title:
Quantum State Reduction by Matter-Phase-Related Measurements in Optical
  Lattices

abstract:
  A many-body atomic system coupled to quantized light is subject to weak
measurement. Instead of coupling light to the on-site density, we consider the
quantum backaction due to the measurement of matter-phase-related variables
such as global phase coherence. We show how this unconventional approach opens
up new opportunities to affect system evolution and demonstrate how this can
lead to a new class of measurement projections, thus extending the measurement
postulate for the case of strong competition with the system's own evolution.


title:
Role of Strain on the Coherent Properties of GaAs Excitons and
  Biexcitons

abstract:
  Polarization-dependent two-dimensional Fourier-transform spectroscopy (2DFTS)
is performed on excitons in strained bulk GaAs layers probing the coherent
response for differing amounts of strain. Biaxial tensile strain lifts the
degeneracy of heavy-hole (HH) and light-hole (LH) valence states, leading to an
observed splitting of the associated excitons at low temperature. Increasing
the strain increases the magnitude of the HH/LH exciton peak splitting, induces
an asymmetry in the off-diagonal coherences, increases the difference in the HH
and LH exciton homogenous linewidths, and increases the inhomogeneous
broadening of both exciton species. All results arise from strain-induced
variations in the local electronic environment, which is not uniform along the
growth direction of the thin layers. For cross-linear polarized excitation,
wherein excitonic signals give way to biexcitonic signals, the high-strain
sample shows evidence of bound LH, HH, and mixed biexcitons.


title:
Natural generalization of the ground-state Slater determinant to more
  than one dimension

abstract:
  The basic question is addressed, how the space dimension $d$ is encoded in
the Hilbert space of $N$ identical fermions. There appears a finite number
$N!^{d-1}$ of many-body wave functions, called shapes, which cannot be
generated by trivial combinatorial extension of the one-dimensional ones. A
general algorithm is given to list them all in terms of standard Slater
determinants. Conversely, excitations which can be induced from the
one-dimensional case are bosonised into a system of distinguishable bosons,
called Euler bosons, much like the electromagnetic field is quantized in terms
of photons distinguishable by their wave numbers. Their wave functions are
given explicitly in terms of elementary symmetric functions, reflecting the
fact that the fermion sign problem is trivial in one dimension. The shapes act
as vacua for the Euler bosons. They are the natural generalization of the
single-Slater-determinant form for the ground state to more than one dimension.
In terms of algebraic invariant theory, the shapes are antisymmetric invariants
which finitely generate the $N$-fermion Hilbert space as a graded algebra over
the ring of symmetric polynomials. Analogous results hold for identical bosons.


title: Coxeter Groups and Abstract Elementary Classes: The Right-Angled Case

abstract:
  We study classes of right-angled Coxeter groups with respect to the strong
submodel relation of parabolic subgroup. We show that the class of all
right-angled Coxeter group is not smooth, and establish some general
combinatorial criteria for such classes to be abstract elementary classes, for
them to be finitary, and for them to be tame. We further prove two
combinatorial conditions ensuring the strong rigidity of a right-angled Coxeter
group of arbitrary rank. The combination of these results translate into a
machinery to build concrete examples of $\mathrm{AECs}$ satisfying given
model-theoretic properties. We exhibit the power of our method constructing
three concrete examples of finitary classes. We show that the first and third
class are non-homogeneous, and that the last two are tame, uncountably
categorical and axiomatizable by a single $L_{\omega_{1}, \omega}$-sentence. We
also observe that the isomorphism relation of any countable complete
first-order theory is $\kappa$-Borel reducible (in the sense of generalized
descriptive set theory) to the isomorphism relation of the theory of
right-angled Coxeter groups whose Coxeter graph is an infinite random graph.


title: A study in blood at pinch

abstract:
  The complex fluidic nature of blood, though necessary to serve different
physiological purposes, gives rise to daunting challenges in developing unified
conceptual paradigm describing the underlying physics of blood at pinch, which
may otherwise be essential for understanding various bio-technological
processes demanding precise and efficient handling of blood samples.
Intuitively, a blood-drop may be formed simply by dripping. However, the
pinch-off dynamics leading to blood-drop-breakup is elusively more complex than
what may be portrayed by any unique model depicting the underlying
morpho-dynamics, as our study reveals. With blood samples, here we observe two
distinctive modes of the breakup process. One mode corresponds to incessant
collapsing of a liquid-neck, while in other mode formation and thinning of an
extended long thread leads to the breakup and drop formation. We further show
that these modes are respectively described by power law and exponential law
based universal scaling dynamics, depicting the temporal evolution of the neck
thickness of the blood filament. Our results are likely to bear far-reaching
consequences in diverse applications, ranging from forensic sciences to droplet
based microfluidic technology.


title: A note on superposition of two unknown states using Deutsch CTC model

abstract:
  In a recent work, authors prove a yet another no-go theorem that forbids the
existence of a universal probabilistic quantum protocol producing a
superposition of two unknown quantum states. In this short note, we show that
in the presence of closed time like curves, one can indeed create superposition
of unknown quantum states and evade the no-go result.


title:
Resistive Switching Characteristics of Al/Si3N4/p-Si MIS-Based Resistive
  Switching Memory Devices

abstract:
  In this study, we proposed and demonstrated a self-rectifying property of
silicon nitride (Si3N4)-based resistive random access memory device by
employing p-type silicon (p-Si) as bottom electrode. The RRAM devices consisted
of Al/Si3N4/p-Si are fabricated by a low presure chemical vapor deposition and
exhibited an intrinsic diode property with non-linear current-voltage (I-V)
behavior. In addition, compared to conventional metal/insulator/metal (MIM)
structure of Al/Si3N4/Ti RRAM cells, operating current in whole bias regions
for proposed metal/insulator/semiconductor (MIS) cells has been dramatically
lowered because introduced p-Si bottom electrode efficiently suppresses the
current in both low and high resistive states. As a result, the results mean
that by employing p-Si as bottom electrode the Si3N4-based RRAM cells can be
applied to selector-free RRAM cells.


title:
Studies of the Lennard-Jones fluid in 2, 3, and 4 dimensions highlight
  the need for a liquid-state 1/d expansion

abstract:
  The recent theoretical prediction by Maimbourg and Kurchan [arXiv:1603.05023]
that for regular pair-potential systems the virial potential-energy correlation
coefficient increases towards unity as the dimension $d$ goes to infinity is
investigated for the standard 12-6 Lennard-Jones fluid. This is done by
computer simulations for $d=2,3,4$ going from the critical point along the
critical isotherm/isochore to higher density/temperature. In all cases the
virial potential-energy correlation coefficient increases significantly. For a
given density and temperature relative to the critical point, with increasing
number of dimension the Lennard-Jones system conforms better to the
hidden-scale-invariance property characterized by high virial potential-energy
correlations (a property that leads to the existence of isomorphs in the
thermodynamic phase diagram, implying that it becomes effectively
one-dimensional in regard to structure and dynamics). The present paper also
gives the first numerical demonstration of isomorph invariance of structure and
dynamics in four dimensions. Our findings emphasize the need for a universally
applicable $1/d$ expansion in liquid-state theory; we conjecture that the
systems known to obey hidden scale invariance in three dimensions are those for
which the yet-to-be-developed $1/d$ expansion converges rapidly.


title: Dominant chiral optical forces in vicinity of optical nanofibers

abstract:
  Transverse spin angular momentum (SAM) of light and associated transverse
chiral optical forces have received tremendous attention recently as the latter
may lead to an optical separation of chiral biomolecules. In this context, the
relative magnitude of chiral and non-chiral forces represents a challenge for
the implementation of chiral separation schemes. In this work we demonstrate
that, by spatially separating the maxima of transverse spin density from the
gradient of field intensity, it is possible to dominate chiral-specific
components of the force over non-chiral ones. To that end, we study optical
nanofibers and nanowires as a candidate for such scheme and demonstrate that in
their vicinity, chiral optical forces can emerge that are stronger than
gradient and scattering forces. This finding may be of significance in the
design of improved optical separation schemes for chiral biomolecules.


title:
Multifractal analysis of three-dimensional grayscale images:
  Characterization of natural porous structures

abstract:
  A multifractal analysis (MFA) is performed on three-dimensional grayscale
images associated with natural porous structures (soil samples). First,
computed tomography (CT) scans are carried out on the samples to generate 3D
grayscale images. Then, a preliminary analysis is conducted to evaluate key
quantities associated with the porosity, such as void fraction, pore volume,
connectivity, and surface area. Finally, the samples are successfully
identified and separated into two different structure families by using the
MFA. A new software (Munari) to carry out the MFA of 3D grayscale images is
also presented.


title:
Topological dynamics of Zadeh's extension on the space of upper
  semi-continuous fuzzy sets

abstract:
  In this paper, some characterizations about transitivity, mildly mixing
property, $\mathbf{a}$-transitivity, equicontinuity, uniform rigidity and
proximality of Zadeh's extensions restricted on some invariant closed subsets
of the space of all upper semi-continuous fuzzy sets with the level-wise metric
are obtained. In particular, it is proved that a dynamical system is weakly
mixing (resp., mildly mixing, weakly mixing and $\mathbf{a}$-transitive,
equicontinuous, uniformly rigid) if and only if the Zadeh's extension is
transitive (resp., mildly mixing, $\mathbf{a}$-transitive, equicontinuous,
uniformly rigid).


title:
Commutative deformations of general relativity: nonlocality, causality,
  and dark matter

abstract:
  Hopf algebra methods are applied to study Drinfeld twists of
(3+1)-diffeomorphisms and deformed general relativity on \emph{commutative}
manifolds. A classical nonlocality length scale is produced above which
microcausality emerges. Matter fields are utilized to generate self-consistent
Abelian Drinfeld twists in a background independent manner and their continuous
and discrete symmetries are examined. There is negligible experimental effect
on the standard model of particles. While baryonic twist producing matter would
begin to behave acausally for rest masses above $\sim1-10$ TeV, other
possibilities are viable dark matter candidates or a right handed neutrino.
First order deformed Maxwell equations are derived and yield immeasurably small
cosmological dispersion and produce a propagation horizon only for photons at
or above Planck energies. This model incorporates dark matter without any
appeal to extra dimensions, supersymmetry, strings, grand unified theories,
mirror worlds, or modifications of Newtonian dynamics.


title:
Multiplicity density at mid-rapidity in $AA$ collisions: effect of meson
  cloud

abstract:
  We study the influence of the meson cloud of the nucleon on predictions of
the Monte Carlo Glauber model for the charged particle multiplicity density at
mid-rapidity in $AA$ collisions. We find that for central $AA$ collisions the
meson cloud can increase the multiplicity density by $\sim 16-18$\%. The
meson-baryon Fock component reduces the required fraction of the binary
collisions by a factor of $\sim 2$ for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s}=0.2$ TeV
and $\sim 1.5$ for Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s}=2.76$ TeV.


title:
What is the effect of synergy in international collaboration on regional
  economies?

abstract:
  We analyze the effects of relative increments of mutual information among the
geographical, technological, and organizational distributions of firms on the
relative augmentation of regional summary turnover in terms of synergies. How
do increases in synergy in international cooperation affect regional turnover?
The methodological contribution of this study is that we translate the synergy
(abstractly measured in bits of information) into more familiar economic terms,
such as turnover for the special case of domestic-foreign collaborations. The
analysis is based on Norwegian data, as Norway is a small country with an open
and export-oriented economy. Data for Norway is publicly available in great
detail.


title:
Resistive Switching Phenomena of HfO2 Films Grown by MOCVD for Resistive
  Switching Memory Devices

abstract:
  The resistive switching phenomena of HfO2 films grown by metalorganic
chemical vapor deposition was studied for the application of ReRAM devices. In
the fabricated Pt/HfO2/TiN memory cells, the bipolar resistive switching
characteristics were observed, and the set and reset states were measured to be
as low as 7 uA and 4 uA, respectively, at VREAD = 1 V. Regarding the resistive
switching performance, the stable RS performance was observed under 40
repetitive dc cycling test with the small variations of set/reset voltages and
currents, and good retention characteristics over 105 s in both LRS and HRS.
These results show the possibility of MOCVD grown HfO2 films as a promising
resistive switching materials for ReRAM applications.


title:
BeatBox - HPC Simulation Environment for Biophysically and Anatomically
  Realistic Cardiac Electrophysiology

abstract:
  The BeatBox simulation environment combines flexible script language user
interface with the robust computational tools, in order to setup cardiac
electrophysiology in-silico experiments without re-coding at low-level, so that
cell excitation, tissue/anatomy models, stimulation protocols may be included
into a BeatBox script, and simulation run either sequentially or in parallel
(MPI) without re-compilation. BeatBox is a free software written in C language
to be run on a Unix-based platform. It provides the whole spectrum of multi
scale tissue modelling from 0-dimensional individual cell simulation,
1-dimensional fibre, 2-dimensional sheet and 3-dimensional slab of tissue, up
to anatomically realistic whole heart simulations, with run time measurements
including cardiac re-entry tip/filament tracing, ECG, local/global samples of
any variables, etc. BeatBox solvers, cell, and tissue/anatomy models
repositories are extended via robust and flexible interfaces, thus providing an
open framework for new developments in the field. In this paper we give an
overview of the BeatBox current state, together with a description of the main
computational methods and MPI parallelisation approaches.


title:
Application of the theory of excitons to study of the positronium in
  matter. Optical transition during positronium formation in matter

abstract:
  Considerable similarity between positronium atom and an exciton in a quantum
dot is indicated. Following this, we apply the calculation regime from the
theory of excitons to describe some aspects of formation of a positronium in
matter. We consider the possibility of photonic deexcitation during Ps
formation and show the way of calculation of its probability. The photonic
transitions speculated here, if detected, allows improving experimental studies
of solid matter with positron techniques.


title: Isometry Structures on Vector Bundles

abstract:
  In this paper, we prove that total space of every vector bundle with the base
manifold on which the canonical isometric action acts freely, also carries a
principal bundle structure. We also obtain another principal bundle based on
the total space of given vector bundle.


title:
Poincare--Riemann--Hilbert boundary-value problem for The Millennium
  Prize Problems

abstract:
  Using the example of a complicated problem such as the Cauchy problem for the
Navier--Stokes equation, we show how the Poincar\'e--Riemann--Hilbert
boundary-value problem enables us to construct effective estimates of solutions
for this case. The apparatus of the three-dimensional inverse problem of
quantum scattering theory is developed for this. It is shown that the unitary
scattering operator can be studied as a solution of the
Poincar\'e--Riemann--Hilbert boundary-value problem. The same scheme of
reduction of Riemann integral equations for the zeta function to the
Poincar\'e--Riemann--Hilbert boundary-value problem allows us to construct
effective estimates that describe the behaviour of the zeros of the zeta
function very well.


title:
Electric-field tunable spin diode FMR in patterned PMN-PT/NiFe
  structures

abstract:
  Dynamic properties of NiFe thin films on PMN-PT piezoelectric substrate are
investigated using the spin-diode method. Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra
of microstrips with varying width are measured as a function of magnetic field
and frequency. The FMR frequency is shown to depend on the electric field
applied across the substrate, which induces strain in the NiFe layer. Electric
field tunability of up to 100 MHz per 1 kV/cm is achieved. An analytical model
based on total energy minimization and the LLG equation, with magnetostriction
effect taken into account, is developed to explain the measured dynamics. Based
on this model, conditions for strong electric-field tunable spin diode FMR in
patterned NiFe/PMN-PT structures are derived.


title:
Spectrum Resource Management and Interference Mitigation for D2D
  Communications with Awareness of BER Constraint in mmWave 5G Underlay Network

abstract:
  The work presented in this paper deals with the issue of massive demands for
higher capacity. For that matter, we investigate the spectrum resource
management in outdoor mmWave cell for the uplink of cellular and D2D
communications. Indeed, we provide a first insight how to optimize the system
performance in terms of achievable throughput while realizing a compromise
between the large number of admitted devices and the generated interference
constraint. We propose a mathematical formulation of the optimization objective
which falls in the mixed integer-real optimization scheme. To overcome its
complexity, we apply a heuristic algorithm and test its efficiency through
simulation results with a particular regard to the BER impact in the QoS.


title:
A Study on the Expanding Universe Based on a Model of the Time Variation
  of its Matter Content in the Framework of Brans-Dicke Theory

abstract:
  A theoretical model of cosmic expansion has been formulated on an assumption
of inter-conversion of matter and dark energy, in the framework of Brans-Dicke
theory. An empirical scale factor has been used, which generates a signature
flip of the deceleration parameter with time. To account for the
non-conservation of matter, a function of time f(t) is incorporated into the
equation representing the density of matter. Its value at any instant of time
is proportional to the matter content of the universe. The functional form of
f(t) has been determined from the field equations by using an empirical scalar
field parameter expressed in terms of the scale factor. It is found to decrease
with time almost monotonically, implying a conversion of matter into dark
energy. Using this function f(t), the time variation of the density of matter
has been determined and also the expressions regarding the proportions of
matter and dark energy of the universe have been formulated. Time variation of
gravitational constant, its fractional rate of change and the Brans-Dicke
dimensionless parameter has been analyzed. The dependence of Brans-Dicke
parameter upon the scalar field has been determined. The present study enables
us to correlate the change of matter content with the change of deceleration
parameter and gravitational constant without using any specific mechanism of
interaction between matter and scalar field.


title: Quantum nonlocality, and the end of classical space-time

abstract:
  Quantum non-local correlations and the acausal, spooky action at a distance
suggest a discord between quantum theory and special relativity. We propose a
resolution for this discord by first observing that there is a problem of time
in quantum theory. There should exist a reformulation of quantum theory which
does not refer to classical time. Such a reformulation is obtained by
suggesting that space-time is fundamentally non-commutative. Quantum theory
without classical time is the equilibrium statistical thermodynamics of the
underlying non-commutative relativity. Stochastic fluctuations about
equilibrium give rise to the classical limit and ordinary space-time geometry.
However, measurement on an entangled state can be correctly described only in
the underlying non-commutative space-time, where there is no causality
violation, nor a spooky action at a distance.


title: Frobenius reciprocity and the Haagerup tensor product

abstract:
  In the context of operator-space modules over C*-algebras, we give a complete
characterisation of those C*-correspondences whose associated Haagerup tensor
product functors admit left adjoints. The characterisation, which builds on
previous joint work with N. Higson, exhibits a close connection between the
notions of adjoint operators and adjoint functors. As an application, we prove
a Frobenius reciprocity theorem for representations of locally compact groups
on operator spaces: the functor of unitary induction for a closed subgroup H of
a locally compact group G admits a left adjoint in this setting if and only if
H is cocompact in G. The adjoint functor is given by Haagerup tensor product
with the operator-theoretic adjoint of Rieffel's induction bimodule.


title: Stochastic Levy Differential Operators and Yang-Mills Equations

abstract:
  The relationship between the Yang-Mills equations and the stochastic analogue
of Levy differential operators is studied. The value of the stochastic Levy
Laplacian is found by means of Cesaro averaging of directional derivatives on
the stochastic parallel transport. It is shown that the Yang-Mills equations
and the Levy-Laplace equation for such Laplacian are not equivalent as in the
deterministic case. An equation equivalent to the Yang-Mills equations is
obtained. The equation contains the stochastic Levy divergence. It is proved
that the Yang-Mills action functional can be represented as an
infinite-dimensional analogue of the Direchlet functional of chiral field. This
analogue is also derived using Cesaro averaging.


title: Bayesian Spatial Monotonic Multiple Regression

abstract:
  We consider monotonic, multiple regression for a set of contiguous regions
(lattice data). The regression functions permissibly vary between regions and
exhibit geographical structure. We develop new Bayesian non-parametric
methodology which allows for both continuous and discontinuous functional
shapes and which are estimated using marked point processes and reversible jump
Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques. Geographical dependency is incorporated by
a flexible prior distribution; the parametrisation allows the dependency to
vary with functional level. The approach is tuned using Bayesian global
optimization and cross-validation. Estimates enable variable selection,
threshold detection and prediction as well as the extrapolation of the
regression function. Performance and flexibility of our approach is illustrated
by simulation studies and an application to a Norwegian insurance data set.


title:
Collapsing objects with the same gravitational trajectory can radiate
  away different amount of energy

abstract:
  We study radiation emitted during the gravitational collapse from two
different types of shells. We assume that one shell is made of dark matter and
is completely transparent to the test scalar (for simplicity) field which
belongs to the standard model, while the other shell is made of the standard
model particles and is totally reflecting to the scalar field. These two shells
have exactly the same mass, charge and angular momentum (though we set the
charge and angular momentum to zero), and therefore follow the same geodesic
trajectory. However, we demonstrate that they radiate away different amount of
energy during the collapse. This difference can in principle be used by an
asymptotic observer to reconstruct the physical properties of the initial
collapsing object other than mass, charge and angular momentum. This result has
implications for the information paradox and expands the list of the type of
information which can be released from a collapsing object.


title: Polynomial functions on upper triangular matrix algebras

abstract:
  There are two kinds of polynomial functions on matrix algebras over
commutative rings: those induced by polynomials with coefficients in the
algebra itself and those induced by polynomials with scalar coefficients. In
the case of algebras of upper triangular matrices over a commutative ring, we
characterize the former in terms of the latter (which are easier to handle
because of substitution homomorphism). We conclude that the set of
integer-valued polynomials with matrix coefficients on an algebra of upper
triangular matrices is a ring, and that the set of null-polynomials with matrix
coefficients on an algebra of upper triangular matrices is an ideal.


title: An Interacting Dark Energy Model with Nonminimal Derivative Coupling

abstract:
  We study cosmological dynamics of an extended gravitational theory that
gravity is coupled non-minimally with derivatives of a dark energy component
and there is also a phenomenological interaction between the dark energy and
dark matter. Depending on the direction of energy flow between the dark
sectors, the phenomenological interaction gets two different signs. We show
that this feature affects the existence of attractor solution, the rate of
growth of perturbations and stability of the solutions. By considering an
exponential potential as a self-interaction potential of the scalar field, we
obtain accelerated scaling solutions that are attractors and have the potential
to alleviate the coincidence problem. While in the absence of the nonminimal
derivative coupling there is no attractor solution for phantom field when
energy transfers from dark matter to dark energy, we show an attractor solution
exists if one considers an explicit nonminimal derivative coupling for phantom
field in this case of energy transfer. We treat the cosmological perturbations
in this setup with details to show that with phenomenological interaction,
perturbations can grow faster than the minimal case.\\ {\bf Keywords}:
Dynamical Systems; Dark Energy; Dark Matter; Non-Minimal Derivative Coupling,
Statefinder Diagnostic, Cosmological Perturbations.


title: Non-zero $\theta_{13}$ and leptonic CP phase with $A_4$ Symmetry

abstract:
  We consider a model based on $A_4$ symmetry to explain the phenomenon of
neutrino mixing. The spontaneous symmetry breaking of $A_4$ symmetry leads to a
co-bimaximal mixing matrix at leading order. We consider the effect of higher
order corrections in neutrino sector and find that the mixing angles thus
obtained, come well within the $3\sigma$ ranges of their experimental values.
We study the implications of this formalism on the other phenomenological
observables, such as CP violating phase, Jarlskog invariant and the effective
Majorana mass $|M_{ee}|$. We also obtain the branching ratio of the lepton
flavour violating decay $\mu\rightarrow e \gamma$ in the context of this model
and find that it can be less than its present experimental upper bound.


title: Fluctuation of density of states for 1d Schr\"odinger operators

abstract:
  We consider the 1d Schr\"odinger operator with random decaying potential and
compute the 2nd term asymptotics of the density of states, which shows
substantial differences between the cases $\alpha > \frac 12$, $\alpha < \frac
12$ and $\alpha = \frac 12$.


title:
Three-dimensional distribution of hydrogen fluoride gas toward NGC6334 I
  and I(N)

abstract:
  Aims. We investigate the spatial distribution of a collection of absorbing
gas clouds, some associated with the dense, massive star-forming core NGC6334
I, and others with diffuse foreground clouds. For the former category, we aim
to study the dynamical properties of the clouds in order to assess their
potential to feed the accreting protostellar cores.
  Methods. We use spectral imaging from the Herschel SPIRE iFTS to construct a
map of HF absorption at 243 micron in a 6x3.5 arcmin region surrounding NGC6334
I and I(N).
  Results. The combination of new, spatially fully sampled, but spectrally
unresolved mapping with a previous, single-pointing, spectrally resolved HF
signature yields a 3D picture of absorbing gas clouds in the direction of
NGC6334. Toward core I, the HF equivalent width matches that of the spectrally
resolved observation. The distribution of HF absorption is consistent with
three of the seven components being associated with this dense star-forming
envelope. For two of the remaining four components, our data suggest that these
clouds are spatially associated with the larger scale filamentary star-forming
complex. Our data also implies a lack of gas phase HF in the envelope of core
I(N). Using a simple description of adsorption onto and desorption from dust
grain surfaces, we show that the overall lower temperature of the envelope of
source I(N) is consistent with freeze-out of HF, while it remains in the gas
phase in source I.
  Conclusions. We use the HF molecule as a tracer of column density in diffuse
gas (n(H) ~ 10^2 - 10^3 cm^-3), and find that it may uniquely trace a
relatively low density portion of the gas reservoir available for star
formation that otherwise escapes detection. At higher densities prevailing in
protostellar envelopes (>10^4 cm^-3), we find evidence of HF depletion from the
gas phase under sufficiently cold conditions.


title:
Characterization of aromaticity in analogues of titan's atmospheric
  aerosols with two-step laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry

abstract:
  The role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and Nitrogen containing
PAH (PANH) as intermediates of aerosol production in the atmosphere of Titan
has been a subject of controversy for a long time. An analysis of the
atmospheric emission band observed by the Visible and Infrared Mapping
Spectrometer (VIMS) at 3.28 micrometer suggests the presence of neutral
polycyclic aromatic species in the upper atmosphere of Titan. These molecules
are seen as the counter part of negative and positive aromatics ions suspected
by the Plasma Spectrometer onboard the Cassini spacecraft, but the low
resolution of the instrument hinders any molecular speciation.
  In this work we investigate the specific aromatic content of Titan's
atmospheric aerosols through laboratory simulations. We report here the
selective detection of aromatic compounds in tholins, Titan's aerosol
analogues, produced with a capacitively coupled plasma in a N2:CH4 95:5 gas
mixture. For this purpose, Two-Step Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight
Mass Spectrometry (L2DI-TOF-MS) technique is used to analyze the so produced
analogues. This analytical technique is based on the ionization of molecules by
Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization (REMPI) using a {\lambda}=248 nm
wavelength laser which is selective for aromatic species. This allows for the
selective identification of compounds having at least one aromatic ring. Our
experiments show that tholins contain a trace amount of small PAHs with one to
three aromatic rings. Nitrogen containing PAHs (PANHs) are also detected as
constituents of tholins. Molecules relevant to astrobiology are detected as is
the case of the substituted DNA base adenine.


title: A non-restricted counterexample to the first Kac-Weisfeiler conjecture

abstract:
  In 1971 Kac and Weisfeiler made two important conjectures regarding the
representation theory of restricted Lie algebras over fields of positive
characteristic. The first of these predicts the maximal dimension of the simple
modules, and can be stated without the hypothesis that the Lie algebra is
restricted. In this short article we construct the first example of a
non-restricted Lie algebra for which the prediction of the first
Kac--Weisfeiler conjecture fails. Our method is to present pairs of Lie
algebras which have isomorphic enveloping algebras but distinct indexes.


title:
$q$-Araki-Woods algebras: extension of second quantisation and Haagerup
  approximation property

abstract:
  We extend the class of contractions for which the second quantisation on
$q$-Araki-Woods algebras can be defined. As a corollary, we prove that all
$q$-Araki-Woods algebras possess the Haagerup approximation property.


title:
Search for scalar leptoquarks in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV
  with the ATLAS experiment

abstract:
  An inclusive search for a new-physics signature of lepton-jet resonances has
been performed by the ATLAS experiment. Scalar leptoquarks, pair-produced in
$pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider, have been
considered. An integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$, corresponding to the
full 2015 dataset was used. First (second) generation leptoquarks were sought
in events with two electrons (muons) and two or more jets. The observed event
yield in each channel is consistent with Standard Model background
expectations. The observed (expected) lower limits on the leptoquark mass at
95% confidence level are 1100 GeV and 1050 GeV (1160 GeV and 1040 GeV) for
first and second generation leptoquarks, respectively, assuming a branching
ratio into a charged lepton and a quark of 100%. Upper limits on the
aforementioned branching ratio are also given as a function of leptoquark mass.
Compared with the results of earlier ATLAS searches, the sensitivity is
increased for leptoquark masses above 860 GeV, and the observed exclusion
limits confirm and extend the published results.


title:
Rotating Particle in the Near Field of the Surface at Arbitrary
  Direction of Angular Velocity Vector

abstract:
  We study the fluctuation-electromagnetic interaction between a small rotating
particle with an arbitrary direction of angular velocity vector and evanescent
field of the heated surface, and obtain the general expressions for the force
of attraction, rate of heating and components of torque. The particle rotation
dynamics is analyzed. It is shown that during most time of motion the particle
slows down provided that a quasiequilibrium thermal state has been reached,
while at any initial direction of the angular velocity vector it tends to
orient perpendicular to the surface with spin direction depending on the
initial conditions. Moreover, the angular velocity vector executes precessional
motion around surface normal.


title:
Proof of a Limited Version of Mao's Partition Rank Inequality using a
  Theta Function Identity

abstract:
  Ramanujan's congruence $p(5k+4) \equiv 0 \pmod 5$ led Dyson \cite{dyson} to
conjecture the existence of a measure "rank" such that $p(5k+4)$ partitions of
$5k+4$ could be divided into sub-classes with equal cardinality to give a
direct proof of Ramanujan's congruence. The notion of rank was extended to rank
differences by Atkin and Swinnerton-Dyer \cite{atkin}, who proved Dyson's
conjecture. More recently, Mao proved several equalities and inequalities,
leaving some as conjectures, for rank differences for partitions modulo 10
\cite{mao10} and for $M_2$ rank differences for partitions with no repeated odd
parts modulo $6$ and $10$ \cite{maom2}. Alwaise et. al. proved four of Mao's
conjectured inequalities \cite{swisher}, while leaving three open. Here, we
prove a limited version of one of the inequalities conjectured by Mao.


title: Plasmon-assisted photoresponse in Ge-coated bowtie nanojunctions

abstract:
  We demonstrate plasmon-enhanced photoconduction in Au bowtie nanojunctions
containing nanogaps overlaid with an amorphous Ge film. The role of plasmons in
the production of nanogap photocurrent is verified by studying the unusual
polarization dependence of the photoresponse. With increasing Ge thickness, the
nanogap polarization of the photoresponse rotates 90 degrees, indicating a
change in the dominant relevant plasmon mode, from the resonant transverse
plasmon at low thicknesses to the nonresonant "lightning rod" mode at higher
thicknesses. To understand the plasmon response in the presence of the Ge
overlayer and whether the Ge degrades the Au plasmonic properties, we
investigate the photothermal response (from the temperature-dependent Au
resistivity) in no-gap nanowire structures, as a function of Ge film thickness
and nanowire geometry. The film thickness and geometry dependence are modeled
using a cross-sectional, finite element simulation. The no-gap structures and
the modeling confirm that the striking change in nanogap polarization response
results from redshifting of the resonant transverse mode, rather than
degradation in the Au/Ge properties. We note remaining challenges in
determining the precise mechanism of photocurrent production in the nanogap
structures.


title:
Functional renormalization group approach to the Yang-Lee edge
  singularity

abstract:
  We determine the scaling properties of the Yang-Lee edge singularity as
described by a one-component scalar field theory with imaginary cubic coupling,
using the nonperturbative functional renormalization group in $3 \leq d\leq 6$
Euclidean dimensions. We find very good agreement with high-temperature series
data in $d = 3$ dimensions and compare our results to recent estimates of
critical exponents obtained with the four-loop $\epsilon = 6-d$ expansion and
the conformal bootstrap. The relevance of operator insertions at the
corresponding fixed point of the RG $\beta$ functions is discussed and we
estimate the error associated with $\mathcal{O}(\partial^4)$ truncations of the
scale-dependent effective action.


title:
Unlimited-Power Reflectors, Absorbers, and Emitters with Conjugately
  Matched Layers

abstract:
  In order to ensure the fastest wireless energy transfer from a source to the
user one needs to maximize the channel capacity for power transport. In
communications technologies, the concept of MIMO (multiple input, multiple
output) exploits the idea of sending signals via many different rays which may
reach the receiver. However, if we are concerned with the task of energy
transfer, still only one mode is exploited, even if multiple antennas are used
to send power to the receiver. In the near-field scenario, this is the magnetic
dipole mode of receiving coil antennas. In the far-field scenario, this is the
propagating plane wave TEM mode. Recently, it was shown that using special
artificial materials it is possible to ensure that all electromagnetic modes of
free space are conjugately matched to the modes of a material body and, thus,
all modes deliver power to the body in the most effective way. Such a
fascinating feature is acquired because the conjugate matching does not concern
only the propagating modes but, most importantly, is applied to all evanescent
modes. However, coupling to higher-order (mostly evanescent) modes is weak and
disappears in the limit of an infinite planar boundary. We show that properly
perturbing the surface of the receiving or emitting body with, for example,
randomly distributed small particles we can open up channels for
super-radiation into far zone. The currents induced in the small particles act
as secondary sources which send the energy to travel far away from the surface
and, reciprocally, receive power from far-located sources. We theoretically
predict about 20-fold power transfer enhancement between the conjugately
matched power-receiving body (as compared with the ideal black body) and
far-zone sources. Reciprocally, the proposed structure radiates about 20 times
more power into far zone as compared with the same source over a perfect
reflector.


title:
Comment on "Poynting vector, orbital and spin momentum and angular
  momentum versus optical force and torque on arbitrary particle in generic
  optical fields"

abstract:
  We criticize the originality or correctness of some of the ideas and results
recently reported by Ng et al. in arXiv:1511.08546.


title: Moriond Electroweak and Unified Theories 2016 - Experimental Summary

abstract:
  Summary of the experimental results presented at the 51st edition of the
Moriond Electroweak and Unified Theories conference held in March 2016 at La
Thuile, Italy.


title:
Health Figures: An Open Source JavaScript Library for Health Data
  Visualization

abstract:
  The way we look at data has a great impact on how we can understand it,
particularly when the data is related to health and wellness. Due to the
increased use of self-tracking devices and the ongoing shift towards preventive
medicine, better understanding of our health data is an important part of
improving the general welfare of the citizens. Electronic Health Records,
self-tracking devices and mobile applications provide a rich variety of data
but it often becomes difficult to understand. We implemented the hFigures
library inspired on the hGraph visualization with additional improvements. The
purpose of the library is to provide a visual representation of the evolution
of health measurements in a complete and useful manner. We researched the
usefulness and usability of the library by building an application for health
data visualization in a health coaching program. We performed a user evaluation
with Heuristic Evaluation, Controlled User Testing and Usability
Questionnaires. In the Heuristics Evaluation the average response was 6.3 out
of 7 points and the Cognitive Walkthrough done by usability experts indicated
no design or mismatch errors. In the CSUQ usability test the system obtained an
average score of 6.13 out of 7, and in the ASQ usability test the overall
satisfaction score was 6.64 out of 7. We developed hFigures, an open source
library for visualizing a complete, accurate and normalized graphical
representation of health data. The idea is based on the concept of the hGraph
but it provides additional key features, including a comparison of multiple
health measurements over time. We conducted a usability evaluation of the
library as a key component of an application for health and wellness
monitoring. The results indicate that the data visualization library was
helpful in assisting users in understanding health data and its evolution over
time.


title:
On the Equivalence of Maximum SNR and MMSE Estimation: Applications to
  Additive Non-Gaussian Channels and Quantized Observations

abstract:
  The minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) is one of the most popular criteria for
Bayesian estimation. Conversely, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is a typical
performance criterion in communications, radar, and generally detection theory.
In this paper we first formalize an SNR criterion to design an estimator, and
then we prove that there exists an equivalence between MMSE and maximum-SNR
estimators, for any statistics. We also extend this equivalence to specific
classes of suboptimal estimators, which are expressed by a basis expansion
model (BEM). Then, by exploiting an orthogonal BEM for the estimator, we derive
the MMSE estimator constrained to a given quantization resolution of the noisy
observations, and we prove that this suboptimal MMSE estimator tends to the
optimal MMSE estimator that uses an infinite resolution of the observation.
Besides, we derive closed-form expressions for the mean-squared error (MSE) and
for the SNR of the proposed suboptimal estimators, and we show that these
expressions constitute tight, asymptotically exact, bounds for the optimal MMSE
and maximum SNR.


title: Interdependent Lattice Networks in High Dimensions

abstract:
  We study the mutual percolation of two interdependent lattice networks
ranging from two to seven dimensions, denoted as $D$. We impose that the length
of interdependent links connecting nodes in the two lattices be less than or
equal to a certain value, $r$. For each value of $D$ and $r$, we find the
mutual percolation threshold, $p_c[D,r]$ below which the system completely
collapses through a cascade of failures following an initial destruction of a
fraction $ (1-p)$ of the nodes in one of the lattices. We find that for each
dimension, $D<6$, there is a value of $r=r_I>1$ such that for $r\geq r_I$ the
cascading failures occur as a discontinuous first order transition, while for
$r<r_I$ the system undergoes a continuous second order transition, as in the
classical percolation theory. Remarkably, for $D=6$, $r_I=1$ which is the same
as in random regular (RR) graphs with the same degree (coordination number) of
nodes. We also find that in all dimensions, the interdependent lattices reach
maximal vulnerability (maximal $p_c[D,r]$) at a distance $r=r_{max}>r_I$, and
for $r>r_{max}$ the vulnerability starts to decrease as $r\to\infty$. However
the decrease becomes less significant as $D$ increases and
$p_c[D,r_{max}]-p_c[D,\infty]$ decreases exponentially with $D$. We also
investigate the dependence of $p_c[D,r]$ on the system size as well as how the
nature of the transition changes as the number of lattice sites, $N\to\infty$.


title:
Why the aspect ratio? Shape equivalence for the extinction spectra of
  gold nanoparticles

abstract:
  We compare the light extinction spectra of elongated gold nanoparticles with
different shapes (cylinder, spherocylinder and ellipsoid) and sizes of 10 to
100~nm. We argue that the equivalence of the various moments of mass
distribution is the natural comparison criterion -rather than the
length-to-diameter (aspect) ratio generally used in the literature- and that it
leads to better spectral correspondence between the various shapes.


title:
AMSOM: Adaptive Moving Self-organizing Map for Clustering and
  Visualization

abstract:
  Self-Organizing Map (SOM) is a neural network model which is used to obtain a
topology-preserving mapping from the (usually high dimensional) input/feature
space to an output/map space of fewer dimensions (usually two or three in order
to facilitate visualization). Neurons in the output space are connected with
each other but this structure remains fixed throughout training and learning is
achieved through the updating of neuron reference vectors in feature space.
Despite the fact that growing variants of SOM overcome the fixed structure
limitation they increase computational cost and also do not allow the removal
of a neuron after its introduction. In this paper, a variant of SOM is proposed
called AMSOM (Adaptive Moving Self-Organizing Map) that on the one hand creates
a more flexible structure where neuron positions are dynamically altered during
training and on the other hand tackles the drawback of having a predefined grid
by allowing neuron addition and/or removal during training. Experiments using
multiple literature datasets show that the proposed method improves training
performance of SOM, leads to a better visualization of the input dataset and
provides a framework for determining the optimal number and structure of
neurons.


title: Philosophy in the Face of Artificial Intelligence

abstract:
  In this article, I discuss how the AI community views concerns about the
emergence of superintelligent AI and related philosophical issues.


title: A Multi-Batch L-BFGS Method for Machine Learning

abstract:
  The question of how to parallelize the stochastic gradient descent (SGD)
method has received much attention in the literature. In this paper, we focus
instead on batch methods that use a sizeable fraction of the training set at
each iteration to facilitate parallelism, and that employ second-order
information. In order to improve the learning process, we follow a multi-batch
approach in which the batch changes at each iteration. This can cause
difficulties because L-BFGS employs gradient differences to update the Hessian
approximations, and when these gradients are computed using different data
points the process can be unstable. This paper shows how to perform stable
quasi-Newton updating in the multi-batch setting, illustrates the behavior of
the algorithm in a distributed computing platform, and studies its convergence
properties for both the convex and nonconvex cases.


title: Rokhlin Property for Group Actions on Hilbert $C^*$-modules

abstract:
  We introduce Rokhlin properties for certain discrete group actions on
$C^*$-correspondences as well as on Hilbert bimodules and analyze them. It
turns out that the group actions on any $C^*$-correspondence $E$ with Rokhlin
property induces group actions on the associated $C^*$-algebra $\mathcal O_E$
with Rokhlin property and the group actions on any Hilbert bimodule with
Rokhlin property induces group actions on the linking algebra with Rokhlin
property. Permanence properties of several notions such as nuclear dimension
and $\mathcal D$-absorbing property with respect to crossed product of Hilbert
$C^*$-modules with groups, where group actions have Rokhlin property, are
studied. We also investigate a notion of outerness for Hilbert bimodules.


title:
Measurability and Perfect Set Theorems for Equivalence Relations with
  Small Classes

abstract:
  We ask whether $\mathbf{\Delta^1_2}$ or $\mathbf{\Sigma^1_2}$ equivalence
relations with $I$-small classes for $I$ a $\sigma$-ideal must have perfectly
many classes. We show that for a wide class of ccc $\sigma$-ideals, a positive
answer for $\mathbf{\Delta^1_2}$ equivalence relations is equivalent to the
$I$-measurability of $\mathbf{\Delta^1_2}$ sets. However, the analogous
statement for $\mathbf{\Sigma^1_2}$ equivalence relations is false:
$\mathbf{\Sigma^1_2}$ equivalence relations with meager classes have a perfect
set of pairwise inequivalent elements if and only if $\mathbf{\Delta^1_2}$ sets
have the Baire property.


title: Hierarchical Clustering in Face Similarity Score Space

abstract:
  Similarity scores in face recognition represent the proximity between pairs
of images as computed by a matching algorithm. Given a large set of images and
the proximities between all pairs, a similarity score space is defined. Cluster
analysis was applied to the similarity score space to develop various
taxonomies. Given the number of subjects in the dataset, we used hierarchical
methods to aggregate images of the same subject. We also explored the hierarchy
above and below the subject level, including clusters that reflect gender and
ethnicity. Evidence supports the existence of clustering by race, gender,
subject, and illumination condition.


title:
Basis for solutions of the Benoit & Saint-Aubin PDEs with particular
  asymptotic properties

abstract:
  Applying the quantum group method developed in [KP20], we construct solutions
to the Benoit & Saint-Aubin partial differential equations with boundary
conditions given by specific recursive asymptotics properties. Our results
generalize solutions constructed in [KP16, PW19], known as the pure partition
functions of multiple Schramm-Loewner evolutions. The generalization is
reminiscent of fusion in conformal field theory, and our solutions can be
thought of as partition functions of systems of random curves, where many
curves may emerge from the same point.

categories: math-ph math.AP math.CO math.MP math.QA math.RT


title: On rotarily transitive graphs

abstract:
  From the point of view of discrete geometry, the class of locally finite
transitive graphs is a wide and important one. The subclass of Cayley graphs is
of particular interest, as testifies the development of geometric group theory.
Recall that Cayley graphs can be defined as non-empty locally finite connected
graphs endowed with a transitive group action such that any non-identity
element acts without fixed point.
  We define a class of transitive graphs which are transitive in an "absolutely
non-Cayley way": we consider graphs endowed with a transitive group action such
that any element of the group acts with a fixed point. We call such graphs
"rotarily transitive graphs", and we show that, even though there is no finite
rotarily transitive graph with at least 2 vertices, there is an infinite
locally finite connected rotarily transitive graph. The proof is based on
groups built by Ivanov which are finitely generated, of finite exponent and
have a small number of conjugacy classes.
  We also build infinite transitive graphs (which are not locally finite) any
automorphism of which has a fixed point. This is done by considering "unit
distance graphs" associated with the projective plane over suitable subfields
of the real numbers.


title:
An intense, cold, velocity-controlled molecular beam by
  frequency-chirped laser slowing

abstract:
  Using frequency-chirped radiation pressure slowing, we precisely control the
velocity of a pulsed CaF molecular beam down to a few m/s, compressing its
velocity spread by a factor of 10 while retaining high intensity: at a velocity
of 15~m/s the flux, measured 1.3~m from the source, is 7$\times$10$^{5}$
molecules per cm$^{2}$ per shot in a single rovibrational state. The beam is
suitable for loading a magneto-optical trap or, when combined with transverse
laser cooling, improving the precision of spectroscopic measurements that test
fundamental physics. We compare the frequency-chirped slowing method with the
more commonly used frequency-broadened slowing method.


title:
Casimir-Polder Shift and Decay Rate in the Presence of Nonreciprocal
  Media

abstract:
  We calculate the Casimir-Polder frequency shift and decay rate for an atom in
front of a nonreciprocal medium by using macroscopic quantum electrodynamics.
The results are a generalization of the respective quantities for matter with
broken time-reversal symmetry which does not fulfill the Lorentz reciprocity
principle. As examples, we contrast the decay rates, the resonant and
nonresonant frequency shifts of a perfectly conducting (reciprocal) mirror to
those of a perfectly reflecting nonreciprocal mirror. We find different power
laws for the distance dependence of all quantities in the retarded and
nonretarded limits. As an example of a more realistic nonreciprocal medium, we
investigate a topological insulator subject to a time-symmetry breaking
perturbation.


title:
Classification of a family of non almost periodic free Araki-Woods
  factors

abstract:
  We obtain a complete classification of a large class of non almost periodic
free Araki-Woods factors $\Gamma(\mu,m)"$ up to isomorphism. We do this by
showing that free Araki-Woods factors $\Gamma(\mu, m)"$ arising from finite
symmetric Borel measures $\mu$ on $\mathbf{R}$ whose atomic part $\mu_a$ is
nonzero and not concentrated on $\{0\}$ have the joint measure class $\mathcal
C(\bigvee_{k \geq 1} \mu^{\ast k})$ as an invariant. Our key technical result
is a deformation/rigidity criterion for the unitary conjugacy of two faithful
normal states. We use this to also deduce rigidity and classification theorems
for free product von Neumann algebras.


title: Interaction induced topological protection in one-dimensional conductors

abstract:
  We discuss two one-dimensional model systems -- the first is a single channel
quantum wire with Ising anisotropy, while the second is two coupled helical
edge states. We show that the two models are governed by the same low energy
effective field theory, and interactions drive both systems to exhibit phases
which are metallic, but with all single particle excitations gapped. We show
that such states may be either topological or trivial; in the former case, the
system demonstrates gapless end states, and insensitivity to disorder.


title: The b --> s l^+ l^- anomalies and their implications for new physics

abstract:
  Recently, the LHC has found several anomalies in exclusive semileptonic b -->
s l^+ l^- decays. In this proceeding, we summarize the most important results
of our global analysis of the relevant decay modes. After a discussion of the
hadronic uncertainties entering the theoretical predictions, we present an
interpretation of the data in terms of generic new physics scenarios. To this
end, we have performed model-independent fits of the corresponding Wilson
coefficients to the data and have found that in certain scenarios the best fit
point is prefererred over the Standard Model by a global significance of more
than 4{\sigma}. Based on the results, the discrimination between high-scale new
physics and low-energy QCD effects as well as the possibility of lepton-flavour
universality violation are discussed.


title:
Suppression of interference in quantum Hall Mach-Zehnder geometry by
  upstream neutral modes

abstract:
  Mach-Zehnder interferometry has been proposed as a probe for detecting the
statistics of anyonic quasiparticles in fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states.
Here we focus on interferometers made of multimode edge states with upstream
modes. We find that the interference visibility is suppressed due to
downstream-upstream mode entanglement; the latter serves as a "which path"
detector to the downstream interfering trajectories. Our analysis tackles a
concrete realization of filling factor 2/3, but its applicability goes beyond
that specific case, and encompasses the recent observation of ubiquitous
emergence of upstream neutral modes in FQH states. The latter, according to our
analysis, goes hand in hand with the failure to observe Mach-Zehnder anyonic
interference in fractional states. We point out how charge-neutral mode
disentanglement will resuscitate the interference signal.


title:
Momentum transport in strongly coupled anisotropic plasmas in the
  presence of strong magnetic fields

abstract:
  We present a holographic perspective on momentum transport in strongly
coupled, anisotropic non-Abelian plasmas in the presence of strong magnetic
fields. We compute the anisotropic heavy quark drag forces and Langevin
diffusion coefficients and also the anisotropic shear viscosities for two
different holographic models, namely, a top-down deformation of strongly
coupled $\mathcal{N} = 4$ Super-Yang-Mills (SYM) theory triggered by an
external Abelian magnetic field, and a bottom-up Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton (EMD)
model which is able to provide a quantitative description of lattice QCD
thermodynamics with $(2+1)$-flavors at both zero and nonzero magnetic fields.
We find that, in general, energy loss and momentum diffusion through strongly
coupled anisotropic plasmas are enhanced by a magnetic field being larger in
transverse directions than in the direction parallel to the magnetic field.
Moreover, the anisotropic shear viscosity coefficient is smaller in the
direction of the magnetic field than in the plane perpendicular to the field,
which indicates that strongly coupled anisotropic plasmas become closer to the
perfect fluid limit along the magnetic field. We also present, in the context
of the EMD model, holographic predictions for the entropy density and the
crossover critical temperature in a wider region of the $(T,B)$ phase diagram
that has not yet been covered by lattice simulations. Our results for the
transport coefficients in the phenomenologically realistic magnetic EMD model
could be readily used as inputs in numerical codes for magnetohydrodynamics.


title:
Solution scattering from colloidal curved plates: barrel tiles, scrolls
  and spherical patches

abstract:
  I provide analytical or semi-analytical expressions for the small-angle
scattering of colloidal objects that can be described as curved plates. These
models could help characterize a variety of inorganic or biological systems.


title:
Cyclic and heteroclinic flows near general static spherically symmetric
  black holes: Semi-cyclic flows -- Addendum and corrigendum

abstract:
  We present new accretion solutions of a polytropic perfect fluid onto an
f(R)-gravity de Sitter-like black hole. We consider two f(R)-gravity models and
obtain finite-period cyclic flows oscillating between the event and
cosmological horizons as well as semi-cyclic critical flows executing a two-way
motion from and back to the same horizon. Besides the generalizations and new
solutions presented in this work, a corrigendum to Eur. Phys. J. C (2016)
76:280 is provided.


title: The latent logarithm

abstract:
  Count or non-negative data are often log transformed to improve
heteroscedasticity and scaling. To avoid undefined values where the data are
zeros, a small pseudocount (e.g. 1) is added across the dataset prior to
applying the transformation. This pseudocount considers neither the measured
object's a priori abundance nor the confidence with which the measurement was
made, making this practice convenient but statistically unfounded. I introduce
here the latent logarithm, or lag. lag assumes that each observed measurement
is a noisy realization of an unmeasured latent abundance. By taking the
logarithm of this learned latent abundance, which reflects both sampling
confidence/depth and the object's a priori abundance, lag provides a
probabilistically coherent, stable, and intuitive alternative to the
questionable, but conventional "log($x$ + pseudocount)."


title: One-shot Learning with Memory-Augmented Neural Networks

abstract:
  Despite recent breakthroughs in the applications of deep neural networks, one
setting that presents a persistent challenge is that of "one-shot learning."
Traditional gradient-based networks require a lot of data to learn, often
through extensive iterative training. When new data is encountered, the models
must inefficiently relearn their parameters to adequately incorporate the new
information without catastrophic interference. Architectures with augmented
memory capacities, such as Neural Turing Machines (NTMs), offer the ability to
quickly encode and retrieve new information, and hence can potentially obviate
the downsides of conventional models. Here, we demonstrate the ability of a
memory-augmented neural network to rapidly assimilate new data, and leverage
this data to make accurate predictions after only a few samples. We also
introduce a new method for accessing an external memory that focuses on memory
content, unlike previous methods that additionally use memory location-based
focusing mechanisms.


title:
Evidence for intermediate polars as the origin of the Galactic Center
  hard X-ray emission

abstract:
  Recently, unresolved hard (20-40 keV) X-ray emission has been discovered
within the central 10 pc of the Galaxy, possibly indicating a large population
of intermediate polars (IPs). Chandra and XMM-Newton measurements in the
surrounding ~50 pc imply a much lighter population of IPs with $\langle M_{\rm
WD} \rangle \approx 0.5 M_\odot$. Here we use broad-band NuSTAR observations of
two IPs: TV Columbae, which has a fairly typical but widely varying reported
mass of $M_{\rm WD} \approx 0.5-1.0 M_\odot$, and IGR J17303-0601, with a heavy
reported mass of $M_{\rm WD} \approx 1.0-1.2 M_\odot$. We investigate how
varying spectral models and observed energy ranges influence estimated white
dwarf mass. Observations of the inner 10 pc can be accounted for by IPs with
$\langle M_{\rm WD} \rangle \approx 0.9 M_\odot$, consistent with that of the
CV population in general, and the X-ray observed field IPs in particular. The
lower mass derived by Chandra and XMM-Newton appears to be an artifact of
narrow energy band fitting. To explain the (unresolved) CHXE by IPs requires an
X-ray (2-8 keV) luminosity function (XLF) extending down to at least
$5\times10^{31}$ erg/s. The CHXE XLF, if extended to the surrounding ~50 pc
observed by Chandra and XMM-Newton, requires at least ~20-40% of the $\sim$9000
point sources are IPs. If the XLF extends just a factor of a few lower in
luminosity, then the vast majority of these sources are IPs. This is in
contrast to recent observations of the Galactic ridge, where the bulk of the
2-8 keV emission is ascribed to dwarf novae.


title:
Hydration induced spin glass state in a frustrated Na-Mn-O triangular
  lattice

abstract:
  Birnessite compounds are stable across a wide range of compositions that
produces a remarkable diversity in their physical, electrochemical and
functional properties. These are hydrated analogues of the magnetically
frustrated, mixed-valent manganese oxide structures, with general formula,
NaxMnO2. Here we demonstrate that the direct hydration of layered rock-salt
type a-NaMnO2, with the geometrically frustrated triangular lattice topology,
yields the birnessite type oxide, Na0.36MnO2 0.2H2O, transforming its magnetic
properties. This compound has a much-expanded interlayer spacing compared to
its parent a-NaMnO2 compound. We show that while the parent a-NaMnO2 possesses
a Neel temperature of 45 K as a result of broken symmetry in the Mn3+
sub-lattice, the hydrated derivative undergoes collective spin-freezing at 29 K
within the Mn3+/Mn4+ sub-lattice. Scaling-law analysis of the frequency
dispersion of the AC susceptibility, as well as the temperature-dependent,
low-field DC magnetization confirm a cooperative spin-glass state of strongly
interacting spins. This is supported by complementary spectroscopic analysis
(HAADF-STEM, EDS, EELS) as well as by a structural investigation
(high-resolution TEM, X-ray and neutron powder diffraction) that yield insights
into the chemical and atomic structure modifications. We conclude that the
spin-glass state in birnessite is driven by the spin-frustration imposed by the
underlying triangular lattice topology that is further enhanced by the in-plane
bond-disorder generated by the mixed-valent character of manganese in the
layers.


title:
Low-frequency regime transitions and predictability of regimes in a
  barotropic model

abstract:
  Predictability of flow is examined in a barotropic vorticity model that
admits low frequency regime transitions between zonal and dipolar states. Such
transitions in the model were first studied by Bouchet and Simonnet (2009) and
are reminiscent of regime change phenomena in the weather and climate systems
wherein extreme and abrupt qualitative changes occur, seemingly randomly, after
long periods of apparent stability. Mechanisms underlying regime transitions in
the model are not well understood yet. From the point of view of atmospheric
and oceanic dynamics, a novel aspect of the model is the lack of any source of
background gradient of potential-vorticity such as topography or planetary
gradient of rotation rate (e.g., as in Charney & DeVore '79).
  We consider perturbations that are embedded onto the system's chaotic
attractor under the full nonlinear dynamics as bred vectors---nonlinear
generalizations of the leading (backward) Lyapunov vector. We find that
ensemble predictions that use bred vector perturbations are more robust in
terms of error-spread relationship than those that use Lyapunov vector
perturbations. In particular, when bred vector perturbations are used in
conjunction with a simple data assimilation scheme (nudging to truth), we find
that at least some of the evolved perturbations align to identify
low-dimensional subspaces associated with regions of large forecast error in
the control (unperturbed, data-assimilating) run; this happens less often in
ensemble predictions that use Lyapunov vector perturbations. Nevertheless, in
the inertial regime we consider, we find that (a) the system is more
predictable when it is in the zonal regime, and that (b) the horizon of
predictability is far too short compared to characteristic time scales
associated with processes that lead to regime transitions, thus precluding the
possibility of predicting such transitions.


title:
A Hierarchical Latent Variable Encoder-Decoder Model for Generating
  Dialogues

abstract:
  Sequential data often possesses a hierarchical structure with complex
dependencies between subsequences, such as found between the utterances in a
dialogue. In an effort to model this kind of generative process, we propose a
neural network-based generative architecture, with latent stochastic variables
that span a variable number of time steps. We apply the proposed model to the
task of dialogue response generation and compare it with recent neural network
architectures. We evaluate the model performance through automatic evaluation
metrics and by carrying out a human evaluation. The experiments demonstrate
that our model improves upon recently proposed models and that the latent
variables facilitate the generation of long outputs and maintain the context.


title:
Effect of Temperature and Doping on Plasmon Excitations for an
  Encapsulated Double-Layer Graphene Heterostructure

abstract:
  We perform a comprehensive analysis of the spectrum of graphene plasmons
which arise when a pair of sheets are confined between conducting materials.
The associated enhanced local fields may be employed in the manipulation of
light on the nanoscale by adjusting the separation between the graphene layers,
the energy band gap as well as the concentration of charge carriers in the
conducting media surrounding the two-dimensional (2D) layers. We present a
theoretical formalism, based on the calculation of the surface response
function, for determining the plasmon spectrum of an encapsulated pair of 2D
layers and apply it to graphene. We solve the coupled equations involving the
continuity of the electric potential and discontinuity of the electric field at
the interfaces separating the constituents of the hybrid structure. We have
compared the plasmon modes for encapsulated gapped and gapless graphene. The
associated nonlocal graphene plasmon spectrum coupled to the "sandwich" system
show a linear acoustic plasmon mode as well as a low-frequency mode
corresponding to in-phase oscillations of the adjacent 2D charge densities.
These calculations are relevant to the study of energy transfer via plasmon
excitations when graphene is confined by a pair of thick conducting materials.


title: Characterizations of $A_2$ Matrix Power Weights

abstract:
  In the scalar setting, the power functions $|x|^{\gamma}$, for $-1 <
\gamma<1$, are the canonical examples of $A_2$ weights. In this paper, we study
two types of power functions in the matrix setting, with the goal of obtaining
canonical examples of $A_2$ matrix weights. We first study Type 1 matrix power
functions, which are $n\times n$ matrix functions whose entries are of the form
$a|x|^{\gamma}.$ Our main result characterizes when these power functions are
$A_2$ matrix weights and has two extensions to Type $1$ power functions of
several variables. We also study Type 2 matrix power functions, which are
$n\times n$ matrix functions whose eigenvalues are of the form $a|x|^{\gamma}.$
We find necessary conditions for these to be $A_2$ matrix weights and give an
example showing that even nice functions of this form can fail to be $A_2$
matrix weights.


title: Online purchasing under uncertainty

abstract:
  Suppose there is a collection $x_1,x_2,\dots,x_N$ of independent uniform
$[0,1]$ random variables, and a hypergraph $\cF$ of \emph{target structures} on
the vertex set $\{1,\dots,N\}$. We would like to buy a target structure at
small cost, but we do not know all the costs $x_i$ ahead of time. Instead, we
inspect the random variables $x_i$ one at a time, and after each inspection,
choose to either keep the vertex $i$ at cost $x_i$, or reject vertex $i$
forever.
  In the present paper, we consider the case where $\{1,\dots,N\}$ is the
edge-set of some graph, and the target structures are the spanning trees of a
graph, spanning arborescences of a digraph, the paths between a fixed pair of
vertices, perfect matchings, Hamilton cycles or the cliques of some fixed size.


title:
Activity controls fragility: A Random First Order Transition Theory for
  an active glass

abstract:
  How does nonequilibrium activity modify the approach to a glass? This is an
important question, since many experiments reveal the near-glassy nature of the
cell interior, remodelled by activity. However, different simulations of dense
assemblies of active particles, parametrised by a self-propulsion force, $f_0$,
and persistence time, $\tau_p$, appear to make contradictory predictions about
the influence of activity on characteristic features of glass, such as
fragility. This calls for a broad conceptual framework to understand active
glasses; here we extend the Random First-Order Transition (RFOT) theory to a
dense assembly of self-propelled particles. We compute the active contribution
to the configurational entropy using an effective medium approach - that of a
single particle in a caging-potential. This simple active extension of RFOT
provides excellent quantitative fits to existing simulation results. We find
that whereas $f_0$ always inhibits glassiness, the effect of $\tau_p$ is more
subtle and depends on the microscopic details of activity. In doing so, the
theory automatically resolves the apparent contradiction between the simulation
models. The theory also makes several testable predictions, which we verify by
both existing and new simulation data, and should be viewed as a step towards a
more rigorous analytical treatment of active glass.


title:
A Search for Highly Dispersed Fast Radio Bursts in Three Parkes
  Multibeam Surveys

abstract:
  We have searched three Parkes multibeam 1.4 GHz surveys for the presence of
fast radio bursts (FRBs) out to a dispersion measure (DM) of 5000 pc cm$^{-3}$.
These surveys originally targeted the Magellanic Clouds (in two cases) and
unidentified gamma-ray sources at mid-Galactic latitudes (in the third case)
for new radio pulsars. In previous processing, none of these surveys were
searched to such a high DM limit. The surveys had a combined total of 719 hr of
Parkes multibeam on-sky time. One known FRB, 010724, was present in our data
and was detected in our analysis but no new FRBs were found. After adding in
the on-sky Parkes time from these three surveys to the on-sky time (7512 hr)
from the five Parkes surveys analysed by Rane et al., all of which have now
been searched to high DM limits, we improve the constraint on the all-sky rate
of FRBs above a fluence level of 3.8 Jy ms at 1.4 GHz to $R = 3.3^{+3.7}_{-2.2}
\times 10^{3}$ events per day per sky (at the 99% confidence level). Future
Parkes surveys that accumulate additional multibeam on-sky time (such as the
ongoing high-resolution Parkes survey of the LMC) can be combined with these
results to further constrain the all-sky FRB rate.


title: The fate of non-polynomial interactions in scalar field theory

abstract:
  We present an exact RG (renormalization group) analysis of $O(N)$-invariant
scalar field theory about the Gaussian fixed point. We prove a series of
statements that taken together show that the non-polynomial eigen-perturbations
found in the LPA (local potential approximation) at the linearised level, do
not lead to new interactions, \textit{i.e.} enlarge the universality class,
neither in the LPA or treated exactly. Non-perturbatively, their RG flow does
not emanate from the fixed point. For the equivalent Wilsonian effective action
they can be re-expressed in terms of the usual couplings to polynomial
interactions, which can furthermore be tuned to be as small as desired for all
finite RG time. For the infrared cutoff Legendre effective action, this can
also be done for the infrared evolution. We explain why this is nevertheless
consistent with the fact that the large field behaviour is fixed by these
perturbations.


title:
On a convergent off -policy temporal difference learning algorithm in
  on-line learning environment

abstract:
  In this paper we provide a rigorous convergence analysis of a "off"-policy
temporal difference learning algorithm with linear function approximation and
per time-step linear computational complexity in "online" learning environment.
The algorithm considered here is TDC with importance weighting introduced by
Maei et al. We support our theoretical results by providing suitable empirical
results for standard off-policy counterexamples.


title:
Multidimensional NMR Inversion without Kronecker Products: Multilinear
  Inversion

abstract:
  Multidimensional NMR inversion using Kronecker products poses several
challenges. First, kernel compression is only possible when the kernel matrices
are separable, and in recent years, there has been an increasing interest in
NMR sequences with non-separable kernels. Second, in three or more dimensions,
the singular value decomposition is not unique; therefore kernel compression is
not well-defined for higher dimensions. Without kernel compression, the
Kronecker product yields matrices that require large amounts of memory, making
the inversion intractable for personal computers. Finally, incorporating
arbitrary regularization terms is not possible using the Lawson-Hanson (LH) or
the Butler-Reeds-Dawson (BRD) algorithms. We develop a minimization-based
inversion method that circumvents the above problems by using multilinear forms
to perform multidimensional NMR inversion without using kernel compression or
Kronecker products. The new method is memory efficient, requiring less than
0.1% of the memory required by the LH or BRD methods. It can also be extended
to arbitrary dimensions and adapted to include non-separable kernels, linear
constraints, and arbitrary regularization terms. Additionally, it is easy to
implement because only a cost function and its first derivative are required to
perform the inversion.


title: Quantum dress for a naked singularity

abstract:
  We investigate semiclassical backreaction on a conical naked singularity
space-time with a negative cosmological constant in (2+1)-dimensions. In
particular, we calculate the renormalized quantum stress-energy tensor for a
conformally coupled scalar field on such naked singularity space-time. We then
obtain the backreacted metric via the semiclassical Einstein equations. We show
that, in the regime where the semiclassical approximation can be trusted,
backreaction dresses the naked singularity with an event horizon, thus
enforcing cosmic censorship.


title:
Solving S-unit, Mordell, Thue, Thue-Mahler and generalized
  Ramanujan-Nagell equations via Shimura-Taniyama conjecture

abstract:
  In the first part we construct algorithms which we apply to solve S-unit,
Mordell, cubic Thue, cubic Thue-Mahler and generalized Ramanujan-Nagell
equations. As a byproduct we obtain alternative practical approaches for
various classical Diophantine problems, including the fundamental problem of
finding all elliptic curves over Q with good reduction outside a given finite
set of rational primes. To illustrate the utility of our algorithms we
determined the solutions of large classes of equations, containing many
examples of interest which are out of reach for the known methods. In addition
we used the resulting data to motivate various conjectures and questions,
including Baker's explicit abc-conjecture and a new conjecture on S-integral
points of any hyperbolic genus one curve over Q.
  In the second part we establish new results for certain old Diophantine
problems (e.g. the difference of squares and cubes) related to Mordell
equations, and we prove explicit height bounds for cubic Thue, cubic
Thue--Mahler and generalized Ramanujan--Nagell equations. As a byproduct, we
obtain here an alternative proof of classical theorems of Baker, Coates and
Vinogradov-Sprindzuk. In fact we get refined versions of their theorems, which
improve the actual best results in many fundamental cases. Our results and
algorithms all ultimately rely on the method of Faltings (Arakelov, Parshin,
Szpiro) combined with the Shimura-Taniyama conjecture, and they all do not use
lower bounds for linear forms in (elliptic) logarithms.
  In the third part we solve the problem of constructing an efficient sieve for
the S-integral points of bounded height on any elliptic curve E over Q with
given Mordell-Weil basis of E(Q).


title: A New Approach to Non-Abelian Hydrodynamics

abstract:
  We present a new approach to describe hydrodynamics carrying non-Abelian
macroscopic degrees of freedom. Based on the Kaluza-Klein compactification of a
higher-dimensional neutral dissipative fluid on a group manifold, we obtain a
d=4 colored dissipative fluid coupled to Yang-Mills gauge field. We calculate
the transport coefficients of the new fluid, which show the non-Abelian
character of the gauge group. In particular, we obtain group-valued terms in
the gradient expansions and response quantities such as the conductivity matrix
and the chemical potentials. While using SU(2) for simplicity, this approach is
applicable to any gauge group. Resulting a robust description of non-Abelian
hydrodynamics, we discuss some links between this system and quark-gluon plasma
and fluid/gravity duality.


title:
Electron-hole interactions in coupled InAs-GaSb quantum dots based on
  nanowire crystal phase templates

abstract:
  We report growth and characterization of a coupled quantum dot structure that
utilizes nanowire templates for selective epitaxy of radial heterostructures.
The starting point is a zinc blende InAs nanowire with thin segments of
wurtzite structure. These segments have dual roles: they act as tunnel barriers
for electron transport in the InAs core, and they also locally suppress growth
of a GaSb shell, resulting in coaxial InAs-GaSb quantum dots with integrated
electrical probes. The parallel quantum dot structure hosts spatially separated
electrons and holes that interact due to the type-II broken gap of InAs-GaSb
heterojunctions. The Coulomb blockade in the electron and hole transport is
studied, and periodic interactions of electrons and holes are observed and can
be reproduced by modeling. Distorted Coulomb diamonds indicate voltage-induced
ground-state transitions, possibly a result of changes in the spatial
distribution of holes in the thin GaSb shell.


title: An Apparent Dissociation Transition in Anharmonically Bound 1D Systems

abstract:
  For diatomic molecules and chains bound anharmonically by interactions such a
the Lennard Jones and Morse potentials, we obtain analytical expressions for
thermodynamic observables including the mean bond length, thermally averaged
internal energy, and the coefficient of thermal expansion. These results are
valid across the shift from condensed to gas-like phases, a dissociation
transition marked by a crossover with no singularities in thermodynamic
variables for finite pressures, though singular behavior appears in the low
pressure limit. In the regime where the thermal energy $k_{\mathrm{B}} T$ is
much smaller than the dissociation energy $D$, the mean interatomic separation
scales as $\langle l \rangle = R_{e} + {\mathcal B} (P R_{e}/k_{\mathrm{B}}
T)^{-2} e^{-D/k_{\mathrm{B}} T} \left( D/k_{\mathrm{B}} T \right )^{1/2}$ for
both the Morse and Lennard Jones potentials where $p$ is a pressure term,
$R_{e}$ is the $T = 0$ bond length, and ${\mathcal B}$ is a constant specific
to the potential.


title: Stereotyping and Bias in the Flickr30K Dataset

abstract:
  An untested assumption behind the crowdsourced descriptions of the images in
the Flickr30K dataset (Young et al., 2014) is that they "focus only on the
information that can be obtained from the image alone" (Hodosh et al., 2013, p.
859). This paper presents some evidence against this assumption, and provides a
list of biases and unwarranted inferences that can be found in the Flickr30K
dataset. Finally, it considers methods to find examples of these, and discusses
how we should deal with stereotype-driven descriptions in future applications.


title:
Strong Allee Effect in A Stochastic Logistic Model with Mate Limitation
  and Stochastic Immigration

abstract:
  We propose a stochastic logistic model with mate limitation and stochastic
immigration. Incorporating stochastic immigration into a continuous time Markov
chain model, we derive and analyze the associated master equation. By a
standard result, there exists a unique globally stable positive stationary
distribution. We show that such stationary distribution admits a bimodal
profile which implies that a strong Allee effect exists in the stochastic
model. Such strong Allee effect disappears and threshold phenomenon emerges as
the total population size goes to infinity. Stochasticity vanishes and the
model becomes deterministic as the total population size goes to infinity. This
implies that there is only one possible fate (either to die out or survive) for
a species constrained to a specific community and whether population eventually
goes extinct or persists does not depend on initial population density but on a
critical inherent constant determined by birth, death and mate limitation. Such
a conclusion interprets differently from the classical ordinary differential
equation model and thus a paradox on strong Allee effect occurs. Such paradox
illustrates the diffusion theory's dilemma.


title: A minimal coupled fluid-discrete element model for bedload transport

abstract:
  A minimal Lagragian two-phase model to study turbulent bedload transport
focusing on the granular phase is presented, and validated with experiments.
The model intends to describe bedload transport of massive particles in fully
rough flows at relatively low Shields numbers, for which no suspension occurs.
A discrete element method for the granular phase is coupled with a one
dimensional volume-averaged two-phase momentum equation for the fluid phase.
The coupling between the discrete granular phase and the continuous fluid phase
is discussed, and a consistent averaging formulation adapted to bedload
transport is introduced. An original simple discrete random walk model is
proposed to account for the fluid velocity fluctuations. The model is compared
with experiments considering both classical sediment transport rate as a
function of the Shields number, and depth profiles of solid velocity, volume
fraction, and transport rate density, from existing bedload transport
experiments in inclined flume. The results successfully reproduce the classical
3/2 power law, and more importantly describe well the depth profiles of the
granular phase, showing that the model is able to reproduce the particle scale
mechanisms. From a sensitivity analysis, it is shown that the fluctuation model
allows to reproduce a realistic critical Shields number, and that the influence
of the granular parameters on the macroscopic results are weak. Nevertheless,
the analysis of the corresponding depth profiles reveals an evolution of the
depth structure of the granular phase with varying restitution and friction
coefficients, which denotes the non-trivial underlying physical mechanisms.


title: Antibiotic resistance: a physicist's view

abstract:
  The problem of antibiotic resistance poses challenges across many
disciplines. One such challenge is to understand the fundamental science of how
antibiotics work, and how resistance to them can emerge. This is an area where
physicists can make important contributions. Here, we highlight cases where
this is already happening, and suggest directions for further physics
involvement in antimicrobial research.


title:
Computing the n-th coefficient of an algebraic power series modulo p in
  O(log n) operations

abstract:
  This is an exposition, for pedagogical purposes, of the formal power series
proof of Bostan, Christol and Dumas [3] of the result stated in the title (a
corollary of the Christol theorem).


title: Direct Search Implications for a Custodially-Embedded Composite Top

abstract:
  We assess current experimental constraints on the bi-doublet + singlet model
of top compositeness previously proposed in the literature. This model extends
the standard model's spectrum by adding a custodially-embedded vector-like
electroweak bi-doublet of quarks and a vector-like electroweak singlet quark.
While either of those states alone would produce a model in tension with
constraints from precision electroweak data, in combination they can produce a
viable model. We show that current precision electroweak data, in the wake of
the Higgs discovery, accommodate the model and we explore the impact of direct
collider searches for the partners of the top quark.


title:
The acoustic force density acting on inhomogeneous fluids in acoustic
  fields

abstract:
  We present a theory for the acoustic force density acting on inhomogeneous
fluids in acoustic fields on time scales that are slow compared to the acoustic
oscillation period. The acoustic force density depends on gradients in the
density and compressibility of the fluid. For microfluidic systems, the theory
predicts a relocation of the inhomogeneities into stable field-dependent
configurations, which are qualitatively different from the horizontally layered
configurations due to gravity. Experimental validation is obtained by confocal
imaging of aqueous solutions in a glass-silicon microchip.


title: Analogs of the Shapiro Shapiro Conjecture in Positive Characteristic

abstract:
  Motivated by the Shapiro Shapiro conjecture, we consider the following: given
a field $k$, under what conditions must a rational function with only
$k$-rational ramification points be equivalent (after post-composition with a
fractional linear transformation) to a rational function defined over $k$? The
main results of this paper answer this question when $k$ has characteristic 2
or 3. We also show the insufficiency of several natural conditions in higher
characteristic.


title:
Higgs lepton flavour violation: UV completions and connection to
  neutrino masses

abstract:
  We study lepton violating Higgs (HLFV) decays, first from the effective field
theory (EFT) point of view, and then analysing the different high-energy
realizations of the operators of the EFT, highlighting the most promising
models. We argue why two Higgs doublet models can have a
$\mathrm{BR}(h\rightarrow \tau \mu)\sim 0.01$, and why this rate is suppressed
in all other realizations including vector-like leptons. We further discuss
HLFV in the context of neutrino mass models: in most cases it is generated at
one loop giving always $\mathrm{BR}(h\rightarrow \tau \mu) < 10^{-4}$ and
typically much less, which is beyond experimental reach. However, both the Zee
model and extended left-right symmetric models contain extra ${\rm SU(2)}$
doublets coupled to leptons and could in principle account for the observed
excess, with interesting connections between HLFV and neutrino parameters.


title:
Quantum Horn's lemma, finite heat baths, and the third law of
  thermodynamics

abstract:
  Interactions of quantum systems with their environment play a crucial role in
resource-theoretic approaches to thermodynamics in the microscopic regime.
Here, we analyze the possible state transitions in the presence of "small" heat
baths of bounded dimension and energy. We show that for operations on quantum
systems with fully degenerate Hamiltonian (noisy operations), all possible
state transitions can be realized exactly with a bath that is of the same size
as the system or smaller, which proves a quantum version of Horn's lemma as
conjectured by Bengtsson and Zyczkowski. On the other hand, if the system's
Hamiltonian is not fully degenerate (thermal operations), we show that some
possible transitions can only be performed with a heat bath that is unbounded
in size and energy, which is an instance of the third law of thermodynamics. In
both cases, we prove that quantum operations yield an advantage over classical
ones for any given finite heat bath, by allowing a larger and more physically
realistic set of state transitions.


title: Square Formation by Asynchronous Oblivious Robots

abstract:
  A fundamental problem in Distributed Computing is the Pattern Formation
problem, where some independent mobile entities, called robots, have to
rearrange themselves in such a way as to form a given figure from every
possible (non-degenerate) initial configuration.
  In the present paper, we consider robots that operate in the Euclidean plane
and are dimensionless, anonymous, oblivious, silent, asynchronous, disoriented,
non-chiral, and non-rigid. For this very elementary type of robots, the
feasibility of the Pattern Formation problem has been settled, either in the
positive or in the negative, for every possible pattern, except for one case:
the Square Formation problem by a team of four robots.
  Here we solve this last case by giving a Square Formation algorithm and
proving its correctness. Our contribution represents the concluding chapter in
a long thread of research. Our results imply that in the context of the Pattern
Formation problem for mobile robots, features such as synchronicity, chirality,
and rigidity are computationally irrelevant.


title: Automatic Selection of the Optimal Local Feature Detector

abstract:
  A large number of different feature detectors has been proposed so far. Any
existing approach presents strengths and weaknesses, which make a detector
optimal only for a limited range of applications. A tool capable of selecting
the optimal feature detector in relation to the operating conditions is
presented in this paper. The input images are quickly analyzed to determine
what type of image transformation is applied to them and at which amount.
Finally, the detector that is expected to obtain the highest repeatability
under such conditions, is chosen to extract features from the input images. The
efficiency and the good accuracy in determining the optimal feature detector
for any operating condition, make the proposed tool suitable to be utilized in
real visual applications. %A large number of different feature detectors has
been proposed so far. Any existing approach presents strengths and weaknesses,
which make a detector optimal only for a limited range of applications. A large
number of different local feature detectors have been proposed in the last few
years. However, each feature detector has its own strengths ad weaknesses that
limit its use to a specific range of applications. In this paper is presented a
tool capable of quickly analysing input images to determine which type and
amount of transformation is applied to them and then selecting the optimal
feature detector, which is expected to perform the best. The results show that
the performance and the fast execution time render the proposed tool suitable
for real-world vision applications.


title:
Affine, quasi-affine and co-affine frames on local fields of positive
  characteristic

abstract:
  The concept of quasi-affine frame in Euclidean spaces was introduced to
obtain translation invariance of the discrete wavelet transform. We extend this
concept to a local field $K$ of positive characteristic. We show that the
affine system generated by a finite number of functions is an affine frame if
and only the corresponding quasi-affine system is a quasi-affine frame. In such
a case the exact frame bounds are equal. This result is obtained by using the
properties of an operator associated with two such affine systems. We
characterize the translation invariance of such an operator. A related concept
is that of co-affine system. We show that there do not exist any co-affine
frame in $L^2(K)$.


title: Consensus+Innovations Distributed Kalman Filter with Optimized Gains

abstract:
  In this paper, we address the distributed filtering and prediction of
time-varying random fields represented by linear time-invariant (LTI) dynamical
systems. The field is observed by a sparsely connected network of
agents/sensors collaborating among themselves. We develop a Kalman filter type
consensus+innovations distributed linear estimator of the dynamic field termed
as Consensus+Innovations Kalman Filter. We analyze the convergence properties
of this distributed estimator. We prove that the mean-squared error of the
estimator asymptotically converges if the degree of instability of the field
dynamics is within a pre-specified threshold defined as tracking capacity of
the estimator. The tracking capacity is a function of the local observation
models and the agent communication network. We design the optimal consensus and
innovation gain matrices yielding distributed estimates with minimized
mean-squared error. Through numerical evaluations, we show that, the
distributed estimator with optimal gains converges faster and with
approximately 3dB better mean-squared error performance than previous
distributed estimators.


title:
A new method to probe the thermal electron content of the Galaxy through
  spectral analysis of background sources

abstract:
  We present a new method for probing the thermal electron content of the
Galaxy by spectral analysis of background point sources in the absorption-only
limit to the radiative transfer equation. In this limit, calculating the
spectral index, $\alpha$, of these sources using a natural logarithm results in
an additive factor, which we denote $\alpha_\mathrm{EM}$, resulting from the
absorption of radiation due to the Galactic thermal electron population. We
find that this effect is important at very low frequencies ($\nu\lesssim200$
MHz), and that the frequency spacing is critical.
  We model this effect by calculating the emission measure across the sky. A
(smooth) thermal electron model for the Galaxy does not fit the observed
emission measure distribution, but a simple, cloud-based model to represent the
clumpy nature of the warm interstellar medium does. This model statistically
reproduces the Galactic emission measure distribution as obtained independently
from $H_\alpha$ data well.
  We find that at the lowest frequencies ($\sim10-50$ MHz), the observed
spectral index for a large segment of the Galaxy below Galactic latitudes of
$\lesssim15^\circ$ could be changed significantly (i.e.,
$\alpha_\mathrm{EM}\gtrsim0.1$).
  This method therefore provides a correction to low-frequency spectral index
measurements of extragalactic sources, and provides a sensitive probe of the
thermal electron distribution of the Galaxy using current and next-generation
low-frequency radio telescopes.
  We show that this effect should be robustly detectable individually in the
strongest sources, and statistically in source samples at a level of
$\alpha_\mathrm{EM}\gtrsim0.18,0.06$, and 0.02 for source densities of 10, 100
and 1,000 sources per square degree.