title:
Bacterial foraging optimization based brain magnetic resonance image
  segmentation

abstract:
  Segmentation partitions an image into its constituent parts. It is
essentially the pre-processing stage of image analysis and computer vision. In
this work, T1 and T2 weighted brain magnetic resonance images are segmented
using multilevel thresholding and bacterial foraging optimization (BFO)
algorithm. The thresholds are obtained by maximizing the between class variance
(multilevel Otsu method) of the image. The BFO algorithm is used to optimize
the threshold searching process. The edges are then obtained from the
thresholded image by comparing the intensity of each pixel with its eight
connected neighbourhood. Post processing is performed to remove spurious
responses in the segmented image. The proposed segmentation technique is
evaluated using edge detector evaluation parameters such as figure of merit,
Rand Index and variation of information. The proposed brain MR image
segmentation technique outperforms the traditional edge detectors such as canny
and sobel.


title:
Nonradial stability of marginal stable circular orbits in stationary
  axisymmetric spacetimes

abstract:
  We study linear nonradial perturbations and stability of a marginal stable
circular orbit (MSCO) such as the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) of a
test particle in stationary axisymmetric spacetimes which possess a reflection
symmetry with respect to the equatorial plane. The proposed approach is applied
to Kerr solution and Majumdar-Papapetrou solution to Einstein equation.
Finally, we reexamine MSCOs for a modified metric of a rapidly spinning black
hole that has been recently proposed by Johannsen and Psaltis [PRD, 83, 124015
(2011)]. We show that, for the Johannsen and Psaltis's model, circular orbits
that are stable against radial perturbations for some parameter region become
unstable against vertical perturbations. This suggests that the last circular
orbit for this model may be larger than the ISCO.


title:
Phonon spectral functions of photo-generated hot carrier plasmas:
  effects of carrier screening and plasmon-phonon coupling

abstract:
  We investigate spectral behavior of phonon spectral functions in an
interacting multi-component hot carrier plasma. Dielectric polarization
functions are formulated so that they satisfy Dyson equations of the effective
interactions among plasma components. We find a useful sum rule giving simple
relation between plasma-species resolved dielectric functions. Spectral
analysis of various phonon spectral functions is performed considering
carrier-phonon channels of polar and nonpolar optical phonons, acoustic
deformation-potential, and piezoelectric Coulomb couplings. Effects of phonon
self-energy corrections are examined at finite temperature within a random
phase approximation extended to include the effects of dynamic screening,
plasmon--phonon coupling, and local-field corrections of the plasma species. We
provide numerical data for the case of a photo-generated electron-hole plasma
formed in a wurtzite GaN. Our result shows clear significance of the
multiplicity of the plasma species in the dielectric response and phonon
spectral functions of a multi-component plasma.


title:
A modification of the generalized shift-splitting method for singular
  saddle point problems

abstract:
  A modification of the generalized shift-splitting (GSS) method is presented
for solving singular saddle point problems. In this kind of modification, the
diagonal shift matrix is replaced by a block diagonal matrix which is symmetric
positive definite. Semi-convergence of the proposed method is investigated. The
induced preconditioner is applied to the saddle point problem and the
preconditioned system is solved by the restarted generalized minimal residual
method. Eigenvalue distribution of the preconditioned matrix is also discussed.
Finally some numerical experiments are given to show the effectiveness and
robustness of the new preconditioner. Numerical results show that the modified
GSS method is superior to the classical GSS method.


title: Exponentially concave functions and a new information geometry

abstract:
  A function is exponentially concave if its exponential is concave. We
consider exponentially concave functions on the unit simplex. In a previous
paper we showed that gradient maps of exponentially concave functions provide
solutions to a Monge-Kantorovich optimal transport problem and give a better
gradient approximation than those of ordinary concave functions. The
approximation error, called L-divergence, is different from the usual Bregman
divergence. Using tools of information geometry and optimal transport, we show
that L-divergence induces a new information geometry on the simplex consisting
of a Riemannian metric and a pair of dually coupled affine connections which
defines two kinds of geodesics. We show that the induced geometry is dually
projectively flat but not flat. Nevertheless, we prove an analogue of the
celebrated generalized Pythagorean theorem from classical information geometry.
On the other hand, we consider displacement interpolation under a Lagrangian
integral action that is consistent with the optimal transport problem and show
that the action minimizing curves are dual geodesics. The Pythagorean theorem
is also shown to have an interesting application of determining the optimal
trading frequency in stochastic portfolio theory.


title: Simulation and understanding of quantum crystals

abstract:
  Quantum crystals abound in the whole range of solid-state species. Below a
certain threshold temperature the physical behavior of rare gases (4He and Ne),
molecular solids (H2 and CH4), and some ionic (LiH), covalent (graphite), and
metallic (Li) crystals can be only explained in terms of quantum nuclear
effects (QNE). A detailed comprehension of the nature of quantum solids is
critical for achieving progress in a number of fundamental and applied
scientific fields like, for instance, planetary sciences, hydrogen storage,
nuclear energy, quantum computing, and nanoelectronics. This review describes
the current physical understanding of quantum crystals and the wide variety of
simulation techniques that are used to investigate them. Relevant aspects in
these materials such as phase transformations, energy and structural
properties, elasticity, and the effects of crystalline defects and
dimensionality, are discussed thoroughly. An introduction to quantum Monte
Carlo techniques, which in the present context are the simulation methods of
choice, and other quantum simulation approaches (e. g., path-integral molecular
dynamics and quantum thermal baths) is provided. The overarching objective of
this article is twofold. First, to clarify in which crystals and physical
situations the disregard of QNE may incur in important bias and erroneous
interpretations. And second, to promote the study and appreciation of QNE, a
topic that traditionally has been treated in the context of condensed matter
physics, within the broad and interdisciplinary areas of materials science.


title: J1216+0709 : A radio galaxy with three episodes of AGN jet activity

abstract:
  We report the discovery of a `Triple-Double Radio Galaxy (TDRG)' J1216+0709
detected in deep low-frequency Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT)
observations. J1216+0709 is only the third radio galaxy, after B0925+420 and
Speca, with three pairs of lobes resulting from three different episodes of AGN
jet activity. The 610 MHz GMRT image clearly displays an inner pair of lobes, a
nearly co-axial middle pair of lobes and a pair of outer lobes that is bent
w.r.t. the axis of inner pair of lobes. The total end-to-end projected sizes of
the inner, middle, and outer lobes are 40$^{{\prime}{\prime}}$ ($\sim$ 95 kpc),
1$^{\prime}$.65 ($\sim$ 235 kpc) and 5$^{\prime}$.7 ($\sim$ 814 kpc),
respectively. Unlike the outer pair of lobes both the inner and middle pairs of
lobes exhibit asymmetries in arm-lengths and flux densities, but in opposite
sense, i.e., the eastern sides are farther and also brighter that the western
sides, thus suggesting the possibility of jet being intrinsically asymmetric
rather than due to relativistic beaming effect. The host galaxy is a bright
elliptical (m$_{\rm r}$ $\sim$ 16.56) with M$_{\rm SMBH}$ $\sim$ 3.9 $\times$
10$^{9}$ M$\odot$ and star-formation rate of $\sim$ 4.66$_{\rm -1.61}^{\rm
+4.65}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$. The host galaxy resides is a small group of
three galaxies (m$_{\rm r}$ $\leq$ 17.77) and is possibly going through the
interaction with faint, dwarf galaxies in the neighbourhood, which may have
triggered the recent episodes of AGN activity.


title:
Why Scientists Chase Big Problems: Individual Strategy and Social
  Optimality

abstract:
  Scientists pursue collective knowledge, but they also seek personal
recognition from their peers. When scientists decide whether or not to work on
a big new problem, they weigh the potential rewards of a major discovery
against the costs of setting aside other projects. These self-interested
choices can potentially spread researchers across problems in an efficient
manner, but efficiency is not guaranteed. We use simple economic models to
understand such decisions and their collective consequences. Academic science
differs from industrial R&D in that academics often share partial solutions to
gain reputation. This convention of Open Science is thought to accelerate
collective discovery, but we find that it need not do so. The ability to share
partial results influences which scientists work on a particular problem;
consequently, Open Science can slow down the solution of a problem if it deters
entry by important actors.


title: Exploring Wake Interaction for Frequency Control in Wind Farms

abstract:
  The increasing integration of wind generation is accompanied with a growing
concern about secure and reliable power system operation. Due to the
intermittent nature of wind, the base-load units need to cycle significantly
more than they were designed for, resulting in reduced life cycle and increased
costs. Therefore, it is becoming necessary for wind turbines to take part in
frequency control, and reduce the need for additional ancillary services
provided by conventional generators. In this paper, we propose an optimised
operation strategy for the wind farms. In this strategy, we maximise the
kinetic energy of wind turbines by an optimal combination of the rotor speed
and the pitch angle. We exploit the wake interaction in a wind farm, and
de-load some of the up-wind turbines. We show that the kinetic energy
accumulated in the rotating masses of the WTs can be increased compared to the
base case without compromising efficiency of the wind farm. In a specific
system, we show that by implementing this strategy, and injecting the stored
kinetic energy of the WTs' rotors into the system during a frequency dip, we
can delay the system frequency nadir up to 30 s.


title: On a Certain Function with Negative Coefficients

abstract:
  In what follows we improve an inequality related to matrix theory. T. Laffey
proved (2013) a weaker form of this inequality [2].


title:
Constrained LQ problem with a random jump and application to portfolio
  selection

abstract:
  In this paper, we consider a constrained stochastic linear-quadratic (LQ)
optimal control problem where the control is constrained in a closed cone. The
state process is governed by a controlled SDE with random coefficients.
Moreover, there is a random jump of the state process. In mathematical finance,
the random jump often represents the default of a counter party. Thanks to the
It\^o-Tanaka formula, optimal control and optimal value can be obtained by
solutions of a system of backward stochastic differential equations (BSDEs).
The solvability of the BSDEs is obtained by solving a recursive system of BSDEs
driven by the Brownian motions. We also apply the result to the mean variance
portfolio selection problem in which the stock price can be affected by the
default of a counterparty.


title:
Declarative Machine Learning - A Classification of Basic Properties and
  Types

abstract:
  Declarative machine learning (ML) aims at the high-level specification of ML
tasks or algorithms, and automatic generation of optimized execution plans from
these specifications. The fundamental goal is to simplify the usage and/or
development of ML algorithms, which is especially important in the context of
large-scale computations. However, ML systems at different abstraction levels
have emerged over time and accordingly there has been a controversy about the
meaning of this general definition of declarative ML. Specification
alternatives range from ML algorithms expressed in domain-specific languages
(DSLs) with optimization for performance, to ML task (learning problem)
specifications with optimization for performance and accuracy. We argue that
these different types of declarative ML complement each other as they address
different users (data scientists and end users). This paper makes an attempt to
create a taxonomy for declarative ML, including a definition of essential basic
properties and types of declarative ML. Along the way, we provide insights into
implications of these properties. We also use this taxonomy to classify
existing systems. Finally, we draw conclusions on defining appropriate
benchmarks and specification languages for declarative ML.


title:
Influence of orbital symmetry on diffraction imaging with rescattering
  electron wave packets

abstract:
  The ability to directly follow and time resolve the rearrangement of the
nuclei within molecules is a frontier of science that requires atomic spatial
and few-femtosecond temporal resolutions. While laser induced electron
diffraction can meet these requirements, it was recently concluded that
molecules with particular orbital symmetries (such as {\pi}g) cannot be imaged
using purely backscattering electron wave packets without molecular alignment.
Here, we demonstrate, in direct contradiction to these findings, that the
orientation and shape of molecular orbitals presents no impediment for
retrieving molecular structure with adequate sampling of the momentum transfer
space. We overcome previous issues by showcasing retrieval of the structure of
randomly oriented O2 and C2H2 molecules, with {\pi}g and {\pi}u symmetries,
respectively, and where their ionisation probabilities do not maximise along
their molecular axes. While this removes a serious bottleneck for laser induced
diffraction imaging, we find unexpectedly strong back scattering contributions
from low-Z atoms.


title:
Free Stein kernels and an improvement of the free logarithmic Sobolev
  inequality

abstract:
  We introduce a free version of the Stein kernel, relative to a semicircular
law. We use it to obtain a free counterpart of the HSI inequality of Ledoux,
Peccatti and Nourdin, which is an improvement of the free logarithmic Sobolev
inequality of Biane and Speicher, as well as a rate of convergence in the
(multivariate) entropic free Central Limit Theorem. We also compute the free
Stein kernels for several relevant families of self-adjoint operators.


title:
On the Sampling Strategy for Evaluation of Spectral-spatial Methods in
  Hyperspectral Image Classification

abstract:
  Spectral-spatial processing has been increasingly explored in remote sensing
hyperspectral image classification. While extensive studies have focused on
developing methods to improve the classification accuracy, experimental setting
and design for method evaluation have drawn little attention. In the scope of
supervised classification, we find that traditional experimental designs for
spectral processing are often improperly used in the spectral-spatial
processing context, leading to unfair or biased performance evaluation. This is
especially the case when training and testing samples are randomly drawn from
the same image - a practice that has been commonly adopted in the experiments.
Under such setting, the dependence caused by overlap between the training and
testing samples may be artificially enhanced by some spatial information
processing methods such as spatial filtering and morphological operation. Such
interaction between training and testing sets has violated data independence
assumption that is abided by supervised learning theory and performance
evaluation mechanism. Therefore, the widely adopted pixel-based random sampling
strategy is not always suitable to evaluate spectral-spatial classification
algorithms because it is difficult to determine whether the improvement of
classification accuracy is caused by incorporating spatial information into
classifier or by increasing the overlap between training and testing samples.
To partially solve this problem, we propose a novel controlled random sampling
strategy for spectral-spatial methods. It can greatly reduce the overlap
between training and testing samples and provides more objective and accurate
evaluation.


title: Algebraically special Einstein-Maxwell fields

abstract:
  The Geroch-Held-Penrose formalism is used to re-analyse algebraically special
non-null Einstein-Maxwell fields, aligned as well as non-aligned, in the
presence of a possible non-vanishing cosmological constant. A new invariant
characterisation is given of the Garcia-Plebanski and Plebanski-Hacyan metrics
within the family of aligned solutions and of the Griffiths metrics within the
family of the non-aligned solutions. As a corollary also the double alignment
of the Debever-McLenaghan 'class D' metrics with non-vanishing cosmological
constant is shown to be equivalent with the shear-free and geodesic behaviour
of their Debever-Penrose vectors.


title: Thermal Recovery Mechanisms of UO2 Lattices

abstract:
  Thermal recovery of irradiated uranium dioxide lattice have been investigated
by experimental groups and defects related to each recovery stages are
estimated based on the indirect observations like activation energies. In this
study, thermal recovery mechanisms of both neutron and alpha-particle
irradiated uranium dioxide lattice is investigated by atomistic simulation
methods. Isochronal and isothermal annealing have been applied to the
irradiated samples. Following the same procedures of the experimental groups,
activation energies are calculated with molecular dynamics simulations and
compared with empirical data which show a good agreement. Migration energy
barrier and the recovery energies of the obstruction type defects are
calculated with molecular dynamics simulation and density functional theory.
Recovery stages of the irradiated crystals are discussed however unlike the
predictions of the most experimental groups, it is shown that neutron and
alpha-particle irradiated crystal structures do not thermally recover for the
same reason. All three recovery stages of neutron irradiated uranium dioxide
crystal is attributed to oxygen interstitials while the three recovery stages
of the alpha-particle irradiated crystals is considered to the oxygen -
uranium, uranium and uranium interstitial defects respectively. Finally, the
reason and the main driving force of thermal recovery of irradiated crystals is
the obstruction type defects which give a lead to all other types of defects
recover with themselves in each lattice recovery stages.


title: RadioAstron gravitational redshift experiment: status update

abstract:
  A test of a cornerstone of general relativity, the gravitational redshift
effect, is currently being conducted with the RadioAstron spacecraft, which is
on a highly eccentric orbit around Earth. Using ground radio telescopes to
record the spacecraft signal, synchronized to its ultra-stable on-board
H-maser, we can probe the varying flow of time on board with unprecedented
accuracy. The observations performed so far, currently being analyzed, have
already allowed us to measure the effect with a relative accuracy of
$4\times10^{-4}$. We expect to reach $2.5\times10^{-5}$ with additional
observations in 2016, an improvement of almost a magnitude over the 40-year old
result of the GP-A mission.


title:
Generic Demand Model Considering the Impact of Prosumers for Future Grid
  Scenario Analysis

abstract:
  The increasing uptake of residential PV-battery systems is bound to
significantly change demand patterns of future power systems and, consequently,
their dynamic performance. In this paper, we propose a generic demand model
that captures the aggregated effect of a large population of price-responsive
users equipped with small-scale PV-battery systems, called prosumers, for
market simulation in future grid scenario analysis. The model is formulated as
a bi-level program in which the upper-level unit commitment problem minimizes
the total generation cost, and the lower-level problem maximizes prosumers'
aggregate self-consumption. Unlike in the existing bi-level optimization
frameworks that focus on the interaction between the wholesale market and an
aggregator, the coupling is through the prosumers' demand, not through the
electricity price. That renders the proposed model market structure agnostic,
making it suitable for future grid studies where the market structure is
potentially unknown. As a case study, we perform steady-state voltage stability
analysis of a simplified model of the Australian National Electricity Market
with significant penetration of renewable generation. The simulation results
show that a high prosumer penetration changes the demand profile in ways that
significantly improve the system loadability, which confirms the suitability of
the proposed model for future grid studies.


title:
An in-situ method for measuring the non-linear response of a Fabry-Perot
  cavity

abstract:
  High finesse Fabry-Perot(FP) cavity is a very important frequency reference
for laser stabiliza- tion, and is widely used for applications such as
precision measurement, laser cooling of ions or molecules. But the non-linear
response of the piezoelectric ceramic transducer (PZT) in the FP cav- ity
limits the performance of the laser stabilization. Measuring and controlling
such non-linearity are important. Here we report an in-situ, optical method to
characterize this non-linearity by measuring the resonance signals of a
dual-frequency laser. The differential measurement makes it insensitive to
laser and cavity drifting, and has a very high sensitivity. It can be applied
for various applications with PZT, especially in an optical lab.


title:
Experimental Demonstration of Frequency Regulation by Commercial
  Buildings - Part I: Modeling and Hierarchical Control Design

abstract:
  This paper is the first part of a two-part series in which we present results
from an experimental demonstration of frequency regulation in a commercial
building test facility.
  In Part I, we introduce the test facility and develop relevant building
models. Furthermore, we design a hierarchical controller that consists of three
levels: a reserve scheduler, a building climate controller, and a fan speed
controller for frequency regulation. We formulate the reserve scheduler as a
robust optimization problem and introduce several approximations to reduce its
complexity. The building climate controller is comprised of a robust model
predictive controller and a Kalman filter. The frequency regulation controller
consists of a feedback and a feedforward loop, provides fast responses, and is
stable.
  Part I presents building model identification and controller tuning results,
whereas Part II reports results from the operation of the hierarchical
controller under frequency regulation.


title:
How hard is it to verify flat affine counter systems with the finite
  monoid property ?

abstract:
  We study several decision problems for counter systems with guards defined by
convex polyhedra and updates defined by affine transformations. In general, the
reachability problem is undecidable for such systems. Decidability can be
achieved by imposing two restrictions: (i) the control structure of the counter
system is flat, meaning that nested loops are forbidden, and (ii) the set of
matrix powers is finite, for any affine update matrix in the system. We provide
tight complexity bounds for several decision problems of such systems, by
proving that reachability and model checking for Past Linear Temporal Logic are
complete for the second level of the polynomial hierarchy $\Sigma^P_2$, while
model checking for First Order Logic is PSPACE-complete.


title: Incidence of debris discs around FGK stars in the solar neighbourhood

abstract:
  Debris discs are a consequence of the planet formation process and constitute
the fingerprints of planetesimal systems. Their solar system's counterparts are
the asteroid and Edgeworth-Kuiper belts. The aim of this paper is to provide
robust numbers for the incidence of debris discs around FGK stars in the solar
neighbourhood. The full sample of 177 FGK stars with d<20 pc proposed for the
DUNES survey is presented. Herschel/PACS observations at 100 and 160 micron
complemented with data at 70 micron, and at 250, 350 and 500 micron SPIRE
photometry, were obtained. The 123 objects observed by the DUNES collaboration
were presented in a previous paper. The remaining 54 stars, shared with the
DEBRIS consortium and observed by them, and the combined full sample are
studied in this paper. The incidence of debris discs per spectral type is
analysed and put into context together with other parameters of the sample,
like metallicity, rotation and activity, and age.
  The subsample of 105 stars with d<15 pc containing 23 F, 33 G and 49 K stars,
is complete for F stars, almost complete for G stars and contains a substantial
number of K stars to draw solid conclusions on objects of this spectral type.
The incidence rates of debris discs per spectral type 0.26 (6 objects with
excesses out of 23 F stars), 0.21 (7 out of 33 G stars) and 0.20 (10 out of 49
K stars), the fraction for all three spectral types together being 0.22 (23 out
of 105 stars). Uncertainties corresponding to a 95% confidence level are given
in the text for all these numbers. The medians of the upper limits of
L_dust/L_* for each spectral type are 7.8E-7 (F), 1.4E-6 (G) and 2.2E-6 (K);
the lowest values being around 4.0E-7. The incidence of debris discs is similar
for active (young) and inactive (old) stars. The fractional luminosity tends to
drop with increasing age, as expected from collisional erosion of the debris
belts.


title: Random numbers as probabilities of machine behaviour

abstract:
  A fruitful way of obtaining meaningful, possibly concrete, algorithmically
random numbers is to consider a potential behaviour of a Turing machine and its
probability with respect to a measure (or semi-measure) on the input space of
binary codes. For example, Chaitin's Omega is a well known Martin-Loef random
number that is obtained by considering the halting probability of a universal
prefix-free machine. In the last decade, similar examples have been obtained
for higher forms of randomness, i.e. randomness relative to strong oracles. In
this work we obtain characterizations of the algorithmically random reals in
higher randomness classes, as probabilities of certain events that can happen
when an oracle universal machine runs probabilistically on a random oracle.
Moreover we apply our analysis to different machine models, including oracle
Turing machines, prefix-free machines, and models for infinite online
computation. We find that in many cases the arithmetical complexity of a
property is directly reflected in the strength of the algorithmic randomness of
the probability with which it occurs, on any given universal machine. On the
other hand, we point to many examples where this does not happen and the
probability is a number whose algorithmic randomness is not the maximum
possible (with respect to its arithmetical complexity). Finally we find that,
unlike the halting probability of a universal machine, the probabilities of
more complex properties like totality, cofinality, computability or
completeness do not necessarily have the same Turing degree when they are
defined with respect to different universal machines.


title:
Atomic signatures of local environment from core-level spectroscopy in
  $\beta$-Ga$_2$O$_3$

abstract:
  We present a joint theoretical and experimental study on core-level
excitations from the oxygen $K$ edge of $\beta$-Ga$_2$O$_3$. A detailed
analysis of the electronic structure reveals the importance of O-Ga
hybridization effects in the conduction region. The spectrum from O 1$s$ core
electrons is dominated by excitonic effects, which overall redshift the
absorption onset by 0.5 eV, and significantly redistribute the intensity to
lower energies. Analysis of the spectra obtained within many-body perturbation
theory reveals atomic fingerprints of the inequivalent O atoms. From the
comparison of energy-loss near-edge fine-structure (ELNES) spectra computed
with respect to different crystal planes, with measurements recorded under the
corresponding diffraction conditions, we show how the spectral contributions of
specific O atoms can be enhanced while quenching others. These results suggest
ELNES, combined with ab initio many-body theory, as a very powerful technique
to characterize complex systems, with sensitivity to individual atomic species
and to their local environment.


title:
Double vector meson production in photon - hadron interactions at
  hadronic colliders

abstract:
  In this paper we analyse the double vector meson production in photon --
hadron ($\gamma h$) interactions at $pp/pA/AA$ collisions and present
predictions for the $\rho\rho$, $J/\Psi J/\Psi$ and $\rho J/\Psi$ production
considering the double scattering mechanism. We estimate the total cross
sections and rapidity distributions at LHC energies and compare our results
with the predictions for the double vector meson production in $\gamma \gamma$
interactions at hadronic colliders. We present predictions for the different
rapidity ranges probed by the ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb Collaborations. Our
results demonstrate that the $\rho\rho$ and $J/\Psi J/\Psi$ production in
$PbPb$ collisions is dominated by the double scattering mechanism, while the
two - photon mechanism dominates in $pp$ collisions. Moreover, our results
indicate that the analysis of the $\rho J/\Psi$ production at LHC can be useful
to constrain the double scattering mechanism.


title: A First Look at Ad-block Detection: A New Arms Race on the Web

abstract:
  The rise of ad-blockers is viewed as an economic threat by online publishers,
especially those who primarily rely on ad- vertising to support their services.
To address this threat, publishers have started retaliating by employing
ad-block detectors, which scout for ad-blocker users and react to them by
restricting their content access and pushing them to whitelist the website or
disabling ad-blockers altogether. The clash between ad-blockers and ad-block
detectors has resulted in a new arms race on the web. In this paper, we present
the first systematic measurement and analysis of ad-block detection on the web.
We have designed and implemented a machine learning based tech- nique to
automatically detect ad-block detection, and use it to study the deployment of
ad-block detectors on Alexa top- 100K websites. The approach is promising with
precision of 94.8% and recall of 93.1%. We characterize the spectrum of
different strategies used by websites for ad-block detection. We find that most
of publishers use fairly simple passive ap- proaches for ad-block detection.
However, we also note that a few websites use third-party services, e.g.
PageFair, for ad-block detection and response. The third-party services use
active deception and other sophisticated tactics to de- tect ad-blockers. We
also find that the third-party services can successfully circumvent ad-blockers
and display ads on publisher websites.


title:
First-principles study of the optoelectronic properties and photovoltaic
  absorber layer efficiency of Cu-based chalcogenides

abstract:
  Cu-based chalcogenides are promising materials for thin-film solar cells with
more than 20% measured cell efficiency. Using first-principles calculations
based on density functional theory, the optoelectronic properties of a group of
Cu-based chalcogenides Cu$_2$-II-IV-VI$_4$ is studied. They are then screened
with the aim of identifying potential absorber materials for photovoltaic
applications. The spectroscopic limited maximum efficiency (SLME) introduced by
Yu and Zunger is used as a metric for the screening. After constructing the
current-voltage curve, the maximum spectroscopy dependent power conversion
efficiency is calculated from the maximum power output. The role of the nature
of the band gap, direct or indirect, and also of the absorptivity of the
studied materials on the maximum theoretical power conversion efficiency is
studied. Our results show that Cu$_2$-II-GeSe$_4$ with II=Cd and Hg, and
Cu$_2$-II-SnS$_4$ with II=Cd and Zn have a higher theoretical efficiency
compared to the materials currently used as absorber layer.


title: Benchmarking NFV Software Dataplanes

abstract:
  A key enabling technology of NFV is software dataplane, which has attracted
much attention in both academia and industry recently. Yet, till now there is
little understanding about its performance in practice. In this paper, we make
a benchmark measurement study of NFV software dataplanes in terms of packet
processing capability, one of the most fundamental and critical performance
metrics. Specifically, we compare two state-of-the-art open-source NFV
dataplanes, SoftNIC and ClickOS, using commodity 10GbE NICs under various
typical workloads. Our key observations are that (1) both dataplanes have
performance issues processing small (<=128B) packets; (2) it is not always best
to put all VMs of a service chain on one server due to NUMA effect. We propose
resource allocation strategies to remedy the problems, including carefully
adding CPU cores and vNICs to VMs, and spreading VMs of a service chain to
separate servers. To fundamentally address these problems and scale their
performance, SoftNIC and ClickOS could improve the support for NIC queues and
multiple cores.


title: Finite-size scaling of Lennard-Jones droplet formation at fixed density

abstract:
  We reaccess the droplet condensation-evaporation transition of a
three-dimensional Lennard-Jones system upon a temperature change. With the help
of parallel multicanonical simulations we obtain precise estimates of the
transition temperature and the width of the transition for systems with up to
2048 particles. This allows us to supplement previous observations of
finite-size scaling regimes with a clearer picture also for the case of a
continuous particle model.


title: Summing threshold logs in a parton shower

abstract:
  When parton distributions are falling steeply as the momentum fractions of
the partons increases, there are effects that occur at each order in $\alpha_s$
that combine to affect hard scattering cross sections and need to be summed. We
show how to accomplish this in a leading approximation in the context of a
parton shower Monte Carlo event generator.


title: Bounding the persistency of the nonlocality of W states

abstract:
  The nonlocal properties of the W states are investigated under particle loss.
By removing all but two particles from an $N$-qubit W state, the resulting
two-qubit state is still entangled. Hence, the W state has high persistency of
entanglement. We ask an analogous question regarding the persistency of
nonlocality introduced in [Phys. Rev. A 86, 042113]. Namely, we inquire what is
the minimal number of particles that must be removed from the W state so that
the resulting state becomes local. We bound this value in function of $N$
qubits by considering Bell nonlocality tests with two alternative settings per
site. In particular, we find that this value is between $2N/5$ and $N/2$ for
large $N$. We also develop a framework to establish bounds for more than two
settings per site.


title: Privacy-Related Consequences of Turkish Citizen Database Leak

abstract:
  Personal data is collected and stored more than ever by the governments and
companies in the digital age. Even though the data is only released after
anonymization, deanonymization is possible by joining different datasets. This
puts the privacy of individuals in jeopardy. Furthermore, data leaks can unveil
personal identifiers of individuals when security is breached. Processing the
leaked dataset can provide even more information than what is visible to naked
eye. In this work, we report the results of our analyses on the recent "Turkish
citizen database leak", which revealed the national identifier numbers of close
to fifty million voters, along with personal information such as date of birth,
birth place, and full address. We show that with automated processing of the
data, one can uniquely identify (i) mother's maiden name of individuals and
(ii) landline numbers, for a significant portion of people. This is a serious
privacy and security threat because (i) identity theft risk is now higher, and
(ii) scammers are able to access more information about individuals. The only
and utmost goal of this work is to point out to the security risks and suggest
stricter measures to related companies and agencies to protect the security and
privacy of individuals.


title: Linked-cluster expansions for quantum magnets on the hypercubic lattice

abstract:
  For arbitrary space dimension $d$ we investigate the quantum phase
transitions of two paradigmatic spin models defined on a hypercubic lattice,
the coupled-dimer Heisenberg model and the transverse-field Ising model. To
this end high-order linked-cluster expansions for the ground-state energy and
the one-particle gap are performed up to order 9 about the decoupled-dimer and
high-field limits, respectively. Extrapolations of the high-order series yield
the location of the quantum phase transition and the correlation-length
exponent $\nu$ as a function of space dimension $d$. The results are
complemented by $1/d$ expansions to next-to-leading order of observables across
the phase diagrams. Remarkably, our analysis of the extrapolated linked-cluster
expansion allows to extract the coefficients of the full $1/d$ expansion for
the phase-boundary location in both models exactly in leading order and
quantitatively for subleading corrections.


title:
Non-linear behaviour of XTE J1550-564 during its 1998-1999 outburst,
  revealed by recurrence analysis

abstract:
  We study the X-ray emission of the microquasar XTE J1550-564 and analyze the
properties of its light curves using the recurrence analysis method. The
indicators for non-linear dynamics of the accretion flow are found in the very
high state and soft state of this source. The significance of deterministic
variability depends on the energy band. We discuss the non-linear dynamics of
the accretion flow in the context of the disc-corona geometry and propagating
oscillations in the accretion flow.


title:
SONATA: Service Programming and Orchestration for Virtualized Software
  Networks

abstract:
  In conventional large-scale networks, creation and management of network
services are costly and complex tasks that often consume a lot of resources,
including time and manpower. Network softwarization and network function
virtualization have been introduced to tackle these problems. They replace the
hardware-based network service components and network control mechanisms with
software components running on general-purpose hardware, aiming at decreasing
costs and complexity of implementing new services, maintaining the implemented
services, and managing available resources in service provisioning platforms
and underlying infrastructures. To experience the full potential of these
approaches, innovative development support tools and service provisioning
environments are needed. To answer these needs, we introduce the SONATA
architecture, a service programming, orchestration, and management framework.
We present a development toolchain for virtualized network services, fully
integrated with a service platform and orchestration system. We motivate the
modular and flexible architecture of our system and discuss its main components
and features, such as function- and service-specific managers that allow fine-
grained service management, slicing support to facilitate multi-tenancy,
recursiveness for improved scalability, and full-featured DevOps support.


title: Finite intersection property and dynamical compactness

abstract:
  Dynamical compactness with respect to a family as a new concept of chaoticity
of a dynamical system was introduced and discussed in [22]. In this paper we
continue to investigate this notion. In particular, we prove that all dynamical
systems are dynamically compact with respect to a Furstenberg family if and
only if this family has the finite intersection property. We investigate weak
mixing and weak disjointness by using the concept of dynamical compactness. We
also explore further difference between transitive compactness and weak mixing.
As a byproduct, we show that the $\omega_{\mathcal{F}}$-limit and the
$\omega$-limit sets of a point may have quite different topological structure.
Moreover, the equivalence between multi-sensitivity, sensitive compactness and
transitive sensitivity is established for a minimal system. Finally, these
notions are also explored in the context of linear dynamics.


title:
Test of the Einstein equivalence principle with spectral distortions in
  the cosmic microwave background

abstract:
  The Einstein Equivalence Principle~(EEP) can be verified by the measurement
of the spectral distortions of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The
existence of energy-dependency in the cosmological redshift effect means the
EEP violation. Introducing the energy-dependent Friedmann-Robertson-Walker
metric motivated by rainbow gravity, we show that the energy-dependent redshift
effect causes the CMB spectral distortions. Assuming the simple
energy-dependent form of the metric, we evaluate the distortions. From the
COBE/FIRAS bound, we find that the deviation degree from the EEP, which is
comparable to the difference of the parameterized-post-Newtonian parameter
"gamma" in energy, is less than 10^{-9} at the CMB energy scale.


title:
A Possible Mechanism of DNA to DNA Transcription in Eukaryotic Cells :
  Endonuclease Dependent Transcript Cutout

abstract:
  We previously proposed the existence of DNA to DNA transcription in
eukaryotic cells, but the mechanism by which single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)
transcript is produced and released from the genome remains unknown. We once
speculated that the mechanism of DNA to DNA transcription might be similar to
that of DNA to RNA transcription, but now we propose that endonuclease
dependent transcript cutout may be a possible mechanism of DNA to DNA
transcription, in which a copy of ssDNA fragment (transcript) between two nicks
produced by nicking endonuclease is released from double-stranded DNA (dsDNA)
region in the genome by an unknown ssDNA fragment releasing enzyme. The gap in
the dsDNA will be filled through DNA repair mechanism. Occasionally, multiple
copies of ssDNA transcripts could be produced through multiple rounds of
cutout-repair-cutout cycle.


title: Brownian Motion in an N-scale periodic Potential

abstract:
  We study the problem of Brownian motion in a multiscale potential. The
potential is assumed to have N+1 scales (i.e. N small scales and one
macroscale) and to depend periodically on all the small scales. We show that
for nonseparable potentials, i.e. potentials in which the microscales and the
macroscale are fully coupled, the homogenized equation is an overdamped
Langevin equation with multiplicative noise driven by the free energy, for
which the detailed balance condition still holds. The calculation of the
effective diffusion tensor requires the solution of a system of N coupled
Poisson equations.


title:
Prompt-photon plus jet photoproduction with ZEUS at DESY HERA in the
  parton Reggeization approach

abstract:
  We study the photoproduction of isolated prompt photons associated with
hadron jets in the framework of the parton Reggeization approach. The main
improvements with respect to previous studies in the k_T-factorization
framework include the application of the Reggeized-quark formalism, the
generation of exactly gauge-invariant amplitudes with off-shell initial-state
quarks, and the exact treatment of the gamma+R -> gamma+g box contribution with
off-shell initial-state gluons. In this proceedings, the new data set,
published recently by ZEUS collaboration is analyzed, were the distributions in
photon and jet rapidity, transverse energy, azimuthal angle between photon and
jet and proton momentum fraction are presented for different values of measured
photon momentum fraction x_gamma <0.7, 0.8 and x_gamma>0.8$. The good agreement
of measured distributions with our predictions is observed for the
direct-dominating part of the data set. The comparison with the previous
calculations in k_T-factorization, role of nonfactorizable higher-order and
hadronization corrections is discussed.


title:
Towards Better Internet Citizenship: Reducing the Footprint of
  Internet-wide Scans by Topology Aware Prefix Selection

abstract:
  Internet service discovery is an emerging topic to study the deployment of
protocols. Towards this end, our community periodically scans the entire
advertised IPv4 address space. In this paper, we question this principle. Being
good Internet citizens means that we should limit scan traffic to what is
necessary. We conducted a study of scan data, which shows that several prefixes
do not accommodate any host of interest and the network topology is fairly
stable. We argue that this allows us to collect representative data by scanning
less. In our paper, we explore the idea to scan all prefixes once and then
identify prefixes of interest for future scanning. Based on our analysis of the
censys.io data set (4.1 TB data encompassing 28 full IPv4 scans within 6
months) we found that we can reduce scan traffic between 25-90% and miss only
1-10% of the hosts, depending on desired trade-offs and protocols.


title: Terminal-Pairability in Complete Graphs

abstract:
  We investigate terminal-pairability properties of complete graphs and improve
the known bounds in two open problems. We prove that the complete graph $K_n$
on $n$ vertices is terminal-pairable if the maximum degree $\Delta$ of the
corresponding demand graph $D$ is at most $2\lfloor\frac{n}{6}\rfloor-2$. We
also verify the terminal-pairability property when the number of edges in $D$
does not exceed $2n-5$ and $\Delta\leq n-1$ holds.


title: Domain Theory: An Introduction

abstract:
  This monograph is an ongoing revision of "Lectures On A Mathematical Theory
of Computation" by Dana Scott. Scott's monograph uses a formulation of domains
called neighborhood systems in which finite elements are selected subsets of a
master set of objects called "tokens". Since tokens have little intuitive
significance, Scott has discarded neighborhood systems in favor of an
equivalent formulation of domains called information systems. Unfortunately, he
has not rewritten his monograph to reflect this change.
  We have rewritten Scott's monograph in terms of finitary bases instead of
information systems. A finitary basis is an information system that is closed
under least upper bounds on finite consistent subsets. This convention ensures
that every finite answer is represented by a single basis object instead of a
set of objects.


title:
Exclusive $J/\psi$ Production in Diffractive Process with AdS/QCD
  Holographic Wave Function in BLFQ

abstract:
  The AdS/QCD holographic wave function of basis light-front quantization
(BLFQ) for vector meson $J/\psi$ is applied in this manuscript. The exclusive
production of $J/\psi$ in diffractive process is computed in dipole model with
AdS/QCD holographic wave function. We use IP-Sat and IIM model in the
calculation of the differential cross section of the dipole scattering off the
proton. The prediction of AdS/QCD holographic wave function in BLFQ gives a
good agreement to the experimental data.


title:
False Discovery Rate Control and Statistical Quality Assessment of
  Annotators in Crowdsourced Ranking

abstract:
  With the rapid growth of crowdsourcing platforms it has become easy and
relatively inexpensive to collect a dataset labeled by multiple annotators in a
short time. However due to the lack of control over the quality of the
annotators, some abnormal annotators may be affected by position bias which can
potentially degrade the quality of the final consensus labels. In this paper we
introduce a statistical framework to model and detect annotator's position bias
in order to control the false discovery rate (FDR) without a prior knowledge on
the amount of biased annotators - the expected fraction of false discoveries
among all discoveries being not too high, in order to assure that most of the
discoveries are indeed true and replicable. The key technical development
relies on some new knockoff filters adapted to our problem and new algorithms
based on the Inverse Scale Space dynamics whose discretization is potentially
suitable for large scale crowdsourcing data analysis. Our studies are supported
by experiments with both simulated examples and real-world data. The proposed
framework provides us a useful tool for quantitatively studying annotator's
abnormal behavior in crowdsourcing data arising from machine learning,
sociology, computer vision, multimedia, etc.


title:
On the Mobile-to-Mobile Linear Time-Variant Shallow-Water Acoustic
  Channel Response

abstract:
  We expose some concepts concerning the channel impulse response (CIR) of
linear time-varying (LTV) channels to give a proper characterization of the
mobile-to-mobile underwater channel. We find different connections between the
linear time-invariant (LTI) CIR of the static channel and two definitions of
LTV CIRs of the dynamic mobile-to-mobile channel. These connections are useful
to design a dynamic channel simulator from the static channel models available
in the literature. Such feature is particularly interesting for overspread
channels, which are hard to characterize by a measuring campaign. Specifically,
the shallow water acoustic (SWA) channel is potentially overspread due the
signal low velocity of propagation which prompt long delay spread responses and
great Doppler effect. Furthermore, from these connections between the LTI
static CIRs and the LTV dynamic CIRS, we find that the SWA mobile-to-mobile CIR
does not only depend on the relative velocity between transceivers, but also on
the absolute velocity of each of them referred to the velocity of propagation.
Nevertheless, publications about this topic do not consider it and formulate
their equations in terms of the relative velocity between transceivers. We
illustrate our find using two couples of examples where, even though the
relative velocity between the mobiles is the same, their CIRs are not.


title: Coded Pilot Access: A Random Access Solution for Massive MIMO Systems

abstract:
  We present a novel access protocol for crowd scenarios in massive MIMO
(Multiple-input multiple-output) systems. Crowd scenarios are characterized by
a large number of users with intermittent access behavior, whereby orthogonal
scheduling is infeasible. In such scenarios, random access is a natural choice.
The proposed access protocol relies on two essential properties of a massive
MIMO system, namely asymptotic orthogonality between user channels and
asymptotic invariance of channel powers. Signal processing techniques that take
advantage of these properties allow us to view a set of contaminated pilot
signals as a graph code on which iterative belief propagation can be performed.
This makes it possible to decontaminate pilot signals and increase the
throughput of the system. Numerical evaluations show that the proposed access
protocol increases the throughput with 36%, when having 400 antennas at the
base station, compared to the conventional method of slotted ALOHA. With 1024
antennas, the throughput is increased by 85%.


title: Siamese Instance Search for Tracking

abstract:
  In this paper we present a tracker, which is radically different from
state-of-the-art trackers: we apply no model updating, no occlusion detection,
no combination of trackers, no geometric matching, and still deliver
state-of-the-art tracking performance, as demonstrated on the popular online
tracking benchmark (OTB) and six very challenging YouTube videos. The presented
tracker simply matches the initial patch of the target in the first frame with
candidates in a new frame and returns the most similar patch by a learned
matching function. The strength of the matching function comes from being
extensively trained generically, i.e., without any data of the target, using a
Siamese deep neural network, which we design for tracking. Once learned, the
matching function is used as is, without any adapting, to track previously
unseen targets. It turns out that the learned matching function is so powerful
that a simple tracker built upon it, coined Siamese INstance search Tracker,
SINT, which only uses the original observation of the target from the first
frame, suffices to reach state-of-the-art performance. Further, we show the
proposed tracker even allows for target re-identification after the target was
absent for a complete video shot.


title: On some properties of SU(3) Fusion Coefficients

abstract:
  Three aspects of the SU(3) fusion coefficients are revisited: the generating
polynomials of fusion coefficients are written explicitly; some curious
identities generalizing the classical Freudenthal-de Vries formula are derived;
and the properties of the fusion coefficients under conjugation of one of the
factors, previously analysed in the classical case, are extended to the affine
algebra of su(3) at finite level.


title:
A Lagrangian view on complete integrability of the two-component
  Camassa-Holm system

abstract:
  We show how the change from Eulerian to Lagrangian coordinates for the
two-component Camassa-Holm system can be understood in terms of certain
reparametrizations of the underlying isospectral problem. The respective
coordinates correspond to different normalizations of an associated first order
system. In particular, we will see that the two-component Camassa-Holm system
in Lagrangian variables is completely integrable as well.


title: A new mass scale, implications on black hole evaporation and holography

abstract:
  We consider a new mass scale $M_{T}=(\hbar^{2}\sqrt{\Lambda}/G)^{1/3}$
constructed from dimensional analysis by using $G$, $\hbar$ and $\Lambda$ and
discuss its physical interpretation. Based on the Generalized Uncertainty
Relation, a black hole with age comparable to the universe would stop radiating
when the mass reaches a new mass scale
$M'_{T}=c(\hbar/G^{2}\sqrt{\Lambda})^{1/3}$ at which its temperature
corresponds to the mass $M_{T}$. Black hole remnants could have masses ranging
from a Planck mass to a trillion kilograms. Holography persists even when the
uncertainty relation is modified to the Minimum Length Uncertainty
Relation~(MLUR). The remnant black hole entropy is proportional to the surface
area of the black hole in unit of the Planck area in arbitrary noncompact
dimensions.


title:
Small angle neutron scattering contrast variation reveals
  heterogeneities of interactions in protein gels

abstract:
  The structure of model gluten protein gels prepared in ethanol/water is
investigated by small angle X-ray (SAXS) and neutrons (SANS) scattering. We
show that gluten gels display radically different SAXS and SANS profiles when
the solvent is (at least partially) deuterated. The detailed analysis of the
SANS signal as a function of the solvent deuteration demonstrates
heterogeneities of sample deuteration at different length scales. The
progressive exchange between the protons (H) of the proteins and the deuteriums
(D) of the solvent is inhomogeneous and 60 nm large zones that are enriched in
H are evidenced. In addition, at low protein concentration, in the sol state,
solvent deuteration induces a liquid/liquid phase separation. Complementary
biochemical and structure analyses show that the denser protein phase is more
protonated and specifically enriched in glutenin, the polymeric fraction of
gluten proteins. These findings suggest that the presence of H-rich zones in
gluten gels would arise from the preferential interaction of glutenin polymers
through a tight network of non-exchangeable intermolecular hydrogen bonds.


title:
Comment on "Dark Matter with Pseudoscalar-Mediated Interactions Explains
  the DAMA Signal and the Galactic Center Excess"

abstract:
  Arina et al. have proposed the Dirac fermionic dark matter with
pseudoscalar-mediated interactions to explain the Galactic Center excess,
correct relic density and DAMA signal. They have assumed that contact
interactions remain roughly valid in calculating scattering rates at the direct
detection even when the mediator mass is the same order as the typical momentum
transfer. We show that such a replacement is not suitable. Adopting the full
form of interactions, we show that the gamma-ray excess allowed parameters are
completely outside of the DAMA iodine 3$\sigma$ region, even for
heavy-flavor-universal couplings, for which $m_{DM} \sim 40$ GeV in the
gamma-ray excess fit. As for Higgs-like couplings, the two regions overlap for
$m_a\lesssim$ 15 MeV, where long-range interactions, instead of contact
interactions, occur at the DAMA.


title:
Localization of four-dimensional super Yang-Mills theories compactified
  on Riemann surface

abstract:
  We consider the partition function of super Yang-Mills theories defined on
$T^2 \times \Sigma_g$. This path integral can be computed by the localization.
The one-loop determinant is evaluated by the elliptic genus. This elliptic
genus gives trivial result in our calculation. As a result, we obtain a theory
defined on the Riemann surface.


title: Interests Diffusion on a Semantic Multiplex

abstract:
  Exploiting the information about members of a Social Network (SN) represents
one of the most attractive and dwelling subjects for both academic and applied
scientists. The community of Complexity Science and especially those
researchers working on multiplex social systems are devoting increasing efforts
to outline general laws, models, and theories, to the purpose of predicting
emergent phenomena in SN's (e.g. success of a product). On the other side the
semantic web community aims at engineering a new generation of advanced
services tailored to specific people needs. This implies defining constructs,
models and methods for handling the semantic layer of SNs. We combined models
and techniques from both the former fields to provide a hybrid approach to
understand a basic (yet complex) phenomenon: the propagation of individual
interests along the social networks. Since information may move along different
social networks, one should take into account a multiplex structure. Therefore
we introduced the notion of "Semantic Multiplex". In this paper we analyse two
different semantic social networks represented by authors publishing in the
Computer Science and those in the American Physical Society Journals. The
comparison allows to outline common and specific features


title:
Raman spectroscopy of K_xCo_{2-y}Se_2 single crystals near the
  ferromagnet-paramagnet transition

abstract:
  Polarized Raman scattering spectra of the K_xCo_{2-y}Se_2 single crystals
reveal the presence of two phonon modes, assigned as of the A_{1g} and B_{1g}
symmetry. Absence of additional modes excludes the possibility of vacancy
ordering, unlike in K_xFe_{2-y}Se_2. The ferromagnetic (FM) phase transition at
T_c\approx 74 K leaves a clear fingerprint on the temperature dependence of the
Raman mode energy and linewidth. For T>T_c the temperature dependence looks
conventional, driven by the thermal expansion and anharmonicity. The Raman
modes are rather broad due to the electron-phonon coupling increased by the
disorder and spin fluctuation effects. In the FM phase the phonon frequency of
both modes increases, while an opposite trend is seen in their linewidth: the
A_{1g} mode narrows in the FM phase, whereas the B_{1g} mode broadens. We argue
that the large asymmetry and anomalous frequency shift of the B_{1g} mode is
due to the coupling of spin fluctuations and vibration. Our density functional
theory (DFT) calculations for the phonon frequencies agree rather well with the
Raman measurements, with some discrepancy being expected since the DFT
calculations neglect the spin fluctuations.


title: Routing in all optical networks using recursive state space technique

abstract:
  In this paper, we have minimized the effects of failures on network
performance, by using suitable Routing and Wavelenghth Assignment(RWA) method
without disturbing other performance criteria such as blocking probability(BP)
and network management(NM). The computation complexity is reduced by using
Kalaman Filter(KF) techniques. The minimum reconfiguration probability routing
(MRPR) algorithm must be able to select most reliable routes and assign
wavelengths to connections in a manner that utilizes the light path(LP)
established efficiently considering all possible requests.


title:
Depletion forces on circular and elliptical obstacles induced by active
  matter

abstract:
  Depletion forces exerted by self-propelled particles on circular and
elliptical passive objects are studied using numerical simulations. We show
that a bath of active particles can induce repulsive and attractive forces
which are sensitive to the shape and orientation of the passive objects (either
horizontal or vertical ellipses). The resultant force on the passive objects
due to the active particles is studied as a function of the shape and
orientation of the passive objects, magnitude of the angular noise, distance
between the passive objects. By increasing the distance between obstacles the
magnitude of the repulsive depletion force increases, as long as such a
distance is less than one active particle diameter. For longer distances, the
magnitude of the force always decrease with increasing distance. We also found
that attractive forces may arise for vertical ellipses at high enough area
fraction.


title: Maxwell electromagnetism as an emergent phenomenon in condensed matter

abstract:
  The formulation of a complete theory of classical electromagnetism by Maxwell
is one of the milestones of science. The capacity of many-body systems to
provide emergent mini-universes with vacua quite distinct from the one we
inhabit was only recognised much later. Here, we provide an account of how
simple systems of localised spins manage to emulate Maxwell electromagnetism in
their low-energy behaviour. They are much less constrained by symmetry
considerations than the relativistically invariant electromagnetic vacuum, as
their substrate provides a non-relativistic background with even translational
invariance broken. They can exhibit rich behaviour not encountered in
conventional electromagnetism. This includes the existence of magnetic monopole
excitations arising from fractionalisation of magnetic dipoles; as well as the
capacity of disorder, by generating defects on the lattice scale, to produce
novel physics, as exemplified by topological spin glassiness or random Coulomb
magnetism.


title:
Wirelessly Powered Backscatter Communication Networks: Modeling,
  Coverage and Capacity

abstract:
  Future Internet-of-Things (IoT) will connect billions of small computing
devices embedded in the environment and support their device-to-device (D2D)
communication. Powering this massive number of embedded devices is a key
challenge of designing IoT since batteries increase the devices' form factors
and battery recharging/replacement is difficult. To tackle this challenge, we
propose a novel network architecture that enables D2D communication between
passive nodes by integrating wireless power transfer and backscatter
communication, which is called a wirelessly powered backscatter communication
(WP-BackCom) network. In the network, standalone power beacons (PBs) are
deployed for wirelessly powering nodes by beaming unmodulated carrier signals
to targeted nodes. Provisioned with a backscatter antenna, a node transmits
data to an intended receiver by modulating and reflecting a fraction of a
carrier signal. Such transmission by backscatter consumes orders-of-magnitude
less power than a traditional radio. Thereby, the dense deployment of
low-complexity PBs with high transmission power can power a large-scale IoT. In
this paper, a WP-BackCom network is modeled as a random Poisson cluster process
in the horizontal plane where PBs are Poisson distributed and active ad-hoc
pairs of backscatter communication nodes with fixed separation distances form
random clusters centered at PBs. The backscatter nodes can harvest energy from
and backscatter carrier signals transmitted by PBs. Furthermore, the
transmission power of each node depends on the distance from the associated PB.
Applying stochastic geometry, the network coverage probability and transmission
capacity are derived and optimized as functions of backscatter parameters,
including backscatter duty cycle and reflection coefficient, as well as the PB
density. The effects of the parameters on network performance are
characterized.


title: Size of the top jet drop produced by bubble bursting

abstract:
  As a bubble bursts at a liquid-air interface, a tiny liquid jet rises and can
release the so-called \textit{jet drops}. In this paper, the size of the top
jet drop produced by a bubble bursting is investigated experimentally. We
determine, and discuss, the first scaling law enabling the determination of the
top jet drop size as a function of the corresponding mother bubble radius and
the liquid properties (viscosity, surface tension, density), along with its
regime of existence. Furthermore, in the aim of decoupling experimentally the
effects of bubble collapse and jet dynamics on the drop detachment, we propose
a new scaling providing the top drop size only as a function of the jet
velocity and liquid parameters. In particular, this allows us to untangle the
intricate roles of viscosity, gravity and surface tension in the
\textit{end-pinching} of the bubble bursting jet.


title: Energy fluctuations of finite free-electron Fermi gas

abstract:
  We discuss the energy distribution of free-electron Fermi-gas, a problem with
a textbook solution of Gaussian energy fluctuations in the limit of a large
system. We find that for a small system, characterized solely by its heat
capacity $C$, the distribution can be solved analytically, and it is both
skewed and it vanishes at low energies, exhibiting a sharp drop to zero at the
energy corresponding to the filled Fermi sea. The results are relevant from the
experimental point of view, since the predicted non-Gaussian effects become
pronounced when $C/k_B \lesssim 10^3$ ($k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant), a
regime that can be easily achieved for instance in mesoscopic metallic
conductors at sub-kelvin temperatures.


title:
Gaussian Approximations of Small Noise Diffusions in Kullback-Leibler
  Divergence

abstract:
  We study Gaussian approximations to the distribution of a diffusion. The
approximations are easy to compute: they are defined by two simple ordinary
differential equations for the mean and the covariance. Time correlations can
also be computed via solution of a linear stochastic differential equation. We
show, using the Kullback-Leibler divergence, that the approximations are
accurate in the small noise regime. An analogous discrete time setting is also
studied. The results provide both theoretical support for the use of Gaussian
processes in the approximation of diffusions, and methodological guidance in
the construction of Gaussian approximations in applications.


title: Magneto-Optical Activity in High Index Dielectric Nanoantennas

abstract:
  The magneto-optical activity, namely the polarization conversion capabilities
of high-index, non-absorbing, core-shell dielectric nanospheres is
theoretically analyzed. We show that, in analogy with their plasmonic
counterparts, the polarization conversion in resonant dielectric particles is
linked to the amount of electromagnetic field probing the magneto-optical
material in the system. However, in strong contrast with plasmon nanoparticles,
due to the peculiar distribution of the internal fields in resonant dielectric
spheres, the magneto-optical response is fully governed by the magnetic
(dipolar and quadrupolar) resonances with little effect of the electric ones.


title: Giant Thermal Vibrations in the Framework Compounds Ba1-xSrxAl2O4

abstract:
  Synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments were performed on the network
compounds Ba1-xSrxAl2O4 at temperatures between 15 and 800 K. The ferroelectric
phase of the parent BaAl2O4 is largely suppressed by the Sr-substitution and
disappears for $x\geq0.1$. Structural refinements reveal that the isotropic
atomic displacement parameter ($B_{\rm iso}$) in the bridging oxygen atom for
$x\geq0.05$ is largely independent of temperature and retains an anomalously
large value in the adjacent paraelectric phase even at the lowest temperature.
The $B_{\rm iso}$ systematically increases as $x$ increases, exhibiting an
especially large value for $x\geq0.5$. According to previous electron
diffraction experiments for Ba1-xSrxAl2O4 with $x\geq0.1$, strong thermal
diffuse scattering occurs at two reciprocal points relating to two distinct
soft modes at the M- and K-points over a wide range of temperatures below 800 K
[Y. Ishii et al., Sci. Rep. 6, 19154 (2016)]. Although the latter mode
disappears at approximately 200 K, the former does not condense, at least down
to 100 K. On the contrary, it still survives at low-temperature. The
anomalously large $B_{\rm iso}$ observed in this study is ascribed to these
soft modes existing in a wide temperature range.


title: Light charged Higgs boson scenario in 3-Higgs doublet models

abstract:
  The constraints from the measurements of the $B\to X_s\gamma$ decay rate on
the parameter space of 3-Higgs Doublet Models (3HDMs), where all the doublets
have non-zero vacuum expectation values, are studied at the next-to-leading
order in QCD. In order to naturally avoid the presence of flavour changing
neutral currents at the tree level, we impose two softly-broken discrete $Z_2$
symmetries. This gives rise to five independent types of 3HDMs that differ in
their Yukawa couplings. We show that in all these 3HDMs (including the case of
type-II-like Yukawa interactions) both masses of the two charged Higgs bosons
$m_{H_1^\pm}$ and $m_{H_2^\pm}$ can be smaller than the top mass $m_t$ while
complying with the constraints from $B\to X_s\gamma$. As an interesting
phenomenological consequence, the branching ratios of the charged Higgs bosons
decay into the $cb$ final states can be as large as $80\%$ when their masses
are taken to be below $m_t$ in two of the five 3HDMs (named as Type-Y and
Type-Z). This light charged Higgs boson scenario provides a hallmark 3HDM
signature that cannot be realised in $Z_2$ symmetric 2-Higgs doublet models. We
find that in the Type-Y and Type-Z 3HDMs the scenario with $90\,{\rm GeV}<
m_{H^\pm_1}^{}\,, m_{H^\pm_2}^{}<m_t$ is ruled out by the direct searches at
the LHC, but in the Type-Y 3HDM $80~\text{GeV}<m_{H_1^\pm}^{}<90~\text{GeV}$
and $90~\text{GeV}<m_{H_2^\pm}^{}<m_t$ is allowed by $B\to X_s\gamma$ and
direct searches at LEP2, Tevatron and LHC due to the reduced sensitivity of
these searches to the degenerate case $m_{H_1^\pm}\approx m_{W^\pm}$. The cases
where only one or both charged Higgs bosons are above the top quark mass are
also naturally allowed in the both Type-Y and Type-Z 3HDMs.


title: The tensor hierarchy of 8-dimensional field theories

abstract:
  We construct the tensor hierarchy of generic, bosonic, 8-dimensional field
theories. We first study the form of the most general 8-dimensional bosonic
theory with Abelian gauge symmetries only and no massive deformations. This
study determines the tensors that occur in the Chern-Simons terms of the
(electric and magnetic) field strengths and the action for the electric fields,
which we determine. Having constructed the most general Abelian theory we study
the most general gaugings of its global symmetries and the possible massive
deformations using the embedding tensor formalism, constructing the complete
tensor hierarchy using the Bianchi identities. We find the explicit form of all
the field strengths of the gauged theory up to the 6-forms. Finally, we find
the equations of motion comparing the Noether identities with the identities
satisfied by the Bianchi identities themselves. We find that some equations of
motion are not simply the Bianchi identities of the dual fields, but
combinations of them.


title: Deterministic particle approximation of scalar conservation laws

abstract:
  In this paper we prove that the unique entropy solution to a scalar nonlinear
conservation law with strictly monotone velocity and nonnegative initial
condition can be rigorously obtained as the large particle limit of a
microscopic follow-the-leader type model, which is interpreted as the discrete
Lagrangian approximation of the nonlinear scalar conservation law. The result
is complemented with some numerical simulations.


title: A Microwave Josephson Refrigerator

abstract:
  We present a microwave quantum refrigeration principle based on the Josephson
effect. When a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) is pierced
by a time-dependent magnetic flux, it induces changes in the macroscopic
quantum phase and an effective finite bias voltage appears across the SQUID.
This voltage can be used to actively cool well below the lattice temperature
one of the superconducting electrodes forming the interferometer. The
achievable cooling performance combined with the simplicity and scalability
intrinsic to the structure pave the way to a number of applications in quantum
technology.


title: Convection-driven spherical shell dynamos at varying Prandtl numbers

abstract:
  (abidged) Context: Stellar convection zones are characterized by vigorous
high-Reynolds number turbulence at low Prandtl numbers. Aims: We study the
dynamo and differential rotation regimes at varying levels of viscous, thermal,
and magnetic diffusion. Methods: We perform three-dimensional simulations of
stratified fully compressible magnetohydrodynamic convection in rotating
spherical wedges at various thermal and magnetic Prandtl numbers (from 0.25 to
2 and 5, respectively). Results: We find that the rotation profiles for high
thermal diffusivity show a monotonically increasing angular velocity from the
bottom of the convection zone to the top and from the poles toward the equator.
For sufficiently rapid rotation, a region of negative radial shear develops at
mid-latitudes as the thermal diffusivity is decreased. This coincides with a
change in the dynamo mode from poleward propagating activity belts to
equatorward propagating ones. Furthermore, the cyclic solutions disappear at
the highest magnetic Reynolds numbers. The total magnetic energy increases with
the magnetic Reynolds number in the range studied here ($5-151$), but the
energies of the mean magnetic fields level off at high magnetic Reynolds
numbers. The differential rotation is strongly affected by the magnetic fields
and almost vanishes at the highest magnetic Reynolds numbers. In some of our
most turbulent cases we find that two regimes are possible where either
differential rotation is strong and mean magnetic fields relatively weak or
vice versa. Conclusions: Our simulations indicate a strong non-linear feedback
of magnetic fields on differential rotation, leading to qualitative changes in
the behaviors of large-scale dynamos at high magnetic Reynolds numbers.
Furthermore, we do not find indications of the simulations approaching an
asymptotic regime where the results would be independent of diffusion
coefficients.


title: Progress on homogeneous Einstein manifolds and some open probrems

abstract:
  We give an overview of progress on homogeneous Einstein metrics on large
classes of homogeneous manifolds, such as generalized flag manifolds and
Stiefel manifolds. The main difference between these two classes of homogeneous
spaces is that their isotropy representation does not contain/contain
equivalent summands. We also discuss a third class of homogeneous spaces that
falls into the intersection of such dichotomy, namely the generalized Wallach
spaces. We give new invariant Einstein metrics on the Stiefel manifold
$V_5\mathbb{R}^n$ ($n\ge 7$) and through this example we show how to prove
existence of invariant Einstein metrics by manipulating parametric systems of
polynomial equations. This is done by using Gr\"obner bases techniques.
Finally, we discuss some open problems.


title: A Rewriting System for the Assessment of XACML Policies Relationship

abstract:
  We propose in this paper a new approach to assess the relationship between
XACML policies. Our approach spans over three steps. In the first one, the
XACML policies are mapped to terms of a boolean ring while taking into account
XACML policy and rule combining algorithms. In the second step, the
relationship problem between XACML policies is transformed into a validity
problem in a boolean ring. In the third step, the validity problem is resolved
using a dedicated rewriting system. The convergence of the rewriting system is
proved in this paper. Moreover, the approach is implemented and its performance
is evaluated. The results show that our approach enjoys better performance and
memory cost than the best so far published SMT based approach.


title:
Simulations of the Mg II k and Ca II 8542 lines from an Alfv\'en
  Wave-heated flare chromosphere

abstract:
  We use radiation hydrodynamic simulations to examine two models of solar
flare chromospheric heating: Alfv\'en wave dissipation and electron beam
collisional losses. Both mechanisms are capable of strong chromospheric
heating, and we show that the distinctive atmospheric evolution in the
mid-to-upper chromosphere results in Mg II k-line emission that should be
observably different between wave-heated and beam-heated simulations. We also
present Ca II 8542A profiles which are formed slightly deeper in the
chromosphere. The Mg II k-line profiles from our wave-heated simulation are
quite different from those from a beam-heated model and are more consistent
with IRIS observations. The predicted differences between the Ca II 8542A in
the two models are small. We conclude that careful observational and
theoretical study of lines formed in the mid-to-upper chromosphere holds
genuine promise for distinguishing between competing models for chromospheric
heating in flares.


title:
Computing Small Certificates of Inconsistency of Quadratic Fewnomial
  Systems

abstract:
  B{\'e}zout 's theorem states that dense generic systems of n multivariate
quadratic equations in n variables have 2 n solutions over algebraically closed
fields. When only a small subset M of monomials appear in the equations
(fewnomial systems), the number of solutions may decrease dramatically. We
focus in this work on subsets of quadratic monomials M such that generic
systems with support M do not admit any solution at all. For these systems,
Hilbert's Nullstellensatz ensures the existence of algebraic certificates of
inconsistency. However, up to our knowledge all known bounds on the sizes of
such certificates -including those which take into account the Newton polytopes
of the polynomials- are exponential in n. Our main results show that if the
inequality 2|M| -- 2n $\le$ $\sqrt$ 1 + 8{\nu} -- 1 holds for a quadratic
fewnomial system -- where {\nu} is the matching number of a graph associated
with M, and |M| is the cardinality of M -- then there exists generically a
certificate of inconsistency of linear size (measured as the number of
coefficients in the ground field K). Moreover this certificate can be computed
within a polynomial number of arithmetic operations. Next, we evaluate how
often this inequality holds, and we give evidence that the probability that the
inequality is satisfied depends strongly on the number of squares. More
precisely, we show that if M is picked uniformly at random among the subsets of
n + k + 1 quadratic monomials containing at least $\Omega$(n 1/2+$\epsilon$)
squares, then the probability that the inequality holds tends to 1 as n grows.
Interestingly, this phenomenon is related with the matching number of random
graphs in the Erd{\"o}s-Renyi model. Finally, we provide experimental results
showing that certificates in inconsistency can be computed for systems with
more than 10000 variables and equations.


title: Radio Wave Propagation and the Provenance of Fast Radio Bursts

abstract:
  We analyze plasma dispersion and scattering of fast radio bursts (FRBs) to
identify the dominant locations of free electrons along their lines of sight
and thus constrain the distances of the burst sources themselves. We establish
the average $\tau$-DM relation for Galactic pulsars and use it as a benchmark
for discussing FRB scattering. Though scattering times $\tau$ for FRBs are
large in the majority of the 17 events we analyze, they are systematically
smaller than those of Galactic pulsars that have similar dispersion measures
(DMs). The lack of any correlation between $\tau$ and DM for FRBs suggests that
the intergalactic medium (IGM) cannot account for both $\tau$ and DM. We
therefore consider mixed models involving the IGM and host galaxies. If the IGM
contributes significantly to DM while host galaxies dominate $\tau$, the
scattering deficit with respect to the mean Galactic trend can be explained
with a $\tau$-DM relation in the host that matches that for the Milky Way.
However, it is possible that hosts dominate both $\tau$ and DM, in which case
the observed scattering deficits require free electrons in the host to be less
turbulent than in the Galaxy, such as if they are in hot rather than warm
ionized regions. Our results imply that distances or redshifts of FRB sources
can be significantly overestimated if they are based on the assumption that the
extragalactic portion of DM is dominated by the IGM.


title:
Nonlinear trend removal should be carefully performed in heart rate
  variability analysis

abstract:
  $\bullet$ Background : In Heart rate variability analysis, the rate-rate time
series suffer often from aperiodic non-stationarity, presence of ectopic beats
etc. It would be hard to extract helpful information from the original signals.
10 $\bullet$ Problem : Trend removal methods are commonly practiced to reduce
the influence of the low frequency and aperiodic non-stationary in RR data.
This can unfortunately affect the signal and make the analysis on detrended
data less appropriate. $\bullet$ Objective : Investigate the detrending effect
(linear \& nonlinear) in temporal / nonliear analysis of heart rate variability
of long-term RR data (in normal sinus rhythm, atrial fibrillation, 15
congestive heart failure and ventricular premature arrhythmia conditions).
$\bullet$ Methods : Temporal method : standard measure SDNN; Nonlinear methods
: multi-scale Fractal Dimension (FD), Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) \&
Sample Entropy (Sam-pEn) analysis. $\bullet$ Results : The linear detrending
affects little the global characteristics of the RR data, either 20 in temporal
analysis or in nonlinear complexity analysis. After linear detrending, the
SDNNs are just slightly shifted and all distributions are well preserved. The
cross-scale complexity remained almost the same as the ones for original RR
data or correlated. Nonlinear detrending changed not only the SDNNs
distribution, but also the order among different types of RR data. After this
processing, the SDNN became indistinguishable be-25 tween SDNN for normal sinus
rhythm and ventricular premature beats. Different RR data has different
complexity signature. Nonlinear detrending made the all RR data to be similar ,
in terms of complexity. It is thus impossible to distinguish them. The FD
showed that nonlinearly detrended RR data has a dimension close to 2, the
exponent from DFA is close to zero and SampEn is larger than 1.5 -- these
complexity values are very close to those for 30 random signal. $\bullet$
Conclusions : Pre-processing by linear detrending can be performed on RR data,
which has little influence on the corresponding analysis. Nonlinear detrending
could be harmful and it is not advisable to use this type of pre-processing.
Exceptions do exist, but only combined with other appropriate techniques to
avoid complete change of the signal's intrinsic dynamics. 35 Keywords $\bullet$
heart rate variability $\bullet$ linear / nonlinear detrending $\bullet$
complexity analysis $\bullet$ mul-tiscale analysis $\bullet$ detrended
fluctuation analysis $\bullet$ fractal dimension $\bullet$ sample entropy;


title:
Shear banding in nematogenic fluids with oscillating orientational
  dynamics

abstract:
  We investigate the occurrence of shear banding in nematogenic fluids under
planar Couette flow, based on mesoscopic dynamical equations for the
orientational order parameter and the shear stress. We focus on parameter
values where the sheared homogeneous system exhibits regular oscillatory
orientational dynamics, whereas the equilibrium system is either isotropic
(albeit close to the isotropic--nematic transition) or deep in its nematic
phase. The numerical calculations are restricted to spatial variations in shear
gradient direction. We find several new types of shear banded states
characterized by regions with regular oscillatory orientational dynamics. In
all cases shear banding is accompanied by a non--monotonicity of the flow curve
of the homogeneous system; however, only in the case of the initially isotropic
system this curve has the typical $S$--like shape. We also analyze the
influence of different orientational boundary conditions and of the spatial
correlation length.


title:
Jump Diffusion and {\alpha}-Stable Techniques for the Markov Switching
  Approach to Financial Time Series

abstract:
  We perform a detailed comparison between a Markov Switching Jump Diffusion
Model and a Markov Switching {\alpha}-Stable Distribution Model with respect to
the analysis of non-stationary data. We show that the jump diffusion model is
extremely robust, flexible and accurate in fitting of financial time series. A
thorough computational study involving the two models being applied to real
data, namely, the S&P500 index, is provided. The study shows that the
jump-diffusion model solves the over-smoothing issue stated in (Di Persio and
Frigo, 2016), while the {\alpha}-stable distribution approach is a good
compromise between computational effort and performance in the estimate of
implied volatility, which is a major problem widely underlined in the dedicated
literature.


title:
Twitter as a Lifeline: Human-annotated Twitter Corpora for NLP of
  Crisis-related Messages

abstract:
  Microblogging platforms such as Twitter provide active communication channels
during mass convergence and emergency events such as earthquakes, typhoons.
During the sudden onset of a crisis situation, affected people post useful
information on Twitter that can be used for situational awareness and other
humanitarian disaster response efforts, if processed timely and effectively.
Processing social media information pose multiple challenges such as parsing
noisy, brief and informal messages, learning information categories from the
incoming stream of messages and classifying them into different classes among
others. One of the basic necessities of many of these tasks is the availability
of data, in particular human-annotated data. In this paper, we present
human-annotated Twitter corpora collected during 19 different crises that took
place between 2013 and 2015. To demonstrate the utility of the annotations, we
train machine learning classifiers. Moreover, we publish first largest word2vec
word embeddings trained on 52 million crisis-related tweets. To deal with
tweets language issues, we present human-annotated normalized lexical resources
for different lexical variations.


title:
Minimal blow-up masses and existence of solutions for an asymmetric
  sinh-Poisson equation

abstract:
  For a sinh-Poisson type problem with asymmetric exponents of interest in
hydrodynamic turbulence, we establish the optimal lower bounds for the blow-up
masses. We apply this result to construct solutions of mountain pass type on
two-dimensional tori.


title:
Slip avalanches in metallic glasses and granular matter reveal universal
  dynamics

abstract:
  Universality in materials deformation is of intense interest: universal
scaling relations if exist would bridge the gap from microscopic deformation to
macroscopic response in a single material-independent fashion. While recent
agreement of the force statistics of deformed nanopillars, bulk metallic
glasses, and granular materials with mean-field predictions supports the idea
of universal scaling relations, here for the first time we demonstrate that the
universality extends beyond the statistics, and applies to the slip dynamics as
well. By rigorous comparison of two very different systems, bulk metallic
glasses and granular materials in terms of both the statistics and dynamics of
force fluctuations, we clearly establish a material-independent universal
regime of deformation. We experimentally verify the predicted universal scaling
function for the time evolution of individual avalanches, and show that both
the slip statistics and dynamics are universal, i.e. independent of the scale
and details of the material structure and interactions. These results are
important for transferring experimental results across scales and material
structures in a single theory of deformation.


title:
Extrinsic electromagnetic chirality in all-photodesigned one-dimensional
  THz metamaterials

abstract:
  We suggest that all-photodesigned metamaterials, sub-wavelength custom
patterns of photo-excited carriers on a semiconductor, can display an exotic
extrinsic electromagnetic chirality in terahertz (THz) frequency range. We
consider a photo-induced pattern exhibiting 1D geometrical chirality, i.e. its
mirror image can not be superposed onto itself by translations without
rotations and, in the long wavelength limit, we evaluate its bianisotropic
response. The photo-induced extrinsic chirality turns out to be fully
reconfigurable by recasting the optical illumination which supports the
photo-excited carriers. The all-photodesigning technique represents a feasible,
easy and powerful method for achieving effective matter functionalization and,
combined with the chiral asymmetry, it could be the platform for a new
generation of reconfigurable devices for THz wave polarization manipulation.


title:
Well-posed Bayesian inverse problems and heavy-tailed stable
  quasi-Banach space priors

abstract:
  This article extends the framework of Bayesian inverse problems in
infinite-dimensional parameter spaces, as advocated by Stuart (Acta Numer.
19:451--559, 2010) and others, to the case of a heavy-tailed prior measure in
the family of stable distributions, such as an infinite-dimensional Cauchy
distribution, for which polynomial moments are infinite or undefined. It is
shown that analogues of the Karhunen--Lo\`eve expansion for square-integrable
random variables can be used to sample such measures on quasi-Banach spaces.
Furthermore, under weaker regularity assumptions than those used to date, the
Bayesian posterior measure is shown to depend Lipschitz continuously in the
Hellinger metric upon perturbations of the misfit function and observed data.


title: Harmonic Bayesian prediction under alpha-divergence

abstract:
  We investigate Bayesian shrinkage methods for constructing predictive
distributions. We consider the multivariate Normal model with a known
covariance matrix and show that the Bayesian predictive density with respect to
Stein's harmonic prior dominates the best invariant Bayesian predictive
density, when the dimension is greater than three. Alpha-divergence from the
true distribution to a predictive distribution is adopted as a loss function.


title:
Is it $SU(2)_{\mathrm{L}}$ or just $U(1)_{\mathrm{Y}}$? $750$ GeV
  di-photon probes of the electroweak nature of new states

abstract:
  The existence of a 750 GeV di-photon spin-0 resonance $S$ would imply the
additional presence of new particles beyond the Standard Model, coupling
directly to $S$ and electromagnetically charged. For an $SU(2)_{\mathrm{L}}$
singlet $S$, we explore the possibility of probing the $SU(2)_{\mathrm{L}}$ and
$U(1)_{\mathrm{Y}}$ quantum numbers of the new states at the LHC by
measuring/constraining the $WW$, $Z\gamma$ and $ZZ$ decays of $S$. We obtain
robust prospects on the required LHC integrated luminosity to discover the new
decay modes of $S$, and discuss the implications of these measurements for
probing the electroweak nature of the new states. We also discuss the impact of
$S$ mixing with the SM Higgs in such probes.


title:
Two Quasi Orthogonal Space-Time Block Codes with Better Performance and
  Low Complexity Decoder

abstract:
  This paper presents two new space time block codes (STBCs) with quasi
orthogonal structure for an open loop multi-input single-output (MISO) systems.
These two codes have been designed to transmit from three or four antennas at
the transmitter and be given to one antenna at the receiver. First, the
proposed codes are introduced and their structures are investigated. This is
followed by the demonstration of how the decoder decodes half of transmitted
symbols independent of the other half. The last part of this paper discusses
the simulation results, makes performance comparison against other popular
approaches and concludes that the proposed solutions offer superiority.


title: Bound state eigenfunctions need to vanish faster than $|x|^{-3/2}$

abstract:
  In quantum mechanics students are taught to practice that eigenfunction of a
physical bound state must be continuous and vanishing asymptotically so that it
is normalizable in $x\in (-\infty, \infty)$. Here we caution that such states
may also give rise to infinite uncertainty in position $(\Delta x=\infty)$,
whereas $\Delta p$ remains finite. Such states may be called loosely bound and
spatially extended states that may be avoided by an additional condition that
the eigenfunction vanishes asymptotically faster than $|x|^{-3/2}$.


title:
Robust two-dimensional superconductivity and vortex system in
  Bi2Te3/FeTe heterostructures

abstract:
  The discovery of two-dimensional superconductivity in Bi2Te3/FeTe
heterostructure provides a new platform for the search of Majorana fermions in
condensed matter systems. Since Majorana fermions are expected to reside at the
core of the vortices, a close examination of the vortex dynamics in
superconducting interface is of paramount importance. Here, we report the
robustness of the interfacial superconductivity and 2D vortex dynamics in four
as-grown and aged Bi2Te3/FeTe heterostructure with different Bi2Te3 epilayer
thickness (3, 5, 7, 14 nm). After two years' air exposure, superconductivity
remains robust even when the thickness of Bi2Te3 epilayer is down to 3 nm.
Meanwhile, a new feature at ~13 K is induced in the aged samples, and the high
field studies reveal its relevance to superconductivity. The resistance of all
as-grown and aged heterostructures, just below the superconducting transition
temperature follows the Arrhenius relation, indicating the thermally activated
flux flow behavior at the interface of Bi2Te3 and FeTe. Moreover, the
activation energy exhibits a logarithmic dependence on the magnetic field,
providing a compelling evidence for the 2D vortex dynamics in this novel
system. The weak disorder associated with aging-induced Te vacancies is
possibly responsible for these observed phenomena.


title: Re-ranking Object Proposals for Object Detection in Automatic Driving

abstract:
  Object detection often suffers from a plenty of bootless proposals, selecting
high quality proposals remains a great challenge. In this paper, we propose a
semantic, class-specific approach to re-rank object proposals, which can
consistently improve the recall performance even with less proposals. We first
extract features for each proposal including semantic segmentation, stereo
information, contextual information, CNN-based objectness and low-level cue,
and then score them using class-specific weights learnt by Structured SVM. The
advantages of the proposed model are twofold: 1) it can be easily merged to
existing generators with few computational costs, and 2) it can achieve high
recall rate uner strict critical even using less proposals. Experimental
evaluation on the KITTI benchmark demonstrates that our approach significantly
improves existing popular generators on recall performance. Moreover, in the
experiment conducted for object detection, even with 1,500 proposals, our
approach can still have higher average precision (AP) than baselines with 5,000
proposals.


title: New neutron-deficient isotopes from $^{78}$Kr fragmentation

abstract:
  In an experiment with the BigRIPS separator at the RIKEN Nishina Center, the
fragmentation of a $^{78}$Kr beam allowed the observation of new
neutron-deficient isotopes at the proton drip-line. Clean identification
spectra could be produced and $^{63}$Se, $^{67}$Kr, and $^{68}$Kr were
identified for the first time. In addition, $^{59}$Ge was also observed. Three
of these isotopes, $^{59}$Ge, $^{63}$Se, and $^{67}$Kr, are potential
candidates for ground-state two-proton radioactivity. In addition, the isotopes
$^{58}$Ge, $^{62}$Se, and $^{66}$Kr were also sought but without success. The
present experiment also allowed the determination of production cross sections
for some of the most exotic isotopes. These measurements confirm the trend
already observed that the empirical parameterization of fragmentation cross
sections, EPAX, significantly overestimates experimental cross sections in this
mass region.


title:
Automatic TM Cleaning through MT and POS Tagging: Autodesk's Submission
  to the NLP4TM 2016 Shared Task

abstract:
  We describe a machine learning based method to identify incorrect entries in
translation memories. It extends previous work by Barbu (2015) through
incorporating recall-based machine translation and part-of-speech-tagging
features. Our system ranked first in the Binary Classification (II) task for
two out of three language pairs: English-Italian and English-Spanish.