title:
An Experimental Study on the Learning Outcome of Teaching Elementary
  Level Children using Lego Mindstorms EV3 Robotics Education Kit

abstract:
  Skills like computational thinking, problem solving, handling complexity,
team-work and project management are essential for future careers and needs to
be taught to students at the elementary level itself. Computer programming
knowledge and skills, experiencing technology and conducting science and
engineering experiments are also important for students at elementary level.
However, teaching such skills effectively through active learning can be
challenging for educators. In this paper, we present our approach and
experiences in teaching such skills to several elementary level children using
Lego Mindstorms EV3 robotics education kit. We describe our learning
environment consisting of lessons, worksheets, hands-on activities and
assessment. We taught students how to design, construct and program robots
using components such as motors, sensors, wheels, axles, beams, connectors and
gears. Students also gained knowledge on basic programming constructs such as
control flow, loops, branches and conditions using a visual programming
environment. We carefully observed how students performed various tasks and
solved problems. We present experimental results which demonstrates that our
teaching methodology consisting of both the course content and pedagogy was
effective in imparting the desired skills and knowledge to elementary level
children. The students also participated in a competitive World Robot Olympiad
India event and qualified during the regional round which is an evidence of the
effectiveness of the approach.


title: Numerical methods for solution of singular integral equations

abstract:
  This paper is devoted to overview of the authors works for numerical solution
of singular integral equations (SIE), polysingular integral equations and
multi-dimensional singular integral equations of the second kind. The authors
investigated onsidered iterative - projective methods and parallel methods for
solution of singular integral equations, polysingular integral equations and
multi-dimensional singular integral equations. The paper is the second part of
overview of the authors works devoted to numerical methods for calculation
singular and hypersingular integrals \cite{Boy23} and to approximate methods
for solution of singular integral equations.


title: Fundamental group of Galois covers of degree 5 surfaces

abstract:
  Let $X$ be an algebraic surface of degree $5$, which is considered as a
branch cover of $\mathbb{CP}^2$ with respect to a generic projection. The
surface has a natural Galois cover with Galois group $S_5$. In this paper, we
deal with the fundamental groups of Galois covers of degree $5$ surfaces that
degenerate to nice plane arrangements; each of them is a union of five planes
such that no three planes meet in a line.


title: Thermodynamic of photoluminescence far from the radiative limit

abstract:
  The radiance of thermal emission, as described by Plancks law, depends only
on the emissivity and temperature of a body, and increases monotonically with
temperature rise at any emitted wavelength. Nonthermal radiation, such as
photoluminescence (PL), is a fundamental light matter interaction that
conventionally involves the absorption of an energetic photon, thermalization,
and the emission of a redshifted photon. Until recently, the role of rate
conservation when thermal excitation is significant, has not been studied in
any nonthermal radiation. A question: What is the overall emission rate if a
high quantum efficiency (QE), PL material, is heated to a temperature where it
thermally emits a rate of 50 photons/sec at its bend edge, while in parallel is
PL excited at a rate of 100 photons/sec. Recently, we discovered that the
answer is an overall rate of 100 blueshifted photons/sec. In contrast to
thermal emission, the PL rate is conserved with temperature increase, while
each photon is blueshifted. Further rise in temperature leads to an abrupt
transition to thermal emission where the photon rate increases sharply. These
findings show that PL is an ideal optical heat pump. Here we study, for the
first time, the emission rate of PL radiation at moderate QE where nonradiative
processes dominate the dynamics. Though conservation of photon rate does not
apply, we predict that the emission rate at 100% QE is an upper limit for the
overall emission rate regardless of the QE. Also, the transition temperature to
thermal emission is QE independent.


title: Probing Lambda-DGP Braneworld Model

abstract:
  In this article we study cosmic dynamics in the context of normal branch of
DGP braneworld model. Using the current Planck data, we best fit the model and
cosmological parameters in non-flat $\Lambda$DGP. With the transition redshift
as a basic variable and statefinder parameters, our result shows that the
Universe starts its accelerated expansion phase, slightly earlier than expected
in $\Lambda$CDM cosmology. The result also alleviates the coincidence problem
of the $\Lambda$CDM model.


title: Compressed Learning: A Deep Neural Network Approach

abstract:
  Compressed Learning (CL) is a joint signal processing and machine learning
framework for inference from a signal, using a small number of measurements
obtained by linear projections of the signal. In this paper we present an
end-to-end deep learning approach for CL, in which a network composed of
fully-connected layers followed by convolutional layers perform the linear
sensing and non-linear inference stages. During the training phase, the sensing
matrix and the non-linear inference operator are jointly optimized, and the
proposed approach outperforms state-of-the-art for the task of image
classification. For example, at a sensing rate of 1% (only 8 measurements of 28
X 28 pixels images), the classification error for the MNIST handwritten digits
dataset is 6.46% compared to 41.06% with state-of-the-art.


title:
Asymptotic for critical value of the large-dimensional SIR epidemic on
  clusters

abstract:
  In this paper we are concerned with the SIR (Susceptible-Infective-Removed)
epidemic on open clusters of bond percolation on the squared lattice. For the
SIR model, a susceptible vertex is infected at rate proportional to the number
of infective neighbors while an infective vertex becomes removed at a constant
rate. A removed vertex will never be infected again. We assume that there is
only one infective vertex at $t=0$ and define the critical value of the model
as the maximum of the infection rates with which infective vertices die out
with probability one, then we show that the critical value is
$\big(1+o(1)\big)/(2dp)$ as $d\rightarrow+\infty$, where $d$ is the dimension
of the lattice and $p$ is the probability that a given edge is open. Our result
is a counterpart of the main theorem in \cite{Hol1981} for the contact process.


title:
On Static Dielectric Response of Microcomposites of the Type
  Ferrolastics-Dielectrics For Application in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC)

abstract:
  We describe the static dielectric response of ferroelastic-dielectric
microcomposites. Dependence on temperature, pressure and concentration is
considered for temperatures in the paraelastic transition. In recent years
there has been considerable interest in perovskite oxides for application in
solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), exhaust gas sensors in automobiles, membranes
for separation processes and as catalysts, which are of the ferroeleastic
nature, f.e. of the ($ LaSrCoO_{3}$) type. Ferroelastic-dielectric
microcomposites and measurement of their properties may improve properties of
perovskite oxides for these applications.


title: Field reparametrization in effective field theories

abstract:
  Debate topic for Effective Field Theory (EFT) is the choice of a "basis" for
$\mrdim = 6$ operators Clearly all bases are equivalent as long as they are a
"basis", containing a minimal set of operators after the use of equations of
motion and respecting gauge invariance. From a more formal point of view a
basis is characterized by its closure with respect to renormalization.
Equivalence of bases should always be understood as a statement for the
S-matrix and not for the Lagrangian, as dictated by the equivalence theorem.
Any phenomenological approach that misses one of these ingredients is still
acceptable for a preliminar analysis, as long as it does not pretend to be an
EFT. Here we revisit the equivalence theorem and its consequences for EFT when
two sets of higher dimensional operators are connected by a set of non-linear,
noninvariant, field reparametrizations.


title: Fast-forwarding of Hamiltonians and Exponentially Precise Measurements

abstract:
  In the early days of quantum mechanics, it was believed that the time energy
uncertainty principle (TEUP) bounds the efficiency of energy measurements,
relating the duration ($\Delta t$) of the measurement, and its accuracy error
($\Delta E$) by $\Delta t\Delta E \ge$ 1/2. In 1961 Y. Aharonov and Bohm gave a
counterexample, whereas Aharonov, Massar and Popescu [2002] showed that under
certain conditions the principle holds. Can we classify when and to what extent
the TEUP is violated?
  Our main theorem asserts that such violations are in one to one
correspondence with the ability to "fast forward" the associated Hamiltonian,
namely, to simulate its evolution for time $t$ using much less than $t$ quantum
gates. This intriguingly links precision measurements with quantum algorithms.
Our theorem is stated in terms of a modified TEUP, which we call the
computational TEUP (cTEUP). In this principle the time duration ($\Delta t$) is
replaced by the number of quantum gates required to perform the measurement,
and we argue why this is more suitable to study if one is to understand the
totality of physical resources required to perform an accurate measurement. The
inspiration for this result is a family of Hamiltonians we construct, based on
Shor's algorithm, which exponentially violate the cTEUP (and the TEUP), thus
allowing exponential fast forwarding.
  We further show that commuting local Hamiltonians and quadratic Hamiltonians
of fermions (e.g., Anderson localization model), can be fast forwarded. The
work raises the question of finding a physical criterion for fast forwarding,
in particular, can many body localization systems be fast forwarded? We rule
out a general fast-forwarding method for all physically realizable Hamiltonians
(unless BQP=PSPACE). Connections to quantum metrology and to Susskind's
complexification of a wormhole's length are discussed.


title: Results Concerning Almost Complex Structures on the Six-Sphere

abstract:
  For the standard metric on the six-dimensional sphere, with Levi-Civita
connection $\nabla$, we show there is no almost complex structure $J$ such that
$\nabla_X J$ and $\nabla_{JX} J$ commute for every $X$, nor is there any
integrable $J$ such that $\nabla_{JX} J = J \nabla_X J$ for every $X$. The
latter statement generalizes a previously known result on the non-existence of
integrable orthogonal almost complex structures on the six-sphere. Both
statements have refined versions, expressed as intrinsic first order
differential inequalities depending only on $J$ and the metric. The new
techniques employed include an almost-complex analogue of the Gauss map,
defined for any almost complex manifold in Euclidean space.


title: Hamiltonian analysis of the BFCG theory for a strict Lie 2-group

abstract:
  We perform a complete Hamiltonian analysis of the BFCG action for a general
Lie 2-group by using the Dirac procedure. We show that the resulting dynamical
constraints eliminate all local degrees of freedom which implies that the BFCG
theory is a topological field theory.


title: Numerical study of splitting methods for American option valuation

abstract:
  This paper deals with the numerical approximation of American-style option
values governed by partial differential complementarity problems. For a variety
of one- and two-asset American options we investigate by ample numerical
experiments the temporal convergence behaviour of three modern splitting
methods: the explicit payoff approach, the Ikonen-Toivanen approach and the
Peaceman-Rachford method. In addition, the temporal accuracy of these splitting
methods is compared to that of the penalty approach.


title: Computing a clique tree with algorithm MLS (Maximal Label Search)

abstract:
  Algorithm MLS (Maximal Label Search) is a graph search algorithm which
generalizes algorithms MCS, LexBFS, LexDFS and MNS. On a chordal graph, MLS
computes a peo (perfect elimination ordering) of the graph. We show how
algorithm MLS can be modified to compute a pmo (perfect moplex ordering) as
well as a clique tree and the minimal separators of a chordal graph. We give a
necessary and sufficient condition on the labeling structure for the beginning
of a new clique in the clique tree to be detected by a condition on labels. MLS
is also used to compute a clique tree of the complement graph, and new cliques
in the complement graph can be detected by a condition on labels for any
labeling structure. A linear time algorithm computing a pmo and the generators
of the maximal cliques and minimal separators w.r.t. this pmo of the complement
graph is provided. On a non-chordal graph, algorithm MLSM is used to compute an
atom tree of the clique minimal separator decomposition of any graph.


title:
Full Hydrodynamic Model of Nonlinear Electromagnetic Response in
  Metallic Metamaterials

abstract:
  Applications of metallic metamaterials have generated significant interest in
recent years. Electromagnetic behavior of metamaterials in the optical range is
usually characterized by a local-linear response. In this article, we develop a
finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) solution of the hydrodynamic model that
describes a free electron gas in metals. Extending beyond the local-linear
response, the hydrodynamic model enables numerical investigation of nonlocal
and nonlinear interactions between electromagnetic waves and metallic
metamaterials. By explicitly imposing the current continuity constraint, the
proposed model is solved in a self-consistent manner. Charge, energy and
angular momentum conservation laws of high-order harmonic generation have been
demonstrated for the first time by the Maxwell-hydrodynamic FDTD model. The
model yields nonlinear optical responses for complex metallic metamaterials
irradiated by a variety of waveforms. Consequently, the multiphysics model
opens up unique opportunities for characterizing and designing nonlinear
nanodevices.

categories: physics.optics cond-mat.mes-hall physics.class-ph physics.comp-ph


title: Discovering containment: from infants to machines

abstract:
  Current artificial learning systems can recognize thousands of visual
categories, or play Go at a champion"s level, but cannot explain infants
learning, in particular the ability to learn complex concepts without guidance,
in a specific order. A notable example is the category of 'containers' and the
notion of containment, one of the earliest spatial relations to be learned,
starting already at 2.5 months, and preceding other common relations (e.g.,
support). Such spontaneous unsupervised learning stands in contrast with
current highly successful computational models, which learn in a supervised
manner, that is, by using large data sets of labeled examples. How can
meaningful concepts be learned without guidance, and what determines the
trajectory of infant learning, making some notions appear consistently earlier
than others?


title:
Mobile Millimeter Wave Channel Acquisition, Tracking, and Abrupt Change
  Detection

abstract:
  Millimeter wave provides a promising approach for meeting the ever-growing
traffic demand in next generation wireless networks. It is crucial to obtain
relatively accurate channel state information so that beamforming/combining can
be performed to compensate for severe path loss in this band. In contrast to
lower frequencies, a typical mobile millimeter wave channel consists of a few
dominant paths. It is generally sufficient to estimate the path gains, angles
of departure (AoD), and angles of arrival (AoA) of those paths. In this paper,
multiple transmit and receive antennas and beamforming with a single baseband
processing chain are assumed. We propose a framework for estimating millimeter
wave channels with intermittent abrupt changes (e.g., blockage or emergence of
dominant paths) and slow variations of AoDs and AoAs. The solution consists of
three components: tracking of the slow channel variations, detection of abrupt
changes, followed by (re-)acquisition of channel (and back to the tracking
stage). For acquisition, we formulate a least squares problem and find its
solution based on the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. To track slow variations
of AoDs and AoAs, we propose a new approach using Kalman filtering. Finally, an
algorithm based on a likelihood test is devised for detecting abrupt changes.
Simulation results show that, with moderate signal-to-noise ratios, the
proposed scheme can achieve more than 8 dB higher estimation accuracy than
several other methods using the same number of pilots.


title: CM cycles on Kuga-Sato varieties over Shimura curves and Selmer groups

abstract:
  Given a modular form f of even weight larger than two and an imaginary
quadratic field K satisfying a relaxed Heegner hypothesis, we construct a
collection of CM cycles on a Kuga-Sato variety over a suitable Shimura curve
which gives rise to a system of Galois cohomology classes attached to f
enjoying the compatibility properties of an Euler system. Then we use
Kolyvagin's method, as adapted by Nekovar to higher weight modular forms, to
bound the size of the relevant Selmer group associated to f and K and prove the
finiteness of the (primary part) of the Shafarevich-Tate group, provided that a
suitable cohomology class does not vanish.


title:
Cosmic ray acceleration via magnetic reconnection of magnetic
  islands/flux-ropes

abstract:
  The dynamic processes of magnetic reconnection and turbulence cause magnetic
islands/flux-ropes generation. The in-situ observations suggest that the
coalescence or/and contraction of magnetic islands are responsible to the
charged particle acceleration (keV to MeV energy range). Numerical simulations
also support this acceleration mechanism. However, the most fundamental
question raise here is, does this mechanism contribute to the cosmic rays
acceleration? To answer this, we report, in-situ evidence of flux-ropes
formation, their magnetic re-connection and its manifestation as cosmic ray
(GeV charged particle) acceleration in interplanetary counterpart of coronal
mass ejection(ICME). Further, we propose that cosmic ray (high and/or
ultra-high energy) acceleration by Fermi mechanism is valid not only through
stochastic reflections of particles from the shock boundaries but also through
the boundaries of contracting magnetic islands or/and their merging via
magnetic re-connection. This has significant implications on cosmic ray origin
and their acceleration process.


title:
The Geometry of Parallelism. Classical, Probabilistic, and Quantum
  Effects

abstract:
  We introduce a Geometry of Interaction model for higher-order quantum
computation, and prove its adequacy for a full quantum programming language in
which entanglement, duplication, and recursion are all available. Our model
comes with a multi-token machine, a proof net system, and a PCF-style language.
The approach we develop is not specific to quantum computation, and our model
is an instance of a new framework whose main feature is the ability to model
commutative effects in a parallel setting. Being based on a multi-token machine
equipped with a memory, it has a concrete nature which makes it well suited for
building low-level operational descriptions of higher-order languages.


title:
Downlink Achievable Rate Analysis in Massive MIMO Systems with One-Bit
  DACs

abstract:
  In this letter, we investigate the downlink performance of massive
multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems where the base station is
equipped with one-bit analogto-digital/digital-to-analog converters (ADC/DACs).
Considering training-based transmission, we assume the base station (BS)
employs the linear minimum mean-squared-error (LMMSE) channel estimator and
treats the channel estimate as the true channel to precode the data symbols. We
derive an expression for the downlink achievable rate for matched-filter (MF)
precoding. A detailed analysis of the resulting power efficiency is pursued
using our expression of the achievable rate. Numerical results are presented to
verify our analysis. In particular it is shown that, compared with conventional
massive MIMO systems, the performance loss in one-bit massive MIMO systems can
be compensated for by deploying approximately 2.5 times more antennas at the
BS.


title: Lagrangian isotopies and symplectic function theory

abstract:
  We study two related invariants of Lagrangian submanifolds in symplectic
manifolds. For a Lagrangian torus these invariants are functions on the first
cohomology of the torus. The first invariant is of topological nature and is
related to the study of Lagrangian isotopies with a given Lagrangian flux. More
specifically, it measures the length of straight paths in the first cohomology
that can be realized as the Lagrangian flux of a Lagrangian isotopy. The second
invariant is of analytical nature and comes from symplectic function theory. It
is defined for Lagrangian submanifolds admitting fibrations over a circle and
has a dynamical interpretation. We partially compute these invariants for
certain Lagrangian tori.


title: Asymptotic polybalanced kernels on extremal Kaehler manifolds

abstract:
  In this paper, improving a preceding work, we obtain asymptotic polybalanced
kernels associated to extremal Kaehler metrics on polarized algebraic
manifolds. As a corollary, we have a stronger asymptotic relative
Chow-polystability for extremal Kaehler polarized algebraic manifolds. Finally,
related to the Yau-Tian-Donaldson Conjecture for extremal Kaehler metrics, we
shall discuss the difference between strong relative K-stability and relative
K-stability.


title:
EBL Constraints Using a Sample of TeV Gamma-Ray Emitters Measured with
  the MAGIC Telescopes

abstract:
  MAGIC is a stereoscopic system of two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov
Telescopes operating in the very high energy (VHE) range from about 50 GeV to
over 50 TeV. The VHE gamma-ray spectra measured at Earth carry an imprint of
the extragalactic background light (EBL) and can be used to study the EBL
density and its evolution in time. In the last few years, precision
measurements of several blazars in the redshift range from z=0.03 up to z=0.9
were performed with MAGIC obtaining strong limits on the EBL density from
single sources. In this paper, we present the results from a combined
likelihood analysis using this broad redshift range sample of blazars allowing
us to probe the EBL at different wavelengths. The implications on the EBL
models and perspectives for future observations with MAGIC are also discussed.


title:
Theory of surface Andreev bound states and tunneling spectroscopy in
  three-dimensional chiral superconductors

abstract:
  We study the surface Andreev bound states (SABSs) and quasiparticle tunneling
spectroscopy of three-dimensional (3D) chiral superconductor by changing the
surface (interface) misorientation angle of chiral superconductors. We obtain
analytical formula of the energy dispersion of SABS for general pair potential
when an original 4$\times$4 BdG Hamiltonian can be reduced to be two 2$\times$2
blocks. The resulting SABS for 3D chiral superconductors with pair potential
given by $k_z(k_x + ik_y)^{\nu}$ $({\nu} = 1, 2)$ has a complicated energy
dispersion due to the coexistence of both point and line nodes. We focus on the
tunneling spectroscopy of this pairing in the presence of applied magnetic
field which induces Doppler shift of quasiparticle spectra. By contrast to
previous known Doppler effect in unconventional superconductors, zero bias
conductance dip can change into zero bias conductance peak by external magnetic
field. We also study SABSs and tunneling spectroscopy for possible pairing
symmetries of UPt$_3$ . For this purpose, we extend a standard formula of
tunneling conductance of unconventional superconductor junctions in order to
treat spin-triplet non-unitary pairings. The magneto tunneling spectroscopy,
i.e., tunneling spectroscopy in the presence of magnetic field, can serve as a
guide to determine the pairing symmetry of this material.


title:
A Bibliometric Study of Asia Pacific Software Engineering Conference
  from 2010 to 2015

abstract:
  The Asia-Pacific Software Engineering Conference (APSEC) is a reputed and a
long-running conference which has successfully completed more than two decades
as of year 2015. We conduct a bibliometric and scientific publication mining
based study to how the conference has evolved over the recent past six years
(year 2010 to 2015). Our objective is to perform in-depth examination of the
state of APSEC so that the APSEC community can identify strengths, areas of
improvements and future directions for the conference. Our empirical analysis
is based on various perspectives such as: paper submission acceptance rate
trends, conference location, scholarly productivity and contributions from
various countries, analysis of keynotes, workshops, conference organizers and
sponsors, tutorials, identification of prolific authors, computation of
citation impact of papers and contributing authors, internal and external
collaboration, university and industry participation and collaboration,
measurement of gender imbalance, topical analysis, yearly author churn and
program committee characteristics.


title:
A spectroscopic survey of Herbig Ae/Be stars with X-Shooter II:
  Accretion diagnostic lines

abstract:
  The Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAeBes) allow an exploration of the properties of
Pre-Main Sequence(PMS) stars above the low-mass range ($<2{\rm\thinspace
M_{\odot}}$) and those bordering the high-mass range ($>8{\rm\thinspace
M_{\odot}}$). This paper is the second in a series exploring accretion in 91
HAeBes with Very Large Telescope/X-shooter spectra. Equivalent width
measurements are carried out on 32 different lines, spanning the UV to NIR, in
order to obtain their line luminosities. The line luminosities were compared to
accretion luminosities, which were determined directly from measurements of an
UV-excess. When detected, emission lines always demonstrate a correlation with
the accretion luminosity, regardless of detection frequency. The average
relationship between accretion luminosity and line luminosity is found to be
${\thinspace L_{\rm acc}}\propto{\thinspace L_{\rm line}}^{1.16 \pm 0.15}$.
This is in agreement with the findings in Classical T Tauri stars, although the
HAeBe relationship is generally steeper, particularly towards the Herbig Be
mass range. Since all observed lines display a correlation with the accretion
luminosity, all of them can be used as accretion tracers. This has increased
the number of accretion diagnostic lines in HAeBes tenfold. However, questions
still remain on the physical origin of each line, which may not be due to
accretion.


title:
Phosphorylation energy and nonlinear kinetics as key determinants for
  G2/M transition in fission yeast cell cycle

abstract:
  The living cell is an open nonequilibrium biochemical system, where ATP
hydrolysis serves as the energy source for a wide range of intracellular
processes including the assurance for decision-making. In the fission yeast
cell cycle, the transition from G2 phase to M phase is triggered by the
activation of Cdc13/Cdc2 and Cdc25, and the deactivation of Wee1. Each of these
three events involves a phosphorylation-dephosphorylation (PdP) cycle, and
together they form a regulatory circuit with feedback loops. Almost all
quantitative models for cellular networks in the past have invalid
thermodynamics due to the assumption of irreversible enzyme kinetics. We
constructed a thermodynamically realistic kinetic model of the G2/M circuit,
and show that the phosphorylation energy ($\Delta G$), which is determined by
the cellular ATP/ADP ratio, critically controls the dynamics and the bistable
nature of Cdc2 activation. Using fission yeast nucleoplasmic extract (YNPE), we
are able to experimentally verify our model prediction that increased , being
synergistic to the accumulation of Cdc13, drives the activation of Cdc2.
Furthermore, Cdc2 activation exhibits bistability and hysteresis in response to
changes in phosphorylation energy. These findings suggest that adequate
maintenance of phosphorylation energy ensures the bistability and robustness of
the activation of Cdc2 in the G2/M transition. Free energy might play a
widespread role in biological decision-making processes, connecting
thermodynamics with information processing in biology.


title:
Hybrid Analog and Digital Precoding: From Practical RF System Models to
  Information Theoretic Bounds

abstract:
  Hybrid analog-digital precoding is a key millimeter wave access technology,
where an antenna array with reduced number of radio frequency (RF) chains is
used with an RF precoding matrix to increase antenna gain at a reasonable cost.
However, digital and RF precoder algorithms must be accompa- nied by a detailed
system model of the RF precoder. In this work, we provide fundamental RF system
models for these precoders, and show their impact on achievable rates. We show
that hybrid precoding systems suffer from significant degradation, once the
limitations of RF precoding network are accounted. We subsequently quantify
this performance degradation, and use it as a reference for comparing the
performance of different precoding methods. These results indicate that hybrid
precoders must be redesigned (and their rates recomputed) to account for
practical factors.


title: Compact Deep Convolutional Neural Networks With Coarse Pruning

abstract:
  The learning capability of a neural network improves with increasing depth at
higher computational costs. Wider layers with dense kernel connectivity
patterns furhter increase this cost and may hinder real-time inference. We
propose feature map and kernel level pruning for reducing the computational
complexity of a deep convolutional neural network. Pruning feature maps reduces
the width of a layer and hence does not need any sparse representation.
Further, kernel pruning converts the dense connectivity pattern into a sparse
one. Due to coarse nature, these pruning granularities can be exploited by GPUs
and VLSI based implementations. We propose a simple and generic strategy to
choose the least adversarial pruning masks for both granularities. The pruned
networks are retrained which compensates the loss in accuracy. We obtain the
best pruning ratios when we prune a network with both granularities.
Experiments with the CIFAR-10 dataset show that more than 85% sparsity can be
induced in the convolution layers with less than 1% increase in the
missclassification rate of the baseline network.


title: Derived Categories

abstract:
  This is the fourth (and last) prepublication version of a book on derived
categories, that will be published by Cambridge University Press.
  The purpose of the book is to provide solid foundations for the theory of
derived categories, and to present several applications of this theory in
commutative and noncommutative algebra. The emphasis is on constructions and
examples, rather than on axiomatics.
  Here are the topics covered in the book:
  - A review of standard facts on abelian categories.
  - Differential graded algebra (DG rings, DG modules, DG categories and DG
functors).
  - Triangulated categories and triangulated functors between them. How they
arise from the DG background. The homotopy category K(A,M) of DG A-modules in
M.
  - Localization of categories. The derived category D(A,M), which is the
localization of K(A,M) with respect to the quasi-isomorphisms.
  - Left and right derived functors of a triangulated functor.
  - K-injective, K-projective and K-flat DG modules. Their roles, and their
existence in several important algebraic situations.
  - Dualizing and residue complexes over commutative noetherian rings,
including Van den Bergh rigidity.
  - Perfect DG modules and tilting DG bimodules over NC (noncommutative) DG
rings.
  - NC connected graded rings, including Artin-Schelter regular rings. Derived
torsion for NC connected graded rings, its relation to the chi condition of
Artin-Zhang, and the NC MGM Equivalence. Balanced dualizing complexes, their
uniqueness, existence and trace functoriality.
  - NC rigid dualizing complexes, following Van den Bergh. The uniqueness and
existence of these complexes, a few examples, and their relation to Calabi-Yau
rings.
  Readers of this preview version are urged to write to the author with any
comments regarding errors, suggestions or questions.


title: Auxiliary gradient-based sampling algorithms

abstract:
  We introduce a new family of MCMC samplers that combine auxiliary variables,
Gibbs sampling and Taylor expansions of the target density. Our approach
permits the marginalisation over the auxiliary variables yielding marginal
samplers, or the augmentation of the auxiliary variables, yielding auxiliary
samplers. The well-known Metropolis-adjusted Langevin algorithm (MALA) and
preconditioned Crank-Nicolson Langevin (pCNL) algorithm are shown to be special
cases. We prove that marginal samplers are superior in terms of asymptotic
variance and demonstrate cases where they are slower in computing time compared
to auxiliary samplers. In the context of latent Gaussian models we propose new
auxiliary and marginal samplers whose implementation requires a single tuning
parameter, which can be found automatically during the transient phase.
Extensive experimentation shows that the increase in efficiency (measured as
effective sample size per unit of computing time) relative to (optimised
implementations of) pCNL, elliptical slice sampling and MALA ranges from
10-fold in binary classification problems to 25-fold in log-Gaussian Cox
processes to 100-fold in Gaussian process regression, and it is on par with
Riemann manifold Hamiltonian Monte Carlo in an example where the latter has the
same complexity as the aforementioned algorithms. We explain this remarkable
improvement in terms of the way alternative samplers try to approximate the
eigenvalues of the target. We introduce a novel MCMC sampling scheme for
hyperparameter learning that builds upon the auxiliary samplers. The MATLAB
code for reproducing the experiments in the article is publicly available and a
Supplement to this article contains additional experiments and implementation
details.


title:
About a "contextuality loophole" in Bell's theorem claimed to exist by
  Nieuwenhuizen

abstract:
  Nieuwenhuizen argued that there exists some "contextuality loophole" in
Bell's theorem. This claim is unjustified. In Bell's theorem non-contextuality
is not presupposed but derived from Einstein causality using the EPR argument.


title:
Formation of dust-rich planetesimals from sublimated pebbles inside of
  the snow line

abstract:
  Content: For up to a few millions of years, pebbles must provide a
quasi-steady inflow of solids from the outer parts of protoplanetary disks to
their inner regions. Aims: We wish to understand how a significant fraction of
the pebbles grows into planetesimals instead of being lost to the host star.
Methods:We examined analytically how the inward flow of pebbles is affected by
the snow line and under which conditions dust-rich (rocky) planetesimals form.
When calculating the inward drift of solids that is due to gas drag, we
included the back-reaction of the gas to the motion of the solids. Results: We
show that in low-viscosity protoplanetary disks (with a monotonous surface
density similar to that of the minimum-mass solar nebula), the flow of pebbles
does not usually reach the required surface density to form planetesimals by
streaming instability. We show, however, that if the pebble-to-gas-mass flux
exceeds a critical value, no steady solution can be found for the solid-to-gas
ratio. This is particularly important for low-viscosity disks (alpha < 10^(-3))
where we show that inside of the snow line, silicate-dust grains ejected from
sublimating pebbles can accumulate, eventually leading to the formation of
dust-rich planetesimals directly by gravitational instability. Conclusions:
This formation of dust-rich planetesimals may occur for extended periods of
time, while the snow line sweeps from several au to inside of 1 au. The
rock-to-ice ratio may thus be globally significantly higher in planetesimals
and planets than in the central star.


title:
Monge-Amp\`ere type equations with Neumann boundary conditions on
  Riemannian manifolds

abstract:
  In this paper, we consider the global regularity for Monge-Amp\`ere type
equations with the Neumann boundary conditions on Riemannian manifolds. It is
known that the classical solvability of the Neumann boundary value problem is
obtained under some necessary assumptions. Our main result extends the main
theorem from the case of Euclidean space $R^n$ in [11] to Riemannian manifolds.


title:
Accurate Deep Representation Quantization with Gradient Snapping Layer
  for Similarity Search

abstract:
  Recent advance of large scale similarity search involves using deeply learned
representations to improve the search accuracy and use vector quantization
methods to increase the search speed. However, how to learn deep
representations that strongly preserve similarities between data pairs and can
be accurately quantized via vector quantization remains a challenging task.
Existing methods simply leverage quantization loss and similarity loss, which
result in unexpectedly biased back-propagating gradients and affect the search
performances. To this end, we propose a novel gradient snapping layer (GSL) to
directly regularize the back-propagating gradient towards a neighboring
codeword, the generated gradients are un-biased for reducing similarity loss
and also propel the learned representations to be accurately quantized. Joint
deep representation and vector quantization learning can be easily performed by
alternatively optimize the quantization codebook and the deep neural network.
The proposed framework is compatible with various existing vector quantization
approaches. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed framework is
effective, flexible and outperforms the state-of-the-art large scale similarity
search methods.


title: Resource Theory of Special Antiunitary Asymmetry

abstract:
  We propose the resource theory of a special antiunitary asymmetry in quantum
theory. The notion of antiunitary asymmetry, in particular, ${\cal
PT}$-asymmetry is different from the usual resource theory for asymmetry about
unitary representation of a symmetry group, as the ${\cal PT}$ operator is an
antiunitary operator with ${\cal P}$ being any self-inverse unitary and ${\cal
T}$ being the time-reversal operations. Here, we introduce the ${\cal
PT}$-symmetric states, ${\cal PT}$-covariant operations and ${\cal
PT}$-asymmetry measures. For single qubit system, we find duality relations
between the ${\cal PT}$-asymmetry measures and the coherence. Moreover, for
two-qubit states we prove the duality relations between the ${\cal
PT}$-asymmetry measures and entanglement measure such as the concurrence. This
gives a resource theoretic interpretation to the concurrence which is lacking
till today. Thus, the ${\cal PT}$-asymmetry measure and entanglement can be
viewed as two sides of an underlying resource. Finally, the ${\cal
PT}$-symmetric dynamics is discussed and some open questions are addressed.


title: Core collapse supernova remnants with ears

abstract:
  We study the morphologies of core collapse supernova remnants (CCSNRs) and
find that about third of CCSNRs in our sample have two opposite `ears'
protruding from their main shell. We assume that the ears are formed by jets,
and argue that these properties are compatible with the expectation from the
explosion jet feedback mechanism (JFM). Based on previous studies of ears in
CCSNRs and the similarity of some ears to those found in planetary nebulae, we
assume that the ears are inflated by jets that are launched during the
explosion, or a short time after it. Under simple geometrical assumptions we
find that the extra kinetic energy of the ears is in the range of 1 to 10
percents of the explosion energy. As not all of the kinetic energy of the jets
ends in the ears, we estimate that the typical kinetic energy in the jets that
inflated the ears, under our assumptions, is about 5 to 15 percents of the
explosion energy. This study supports a serious consideration of jet-driven
core-collapse supernova mechanisms.


title:
Radiative recombination of twisted electrons with bare nuclei: going
  beyond the Born approximation

abstract:
  We present a fully relativistic investigation of the radiative recombination
of a twisted electron with a bare heavy nucleus. The twisted electron is
described by the wave function which accounts for the interaction with the
nucleus in all orders in $\alpha Z$. We use this wave function to derive the
probability of the radiative recombination with a single ion being shifted from
the twisted electron propagation direction. We also consider more realistic
experimental scenarios where the target is either localized (mesoscopic) or
infinitely wide (macroscopic). The situation when the incident electron is a
coherent superposition of two vortex states is considered as well. For the
nonrelativistic case we present analytical expressions which support our
numerical calculations. We study in details the influence of the electron
twistedness on the polarization and angular distribution of the emitted photon.
It is found that these properties of the outgoing photon might be very
sensitive to the total angular momentum and kinematic properties of twisted
beams. Therefore, the recombination of the twisted electrons can serve as a
valuable tool for atomic investigations as well as for the diagnostics of the
vortex electron beams.


title: Wakamatsu's equivalence revisited

abstract:
  For a certain Wakamatsu-tilting bimodule over two artin algebras $A$ and $B$,
Wakamatsu constructed an explicit equivalence between the stable module
categories over the trivial extension algebra of $A$ and that of $B$. We prove
that Wakamatsu's functor is a triangle functor, thus a triangle equivalence.


title: Deep Model Compression: Distilling Knowledge from Noisy Teachers

abstract:
  The remarkable successes of deep learning models across various applications
have resulted in the design of deeper networks that can solve complex problems.
However, the increasing depth of such models also results in a higher storage
and runtime complexity, which restricts the deployability of such very deep
models on mobile and portable devices, which have limited storage and battery
capacity. While many methods have been proposed for deep model compression in
recent years, almost all of them have focused on reducing storage complexity.
In this work, we extend the teacher-student framework for deep model
compression, since it has the potential to address runtime and train time
complexity too. We propose a simple methodology to include a noise-based
regularizer while training the student from the teacher, which provides a
healthy improvement in the performance of the student network. Our experiments
on the CIFAR-10, SVHN and MNIST datasets show promising improvement, with the
best performance on the CIFAR-10 dataset. We also conduct a comprehensive
empirical evaluation of the proposed method under related settings on the
CIFAR-10 dataset to show the promise of the proposed approach.


title:
Generic uniqueness of the bias vector of finite stochastic games with
  perfect information

abstract:
  Mean-payoff zero-sum stochastic games can be studied by means of a nonlinear
spectral problem. When the state space is finite, the latter consists in
finding an eigenpair $(u,\lambda)$ solution of $T(u)=\lambda e + u$, where
$T:\mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R}^n$ is the Shapley (or dynamic programming)
operator, $\lambda$ is a scalar, $e$ is the unit vector, and $u \in
\mathbb{R}^n$. The scalar $\lambda$ yields the mean payoff per time unit, and
the vector $u$, called the bias, allows one to determine optimal stationary
strategies. The existence of the eigenpair $(u,\lambda)$ is generally related
to ergodicity conditions. A basic issue is to understand for which classes of
games the bias vector is unique (up to an additive constant). In this paper, we
consider perfect-information zero-sum stochastic games with finite state and
action spaces, thinking of the transition payments as variable parameters,
transition probabilities being fixed. We show that the bias vector, thought of
as a function of the transition payments, is generically unique (up to an
additive constant). The proof uses techniques of max-plus (or tropical) algebra
and nonlinear Perron-Frobenius theory. As an application of our results, we
obtain a perturbation scheme allowing one to solve degenerate instances of
stochastic games by policy iteration.


title: Visual Tracking via Boolean Map Representations

abstract:
  In this paper, we present a simple yet effective Boolean map based
representation that exploits connectivity cues for visual tracking. We describe
a target object with histogram of oriented gradients and raw color features, of
which each one is characterized by a set of Boolean maps generated by uniformly
thresholding their values. The Boolean maps effectively encode multi-scale
connectivity cues of the target with different granularities. The fine-grained
Boolean maps capture spatially structural details that are effective for
precise target localization while the coarse-grained ones encode global shape
information that are robust to large target appearance variations. Finally, all
the Boolean maps form together a robust representation that can be approximated
by an explicit feature map of the intersection kernel, which is fed into a
logistic regression classifier with online update, and the target location is
estimated within a particle filter framework. The proposed representation
scheme is computationally efficient and facilitates achieving favorable
performance in terms of accuracy and robustness against the state-of-the-art
tracking methods on a large benchmark dataset of 50 image sequences.


title: New bounds for the Moser-Tardos distribution

abstract:
  The Lovasz Local Lemma (LLL) is a probabilistic tool which has been used to
show the existence of a variety of combinatorial structures with good "local"
properties. The "LLL-distribution" can be used to show that the resulting
structures have good global properties in expectation.
  The simplest, variable-based setting of the LLL was covered by the seminal
algorithm of Moser & Tardos (2010). This has since been extended to other
probability spaces including random permutations. One can similarly define an
"MT-distribution" for these algorithms, that is, the distribution of the
configuration they produce. Haeupler et al. (2011) showed bounds on the
MT-distribution which essentially match the LLL-distribution for the
variable-assignment setting; Harris & Srinivasan showed similar results for the
permutation setting.
  In this work, we show new bounds on the MT-distribution which are
significantly stronger than those known to hold for the LLL-distribution. In
the variable-assignment setting, we show a tighter bound on the probability of
a disjunctive event or singleton event. As a consequence, in $k$-SAT instances
with bounded variable occurrence, the MT-distribution satisfies an
$\epsilon$-approximate independence condition asymptotically stronger than the
LLL-distribution. We use this to show a nearly tight bound on the minimum
implicate size of a CNF boolean formula. Another noteworthy application is
constructing independent transversals which avoid a given subset of vertices;
this provides a constructive analogue to a result of Rabern (2014).
  In the permutation LLL setting, we show a new type of bound which is similar
to the cluster-expansion LLL criterion of Bissacot et al. (2011), but is
stronger and takes advantage of the extra structure in permutations. We
illustrate with improved bounds on weighted Latin transversals and partial
Latin transversals.


title: The Jordan constant for Cremona group of rank 2

abstract:
  We compute the Jordan constant for the group of birational automorphisms of a
projective plane $\mathbb{P}^2_{\mathbb k}$, where ${\mathbb k}$ is either an
algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, or the field of real numbers,
or the field of rational numbers.


title:
The Dirac-Hestenes Equation and its Relation with the Relativistic de
  Broglie-Bohm Theory

abstract:
  In this paper we provide using the Clifford and spin-Clifford formalism and
some few results of the extensor calculus a derivation of the conservation laws
that follow directly from the Dirac-Hestenes equation (DHE) describing a
Dirac-Hestenes spinor field (DHSF) in interaction with an external
electromagnetic field without using the Lagrangian formalism. In particular, we
show that the energy-momentum and total angular momentum extensors of a DHSF is
not conserved in spacetime regions permitting the existence of a null
electromagnetic field F but a non null electromagnetic potential A. These
results have been used together with some others recently obtained (e.g., that
the classical relativistic Hamilton-Jacobi equation is equivalent to a DHE
satisfied by a particular class of DHSF) to obtain the correct relativistic
quantum potential when the Dirac theory is interpreted as a de Broglie-Bohm
theory. Some results appearing in the literature on this issue are criticized
and the origin of some misconceptions is detailed with a rigorous mathematical
analysis.


title:
Tables, bounds and graphics of the smallest known sizes of complete caps
  in the spaces $\mathrm{PG}(3,q)$ and $\mathrm{PG}(4,q)$

abstract:
  In this paper we present and analyze computational results concerning small
complete caps in the projective spaces $\mathrm{PG}(N,q)$ of dimension $N=3$
and $N=4$ over the finite field of order $q$. The results have been obtained
using randomized greedy algorithms and the algorithm with fixed order of points
(FOP). The computations have been done in relatively wide regions of $q$
values; such wide regions are not considered in literature for $N=3,4$. The new
complete caps are the smallest known. Basing on them, we obtained new upper
bounds on $t_2(N,q)$, the minimum size of a complete cap in $\mathrm{PG}(N,q)$,
in particular, \begin{align*} &t_{2}(N,q)<\sqrt{N+2}\cdot
q^{\frac{N-1}{2^{\vphantom{H}}}}\sqrt{\ln q},\quad q\in L_{N},\quad N=3,4,\\
&t_{2}(N,q)<\left(\sqrt{N+1}+\frac{1.3}{\ln
(2q)}\right)q^{\frac{N-1}{2^{\vphantom{H}}}}\sqrt{\ln q},\quad q\in L_{N},\quad
N=3,4, \end{align*} where \begin{align*} &L_{3}:=\{q\le 4673, ~q\
\textrm{prime}\} \cup \{5003,6007,7001,8009\},\\ &L_{4}:=\{q\le 1361, ~q\
\textrm{prime}\} \cup \{1409\}. \end{align*} Our investigations and results
allow to conjecture that these bounds hold for all $q$.


title: Chiral differential operators via Batalin-Vilkovisky quantization

abstract:
  We show that the local observables of the curved beta gamma system encode the
sheaf of chiral differential operators using the machinery of the book
"Factorization algebras in quantum field theory", by Kevin Costello and the
second author, which combines renormalization, the Batalin-Vilkovisky
formalism, and factorization algebras. Our approach is in the spirit of
deformation quantization via Gelfand-Kazhdan formal geometry. We begin by
constructing a quantization of the beta gamma system with an n-dimensional
formal disk as the target. There is an obstruction to quantizing equivariantly
with respect to the action of formal vector fields on the target disk, and it
is naturally identified with the first Pontryagin class in Gelfand-Fuks
cohomology. Any trivialization of the obstruction cocycle thus yields an
equivariant quantization with respect to an extension of formal vector fields
by the closed 2-forms on the disk. By results in the book listed above, we then
naturally obtain a factorization algebra of quantum observables, which has an
associated vertex algebra easily identified with the formal beta gamma vertex
algebra. Next, we introduce a version of Gelfand-Kazhdan formal geometry
suitable for factorization algebras, and we verify that for a complex manifold
with trivialized first Pontryagin class, the associated factorization algebra
recovers the vertex algebra of CDOs on the complex manifold.


title:
On moduli spaces of positive scalar curvature metrics on highly
  connected manifolds

abstract:
  Let $M$ be a simply connected spin manifold of dimension at least six which
admits a metric of positive scalar curvature. We show that the observer moduli
space of positive scalar curvature metrics on $M$ has non-trivial higher
homotopy groups.
  Moreover, denote by $\mathcal{M}_0^+(M)$ the moduli space of positive scalar
cuvature metrics on $M$ associated to the group of orientation-preserving
diffeomorphisms of $M$. We show that if $M$ belongs to a certain class of
manifolds which includes $(2n-2)$-connected $(4n-2)$-dimensional manifolds,
then the fundamental group of $\mathcal{M}_0^+(M)$ is non-trivial.


title:
Exploring and measuring non-linear correlations: Copulas, Lightspeed
  Transportation and Clustering

abstract:
  We propose a methodology to explore and measure the pairwise correlations
that exist between variables in a dataset. The methodology leverages copulas
for encoding dependence between two variables, state-of-the-art optimal
transport for providing a relevant geometry to the copulas, and clustering for
summarizing the main dependence patterns found between the variables. Some of
the clusters centers can be used to parameterize a novel dependence coefficient
which can target or forget specific dependence patterns. Finally, we illustrate
and benchmark the methodology on several datasets. Code and numerical
experiments are available online for reproducible research.


title: Canonical Functions: a proof via topological dynamics

abstract:
  Canonical functions are a powerful concept with numerous applications in the
study of groups, monoids, and clones on countable structures with Ramsey-type
properties. In this short note, we present a proof of the existence of
canonical functions in certain sets using topological dynamics, providing a
shorter alternative to the original combinatorial argument. We moreover present
equivalent algebraic characterisations of canonicity.


title: Ergodic Markov processes and Poisson equations (lecture notes)

abstract:
  These are lecture notes on the subject defined in the title. As such, they do
not pretend to be really new, probably except for the only section about
Poisson equations with potentials. Yet, the hope of the author is that they may
serve as a bridge to the important area of Poisson equations "in the whole
space" and with a parameter, the latter theme not being presented here. Why
this area is so important was explained in many papers and books (see the
references [12, 34, 35]): it provides one of the main tools in diffusion
approximation in the area stochastic averaging. Hence, the aim of these
lectures is to prepare the reader to "real" Poisson equations -- i.e., for
differential operators instead of difference operators -- and, indeed, to
diffusion approximation. Among other presented topics we mention coupling
method.


title:
Hot DA white dwarf model atmosphere calculations: Including improved Ni
  PI cross sections

abstract:
  To calculate realistic models of objects with Ni in their atmospheres,
accurate atomic data for the relevant ionization stages needs to be included in
model atmosphere calculations. In the context of white dwarf stars, we
investigate the effect of changing the Ni {\sc iv}-{\sc vi} bound-bound and
bound-free atomic data has on model atmosphere calculations. Models including
PICS calculated with {\sc autostructure} show significant flux attenuation of
up to $\sim 80$\% shortward of 180\AA\, in the EUV region compared to a model
using hydrogenic PICS. Comparatively, models including a larger set of Ni
transitions left the EUV, UV, and optical continua unaffected. We use models
calculated with permutations of this atomic data to test for potential changes
to measured metal abundances of the hot DA white dwarf G191-B2B. Models
including {\sc autostructure} PICS were found to change the abundances of N and
O by as much as $\sim 22$\% compared to models using hydrogenic PICS, but
heavier species were relatively unaffected. Models including {\sc
autostructure} PICS caused the abundances of N/O {\sc iv} and {\sc v} to
diverge. This is because the increased opacity in the {\sc autostructure} PICS
model causes these charge states to form higher in the atmosphere, moreso for
N/O {\sc v}. Models using an extended line list caused significant changes to
the Ni {\sc iv}-{\sc v} abundances. While both PICS and an extended line list
cause changes in both synthetic spectra and measured abundances, the biggest
changes are caused by using {\sc autostructure} PICS for Ni.


title:
Hermitian and Gauge-Covariant Hamiltonians for a particle in a magnetic
  field on Cylindrical and Spherical Surfaces

abstract:
  We construct the Hermitian Schr\"{o}dinger Hamiltonian of spin-less as well
as the gauge-covariant Pauli Hamiltonian of spin one-half particles in a
magnetic field that are confined to cylindrical and spherical surfaces. The
approach does not require the use of involved differential-geometrical methods
and is intuitive and physical, relying on the general requirements of Hermicity
and gauge-covariance. The surfaces are embedded in the full three-dimensional
space and confinement to the surfaces is achieved by strong radial potentials.
We identify the Hermitian and gauge-covariant (in the presence of a magnetic
field) physical radial momentum in each case and set it to zero upon
confinement to the surfaces . The resulting surface Hamiltonians are seen to be
automatically Hermitian and gauge-covariant. The well-known geometrical kinetic
energy also emerges naturally.


title: Almost all strongly quasipositive braid closures are fibered

abstract:
  We use the Birman-Ko-Lee presentation of the braid group to show that all
closures of strongly quasipositive braids whose normal form contains a positive
power of the dual Garside element $\delta$ are fibered. We classify links which
admit such a braid representative in geometric terms as boundaries of plumbings
of positive Hopf bands to a disk. Rudolph constructed fibered strongly
quasipositive links as closures of positive words on certain generating sets of
$B_n$ and we prove that Rudolph's condition is equivalent to ours. Finally, we
show that the braid index is a strict upper bound for the number of crossing
changes required to fiber a strongly quasipositive braid.


title: On a question of K\"ulshammer for homomorphisms of algebraic groups

abstract:
  Let $G$ be a linear algebraic group over an algebraically closed field of
characteristic $p\geq 0$. We show that if $H_1$ and $H_2$ are connected
subgroups of $G$ such that $H_1$ and $H_2$ have a common maximal unipotent
subgroup and $H_1/R_u(H_1)$ and $H_2/R_u(H_2)$ are semisimple, then $H_1$ and
$H_2$ are $G$-conjugate. Moreover, we show that if $H$ is a semisimple linear
algebraic group with maximal unipotent subgroup $U$ then for any algebraic
group homomorphism $\sigma\colon U\rightarrow G$, there are only finitely many
$G$-conjugacy classes of algebraic group homomorphisms $\rho\colon H\rightarrow
G$ such that $\rho|_U$ is $G$-conjugate to $\sigma$. This answers an analogue
for connected algebraic groups of a question of B. K\"ulshammer.
  In K\"ulshammer's original question, $H$ is replaced by a finite group and
$U$ by a Sylow $p$-subgroup of $H$; the answer is then known to be no in
general. We obtain some results in the general case when $H$ is non-connected
and has positive dimension. Along the way, we prove existence and conjugacy
results for maximal unipotent subgroups of non-connected linear algebraic
groups. When $G$ is reductive, we formulate K\"ulshammer's question and related
conjugacy problems in terms of the nonabelian 1-cohomology of unipotent
radicals of parabolic subgroups of $G$, and we give some applications of this
cohomological approach. In particular, we analyse the case when $G$ is a
semisimple group of rank 2.


title:
Generating Function Transformations Related to Polylogarithm Functions
  and the $k$-Order Harmonic Numbers

abstract:
  We define a new class of generating function transformations related to
polylogarithm functions, Dirichlet series, and Euler sums. These
transformations are given by an infinite sum over the $j^{th}$ derivatives of a
sequence generating function and sets of generalized coefficients satisfying a
non-triangular recurrence relation in two variables. The generalized
transformation coefficients share a number of analogous properties with the
Stirling numbers of the second kind and the known harmonic number expansions of
the unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind.
  We prove a number of properties of the generalized coefficients which lead to
new recurrence relations and summation identities for the $k$-order harmonic
number sequences. Other applications of the generating function transformations
we define in the article include new series expansions for the polylogarithm
function, the alternating zeta function, and the Fourier series for the
periodic Bernoulli polynomials. We conclude the article with a discussion of
several specific new "almost" linear recurrence relations between the
integer-order harmonic numbers and the generalized transformation coefficients,
which provide new applications to studying the limiting behavior of the zeta
function constants, $\zeta(k)$, at integers $k \geq 2$.


title:
On the radial velocity detection of additional planets in transiting,
  slowly rotating M-dwarf systems: the case of GJ 1132

abstract:
  M-dwarfs are known to commonly host high-multiplicity planetary systems.
Therefore M-dwarf planetary systems with a known transiting planet are expected
to contain additional small planets ($r_p \le 4$ R$_{\oplus}$, $m_p \lesssim
20$ M$_{\oplus}$) that are not seen in transit. In this study we investigate
the effort required to detect such planets using precision velocimetry around
the sizable subset of M-dwarfs which are slowly rotating ($P_{\mathrm{rot}}
\gtrsim 40$ days) and hence more likely to be inactive. We focus on the test
case of GJ 1132. Specifically, we perform a suite of Monte-Carlo simulations of
the star's radial velocity signal featuring astrophysical contributions from
stellar jitter due to rotationally modulated active regions and keplarian
signals from the known transiting planet and hypothetical additional planets
not seen in transit. We then compute the detection completeness of
non-transiting planets around GJ 1132 and consequently estimate the number of
RV measurements required to detect those planets. We show that with 1 m
s$^{-1}$ RV precision per measurement, only $\sim 50$ measurements are required
to achieve a 50\% detection completeness to all non-transiting planets in the
system and to planets which are potentially habitable. Throughout we advocate
the use of Gaussian process regression as an effective tool for mitigating the
effects of stellar jitter including stars with high activity. Given that GJ
1132 is representative of a large population of slowly rotating M-dwarfs, we
conclude with a discussion of how our results may be extended to other systems
with known transiting planets such as those which will be discovered with TESS.


title:
Electromagnetic corrections to the leptonic decay rates of charged
  pseudoscalar mesons: lattice results

abstract:
  Electromagnetic effects in the leptonic decay rates $\pi^+ \to \mu^+ \nu$ and
$K^+ \to \mu^+ \nu$ are evaluated for the first time on the lattice. Following
a method recently proposed in Ref. [1] the emission of virtual photons at
leading order in the electromagnetic coupling is evaluated on the lattice and
the infrared divergence computed for a point-like meson at finite lattice
volume is subtracted. The physical decay rate is then obtained by adding the
emission of real and virtual photons regularised with a photon mass. Using the
gauge ensembles produced by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with $N_f =
2 + 1 + 1$ dynamical quarks the feasibility of our approach is demonstrated.
Preliminary results for the electromagnetic corrections to charged (neutral)
pion and kaon masses as well as to the leptonic decay rates of charged pions
and kaons are presented.


title: On the solution of Liouville equation

abstract:
  We give a short and rigorous proof of the existence and uniqueness of the
solution of Liouville equation with sources, both elliptic and parabolic, on
the sphere and on all higher genus compact Riemann surfaces.


title:
Planetesimal clearing and size-dependent asteroid retention by secular
  resonance sweeping during the depletion of the solar nebula

abstract:
  The distribution of heavy elements is anomalously low in the asteroid main
belt region compared with elsewhere in the solar system. Observational surveys
also indicate a deficit in the number of small ($ \le 50$~km size) asteroids
that is two orders of magnitude lower than what is expected from the single
power-law distribution that results from a collisional coagulation and
fragmentation equilibrium. Here, we consider the possibility that a major
fraction of the original asteroid population may have been cleared out by
Jupiter's secular resonance, as it swept through the main asteroid belt during
the depletion of the solar nebula. This effect leads to the excitation of the
asteroids' orbital eccentricities. Concurrently, hydrodynamic drag and
planet-disk tidal interaction effectively damp the eccentricities of sub-100
km-size and of super-lunar-size planetesimals, respectively. These combined
effects lead to the asteroids' orbital decay and clearing from the present-day
main belt region ($\sim 2.1-3.3$~AU). The intermediate-size (50 to several
hundreds of kilometers) planetesimals therefore preferentially remain as main
belt asteroids near their birthplaces, with modest asymptotic eccentricities.
The smaller asteroids are the fragments of subsequent disruptive collisions at
later times as suggested by the present-day asteroid families. This scenario
provides a natural explanation for both the observed low surface density and
the size distribution of asteroids in the main belt. It also offers an
explanation for the confined spatial extent of the terrestrial planet building
blocks without the requirement of extensive migration of Jupiter.


title:
Masses and decay constants of $D_{(s)}^*$ and $B_{(s)}^*$ mesons in
  Lattice QCD with $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ twisted-mass fermions

abstract:
  We present a lattice calculation of the decay constants and masses of
$D_{(s)}^*$ and $B_{(s)}^*$ mesons using the gauge configurations produced by
the European Twisted Mass Collaboration (ETMC) with $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ dynamical
quarks and at three values of the lattice spacing $a \sim 0.06 - 0.09$ fm. Pion
masses are simulated in the range $m_{\pi} \sim 210 - 450$ MeV, while the
strange and charm quark masses are close to their physical values. We computed
the ratios of vector to pseudoscalar decay constants or masses for various
values of the heavy-quark mass $m_h$ in the range $0.7 m_c^{phys} \lesssim m_h
\lesssim 3 m_c^{phys}$. In order to reach the physical b-quark mass, we
exploited the HQET prediction that, in the static limit of infinite heavy-quark
mass, all the considered ratios are equal to one. We obtain: $ f_{D^*}/f_{D} =
1.078(36),$ $m_{D^*}/m_{D} = 1.0769(79)$, $f_{D^*_{s}}/f_{D_{s}} = 1.087(20)$,
$m_{D^*_{s}}m_{D_{s}} = 1.0751(56)$, $f_{B^*}/f_{B} = 0.958(22)$,
$m_{B^*}/m_{B} = 1.0078(15)$, $f_{B^*_{s}}/f_{B_{s}} = 0.974(10)$ and
$m_{B^*_{s}}/m_{B_{s}} = 1.0083(10)$. Combining them with the corresponding
experimental masses from the PDG and the pseudoscalar decay constants
calculated by ETMC, we get: $f_{D^*} = 223.5(8.4)~\mathrm{MeV}$, $m_{D^*} =
2013(14)~\mathrm{MeV}$, $f_{D^*_{s}} = 268.8(6.6)~\mathrm{MeV}$, $ m_{D^*_{s}}
= 2116(11)~\mathrm{MeV}$, $f_{B^*} = 185.9(7.2)~\mathrm{MeV}$, $m_{B^*} =
5320.5(7.6)~\mathrm{MeV}$, $f_{B^*_{s}} = 223.1(5.4)~\mathrm{MeV}$ and
$m_{B^*_{s}}= 5411.36(5.3)~\mathrm{MeV}$.


title:
Generalizations of twists of contact structures to higher-dimensions via
  round surgery

abstract:
  Twists of contact structures in dimension 3 and higher are studied in this
paper from a viewpoint of contact round surgery. Three kinds of new
modifications of contact structures which are higher-dimensional
generalizations of the $3$-dimensional Lutz twists are introduced. One of the
operations makes a contact manifold overtwisted in any dimension. Another one
makes it weakly symplectically non-fillable. And the other one makes it
strongly symplectically non-fillable. In other words, they make the overtwisted
disc, the bordered Legendrian open books, and the Giroux domains, respectively.
The first two modifications can be realized by sequences of contact round
surgeries. The first operation can be applied anywhere of any contact manifold
easily. Further, a version of the first operation keeps the homotopy classes of
contact structures as almost contact structures, and the other version
contributes to the Euler classes of contact structures.


title:
Longitudinal correlations in the initial stages of ultra-relativistic
  nuclear collisions

abstract:
  In this talk we review some of our results for the longitudinal correlations
in connection with recent experimental data, in particular for the {\em torque}
effect and for the two-particle correlations in pseudorapidity,
$C(\eta_1,\eta_2)$. The model framework involves event-by-event fluctuations of
the initial conditions, followed with 3D viscous hydrodynamic evolution and
statistical hadronization.


title: Computing the geometric endomorphism ring of a genus 2 Jacobian

abstract:
  We describe an algorithm, based on the properties of the characteristic
polynomials of Frobenius, to compute $\operatorname{End}_{\overline{K}}(A)$
when $A$ is the Jacobian of a nice genus-2 curve over a number field $K$. We
use this algorithm to confirm that the description of the structure of the
geometric endomorphism ring of $\operatorname{Jac}(C)$ given in the LMFDB
($L$-functions and modular forms database) is correct for all the genus 2
curves $C$ currently listed in it. We also discuss the determination of the
field of definition of the endomorphisms in some special cases.


title:
Quasi-uniform Convergence in Dynamical Systems Generated by an Amenable
  Group Action

abstract:
  We study properties of the Weyl pseudometric associated with an action of a
countable amenable group on a compact metric space. We prove that the
topological entropy and the number of minimal subsets of the closure of an
orbit are both lower semicontinuous with respect to the Weyl pseudometric.
Furthermore, the simplex of invariant measures supported on the orbit closure
varies continuously. We apply the Weyl pseudometric to Toeplitz sequences for
amenable residually finite groups. We introduce the notion of a regular
Toeplitz sequence for an arbitrary amenable residually finite group and
demonstrate that all regular Toeplitz sequences define minimal and uniquely
ergodic systems. We prove path-connectivity of this family with respect to the
Weyl pseudometric. This leads to a new proof of a theorem of Fabrice Krieger,
which says that the values of entropy of Toeplitz sequences can have arbitrary
finite entropy.


title: Limits on hadron spectrum from bulk medium properties

abstract:
  We bring up the fact that the bulk thermal properties of the hadron gas, as
measured on the lattice, preclude a very fast rising of the number of resonance
states in the QCD spectrum, as assumed by the Hagedorn hypothesis, unless a
substantial repulsion between hadronic resonances is present. If the Hagedorn
growth continued above masses ~1.8 GeV, then the thermodynamic functions would
noticeably depart from the measured lattice values at temperatures above 140
MeV, just below the transition temperature to quark-gluon plasma.


title: Legendre Analysis of Hadronic Reactions

abstract:
  Expansions over Legendre functions are suggested as a model-independent way
of compact presentation of modern precise and high-statistics data for
two-hadron reactions. Some properties of the expansions are described.


title:
$(H,G)$-coincidence theorems for manifolds and a topological Tverberg
  type theorem for any natural number $r$

abstract:
  Let $X$ be a paracompact space, let $G$ be a finite group acting freely on
$X$ and let $H$ a cyclic subgroup of $G$ of prime order $p$. Let
$f:X\rightarrow M$ be a continuous map where $M$ is a connected $m$-manifold
(orientable if $p>2$) and $f^* (V_k) = 0$, for $k\geq 1$, where $V_k$ are the
$Wu$ classes of $M$. Suppose that ${\rm{ind}}\, X\geq n> (|G|-r)m$, where
$r=\frac{|G|}{p}$. In this work, we estimate the cohomological dimension of the
set $A(f,H,G)$ of $(H,G)$-coincidence points of $f$. Also, we estimate the
index of a $(H, G)$-coincidence set in the case that $H$ is a $p$-torus
subgroup of a particular group $G$ and as application we prove a topological
Tverberg type theorem for any natural number $r$. Such result is a weak version
of the famous topological Tverberg conjecture, which was proved recently, fail
for all $r$ that are not prime powers. Moreover, we obtain a generalized Van
Kampen-Flores type theorem for any natural number $r$.


title: Linear-Time Safe-Alternating DFS and SCCs

abstract:
  An alternating graph is a directed graph whose vertex set is partitioned into
two classes, existential and universal. This forms the basic arena for a
plethora of infinite duration two-player games where Player~$\square$
and~$\ocircle$ alternate in a turn-based sliding of a pebble along the arcs
they control. We study alternating strongly-connectedness as a generalization
of strongly-connectedness in directed graphs, aiming at providing a linear time
decomposition and a sound structural graph characterization. For this a refined
notion of alternating reachability is introduced: Player~$\square$ attempts to
reach vertices without leaving a prescribed subset of the vertices, while
Player~$\ocircle$ works against. This is named \emph{safe alternating
reachability}. It is shown that every arena uniquely decomposes into safe
alternating strongly-connected components where Player~$\square$ can visit each
vertex within a given component infinitely often, without having to ever leave
out the component itself. Our main result is a linear time algorithm for
computing this alternating graph decomposition. Both the underlying graph
structures and the algorithm generalize the classical decomposition of a
directed graph into strongly-connected components. The algorithm builds on a
linear time generalization of the depth-first search on alternation, taking
inspiration from Tarjan 1972 machinery. Our theory has direct applications in
solving well-known infinite duration pebble games faster. Dinneen and
Khoussainov showed in 1999 that deciding a given Update Game costs $O(mn)$
time, where $n$ is the number of vertices and $m$ is that of arcs. We solve the
task in $\Theta(m+n)$ linear~time. The complexity of Explicit
McNaughton-M\"uller Games also improves from cubic to quadratic.


title:
Reconsidering seismological constraints on the available parameter space
  of macroscopic dark matter

abstract:
  Using lunar seismological data, constraints have been proposed on the
available parameter space of macroscopic dark matter (macros). We show that
actual limits are considerably weaker by considering in greater detail the
mechanism through which macro impacts generate detectable seismic waves, which
have wavelengths considerably longer than the diameter of the macro. We show
that the portion of the macro parameter space that can be ruled out by current
seismological evidence is considerably smaller than previously reported, and
specifically that candidates with greater than or equal to nuclear density are
not excluded by lunar seismology.


title: Asymptotically Safe Grand Unification

abstract:
  Phenomenologically appealing supersymmetric grand unified theories have large
gauge representations and thus are not asymptotically free. Their ultraviolet
validity is limited by the appearance of a Landau pole well before the Planck
scale. One could hope that these theories save themselves, before the inclusion
of gravity, by generating an interacting ultraviolet fixed point, similar to
the one recently discovered in non-supersymmetric gauge-Yukawa theories.
Employing a-maximization, a-theorem, unitarity bounds, as well as positivity of
other central charges we nonperturbatively rule out this possibility for a
broad class of prime candidates of phenomenologically relevant supersymmetric
grand unified theories. We also uncover candidates passing these tests, which
have either exotic matter or contain one field decoupled from the
superpotential. The latter class of theories contains a model with the minimal
matter content required by phenomenology.


title:
On para-K\"ahler Lie algebroids and generalized pseudo-Hessian
  structures

abstract:
  In this paper, we generalize all the results obtained on para-K\"ahler Lie
algebras in Journal of Algebra {\bf 436} (2015) 61-101 to para-K\"ahler Lie
algebroids. In particular, we study exact para-K\"ahler Lie algebroids as a
generalization of exact para-K\"ahler Lie algebras. This study leads to a
natural generalization of pseudo-Hessian manifolds. Generalized pseudo-Hessian
manifolds have many similarities with Poisson manifolds. We explore these
similarities which, among others, leads to a powerful machinery to build
examples of non trivial pseudo-Hessian structures. Namely, we will show that
given a finite dimensional commutative and associative algebra
$(\mathcal{A},.)$, the orbits of the action $\Phi$ of $(\mathcal{A},+)$ on
$\mathcal{A}^*$ given by $\Phi(a,\mu)=\exp(L_a^*)(\mu)$ are pseudo-Hessian
manifolds, where $L_a(b)=a.b$. We illustrate this result by considering many
examples of associative commutative algebras an show that the pseudo-Hessian
manifolds obtained are very interesting.


title:
Energy-Efficient Heterogeneous Cellular Networks with Spectrum Underlay
  and Overlay Access

abstract:
  In this paper, we provide joint subcarrier assignment and power allocation
schemes for quality-of-service (QoS)-constrained energy-efficiency (EE)
optimization in the downlink of an orthogonal frequency division multiple
access (OFDMA)-based two-tier heterogeneous cellular network (HCN). Considering
underlay transmission, where spectrum-efficiency (SE) is fully exploited, the
EE solution involves tackling a complex mixed-combinatorial and non-convex
optimization problem. With appropriate decomposition of the original problem
and leveraging on the quasi-concavity of the EE function, we propose a
dual-layer resource allocation approach and provide a complete solution using
difference-of-two-concave-functions approximation, successive convex
approximation, and gradient-search methods. On the other hand, the inherent
inter-tier interference from spectrum underlay access may degrade EE
particularly under dense small-cell deployment and large bandwidth utilization.
We therefore develop a novel resource allocation approach based on the concepts
of spectrum overlay access and resource efficiency (RE) (normalized EE-SE
trade-off). Specifically, the optimization procedure is separated in this case
such that the macro-cell optimal RE and corresponding bandwidth is first
determined, then the EE of small-cells utilizing the remaining spectrum is
maximized. Simulation results confirm the theoretical findings and demonstrate
that the proposed resource allocation schemes can approach the optimal EE with
each strategy being superior under certain system settings.


title:
Laser-Frequency Stabilization via a Quasimonolithic Mach-Zehnder
  Interferometer with Arms of Unequal Length and Balanced dc Readout

abstract:
  Low frequency high precision laser interferometry is subject to excess
laser-frequency-noise coupling via arm-length differences which is commonly
mitigated by locking the frequency to a stable reference system. This approach
is crucial to achieve picometer level sensitivities in the 0.1 mHz to 1 Hz
regime, where laser frequency noise is usually high and couples into the
measurement phase via arm-length mismatches in the interferometers. Here we
describe the results achieved by frequency stabilising an external cavity diode
laser to a quasi-monolithic unequal arm-length Mach-Zehnder interferometer read
out at mid-fringe via balanced detection. We find this stabilization scheme to
be an elegant solution combining a minimal number of optical components, no
additional laser modulations and relatively low frequency noise levels. The
Mach-Zehnder interferometer has been designed and constructed to minimize the
influence of thermal couplings and to reduce undesired stray light using the
optical simulation tool ifocad. We achieve frequency-noise levels below 100
Hz/$\sqrt{\textrm{Hz}}$ at 1 Hz and are able to demonstrate the LISA frequency
prestabilization requirement of 300 Hz/$\sqrt{\textrm{Hz}}$ down to frequencies
of 100 mHz by beating the stabilized laser with an iodine-locked reference.


title: Free compact boson on branched coverings of the torus

abstract:
  We have studied the free compact boson on a $n$-sheeted covering of the torus
gluing alone $m$ branch cuts. It is interesting because when the branched cuts
are chosen to be real, the partition function is related to the $n$-th R\'enyi
entanglement entropy of $m$ disjoint intervals in a finite system at finite
temperature. After proposing a canonical homology basis and its dual basis of
the covering surface, we find that the partition function can be written in
terms of theta functions.


title:
Evanescent Wave Boundary Layers in Metamaterials and Sidestepping them
  through a Variational Approach

abstract:
  All metamaterial applications are based upon the idea that extreme material
properties can be achieved through appropriate dynamic homogenization of
composites. This homogenization is almost always done for infinite domains and
the results are then applied to finite samples. This process ignores the
evanescent waves which appear at the boundaries of such finite samples. In this
paper we first clarify the emergence and purpose of these evanescent waves in a
model problem consisting of an interface between a layered composite and a
homogeneous medium. We show that these evanescent waves form boundary layers on
either side of the interface beyond which the composite can be represented by
appropriate infinite domain homogenized relations. We show that if one ignores
the boundary layers then the displacement and stress fields are discontinuous
across the interface. Therefore, the scattering coefficients at such an
interface cannot be determined through the conventional continuity conditions
involving only propagating modes. Here we propose an approximate variational
approach for sidestepping these boundary layers. The aim is to determine the
scattering coefficients without the knowledge of evanescent modes. Through
various numerical examples we show that our technique gives very good estimates
of the actual scattering coefficients beyond the long wavelength limit.


title:
On Poisson equations with a potential in the whole space for "ergodic"
  generators

abstract:
  In earlier papers Poisson equation in the whole space was studied for so
called ergodic generators $L$ corresponding to homogeneous Markov diffusions
($X_t, \, t\ge 0$) in $\mathbb R^d$. Solving this equation is one of the main
tools for diffusion approximation in the theory of stochastic averaging and
homogenisation. Here a similar equation with a potential is considered, firstly
because it is natural for PDEs, and secondly with a hope that it may be also
useful for some extensions related to homogenization and averaging.


title:
The effect of photometric redshift uncertainties on galaxy clustering
  and baryonic acoustic oscillations

abstract:
  In the upcoming era of high-precision galaxy surveys, it becomes necessary to
understand the impact of redshift uncertainties on cosmological observables. In
this paper we explore the effect of sub-percent photometric redshift errors
(photo-$z$ errors) on galaxy clustering and baryonic acoustic oscillations
(BAO). Using analytic expressions and results from $1\,000$ $N$-body
simulations, we show how photo-$z$ errors modify the amplitude of moments of
the 2D power spectrum, their variances, the amplitude of BAO, and the
cosmological information in them. We find that: a) photo-$z$ errors suppress
the clustering on small scales, increasing the relative importance of shot
noise, and thus reducing the interval of scales available for BAO analyses; b)
photo-$z$ errors decrease the smearing of BAO due to non-linear redshift-space
distortions (RSD) by giving less weight to line-of-sight modes; and c)
photo-$z$ errors (and small-scale RSD) induce a scale dependence on the
information encoded in the BAO scale, and that reduces the constraining power
on the Hubble parameter. Using these findings, we propose a template that
extracts unbiased cosmological information from samples with photo-$z$ errors
with respect to cases without them. Finally, we provide analytic expressions to
forecast the precision in measuring the BAO scale, showing that
spectro-photometric surveys will measure the expansion history of the Universe
with a precision competitive to that of spectroscopic surveys.


title:
Kinetic analysis of spin current contribution to spectrum of
  electromagnetic waves in spin-1/2 plasma, Part I: Dielectric permeability
  tensor for magnetized plasmas

abstract:
  The dielectric permeability tensor for spin polarized plasmas is derived in
terms of the spin-1/2 quantum kinetic model in six-dimensional phase space.
Expressions for the distribution function and spin distribution function are
derived in linear approximations on the path of dielectric permeability tensor
derivation. The dielectric permeability tensor is derived the spin-polarized
degenerate electron gas. It is also discussed at the finite temperature regime,
where the equilibrium distribution function is presented by the spin-polarized
Fermi-Dirac distribution. Consideration of the spin-polarized equilibrium
states opens possibilities for the kinetic modeling of the thermal spin current
contribution in the plasma dynamics.


title:
Detecting large simple rational Hecke modules for $\Gamma_0(N)$ via
  congruences

abstract:
  We describe a novel method for bounding the dimension $d$ of the largest
simple Hecke submodule of $S_2(\Gamma_0(N);\mathbb{Q})$ from below. Such bounds
are of interest because of their relevance to the structure of $J_0(N)$, for
instance.
  In contrast with previous results of this kind, our bound does not rely on
the equidistribution of Hecke eigenvalues. Instead, it is obtained via a
Hecke-compatible congruence between the target space and a space of modular
forms whose Hecke eigenvalues are easily controlled. For prime levels $N\equiv
7\mod 8$ our method yields an unconditional bound of $d\ge\log_2\log_2(N/8)$,
improving the known bound of $d\gg\sqrt{\log\log N}$ due to Murty--Sinha and
Royer. We also discuss conditional bounds, the strongest of which is
$d\gg_\epsilon N^{1/2-\epsilon}$ over a large set of primes $N$, contingent on
Soundararajan's heuristics for the class number problem and Artin's conjecture
on primitive roots.
  We also propose a number of Maeda-style conjectures based on our data, and we
outline a possible congruence-based approach toward the conjectural Hecke
simplicity of $S_k(\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{Z});\mathbb{Q})$.


title:
Jacobi Type Continued Fractions for the Ordinary Generating Functions of
  Generalized Factorial Functions

abstract:
  The article studies a class of generalized factorial functions and symbolic
product sequences through Jacobi type continued fractions (J-fractions) that
formally enumerate the divergent ordinary generating functions of these
sequences. The more general definitions of these J-fractions extend the known
expansions of the continued fractions originally proved by Flajolet that
generate the rising factorial function, or Pochhammer symbol, $(x)_n$, at any
fixed non-zero indeterminate $x \in \mathbb{C}$. The rational convergents of
these generalized J-fractions provide formal power series approximations to the
ordinary generating functions that enumerate many specific classes of
factorial-related integer product sequences.
  The article also provides applications to a number of specific identities,
new integer congruence relations satisfied by generalized factorial-related
product sequences and the $r$-order harmonic numbers, among several other
notable motivating examples as immediate applications of the new results. In
this sense, the article serves as a semi-comprehensive, detailed survey
reference that introduces applications to many established and otherwise
well-known combinatorial identities, new cases of generating functions for
factorial-function-related product sequences, and other examples of the
generalized integer-valued multifactorial, or $\alpha$-factorial, function
sequences. The convergent-based generating function techniques illustrated by
the particular examples cited within the article are easily extended to
enumerate the factorial-like product sequences arising in the context of many
other specific applications.


title: Relative-locality effects in Snyder spacetime

abstract:
  When applied to some models of noncommutative geometry, the formalism of
relative locality predicts the occurrence of a delay in the time of arrival of
massless particle of different energies emitted by a distant observer. In this
letter, we show that this is not the case with Snyder spacetime, essentially
because the Lorentz invariance is not deformed in this case. This conclusion is
in accordance with the findings of doubly special relativity. Distant observers
may however measure different times of flight for massive particle.


title:
Grassmannian Integral for General Gauge Invariant Off-shell Amplitudes
  in N=4 SYM

abstract:
  In this paper we consider tree-level gauge invariant off-shell amplitudes
(Wilson line form factors) in $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM with arbitrary number of
off-shell gluons or equivalently Wilson line operator insertions. We make a
conjecture for the Grassmannian integral representation for such objects and
verify our conjecture on several examples. It is remarkable that in our
formulation one can consider situation when on-shell particles are not present
at all, i.e. we have Grassmannian integral representation for purely off-shell
object. In addition we show that off-shell amplitude with arbitrary number of
off-shell gluons could be also obtained using quantum inverse scattering method
for auxiliary $\mathfrak{gl}(4|4)$ super spin chain.


title: Black Hole Binaries in Quiescence

abstract:
  I discuss some of what is known and unknown about the behavior of black hole
binary systems in the quiescent accretion state. Quiescence is important for
several reasons: 1) the dominance of the companion star in the optical and IR
wavelengths allows the binary parameters to be robustly determined - as an
example, we argue that the longer proposed distance to the X-ray source GRO
J1655-40 is correct; 2) quiescence represents the limiting case of an extremely
low accretion rate, in which both accretion and jets can be observed; 3)
understanding the evolution and duration of the quiescent state is a key factor
in determining the overall demographics of X-rary binaries, which has taken on
a new importance in the era of gravitational wave astronomy.


title:
Characteristics of Interlayer Tunneling Field Effect Transistors
  Computed by a "DFT-Bardeen" Method

abstract:
  Theoretical predictions are made for the current-voltage characteristics of
two-dimensional heterojunction interlayer tunneling field-effect transistors
(Thin-TFETs), focusing on the magnitude of the current that is achievable in
such devices. A theory based on the Bardeen tunneling method is employed, using
wavefunctions from first-principles density-functional theory. This method
permits convenient incorporation of differing materials into the source and
drain electrodes, i.e. with different crystal structures, lattice constants,
and/or band structures. Large variations in the tunnel currents are found,
depending on the particular two-dimensional materials used for the source and
drain electrodes. Tunneling between states derived from the center
(Gamma-point) of the Brillouin zone (BZ) is found, in general, to lead to
larger current than for zone-edge (e.g. K-point) states. Differences, as large
as an order of magnitude, between the present results and various prior
predictions are discussed. Predicted values for the tunneling currents,
including subthreshold swing, are compared with benchmark values for low-power
digital applications. Contact resistance is considered and its effect on the
tunneling currents is demonstrated.


title:
All-atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Projection Domain of the
  Intrinsically Disordered htau40 Protein

abstract:
  We have performed all atom molecular dynamics simulations on the projection
domain of the intrinsically disordered htau40 protein. After generating a
suitable ensemble of starting conformations at high temperatures, at room
temperature in an adaptive box algorithm we have generated histograms for the
radius of gyration, secondary structure time series, generated model small
angle x-ray scattering intensities, and model chemical shift plots for
comparison to nuclear magnetic resonance data for solvated and filamentous tau.
Significantly, we find that the chemical shift spectrum is more consistent with
filamentous tau than full length solution based tau. We have also carried out
principle component analysis and find three basics groups: compact globules,
tadpoles, and extended hinging structures. To validate the adaptive box and our
force field choice, we have run limited simulations in a large conventional box
with varying force fields and find that our essential results are unchanged. We
also performed two simulations with the TIP4P-D water model, the effects of
which depended on whether the initial configuration was compact or extended.


title: Transient reducing greenhouse warming on early Mars

abstract:
  The evidence for abundant liquid water on early Mars despite the faint young
Sun is a long-standing problem in planetary research. Here we present new ab
initio spectroscopic and line-by-line climate calculations of the warming
potential of reduced atmospheres on early Mars. We show that the strength of
both CO2-H2 and CO2-CH4 collision-induced absorption (CIA) has previously been
significantly underestimated. Contrary to previous expectations, methane could
have acted as a powerful greenhouse gas on early Mars due to CO2-CH4 CIA in the
critical 250-500 cm^-1 spectral window region. In atmospheres of 0.5 bar CO2 or
more, percent levels of H2 or CH4 raise annual mean surface temperatures by
tens of degrees, with temperatures reaching 273 K for pressures of 1.25-2~bar
and 2-10% of H2 and CH4. Methane and hydrogen produced following aqueous
alteration of Mars' crust could have combined with volcanically outgassed CO2
to form transient atmospheres of this composition 4.5-3.5 Ga. Our results also
suggest that inhabited exoplanets could retain surface liquid water at
significant distances from their host stars.


title:
On the joint distribution of variations of the Gini index and Welfare
  indices

abstract:
  The aim of this paper is to establish the asymptotic behavior of the mutual
influence of the Gini index and the poverty measures by using the Gaussian
fields described in Mergane and Lo(2013). The results are given as
representation theorems using the Gaussian fields of the unidimensional or the
bidimensional functional Brownian bridges. Such representations, when combined
with those already available, lead to joint asymptotic distributions with other
statistics of interest like growth, welfare and inequality indices and then,
unveil interesting results related to the mutual influence between them. The
results are also appropriate for studying whether a growth is fair or not,
depending on the variation of the inequality measure. Datadriven applications
are also available. Although the variances may seem complicated at a first
sight, their computations which are needed to get confidence intervals of the
indices, are possible with the help of R codes we provide. Beyond the current
results, the provided representations are useful in connection with different
ones of other statistics.


title:
Boson-mediated quantum spin simulators in transverse fields: XY model
  and spin-boson entanglement

abstract:
  The coupling of spins to long-wavelength bosonic modes is a prominent means
to engineer long-range spin-spin interactions, and has been realized in a
variety of platforms, such as atoms in optical cavities and trapped ions. To
date, much of the experimental focus has been on the realization of long-range
Ising models, but generalizations to other spin models are highly desirable. In
this work, we explore a previously unappreciated connection between the
realization of an XY model by off-resonant driving of single sideband of boson
excitation (i.e.~a single-beam M{\o}lmer-S{\o}rensen scheme) and a
boson-mediated Ising simulator in the presence of a transverse field. In
particular, we show that these two schemes have the same effective Hamiltonian
in suitably defined rotating frames, and analyze the emergent effective XY spin
model through truncated Magnus series and numerical simulations. In addition to
XY spin-spin interactions that can be non-perturbatively renormalized from the
naive Ising spin-spin coupling constants, we find an effective transverse field
that is dependent on the thermal energy of the bosons, as well as other
spin-boson couplings that cause spin-boson entanglement not to vanish at any
time. In the case of a boson-mediated Ising simulator with transverse field, we
discuss the crossover from transverse-field Ising-like to XY-like spin behavior
as a function of field strength.