title:
Josephson radiation from gapless Andreev bound states in HgTe-based
  topological junctions

abstract:
  Frequency analysis of the rf emission of oscillating Josephson supercurrent
is a powerful passive way of probing properties of topological Josephson
junctions. In particular, measurements of the Josephson emission enables to
detect the expected presence of topological gapless Andreev bound states that
give rise to emission at half the Josephson frequency $f_J$, rather than
conventional emission at $f_J$. Here we report direct measurement of rf
emission spectra on Josephson junctions made of HgTe-based gate-tunable
topological weak links. The emission spectra exhibit a clear signal at half the
Josephson frequency $f_{\rm J}/2$. The linewidths of emission lines indicate a
coherence time of $0.3-\SI{4}{ns}$ for the $f_{\rm J}/2$ line, much shorter
than for the $f_{\rm J}$ line ($3-\SI{4}{ns}$). These observations strongly
point towards the presence of topological gapless Andreev bound states, and
pave the way for a future HgTe-based platform for topological quantum
computation.


title: Detection of the YORP Effect for Small Asteroids in the Karin Cluster

abstract:
  The Karin cluster is a young asteroid family thought to have formed only
$\simeq 5.75$~My ago. The young age can be demonstrated by numerically
integrating the orbits of Karin cluster members backward in time and showing
the convergence of the perihelion and nodal longitudes (as well as other
orbital elements). Previous work has pointed out that the convergence is not
ideal if the backward integration only accounts for the gravitational
perturbations from the Solar System planets. It improves when the thermal
radiation force known as the Yarkovsky effect it is accounted for. This
argument can be used to estimate the spin obliquities of the Karin cluster
members. Here we take advantage of the fast growing membership of the Karin
cluster and show that the obliquity distribution of diameter $D\simeq 1-2$ km
Karin asteroids is bimodal, as expected if the YORP effect acted to move
obliquities toward the extreme values ($0^\circ$ or $180^\circ$). The measured
magnitude of the effect is consistent with the standard YORP model. The surface
thermal conductivity is inferred to be $0.07$-0.2 W m$^{-1}$ K$^{-1}$ (thermal
inertia $\simeq 300-500$ J m$^{-2}$ K$^{-1}$s$^{-1/2}$). We find that the
strength of the YORP effect is roughly $\simeq 0.7$ of the nominal strength
obtained for a collection of random Gaussian spheroids. These results are
consistent with a surface composed of rough, rocky regolith. The obliquity
values predicted here for 480 members of the Karin cluster can be validated by
the light-curve inversion method.


title: Ehrhart series of fractional stable set polytopes of finite graphs

abstract:
  The fractional stable set polytope ${\rm FRAC}(G)$ of a simple graph $G$ with
$d$ vertices is a rational polytope that is the set of nonnegative vectors
$(x_1,\ldots,x_d)$ satisfying $x_i+x_j\le 1$ for every edge $(i,j)$ of $G$. In
this paper we show that (i) The $\delta$-vector of a lattice polytope $2 {\rm
FRAC}(G)$ is alternatingly increasing; (ii) The Ehrhart ring of ${\rm FRAC}(G)$
is Gorenstein; (iii) The coefficients of the numerator of the Ehrhart series of
${\rm FRAC}(G)$ are symmetric, unimodal and computed by the $\delta$-vector of
$2 {\rm FRAC}(G)$.


title:
Bifurcation analysis of the conversion degrees in systems based on the
  cascade of tank reactors

abstract:
  The scope of the paper is the analysis of the possibility of increasing
conversion in different types of systems based on continuous stirred tank
reactors. A numerical model of the cascade with constant direction of material
flow is tested, a model of changes of direction flow and a relaxation model.
The analysis is conducted by means of parametric continuation method and
numerical simulation, with the designation of bifurcation diagrams and time
series. An essential impact of the relaxation method on the increase of the
conversion degree is indicated.


title:
Bifurcation analysis of the statics and dynamics of a logistic model
  with two delays

abstract:
  The mathematical - numerical analysis of a discrete dynamical model with two
independent delays was performed. Such model may describe a continuous system
with delays that have real rational number values. Applicable characteristic
equations were derived for both a single and double cycle. The results of the
analysis were illustrated by numerical examples in the form of boundary
bifurcation curves and Feigenbaums diagrams.


title:
One-hundred-nm-scale electronic structure and transport calculations of
  organic polymers on the K computer

abstract:
  One-hundred-nm-scale electronic structure calculations were carried out on
the K supercomputer by our original simulation code ELSES
(http://www.elses.jp/) The present paper reports preliminary results of
transport calculations for condensed organic polymers. Large-scale calculations
are realized by novel massively parallel order-N algorithms. The transport
calculations were carried out as a theoretical extension for the quantum
wavepacket dynamics simulation. The method was applied to a single polymer
chain and condensed polymers.


title:
Greedy Strategies and Larger Islands of Tractability for Conjunctive
  Queries and Constraint Satisfaction Problems

abstract:
  Structural decomposition methods have been developed for identifying
tractable classes of instances of fundamental problems in databases, such as
conjunctive queries and query containment, of the constraint satisfaction
problem in artificial intelligence, or more generally of the homomorphism
problem over relational structures. Most structural decomposition methods can
be characterized through hypergraph games that are variations of the Robber and
Cops graph game that characterizes the notion of treewidth. In particular,
decomposition trees somehow correspond to monotone winning strategies, where
the escape space of the robber on the hypergraph is shrunk monotonically by the
cops. In fact, unlike the treewidth case, there are hypergraphs where monotonic
strategies do not exist, while the robber can be captured by means of more
complex non-monotonic strategies. However, these powerful strategies do not
correspond in general to valid decompositions. The paper provides a general way
to exploit the power of non-monotonic strategies, by allowing a "disciplined"
form of non-monotonicity, characteristic of cops playing in a greedy way. It is
shown that deciding the existence of a (non-monotone) greedy winning strategy
(and compute one, if any) is tractable. Moreover, despite their
non-monotonicity, such strategies always induce valid decomposition trees,
which can be computed efficiently based on them. As a consequence, greedy
strategies allow us to define new islands of tractability for the considered
problems properly including all previously known classes of tractable
instances.


title: Coercivity and random interfacial exchange coupling in CoPt/Co films

abstract:
  Hard-soft bilayers are analogous to prototype exchange-biased ferromagnetic
-antiferromagnetic systems as the minor loop of the soft layer is biased by the
hard and furthermore they offer bias layer tunability. In sputtered CoPt/Co
hard-soft bilayers we demonstrate that the exchange bias field shows a linear
dependence on the hard layer magnetization, while the coercivity shows a
quadratic dependence. Analysis of the minor hysteresis loop features supported
by Monte-Carlo simulations provide clear evidence that the coercivity of the
soft layer is mainly determined by the tunable randomness of the domain state
of the hard layer.


title:
A QCD analysis of CMS inclusive differential Z production data at
  sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

abstract:
  The parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton are one of the
essential ingredients to describe physics processes at hadron colliders. The Z
boson production data at the LHC have a potential to constrain PDFs, especially
the gluon distribution. In this study the CMS measurement of the inclusive
double differential Z boson production cross section in terms of transverse
momentum and rapidity are compared to the next-to-leading order theory
predictions at the center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s)=8 TeV with an integrated
luminosity of 19.71 inverse femtobarns. In addition, the sensitivity of this
measurement to PDFs is studied within the framework of the HERAFitter. A
moderate improvement to the gluon distribution is observed at the Bjorken x ~
0.1 region. However, in order to obtain further improvement to the gluon
distribution in the global fits, the higher-order theory calculations
accessible via fast techniques are necessary.


title:
Online Optimization with Costly and Noisy Measurements using Random
  Fourier Expansions

abstract:
  This paper analyzes DONE, an online optimization algorithm that iteratively
minimizes an unknown function based on costly and noisy measurements. The
algorithm maintains a surrogate of the unknown function in the form of a random
Fourier expansion (RFE). The surrogate is updated whenever a new measurement is
available, and then used to determine the next measurement point. The algorithm
is comparable to Bayesian optimization algorithms, but its computational
complexity per iteration does not depend on the number of measurements. We
derive several theoretical results that provide insight on how the
hyper-parameters of the algorithm should be chosen. The algorithm is compared
to a Bayesian optimization algorithm for a benchmark problem and three
applications, namely, optical coherence tomography, optical beam-forming
network tuning, and robot arm control. It is found that the DONE algorithm is
significantly faster than Bayesian optimization in the discussed problems,
while achieving a similar or better performance.


title:
Influence of jets and decays of resonances on the triangular flow in
  ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions

abstract:
  Triangular flow $v_3$ of identified and inclusive particles in Pb+Pb
collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.76$ TeV is studied as a function of centrality
and transverse momentum within the \textsc{hydjet++} model. The model enables
one to investigate the influence of both hard processes and final-state
interactions on the harmonics of particle anisotropic flow. Decays of
resonances are found to increase the magnitude of the $v_3(p_{\rm T})$
distributions at $p_{\rm T} \geq 2$ GeV/$c$ and shift their maxima to higher
transverse momenta. The $p_{\rm T}$-integrated triangular flow, however,
becomes slightly weakened for all centralities studied. The resonance decays
also modify the spectra towards the number-of-constituent-quark scaling
fulfillment for the triangular flow, whereas jets are the main source of the
scaling violation at the energies available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider
(LHC). Comparison with the corresponding spectra of elliptic flow reveals that
resonance decays and jets act in a similar manner on both $v_3(p_{\rm T})$ and
$v_2(p_{\rm T})$ behavior. Obtained results are also confronted with the
experimental data on differential triangular flow of identified hadrons, ratio
$v_3^{1/3}(p_{\rm T}) / v_2^{1/2}(p_{\rm T})$ and $p_{\rm T}$-integrated
triangular flow of charged hadrons.


title:
Bipartite Chebyshev polynomials and elliptic integrals expressible by
  elementary functions

abstract:
  The article is concerned with polynomials $g(x)$ whose graphs are "partially
packed" between two horizontal tangent lines. We assume that most of the local
maximum points of $g(x)$ are on the first horizontal line, and most of the
local minimum points on the second horizontal line, except several
"exceptional" maximum or minimum points, that locate above or under two lines,
respectively. In addition, the degree of $g(x)$ is exactly the number of all
extremum points $+1$. Then we call $g(x)$ a multipartite Chebyshev polynomial
associated with the two lines. Under a certain condition, we show that $g(x)$
is expressed as a composition of the Chebyshev polynomial and a polynomial
defined by the $x$-component data of the exceptional extremum points of $g(x)$
and the intersection points of $g(x)$ and the two lines. Especially, we study
in detail bipartite Chebyshev polynomials, which has only one exceptional
point, and treat a connection between such polynomials and elliptic integrals.


title:
Quantum trajectories and their statistics for remotely entangled quantum
  bits

abstract:
  We experimentally and theoretically investigate the quantum trajectories of
jointly monitored transmon qubits embedded in spatially separated microwave
cavities. Using nearly quantum-noise limited superconducting amplifiers and an
optimized setup to reduce signal loss between cavities, we can efficiently
track measurement-induced entanglement generation as a continuous process for
single realizations of the experiment. The quantum trajectories of transmon
qubits naturally split into low and high entanglement classes corresponding to
half-parity collapse. The distribution of concurrence is found at any given
time and we explore the dynamics of entanglement creation in the state space.
The distribution exhibits a sharp cut-off in the high concurrence limit,
defining a maximal concurrence boundary. The most likely paths of the qubits'
trajectories are also investigated, resulting in three probable paths,
gradually projecting the system to two even subspaces and an odd subspace. We
also investigate the most likely time for the individual trajectories to reach
their most entangled state, and find that there are two solutions for the local
maximum, corresponding to the low and high entanglement routes. The theoretical
predictions show excellent agreement with the experimental entangled qubit
trajectory data.


title:
External-Field-Free Spin Hall Switching of Perpendicular Magnetic
  Nanopillar with a Dipole-Coupled Composite Structure

abstract:
  Spin Hall effect (SHE) induced reversal of perpendicular magnetization has
attracted significant interest, due to its potential to lead to low power
memory and logic devices. However, the switching requires an assisted in-plane
magnetic field, which hampers its practical applications. Here, we introduce a
novel approach for external-field-free spin Hall switching of a perpendicular
nanomagnet by utilizing a local dipolar field arising from an adjacent in-plane
magnetic layer. Robust switching of perpendicular CoFeB nanopillars in a
dipole-coupled composite stack is experimentally demonstrated in the absence of
any external magnetic field, in consistent with the results of micromagnetic
simulation. Large in-plane compensation field of about 135 Oe and out-of-plane
loop shift of about 45 Oe / 10 7 A cm-2 are obtained in the nanopillar devices
with composite structure. By performing micromagnetic simulations, we confirm
the composite external-field-free switching strategy can also work for a 10 x
10 nm2 circular pillar. Compared with other proposed methods for
external-field-free spin Hall switching of perpendicular magnetization, the
dipole-coupled composite structure is compatible with a wide range of spin Hall
systems and perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions, paving the way towards
practical SHE-based MRAM and logic applications.


title: Noisy Branes

abstract:
  We study the effects of disorder on strongly coupled compressible matter in
2+1 dimensions. Our system consists of a D3/D5 intersection at finite
temperature and in the presence of a disordered chemical potential. We first
study the impact of disorder on the charge density and the quark condensate.
Next, we focus on the DC conductivity and derive analytic expressions for the
corrections induced by weak disorder. It is found that disorder enhances the DC
conductivity at low charge density, while for large charge density the
conductivity is reduced. We present numerical simulations both for weak and
strong disorder. Finally, we show how disorder gives rise to a sublinear
behavior for the conductivity as a function of the charge density, a behavior
qualitatively similar to predictions and observations for electric transport in
graphene.


title: Fedosov Quantization and Perturbative Quantum Field Theory

abstract:
  Fedosov has described a geometro-algebraic method to construct in a canonical
way a deformation of the Poisson algebra associated with a finite-dimensional
symplectic manifold ("phase space"). His algorithm gives a non-commutative, but
associative, product (a so-called "star-product") between smooth phase space
functions parameterized by Planck's constant $\hbar$, which is treated as a
deformation parameter. In the limit as $\hbar$ goes to zero, the star product
commutator goes to $\hbar$ times the Poisson bracket, so in this sense his
method provides a quantization of the algebra of classical observables. In this
work, we develop a generalization of Fedosov's method which applies to the
infinite-dimensional symplectic "manifolds" that occur in Lagrangian field
theories. We show that the procedure remains mathematically well-defined, and
we explain the relationship of this method to more standard perturbative
quantization schemes in quantum field theory.


title: Structural analysis of high-dimensional basins of attraction

abstract:
  We propose an efficient Monte Carlo method for the computation of the volumes
of high-dimensional bodies with arbitrary shape. We start with a region of
known volume within the interior of the manifold and then use the multistate
Bennett acceptance-ratio method to compute the dimensionless free-energy
difference between a series of equilibrium simulations performed within this
object. The method produces results that are in excellent agreement with
thermodynamic integration, as well as a direct estimate of the associated
statistical uncertainties. The histogram method also allows us to directly
obtain an estimate of the interior radial probability density profile, thus
yielding useful insight into the structural properties of such a
high-dimensional body. We illustrate the method by analyzing the effect of
structural disorder on the basins of attraction of mechanically stable packings
of soft repulsive spheres.

categories: cond-mat.dis-nn cond-mat.soft cond-mat.stat-mech physics.comp-ph


title: Combined QCD and electroweak analysis of HERA data

abstract:
  A simultaneous fit of parton distribution functions (PDFs) and electroweak
parameters to HERA data on deep inelastic scattering is presented. The input
data are the neutral current and charged current inclusive cross sections which
were previously used in the QCD analysis leading to the HERAPDF2.0 PDFs. In
addition, the polarisation of the electron beam was taken into account for the
ZEUS data recorded between 2004 and 2007. Results on the vector and
axial-vector couplings of the Z boson to u- and d-type quarks, on the value of
the electroweak mixing angle and the mass of the W boson are presented. The
values obtained for the electroweak parameters are in agreement with Standard
Model predictions.


title:
Spacecraft Attitude and Reaction Wheel Desaturation Combined Control
  Method

abstract:
  Two popular types of spacecraft actuators are reaction wheels and magnetic
torque coils. Magnetic torque coils are particularly interesting because they
can be used for both attitude control and reaction wheel momentum management
(desaturation control). Although these two tasks are performed at the same time
using the same set of actuators, most design methods deal with only one of the
these tasks or consider these two tasks separately. In this paper, a design
with these two tasks in mind is formulated as a single problem. A periodic
time-varying linear quadratic regulator design method is then proposed to solve
this problem. A simulation example is provided to describe the benefit of the
new strategy.


title: Differentiable Pooling for Unsupervised Acoustic Model Adaptation

abstract:
  We present a deep neural network (DNN) acoustic model that includes
parametrised and differentiable pooling operators. Unsupervised acoustic model
adaptation is cast as the problem of updating the decision boundaries
implemented by each pooling operator. In particular, we experiment with two
types of pooling parametrisations: learned $L_p$-norm pooling and weighted
Gaussian pooling, in which the weights of both operators are treated as
speaker-dependent. We perform investigations using three different large
vocabulary speech recognition corpora: AMI meetings, TED talks and Switchboard
conversational telephone speech. We demonstrate that differentiable pooling
operators provide a robust and relatively low-dimensional way to adapt acoustic
models, with relative word error rates reductions ranging from 5--20% with
respect to unadapted systems, which themselves are better than the baseline
fully-connected DNN-based acoustic models. We also investigate how the proposed
techniques work under various adaptation conditions including the quality of
adaptation data and complementarity to other feature- and model-space
adaptation methods, as well as providing an analysis of the characteristics of
each of the proposed approaches.


title: Data Collection for Interactive Learning through the Dialog

abstract:
  This paper presents a dataset collected from natural dialogs which enables to
test the ability of dialog systems to learn new facts from user utterances
throughout the dialog. This interactive learning will help with one of the most
prevailing problems of open domain dialog system, which is the sparsity of
facts a dialog system can reason about. The proposed dataset, consisting of
1900 collected dialogs, allows simulation of an interactive gaining of
denotations and questions explanations from users which can be used for the
interactive learning.


title:
Resonant terms on gyrocenter coordinates introduced by resonant
  electromagnetic perturbations

abstract:
  It's pointed out that the treatment of the resonant electromagnetic
perturbation with the Lie transform method adopted in the gyrokinetic theory
generates some nonphysical terms in the trajectory equations. By utilizing a
modified application of this transform method, the resonant terms in the
trajectory equations satisfying each resonant condition are found out up to the
second harmonic resonance. Through separating the fast-dynamic terms from the
slow-dynamic ones, the slow-dynamic trajectory equations including the resonant
terms are derived for various resonant conditions. The slow-dynamic evolution
equation of gyroangle reveals that the real gyrating frequency of the charged
particle around the magnetic field line under driving by the resonant wave has
a shift from the cyclotron frequency without the wave driving. To study the
effect caused by the frequency shift, a simple example for the
fundamental-frequency cyclotron resonance is presented.


title: On the final states of two-dimensional unbounded flows

abstract:
  A high-accuracy numerical study on the evolution of two-dimensional unbounded
flows with the Hermite pseudo-spectral solver is presented. Our simulations
clearly show that the simple Oseen vortex always appears in the late stage for
every initial condition with non-zero circulation ($\Omega \neq 0$). In
general, the theoretical time adopted to describe the Oseen vortex and the
simulating time in numerical investigations are not the same, and their
difference ($T_{diff}$) is in inverse proportion to the viscosity for the same
initial condition. In particular, a perturbed monopole will also eventually
relax into an Oseen vortex which shows obvious difference from the original
monopole no matter how small the perturbation is. This difference can be well
represented by the time gap ($T_{gap}$) between the theoretical time of two
monopoles, and the type and amplitude of the perturbation determine the value
of $T_{gap}$.


title: Toda-like (0,2) mirrors to products of projective spaces

abstract:
  One of the open problems in understanding (0,2) mirror symmetry concerns the
construction of Toda-like Landau-Ginzburg mirrors to (0,2) theories on Fano
spaces. In this paper, we begin to fill this gap by making an ansatz for (0,2)
Toda-like theories mirror to (0,2) supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models on
products of projective spaces, with deformations of the tangent bundle,
generalizing a special case previously worked out for P1xP1. We check this
ansatz by matching correlation functions of the B/2-twisted Toda-like theories
to correlation functions of corresponding A/2-twisted nonlinear sigma models,
computed primarily using localization techniques. These (0,2) Landau-Ginzburg
models admit redundancies, which can lend themselves to multiple
distinct-looking representatives of the same physics, which we discuss.


title:
Superconducting properties of very high quality NbN thin films grown by
  high temperature chemical vapor deposition

abstract:
  Niobium nitride (NbN) is widely used in high-frequency superconducting
electronics circuits because it has one of the highest superconducting
transition temperatures ($T_c$ $\sim$ 16.5 K) and largest gap among
conventional superconductors. In its thin-film form, the $T_c$ of NbN is very
sensitive to growth conditions and it still remains a challenge to grow NbN
thin film (below 50 nm) with high $T_c$. Here, we report on the superconducting
properties of NbN thin films grown by high-temperature chemical vapor
deposition (HTCVD). Transport measurements reveal significantly lower disorder
than previously reported, characterized by a Ioffe-Regel ($k_F$$\ell$)
parameter of $\sim$ 14. Accordingly we observe $T_c$ $\sim$ 17.06 K (point of
50% of normal state resistance), the highest value reported so far for films of
thickness below 50 nm, indicating that HTCVD could be particularly useful for
growing high quality NbN thin films.


title:
Voicing Transformations and a Linear Representation of Uniform Triadic
  Transformations

abstract:
  Motivated by analytical methods in mathematical music theory, we determine
the structure of the subgroup J of GL(3,Z12) generated by the three voicing
reflections. As applications of our Structure Theorem, we determine the
structure of the stabilizer H in Sigma3 semi-direct product J of root position
triads, and show that H is a representation of Hook's uniform triadic
transformations group U. We also determine the centralizer of J in both
GL(3,Z12) and the monoid Aff(3,Z12) of affine transformations, and recover a
Lewinian duality for trichords containing a generator of Z12}. We present a
variety of musical examples, including the Wagner's hexatonic Grail motive and
the diatonic falling fifths as cyclic orbits, an elaboration of our earlier
work with Satyendra on Schoenberg, String Quartet in D minor, op. 7, and an
affine musical map of Joseph Schillinger. Finally, we observe, perhaps
unexpectedly, that the retrograde inversion enchaining operation RICH (for
arbitrary 3-tuples) belongs to the representation H. This allows a more
economical description of a passage in Webern, Concerto for Nine Instruments,
op. 24 in terms of a morphism of group actions.


title: High-Resolution Mapping of Dust via Extinction in the M31 Bulge

abstract:
  We map the dust distribution in the central 180" (~680 pc) region of the M31
bulge, based on HST/WFC3 and ACS observations in ten bands from
near-ultraviolet (2700 A) to near-infrared (1.5 micron). This large wavelength
coverage gives us great leverage to detect not only dense dusty clumps, but
also diffuse dusty molecular gas. We fit a pixel-by-pixel spectral energy
distributions to construct a high-dynamic-range extinction map with
unparalleled angular resolution (~0.5" , i.e., ~2 pc) and sensitivity (the
extinction uncertainty, \delta A_V~0.05). In particular, the data allow to
directly fit the fractions of starlight obscured by individual dusty clumps,
and hence their radial distances in the bulge. Most of these clumps seem to be
located in a thin plane, which is tilted with respect to the M31 disk and
appears face-on. We convert the extinction map into a dust mass surface density
map and compare it with that derived from the dust emission as observed by
Herschel . The dust masses in these two maps are consistent with each other,
except in the low-extinction regions, where the mass inferred from the
extinction tends to be underestimated. Further, we use simulations to show that
our method can be used to measure the masses of dusty clumps in Virgo cluster
early-type galaxies to an accuracy within a factor of ~2.


title: Detection under Privileged Information

abstract:
  For well over a quarter century, detection systems have been driven by models
learned from input features collected from real or simulated environments. An
artifact (e.g., network event, potential malware sample, suspicious email) is
deemed malicious or non-malicious based on its similarity to the learned model
at runtime. However, the training of the models has been historically limited
to only those features available at runtime. In this paper, we consider an
alternate learning approach that trains models using "privileged"
information--features available at training time but not at runtime--to improve
the accuracy and resilience of detection systems. In particular, we adapt and
extend recent advances in knowledge transfer, model influence, and distillation
to enable the use of forensic or other data unavailable at runtime in a range
of security domains. An empirical evaluation shows that privileged information
increases precision and recall over a system with no privileged information: we
observe up to 7.7% relative decrease in detection error for fast-flux bot
detection, 8.6% for malware traffic detection, 7.3% for malware classification,
and 16.9% for face recognition. We explore the limitations and applications of
different privileged information techniques in detection systems. Such
techniques provide a new means for detection systems to learn from data that
would otherwise not be available at runtime.


title:
May GWs signals by BH BH merging be associated with any gamma or
  neutrino burst? The case of a NS NS merging in GW GRB170817A

abstract:
  The Gravitational Wave (GW) events GW150914, GW151226, GW170104 detected by
LIGO were a record of Black Hole binary merging system (BH-BH) very probably in
nearly empty or a vacuum space; such a kind of events will be mostly with no
baryon mass (plasma or dense masses) and therefore mute or blind in any
correlated gamma band. If the GWs events might be born inside a globular
cluster, a star forming region or along a spiral AGN accretion disk their
additional accreting mass may be the needed baryon load to explode and shine:
in those dense places. BH BH collapse may also offer an optical X and gamma
afterglow via their baryon lightening and photon tracks. Only very nearby (tens
Mpc) BH Neutron Star (NS) or NS NS cannibal merging might be guaranteed and
associated also with a desired, visible and correlated spherical NS explosion
(kilonova one); they require much lower threshold or just nearer distances.
Indeed such a very exceptional GW170817 GRB170817a event occurred last August
2017; it took place and it was related to a very first NS NS collapse in a SN
kilonova spherical explosion. The GRB170817a gamma, X, radio signature it was
exceptional in many features . Its unique values (softer, weaker, the most near
and long life one) made GRB170817a very possibly an off-axis jet detection.
However there are solid arguments that suggest that such a GRB are not just
blazing within a collimated beam jet but that they are also shining in a wider
spread gamma equatorial disk blazing, orthogonal to the jet itself. In a few
words we were observing the event not along its jet but mostly orthogonal to
it. This GRB170817a geometry may better explain the otherwise unexpected beamed
to us event. In this paper therefore we summarize the astrophysical and the
cosmological signature of such a long desired multiple astronomy.


title: Mesonic Decay of Charm Hypernuclei $\Lambda^+_c$

abstract:
  $\Lambda^+_c$ hypernuclei are expected to have binding energies and other
properties similar to those of strange hypernuclei in view of the similarity
between the quark structures of the strange and charmed hyperons, namely
$\Lambda(uds)$ and $\Lambda^+_c (udc)$. One striking difference however occurs
in their mesonic decays, as there is almost no Pauli blocking in the nucleonic
decay of a charm hypernucleus because the final-state nucleons leave the
nucleus at high energies. The nuclear medium nevertheless affects the mesonic
decays of charm hypernucleus because the nuclear mean fields modify the masses
of the charm hyperon. In the present communication we present results of a
first investigation of the effects of finite baryon density on different weak
mesonic decay channels of the $\Lambda^+_c$ baryon. We found a non-negligible
reduction of the decay widths as compared to their vacuum values.


title:
Spectral sequences for Hochschild cohomology and graded centers of
  derived categories

abstract:
  The Hochschild cohomology of a differential graded algebra, or a differential
graded category, admits a natural map to the graded center of its homology
category: the characteristic homomorphism. We interpret it as an edge
homomorphism in a spectral sequence. This gives a conceptual explanation of the
failure of the characteristic homomorphism to be injective or surjective, in
general. To illustrate this, we discuss modules over the dual numbers, coherent
sheaves over algebraic curves, as well as examples related to free loop spaces
and string topology.


title:
Web Toolkit for Scientific Research: State of the Art and the Prospect
  for Development

abstract:
  The paper examines the current trends in designing of systems for convenient
and secure remote job submission to various computer resources, including
supercomputers, computer clusters, cloud resources, data storages and
databases, and grid infrastructures by authorized users, as well as remote job
monitoring and obtaining the results. Currently, high-perfomance computing and
storage resources are capable of solving independently the majority of
practical problems in the field of science and technology. Therefore, the focus
in the development of a new generation of middleware shifts from the global
grid systems to building convenient and efficient web platforms for remote
access to individual computing resources. The paper examines the general
principles of the construction and briefly describes some of the specific
implementations of the web platforms.


title: Multi-task Recurrent Model for Speech and Speaker Recognition

abstract:
  Although highly correlated, speech and speaker recognition have been regarded
as two independent tasks and studied by two communities. This is certainly not
the way that people behave: we decipher both speech content and speaker traits
at the same time. This paper presents a unified model to perform speech and
speaker recognition simultaneously and altogether. The model is based on a
unified neural network where the output of one task is fed to the input of the
other, leading to a multi-task recurrent network. Experiments show that the
joint model outperforms the task-specific models on both the two tasks.


title:
Sliding phases in U(1) symmetric systems -- mirage of the
  renormalization group

abstract:
  We analyse the proposal of sliding phases (SP) in layers hosting global U(1)
symmetric variables with finite inter-layer Josephson coupling. Based on the
Kosterlitz-Thouless renormalization group (RG) approach, such phases were
predicted to exist in various layered (or 1D quantum coupled) systems. The key
in the RG argument is treating the coupling as though the variables are
non-compact. Large scale Monte Carlo simulations of a layered model, where the
SP is supposed to exist, finds no indication of such a phase. Instead, 3D
behavior is observed. This result is consistent with the asymptotically exact
analytical solution. A generic argument against SP in translationally invariant
systems with short range interactions is provided. We have also suggested an
alternative model for the SP -- adding long-range interactions to the
inter-layer Josephson term.


title: $3$-pyramidal Steiner Triple Systems

abstract:
  A design is said to be $f$-pyramidal when it has an automorphism group which
fixes $f$ points and acts sharply transitively on all the others. The problem
of establishing the set of values of $v$ for which there exists an
$f$-pyramidal Steiner triple system of order $v$ has been deeply investigated
in the case $f=1$ but it remains open for a special class of values of $v$. The
same problem for the next possible $f$, which is $f=3$, is here completely
solved: there exists a $3$-pyramidal Steiner triple system of order $v$ if and
only if $v\equiv7,9,15$ (mod $24$) or $v\equiv 3, 19$ (mod 48).


title:
Nodal intersections of random eigenfunctions against a segment on the
  2-dimensional torus

abstract:
  We consider random Gaussian eigenfunctions of the Laplacian on the standard
torus, and investigate the number of nodal intersections against a line
segment. The expected intersection number, against any smooth curve, is
universally proportional to the length of the reference curve, times the
wavenumber, independent of the geometry. We found an upper bound for the nodal
intersections variance, depending on whether the slope of the straight line is
rational or irrational. Our findings exhibit a close relation between this
problem and the theory of lattice points on circles.


title: Regularity of solutions for a free boundary problem in two dimensions

abstract:
  We study the regularity of minimizers to the functional
  \[
  J(w)=\int_{\Omega} a^{ij}w_iw_j + Q\chi_{\{w>0\}},
  \] over a bounded domain $\Omega$ and among the class of nonnegative
functions in $W^{1,2}(\Omega)$ with prescribed boundary data. We assume that
the coefficients $a^{ij}$ are only bounded and measurable and satisfy an
ellipticity in condition. In two dimensions we prove that minimizers are
H\"older continuous on subdomains. We also prove that in two dimensions a
minimizer $u$ satisfies a linear growth condition from above and below near the
free boundary $\partial \{u>0\}$.


title:
Topological in-plane polarized piezo actuation for compact adaptive
  lenses with aspherical correction

abstract:
  In this contribution, we investigate the effects of using in-plane polarized
piezo actuators with topological buckling displacement to drive glass-piezo
composite membranes for adaptive lenses with aspherical control. We find that
the effects on the focal power and aspherical tuning range are relatively
small, whereas the tuning speed is improved significantly with a first
resonance of 1 kHz for a 13 mm aperture lens.


title: Stochastic Block BFGS: Squeezing More Curvature out of Data

abstract:
  We propose a novel limited-memory stochastic block BFGS update for
incorporating enriched curvature information in stochastic approximation
methods. In our method, the estimate of the inverse Hessian matrix that is
maintained by it, is updated at each iteration using a sketch of the Hessian,
i.e., a randomly generated compressed form of the Hessian. We propose several
sketching strategies, present a new quasi-Newton method that uses stochastic
block BFGS updates combined with the variance reduction approach SVRG to
compute batch stochastic gradients, and prove linear convergence of the
resulting method. Numerical tests on large-scale logistic regression problems
reveal that our method is more robust and substantially outperforms current
state-of-the-art methods.


title: Gas dynamics in the Milky Way: a low pattern speed model

abstract:
  We present gas flow models for the Milky Way based on high-resolution
grid-based hydrodynamical simulations. The basic galactic potential we use is
from a N-body model constrained by the density of red clump giants in the
Galactic bulge. We augment this potential with a nuclear bulge, two pairs of
spiral arms and additional mass at the bar end to represent the long bar
component. With this combined model we can reproduce many features in the
observed ($l,v$) diagram with a bar pattern speed of $33\; {\rm km}\;{\rm
s}^{-1}\;{\rm kpc}^{-1}$ and a spiral pattern speed of $23\; {\rm km}\;{\rm
s}^{-1}\;{\rm kpc}^{-1}$. The shape and kinematics of the nuclear ring, Bania's
Clump 2, the Connecting arm, the Near and Far 3-kpc arms, the Molecular Ring,
and the spiral arm tangent points in our simulations are comparable to those in
the observations. Our results imply that a low pattern speed model for the bar
in our Milky Way reproduces the observations for a suitable Galactic potential.
Our best model gives a better match to the ($l,v$) diagram than previous high
pattern speed hydrodynamical simulations.


title: On fuzzy prime and fuzzy semiprime ideals of $\le$-hypergroupoids

abstract:
  We deal with an hypergroupoid endowed with a relation denoted by "$\le$", we
call it $\le$--hypergroupoid. We prove that a nonempty subset $A$ of a
$\le$--hypergroupoid $H$ is a prime (resp. semiprime) ideal of $H$ if and only
if its characteristic function $f_A$ is a fuzzy prime (resp. fuzzy semiprime)
ideal of $H$.


title:
Global existence and persistence of mass for a nonlinear equation with
  fractional Laplacian

abstract:
  In this paper we study the partial differential equation \begin{equation}
  \begin{split}
  \partial_tu &= k(t)\Delta_\alpha u - h(t)\varphi(u),
  u(0) &= u_0.
  \end{split} \end{equation} Here $\Delta_\alpha$ is the fractional Laplacian,
$k,h:[0,\infty)\to[0,\infty)$ are continuous functions and
$\varphi:\mathbb{R}\to[0,\infty)$ is a convex differentiable function. If
$u_0\in C_b(\mathbb{R}^d)\cap L^1(\mathbb{R}^d)$ we prove that the above
equation has a classical global solution and is non-negative if $u_0\geq0$.
Imposing some restrictions on the parameters we prove that the mass
$M(t)=\int_{\mathbb{R}^d}u(t,x)dx$, $t>0$, of the system $u$ does not vanish in
finite time, moreover we see that $\lim_{t\to\infty}M(t)>0$, under the
restriction $\int_0^\infty h(s)ds<\infty$. A comparison result is also obtained
for non-negative solutions, and as an application we get a better condition
when $\varphi$ is a power function.


title:
Observation of an anomalous line shape of the
  $\eta^{\prime}\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ mass spectrum near the $p\bar{p}$ mass
  threshold in $J/\psi\rightarrow\gamma\eta^{\prime}\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$

abstract:
  Using $1.09\times10^{9}$ $J/\psi$ events collected by the BESIII experiment
in 2012, we study the $J/\psi\rightarrow\gamma\eta^{\prime}\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$
process and observe a significant abrupt change in the slope of the
$\eta^{\prime}\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ invariant mass distribution at the
proton-antiproton ($p\bar{p}$) mass threshold. We use two models to
characterize the $\eta^{\prime}\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ line shape around
$1.85~\text{GeV}/c^{2}$: one which explicitly incorporates the opening of a
decay threshold in the mass spectrum (Flatt\'{e} formula), and another which is
the coherent sum of two resonant amplitudes. Both fits show almost equally good
agreement with data, and suggest the existence of either a broad state around
$1.85~\text{GeV}/c^{2}$ with strong couplings to $p\bar{p}$ final states or a
narrow state just below the $p\bar{p}$ mass threshold. Although we cannot
distinguish between the fits, either one supports the existence of a $p\bar{p}$
molecule-like state or bound state with greater than $7\sigma$ significance.


title:
Relative weights approach to SU(3) gauge theories with dynamical
  fermions at finite density

abstract:
  We derive effective Polyakov line actions for SU(3) gauge theories with
staggered dynamical fermions, for a small sample of lattice couplings, lattice
actions, and lattice extensions in the time direction. The derivation is via
the method of relative weights, and the theories are solved at finite chemical
potential by mean field theory. We find in some instances that the long-range
couplings in the effective action are very important to the phase structure,
and that these couplings are responsible for long-lived metastable states in
the effective theory. Only one of these states corresponds to the underlying
lattice gauge theory.


title: From Smooth Curves to Universal Metrics

abstract:
  A special class of metrics, called universal metrics, solve all gravity
theories defined by covariant field equations purely based on the metric
tensor. Since we currently lack the knowledge of what the full of
quantum-corrected field equations of gravity are at a given microscopic length
scale, these metrics are particularly important in understanding quantum fields
in curved backgrounds in a consistent way. But, finding explicit universal
metrics has been a hard problem as there does not seem to be a procedure for
it. In this work, we overcome this difficulty and give a construction of
universal metrics of d-dimensional spacetime from curves constrained to live in
a (d-1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime or a Euclidean space.


title:
A Random Matrix Approach for Quantifying Model-Form Uncertainties in
  Turbulence Modeling

abstract:
  With the ever-increasing use of Reynolds-Averaged Navier--Stokes (RANS)
simulations in mission-critical applications, the quantification of model-form
uncertainty in RANS models has attracted attention in the turbulence modeling
community. Recently, a physics-based, nonparametric approach for quantifying
model-form uncertainty in RANS simulations has been proposed, where Reynolds
stresses are projected to physically meaningful dimensions and perturbations
are introduced only in the physically realizable limits. However, a challenge
associated with this approach is to assess the amount of information introduced
in the prior distribution and to avoid imposing unwarranted constraints. In
this work we propose a random matrix approach for quantifying model-form
uncertainties in RANS simulations with the realizability of the Reynolds stress
guaranteed. Furthermore, the maximum entropy principle is used to identify the
probability distribution that satisfies the constraints from available
information but without introducing artificial constraints. We demonstrate that
the proposed approach is able to ensure the realizability of the Reynolds
stress, albeit in a different manner from the physics-based approach. Monte
Carlo sampling of the obtained probability distribution is achieved by using
polynomial chaos expansion to map independent Gaussian random fields to the
Reynolds stress random field with the marginal distributions and correlation
structures as specified. Numerical simulations on a typical flow with
separation have shown physically reasonable results, which verifies the
proposed approach. Therefore, the proposed method is a promising alternative to
the physics-based approach for model-form uncertainty quantification of RANS
simulations. The method explored in this work is general and can be extended to
other complex physical systems in applied mechanics and engineering.


title: Infinite mass boundary conditions for Dirac operators

abstract:
  We study a self-adjoint realization of a massless Dirac operator on a bounded
connected domain $\Omega\subset \mathbb{R}^2$ which is frequently used to model
graphene quantum dots. In particular, we show that this operator is the limit,
as $M\to \infty$, of a Dirac operator defined on the whole plane, with a mass
term of size $M$ supported outside $\Omega$.


title: An improved model of alliances between political parties

abstract:
  We consider an operatorial model of alliances between three political parties
which interact with their electors, with the undecided voters, and with the
electors of the other parties. This extends what was done in a previous paper,
where this last type of interactions was not considered. Of course, taking them
into account makes the system closer to real life. To produce an exactly
solvable model, we restrict here to quadratic Hamiltonians, so that the
equations of motion turn out to be linear. The dynamics of the so-called {\em
decision functions} are deduced, and some explicit situations are considered in
details.


title: Synchronization of coupled generators of quasiperiodic oscillations

abstract:
  The dynamics of two coupled generators of quasiperiodic oscillations is
studied. The opportunity of complete and phase synchronization of generators in
the regime of quasiperiodic oscillations is obtained. The features of structure
of parameter plane is researched using charts of dynamical regimes and charts
of Lyapunov exponents, in which typical structures as resonance Arnold web were
revealed. The possible quasiperiodic bifurctions in the system are discussed.


title: Stable Isogeometric Analysis of Trimmed Geometries

abstract:
  We explore extended B-splines as a stable basis for isogeometric analysis
with trimmed parameter spaces. The stabilization is accomplished by an
appropriate substitution of B-splines that may lead to ill-conditioned system
matrices. The construction for non-uniform knot vectors is presented. The
properties of extended B-splines are examined in the context of interpolation,
potential, and linear elasticity problems and excellent results are attained.
The analysis is performed by an isogeometric boundary element formulation using
collocation. It is argued that extended B-splines provide a flexible and simple
stabilization scheme which ideally suits the isogeometric paradigm.


title: 9 generators of the skein space of the 3-torus

abstract:
  We show that the skein vector space of the 3-torus is finitely generated. We
show that it is generated by 9 elements: the empty set, some simple closed
curves representing the non null elements of the first homology group with
coefficients in \Z_2, and a link consisting of two parallel copies of one of
the previous non empty knots.


title: Electro-absorption of silicene and bilayer graphene quantum dots

abstract:
  We study numerically the optical properties of low-buckled silicene and
AB-stacked bilayer graphene quantum dots subjected to an external electric
field, which is normal to their surface. Within the tight-binding model, the
optical absorption is calculated for quantum dots, of triangular and hexagonal
shapes, with zigzag and armchair edge terminations. We show that in triangular
silicene clusters with zigzag edges a rich and widely tunable infrared
absorption peak structure originates from transitions involving zero energy
states. The edge of absorption in silicene quantum dots undergoes red shift in
the external electric field for triangular clusters, whereas blue shift takes
place for hexagonal ones. In small clusters of bilayer graphene with zigzag
edges the edge of absorption undergoes blue/red shift for triangular/hexagonal
geometry. In armchair clusters of silicene blue shift of the absorption edge
takes place for both cluster shapes, while red shift is inherent for both
shapes of the bilayer graphene quantum dots.


title: $H\to \ell\ell'$ in the Simplest Little Higgs Model

abstract:
  Little Higgs Models are promising constructs to solve the hierarchy problem
affecting the Higgs boson mass for generic new physics. However, their
preservation of lepton universality forbids them to account for the
$H\to\tau\mu$ CMS hint and at the same time respect (as they do) the severe
limits on $H\to\mu e$ inherited from the non-observation of $\mu\to e\gamma$.
We compute the predictions of the Simplest Little Higgs Model for the $H\to
\ell\ell'$ decays and conclude that the measurement of any of these decays at
LHC (even with a much smaller rate than currently hinted) would, under
reasonable assumptions, disfavor this model. This result is consistent with our
earlier observation of very suppressed lepton flavor violating semileptonic tau
decays within this model.


title:
A "Garden of Forking Paths" - the Quantum Mechanics of Histories of
  Events

abstract:
  We present a short survey of a novel approach, called "ETH approach", to the
quantum theory of events happening in isolated physical systems and to the
effective time evolution of states of systems featuring events. In particular,
we attempt to present a clear explanation of what is meant by an "event" in
quantum mechanics and of the significance of this notion. We then outline a
theory of direct (projective) and indirect observations or recordings of
physical quantities and events. Some key ideas underlying our general theory
are illustrated by studying a simple quantum-mechanical model of a mesoscopic
system.


title:
The existence and smoothness of unique solution of the Navier Stokes
  equations

abstract:
  In this paper it is given the solution of the sixth millennium problem: it is
proof the existence and smoothness of unique solution of the Navier Stokes
equations with periodic boundary conditions in the spatial variables.


title:
Low-traffic limit and first-passage times for a simple model of the
  continuous double auction

abstract:
  We consider a simplified model of the continuous double auction where prices
are integers varying from $1$ to $N$ with limit orders and market orders, but
quantity per order limited to a single share. For this model, the order process
is equivalent to two $M/M/1$ queues. We study the behaviour of the auction in
the low-traffic limit where limit orders are immediately transformed into
market orders. In this limit, the distribution of prices can be computed
exactly and gives a reasonable approximation of the price distribution when the
ratio between the rate of order arrivals and the rate of order executions is
below $1/2$. This is further confirmed by the analysis of the first passage
time in $1$ or $N$.


title: Friedmann inflation in Horava-Lifshitz gravity with a scalar field

abstract:
  We study Friedmann inflation in general Horava-Lifshitz (HL) gravity with
detailed and non-detailed but also without the projectability conditions.
Accordingly, we derive the modifications in the Friedmann equations due to
single scalar field potentials describing power-law and
minimal-supersymmetrically extended inflation. By implementing four types of
the equations-of-state charactering the cosmic background geometry, the
dependence of the tensorial and spectral density fluctuations and their ratio
on the inflation field is determined. The latter characterizes the time
evolution of the inflation field relative to the Hubble parameter. Furthermore,
the ratio of tensorial-to-spectral density fluctuations is calculated in
dependence on the spectral index. The resulting slow-roll parameters apparently
differ from the ones deduced from the standard General Relativity (Friedmann
gravity). We also observe that the tensorial-to-spectral density fluctuations
continuously decrease when moving from non-detailed HL gravity, to Friedmann
gravity, to HL gravity without the projectibility, and to detailed HL gravity.
This regular patter is valid for three types of cosmic equations-of-state and
different inflation potential models. The results fit well with the recent
PLANCK observations.


title:
Dirac Hamiltonian and Reissner-Nordstrom Metric: Coulomb Interaction in
  Curved Space-Time

abstract:
  We investigate the spin-1/2 relativistic quantum dynamics in the curved
space-time generated by a central massive charged object (black hole). This
necessitates a study of the coupling of a Dirac particle to the
Reissner-Nordstrom space-time geometry and the simultaneous covariant coupling
to the central electrostatic field. The relativistic Dirac Hamiltonian for the
Reissner-Nordstrom geometry is derived. A Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation
reveals the presence of gravitational, and electro-gravitational spin-orbit
coupling terms which generalize the Fokker precession terms found for the
Dirac-Schwarzschild Hamiltonian, and other electro-gravitational correction
terms to the potential proportional to alpha^n G, where alpha is the
fine-structure constant, and G is the gravitational coupling constant. The
particle-antiparticle symmetry found for the Dirac-Schwarzschild geometry (and
for other geometries which do not include electromagnetic interactions) is
shown to be explicitly broken due to the electrostatic coupling. The resulting
spectrum of radially symmetric, electrostatically bound systems (with
gravitational corrections) is evaluated for example cases.


title: Performance of the EUDET-type beam telescopes

abstract:
  Test beam measurements at the test beam facilities of DESY have been
conducted to characterise the performance of the EUDET-type beam telescopes
originally developed within the EUDET project. The beam telescopes are equipped
with six sensor planes using MIMOSA26 monolithic active pixel devices. A
programmable Trigger Logic Unit provides trigger logic and time stamp
information on particle passage. Both data acquisition framework and offline
reconstruction software packages are available. User devices are easily
integrable into the data acquisition framework via predefined interfaces.
  The biased residual distribution is studied as a function of the beam energy,
plane spacing and sensor threshold. Its standard deviation at the two centre
pixel planes using all six planes for tracking in a 6\,GeV
electron/positron-beam is measured to be
$(2.88\,\pm\,0.08)\,\upmu\meter$.Iterative track fits using the formalism of
General Broken Lines are performed to estimate the intrinsic resolution of the
individual pixel planes. The mean intrinsic resolution over the six sensors
used is found to be $(3.24\,\pm\,0.09)\,\upmu\meter$.With a 5\,GeV
electron/positron beam, the track resolution halfway between the two inner
pixel planes using an equidistant plane spacing of 20\,mm is estimated to
$(1.83\,\pm\,0.03)\,\upmu\meter$ assuming the measured intrinsic resolution.
Towards lower beam energies the track resolution deteriorates due to increasing
multiple scattering. Threshold studies show an optimal working point of the
MIMOSA26 sensors at a sensor threshold of between five and six times their RMS
noise. Measurements at different plane spacings are used to calibrate the
amount of multiple scattering in the material traversed and allow for
corrections to the predicted angular scattering for electron beams.


title: Constraining $f(T, \mathcal{T})$ gravity models using type Ia supernovae

abstract:
  We present an analysis of an $f(T, \mathcal{T})$ extension of the
Teleparallel Equivalent of General Relativity, where $T$ denotes the torsion
and $\mathcal{T}$ the trace of the energy-momentum tensor. This extension
includes non--minimal couplings between torsion and matter. In particular, we
construct two specific models that recover the usual continuity equation,
namely, $f(T, \mathcal{T})=T+g(\mathcal{T})$ and $f(T, \mathcal{T})=T\times
g(\mathcal{T})$. We then constrain the parameters of each model by fitting the
predicted distance modulus to that measured from type Ia supernovae, and find
that both models can reproduce the late--time cosmic acceleration. We also
observe that one of the models satisfies well the observational constraints and
yields a goodness--of--fit similar to the $\Lambda$CDM model, thus
demonstrating that $f(T,\mathcal{T})$ gravity theory encompasses viable models
that can be an alternative to $\Lambda$CDM.


title:
The Vertex Expansion in the Consistent Histories Formulation of Spin
  Foam Loop Quantum Cosmology

abstract:
  Assignment of consistent quantum probabilities to events in a quantum
universe is a fundamental challenge which every quantum cosmology/gravity
framework must overcome. In loop quantum cosmology, this issue leads to a
fundamental question: What is the probability that the universe undergoes a
non-singular bounce? Using the consistent histories formulation, this question
was successfully answered recently by the authors for a spatially flat FRW
model in the canonical approach. In this manuscript, we obtain a covariant
generalization of this result. Our analysis is based on expressing loop quantum
cosmology in the spin foam paradigm and using histories defined via volume
transitions to compute the amplitudes of transitions obtained using a vertex
expansion. We show that the probability for bounce turns out to be unity.


title: Lyapunov stability of a rigid body with two frictional contacts

abstract:
  Lyapunov stability of a mechanical system means that the dynamic response
stays bounded in an arbitrarily small neighborhood of a static equilibrium
configuration under small perturbations in positions and velocities. This type
of stability is highly desired in robotic applications that involve multiple
unilateral contacts. Nevertheless, Lyapunov stability analysis of such systems
is extremely difficult, because even small perturbations may result in hybrid
dynamics where the solution involves many nonsmooth transitions between
different contact states. This paper concerns with Lyapunov stability analysis
of a planar rigid body with two frictional unilateral contacts under inelastic
impacts, for a general class of equilibrium configurations under a constant
external load. The hybrid dynamics of the system under contact transitions and
impacts is formulated, and a \Poincare map at two-contact states is introduced.
Using invariance relations, this \Poincare map is reduced into two
semi-analytic scalar functions that entirely encode the dynamic behavior of
solutions under any small initial perturbation. These two functions enable
determination of Lyapunov stability or instability for almost any equilibrium
state. The results are demonstrated via simulation examples and by plotting
stability and instability regions in two-dimensional parameter spaces that
describe the contact geometry and external load.


title: Parity preservation of $K$-types under theta correspondence

abstract:
  This note shows a property of degree-parity preservation for $K$-types under
Howe's theta correspondence. As its application, we deduce the preservation of
parity of all $K$-types occurring in an arbitrary irreducible
$(\mathfrak{g},K)$-module of any Lie group in reductive dual pairs.


title:
A Test of General Relativity Using the LARES and LAGEOS Satellites and a
  GRACE Earth's Gravity Model

abstract:
  We present a test of General Relativity, the measurement of the Earth's
dragging of inertial frames. Our result is obtained using about 3.5 years of
laser-ranged observations of the LARES, LAGEOS and LAGEOS 2 laser-ranged
satellites together with the Earth's gravity field model GGM05S produced by the
space geodesy mission GRACE. We measure $\mu = (0.994 \pm 0.002) \pm 0.05$,
where $\mu$ is the Earth's dragging of inertial frames normalized to its
General Relativity value, 0.002 is the 1-sigma formal error and 0.05 is the
estimated systematic error mainly due to the uncertainties in the Earth's
gravity model GGM05S. Our result is in agreement with the prediction of General
Relativity.


title: $k$-essence for warm inflation on the brane

abstract:
  In this paper, $k$-inflation is analyzed in warm braneworld scenario. A
general class of $k$-essence models with power-law kinetic term is investigated
and weak and strong dissipation regimes are studied. Scalar perturbations and
spectral index are derived. The results are discussed and applied to specific
examples.


title:
Correlated anomalous phase diffusion of coupled phononic modes in a
  side-band driven resonator

abstract:
  The dynamical backaction from a periodically driven optical or microwave
cavity can reduce the damping of a mechanical resonator, leading to parametric
instability accompanied by self-sustained oscillations. Fundamentally, the
driving breaks the continuous time-translation symmetry and replaces it with
the symmetry with respect to time translation by the driving period. This
discrete symmetry should be reflected in the character of the oscillations.
Here, we perform experimental and theoretical study of new aspects of the
backaction and the discrete time-translation symmetry using a micromechanical
resonator designed to have two nonlinearly coupled vibrational modes with
strongly differing frequencies and decay rates. We find that self-sustained
oscillations are induced not only in the low frequency mode as measured in
previous experiments, but also in the high frequency mode. The vibration
frequencies and amplitudes are determined by the system nonlinearity, which
also leads to bistability and hysteresis. A remarkable consequence of the
discrete time-translation symmetry is revealed by studying the vibration
phases. We find that the phase fluctuations of the two modes are nearly
perfectly anti-correlated. At the same time, in each mode the phase undergoes
anomalous diffusion, where the time dependence of the phase variance follows a
superlinear rather than the standard linear power law. Our analysis shows that
the exponent of the power law is determined by the exponent of the 1/f-type
intrinsic frequency noise of the resonator. We demonstrate the possibility of
compensating for these fluctuations using a feedback scheme to generate stable
oscillations that could prove useful in frequency standards and resonant
detection.


title: Pseudo-Spin, Real-Spin and Spin Polarization of Photo-emitted Electrons

abstract:
  In this work, we discuss the connections between pseudo spin, real spin of
electrons in material and spin polarization of photo-emitted electrons out of
material. By investigating these three spin textures for Bi$_2$Se$_3$ and
SmB$_6$ compounds, we find that the spin orientation of photo-electrons for
SmB$_6$ has different correspondence to pseudo spin and real spin compare to
Bi$_2$Se$_3$, due to the different symmetry properties of the photo-emission
matrix between initial and final states. We calculate the spin polarization and
circular dichroism spectra of photo-emitted electrons for both compounds, which
can be detected by spin-resolved and circular dichroism angle resolved
photo-emission spectroscopy experiment.


title:
Conformal higher-order remeshing schemes for implicitly defined
  interface problems

abstract:
  A new higher-order accurate method is proposed that combines the advantages
of the classical $p$-version of the FEM on body-fitted meshes with embedded
domain methods. A background mesh composed by higher-order Lagrange elements is
used. Boundaries and interfaces are described implicitly by the level set
method and are within elements. In the elements cut by the boundaries or
interfaces, an automatic decomposition into higher-order accurate sub-elements
is realized. Therefore, the zero level sets are detected and meshed in a first
step which is called reconstruction. Then, based on the topological situation
in the cut element, higher-order sub-elements are mapped to the two sides of
the boundary or interface. The quality of the reconstruction and the mapping
largely determines the properties of the resulting, automatically generated
conforming mesh. It is found that optimal convergence rates are possible
although the resulting sub-elements are not always well-shaped.


title:
Towards co-designed optimizations in parallel frameworks: A MapReduce
  case study

abstract:
  The explosion of Big Data was followed by the proliferation of numerous
complex parallel software stacks whose aim is to tackle the challenges of data
deluge. A drawback of a such multi-layered hierarchical deployment is the
inability to maintain and delegate vital semantic information between layers in
the stack. Software abstractions increase the semantic distance between an
application and its generated code. However, parallel software frameworks
contain inherent semantic information that general purpose compilers are not
designed to exploit.
  This paper presents a case study demonstrating how the specific semantic
information of the MapReduce paradigm can be exploited on multicore
architectures. MR4J has been implemented in Java and evaluated against
hand-optimized C and C++ equivalents. The initial observed results led to the
design of a semantically aware optimizer that runs automatically without
requiring modification to application code.
  The optimizer is able to speedup the execution time of MR4J by up to 2.0x.
The introduced optimization not only improves the performance of the generated
code, during the map phase, but also reduces the pressure on the garbage
collector. This demonstrates how semantic information can be harnessed without
sacrificing sound software engineering practices when using parallel software
frameworks.


title:
Optical frequency comb spectroscopy at 3-5.4 {\mu}m with a doubly
  resonant optical parametric oscillator

abstract:
  We present a versatile mid-infrared frequency comb spectroscopy system based
on a doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator tunable in the 3-5.4 {\mu}m
range and two detection methods, a Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) and a
Vernier spectrometer. Using the FTS with a multipass cell we measure
high-precision broadband absorption spectra of CH$_4$ and NO at ~3.3 {\mu}m and
~5.2 {\mu}m, respectively, and of atmospheric species (CH$_4$, CO, CO$_2$ and
H$_2$O) in air in the signal and idler wavelength range. The figure of merit of
the system is on the order of 10$^{-8}$ cm$^{-1}$ Hz$^{-1/2}$ per spectral
element, and multiline fitting yields minimum detectable concentrations of
10-20 ppb Hz$^{-1/2}$ for CH$_4$, NO and CO. For the first time in the
mid-infrared, we perform continuous-filtering Vernier spectroscopy using a low
finesse enhancement cavity, a grating and a single detector, and measure the
absorption spectrum of CH$_4$ and H$_2$O in ambient air at ~3.3 {\mu}m.


title:
Bulk Fermi surface of charge-neutral excitations in SmB6 or not: a
  heat-transport study

abstract:
  Recently there have been increasingly hot debates on whether a bulk Fermi
surface of charge-neutral excitations exists in the topological Kondo insulator
SmB6. To unambiguously resolve this issue, we performed the low-temperature
thermal conductivity measurements of a high-quality SmB6 single crystal down to
0.1 K and up to 14.5 T. Our experiments show that the residual linear term of
thermal conductivity at zero field is zero, within the experimental accuracy.
Furthermore, the thermal conductivity is insensitive to magnetic field up to
14.5 T. These results exclude the existence of fermionic charge-neutral
excitations in bulk SmB6, such as scalar Majorana fermions or spinons, thus put
a strong constraint on the explanation of the quantum oscillations observed in
SmB6.


title:
Characterizing anomalous diffusion in crowded polymer solutions and gels
  over five decades in time with variable-lengthscale fluorescence correlation
  spectroscopy

abstract:
  The diffusion of macromolecules in cells and in complex fluids is often found
to deviate from simple Fickian diffusion. One explanation offered for this
behavior is that molecular crowding renders diffusion anomalous, where the
mean-squared displacement of the particles scales as $\langle r^2 \rangle
\propto t^{\alpha}$ with $\alpha < 1$. Unfortunately, methods such as
fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) or fluorescence recovery after
photobleaching (FRAP) probe diffusion only over a narrow range of lengthscales
and cannot directly test the dependence of the mean-squared displacement (MSD)
on time. Here we show that variable-lengthscale FCS (VLS-FCS), where the volume
of observation is varied over several orders of magnitude, combined with a
numerical inversion procedure of the correlation data, allows retrieving the
MSD for up to five decades in time, bridging the gap between diffusion
experiments performed at different lengthscales. In addition, we show that
VLS-FCS provides a way to assess whether the propagator associated with the
diffusion is Gaussian or non-Gaussian. We used VLS-FCS to investigate two
systems where anomalous diffusion had been previously reported. In the case of
dense cross-linked agarose gels, the measured MSD confirmed that the diffusion
of small beads was anomalous at short lengthscales, with a cross-over to simple
diffusion around $\approx 1~\mu$m, consistent with a caged diffusion process.
On the other hand, for solutions crowded with marginally entangled dextran
molecules, we uncovered an apparent discrepancy between the MSD, found to be
linear, and the propagators at short lengthscales, found to be non-Gaussian.
These contradicting features call to mind the "anomalous, yet Brownian"
diffusion observed in several biological systems, and the recently proposed
"diffusing diffusivity" model.


title:
Behavior of a test gyroscope moving towards a rotating traversable
  wormhole

abstract:
  The geodesic structure of the Teo wormhole is briefly discussed and some
observables are derived that promise to be of use in detecting a rotating
traversable wormhole indirectly, if it does exist. We also deduce the exact
Lense-Thirring (LT) precession frequency of a test gyroscope moving toward a
rotating traversable Teo wormhole. The precession frequency diverges on the
ergoregion, a behavior intimately related to and governed by the geometry of
the ergoregion, analogous to the situation in a Kerr spacetime. Interestingly,
it turns out that here the LT precession is inversely proportional to the
angular momentum ($a$) of the wormhole along the pole and around it in the
strong gravity regime, a behavior contrasting with its direct variation with
$a$ in the case of other compact objects. In fact, divergence of LT precession
inside the ergoregion can also be avoided if the gyro moves with a non-zero
angular velocity in a certain range. As a result, the spin precession frequency
of the gyro can be made finite throughout its whole path, even very close to
the throat, during its travel to the wormhole. Furthermore, it is evident from
our formulation that this spin precession not only arises due to curvature or
rotation of the spacetime but also due to the non-zero angular velocity of the
spin when it does not move along a geodesic in the strong gravity regime. If in
the future, interstellar travel indeed becomes possible through a wormhole or
at least in its vicinity, our results would prove useful in determining the
behavior of a test gyroscope which is known to serve as a fundamental
navigation device.


title: The Gaussian core model in high dimensions

abstract:
  We prove lower bounds for energy in the Gaussian core model, in which point
particles interact via a Gaussian potential. Under the potential function $t
\mapsto e^{-\alpha t^2}$ with $0 < \alpha < 4\pi/e$, we show that no point
configuration in $\mathbf{R}^n$ of density $\rho$ can have energy less than
$(\rho+o(1))(\pi/\alpha)^{n/2}$ as $n \to \infty$ with $\alpha$ and $\rho$
fixed. This lower bound asymptotically matches the upper bound of $\rho
(\pi/\alpha)^{n/2}$ obtained as the expectation in the Siegel mean value
theorem, and it is attained by random lattices. The proof is based on the
linear programming bound, and it uses an interpolation construction analogous
to those used for the Beurling-Selberg extremal problem in analytic number
theory. In the other direction, we prove that the upper bound of $\rho
(\pi/\alpha)^{n/2}$ is no longer asymptotically sharp when $\alpha > \pi e$. As
a consequence of our results, we obtain bounds in $\mathbf{R}^n$ for the
minimal energy under inverse power laws $t \mapsto 1/t^{n+s}$ with $s>0$, and
these bounds are sharp to within a constant factor as $n \to \infty$ with $s$
fixed.


title: Large jumps of $q$-Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes

abstract:
  We continue the investigation of sample paths of $q$-Ornstein-Uhlenbeck
process. We show that for all $q\in(-1,1)$, the process has big jumps crossing
from near one end point of the domain to the other with positive probability.
Moreover, the number of such jumps in an appropriately enlarged window
converges weakly to a Poisson random variable.


title: Thermodynamics of bipartite entanglement

abstract:
  A review is given on the thermodynamical structure of bipartite entanglement.
By comparing it to the axiomatic formulation of thermodynamics presented by
Giles it is shown that for finite dimensional systems the two theories are
formally inequivalent. The same approach is used to demonstrate the full
equivalence in the asymptotic limit for pure quantum states. For mixed states a
different method for obtaining the second law is described applied to two
different classes of operations, PPT-preserving and asymptotically
non-entangling operations.


title:
Large Scale Deep Convolutional Neural Network Features Search with
  Lucene

abstract:
  In this work, we propose an approach to index Deep Convolutional Neural
Network Features to support efficient content-based retrieval on large image
databases. To this aim, we have converted the these features into a textual
form, to index them into an inverted index by means of Lucene. In this way, we
were able to set up a robust retrieval system that combines full-text search
with content-based image retrieval capabilities. We evaluated different
strategies of textual representation in order to optimize the index occupation
and the query response time. In order to show that our approach is able to
handle large datasets, we have developed a web-based prototype that provides an
interface for combined textual and visual searching into a dataset of about 100
million of images.


title: A Matrix Model for Non-Abelian Quantum Hall States

abstract:
  We propose a matrix quantum mechanics for a class of non-Abelian quantum Hall
states. The model describes electrons which carry an internal SU(p) spin. The
ground states of the matrix model include spin-singlet generalisations of the
Moore-Read and Read-Rezayi states and, in general, lie in a class previously
introduced by Blok and Wen. The effective action for these states is a U(p)
Chern-Simons theory. We show how the matrix model can be derived from
quantisation of the vortices in this Chern-Simons theory and how the matrix
model ground states can be reconstructed as correlation functions in the
boundary WZW model.


title:
Non-magnetic ground state of Ni adatoms on Te-terminated bismuth
  chalcogenide topological insulators

abstract:
  We report on the quenching of single Ni adatom moments on Te-terminated
Bi2Te2Se and Bi2Te3 topological insulator surfaces. The effect becomes
manifested as a missing X-ray magnetic circular dichroism for resonant L3,2
transitions into partially filled Ni 3d states of occupancy n_d = 9.2. On the
basis of a comparative study of Ni and Fe using scanning tunneling microscopy
and ab initio calculations we are able to relate the element specific moment
formation to a local Stoner criterion. While Fe adatoms form large spin moments
of m_s = 2.54 mu_B with out-of-plane anisotropy due to a sufficiently large
density of states at the Fermi energy, Ni remains well below an effective
Stoner threshold for local moment formation. With the Fermi level remaining in
the bulk band gap after adatom deposition, non-magnetic Ni and preferentially
out-of-plane oriented magnetic Fe with similar structural properties on
Bi2Te2Se surfaces constitute a perfect platform to study off-on effects of
time-reversal symmetry breaking on topological surface states.


title:
Linear and fractional response for the SRB measure of smooth hyperbolic
  attractors and discontinuous observables

abstract:
  We consider a smooth one-parameter family $t \to f_t$ of diffeomorphisms with
compact transitive Axiom A attractors. Our first result (corrected) is that for
any function $G$ in the Sobolev space $H^r_p$, with $p>1$ and $0<r<1/p$, the
map $R(t)$ sending $t$ to the average of $G$ with respect to the SRB measure of
$f_t$ is $\alpha$-H\"older continuous for all $\alpha <r- |log \mathcal
J|/(p|log \nu_s|$) where $\mathcal J\le 1$ is the strongest volume contraction
and $\nu_s<1$ is the weakest contraction. This applies to
$\theta(x)=h(x)\Theta(g(x)-a)$ (for all $\alpha <1- |log \mathcal J|/|log
\nu_s|$) for $h$ and $g$ smooth and $\Theta$ the Heaviside function, if $a$ is
not a critical value of $g$. Our second result says that for any such function
so that, in addition, the intersection of the set of points $x$ so that
$g(x)=a$ with the support of $h$ is foliated by "admissible stable leaves" of
$f_t$, the map $R(t)$ is differentiable. (We provide distributional linear
response and fluctuation-dissipation formulas for the derivative.) Obtaining
linear response or fractional response for such observables is motivated by
extreme-value theory. --- Second version, following the referee's comments: We
explain better the cone choices around (2.4). Appendix A contains information
on the Banach spaces. We added the paragraph containing (2.6) in the proof of
Theorem 2.1. In the proof of Theorem 3.3, we do not need to introduce
mollifiers. However, the new argument around (2.6) is not available here, so we
must replace the pair $(u-1, |s-1|)$ by $(u-2, |s-2|)$. This is why we now
assume that $h$ is $C^3$ and that $g$ and the foliations are $C^4$. --- Third
version: We have added a corrigendum modifying the first result (Theorem 2.1).


title: Electron and muon anomalous magnetic dipole moment in a 3-3-1 model

abstract:
  We calculate, in the context of a 3-3-1 model with heavy charged leptons,
constraints on some parameters of the extra particles in the model by imposing
that their contributions to both the electron and muon $(g-2)$ factors are in
agreement with experimental data up to 1$\sigma$-3$\sigma$. In order to obtain
realistic results we use some of the possible solutions of the left- and right-
unitary matrices that diagonalize the lepton mass matrices, giving the observed
lepton masses and at the same time allowing to accommodate the
Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata (PMNS) mixing matrix. We show that, at least up
to 1-loop order, in the particular range of the space parameter that we have
explored, it is not possible to fit the observed electron and muon $(g-2)$
factors at the same time unless one of the extra leptons has a mass of the
order of 20-40 GeVs and the energy scale of the 331 symmetry to be of around
60-80 TeVs.


title: Local criteria for non embeddability of Levi-flat manifolds

abstract:
  We give local criteria for smooth non-embeddablity of Levi-flat manifolds.
For this purpose, we pose an analogue of Ueda theory on the neighborhood
structure of hypersurfaces in complex manifolds with topologically trivial
normal bundles.


title: Plasma Waves and Jets from Moving Conductors

abstract:
  We consider force-free plasma waves launched by the motion of conducting
material through a magnetic field. We develop a spacetime-covariant formalism
for perturbations of a uniform magnetic field and show how the transverse
motion of a conducting fluid acts as a source. We show that fast-mode waves are
sourced by the compressibility of the fluid, with incompressible fluids
launching a pure-Alfv\'en outflow. Remarkably, this outflow can be written down
in closed form for an arbitrary time-dependent, nonaxisymmetric incompressible
flow. The instantaneous flow velocity is imprinted on the magnetic field and
transmitted away at the speed of light, carrying detailed information about the
conducting source at the time of emission. These results can be applied to
transients in pulsar outflows and to jets from neutron stars orbiting in the
magnetosphere of another compact object. We discuss jets from moving conductors
in some detail.


title: Generalized amalgamation and homogeneity

abstract:
  In this paper we shall prove that any $2$-transitive finitely homogeneous
structure with a supersimple theory satisfying a generalized amalgamation
property is a random structure. In particular, this adapts a result of Koponen
for binary homogeneous structures to arbitrary ones without binary relations.
Furthermore, we point out a relation between generalized amalgamation,
triviality and quantifier elimination in simple theories.


title: Leavitt path algebras having Unbounded Generating Number

abstract:
  We present a result of P. Ara which establishes that the Unbounded Generating
Number property is a Morita invariant for unital rings. Using this, we give
necessary and sufficient conditions on a graph $E$ so that the Leavitt path
algebra associated to $E$ has UGN. We conclude by identifying the graphs for
which the Leavitt path algebra is (equivalently) directly finite; stably
finite; Hermite; and has cancellation of projectives.


title:
C IV and He II Line Emission of Lyman Alpha Blobs: Powered by Shock
  Heated Gas

abstract:
  Utilizing {\it ab initio} ultra-high resolution hydrodynamical simulations,
we investigate the properties of the interstellar and circum-galactic medium of
Ly$\alpha$ Blobs (LABs) at $z=3$, focusing on three important emission lines:
Ly$\alpha$ 1216\AA, \heii 1640\AA\ and \civ 1449\AA. Their relative strengths
provide a powerful probe of the thermodynamic properties of the gas when
confronted with observations. By adjusting the dust attenuation effect using
one parameter and matching the observed size-luminosity relation of LABs using
another parameter, we show that our simulations can reproduce the observed
\civ/\lya\ and \heii/\lya\ ratios adequately. This analysis provides the first
successful physical model to account for simultaneously the LAB luminosity
function, luminosity-size relation, and the \civ/Ly$\alpha$ and
\heii/Ly$\alpha$ ratios, with only two parameters. The physical underpinning
for this model is that, in addition to the stellar component for the \lya\
emission, the \lya\ and \civ\ emission lines due to shock heated gas are
primarily collisional excitation driven and the \heii\ emission line
collisional ionization driven. We find that the density, temperature and
metallicity of the gas responsible for each emission line is significantly
distinct, in a multi-phase interstellar and circumgalactic medium that is
shock-heated primarily by supernovae and secondarily by gravitational accretion
of gas.


title: The Fermi-GBM 3-year X-ray Burst Catalog

abstract:
  The Fermi Gamma Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) is an all sky gamma-ray monitor well
known in the gamma-ray burst community. Although GBM excels in detecting the
hard, bright extragalactic GRBs, its sensitivity above 8 keV and all-sky view
make it an excellent instrument for the detection of rare, short-lived Galactic
transients. In March 2010, we initiated a systematic search for transients
using GBM data. We conclude this phase of the search by presenting a 3 year
catalog of 1084 X-ray bursts. Using spectral analysis, location and spatial
distributions we classified the 1084 events into 752 thermonuclear X-ray
bursts, 267 transient events from accretion flares and X-ray pulses, and 65
untriggered gamma-ray bursts. All thermonuclear bursts have peak blackbody
temperatures broadly consistent with photospheric radius expanison (PRE)
bursts. We find an average rate of 1.4 PRE bursts per day, integrated over all
Galactic bursters within about 10 kpc. These include 33 and 10 bursts from the
ultra-compact X-ray binaries 4U~0614+09 and 2S~0918-549, respectively. We
discuss these recurrence times and estimate the total mass ejected by PRE
bursts in our Galaxy.


title: Model Theory of Adeles I

abstract:
  We study the model theory of the ring of adeles of a number field. We obtain
quantifier elimination results in the language of rings and some enrichments.
We given consequences for definable subsets of the adeles, and their measures.


title:
Stellar Variability and Flare Rates from Dome A, Antarctica using 2009
  and 2010 CSTAR Observations

abstract:
  The Chinese Small Telescope ARray (CSTAR) carried out high-cadence
time-series observations of 20.1 square degrees centered on the South Celestial
Pole during the 2008, 2009 & 2010 winter seasons from Dome A in Antarctica. The
nearly-continuous 6 months of dark conditions during each observing season
allowed for >10^6 images to be collected through gri and clear filters,
resulting in the detection of >10^4 sources over the course of 3 years of
operation. The nearly space-like conditions in the Antarctic plateau are an
ideal testbed for the suitability of very small-aperture (<20 cm) telescopes to
detect transient events, variable stars and stellar flares. We present the
results of a robust search for such objects using difference image analysis of
the data obtained during the 2009 & 2010 winter seasons. While no transients
were found, we detected 29 flaring events and find a normalized flaring rate of
5+\-4x10^-7 flare/hour for late-K dwarfs, 1+\-1x10^-6 flare/hour for M dwarfs
and 7+\-1x10^-7 flare/hour for all other stars in our sample. We suggest future
small-aperture telescopes planned for deployment at Dome A would benefit from a
tracking mechanism, to help alleviate effects from ghosting, and a finer pixel
scale, to increase the telescope's sensitivity to faint objects. We find that
the light curves of non-transient sources have excellent photometric qualities
once corrected for systematics, and are limited only by photon noise and
atmospheric scintillation.


title: On 5-manifolds admitting rank two distributions of Cartan type

abstract:
  We consider the question whether an orientable 5-manifold can be equipped
with a rank two distribution of Cartan type and what 2-plane bundles can be
realized. We obtain a complete answer for open manifolds. In the closed case,
we settle the topological part of this problem and present partial results
concerning its geometric aspects and new examples.


title: Paired Threshold Graphs

abstract:
  Threshold graphs are recursive deterministic network models that have been
proposed for describing certain economic and social interactions. One drawback
of this graph family is that it has limited generative attachment rules. To
mitigate this problem, we introduce a new class of graphs termed Paired
Threshold (PT) graphs described through vertex weights that govern the
existence of edges via two inequalities. One inequality imposes the constraint
that the sum of weights of adjacent vertices has to exceed a specified
threshold. The second inequality ensures that adjacent vertices have a weight
difference upper bounded by another threshold. We provide a conceptually simple
characterization and decomposition of PT graphs, analyze their forbidden
induced subgraphs and present a method for performing vertex weight assignments
on PT graphs that satisfy the defining constraints. Furthermore, we describe a
polynomial-time algorithm for recognizing PT graphs. We conclude our exposition
with an analysis of the intersection number, diameter and clustering
coefficient of PT graphs.


title:
Slow recurrent regimes for a class of one-dimensional stochastic growth
  models

abstract:
  We classify the possible behaviors of a class of one-dimensional stochastic
recurrent growth models. In our main result, we obtain nearly optimal bounds
for the tail of hitting times of some compact sets. If the process is an
aperiodic irreducible Markov chain, we determine whether it is null recurrent
or positive recurrent and in the latter case, we obtain a subgeometric
convergence of its transition kernel to its invariant measure. We apply our
results in particular to state-dependent Galton-Watson processes and we give
precise estimates of the tail of the extinction time.


title: Pi in the sky

abstract:
  Deviations of the observed cosmic microwave background (CMB) from the
standard model, known as "anomalies", are obviously highly significant and
deserve to be pursued more aggressively in order to discover the physical
phenomena underlying them. Through intensive investigation we have discovered
that there are equally surprising features in the digits of the number $\pi$,
and moreover there is a remarkable correspondence between each type of
peculiarity in the digits of $\pi$ and the anomalies in the CMB. Putting aside
the unreasonable possibility that these are just the sort of flukes that appear
when one looks hard enough, the only conceivable conclusion is that, however
the CMB anomalies were created, a similar process imprinted patterns in the
digits of $\pi$.


title:
Spatio-temporal organization of dynamics in a two-dimensional
  periodically driven vortex flow: a Lagrangian flow network perspective

abstract:
  We study the Lagrangian dynamics of passive tracers in a simple model of a
driven two-dimensional vortex resembling real-world geophysical flow patterns.
Using a discrete approximation of the system's transfer operator, we construct
a directed network that characterizes the exchange of mass between distinct
regions of the flow domain. By studying different measures characterizing flow
network connectivity at different time-scales, we are able to identify the
location of dynamically invariant structures and regions of maximum dispersion.
Specifically, our approach allows to delimit co-existing flow regimes with
different dynamics. To validate our findings, we compare several network
characteristics to the well-established finite-time Lyapunov exponents and
apply a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to identify network
measures that are particularly useful for unveiling the skeleton of Lagrangian
chaos.


title: Complete Homogeneous Varieties via Representation Theory

abstract:
  Given an algebraic variety $X\subset\mathbb{P}^N$ with stabilizer $H$, the
quotient $PGL_{N+1}/H$ can be interpreted a parameter space for all
$PGL_{N+1}$-translates of $X$. We define $X$ to be a $\textit{homogeneous
variety}$ if $H$ acts on it transitively, and satisfies a few other properties,
such as $H$ being semisimple. Some examples of homogeneous varieties are
quadric hypersurfaces, rational normal curves, and Veronese and Segre
embeddings. In this case, we construct new compactifications of the parameter
spaces $PGL_{N+1}/H$, obtained compactifying $PGL_{N+1}$ to the classically
known space of \textit{complete collineations}, and taking the G.I.T. quotient
by $H$, and we will call the result space of \textit{complete homogeneous
varieties}; this extends the same construction for quadric hypersurfaces in
[36]. We establish a few properties of these spaces: in particular, we find a
formula for the volume of divisors that depends only on the dimension of
$H$-invariants in irreducible representations of $SL_{N+1}$. We then develop
some tools in invariant theory, combinatorics and spline approximation to
calculate such invariants, and carry out the entire calculations for the case
of $SL_2$-invariants in irreducible representations of $SL_4$, that gives us
explicit values for the volume function in the case of $X$ being a twisted
cubic. Afterwards, we focus our attention on the case of twisted cubics, giving
a more explicit description of these compactifications, including the relation
with the previously known moduli spaces. In the end, we make some conjectures
about how the volume function might be used in solving some enumerative
problems.


title: Bayesian density regression for discrete outcomes

abstract:
  We develop Bayesian models for density regression with emphasis on discrete
outcomes. The problem of density regression is approached by considering
methods for multivariate density estimation of mixed scale variables, and
obtaining conditional densities from the multivariate ones. The approach to
multivariate mixed scale outcome density estimation that we describe represents
discrete variables, either responses or covariates, as discretised versions of
continuous latent variables. We present and compare several models for
obtaining these thresholds in the challenging context of count data analysis
where the response may be over- and/or under-dispersed in some of the regions
of the covariate space. We utilise a nonparametric mixture of multivariate
Gaussians to model the directly observed and the latent continuous variables.
The paper presents a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for posterior sampling,
sufficient conditions for weak consistency, and illustrations on density, mean
and quantile regression utilizing simulated and real datasets.


title: Capacity of Remotely Powered Communication

abstract:
  Motivated by recent developments in wireless power transfer, we study
communication with a remotely powered transmitter. We propose an
information-theoretic model where a charger can dynamically decide on how much
power to transfer to the transmitter based on its side information regarding
the communication, while the transmitter needs to dynamically adapt its coding
strategy to its instantaneous energy state, which in turn depends on the
actions previously taken by the charger. We characterize the capacity as an
$n$-letter mutual information rate under various levels of side information
available at the charger. When the charger is finely tunable to different
energy levels, referred to as a "precision charger", we show that these
expressions reduce to single-letter form and there is a simple and intuitive
joint charging and coding scheme achieving capacity. The precision charger
scenario is motivated by the observation that in practice the transferred
energy can be controlled by simply changing the amplitude of the beamformed
signal. When the charger does not have sufficient precision, for example when
it is restricted to use a few discrete energy levels, we show that the
computation of the $n$-letter capacity can be cast as a Markov decision process
if the channel is noiseless. This allows us to numerically compute the capacity
for specific cases and obtain insights on the corresponding optimal policy, or
even to obtain closed form analytical solutions by solving the corresponding
Bellman equations, as we demonstrate through examples. Our findings provide
some surprising insights on how side information at the charger can be used to
increase the overall capacity of the system.


title: Photometric redshifts for the SDSS Data Release 12

abstract:
  We present the methodology and data behind the photometric redshift database
of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12 (SDSS DR12). We adopt a hybrid
technique, empirically estimating the redshift via local regression on a
spectroscopic training set, then fitting a spectrum template to obtain
K-corrections and absolute magnitudes. The SDSS spectroscopic catalog was
augmented with data from other, publicly available spectroscopic surveys to
mitigate target selection effects. The training set is comprised of $1,976,978$
galaxies, and extends up to redshift $z\approx 0.8$, with a useful coverage of
up to $z\approx 0.6$. We provide photometric redshifts and realistic error
estimates for the $208,474,076$ galaxies of the SDSS primary photometric
catalog. We achieve an average bias of $\overline{\Delta z_{\mathrm{norm}}} =
5.84 \times 10^{-5}$, a standard deviation of $\sigma \left(\Delta
z_{\mathrm{norm}}\right)=0.0205$, and a $3\sigma$ outlier rate of $P_o=4.11\%$
when cross-validating on our training set. The published redshift error
estimates and photometric error classes enable the selection of galaxies with
high quality photometric redshifts. We also provide a supplementary error map
that allows additional, sophisticated filtering of the data.