as the drift component, and the operator defined by the
fractional Laplacian with drift can be viewed as an elliptic operator, which is
not the case in the supercritical regime. We compute the leading singularity
for the Green's kernel in the supercritical range, which displays some unusual
behavior: it is more singular in the half plane into which the drift vector
points, than in the complementary half plane.


title: Tropical mirror symmetry for elliptic curves

abstract:
  Mirror symmetry relates Gromov-Witten invariants of an elliptic curve with
certain integrals over Feynman graphs. We prove a tropical generalization of
mirror symmetry for elliptic curves, i.e., a statement relating certain labeled
Gromov-Witten invariants of a tropical elliptic curve to more refined Feynman
integrals. This result easily implies the tropical analogue of the mirror
symmetry statement mentioned above and, using the necessary Correspondence
Theorem, also the mirror symmetry statement itself. In this way, our tropical
generalization leads to an alternative proof of mirror symmetry for elliptic
curves. We believe that our approach via tropical mirror symmetry naturally
carries the potential of being generalized to more adventurous situations of
mirror symmetry. Moreover, our tropical approach has the advantage that all
involved invariants are easy to compute. Furthermore, we can use the techniques
for computing Feynman integrals to prove that they are quasimodular forms.
Also, as a side product, we can give a combinatorial characterization of
Feynman graphs for which the corresponding integrals are zero. More generally,
the tropical mirror symmetry theorem gives a natural interpretation of the
A-model side (i.e., the generating function of Gromov-Witten invariants) in
terms of a sum over Feynman graphs. Hence our quasimodularity result becomes
meaningful on the A-model side as well. Our theoretical results are
complemented by a Singular package including several procedures that can be
used to compute Hurwitz numbers of the elliptic curve as integrals over Feynman
graphs.


title:
Comment on "Is there a breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein relation in
  Kinetically Constrained Models at low temperature?" by O. Blondel and C.
  Toninelli, arXiv:1307.1651

abstract:
  We consider the diffusion constant, D, of a probe particle coupled to the
East model, extending previous numerical results for this model to encompass a
total of twelve orders of magnitude in relaxation time, {\tau}. Our
considerations thus cover the full range of relaxation times relevant to
experimental studies of reversible glass formers. Throughout this range, we
show that the results of the model are consistent with a fractional
Stokes-Einstein law, D \propto {\tau}^{-{\xi}} with {\xi} \approx 0.77. The
same data can also be fit by relating D{\tau} to the East model excitation
concentration q, specifically, D{\tau} \sim 1/q^{\alpha} with {\alpha} \approx
1.6. In either case, breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein relation in this
kinetically constrained model is unquestionable and large.


title: Dealing with prime numbers I.: On the Goldbach conjecture

abstract:
  In this paper we present some observations about the well-known Goldbach
conjecture. In particular we list and interpret some numerical results which
allow us to formulate a relation between prime numbers and even integers. We
can also determine very thin and low diverging ranges in which the probability
of finding a prime is one.


title:
On the Success Rate of Crossover Operators for Genetic Programming with
  Offspring Selection

abstract:
  Genetic programming is a powerful heuristic search technique that is used for
a number of real world applications to solve among others regression,
classification, and time-series forecasting problems. A lot of progress towards
a theoretic description of genetic programming in form of schema theorems has
been made, but the internal dynamics and success factors of genetic programming
are still not fully understood. In particular, the effects of different
crossover operators in combination with offspring selection are largely
unknown.
  This contribution sheds light on the ability of well-known GP crossover
operators to create better offspring when applied to benchmark problems. We
conclude that standard (sub-tree swapping) crossover is a good default choice
in combination with offspring selection, and that GP with offspring selection
and random selection of crossover operators can improve the performance of the
algorithm in terms of best solution quality when no solution size constraints
are applied.


title:
Comment on "Discussion on `Novel attractive force between ions in
  quantum plasmas -- failure of simulations based on a density functional
  approach"

abstract:
  In a recent article [P.K. Shukla, B. Eliasson and M. Akbari-Moghanjoughi,
Physica Scripta {\bf 87}, 018202 (2013)] the authors criticized our analysis of
the screened proton potential in dense hydrogen that was based on {\em ab
initio} density functional theory (DFT) simulations [M. Bonitz, E. Pehlke, and
T. Schoof, Phys. Rev. E {\bf 87}, 037102 (2013)]. In particular, they
attributed the absence of the Shukla-Eliasson attractive force between protons
in the DFT simulations to a failure of DFT. Here we discuss in detail their
arguments and show that their conclusions are incorrect.


title: On the extreme points of quantum channels

abstract:
  Let L(m,n) denote the convex set of completely positive trace preserving
operators from C^{m x m} to C^{n x n}$, i.e quantum channels. We give a
necessary condition for L in L(m,n) to be an extreme point. We show that
generically, this condition is also sufficient. We characterize completely the
extreme points of L_(2,2) and L(3,2), i.e. quantum channels from qubits to
qubits and from qutrits to qubits.


title:
On Arnold's notion of versal deformations and stratification of moduli
  spaces given by group actions

abstract:
  The aim of this paper is to compare stratifications of moduli spaces given by
group actions in the case of similarity of matrices introduced by Arnold and
the author's stratification by projective orbifolds, and its relation to
deformations o elements in the moduli space.


title:
A study of the one dimensional total generalised variation
  regularisation problem

abstract:
  In this paper we study the one dimensional second order total generalised
variation regularisation (TGV) problem with $L^{2}$ data fitting term. We
examine some properties of this model and we calculate exact solutions using
simple piecewise affine functions as data terms. We investigate how these
solutions behave with respect to the TGV parameters and we verify our results
using numerical experiments.


title: The problem of detecting corrosion by an electric measurement revisited

abstract:
  We establish a logarithmic stability estimate for the problem of detecting
corrosion by a single electric measurement. We give a proof based on an
adaptation of the method initiated in \cite{BCJ} for solving the inverse
problem of recovering the surface impedance of an obstacle from the scattering
amplitude. The key idea consists in estimating accurately a lower bound of the
$L^2$-norm, locally at the boundary, of the solution of the boundary value
problem used in modeling the problem of detection corrosion by an electric
measurement


title:
On Dwork's p-adic formal congruences theorem and hypergeometric mirror
  maps

abstract:
  Using Dwork's theory, we prove a broad generalisation of his famous p-adic
formal congruences theorem. This enables us to prove certain p-adic congruences
for the generalized hypergeometric series with rational parameters; in
particular, they hold for any prime number p and not only for almost all
primes. Along the way, using Christol's functions, we provide an explicit
formula for the "Eisenstein constant" of any globally bounded hypergeometric
series with rational parameters. As an application of these results, we obtain
an arithmetic statement of a new type concerning the integrality of Taylor
coefficients of the associated mirror maps. It essentially contains all the
similar univariate integrality results in the litterature.


title:
Local boundedness property for parabolic BVP's and the gaussian upper
  bound for their Green functions

abstract:
  In the present note, we give a concise proof for the equivalence between the
local boundedness property for parabolic Dirichlet BVP's and the gaussian upper
bound for their Green functions. The parabolic equations we consider are of
general divergence form and our proof is essentially based on the gaussian
upper bound by Daners \cite{Da} and a Caccioppoli's type inequality. We also
show how the same analysis enables us to get a weaker version of the local
boundedness property for parabolic Neumann BVP's assuming that the
corresponding Green functions satisfy a gaussian upper bound.


title: Fenchel Duals for Drifting Adversaries

abstract:
  We describe a primal-dual framework for the design and analysis of online
convex optimization algorithms for {\em drifting regret}. Existing literature
shows (nearly) optimal drifting regret bounds only for the $\ell_2$ and the
$\ell_1$-norms. Our work provides a connection between these algorithms and the
Online Mirror Descent ($\omd$) updates; one key insight that results from our
work is that in order for these algorithms to succeed, it suffices to have the
gradient of the regularizer to be bounded (in an appropriate norm). For
situations (like for the $\ell_1$ norm) where the vanilla regularizer does not
have this property, we have to {\em shift} the regularizer to ensure this.
Thus, this helps explain the various updates presented in \cite{bansal10,
buchbinder12}. We also consider the online variant of the problem with
1-lookahead, and with movement costs in the $\ell_2$-norm. Our primal dual
approach yields nearly optimal competitive ratios for this problem.


title: A complexity theory of constructible functions and sheaves

abstract:
  In this paper we introduce constructible analogs of the discrete complexity
classes $\mathbf{VP}$ and $\mathbf{VNP}$ of sequences of functions. The
functions in the new definitions are constructible functions on $\mathbb{R}^n$
or $\mathbb{C}^n$. We define a class of sequences of constructible functions
that play a role analogous to that of $\mathbf{VP}$ in the more classical
theory. The class analogous to $\mathbf{VNP}$ is defined using Euler
integration. We discuss several examples, develop a theory of completeness, and
pose a conjecture analogous to the $\mathbf{VP}$ vs. $\mathbf{VNP}$ conjecture
in the classical case. In the second part of the paper we extend the notions of
complexity classes to sequences of constructible sheaves over $\mathbb{R}^n$
(or its one point compactification). We introduce a class of sequences of
simple constructible sheaves, that could be seen as the sheaf-theoretic analog
of the Blum-Shub-Smale class $\mathbf{P}_{\mathbb{R}}$. We also define a
hierarchy of complexity classes of sheaves mirroring the polynomial hierarchy,
$\mathbf{PH}_{\mathbb{R}}$, in the B-S-S theory. We prove a singly exponential
upper bound on the topological complexity of the sheaves in this hierarchy
mirroring a similar result in the B-S-S setting. We obtain as a result an
algorithm with singly exponential complexity for a sheaf-theoretic variant of
the real quantifier elimination problem. We pose the natural sheaf-theoretic
analogs of the classical $\mathbf{P}$ vs. $\mathbf{NP}$ question, and also
discuss a connection with Toda's theorem from discrete complexity theory in the
context of constructible sheaves. We also discuss possible generalizations of
the questions in complexity theory related to separation of complexity classes
to more general categories via sequences of adjoint pairs of functors.


title: Correlation Dynamics and Enhanced Signals for Serial DNA Sequencing

abstract:
  Nanopore based sequencing has demonstrated significant potential for the
development of fast, accurate, and cost-efficient fingerprinting techniques for
next generation molecular detection and sequencing. We propose a specific
multi-layered graphene-based nanopore device architecture for the recognition
of single DNA bases. Molecular detection and analysis can be accomplished
through the detection of transverse currents as the molecule or DNA base
translocates through the nanopore. To increase the overall signal-to-noise
ratio and the accuracy, we implement a new "multi-point cross-correlation"
technique for identification of DNA bases or other molecules on the molecular
level. We demonstrate that the cross-correlations between each nanopore will
greatly enhance the transverse current signal for each molecule. We implement
first-principles transport calculations for DNA bases surveyed across a
multi-layered graphene nanopore system to illustrate the advantages of proposed
geometry. A time-series analysis of the cross-correlation functions illustrates
the potential of this method for enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio. This work
constitutes a significant step forward in facilitating fingerprinting of single
biomolecules using solid state technology.


title: Characterization of Qubit Dephasing by Landau-Zener Interferometry

abstract:
  Controlling coherent interaction at avoided crossings is at the heart of
quantum information processing. The regime between sudden switches and
adiabatic transitions is characterized by quantum superpositions that enable
interference experiments. Here, we implement periodic passages at intermediate
speed in a GaAs-based two-electron charge qubit and observe
Landau-Zener-St\"uckelberg-Majorana (LZSM) quantum interference of the
resulting superposition state. We demonstrate that LZSM interferometry is a
viable and very general tool to not only study qubit properties but beyond to
decipher decoherence caused by complex environmental influences. Our scheme is
based on straightforward steady state experiments. The coherence time of our
two-electron charge qubit is limited by electron-phonon interaction. It is much
longer than previously reported for similar structures.


title: Massive star formation in galaxies with excess UV emission

abstract:
  From an analysis of almost 2000 GALEX images of galaxies with morphological
types ranging from E to Sab, we have found a significant subset (28%) that show
UV emission outside $R_{25}$. We have obtained H$\alpha$ imaging of ten such
galaxies, and find that their star formation rates are similar in the UV and in
H$\alpha$, with values ranging from a few tenths to a few $M_{\odot} $ yr$
^{-1} $. Probably because our sample selection is biased towards star-forming
galaxies, these rates are comparable to those found in disk galaxies, although
the star formation rates of the elliptical galaxies in our sample are well
below $1\,M_{\odot} $ yr$ ^{-1}$. We confirm that the extended UV emission in
our sample is caused by massive star formation in outer spiral arms and/or
outer (pseudo) rings, rather than by alternative mechanisms such as the UV
upturn.


title:
From Once Upon a Time to Happily Ever After: Tracking Emotions in Novels
  and Fairy Tales

abstract:
  Today we have access to unprecedented amounts of literary texts. However,
search still relies heavily on key words. In this paper, we show how sentiment
analysis can be used in tandem with effective visualizations to quantify and
track emotions in both individual books and across very large collections. We
introduce the concept of emotion word density, and using the Brothers Grimm
fairy tales as example, we show how collections of text can be organized for
better search. Using the Google Books Corpus we show how to determine an
entity's emotion associations from co-occurring words. Finally, we compare
emotion words in fairy tales and novels, to show that fairy tales have a much
wider range of emotion word densities than novels.


title:
Critical temperatures for superconducting phase-coherence and
  condensation in La2-xSrxCuO4

abstract:
  A pivotal ongoing debate about cuprate superconductors (HTS) is the location
of the transition temperatures for the superconducting wave function phase
coherence and condensation, Tphase and Tcond. This shall elucidate which of two
very different interactions dictate the macroscopic superconducting phase
diagram of HTS: either those between normal-state carriers or those between
preformed vortices and antivortices. Here, we present unambiguous experimental
determinations of Tphase and Tcond in the prototypical HTS La2-xSrxCuO4 as a
function of the doping level x. Tphase is measured as a sharp change in the
exponent alpha of the voltage-current characteristics (V proportional to
I^alpha). Tcond is determined from the critical rounding of the ohmic
resistivity above Tphase. Our measurements indicate that the transition to
macroscopic superconductivity is accompanied by phase coherence due to
vortex-antivortex binding and also that, for all x, Tcond lies only a few
Kelvin above Tphase, limiting then the shift of the transition due to
vortex-antivortex correlations.


title: Measurements of b hadron lifetimes and effective lifetimes at LHCb

abstract:
  Precision measurements of b-hadron lifetimes are a key goal of the LHCb
experiment. In the B_s sector, the measurement of the effective lifetimes for
B_s mesons decaying to CP-odd, CP-even and flavor specific final states are
essential for constraining the B_s mixing parameters, $\Delta \Gamma_s$, the
average width, $\Gamma_s$, and the CP-violating phase, $\phi_s$. Measurements
of $b$ baryon lifetimes are also important to test theoretical models. We
present the latest results from LHCb on these topics.


title: NLO matching for ttbb production with massive b-quarks

abstract:
  Theoretical uncertainties in the simulation of ttbb production represent one
of the main obstacles that still hamper the observation of Higgs-boson
production in association with top-quark pairs in the H->bb channel. In this
letter we present a next-to-leading order (NLO) simulation of ttbb production
with massive b-quarks matched to the Sherpa parton shower. This allows one to
extend NLO predictions to arbitrary ttbb kinematics, including the case where
one or both b-jets arise from collinear g->bb splittings. We find that this
splitting mechanism plays an important role for the ttH(bb) analysis.


title: Spatial dependency between task positive and task negative networks

abstract:
  Functional neuroimaging reveals both relative increases (task-positive) and
decreases (task-negative) in neural activation with many tasks. There are
strong spatial similarities between many frequently reported task-negative
brain networks, which are often termed the default mode network. The default
mode network is typically assumed to be a spatially-fixed network; however,
when defined by task-induced deactivation, its spatial distribution it varies
depending on what specific task is being performed. Many studies have revealed
a strong temporal relationship between task-positive and task-negative networks
that are important for efficient cognitive functioning and here. Here, using
data from four different cognitive tasks taken from two independent datasets,
we test the hypothesis that there is also a fundamental spatial relationship
between them. Specifically, it is hypothesized that the distance between task
positive and negative-voxels is preserved despite different spatial patterns of
activation and deactivation being evoked by different cognitive tasks. Here, we
show that there is lower variability in the distance between task-positive and
task-negative voxels across four different sensory, motor and cognitive tasks
than would be expected by chance - implying that deactivation patterns are
spatially dependent on activation patterns (and vice versa) and that both are
modulated by specific task demands. We propose that this spatial relationship
may be the macroscopic analogue of microscopic neuronal organization reported
in sensory cortical systems, and we speculate why this spatial organization may
be important for efficient sensorimotor and cognitive functioning.


title: Computational barriers in minimax submatrix detection

abstract:
  This paper studies the minimax detection of a small submatrix of elevated
mean in a large matrix contaminated by additive Gaussian noise. To investigate
the tradeoff between statistical performance and computational cost from a
complexity-theoretic perspective, we consider a sequence of discretized models
which are asymptotically equivalent to the Gaussian model. Under the hypothesis
that the planted clique detection problem cannot be solved in randomized
polynomial time when the clique size is of smaller order than the square root
of the graph size, the following phase transition phenomenon is established:
when the size of the large matrix $p\to\infty$, if the submatrix size
$k=\Theta(p^{\alpha})$ for any $\alpha\in(0,{2}/{3})$, computational complexity
constraints can incur a severe penalty on the statistical performance in the
sense that any randomized polynomial-time test is minimax suboptimal by a
polynomial factor in $p$; if $k=\Theta(p^{\alpha})$ for any
$\alpha\in({2}/{3},1)$, minimax optimal detection can be attained within
constant factors in linear time. Using Schatten norm loss as a representative
example, we show that the hardness of attaining the minimax estimation rate can
crucially depend on the loss function. Implications on the hardness of support
recovery are also obtained.


title:
Quantum Input-Output Theory for Optical Cavities with Arbitrary Coupling
  Strength: Application to Two-Photon Wave-Packet Shaping

abstract:
  We develop quantum-optical input-output theory for resonators with arbitrary
coupling strength, and for input fields whose spectrum can be wider than the
cavity free-spectral range, while ensuring that the field-operator commutator
relations in space-time variables are correct. The cavity-field commutator
exhibits a series of space-time echoes, representing causal connections of
certain space-time points by light propagation. We apply the theory to
two-photon wave-packet shaping by cavity reflection, which displays a
remarkable illustration of dispersion cancellation. We also show that the
theory is amenable to inclusion of intracavity absorbing and emitting atoms,
allowing, for example, dissipative losses within the cavity to be incorporated
in a quantum mechanically correct way.


title: Polar plumes' orientation and the Sun's global magnetic field

abstract:
  We characterize the orientation of polar plumes as a tracer of the
large-scale coronal magnetic field configuration. We monitor in particular the
north and south magnetic pole locations and the magnetic opening during
2007-2008 and provide some understanding of the variations in these quantities.
The polar plume orientation is determined by applying the Hough-wavelet
transform to a series of EUV images and extracting the key Hough space
parameters of the resulting maps. The same procedure is applied to the polar
cap field inclination derived from extrapolating magnetograms generated by a
surface flux transport model. We observe that the position where the magnetic
field is radial (the Sun's magnetic poles) reflects the global organization of
magnetic field on the solar surface, and we suggest that this opens the
possibility of both detecting flux emergence anywhere on the solar surface
(including the far side) and better constraining the reorganization of the
corona after flux emergence.


title:
Dirac cone with helical spin polarization in ultrathin $\alpha$-Sn(001)
  films

abstract:
  Spin-split two-dimensional electronic states have been observed on ultrathin
Sn(001) films grown on InSb(001) substrates. Angle-resolved photoelectron
spectroscopy (ARPES) performed on these films revealed Dirac-cone-like linear
dispersion around the $\bar{\Gamma}$ point of surface Brillouin zone,
suggesting nearly massless electrons belonging to 2D surface states. The states
disperse across a bandgap between bulk-like quantum well states in the films.
Moreover, both circular dichroism of ARPES and spin-resolved ARPES studies show
helical spin polarization of the Dirac-cone-like surface states, suggesting a
topologically protected character as in a bulk topological insulator (TI).
These results indicate that a quasi-3D TI phase can be realized in ultrathin
films of zero-gap semiconductors.


title:
Termodin\'amica Estad\'istica de macromol\'eculas sobre membranas
  biol\'ogicas

abstract:
  In this paper we develop explicitly the general Statistical Thermodynamics
formalism to study of systems restricted to lie on revolution surfaces,
particularly we derive the virial state equation of sphere and torus. A model
to study the thermodynamical properties of macromolecules on biological
membranes is constructed.


title:
A method to rescale experimental data with dependence on $Q^2$ for DVCS
  process

abstract:
  We investigate the procedure for rescaling the DVCS cross section data
collected with different invariant mass, $W$, of the virtual photon - proton
system. We suggest a method which makes the rescaling more functional to
conduct statistical analysis on overall data. The study can be applied to
rescale data collected with different photon virtuality $Q^2$. Also we show a
dependence on $Q^2$ for the $\delta$ parameter, that is used to describe the
cross section as a function of $W$.


title:
Comparing LOPES measurements of air-shower radio emission with REAS 3.11
  and CoREAS simulations

abstract:
  Cosmic ray air showers emit radio pulses at MHz frequencies, which can be
measured with radio antenna arrays - like LOPES at the Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology in Germany. To improve the understanding of the radio emission, we
test theoretical descriptions with measured data. The observables used for
these tests are the absolute amplitude of the radio signal, and the shape of
the radio lateral distribution. We compare lateral distributions of more than
500 LOPES events with two recent and public Monte Carlo simulation codes, REAS
3.11 and CoREAS (v 1.0). The absolute radio amplitudes predicted by REAS 3.11
are in good agreement with the LOPES measurements. The amplitudes predicted by
CoREAS are lower by a factor of two, and marginally compatible with the LOPES
measurements within the systematic scale uncertainties. In contrast to any
previous versions of REAS, REAS 3.11 and CoREAS now reproduce the shape of the
measured lateral distributions correctly. This reflects a remarkable progress
compared to the situation a few years ago, and it seems that the main processes
for the radio emission of air showers are now understood: The emission is
mainly due to the geomagnetic deflection of the electrons and positrons in the
shower. Less important but not negligible is the Askaryan effect (net charge
variation). Moreover, we confirm that the refractive index of the air plays an
important role, since it changes the coherence conditions for the emission:
Only the new simulations including the refractive index can reproduce rising
lateral distributions which we observe in a few LOPES events. Finally, we show
that the lateral distribution is sensitive to the energy and the mass of the
primary cosmic ray particles.


title:
Analytic solutions to the central spin problem for Nitrogen Vacancy
  centres in diamond

abstract:
  Due to interest in both solid state based quantum computing architectures and
the application of quantum mechanical systems to nanomagnetometry, there has
been considerable recent attention focused on understanding the microscopic
dynamics of solid state spin baths and their effects on the coherence of a
controllable, coupled central electronic spin. Many analytic approaches are
based on simplified phenomenological models in which it is difficult to capture
much of the complex physics associated with this system. Conversely, numerical
approaches reproduce this complex behaviour, but are limited in the amount of
theoretical insight they can provide. Using a systematic approach based on the
spatial statistics of spin bath constituents, we develop a purely analytic
theory for the central spin decoherence problem of Nitrogen Vacancy centres in
diamond that reproduces the experimental and numerical results found in the
literature, whilst correcting a number of limitations and inaccuracies
associated with existing analytical approaches.


title: Geometry of canonical bases and mirror symmetry

abstract:
  A decorated surface S is a surface with a finite set of special points on the
boundary, considered modulo isotopy. Let G be a split reductive group. A pair
(G, S) gives rise to a moduli space A(G, S), closely related to the space of
G-local systems on S. It has a positive structure. So the set of its integral
tropical points is defined. We introduce a rational positive function W on A(G,
S), the potential. The condition that its tropicalisation is non-negative
determines its subset. For SL(2), we recover the set of integral laminations on
S. We prove that when S is a disc with n special points on the boundary, this
set parametrises top dimensional components of the convolution varieties. Thus,
via geometric Satake correspondence, they provide a canonical basis in tensor
product invariants of irreducible modules for the Langlands dual group. When
G=GL(m), n=3, there is a special coordinate system on A(G,S). We show that it
identifies our set with the set of with Knutson-Tao's hives. Our result
generalises a theorem of Kamnitzer, who used hives to parametrise top
components of convolution varieties for GL(m), n=3. For n>3, we prove
Kamnitzer's conjecture. We define canonical bases in tensor products,
generalizing the Mirkovic-Vilonen basis in a single representation. We prove
that for any S, the set of positive integral tropical points of A(G, S)
parametrise top components in a new space, surface affine Grasmannian. We view
W as a potential for Landau-Ginzburg model on A(G,S). We conjecture that the
pair (A(G,S), W) is the mirror dual to the moduli space of local systems on S
for the Langlands dual group. In a special case, we recover Givental's
description of the quantum cohomology connection for flag varieties.


title:
Asymptotically Normal and Efficient Estimation of Covariate-Adjusted
  Gaussian Graphical Model

abstract:
  A tuning-free procedure is proposed to estimate the covariate-adjusted
Gaussian graphical model. For each finite subgraph, this estimator is
asymptotically normal and efficient. As a consequence, a confidence interval
can be obtained for each edge. The procedure enjoys easy implementation and
efficient computation through parallel estimation on subgraphs or edges. We
further apply the asymptotic normality result to perform support recovery
through edge-wise adaptive thresholding. This support recovery procedure is
called ANTAC, standing for Asymptotically Normal estimation with Thresholding
after Adjusting Covariates. ANTAC outperforms other methodologies in the
literature in a range of simulation studies. We apply ANTAC to identify
gene-gene interactions using an eQTL dataset. Our result achieves better
interpretability and accuracy in comparison with CAMPE.


title: Testing chemical composition of highest energy comic rays

abstract:
  We study basic characteristics of distributions of the depths of shower
maximum in air showers caused by cosmic rays with the highest energies. The
consistency between their average values and widths, and their energy
dependences are discussed within a simple phenomenological model of shower
development independently of assumptions about detailed features of
high--energy interactions. It is shown that reliable information on primary
species can be derived within a partition method. We present examples
demonstrating implications for the changes in mass composition of primary
cosmic rays.


title: Combinatorial simplex algorithms can solve mean payoff games

abstract:
  A combinatorial simplex algorithm is an instance of the simplex method in
which the pivoting depends on combinatorial data only. We show that any
algorithm of this kind admits a tropical analogue which can be used to solve
mean payoff games. Moreover, any combinatorial simplex algorithm with a
strongly polynomial complexity (the existence of such an algorithm is open)
would provide in this way a strongly polynomial algorithm solving mean payoff
games. Mean payoff games are known to be in NP and co-NP; whether they can be
solved in polynomial time is an open problem. Our algorithm relies on a
tropical implementation of the simplex method over a real closed field of Hahn
series. One of the key ingredients is a new scheme for symbolic perturbation
which allows us to lift an arbitrary mean payoff game instance into a
non-degenerate linear program over Hahn series.


title: A supersonic turbulence origin of Larson's laws

abstract:
  We revisit the origin of Larson's scaling laws describing the structure and
kinematics of molecular clouds. Our analysis is based on recent observational
measurements and data from a suite of six simulations of the interstellar
medium, including effects of self-gravity, turbulence, magnetic field, and
multiphase thermodynamics. Simulations of isothermal supersonic turbulence
reproduce observed slopes in linewidth-size and mass-size relations. Whether or
not self-gravity is included, the linewidth-size relation remains the same. The
mass-size relation, instead, substantially flattens below the sonic scale, as
prestellar cores start to form. Our multiphase models with magnetic field and
domain size 200 pc reproduce both scaling and normalization of the first Larson
law. The simulations support a turbulent interpretation of Larson's relations.
This interpretation implies that: (i) the slopes of linewidth-size and
mass-size correlations are determined by the inertial cascade; (ii) none of the
three Larson laws is fundamental; (iii) instead, if one is known, the other two
follow from scale invariance of the kinetic energy transfer rate. It does not
imply that gravity is dynamically unimportant. The self-similarity of structure
established by the turbulence breaks in star-forming clouds due to the
development of gravitational instability in the vicinity of the sonic scale.
The instability leads to the formation of prestellar cores with the
characteristic mass set by the sonic scale. The high-end slope of the core mass
function predicted by the scaling relations is consistent with the Salpeter
power-law index.


title: XML Compression via DAGs

abstract:
  Unranked trees can be represented using their minimal dag (directed acyclic
graph). For XML this achieves high compression ratios due to their repetitive
mark up. Unranked trees are often represented through first child/next sibling
(fcns) encoded binary trees. We study the difference in size (= number of
edges) of minimal dag versus minimal dag of the fcns encoded binary tree. One
main finding is that the size of the dag of the binary tree can never be
smaller than the square root of the size of the minimal dag, and that there are
examples that match this bound. We introduce a new combined structure, the
hybrid dag, which is guaranteed to be smaller than (or equal in size to) both
dags. Interestingly, we find through experiments that last child/previous
sibling encodings are much better for XML compression via dags, than fcns
encodings. We determine the average sizes of unranked and binary dags over a
given set of labels (under uniform distribution) in terms of their exact
generating functions, and in terms of their asymptotical behavior.


title:
Characteristic function of the positive part of a random variable and
  related results, with applications

abstract:
  Let $X$ be an arbitrary real-valued random variable (r.v.), with the
characteristic function (c.f.) $f$. Integral expressions for the c.f.\ of the
r.v.'s $\max(0,X)$ in terms of $f$ are given, as well as other related results.
Applications to stock options and random walks are presented. In particular, a
more explicit and compact form of Spitzer's identity is obtained.


title:
Flavor dependence of unpolarized TMDs from semi-inclusive pion
  production

abstract:
  Recent data from semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering collected by the
HERMES collaboration allow for the first time to discuss how the
transverse-momentum dependence of unpolarized distribution and fragmentation
functions is affected by the flavor of the involved partons. A model built with
flavor-dependent Gaussian transverse-momentum distributions fits data better
than the same flavor-independent model. The current analysis is performed for
totally unpolarized scattering of leptons off protons and deuterons, with
detected pions in the final state. There are convincing indications of flavor
dependence in the fragmentation functions, while for parton distribution
functions the evidence is weaker.


title:
Mesosphere Light Scattering Depolarization During the Perseids Activity
  Epoch by WAPC Measurements

abstract:
  The paper describes the study of field of scattered radiation in the
mesosphere basing on wide-angle polarization camera (WAPC) measurements of the
twilight sky background. Mid-August observations in 2012 and 2013 show the
decrease of single scattering polarization value that can be related with
Perseids meteor dust moderation in the upper mesosphere. Effect correlates with
activity of tiny fraction of Perseids shower. Polarization and temperature
analysis allows estimating the altitude of dust layer and character
polarization of dust scattering.


title:
Data Mining using Unguided Symbolic Regression on a Blast Furnace
  Dataset

abstract:
  In this paper a data mining approach for variable selection and knowledge
extraction from datasets is presented. The approach is based on unguided
symbolic regression (every variable present in the dataset is treated as the
target variable in multiple regression runs) and a novel variable relevance
metric for genetic programming. The relevance of each input variable is
calculated and a model approximating the target variable is created. The
genetic programming configurations with different target variables are executed
multiple times to reduce stochastic effects and the aggregated results are
displayed as a variable interaction network. This interaction network
highlights important system components and implicit relations between the
variables. The whole approach is tested on a blast furnace dataset, because of
the complexity of the blast furnace and the many interrelations between the
variables. Finally the achieved results are discussed with respect to existing
knowledge about the blast furnace process.


title:
Characterizing the infection-induced transcriptome of Nasonia
  vitripennis reveals a preponderance of taxonomically-restricted immune genes

abstract:
  The innate immune system in insects consists of a conserved core signaling
network and rapidly diversifying effector and recognition components, often
containing a high proportion of taxonomically-restricted genes. In the absence
of functional annotation, genes encoding immune system proteins can thus be
difficult to identify, as homology-based approaches generally cannot detect
lineage-specific genes. Here, we use RNA-seq to compare the uninfected and
infection-induced transcriptome in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis to
identify genes regulated by infection. We identify 183 genes significantly
up-regulated by infection and 61 genes significantly down-regulated by
infection. We also produce a new homology-based immune catalog in N.
vitripennis, and show that most infection-induced genes are not assigned an
immune function from homology alone, suggesting the potential for substantial
novel immune components in less-well-studied systems. Finally, we show that a
high proportion of these novel induced genes are taxonomically-restricted,
highlighting the rapid evolution of immune gene content. The combination of
functional annotation using RNA-seq and homology-based annotation provides a
robust method to characterize the innate immune response across a wide variety
of insects, and reveals significant novel features of the Nasonia immune
response.


title:
VVV Survey Near-Infrared Photometry of Known Bulge RR Lyrae stars: the
  Distance to the Galactic Center and Absence of a Barred Distribution of the
  Metal-Poor Population

abstract:
  We have combined optical and near-infrared data of known RR Lyrae (RRL) stars
in the bulge in order to study the spatial distribution of its metal-poor
component by measuring precise reddening values and distances of 7663
fundamental-mode RRL stars with high-quality photometry. We obtain a distance
to the Galactic center of R0 = 8.33 +/- 0.05 +/- 0.14 kpc. We find that the
spatial distribution of the RRL stars differs from the structures traced by the
predominantly metal-rich red clump (RC) stars. Unlike the RC stars, the RRL
stars do not trace a strong bar, but have a more spheroidal, centrally
concentrated distribution, showing only a slight elongation in its very center.
We find a hint of bimodality in the density distribution at high southern
latitudes (b < -5), which needs to be confirmed by extending the areal coverage
of the current census. The different spatial distributions of the metal-rich
and metal-poor stellar populations suggest that the Milky Way has a composite
bulge.


title:
Differently Shaped Hard Body Colloids in Confinement: From passive to
  active particles

abstract:
  We review recent progress in the theoretical description of anisotropic hard
colloidal particles. The shapes considered range from rods and dumbbells to
rounded cubes, polyhedra and to biaxial particles with arbitrary shape. Our
focus is on both static and dynamical density functional theory and on computer
simulations. We describe recent results for the structure, dynamics and phase
behaviour in the bulk and in various confining geometries, e.g. established by
two parallel walls which reduce the dimensionality of the system to two
dimensions. We also include recent theoretical modelling for active particles,
which are autonomously driven by some intrinsic motor, and highlight their
fascinating nonequilibrium dynamics and collective behaviour.


title: Self-interference of a toroidal Bose-Einstein condensate

abstract:
  We demonstrate the role played by a ring trap and the associated ring
geometry in inducing self-interference of a toroidal Bose-Einstein condensate.
We start by showing how the existence of the self-interference can be inferred
from the Wigner function representation of the ring. Then, using analytical
expressions for the time-evolution of a freely expanding ring condensate with
and without a persistent current, we show that the self-interference of the
ring condensate is possible only in the absence of the persistent current. We
conclude by proposing an experimental protocol for the creation of ring dark
solitons using the toroidal self-interference.


title: Nonparametric graphon estimation

abstract:
  We propose a nonparametric framework for the analysis of networks, based on a
natural limit object termed a graphon. We prove consistency of graphon
estimation under general conditions, giving rates which include the important
practical setting of sparse networks. Our results cover dense and sparse
stochastic blockmodels with a growing number of classes, under model
misspecification. We use profile likelihood methods, and connect our results to
approximation theory, nonparametric function estimation, and the theory of
graph limits.


title: Metrics and spectral triples for Dirichlet and resistance forms

abstract:
  The article deals with intrinsic metrics, Dirac operators and spectral
triples induced by regular Dirichlet and resistance forms. We show, in
particular, that if a local resistance form is given and the space is compact
in resistance metric, then the intrinsic metric yields a geodesic space. Given
a regular Dirichlet form, we consider Dirac operators within the framework of
differential 1-forms proposed by Cipriani and Sauvageot, and comment on its
spectral properties. If the Dirichlet form admits a carr\'e operator and the
generator has discrete spectrum, then we can construct a related spectral
triple, and in the compact and strongly local case the associated Connes
distance coincides with the intrinsic metric. We finally give a description of
the intrinsic metric in terms of vector fields.

categories: math.OA math-ph math.DG math.FA math.MP math.PR


title: The Role of Dust in Models of Population Synthesis

abstract:
  We have employed state-of-the-art evolutionary models of low and
intermediate-mass AGB stars, and included the effect of circumstellar dust
shells on the spectral energy distribution (SED) of AGB stars, to revise the
Padua library of isochrones (Bertelli et al. 1994). The major revision involves
the thermally pulsing AGB phase, that is now taken from fully evolutionary
calculations by Weiss & Ferguson (2009). Two libraries of about 600 AGB
dust-enshrouded SEDs each have also been calculated, one for oxygen-rich
M-stars and one for carbon-rich C-stars. Each library accounts for different
values of input parameters like the optical depth {\tau}, dust composition, and
temperature of the inner boundary of the dust shell. These libraries of dusty
AGB spectra have been implemented into a large composite library of theoretical
stellar spectra, to cover all regions of the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HRD)
crossed by the isochrones. With the aid of the above isochrones and libraries
of stellar SEDs, we have calculated the spectro-photometric properties (SEDs,
magnitudes, and colours) of single-generation stellar populations (SSPs) for
six metallicities, more than fifty ages (from 3 Myr to 15 Gyr), and nine
choices of the Initial Mass Function. The new isochrones and SSPs have been
compared to the colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of field populations in the
LMC and SMC, with particular emphasis on AGB stars, and the integrated colours
of star clusters in the same galaxies, using data from the SAGE (Surveying the
Agents of Galaxy Evolution) catalogues. We have also examined the integrated
colours of a small sample of star clusters located in the outskirts of M31. The
agreement between theory and observations is generally good. In particular, the
new SSPs reproduce the red tails of the AGB star distribution in the CMDs of
field stars in the Magellanic Clouds.


title:
Localization of low-frequency oscillations in single-walled carbon
  nanotubes

abstract:
  New phenomenon of a weak energy localization of optical low-frequency
oscillations in carbon nanotubes (CNT) is analytically predicted in the
framework of continuum shell theory. This phenomenon takes place for CNTs of
finite length with medium aspect ratio. The origin of localization is clarified
by means of the concept of Limiting Phase Trajectory, and the analytical
results are confirmed by the MD simulation of simply supported CNT.


title:
Initiation and blocking of the action potential in the axon in weak
  ultrasonic or microwave fields

abstract:
  In this paper, we analyze the effect of the redistribution of the
transmembrane ion channels in the axon caused by longitudinal acoustic
vibrations of the membrane. These oscillations can be excited by an external
source of ultrasound and weak microwave radiation interacting with the charges
sitting on the surface of the lipid membrane. It is shown, using the
Hodgkin-Huxley model of the axon, that the density redistribution of
transmembrane sodium channels may reduce the threshold of the action potential,
up to its spontaneous initiation. At the significant redistribution of sodium
channels in membrane, the rarefaction zones of the transmembrane channels
density are formed, blocking the propagation of the action potential. Blocking
the action potential propagation along the axon is shown to cause anestesia in
the example case of a squid axon. Various approaches to experimental
observation of the effects considered in this paper are discussed.


title: Electron spin separation without magnetic field

abstract:
  A nanodevice capable of separating spins of two electrons confined in a
quantum dot formed in a gated semiconductor nanowire is proposed. Two electrons
confined initially in a single quantum dot in the singlet state are transformed
into the system of two electrons confined in two spatially separated quantum
dots with opposite spins. In order to separate the electrons' spins we exploit
transitions between the singlet and the triplet state which are induced by
resonantly oscillating Rashba spin-obit coupling strength. The proposed device
is all electrically controlled and the electron spin separation can be realized
within tens of picoseconds. The results are supported by solving numerically
quasi-one-dimensional time-dependent Schroedinger equation for two electrons,
where the electron-electron correlations are taken into account in the exact
manner.


title: Colourful Language: Measuring Word-Colour Associations

abstract:
  Since many real-world concepts are associated with colour, for example danger
with red, linguistic information is often complimented with the use of
appropriate colours in information visualization and product marketing. Yet,
there is no comprehensive resource that captures concept-colour associations.
We present a method to create a large word-colour association lexicon by
crowdsourcing. We focus especially on abstract concepts and emotions to show
that even though they cannot be physically visualized, they too tend to have
strong colour associations. Finally, we show how word-colour associations
manifest themselves in language, and quantify usefulness of co-occurrence and
polarity cues in automatically detecting colour associations.


title: Fine tuning of micropillar cavity modes through repetitive oxidations

abstract:
  Repetitive wet thermal oxidations of a tapered oxide aperture in a
micropillar structure are demonstrated. After each oxidation step the confined
optical modes are analyzed at room temperature. Three regimes are identified.
First, the optical confinement increases when the aperture oxidizes towards the
center. Then, the cavity modes shift by more than 30 nm, when the taper starts
to oxidize through the center, leading to a decrease in the optical path
length. Finally, the resonance frequency levels o?f, when the aperture is
oxidized all the way through the micropillar, but confined optical modes with a
high quality factor remain. This repetitive oxidation technique therefore
enables precise control of the optical cavity volume or wavelength.


title:
The impact of mobile nodes arrival patterns in mobile ad hoc networks
  using poisson models

abstract:
  Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) are dynamic networks populated by mobile
stations, or mobile nodes (MNs). Specifically, MANETs consist of a collection
of nodes randomly placed in a line (not necessarily straight). Mobile Ad hoc
Networks do appear in many real-world network applications such as a vehicular
Mobile Ad hoc Networks built along a highway in a city environment or people in
a particular location. Mobile Nodes in Mobile Ad hoc Networks are usually
laptops, Personal Digital Assistants or mobile phones. These devices may use
Blue-tooth and/or IEEE 802.11 network interfaces and communicate in a
decentralized manner. Mobility is a key feature of Mobile Ad hoc Networks. Each
node may work as a router and the network can dynamically change with time;
when new nodes can join, and other nodes can leave the network. This paper
presents comparative results that have been carried out via Matrix lab software
simulation. The study investigates the impact of mobile nodes parameters such
as the speed, the arrival rate and the size of mobile nodes in a given area
using Poisson distribution. The results have indicated that mobile nodes
arrival rates may have influence on Mobile Nodes population (as a larger
number) in a location.


title:
Renormalization of Einstein gravity through a derivative-dependent field
  redefinition

abstract:
  This work explores an alternative solution to the problem of
renormalizability in Einstein gravity. In the proposed approach, Einstein
gravity is transformed into the renormalizable theory of four-derivative
gravity by applying a field redefinition containing an infinite number of
higher derivatives. It is also shown that the current-current amplitude is
invariant with the field redefinition, and thus the unitarity of Einstein
gravity is preserved.


title: A Complexity of double dummy bridge

abstract:
  This paper presents an analysis of complexity of double dummy bridge. Values
of both, a state-space (search-space) complexity and a game tree complexity
have been estimated.
  -----
  Oszacowanie z{\l}o\.zono\'sci problemu rozgrywki w otwarte karty w bryd\.zu
  Artyku{\l} zawiera analiz{\ke} z{\l}o\.zono\'sci problemu rozgrywki w otwarte
karty w bryd\.zu, przy u\.zyciu miar zaproponowanych przez Louisa Victora
Allisa. Oszacowane s{\ka} w nim z{\l}o\.zono\'sci przestrzeni stan\'ow i drzewa
wspomnianej gry.


title: Self-accelerating Massive Gravity: Bimetric Determinant Singularities

abstract:
  The existence of two metrics in massive gravity theories in principle allows
solutions where there are singularities in new scalar invariants jointly
constructed from them. These configurations occur when the two metrics differ
substantially from each other, as in black hole and cosmological solutions. The
simplest class of such singularities are determinant singularities. We
investigate whether the dynamics of bimetric massive gravity -- where the
second metric is allowed to evolve jointly with the spacetime metric -- can
avoid these singularities. We investigate whether the dynamics of bimetric
massive gravity, where the second metric is allowed to evolve jointly with the
spacetime metric, averts the simplest class of such singularities, namely
determinant singularities. We show that it is still possible to specify
non-singular initial conditions that evolve to a determinant singularity.
Determinant singularities are a feature of massive gravity of both fixed and
dynamical metric type.


title: S-duality of nonsupersymmetric gauge theories

abstract:
  We propose a method for constructing pairs of nonsupersymmetric gauge
theories related by S-duality. Starting from a known S-duality of
supersymmetric theories realized on the worldvolume of D3 branes in type IIB
string theory, a new duality is obtained by replacing the D3-branes with
antibranes. Large classes of dual pairs of nonsupersymmetric theories can be
obtained in this way, with different interactions and matter content (chiral
and vector-like). The approach is illustrated on gauge theories realized on
three-branes and fractional branes probing orbifold singularities. The duality
sheds light on the dynamics of gauge theories and their possible infrared
phases by providing concrete magnetic dual descriptions of strongly coupled
theories. Some of the models share various properties with QCD, including
confinement and chiral symmetry breaking. More generally, these theories
feature fermions in multiple two-index representations and could realize
intriguing phases such as a free magnetic phase with chiral symmetry breaking
or mixed phases where an interacting fixed point coexists with a confining
phase.


title:
A search for enhanced very high energy gamma-ray emission from the March
  2013 Crab Nebula flare

abstract:
  In March 2013, a flaring episode from the Crab Nebula lasting ~2 weeks was
detected by the Fermi-LAT (Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray
Space Telescope). VERITAS provides simultaneous observations throughout this
period. During the flare, the Fermi-LAT detected a 20-fold increase in flux
above the average synchrotron flux >100 MeV seen from the Crab Nebula.
Simultaneous measurements with VERITAS are consistent with the non-variable
long-term average Crab Nebula flux at TeV energies. Assuming a linear
correlation between the very-high-energy flux change >1 TeV and the flux change
seen in the Fermi-LAT band >100 MeV during the period of simultaneous
observations, the linear correlation factor can be constrained to be at most
8.6 * 10^-3 with 95% confidence.


title:
On the connection between the intergalactic medium and galaxies: The
  HI-galaxy cross-correlation at z < 1

abstract:
  We present a new optical spectroscopic survey of 1777 'star-forming' ('SF')
and 366 'non-star-forming' ('non-SF') galaxies at redshifts z < 1 (2143 in
total), 22 AGN and 423 stars, observed by instruments such as DEIMOS, VIMOS and
GMOS, in 3 fields containing 5 quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) with HST UV
spectroscopy. We also present a new spectroscopic survey of 165 'strong' (10^14
< NHI < 10^17 cm^-2), and 489 'weak' (10^13 < NHI < 10^14 cm^-2) intervening HI
absorption line systems at z < 1 (654 in total), observed in the spectra of 8
QSOs by COS and FOS on the HST. Combining these new data with previously
published galaxy catalogs such as VVDS and GDDS, we have gathered a sample of
654 HI absorption systems and 17509 galaxies at transverse scales < 50 Mpc. We
present observational results on the HI-galaxy and galaxy-galaxy correlations
at transverse scales r < 10 Mpc, and the HI-HI auto-correlation at transverse
scales r < 2 Mpc. The two-point correlation functions are measured both along
and transverse to the line-of-sight. We constrain the HI-galaxy statistical
connection, as a function of both HI column density and galaxy star-forming
activity. Our results are consistent with the following conclusions: (1) the
bulk of HI systems on Mpc scales have little velocity dispersion (<120 km/s)
with respect to the bulk of galaxies; (2) the vast majority of strong HI
systems and SF galaxies are distributed in the same locations, together with
75+-15% of non-SF galaxies, all of which typically reside in dark matter haloes
of similar masses; (3) 25+-15% of non-SF galaxies reside in galaxy clusters and
are not correlated with strong HI systems at scales < 2 Mpc; and (4) 50% of
weak HI systems reside within galaxy voids (hence not correlated with
galaxies), and are confined in dark matter haloes of masses smaller than those
hosting... [abridged]


title: Tracing Inflows and Outflows with Absorption Lines in Circumgalactic Gas

abstract:
  We examine how HI and metal absorption lines within low-redshift galaxy halos
trace the dynamical state of circumgalactic gas, using cosmological
hydrodynamic simulations that include a well-vetted heuristic model for
galactic outflows. We categorize inflowing, outflowing, and ambient gas based
on its history and fate as tracked in our simulation. Following our earlier
work showing that the ionisation level of absorbers was a primary factor in
determining the physical conditions of absorbing gas, we show here that it is
also a governing factor for its dynamical state. Low-ionisation metal absorbers
(e.g. MgII) tend to arise in gas that will fall onto galaxies within several
Gyr, while high-ionisation metal absorbers (e.g. OVI) generally trace material
that was deposited by outflows many Gyr ago. Inflowing gas is dominated by
enriched material that was previously ejected in an outflow, hence accretion at
low redshifts is typically substantially enriched. Recycling wind material is
preferentially found closer to galaxies, and is more dominant in lower-mass
halos since high-mass halos have more hot gas that is able to support itself
against infall. Low-mass halos also tend to re-eject more of their accreted
material, owing to our outflow prescription that employs higher mass loading
factors for lower-mass galaxies. Typical HI absorbers trace unenriched ambient
material that is not participating in the baryon cycle, but stronger HI
absorbers arise in cool, enriched inflowing gas. Instantaneous radial velocity
measures of absorbers are generally poor at distinguishing between inflowing
and outflowing gas, except in the case of very recent outflows. These results
suggest that probing halo gas using a range of absorbers can provide detailed
information about the amount and physical conditions of material that is
participating in the baryon cycle.


title:
13CO and C18O emission from a dense gas disk at z=2.3: abundance
  variations, cosmic rays and the initial conditions for star formation

abstract:
  We analyse the SLEDs of 13CO and C18O for the J=1-0 up to J=7-6 transitions
in the gravitationally lensed ultraluminous infrared galaxy SMMJ2135-0102 at
z=2.3. This is the first detection of 13CO and C18O in a high-redshift
star-forming galaxy. These data comprise observations of six transitions taken
with PdBI and we combine these with 33GHz JVLA data and our previous 12CO and
continuum emission information to better constrain the properties of the ISM
within this system. We study both the velocity-integrated and kinematically
decomposed properties of the galaxy and coupled with an LVG model we find that
the star-forming regions in the system vary in their cold gas properties. We
find strong C18O emission both in the velocity-integrated emission and in the
two kinematic components at the periphery of the system, where the C18O line
flux is equivalent to or higher than the 13CO. We derive an average
velocity-integrated flux ratio of 13CO/C18O~1 suggesting a [13CO]/[C18O]
abundance ratio at least 7x lower than that in the Milky Way. This may suggest
enhanced C18O abundance, perhaps indicating star formation preferentially
biased to high-mass stars. We estimate the relative contribution to the ISM
heating from cosmic rays and UV of (30-3300)x10^(-25)erg/s and 45x10^(-25)erg/s
per H2 molecule respectively and both are comparable to the total cooling rate
of (0.8-20)x10^(-25)erg/s from the CO. However, our LVG models indicate high
(>100K) temperatures and densities (>10^(3))cm^(-3) in the ISM which may
suggest that cosmic rays play a more important role than UV heating in this
system. If cosmic rays dominate the heating of the ISM, the increased
temperature in the star forming regions may favour the formation of massive
stars and so explain the enhanced C18O abundance. This is a potentially
important result for a system which may evolve into a local elliptical galaxy.


title:
A Grid of MHD Models for Stellar Mass Loss and Spin-down Rates of Solar
  Analogs

abstract:
  Stellar winds are believed to be the dominant factor in spin down of stars
over time. However, stellar winds of solar analogs are poorly constrained due
to the challenges in observing them. A great improvement has been made in the
last decade in our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the
acceleration of the solar wind and in the development of numerical models for
solar and stellar winds. In this paper, we present a grid of
Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models to study and quantify the values of stellar
mass-loss and angular momentum loss rates as a function of the stellar rotation
period, magnetic dipole component, and coronal base density. We derive simple
scaling laws for the loss rates as a function of these parameters, and
constrain the possible mass-loss rate of stars with thermally-driven winds.
Despite the success of our scaling law in matching the results of the model, we
find a deviation between the "solar dipole" case and a real case based on solar
observations that overestimates the actual solar mass-loss rate by a factor of
3. This implies that the model for stellar fields might require a further
investigation with higher complexity which might include the use of a filling
factor for active regions, as well as the distribution of the strength of the
small-scale fields. Mass loss rates in general are largely controlled by the
magnetic field strength, with the wind density varying in proportion to the
confining magnetic pressure $B^2$. We also find that the mass-loss rates
obtained using our grid models drop much faster with the increase in rotation
period than scaling laws derived using observed stellar activity. For
main-sequence solar-like stars, our scaling law for angular momentum loss vs.
poloidal magnetic field strength retrieves the well-known Skumanich decline of
angular velocity with time.


title: The host galaxy of the z=2.4 radio-loud AGN MRC 0406-244 as seen by HST

abstract:
  We present multicolour Hubble Space Telescope images of the powerful z=2.4
radio galaxy MRC 0406-244 and model its complex morphology with several
components including a host galaxy, a point source, and extended nebular and
continuum emission. We suggest that the main progenitor of this radio galaxy
was a normal, albeit massive (M ~10^{11} solar masses), star-forming galaxy.
The optical stellar disc of the host galaxy is smooth and well described by a
S\'ersic profile, which argues against a recent major merger, however there is
also a point-source component which may be the remnant of a minor merger. The
half-light radius of the optical disc is constrained to lie in the range 3.5 to
8.2kpc, which is of similar size to coeval star forming galaxies.
  Biconical shells of nebular emission and UV-bright continuum extend out from
the host galaxy along the radio jet axis, which is also the minor axis of the
host galaxy. The origin of the continuum emission is uncertain, but it is most
likely to be young stars or dust-scattered light from the AGN, and it is
possible that stars are forming from this material at a rate of
200^{+1420}_{-110} solar masses per year.


title: Model Breaking Measure for Cosmological Surveys

abstract:
  Recent observations have led to the establishment of the concordance LCDM
model for cosmology. A number of experiments are being planned to shed light on
dark energy, dark matter, inflation and gravity, which are the key components
of the model. To optimize and compare the reach of these surveys, several
figures of merit have been proposed. They are based on either the forecasted
precision on the LCDM model and its expansion, or on the expected ability to
distinguish two models. We propose here another figure of merit that quantifies
the capacity of future surveys to rule out the LCDM model. It is based on a
measure of the difference in volume of observable space that the future surveys
will constrain with and without imposing the model. This model breaking figure
of merit is easy to compute and can lead to different survey optimizations than
other metrics. We illustrate its impact using a simple combination of
supernovae and BAO mock observations and compare the respective merit of these
probes to challenge LCDM. We discuss how this approach would impact the design
of future cosmological experiments.


title: Understanding Trends Associated with Clouds in Irradiated Exoplanets

abstract:
  Unlike previously explored relationships between the properties of hot Jovian
atmospheres, the geometric albedo and the incident stellar flux do not exhibit
a clear correlation, as revealed by our re-analysis of Q0 to Q14 Kepler data.
If the albedo is primarily associated with the presence of clouds in these
irradiated atmospheres, a holistic modeling approach needs to relate the
following properties: the strength of stellar irradiation (and hence the
strength and depth of atmospheric circulation), the geometric albedo (which
controls both the fraction of starlight absorbed and the pressure level at
which it is predominantly absorbed) and the properties of the embedded cloud
particles (which determine the albedo). The anticipated diversity in cloud
properties renders any correlation between the geometric albedo and the stellar
flux to be weak and characterized by considerable scatter. In the limit of
vertically uniform populations of scatterers and absorbers, we use an
analytical model and scaling relations to relate the temperature-pressure
profile of an irradiated atmosphere and the photon deposition layer and to
estimate if a cloud particle will be lofted by atmospheric circulation. We
derive an analytical formula for computing the albedo spectrum in terms of the
cloud properties, which we compare to the measured albedo spectrum of HD
189733b by Evans et al. (2013). Furthermore, we show that whether an optical
phase curve is flat or sinusoidal depends on whether the particles are small or
large as defined by the Knudsen number. This may be an explanation for why
Kepler-7b exhibits evidence for the longitudinal variation in abundance of
condensates, while Kepler-12b shows no evidence for the presence of
condensates, despite the incident stellar flux being similar for both
exoplanets.


title: Dynamical R-Parity Violation

abstract:
  We present a new paradigm for supersymmetric theories with R-parity violation
(RPV). At high scale, R-parity is conserved in the visible sector but
spontaneously broken in the SUSY-breaking sector. The breaking is then
dynamically mediated to the visible sector and is manifested via
non-renormalizable operators at low energy. Consequently, RPV operators
originate from the Kahler potential rather than the superpotential, and are
naturally suppressed by the SUSY-breaking scale, explaining their small
magnitudes. A new set of non-holomorphic RPV operators are identified and found
to often dominate over the standard RPV ones. We study the relevant low-energy
constraints arising from baryon-number violating processes, proton decay and
flavor changing neutral currents, which may all be satisfied if a solution to
the Standard Model flavor puzzle is incorporated. The chiral structure of the
RPV operators imply new and distinct collider signatures, indicating the need
to alter current techniques in searching for RPV at the LHC.


title:
Dark matter cores in the Fornax and Sculptor dwarf galaxies: joining
  halo assembly and detailed star formation histories

abstract:
  We combine the detailed Star Formation Histories of the Fornax and Sculptor
dwarf Spheroidals with the Mass Assembly History of their dark matter (DM) halo
progenitors to estimate if the energy deposited by Supernova type II (SNeII) is
sufficient to create a substantial DM core. Assuming the efficiency of energy
injection of the SNeII into DM particles is $\epsilon_{\rm gc}=0.05$, we find
that a single early episode, $z \gtrsim z_{\rm infall}$, that combines the
energy of all SNeII due to explode over 0.5 Gyr, is sufficient to create a core
of several hundred parsecs in both Sculptor and Fornax. Therefore, our results
suggest that it is energetically plausible to form cores in Cold Dark Matter
(CDM) halos via early episodic gas outflows triggered by SNeII. Furthermore,
based on CDM merger rates and phase-space density considerations, we argue that
the probability of a subsequent complete regeneration of the cusp is small for
a substantial fraction of dwarf-size haloes.


title: Mode selection in pulsating stars

abstract:
  In this review we focus on non-linear phenomena in pulsating stars the mode
selection and amplitude limitation. Of many linearly excited modes only a
fraction is detected in pulsating stars. Which of them and why (the problem of
mode selection) and to what amplitude (the problem of amplitude limitation) are
intrinsically non-linear and still unsolved problems. Tools for studying these
problems are briefly discussed and our understanding of mode selection and
amplitude limitation in selected groups of self-excited pulsators is presented.
Focus is put on classical pulsators (Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars) and main
sequence variables (delta Scuti and beta Cephei stars). Directions of future
studies are briefly discussed.


title:
Warm dark matter does not do better than cold dark matter in solving
  small-scale inconsistencies

abstract:
  Over the last decade, warm dark matter (WDM) has been repeatedly proposed as
an alternative scenario to the standard cold dark matter (CDM) one, potentially
resolving several disagreements between the CDM model and observations on small
scales. Here, we reconsider the most important CDM small-scale discrepancies in
the light of recent observational constraints on WDM. As a result, we find that
a conventional thermal (or thermal-like) WDM cosmology with a particle mass in
agreement with Lyman-$\alpha$ is nearly indistinguishable from CDM on the
relevant scales and therefore fails to alleviate any of the small-scale
problems. The reason for this failure is that the power spectrum of
conventional WDM falls off too rapidly. To maintain WDM as a significantly
different alternative to CDM, more evolved production mechanisms leading to
multiple dark matter components or a gradually decreasing small-scale power
spectrum have to be considered.


title:
Study of orbitally excited $B$ mesons and evidence for a new $B\pi$
  resonance

abstract:
  Using the full CDF Run II data sample, we report evidence for a new
resonance, which we refer to as $B(5970)$, found simultaneously in the
$B^0\pi^+$ and $B^+\pi^-$ mass distributions with a significance of 4.4
standard deviations. We further report the first study of resonances consistent
with orbitally excited $B^{+}$ mesons and an updated measurement of the
properties of orbitally excited $B^0$ and $B_s^0$ mesons. We measure the masses
and widths of all states, as well as the relative production rates of $B_1$,
$B_2^*$, and $B(5970)$ states and the branching fraction of the $B_{s2}^{*0}$
state to either $B^{*+} K^-$ and $B^{+} K^-$. Furthermore, we measure the
production rates of the orbitally excited $B^{0,+}$ states relative to the
$B^{0,+}$ ground state. The masses of the new $B(5970)$ resonances are
$5978\pm5(\textrm{stat})\pm12(\textrm{syst}) \textrm{ MeV/c}^{2}$ for the
neutral state and $5961\pm5(\textrm{stat})\pm12(\textrm{syst}) \textrm{
MeV/c}^{2}$ for the charged state, assuming that the resonance decays into
$B\pi$ final states. The properties of the orbitally excited and the new
$B(5970)^{0,+}$ states are compatible with isospin symmetry.


title: Order and chaos in hydrodynamic BL Her models

abstract:
  Many dynamical systems of different complexity, e.g. 1D logistic map, the
Lorentz equations, or real phenomena, like turbulent convection, show chaotic
behaviour. Despite huge differences, the dynamical scenarios for these systems
are strikingly similar: chaotic bands are born through the series of period
doubling bifurcations and merge through interior crises. Within chaotic bands
periodic windows are born through the tangent bifurcations, preceded by the
intermittent behaviour. This is a universal behaviour of dynamical systems
(Feigenbaum 1983). We demonstrate such behaviour in models of pulsating stars.


title:
Torque-Limited Growth of Massive Black Holes in Galaxies Across Cosmic
  Time

abstract:
  We combine cosmological hydrodynamic simulations with analytic models to
evaluate the role of galaxy-scale gravitational torques on the evolution of
massive black holes at the centers of star-forming galaxies. We confirm and
extend our earlier results to show that torque-limited growth yields black
holes and host galaxies evolving on average along the Mbh-Mbulge relation from
early times down to z = 0 and that convergence onto the scaling relation occurs
independent of the initial conditions and with no need for mass averaging
through mergers or additional self-regulation processes. Smooth accretion
dominates the long-term evolution, with black hole mergers with mass ratios
>1:5 representing typically a small fraction of the total growth. Winds from
the accretion disk are required to eject significant mass to suppress black
hole growth, but there is no need for coupling this wind to galactic-scale gas
to regulate black holes in a non-linear feedback loop. Torque-limited growth
yields a close-to-linear relation for the star formation rate and the black
hole accretion rate averaged over galaxy evolution time scales. However, the
SFR-AGN connection has significant scatter owing to strong variability of black
hole accretion at all resolved time scales. Eddington ratios can be described
by a broad lognormal distribution with median value evolving roughly as (1 +
z)^1.9, suggesting a main sequence for black hole growth similar to the cosmic
evolution of specific SFRs. Our results offer an attractive scenario consistent
with available observations in which cosmological gas infall and transport of
angular momentum in the galaxy by gravitational instabilities regulate the
long-term co-evolution of black holes and star-forming galaxies.


title: A reconnaissance of the possible donor stars to the Kepler supernova

abstract:
  The identity of Type Ia supernova progenitors remains a mystery, with various
lines of evidence pointing towards either accretion from a non-degenerate
companion, or the rapid merger of two degenerate stars leading to the
thermonuclear destruction of a white dwarf. In this paper we spectroscopically
scrutinize 24 of the brightest stars residing in the central 38" x 38" of the
SN 1604 (Kepler) supernova remnant to search for a possible surviving companion
star. We can rule out, with high certainty, a red giant companion star - a
progenitor indicated by some models of the supernova remnant. Furthermore, we
find no star that exhibits properties uniquely consistent with those expected
of a donor star down to L>10Lsun. While the distribution of star properties
towards the remnant are consistent with unrelated stars, we identify the most
promising candidates for further astrometric and spectroscopic follow-up. Such
a program would either discover the donor star, or place strong limits on
progenitor systems to luminosities with L<<Lsun.


title: The Fourier transform for certain hyperKaehler fourfolds

abstract:
  Using a codimension-$1$ algebraic cycle obtained from the Poincar\'e line
bundle, Beauville defined the Fourier transform on the Chow groups of an
abelian variety $A$ and showed that the Fourier transform induces a
decomposition of the Chow ring $CH^*(A)$. By using a codimension-$2$ algebraic
cycle representing the Beauville--Bogomolov class, we give evidence for the
existence of a similar decomposition for the Chow ring of hyperK\"ahler
varieties deformation equivalent to the Hilbert scheme of length-$2$ subschemes
on a K3 surface. We indeed establish the existence of such a decomposition for
the Hilbert scheme of length-$2$ subschemes on a K3 surface and for the variety
of lines on a very general cubic fourfold.


title: Electroweakinos in the Light of the Higgs Boson

abstract:
  Given the increasingly more stringent bounds on Supersymmetry (SUSY) from the
LHC searches, we are motivated to explore the situation in which the only
accessible SUSY states are the electroweakinos (charginos and neutralinos). In
the minimal SUSY framework, we systematically study the three general scenarios
classified by the relative size of the gaugino mass parameters M_1, M_2 and the
Higgsino mass parameter \mu, with six distinctive cases, four of which would
naturally result in a compressed spectrum of nearly degenerate LSPs. We present
the relevant decay branching fractions and provide insightful understanding
about the decay modes in connection with the Goldstone-boson Equivalence
Theorem. We show the cross sections for electroweakino pair production at the
LHC and ILC, and emphasize the unique signals involving the Standard Model-like
Higgs boson as a new search reference. The electroweakino signal from pair
production and subsequent decay to Wh/Zh (h to b\bar{b}) final state may yield
a sensitivity of 95% C.L. exclusion (5sigma discovery) to the mass scale M_2,
\mu ~ 350-400 GeV (220-270 GeV) at the 14 TeV LHC with an luminosity of 300
fb^{-1}. Combining with all the other decay channels, the 95% C.L. exclusion
(5sigma discovery) may be extended to M_2, \mu ~ 480-700 GeV (320-500 GeV). At
the ILC, the electroweakinos could be readily discovered once the kinematical
threshold is crossed, and their properties could be thoroughly studied.


title: Bulk Dirac points in distorted spinels

abstract:
  We report on a Dirac-like Fermi surface in three-dimensional bulk materials
in a distorted spinel structure on the basis of density functional theory (DFT)
as well as tight-binding theory. The four examples we provide in this paper are
BiZnSiO4, BiCaSiO4, BiMgSiO4, and BiAlInO4. A necessary characteristic of these
structures is that they contain a Bi lattice which forms a hierarchy of
chain-like substructures, with consequences for both fundamental understanding
and materials design.


title:
A Simple Proof of the Marker-Steinhorn Theorem for Expansions of Ordered
  Abelian Groups

abstract:
  We give a short and self-contained proof of the Marker-Steinhorn Theorem for
o-minimal expansions of ordered groups, based on an analysis of linear orders
definable in such structures.


title:
Impacts of propagating, frustrated and surface modes on radiative,
  electrical and thermal losses in nanoscale-gap thermophotovoltaic power
  generators

abstract:
  The impacts of radiative, electrical and thermal losses on the power output
enhancement of nanoscale-gap thermophotovoltaic (nano-TPV) power generators
consisting of a gallium antimonide cell paired with a broadband tungsten and a
radiatively-optimized Drude radiator are analyzed. Results reveal that surface
mode mediated nano-TPV power generation with the Drude radiator outperforms the
tungsten emitter, dominated by frustrated modes, only for a vacuum gap
thickness of 10 nm and if both electrical and thermal losses are neglected. The
key limiting factors for the Drude and tungsten-based devices are respectively
the recombination of electron-hole pairs at the cell surface and thermalization
of radiation with energy larger than the absorption bandgap. In a nano-TPV
power generator cooled by convection with a fluid at 293 K and a heat transfer
coefficient of 10^4 Wm^-2K^-1, power output enhancements of 4.69 and 1.89 are
obtained for the tungsten and Drude radiators, respectively, when a realistic
vacuum gap thickness of 100 nm is considered. A design guideline is also
proposed where a high energy cutoff above which radiation has a net negative
effect on nano-TPV power output is determined. This work demonstrates that
design and optimization of nano-TPV devices must account for radiative,
electrical and thermal losses.


title:
Localization of low-frequency oscillations in single-walled carbon
  nanotubes. Supplementary materials

abstract:
  In this supplement we present a short derivation of dynamical equations of
thin elastic shell in the framework of modified nonlinear Sanders-Koiter
theory, and their relationship with the dynamics of one-dimensional oscillatory
chain.


title:
Gravitational fields with sources, regular black holes, quasiblack
  holes, and analogue black holes

abstract:
  We discuss recent developments in gravitational fields with sources, regular
black holes, quasiblack holes, and analogue black holes, related to the talks
presented at the corresponding Parallel Session AT3 of the 13th Marcel
Grossmann Meeting.


title:
Galaxy Stellar Mass Functions from ZFOURGE/CANDELS: An Excess of
  Low-Mass Galaxies Since z=2 and the Rapid Buildup of Quiescent Galaxies

abstract:
  Using observations from the FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey (ZFOURGE), we
obtain the deepest measurements to date of the galaxy stellar mass function at
0.5 < z < 2.5. ZFOURGE provides well-constrained photometric redshifts made
possible through deep medium-bandwidth imaging at 1-2um . We combine this with
HST imaging from the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey
(CANDELS), allowing for the efficient selection of both blue and red galaxies
down to stellar masses ~10^9.5 Msol at z ~ 2.5. The total surveyed area is 316
arcmin^2 distributed over three independent fields. We supplement these data
with the wider and shallower NEWFIRM Medium-Band Survey (NMBS) to provide
stronger constraints at high masses. Several studies at z<=1 have revealed a
steepening of the slope at the low-mass end of the stellar mass function (SMF),
leading to an upturn at masses <10^10 Msol that is not well-described by a
standard single-Schechter function. We find evidence that this feature extends
to at least z ~ 2, and that it can be found in both the star-forming and
quiescent populations individually. The characteristic mass (M*) and slope at
the lowest masses (alpha) of a double-Schechter function fit to the SMF stay
roughly constant at Log(M/Msol) ~ 10.65 and ~-1.5 respectively. The SMF of
star-forming galaxies has evolved primarily in normalization, while the change
in shape is relatively minor. This is not the case for quiescent galaxies: the
depth of our imaging allows us to show for the first time significantly more
evolution at Log(M/Msol) < 10.5 than at higher masses. We find that the total
mass density (down to 10^9 Msol) in star-forming galaxies has increased by a
factor of ~2.2 since z ~ 2.5, whereas in quiescent galaxies it has increased by
a factor of ~12 .


title: Spectral Action and Gravitational effects at the Planck scale

abstract:
  We discuss the possibility to extend the spectral action up to energy close
to the Planck scale, taking also into account the gravitational effects given
by graviton exchange. Including this contribution in the theory, the coupling
constant unification is not compromised, but is shifted to the Planck scale
rendering all gauge couplings asymptotically free. In the scheme of
noncommutative geometry, the gravitational effects change the main standard
model coupling constants, leading to a restriction of the free parameters of
the theory compatible with the Higgs and top mass prediction. We also discuss
consequences for the neutrino mass and the see-saw mechanism.


title: Detection of small low emission sources - case studies

abstract:
  The article is devoted to a further study of the Compton camera method of
passive detection of small amounts of special nuclear materials, developed by
the authors in their previous work. Various cargo scenarios, detector errors,
and other issues are addressed.


title: Nelson Goodman's qualia and the Discrete Cat Mapping

abstract:
  In The Structure of Appearance Nelson Goodman aims at describing the world as
composed of individuals. He builds his system on phenomenal qualities or
qualia. We propose a mathematical model for the qualia based on a dynamical
system, the so-called Discrete Cat Mapping.


title:
Critical Exponents of Strongly Correlated Fermion Systems from
  Diagrammatic Multi-Scale Methods

abstract:
  Self-consistent dynamical approximations for strongly correlated fermion
systems are particularly successful in capturing the dynamical competition of
local correlations. In these, the effect of spatially extended degrees of
freedom is usually only taken into account in a mean field fashion or as a
secondary effect. As a result, critical exponents associated with phase
transitions have mean field character. Here, we demonstrate that diagrammatic
multi-scale methods anchored around local approximations are indeed capable of
capturing the non mean-field nature of the critical point of the lattice model
encoded in a non-vanishing anomalous dimension, and to correctly describe the
transition to mean field like behavior as the number of spatial dimensions
increases.


title: Efficient Sampling from Time-Varying Log-Concave Distributions

abstract:
  We propose a computationally efficient random walk on a convex body which
rapidly mixes and closely tracks a time-varying log-concave distribution. We
develop general theoretical guarantees on the required number of steps; this
number can be calculated on the fly according to the distance from and the
shape of the next distribution. We then illustrate the technique on several
examples. Within the context of exponential families, the proposed method
produces samples from a posterior distribution which is updated as data arrive
in a streaming fashion. The sampling technique can be used to track
time-varying truncated distributions, as well as to obtain samples from a
changing mixture model, fitted in a streaming fashion to data. In the setting
of linear optimization, the proposed method has oracle complexity with best
known dependence on the dimension for certain geometries. In the context of
online learning and repeated games, the algorithm is an efficient method for
implementing no-regret mixture forecasting strategies. Remarkably, in some of
these examples, only one step of the random walk is needed to track the next
distribution.


title:
Unveiling the Intrinsic X-ray Properties of Broad Absorption Line
  Quasars with a Relatively Unbiased Sample

abstract:
  There is growing evidence of a higher intrinsic fraction of broad absorption
line quasars (BALQSOs) than that obtained in optical surveys, on which most
previous X-ray studies of BALQSOs have focused. Here we present Chandra
observations of 18 BALQSOs at $z\sim2$, selected from a near-infrared (2MASS)
sample, where the BALQSO fraction is likely to be close to the intrinsic
fraction. We measure photon indices using the stacked spectra of the
optically-faint ($i-K_s\geq 2.3$ mag) and optically-bright ($i-K_s < 2.3$ mag)
samples to be $\Gamma \simeq 1.5$--$2.1$. We constrain their intrinsic column
density by modelling the X-ray fractional hardness ratio, finding a mean column
density of $3.5\times10^{22}$ \cmsq\ assuming neutral absorption. We
incorporate SDSS optical measurements (rest frame UV) to study the broadband
spectral index between the X-ray and UV bands, and compare this to a large
sample of normal quasars. We estimate that the optically-faint BALQSOs are
X-ray weaker than the optically-bright ones, and the entire sample of BALQSOs
are intrinsically X-ray weak when compared to normal AGN. Correcting for
magnification of X-ray emission via gravitational lensing by the central black
hole viewed at large inclination angles makes these BALQSOs even more
intrinsically X-ray weak. Finally, we estimate AGN kinetic feedback
efficiencies of a few percent for an X-ray wind of $0.3c$ in high-ionization
BALQSOs. Combined with energy carried by low-ionization BALQSOs and UV winds,
the total kinetic energy in BALQSOs can be sufficient to provide AGN kinetic
feedback required to explain the co-evolution between black holes and host
galaxies.


title:
Asymptotic Analysis of LASSOs Solution Path with Implications for
  Approximate Message Passing

abstract:
  This paper concerns the performance of the LASSO (also knows as basis pursuit
denoising) for recovering sparse signals from undersampled, randomized, noisy
measurements. We consider the recovery of the signal $x_o \in \mathbb{R}^N$
from $n$ random and noisy linear observations $y= Ax_o + w$, where $A$ is the
measurement matrix and $w$ is the noise. The LASSO estimate is given by the
solution to the optimization problem $x_o$ with $\hat{x}_{\lambda} = \arg
\min_x \frac{1}{2} \|y-Ax\|_2^2 + \lambda \|x\|_1$. Despite major progress in
the theoretical analysis of the LASSO solution, little is known about its
behavior as a function of the regularization parameter $\lambda$. In this paper
we study two questions in the asymptotic setting (i.e., where $N \rightarrow
\infty$, $n \rightarrow \infty$ while the ratio $n/N$ converges to a fixed
number in $(0,1)$): (i) How does the size of the active set
$\|\hat{x}_\lambda\|_0/N$ behave as a function of $\lambda$, and (ii) How does
the mean square error $\|\hat{x}_{\lambda} - x_o\|_2^2/N$ behave as a function
of $\lambda$? We then employ these results in a new, reliable algorithm for
solving LASSO based on approximate message passing (AMP).