title: Anomalous Transport in the Superfluid Fluctuation Regime

abstract:
  Motivated by a recent experiment in ultracold atoms [ S. Krinner et al.,
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A 113, 8144 (2016)], we analyze transport of
attractively interacting fermions through a one-dimensional wire near the
superfluid transition. We show that in a ballistic regime where the conductance
is quantized in the absence of interaction, the conductance is renormalized by
superfluid fluctuations in reservoirs. In particular, the particle conductance
is strongly enhanced and the plateau is blurred by emergent bosonic pair
transport. For spin transport, in addition to the contact resistance the wire
itself is resistive, leading to a suppression of the measured spin conductance.
Our results are qualitatively consistent with the experimental observations.


title:
Enhanced storage capacity with errors in scale-free Hopfield neural
  networks: an analytical study

abstract:
  The Hopfield model is a pioneering neural network model with associative
memory retrieval. The analytical solution of the model in mean field limit
revealed that memories can be retrieved without any error up to a finite
storage capacity of $O(N)$, where $N$ is the system size. Beyond the threshold,
they are completely lost. Since the introduction of the Hopfield model, the
theory of neural networks has been further developed toward realistic neural
networks using analog neurons, spiking neurons, etc. Nevertheless, those
advances are based on fully connected networks, which are inconsistent with
recent experimental discovery that the number of connections of each neuron
seems to be heterogeneous, following a heavy-tailed distribution. Motivated by
this observation, we consider the Hopfield model on scale-free networks and
obtain a different pattern of associative memory retrieval from that obtained
on the fully connected network: the storage capacity becomes tremendously
enhanced but with some error in the memory retrieval, which appears as the
heterogeneity of the connections is increased. Moreover, the error rates are
also obtained on several real neural networks and are indeed similar to that on
scale-free model networks.


title:
Fuzzy c-Shape: A new algorithm for clustering finite time series
  waveforms

abstract:
  The existence of large volumes of time series data in many applications has
motivated data miners to investigate specialized methods for mining time series
data. Clustering is a popular data mining method due to its powerful
exploratory nature and its usefulness as a preprocessing step for other data
mining techniques. This article develops two novel clustering algorithms for
time series data that are extensions of a crisp c-shapes algorithm. The two new
algorithms are heuristic derivatives of fuzzy c-means (FCM). Fuzzy c-Shapes
plus (FCS+) replaces the inner product norm in the FCM model with a shape-based
distance function. Fuzzy c-Shapes double plus (FCS++) uses the shape-based
distance, and also replaces the FCM cluster centers with shape-extracted
prototypes. Numerical experiments on 48 real time series data sets show that
the two new algorithms outperform state-of-the-art shape-based clustering
algorithms in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Four external cluster validity
indices (the Rand index, Adjusted Rand Index, Variation of Information, and
Normalized Mutual Information) are used to match candidate partitions generated
by each of the studied algorithms. All four indices agree that for these finite
waveform data sets, FCS++ gives a small improvement over FCS+, and in turn,
FCS+ is better than the original crisp c-shapes method. Finally, we apply two
tests of statistical significance to the three algorithms. The Wilcoxon and
Friedman statistics both rank the three algorithms in exactly the same way as
the four cluster validity indices.


title: In-orbit Performance of UVIT on ASTROSAT

abstract:
  We present the in-orbit performance and the first results from the
ultra-violet Imaging telescope (UVIT) on ASTROSAT. UVIT consists of two
identical 38cm coaligned telescopes, one for the FUV channel (130-180nm) and
the other for the NUV (200-300nm) and VIS (320-550nm) channels, with a field of
view of 28 $arcmin$. The FUV and the NUV detectors are operated in the high
gain photon counting mode whereas the VIS detector is operated in the low gain
integration mode. The FUV and NUV channels have filters and gratings, whereas
the VIS channel has filters. The ASTROSAT was launched on 28th September 2015.
The performance verification of UVIT was carried out after the opening of the
UVIT doors on 30th November 2015, till the end of March 2016 within the
allotted time of 50 days for calibration. All the on-board systems were found
to be working satisfactorily. During the PV phase, the UVIT observed several
calibration sources to characterise the instrument and a few objects to
demonstrate the capability of the UVIT. The resolution of the UVIT was found to
be about 1.4 - 1.7 $arcsec$ in the FUV and NUV. The sensitivity in various
filters were calibrated using standard stars (white dwarfs), to estimate the
zero-point magnitudes as well as the flux conversion factor. The gratings were
also calibrated to estimate their resolution as well as effective area. The
sensitivity of the filters were found to be reduced up to 15\% with respect to
the ground calibrations. The sensitivity variation is monitored on a monthly
basis. UVIT is all set to roll out science results with its imaging capability
with good resolution and large field of view, capability to sample the UV
spectral region using different filters and capability to perform variability
studies in the UV.


title:
FPGA system for real-time computational extended depth of field imaging
  using phase aperture coding

abstract:
  We present a proof-of-concept end-to-end system for computational extended
depth of field (EDOF) imaging. The acquisition is performed through a
phase-coded aperture implemented by placing a thin wavelength-dependent optical
mask inside the pupil of a conventional camera lens, as a result of which, each
color channel is focused at a different depth. The reconstruction process
receives the raw Bayer image as the input, and performs blind estimation of the
output color image in focus at an extended range of depths using a patch-wise
sparse prior. We present a fast non-iterative reconstruction algorithm
operating with constant latency in fixed-point arithmetics and achieving
real-time performance in a prototype FPGA implementation. The output of the
system, on simulated and real-life scenes, is qualitatively and quantitatively
better than the result of clear-aperture imaging followed by state-of-the-art
blind deblurring.


title:
Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) for the Subaru Telescope: Overview,
  recent progress, and future perspectives

abstract:
  PFS (Prime Focus Spectrograph), a next generation facility instrument on the
8.2-meter Subaru Telescope, is a very wide-field, massively multiplexed,
optical and near-infrared spectrograph. Exploiting the Subaru prime focus, 2394
reconfigurable fibers will be distributed over the 1.3 deg field of view. The
spectrograph has been designed with 3 arms of blue, red, and near-infrared
cameras to simultaneously observe spectra from 380nm to 1260nm in one exposure
at a resolution of ~1.6-2.7A. An international collaboration is developing this
instrument under the initiative of Kavli IPMU. The project is now going into
the construction phase aiming at undertaking system integration in 2017-2018
and subsequently carrying out engineering operations in 2018-2019. This article
gives an overview of the instrument, current project status and future paths
forward.


title: Evolution of Low-Mass X-ray Binaries: the Effect of Donor Evaporation

abstract:
  Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are thought to originate from low-mass X-ray
binaries (LMXBs). The discovery of eclipsing radio MSPs including redbacks and
black widows indicates that evaporation of the donor star by the MSP's
irradiation takes place during the LMXB evolution. In this work, we investigate
the effect of donor evaporation on the secular evolution of LMXBs, considering
different evaporation efficiencies and related angular momentum loss. We find
that for widening LMXBs, the donor star leaves a less massive white dwarf than
without evaporation; for contracting systems, evaporation can speed up the
evolution, resulting in dynamically unstable mass transfer and possibly the
formation of isolated MSPs.


title:
Optimal design of low-frequency band gaps in anti-tetrachiral lattice
  meta-materials

abstract:
  The elastic wave propagation is investigated in the beam lattice material
characterized by a square periodic cell with anti-tetrachiral microstructure.
With reference to the Floquet-Bloch spectrum, focus is made on the band
structure enrichments and modifications which can be achieved by equipping the
cellular microstructure with tunable local resonators. By virtue of its
composite mechanical nature, the so-built inertial meta-material gains enhanced
capacities of passive frequency-band filtering. Indeed the number, placement
and properties of the inertial resonators can be designed to open, shift and
enlarge the band gaps between one or more pairs of consecutive branches in the
frequency spectrum. In order to improve the meta-material performance, a
nonlinear optimization problem is formulated. The maximum of the largest band
gap amplitudes in the low-frequency range is selected as suited objective
function. Proper inequality constraints are introduced to restrict the optimal
solutions within a compact set of mechanical and geometric parameters,
including only physically realistic properties of both the lattice and
resonators. The optimization problems related to full and partial band gaps are
solved independently, by means of a globally convergent version of the
numerical method of moving asymptotes, combined with a quasi-Monte Carlo
multi-start technique. The optimal solutions are discussed and compared from
the qualitative and quantitative viewpoints, bringing to light the limits and
potential of the meta-material performance. The clearest trends emerging from
the numerical analyses are pointed out and interpreted from the physical
viewpoint. Finally, some specific recommendations about the microstructural
design of the meta-material are synthesized.


title:
Overall thermomechanical properties of layered materials for energy
  devices applications

abstract:
  This paper is concerned with the analysis of effective thermomechanical
properties of multi- layered materials of interest for solid oxide fuel cells
(SOFC) and lithium ions batteries fabrication. The recently developed
asymptotic homogenization procedure is applied in order to express the overall
thermoelastic constants of the first order equivalent continuum in terms of
microfluctuations functions, and these functions are obtained by the solution
of the corresponding recursive cell problems. The effects of thermal stresses
on periodic multi-layered thermoelastic composite reproducing the
characteristics of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC-like) are studied assuming
periodic body forces and heat sources, and the solution derived by means of the
asymptotic homogenization approach is compared with the results obtained by
finite elements analysis of the associate heterogeneous material.


title:
Challenges in video based object detection in maritime scenario using
  computer vision

abstract:
  This paper discusses the technical challenges in maritime image processing
and machine vision problems for video streams generated by cameras. Even well
documented problems of horizon detection and registration of frames in a video
are very challenging in maritime scenarios. More advanced problems of
background subtraction and object detection in video streams are very
challenging. Challenges arising from the dynamic nature of the background,
unavailability of static cues, presence of small objects at distant
backgrounds, illumination effects, all contribute to the challenges as
discussed here.


title:
Effect of collisions on the two-stream instability in a finite length
  plasm

abstract:
  The instability of a monoenergetic electron beam in a collisional
one-dimensional plasma bounded between grounded walls is considered both
analytically and numerically. Collisions between electrons and neutrals are
accounted for the plasma electrons only. Solution of a dispersion equation
shows that the temporal growth rate of the instability is a decreasing linear
function of the collision frequency which becomes zero when the collision
frequency is two times the collisionless growth rate. This result is confirmed
by fluid simulations. Practical formulas are given for the estimate of the
threshold beam current which is required for the two-stream instability to
develop for a given system length, neutral gas pressure, plasma density, and
beam energy. Particle-in-cell simulations carried out with different neutral
densities and beam currents demonstrate good agreement with the fluid theory
predictions for both the growth rate and the threshold beam current.


title:
Dynamic User Clustering and Power Allocation for Uplink and Downlink
  Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) Systems

abstract:
  In this paper, first we briefly describe the differences in the working
principles of uplink and downlink NOMA transmissions. Then, for both uplink and
downlink NOMA, we formulate a sum-throughput maximization problem in a cell
such that the user clustering (i.e., grouping users into a single cluster or
multiple clusters) and power allocations in NOMA cluster(s) can be optimized
under transmission power constraints, minimum rate requirements of the users,
and SIC constraints. Due to the combinatorial nature of the formulated mixed
integer non-linear programming (MINLP) problem, we solve the problem in two
steps, i.e., by first grouping users into clusters and then optimizing their
respective power allocations. In particular, we propose a low-complexity
sub-optimal user grouping scheme. The proposed scheme exploits the channel gain
differences among users in a NOMA cluster and group them into a single cluster
or multiple clusters in order to enhance the sum-throughput of the system. For
a given set of NOMA clusters, we then derive the optimal power allocation
policy that maximizes the sum throughput per NOMA cluster and in turn maximizes
the overall system throughput. Using KKT optimality conditions, closed-form
solutions for optimal power allocations are derived for any cluster size,
considering both uplink and downlink NOMA systems. Numerical results compare
the performance of NOMA over orthogonal multiple access (OMA) and illustrate
the significance of NOMA in various network scenarios.


title:
Learning Common and Specific Features for RGB-D Semantic Segmentation
  with Deconvolutional Networks

abstract:
  In this paper, we tackle the problem of RGB-D semantic segmentation of indoor
images. We take advantage of deconvolutional networks which can predict
pixel-wise class labels, and develop a new structure for deconvolution of
multiple modalities. We propose a novel feature transformation network to
bridge the convolutional networks and deconvolutional networks. In the feature
transformation network, we correlate the two modalities by discovering common
features between them, as well as characterize each modality by discovering
modality specific features. With the common features, we not only closely
correlate the two modalities, but also allow them to borrow features from each
other to enhance the representation of shared information. With specific
features, we capture the visual patterns that are only visible in one modality.
The proposed network achieves competitive segmentation accuracy on NYU depth
dataset V1 and V2.


title:
Light dark photon and fermionic dark radiation for the Hubble constant
  and the structure formation

abstract:
  Motivated by the tensions in the Hubble constant $H_0$ and the structure
growth $\sigma_8$ between $Planck$ results and other low redshift measurements,
we discuss some cosmological effects of a dark sector model in which dark
matter (DM) interacts with fermionic dark radiation (DR) through a light gauge
boson (dark photon). Such kind of models are very generic in particle physics
with a dark sector with dark gauge symmetries. The effective number of
neutrinos is increased by $\delta N_{eff} \sim 0.5$ due to light dark photon
and fermionic DR, thereby resolving the conflicts in $H_0$. The elastic
scattering between DM and DR induces suppression for DM's density perturbation,
but without acoustic oscillations. For weakly-interacting DM around $100$GeV,
the new gauge coupling should be $\sim 10^{-4}$ to have sizable effect on
matter power spectrum in order to relax the tension in $\sigma_8$.


title:
To Swap or Not to Swap? Exploiting Dependency Word Pairs for Reordering
  in Statistical Machine Translation

abstract:
  Reordering poses a major challenge in machine translation (MT) between two
languages with significant differences in word order. In this paper, we present
a novel reordering approach utilizing sparse features based on dependency word
pairs. Each instance of these features captures whether two words, which are
related by a dependency link in the source sentence dependency parse tree,
follow the same order or are swapped in the translation output. Experiments on
Chinese-to-English translation show a statistically significant improvement of
1.21 BLEU point using our approach, compared to a state-of-the-art statistical
MT system that incorporates prior reordering approaches.


title: Bilinear gauge operators

abstract:
  We construct a family of bilinear differential operators which satisfy
certain gauge properties. These operators can be naturally associated with
$q$-deformations of classical integrable hierarchies. In particular, we
consider the case when gauge function $=$ Hurwitz-type partition function.


title: Experimental Quantum Digital Signature over 102 km

abstract:
  Quantum digital signature (QDS) is an approach to guarantee the
nonrepudiation, unforgeability and transferability of a signature with the
information-theoretical security. All previous experimental realizations of QDS
relied on an unrealistic assumption of secure channels and the longest distance
is only several kilometers. Here, we have experimentally demonstrated a
recently proposed QDS protocol without any secure channel. Exploiting the decoy
state modulation, we have successfully signed one bit message through up to 102
km optical fiber. Furthermore, we continuously run the system to sign the
longer message "USTC" with 32 bit at the distance of 51 km. Our results pave
the way towards the practical application of QDS.


title: Tracing back the evolution of the candidate LBV HD168625

abstract:
  Aims. We obtained Herschel/PACS imaging and spectroscopic observations of the
nebula surrounding the candidate LBV HD168625. By combining these data with
optical spectra of the star, we want to constrain the abundances in the nebula
and in the star and compare them to trace back its evolution.
  Methods. We use CMFGEN to determine the fundamental parameters and the CNO
abundances of the central star whilst the abundances of the nebula are derived
from the emission lines present in the Herschel/PACS spectrum.
  Result. The FIR images show a nebula composed of an elliptical ring/torus of
ejecta with a ESE-WNW axis and of a second perpendicular bipolar structure
composed of empty caps/rings. We detect equatorial shells composed of dust and
ionized material with different sizes when observed at different wavelengths,
and bipolar caps more of less separated from the central star in H$\alpha$ and
mid-IR images. This complex global structure seems to show 2 different
inclinations: 40{\deg} for the equatorial torus and 60{\deg} for the bipolar
ejections. From the Herschel/PACS spectrum, we determine nebular abundances of
$\mathrm{N/H} = 4.1 \pm 0.8 \times~10^{-4}$ and $\mathrm{C/H} \sim
1.6_{-0.35}^{+1.16} \times~10^{-4}$, as well as a mass of ionized gas of
$0.17\pm 0.04$M$_{\odot}$ and a neutral hydrogen mass of about $1.0\pm
0.3$M$_{\odot}$ which dominates. Analysis of the central star reveals Teff =
14000K, log g = 1.74 and log (L/L$_{\odot}$) = 5.58. We derive stellar
abundances of about $\mathrm{N/H} = 5.0 \pm 1.5 \times~10^{-4}$, $\mathrm{C/H}
= 1.4 \pm 0.5 \times~10^{-4}$ and $\mathrm{O/H} = 3.5 \pm 1.0\times~10^{-4}$.
All these measurements taken together are compatible with the evolutionary
tracks of a star with an initial mass between $28$ and $33$M$_{\odot}$ and with
a crit. rotational rate between 0.3 and 0.4 that has lost its material during
or just after the BSG phase.


title: Condensation of fermion pairs in a domain

abstract:
  We consider a gas of fermions at zero temperature and low density,
interacting via a microscopic two body potential which admits a bound state.
The particles are confined to a domain with Dirichlet (i.e. zero) boundary
conditions. Starting from the microscopic BCS theory, we derive an effective
macroscopic Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) theory describing the condensate of fermion
pairs. The GP theory also has Dirichlet boundary conditions.
  Along the way, we prove that the GP energy, defined with Dirichlet boundary
conditions on a bounded Lipschitz domain, is continuous under interior and
exterior approximations of that domain.

categories: math-ph cond-mat.quant-gas math.AP math.MP


title:
Astrophysical aspects of neutrino dynamics in ultra-degenerate quark
  gluon plasma

abstract:
  The cardinal focus of the present review is to explore the role of neutrinos
originating from the ultra-dense core of neutron stars composed of quark gluon
plasma in the astrophysical scenario. The collective excitations of the quarks
involving the neutrinos through the different kinematical processes have been
studied. The cooling of the neutron stars as well as pulsar kicks due to
asymmetric neutrino emission have been discussed in detail. Results involving
calculation of relevant physical quantities like neutrino mean free path and
emissivity have been presented in the framework of non-Fermi liquid behavior as
applicable to ultra-degenerate plasma.


title: Uniqueness in inverse elastic scattering with one incident wave

abstract:
  In this paper, we give a positive answer to a longstanding open problem for
determining the shape of an obstacle from the knowledge of the far field
pattern for the scattering of time-harmonic elastic wave. We show that the
elastic far field pattern by an incoming plane wave with a fixed frequency, a
fixed incident direction and a fixed polarization determines the obstacle $D$
and the boundary condition on $\partial D$ uniquely. The boundary condition on
$\partial D$ is either the Dirichlet, or the Neumann, or the Robin one.


title: Out-of-time-ordered correlators in many-body localized systems

abstract:
  In many-body localized systems, propagation of information forms a light cone
that grows logarithmically with time. However, local changes in energy or other
conserved quantities typically spread only within a finite distance. Is it
possible to detect the logarithmic light cone generated by a local perturbation
from the response of a local operator at a later time? We numerically calculate
various correlators in the random-field Heisenberg chain. While the equilibrium
retarded correlator $A(t=0)B(t>0)$ is not sensitive to the unbounded
information propagation, the out-of-time-ordered correlator
$A(t=0)B(t>0)A(t=0)B(t>0)$ can detect the logarithmic light cone. We relate
out-of-time-ordered correlators to the Lieb-Robinson bound in many-body
localized systems, and show how to detect the logarithmic light cone with
retarded correlators in specially designed states. Furthermore, we study the
temperature dependence of the logarithmic light cone using out-of-time-ordered
correlators.


title: Herz-Schur multipliers of dynamical systems

abstract:
  We extend the notion of Herz-Schur multipliers to the setting of
non-commutative dynamical systems: given a C*-algebra $A$, a locally compact
group $G$, and an action $\alpha$ of $G$ on $A$, we define transformations on
the (reduced) crossed product $A\rtimes_{r,\alpha} G$ of $A$ by $G$, which, in
the case $A = \mathbb{C}$, reduce to the classical Herz-Schur multipliers. We
also introduce a class of Schur $A$-multipliers, establish its characterisation
which generalise the classical descriptions of Schur multipliers and present a
transference theorem in the new setting, identifying isometrically the
Herz-Schur multipliers of the dynamical system $(A,G,\alpha)$ with the
invariant part of the Schur $A$-multipliers. We discuss special classes of
Herz-Schur multipliers, in particular, those which are associated to a locally
compact abelian group $G$ and its canonical action on the $C^*$-algebra
$C^*(\Gamma)$ of the dual group $\Gamma$.


title: Generation of Near-Optimal Solutions Using ILP-Guided Sampling

abstract:
  Our interest in this paper is in optimisation problems that are intractable
to solve by direct numerical optimisation, but nevertheless have significant
amounts of relevant domain-specific knowledge. The category of heuristic search
techniques known as estimation of distribution algorithms (EDAs) seek to
incrementally sample from probability distributions in which optimal (or
near-optimal) solutions have increasingly higher probabilities. Can we use
domain knowledge to assist the estimation of these distributions? To answer
this in the affirmative, we need: (a)a general-purpose technique for the
incorporation of domain knowledge when constructing models for optimal values;
and (b)a way of using these models to generate new data samples. Here we
investigate a combination of the use of Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) for
(a), and standard logic-programming machinery to generate new samples for (b).
Specifically, on each iteration of distribution estimation, an ILP engine is
used to construct a model for good solutions. The resulting theory is then used
to guide the generation of new data instances, which are now restricted to
those derivable using the ILP model in conjunction with the background
knowledge). We demonstrate the approach on two optimisation problems
(predicting optimal depth-of-win for the KRK endgame, and job-shop scheduling).
Our results are promising: (a)On each iteration of distribution estimation,
samples obtained with an ILP theory have a substantially greater proportion of
good solutions than samples without a theory; and (b)On termination of
distribution estimation, samples obtained with an ILP theory contain more
near-optimal samples than samples without a theory. Taken together, these
results suggest that the use of ILP-constructed theories could be a useful
technique for incorporating complex domain-knowledge into estimation
distribution procedures.


title: Anisotropic evolution of energy gap in Bi2212 superconductor

abstract:
  We present a systematic analysis of the energy gap in underdoped Bi2212
superconductor as a function of temperature and hole doping level. Within the
framework of the theoretical model containing the electron-phonon and
electron-electron-phonon pairing mechanism, we reproduced the measurement
results of modern ARPES experiments with very high accuracy. We showed that the
energy-gap amplitude is very weakly dependent on the temperature but clearly
dependent on the level of doping. The evidence for a non-zero energy gap above
the critical temperature, referred to as a pseudogap, was also obtained.


title:
Charge and longitudinal momentum distributions in transverse coordinate
  space

abstract:
  We investigate the charge distributions for the $u$ and $d$ quarks in
transverse coordinate space in a light-front quark-diquark model for the
nucleons using the overlaps of the wave functions constructed from the
soft-wall AdS/QCD prediction. We have also obtained the charge distributions
for proton and neutron in transverse coordinate space and compared it with the
distributions obtained in impact-parameter space. Further, we study the
longitudinal momentum distributions using the wave functions in the transverse
coordinate space. We have also shown the explicit fermionic and bosonic
contributions for different struck $u$ and $d$ quarks.


title:
Conductivity of disordered 2d binodal Dirac electron gas: Effect of the
  internode scattering

abstract:
  We study the dc conductivity of a weakly disordered 2d Dirac electron gas
with two bands and two spectral nodes, employing a field theoretical version of
the Kubo--Greenwood conductivity formula. In this paper we are concerned with
the question how the internode scattering affects the conductivity. We use and
compare two established techniques for treating the disorder scattering: The
perturbation theory, there ladder and maximally crossed diagrams are summed up,
and the functional integral approach. Both turn out to be entirely equivalent.
For a large number of random potential configurations we have found only two
different conductivity scenarios. Both scenarios appear independently of
whether the disorder does or does not create the internode scattering. In
particular we do not confirm the conjecture that the internode scattering tends
to Anderson localization.


title:
Consistent regularization and renormalization in models with
  inhomogeneous phases

abstract:
  In many models in condensed matter physics and high-energy physics, one finds
inhomogeneous phases at high density and low temperature. These phases are
characterized by a spatially dependent condensate or order parameter. A proper
calculation requires that one takes the vacuum fluctuations of the model into
account. These fluctuations are ultraviolet divergent and must be regularized.
We discuss different consistent ways of regularizing and renormalizing quantum
fluctuations, focusing on a symmetric energy cutoff scheme and dimensional
regularization. We apply these techniques calculating the vacuum energy in the
NJL model in 1+1 dimensions in the large-$N_c$ limit and the 3+1 dimensional
quark-meson model in the mean-field approximation both for a one-dimensional
chiral-density wave.


title:
Calculations of long-range three-body interactions for
  Li($2\,^2S$)-Li($2\,^2S$)-Li($2\,^2P$)

abstract:
  General formulas for calculating the several leading long-range interactions
among three identical atoms where two atoms are in identical $S$ states and the
other atom is in a $P$ state are obtained using perturbation theory for the
energies up to second order. The first order (dipolar) interactions depend on
the geometrical configurations of the three atoms. In second order, additive
and nonadditive dispersion interactions are obtained. The nonadditive
interactions depend on the geometrical configurations in marked contrast to the
case where all three atoms are in identical $S$ states, for which the
nonadditive (also known as triple-dipole or as Axilrod-Muto-Teller) dispersion
interactions appear at the third order. The formalism is demonstrated by the
calculation of the coefficients for the
Li($2\,^2S$)-Li($2\,^2S$)-Li($2\,^{2}P$) system using variationally-generated
atomic lithium wave functions in Hylleraas coordinates. The present dipolar
coefficients and additive and nonadditive dispersion coefficients may be useful
in constructing precise potential energy surfaces for this three lithium atom
system.


title: Spectral Line Survey toward a Molecular Cloud in IC10

abstract:
  We have conducted a spectral line survey observation in the 3 mm band toward
the low-metallicity dwarf galaxy IC10 with the 45 m radio telescope of Nobeyama
Radio Observatory to explore its chemical composition at a molecular-cloud
scale (~80 pc). The CS, SO, CCH, HCN, HCO+, and HNC lines are detected for the
first time in this galaxy in addition to the CO and 13CO lines, while c-C3H2,
CH3OH, CN, C18O, and N2H+ lines are not detected. The spectral intensity
pattern is found to be similar to those observed toward molecular clouds in the
Large Magellanic Cloud, whose metallicity is as low as IC10. Nitrogen-bearing
species are deficient in comparison with the Galactic molecular clouds due to a
lower elemental abundance of nitrogen. CCH is abundant in comparison with
Galactic translucent clouds, whereas CH3OH may be deficient. These
characteristic trends for CCH and CH3OH are also seen in the LMC, and seem to
originate from photodissociation regions more extended in peripheries of
molecular clouds due to the lower metallicity condition.


title:
Quantum photonics at telecom wavelengths based on lithium niobate
  waveguides

abstract:
  Integrated optical components on lithium niobate play a major role in
standard high-speed communication systems. Over the last two decades, after the
birth and positioning of quantum information science, lithium niobate waveguide
architectures have emerged as one of the key platforms for enabling photonics
quantum technologies. Due to mature technological processes for waveguide
structure integration, as well as inherent and efficient properties for
nonlinear optical effects, lithium niobate devices are nowadays at the heart of
many photon-pair or triplet sources, single-photon detectors, coherent
wavelength-conversion interfaces, and quantum memories. Consequently, they find
applications in advanced and complex quantum communication systems, where
compactness, stability, efficiency, and interconnectability with other
guided-wave technologies are required. In this review paper, we first introduce
the material aspects of lithium niobate, and subsequently discuss all of the
above mentioned quantum components, ranging from standard photon-pair sources
to more complex and advanced circuits.


title:
Is this conference a top-tier? ConfAssist: An assistive conflict
  resolution framework for conference categorization

abstract:
  Classifying publication venues into top-tier or non top-tier is quite
subjective and can be debatable at times. In this paper, we propose ConfAssist,
a novel assisting framework for conference categorization that aims to address
the limitations in the existing systems and portals for venue classification.
We start with the hypothesis that top-tier conferences are much more stable
than other conferences and the inherent dynamics of these groups differs to a
very large extent. We identify various features related to the stability of
conferences that might help us separate a top-tier conference from the rest of
the lot. While there are many clear cases where expert agreement can be almost
immediately achieved as to whether a conference is a top-tier or not, there are
equally many cases that can result in a conflict even among the experts.
ConfAssist tries to serve as an aid in such cases by increasing the confidence
of the experts in their decision. An analysis of 110 conferences from 22
sub-fields of computer science clearly favors our hypothesis as the top-tier
conferences are found to exhibit much less fluctuations in the stability
related features than the non top-tier ones. We evaluate our hypothesis using
systems based on conference categorization. For the evaluation, we conducted
human judgment survey with 28 domain experts. The results are impressive with
85.18% classification accuracy. We also compare the dynamics of the newly
started conferences with the older conferences to identify the initial signals
of popularity. The system is applicable to any conference with atleast 5 years
of publication history.


title: Efficient Optimal Control of Smoke using Spacetime Multigrid

abstract:
  We present a novel algorithm to control the physically-based animation of
smoke. Given a set of keyframe smoke shapes, we compute a dense sequence of
control force fields that can drive the smoke shape to match several keyframes
at certain time instances. Our approach formulates this control problem as a
PDE constrained spacetime optimization and computes locally optimal control
forces as the stationary point of the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions. In order
to reduce the high complexity of multiple passes of fluid resimulation, we
utilize the coherence between consecutive fluid simulation passes and update
our solution using a novel spacetime full approximation scheme (STFAS). We
demonstrate the benefits of our approach by computing accurate solutions on 2D
and 3D benchmarks. In practice, we observe more than an order of magnitude
improvement over prior methods.


title:
Fluctuation of USA Gold Price - Revisited with Chaos-based Complex
  Network Method

abstract:
  We give emphasis on the use of chaos-based rigorous nonlinear technique
called Visibility Graph Analysis, to study one economic time series - gold
price of USA. This method can offer reliable results with fiinite data. This
paper reports the result of such an analysis on the times series depicting the
fluctuation of gold price of USA for the span of 25 years(1990 - 2013). This
analysis reveals that a quantitative parameter from the theory can explain
satisfactorily the real life nature of fluctuation of gold price of USA and
hence building a strong database in terms of a quantitative parameter which can
eventually be used for forecasting purpose.


title: Dark matter perturbations and viscosity: a causal approach

abstract:
  The inclusion of dissipative effects in cosmic fluids modifies their
clustering properties and could have observable effects on the formation of
large scale structures. We analyse the evolution of density perturbations of
cold dark matter endowed with causal bulk viscosity. The perturbative analysis
is carried out in the Newtonian approximation and the bulk viscosity is
described by the causal Israel-Stewart (IS) theory. In contrast to the
non-causal Eckart theory, we obtain a third order evolution equation for the
density contrast that depends on three free parameters. For certain parameter
values, the density contrast and growth factor in IS mimic their behaviour in
$\Lambda$CDM when $z \geq 1$. Interestingly, and contrary to intuition, certain
sets of parameters lead to an increase of the clustering.


title: Quartetting in odd-odd self-conjugate nuclei

abstract:
  We provide a description of odd-odd self-conjugate nuclei in the sd shell in
a formalism of collective quartets and pairs. Quartets are four-body structures
carrying isospin T=0 while pairs can have either T=0 or T=1. Both quartets and
pairs are labeled by the angular momentum J and they are chosen so as to
describe the lowest states of 20Ne (quartets) and the lowest T=0 and T=1 states
of 18F (pairs). We carry out configuration interaction calculations in spaces
built by one quartet and one pair for 22Na and by two quartets and one pair for
26Al. The spectra that are generated are in good agreement with the shell model
and experimental ones. These calculations confirm the relevance of quartetting
in the structure of N=Z nuclei that had already emerged in previous studies of
the even-even systems and highlight the role of J>0 quartets in the composition
of the odd-odd spectra.


title: Probabilistic Resource Analysis by Program Transformation

abstract:
  The aim of a probabilistic resource analysis is to derive a probability
distribution of possible resource usage for a program from a probability
distribution of its input. We present an automated multi- phase rewriting based
method to analyze programs written in a subset of C. It generates a probability
distribution of the resource usage as a possibly uncomputable expression and
then transforms it into a closed form expression using over-approximations. We
present the technique, outline the implementation and show results from
experiments with the system.


title:
Constancy of curvature and conformal-projective flatness of statistical
  manifolds

abstract:
  An identity of conformal-projective curvature tensor of a statistical
manifold is studied in this paper. The relation between the constancy of
curvature and conformal-projective flatness of statistical manifolds is also
discussed.


title: Optical Conductivity From Pair Density Waves

abstract:
  We present a theory of optical conductivity in systems with finite-momentum
Cooper pairs. In contrast to the BCS pairing where AC conductivity is purely
imaginary in the clean limit, there is nonzero AC absorption across the
superconducting gap for finite-momentum pairing if we break the Galilean
symmetry explicitly in the electronic Hamiltonian. Vertex correction is crucial
for maintaining the gauge invariance in the mean-field formalism and
dramatically changes the optical conductivity in the direction of the pairing
momentum. We carried out a self-consistent calculation and gave an explicit
formula for optical conductivity in a simple case. This result applies to the
Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state and candidates with pair density waves
proposed for High- Tc cuprates. It may help detect PDW and determine the
pairing gap as well as the direction of the pairing momentum in experiments.


title:
Optimization of an underwater in-situ LaBr3:Ce spectrometer with energy
  self-calibration and efficiency calibration

abstract:
  An underwater in situ gamma ray spectrometer based on LaBr3 was developed and
optimized to monitor marine radioactivity. The intrinsic background mainly from
La138 and Ac227 of LaBr3 was well determined by low background measurement and
pulse shape discrimination method. A method of self-calibration using three
internal contaminant peaks was proposed to eliminate the peak shift during long
term monitoring. With experiments under different temperatures, the method was
proved to be helpful for maintaining long term stability. To monitor the marine
radioactivity, the spectrometer efficiency was calculated via water tank
experiment as well as Monte Carlo simulation.


title: Rayleigh-Schr\"odinger series and Birkhoff decomposition

abstract:
  We derive new expressions for the Rayleigh-Schr\"odinger seriesdescribing the
perturbation of eigenvalues of quantumHamiltonians. The method, somehow close
to the so-called dimensionalrenormalization in quantum field theory, involves
the Birkhoffdecomposition of some Laurent series built up out of explicit
fullynon-resonant terms present in the usual expression of
theRayleigh-Schr\"odinger series. Our results provide new combinational
formulae and a new way \ff{of deriving} perturbation series in Quantum
Mechanics. More generally we prove that such a decomposition provides solutions
of general normal form problems in Lie algebras.


title: Two eclipsing ultraluminous X-ray sources in M 51

abstract:
  We present the discovery, from archival Chandra and XMM-Newton data, of X-ray
eclipses in two ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), located in the same region
of the galaxy M 51: CXOM51 J132940.0$+$471237 (ULX-1, for simplicity) and
CXOM51 J132939.5$+$471244 (ULX-2). Three eclipses were detected for ULX-1, two
for ULX-2. The presence of eclipses puts strong constraints on the viewing
angle, suggesting that both ULXs are seen almost edge-on and are certainly not
beamed towards us. Despite the similar viewing angles and luminosities ($L_{\rm
X} \approx 2 \times 10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in the $0.3$-$8$ keV band for both
sources), their X-ray properties are different. ULX-1 has a soft spectrum, well
fitted by Comptonization emission from a medium with electron temperature $kT_e
\approx 1$ keV. ULX-2 is harder, well fitted by a slim disk with $kT_{\rm in}
\approx 1.5$-$1.8$ keV and normalization consistent with a $\sim 10 M_{\odot}$
black hole. ULX-1 has a significant contribution from multi-temperature thermal
plasma emission ($L_{\rm X,mekal} \approx 2 \times 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$);
about $10$% of this emission remains visible during the eclipses, proving that
the emitting gas comes from a region slightly more extended than the size of
the donor star. From the sequence and duration of the Chandra observations in
and out of eclipse, we constrain the binary period of ULX-1 to be either
$\approx 6.3$ days, or $\approx 12.5-13$ days. If the donor star fills its
Roche lobe (a plausible assumption for ULXs), both cases require an evolved
donor; most likely a blue supergiant, given the young age of the stellar
population in that galactic environment.


title: Towards a Characterization of Universal Categories

abstract:
  In this note we characterize, within the framework of the theory of finite
set, those categories of graphs that are {\em algebraic universal} in the sense
that every concrete category embeds in them. The proof of the characterization
is based on the sparse--dense dichotomy and its model theoretic equivalent.


title:
System level analysis of heterogeneous networks under imperfect traffic
  hotspot localization

abstract:
  We study, in this paper, the impact of imperfect small cell positioning with
respect to traffic hotspots in cellular networks. In order to derive the
throughput distribution in macro and small cells, we firstly perform static
level analysis of the system considering a non-uniform distribution of user
locations. We secondly introduce the dynamics of the system, characterized by
random arrivals and departures of users after a finite service duration, with
the service rates and distribution of radio conditions outfitted from the first
part of the work. When dealing with the dynamics of the system, macro and small
cells are modeled by multi-class processor sharing queues. Macro and small
cells are assumed to be operating in the same bandwidth. Consequently, they are
coupled due to the mutual interferences generated by each cell to the other. We
derive several performance metrics such as the mean flow throughput and the
gain, if any, generated from deploying small cells to manage traffic hotspots.
Our results show that in case the hotspot is near the macro BS (Base Station),
even a perfect positioning of the small cell will not yield improved
performance due to the high interference experienced at macro and small cell
users. However, in case the hotspot is located far enough from the macro BS,
performing errors in small cell positioning is tolerated (since related results
show positive gains) and it is still beneficial in offloading traffic from the
congested macrocell. The best performance metrics depend also on several other
important factors such as the users' arrival intensity, the capacity of the
cell and the size of the traffic hotspot.


title: Optical flare activity in the low-mass eclipsing binary GJ~3236

abstract:
  We present our observations of the low-mass eclipsing binary GJ~3236. We have
analyzed a phased $R_C$ light-curve and confirmed previously determined
fundamental parameters of the components. We detected evolution of the spot(s)
and found that there exists a large spot near a polar region of the primary
component and another spot either on the primary or the secondary component. We
also observed 7 flare events and determined a flare rate of about 0.1 flares
per hour. We observed two high energy, long-term flares with a complex light
curve and possibly four weak short-term flaring events. A majority of the
flares was detected in the $R_C$ filter, which indicate their high energy.


title:
Breakdown of a 2D heteroclinic connection in the Hopf-zero singularity
  (I)

abstract:
  In this paper we study a beyond all order phenomenon which appears in the
analytic unfoldings of the Hopf-zero singularity. It consists in the breakdown
of a two-dimensional heteroclinic surface which exists in the truncated normal
form of this singularity at any order. The results in this paper are twofold:
on the one hand we give results for generic unfoldings which lead to sharp
exponentially small upper bounds of the difference between these manifolds. On
the other hand, we provide asymptotic formulas for this difference by means of
the Melnikov function for some non-generic unfoldings.


title:
Breakdown of a 2D heteroclinic connection in the Hopf-zero singularity
  (II). The generic case

abstract:
  In this paper we prove the breakdown of the two-dimensional stable and
unstable manifolds associated to two saddle-focus points which appear in the
unfoldings of the Hopf-zero singulariry. The method consists in obtaining an
asymptotic formula for the difference between this manifolds which turns to be
exponentially small respect to the unfolding parameter. The formula obtained is
explicit but depends on the so-called Stokes constants, which arise in the
study of original vector field and which corresponds to the so called inner
equation in singular perturbation theory.


title:
Performance Analysis of Small Cells' Deployment under Imperfect Traffic
  Hotspot Localization

abstract:
  Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets), long been considered in operators' roadmaps
for macrocells' network improvements, still continue to attract interest for 5G
network deployments. Understanding the efficiency of small cell deployment in
the presence of traffic hotspots can further draw operators' attention to this
feature. In this context, we evaluate the impact of imperfect small cell
positioning on the network performances. We show that the latter is mainly
impacted by the position of the hotspot within the cell: in case the hotspot is
near the macrocell, even a perfect positioning of the small cell will not yield
improved performance due to the interference coming from the macrocell. In the
case where the hotspot is located far enough from the macrocell, even a large
error in small cell positioning would still be beneficial in offloading traffic
from the congested macrocell.


title:
A supermartingale approach to Gaussian process based sequential design
  of experiments

abstract:
  Gaussian process (GP) models have become a well-established frameworkfor the
adaptive design of costly experiments, and notably of computerexperiments.
GP-based sequential designs have been found practicallyefficient for various
objectives, such as global optimization(estimating the global maximum or
maximizer(s) of a function),reliability analysis (estimating a probability of
failure) or theestimation of level sets and excursion sets. In this paper, we
studythe consistency of an important class of sequential designs, known
asstepwise uncertainty reduction (SUR) strategies. Our approach relieson the
key observation that the sequence of residual uncertaintymeasures, in SUR
strategies, is generally a supermartingale withrespect to the filtration
generated by the observations. Thisobservation enables us to establish generic
consistency results for abroad class of SUR strategies. The consistency of
several popularsequential design strategies is then obtained by means of this
generalresult. Notably, we establish the consistency of two SUR
strategiesproposed by Bect, Ginsbourger, Li, Picheny and Vazquez (Stat.
Comp.,2012)---to the best of our knowledge, these are the first proofs
ofconsistency for GP-based sequential design algorithms dedicated to
theestimation of excursion sets and their measure. We also establish anew, more
general proof of consistency for the expected improvementalgorithm for global
optimization which, unlike previous results inthe literature, applies to any GP
with continuous sample paths.


title:
An analytical dynamo solution for large-scale magnetic fields of
  galaxies

abstract:
  We present an effectively global analytical asymptotic galactic dynamo
solution for the regular magnetic field of an axisymmetric thin disc in the
saturated state. This solution is constructed by combining two well-known types
of local galactic dynamo solution, parameterized by the disc radius. Namely,
the critical (zero growth) solution obtained by treating the dynamo equation as
a perturbed diffusion equation is normalized using a non-linear solution that
makes use of the `no-$z$' approximation and the dynamical $\alpha$-quenching
non-linearity. This overall solution is found to be reasonably accurate when
compared with detailed numerical solutions. It is thus potentially useful as a
tool for predicting observational signatures of magnetic fields of galaxies. In
particular, such solutions could be painted onto galaxies in cosmological
simulations to enable the construction of synthetic polarized synchrotron and
Faraday rotation measure (RM) datasets. Further, we explore the properties of
our numerical solutions, and their dependence on certain parameter values. We
illustrate and assess the degree to which numerical solutions based on various
levels of approximation, common in the dynamo literature, agree with one
another.


title: Offloading traffic hotspots using moving small cells

abstract:
  In this paper, the concept of moving small cells in mobile networks is
presented and evaluated taking into account the dynamics of the system. We
consider a small cell moving according to a Manhattan mobility model which is
the case when the small cell is deployed on the top of a bus following a
predefined trajectory in areas which are generally crowded. Taking into account
the distribution of user locations, we study the dynamic level considering a
queuing model composed of multi-class Processor Sharing queues. Macro and small
cells are assumed to be operating in the same bandwidth. Consequently, they are
coupled due to the mutual interferences generated by each cell to the other.
Our results show that deploying moving small cells could be an efficient
solution to offload traffic hotspots.


title:
Energy dissipation rate limits for flow through rough channels and tidal
  flow across topography- Corrigendum

abstract:
  The bound derived in the submission (subsequently published in J. Fluid
Mechanics vol 808 p 562-575, 2016) with the above title is incorrect. This
corrigendum explains why and also why there can not be any quick fix.


title: Disturbance-Based Measure of Macroscopic Coherence

abstract:
  We propose a measure of macroscopic coherence based on the degree of
disturbance caused by a coarse-grained measurement. Based on our measure, we
point out that recently proposed criteria of macroscopic coherence may lead to
inconsistent results when considering certain states such as a product of
microscopic superpositions. An inequality relation is proved that relates the
Wigner-Yanase-Dyson skew information and the measurement disturbance, providing
arguments as to why our approach is able to rule out such inconsistencies. We
show that our measure can also quantify the fragility of a quantum state to a
certain type of decoherence. Our work provides a general framework of
quantifying macroscopic coherence from an operational point of view, based on
the relationship between the precision of the measurement and disturbance of
the quantum state.


title:
Existence, nonexistence, symmetry and uniqueness of ground state for
  critical Schr\"odinger system involving Hardy term

abstract:
  We study the following elliptic system with critical exponent:
\begin{displaymath} \begin{cases}-\Delta
u_j-\frac{\lambda_j}{|x|^2}u_j=u_j^{2^*-1}+\sum\limits_{k\neq
j}\beta_{jk}\alpha_{jk}u_j^{\alpha_{jk}-1}u_k^{\alpha_{kj}},\;\;x\in\R^N,
u_j\in D^{1,2}(\R^N),\quad u_j>0 \;\; \hbox{in} \quad \R^N\setminus \{0\},\quad
j=1,...,r.\end{cases}\end{displaymath} Here $N\geq 3, r\geq2,
2^*=\frac{2N}{N-2}, \lambda_j\in (0, \frac{(N-2)^2}{4})$ for all $ j=1,...,r $;
$\beta_{jk}=\beta_{kj}$; \; $\alpha_{jk}>1, \alpha_{kj}>1,$ satisfying
$\alpha_{jk}+\alpha_{kj}=2^* $ for all $k\neq j$. Note that the nonlinearities
$u_j^{2^*-1}$ and the coupling terms all are critical in arbitrary dimension
$N\geq3 $. The signs of the coupling constants $\bb_{ij}$'s are decisive for
the existence of the ground state solutions.
  We show that the critical system with $r\geq 3$ has a positive least energy
solution for all $\beta_{jk}>0$. However, there is no ground state solutions if
all $\beta_{jk}$ are negative. We also prove that the positive solutions of the
system are radially symmetric. Furthermore, we obtain the uniqueness theorem
for the case $r\geq 3$ with $N=4$ and the existence theorem when $r=2$ with
general coupling exponents.


title:
Adaptive optics for high resolution spectroscopy: A direct application
  with the future NIRPS spectrograph

abstract:
  Radial velocity instruments require high spectral resolution and extreme
thermo-mecanical stability, even more difficult to achieve in near-infra red
(NIR) where the spectrograph has to be cooled down. For a seeing-limited
spectrograph, the price of high spectral resolution is an increased instrument
volume, proportional to the diameter of the primary mirror. A way to control
the size, cost, and stability of radial velocity spectrographs is to reduce the
beam optical etendue thanks to an Adaptive Optics (AO) system. While AO has
revolutionized the field of high angular resolution and high contrast imaging
during the last 20 years, it has not yet been (successfully) used as a way to
control spectrographs size, especially in the field of radial velocities.
  In this work we present the AO module of the future NIRPS spectrograph for
the ESO 3.6 m telescope, that will be feed with multi-mode fibers. We converge
to an AO system using a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor with 14x14
subapertures, able to feed 50% of the energy into a 0.4" fiber in the range of
0.98 to 1.8 $\mu m$ for M-type stars as faint as I=12.


title:
Tree Code for Collision Detection of Large Numbers of Particles
  Application for the Breit-Wheeler Process

abstract:
  Collision detection of a large number N of particles can be challenging.
Directly testing N particles for collision among each other leads to N 2
queries. Especially in scenarios, where fast, densely packed particles
interact, challenges arise for classical methods like Particle-in-Cell or
Monte-Carlo. Modern collision detection methods utilising bounding volume
hierarchies are suitable to overcome these challenges and allow a detailed
analysis of the interaction of large number of particles. This approach is
applied to the analysis of the collision of two photon beams leading to the
creation of electron-positron pairs.


title:
High Precision Momentum Calibration of the Magnetic Spectrometers at
  MAMI for Hypernuclear Binding Energy Determination

abstract:
  We propose a new method for absolute momentum calibration of magnetic
spectrometers used in nuclear physics, using the time-of-flight (TOF),
differences of pairs of particles with different masses. In cases where the
flight path is not known, a calibration can be determined by using the TOF
differences of two pair combinations of three particles. A Cherenkov detector,
read out by a radio frequency photomultiplier tube, is considered as the
high-resolution and highly stable TOF detector. By means of Monte Carlo
simulations it is demonstrated that the magnetic spectrometers at the MAMI
electron-scattering facility can be calibrated absolutely with an accuracy
$\delta p/p\leq 10^{-4}$, which will be crucial for high precision
determination of hypernuclear masses.


title:
Autonomous Grounding of Visual Field Experience through Sensorimotor
  Prediction

abstract:
  In a developmental framework, autonomous robots need to explore the world and
learn how to interact with it. Without an a priori model of the system, this
opens the challenging problem of having robots master their interface with the
world: how to perceive their environment using their sensors, and how to act in
it using their motors. The sensorimotor approach of perception claims that a
naive agent can learn to master this interface by capturing regularities in the
way its actions transform its sensory inputs. In this paper, we apply such an
approach to the discovery and mastery of the visual field associated with a
visual sensor. A computational model is formalized and applied to a simulated
system to illustrate the approach.


title: Hard Threshold Least Mean Squares Algorithm

abstract:
  This work presents a new variation of the commonly used Least Mean Squares
Algorithm (LMS) for the identification of sparse signals with an a-priori known
sparsity using a hard threshold operator in every iteration. It examines some
useful properties of the algorithm and compares it with the traditional LMS and
other sparsity aware variations of the same algorithm. It goes on to examine
the application of the algorithm in the problem of spectrum estimation for
cognitive radio devices.


title:
Classification of scaling limits of uniform quadrangulations with a
  boundary

abstract:
  We study non-compact scaling limits of uniform random planar quadrangulations
with a boundary when their size tends to infinity. Depending on the asymptotic
behavior of the boundary size and the choice of the scaling factor, we observe
different limiting metric spaces. Among well-known objects like the Brownian
plane or the infinite continuum random tree, we construct two new one-parameter
families of metric spaces that appear as scaling limits: the Brownian
half-plane with skewness parameter $\theta$ and the infinite-volume Brownian
disk of perimeter $\sigma$. We also obtain various coupling and limit results
clarifying the relation between these objects.


title:
Nearly ferromagnetic metal state in the collapsed tetragonal phase of
  YFe$_2$(Ge,Si)$_2$

abstract:
  The surprising discovery of tripling the superconducting critical temperature
of KFe$_2$As$_2$ at high pressures issued an intriguing question of how the
superconductivity in the collapsed tetragonal phase differs from that in the
non-collapsed phases of Fe-based superconductors. Here we report $^{89}$Y
nuclear magnetic resonance study of YFe$_2$Ge$_{x}$Si$_{2-x}$ compounds whose
electronic structure is similar to that of iron-pnictide collapsed tetragonal
phases already at ambient pressure. Fe(Ge,Si) layers show strong ferromagnetic
spin fluctuations whereas layers are coupled antiferromagnetically -- both
positioning the studied family close to a quantum critical point. Next,
localized moments attributed either to Fe interstitial or antisite defects may
account for magnetic impurity pair-breaking effects thus explaining the
substantial variation of superconductivity among different YFe$_2$Ge$_2$
samples.


title: Duality and helicity: a symplectic viewpoint

abstract:
  The theorem which says that helicity is the conserved quantity associated
with the duality symmetry of the vacuum Maxwell equations is proved by viewing
electromagnetism as an infinite dimensional symplectic system. In fact, it is
shown that helicity is the moment map of duality acting as an $SO(2)$ group of
canonical transformations on the symplectic space of all solutions of the
vacuum Maxwell equations.


title: Long-term variations in sunspot magnetic field - area relation

abstract:
  Using observations of sunspot magnetic field strengths (H) from the Crimean
Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO) and area (S) of sunspots from the Kislovodsk
Mountain Astronomical Station of Pulkovo Observatory, we investigate the
changes in the relation between H and S over the period of about two solar
cycles (1994-2013). The data were fitted by H = A + B log S, where A =
(778+/-46) and B = (778+/-25). We show that the correlation between H and S
varies with the phase of solar cycle, and $A$ coefficient decreases
significantly after year 2001, while B coefficient does not change
significantly. Furthermore, our data confirm the presence of two distinct
populations in distribution of sunspots (small sunspots with weaker field
strength and large sunspots with stronger field). We show that relative
contribution of each component to the distribution of sunspots by their area
changes with the phase of solar cycle and on longer-then-cycle periods. We
interpret these changes as a signature of a long-term (centennial) variations
in properties of sunspots.


title: The boundary non-Crossing probabilities for Slepian process

abstract:
  In this contribution we derive an explicit formula for the boundary
non-crossing probabilities for Slepian processes associated with the piecewise
linear boundary function. This formula is used to develop an approximation
formula to the boundary non-crossing probabilities for general continuous
boundaries. The formulas we developed are easy to implement in calculation the
boundary non-crossing probabilities.

categories: math.PR math.ST q-fin.MF q-fin.RM stat.TH


title:
A new sample of X-ray selected narrow emission-line galaxies. II.
  Looking for True Seyfert 2

abstract:
  A sample of X-ray and optically selected narrow emission-line galaxies (769
sources) from the 3XMM catalogue cross-correlated with SDSS (DR9) catalogue has
been studied. Narrow-emission line active galactic nuclei (AGN; type-2) have
been selected on the basis of their emission line ratios and/or X-ray
luminosity. We have looked for X-ray unobscured type-2 AGN. As X-ray spectra
were not available for our whole sample, we have checked the reliability of
using the X-ray hardness ratio (HR) as a probe of the level of obscuration and
we found a very good agreement with full spectral fitting results, with only 2%
of the sources with apparently unobscured HR turning out to have an obscured
spectrum. Despite the fact that type-2 AGN are supposed to be absorbed based on
the Unified Model, about 60% of them show no sign or very low level of X-ray
obscuration. After subtraction of contaminants to the sample, that is
Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 and Compton-thick AGN, the fraction of unobscured Sy2
drops to 47%. For these sources, we were able to rule out dust reddening and
variability for most of them as an explanation of the absence of optical broad
emission-lines. The main explanations remaining are the dilution of weak/very
broad emission-lines by the host galaxy and the intrinsic absence of the
broad-line region (BLR) due to low accretion rates (i.e. True Sy2). However,
the number of True Sy2 strongly depends on the method used to verify the
intrinsic lack of broad lines. Indeed using the optical continuum luminosity to
predict the BLR properties gives a much larger fraction of True Sy2 (about 90\%
of the unobscured Sy2 sample) than the use of the X-ray 2 keV luminosity (about
20%). Nevertheless the number of AGN we securely detected as True Sy2 is at
least three times larger that the previously confirmed number of True Sy2.


title:
Cauchy problem on two characteristic hypersurfaces for the
  Einstein-Vlasov-Scalar field equations in temporal gauge

abstract:
  In this paper, we consider the initial value problem for the
Einstein-Vlasov-Scalar field equations in temporal gauge, where the initial
data are prescribed on two characteristic smooth intersecting hypersurfaces.
From a suitable choice of some free data, the initial data constraints's
problem is solved globally, then the evolution problem relative to the deduced
initial data is solved locally in time.


title:
Evolution of magnetic fluctuations through the Fe-induced paramagnetic
  to ferromagnetic transition in Cr$_2$B

abstract:
  In itinerant ferromagnets, the quenched disorder is predicted to dramatically
affect the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic quantum phase transition driven by
external control parameters at zero temperature. Here we report a study on
Fe-doped Cr$_2$B, which, starting from the paramagnetic parent, orders
ferromagnetically for Fe-doping concentrations $x$ larger than $x_{\rm
c}=2.5$\%. In parent Cr$_2$B, $^{11}$B nuclear magnetic resonance data reveal
the presence of both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic fluctuations. The
latter are suppressed with Fe-doping, before the ferromagnetic ones finally
prevail for $x>x_{\rm c}$. Indications for non-Fermi liquid behavior, usually
associated with the proximity of a quantum critical point, were found for all
samples, including undoped Cr$_2$B. The sharpness of the ferromagnetic-like
transition changes on moving away from $x_{\rm c}$, indicating significant
changes in the nature of the magnetic transitions in the vicinity of the
quantum critical point. Our data provide constraints for understanding quantum
phase transitions in itinerant ferromagnets in the limit of weak quenched
disorder.


title: Cascaded Continuous Regression for Real-time Incremental Face Tracking

abstract:
  This paper introduces a novel real-time algorithm for facial landmark
tracking. Compared to detection, tracking has both additional challenges and
opportunities. Arguably the most important aspect in this domain is updating a
tracker's models as tracking progresses, also known as incremental (face)
tracking. While this should result in more accurate localisation, how to do
this online and in real time without causing a tracker to drift is still an
important open research question. We address this question in the cascaded
regression framework, the state-of-the-art approach for facial landmark
localisation. Because incremental learning for cascaded regression is costly,
we propose a much more efficient yet equally accurate alternative using
continuous regression. More specifically, we first propose cascaded continuous
regression (CCR) and show its accuracy is equivalent to the Supervised Descent
Method. We then derive the incremental learning updates for CCR (iCCR) and show
that it is an order of magnitude faster than standard incremental learning for
cascaded regression, bringing the time required for the update from seconds
down to a fraction of a second, thus enabling real-time tracking. Finally, we
evaluate iCCR and show the importance of incremental learning in achieving
state-of-the-art performance. Code for our iCCR is available from
http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~psxes1


title: The asteroseismic potential of TESS: exoplanet-host stars

abstract:
  New insights on stellar evolution and stellar interiors physics are being
made possible by asteroseismology. Throughout the course of the Kepler mission,
asteroseismology has also played an important role in the characterization of
exoplanet-host stars and their planetary systems. The upcoming NASA Transiting
Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will be performing a near all-sky survey for
planets that transit bright nearby stars. In addition, its excellent
photometric precision, combined with its fine time sampling and long intervals
of uninterrupted observations, will enable asteroseismology of solar-type and
red-giant stars. Here we develop a simple test to estimate the detectability of
solar-like oscillations in TESS photometry of any given star. Based on an
all-sky stellar and planetary synthetic population, we go on to predict the
asteroseismic yield of the TESS mission, placing emphasis on the yield of
exoplanet-host stars for which we expect to detect solar-like oscillations.
This is done for both the target stars (observed at a 2-min cadence) and the
full-frame-image stars (observed at a 30-min cadence). A similar exercise is
also conducted based on a compilation of known host stars. We predict that TESS
will detect solar-like oscillations in a few dozen target hosts (mainly
subgiant stars but also in a smaller number of F dwarfs), in up to 200
low-luminosity red-giant hosts, and in over 100 solar-type and red-giant known
hosts, thereby leading to a threefold improvement in the asteroseismic yield of
exoplanet-host stars when compared to Kepler's.


title: Hysteretic phenomena in GFET: general theory and experiment

abstract:
  We propose a general theory for the analytical description of versatile
hysteretic phenomena in a graphene field effect transistor (GFET) allowing for
the existence of the external dipoles on graphene free surface and the
localized states at the graphene-surface interface. We demonstrated that the
absorbed dipole molecules (e.g. dissociated or highly polarized water
molecules) can cause hysteretic form of carrier concentration as a function of
gate voltage and corresponding dependence of graphene conductivity in GFET on
the substrate of different types, including the most common SiO2 and
ferroelectric ones. It was shown that the increase of the gate voltage sweeping
rate leads to the complete vanishing of hysteresis for GFET on SiO2 substrate,
as well as for GFET on ferroelectric substrate for applied electric fields E
less than the critical value Ec. For E>Ec the crossover from the hysteresis to
antihysteresis takes place. These results well correlate with the available
experimental data up to the quantitative agreement. Proposed model takes into
consideration the carriers trapping from the graphene channel by the interface
states and describes the antihysteresis in GFET on PZT substrate well enough.
Obtained results clarify the fundamental principles of GFET operation as well
as can be directly applied to describe the basic characteristics of advanced
nonvolatile ultra-fast memory devices using GFET on versatile substrates.


title:
Fast Spherical Quasiconformal Parameterization of Genus-0 Closed
  Surfaces with Application to Adaptive Remeshing

abstract:
  In this work, we are concerned with the spherical quasiconformal
parameterization of genus-0 closed surfaces. Given a genus-0 closed
triangulated surface and an arbitrary user-defined quasiconformal distortion,
we propose a fast algorithm for computing a spherical parameterization of the
surface that satisfies the prescribed distortion. The proposed algorithm can be
effectively applied to adaptive surface remeshing for improving the
visualization in computer graphics and animations. Experimental results are
presented to illustrate the effectiveness of our algorithm.


title:
Observation of Majorization Principle for quantum algorithms via 3-D
  integrated photonic circuits

abstract:
  The Majorization Principle is a fundamental statement governing the dynamics
of information processing in optimal and efficient quantum algorithms. While
quantum computation can be modeled to be reversible, due to the unitary
evolution undergone by the system, these quantum algorithms are conjectured to
obey a quantum arrow of time dictated by the Majorization Principle: the
probability distribution associated to the outcomes gets ordered step-by-step
until achieving the result of the computation. Here we report on the
experimental observation of the effects of the Majorization Principle for two
quantum algorithms, namely the quantum fast Fourier transform and a recently
introduced validation protocol for the certification of genuine many-boson
interference. The demonstration has been performed by employing integrated 3-D
photonic circuits fabricated via femtosecond laser writing technique, which
allows to monitor unambiguously the effects of majorization along the execution
of the algorithms. The measured observables provide a strong indication that
the Majorization Principle holds true for this wide class of quantum
algorithms, thus paving the way for a general tool to design new optimal
algorithms with a quantum speedup.


title:
Front structure and dynamics in dense colonies of motile bacteria: Role
  of active turbulence

abstract:
  We study the spreading of a bacterial colony undergoing turbulent like
collective motion. We present two minimalistic models to investigate the
interplay between population growth and coherent structures arising from
turbulence. Using Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of the proposed models we
find that turbulence has two prominent effects on the spatial growth of the
colony: (a) the front speed is enhanced, and (b) the front gets crumpled. Both
these effects, which we highlight by using statistical tools, are markedly
different in our two models. We also show that the crumpled front structure and
the passive scalar fronts in random flows are related in certain regimes.

categories: physics.flu-dyn cond-mat.soft nlin.CD physics.bio-ph


title: On local time for the solution to a white noise driven heat equation

abstract:
  In this article we discuss the existence of local time for a class of
Gaussian processes which appears as the solutions to some stochastic evolution
equations. We show that on small intervals such processes are Gaussian
integrators generated by a continuously invertible operators. This allows us to
conclude that the considered processes have a local time on any finite interval
with respect to spatial variable.


title:
Square-free Discriminants of Matrices and the Generalized Spectral
  Characterizations of Graphs

abstract:
  Let $S_n(\mathbb{Z})$ and $O_n(\mathbb{Q})$ denote the set of all $n\times n$
symmetric matrices over the ring of integers $\mathbb{Z}$ and the set of all
$n\times n$ orthogonal matrices over the field of rational numbers
$\mathbb{Q}$, respectively. The paper is mainly concerned with the following
problem: Given a matrix $A\in {S_n(\mathbb{Z})}$. How can one find all rational
orthogonal matrices $Q\in{O_n(\mathbb{Q})}$ such that $Q^TAQ\in
{S_n(\mathbb{Z})}$, and in particular, when does $Q^TAQ\in {S_n(\mathbb{Z})}$
with $Q\in{O_n(\mathbb{Q})}$ imply that $Q$ is \emph{a signed permutation
matrix} (i.e., the matrix obtained from a permutation matrix $P$ by replacing
each 1 in $P$ with 1 or $-1$)?
  A surprisingly simple answer was given in terms of whether the discriminant
of the characteristic polynomial of $A$ is odd and square-free, which partially
answers the above questions. More precisely, let $\Delta_A=\pm
\res(\phi,\phi')$ be \emph{the discriminant of matrix $A$}, where
$\res(\phi,\phi')$ is \emph{the resultant} of the characteristic polynomial
$\phi$ of $A$ and its derivative $\phi'$. We show that if $\Delta_A$ is odd and
square-free, then $Q^TAQ\in {S_n(\mathbb{Z})}$ with $Q\in{O_n(\mathbb{Q})}$
implies that $Q$ is a signed permutation matrix. As an application, we present
a simple and efficient method for testing whether a graph is determined by the
generalized spectrum, which significantly extends our previous work.


title: Clark formula for local time for one class of Gaussian processes

abstract:
  In the article we present chaotic decomposition and analog of the Clark
formula for the local time of Gaussian integrators. Since the integral with
respect to Gaussian integrator is understood in Skorokhod sense, then there
exist more than one Clark representation for the local time. We present
different representations and discuss the representation with the minimal
L_2-norm.


title:
Revealing the multi-bonding state between hydrogen and
  graphene-supported Ti clusters

abstract:
  Hydrogen adsorption on graphene-supported metal clusters has brought much
controversy due to the complex nature of the bonding between hydrogen and metal
clusters. The bond types of hydrogen and graphene-supported Ti clusters are
experimentally and theoretically investigated. Transmission electron microscopy
shows that Ti clusters of nanometer-size are formed on graphene. Thermal
desorption spectroscopy captures three hydrogen desorption peaks from
hydrogenated graphene-supported Ti clusters. First principle calculations also
found three types of interaction: Two types of bonds with different partial
ionic character and physisorption. The physical origin for this rests on the
charge state of the Ti clusters: when Ti clusters are neutral, H2 is
dissociated, and H forms bonds with the Ti cluster. On the other hand, H2 is
adsorbed in molecular form on positively charged Ti clusters, resulting in
physisorption. Thus, this work clarifies the bonding mechanisms of hydrogen on
graphene-supported Ti clusters.


title:
Systematic study of the completeness of two-dimensional classical
  $\phi^4$ theory

abstract:
  The completeness of some classical statistical mechanical (SM) models is a
recent result that has been developed by quantum formalism for the partition
functions. In this paper, we consider a 2D classical $\phi^4$ filed theory
whose completeness has been proved in [V. Karimipour and et al, Phys. Rev. A
85, 032316]. We give a general systematic proof for the completeness of such a
model where, by a few simple steps, we show how the partition function of an
arbitrary classical field theory can be derived from a 2D classical $\phi^4$
model. To this end, we start from various classical field theories containing
models on arbitrary lattices and also $U(1)$ lattice gauge theories. Then we
convert them to a new classical field model on a non-planar bipartite graph
with imaginary kinetic terms. After that, we show that any polynomial function
of the field in the corresponding Hamiltonian can approximately be converted to
a $\phi^4$ term by adding enough numbers of vertices to the bipartite graph. In
the next step, we give a few graphical transformations to convert the final
non-planar graph to a 2D rectangular lattice. We also show that the number of
vertices which should be added grows polynomially with the number of vertices
in the original model.


title: Tannakization of quasi-categories and monadic descent

abstract:
  Given a symmetric monoidal stable $\infty$-category $\mathcal{C}$ and a left
adjoint symmetric monoidal fiber functor to $\operatorname{Mod}_A^{\otimes}$
for some $\mathbb{E}_{\infty}$-ring $A$, one can construct a derived group
scheme $G$ of monoidal automorphisms of this functor. The left adjoint fiber
functor also induces a monad on $\mathcal{C}$. Under some finiteness hypothesis
on the fiber functor, we show there is a comparison functor from the category
of representations of $G$ to the descent category of the induced monad on
$\mathcal{C}$.


title: High-frequency thermal processes in harmonic crystals

abstract:
  We consider two high-frequency thermal processes in uniformly heated harmonic
crystals relaxing towards equilibrium: (i) equilibration of kinetic and
potential energies and (ii) redistribution of energy among spatial directions.
Equation describing these processes with deterministic initial conditions is
derived. Solution of the equation shows that characteristic time of these
processes is of the order of ten periods of atomic vibrations. After that time
the system practically reaches the stationary state. It is shown analytically
that in harmonic crystals temperature tensor is not isotropic even in the
stationary state. As an example, harmonic triangular lattice is considered.
Simple formula relating the stationary value of the temperature tensor and
initial conditions is derived. The function describing equilibration of kinetic
and potential energies is obtained. It is shown that the difference between the
energies (Lagrangian) oscillates around zero. Amplitude of these oscillations
decays inversely proportional to time. Analytical results are in a good
agreement with numerical simulations.
  Keywords: tensor temperature; nonequilibrium processes; transition to
equilibrium; harmonic crystals; triangular lattice.


title: Existence of isovolumetric extremals for capillarity functionals

abstract:
  Capillarity functionals are parameter invariant functionals defined on
classes of two-dimensional parametric surfaces in R3 as the sum of the area
integral and a non homogeneous term of suitable form. Here we consider the case
of a class of non homogenous terms vanishing at infinity for which the
corresponding capillarity functional has no volume-constrained S2-type minimal
surface. Using variational techniques, we prove existence of extremals
characterized as saddle-type critical points.


title:
Covariant Hamiltonian representation of Noether's theorem and its
  application to SU(N) gauge theories

abstract:
  We present the derivation of the Yang-Mills gauge theory based on the
covariant Hamiltonian representation of Noether's theorem. As the starting
point, we re-formulate our previous presentation of the canonical Hamiltonian
derivation of Noether's theorem. The formalism is then applied to derive the
Yang-Mills gauge theory. The Noether currents of U(1) and SU(N) gauge theories
are derived from the respective infinitesimal generating functions of the
pertinent symmetry transformations which maintain the form of the Hamiltonian.


title: Weil-etale cohomology and special values of L-functions at zero

abstract:
  We construct the Weil-\'etale cohomology and Euler characteristics for a
subclass of the class of $\mathbb{Z}$-constructible sheaves on the spectrum of
the ring of integers of a totally imaginary number field. Then we show that the
special value of an Artin L-function of toric type at zero is given by the
Weil-\'etale Euler characteristic of an appropriate $\mathbb{Z}$-constructible
sheaf up to signs. As applications of our result, we will derive some classical
formulas of special values of L-functions of tori and their class numbers.


title: Operator ultra-amenability

abstract:
  Extending M.\ Daws' definition of ultra-amenable Banach algebras, we
introduce the notion of operator ultra-amenability for completely contractive
Banach algebras. For a locally compact group $G$, we show that the operator
ultra-amenability of $A(G)$ imposes severe restrictions on $G$. In particular,
it forces $G$ to be a discrete, amenable group with no infinite abelian
subgroups. For various classes of such groups, this means that $G$ is finite.


title: Spectral statistics of random geometric graphs

abstract:
  We use random matrix theory to study the spectrum of random geometric graphs,
a fundamental model of spatial networks. Considering ensembles of random
geometric graphs we look at short range correlations in the level spacings of
the spectrum via the nearest neighbour and next nearest neighbour spacing
distribution and long range correlations via the spectral rigidity Delta_3
statistic. These correlations in the level spacings give information about
localisation of eigenvectors, level of community structure and the level of
randomness within the networks. We find a parameter dependent transition
between Poisson and Gaussian orthogonal ensemble statistics. That is the
spectral statistics of spatial random geometric graphs fits the universality of
random matrix theory found in other models such as Erdos-Renyi, Barabasi-Albert
and Watts-Strogatz random graph.


title:
Whimper of a Bang: Documenting the Final Days of the Nearby Type Ia
  Supernova 2011fe

abstract:
  Using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Large Binocular Telescope, we
followed the evolution of the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2011fe for an
unprecedented 1840 days past $B$-band maximum light and over a factor of $7$
million in flux. At 1840 days, the 4000 - 17000 \AA{} quasi-bolometric
luminosity is just ($420 \pm 20$) $L_{\odot}$. By measuring the late-time
quasi-bolometric light curve, we present the first confident detection of
$^{57}$Co decay in a SN Ia light curve and estimate a mass ratio of $\log
(^{57}\mathrm{Co}/^{56}\mathrm{Co}) = -1.59^{+ 0.06 }_{- 0.07 }$. We do not
have a clean detection of $^{55}\mathrm{Fe}$, but find a limit of
$^{55}\mathrm{Fe}/^{57}\mathrm{Co} < 0.22$ with 99% confidence. These abundance
ratios provide unique constraints on the progenitor system because the central
density of the exploding white dwarf(s) dictates these nucleosynthetic yields.
The observed ratios strongly prefer the lower central densities of
double-degenerate models ($^{55}\mathrm{Fe}/^{57}\mathrm{Co} = 0.27$) over the
higher central densities of near-Chandrasekhar-mass single-degenerate models
($^{55}\mathrm{Fe}/^{57}\mathrm{Co} = 0.68$). However, additional theoretical
studies predicting isotopic yields from a broader range of progenitor systems
are motivated by these unique observations. We will continue to observe SN
2011fe for another $\sim 600$ days with HST and possibly beyond.


title: Reductive groups and Steinberg maps

abstract:
  This is a preliminary version of the first chapter of a book project on the
character theory of finite groups of Lie type. It provides the foundations from
the general theory of reductive algebraic groups over a finite field.


title:
Impurity-induced smearing of the spin resonance peak in Fe-based
  superconductors

abstract:
  The spin resonance peak in the iron-based superconductors is observed in
inelastic neutron scattering experiments and agrees well with predicted results
for the extended s-wave ($s_\pm$) gap symmetry. On the basis of four-band and
three-orbital tight binding models we study the effect of nonmagnetic disorder
on the resonance peak. Spin susceptibility is calculated in the random phase
approximation with the renormalization of the quasiparticle self-energy due to
the impurity scattering in the static Born approximation. We find that the spin
resonance becomes broader with the increase of disorder and its energy shifts
to higher frequencies. For the same amount of disorder the spin response in the
$s_\pm$ state is still distinct from that of the $s_{++}$ state.


title:
The degree-associated edge-reconstruction number of disconnected graphs
  and trees

abstract:
  An edge-card of a graph G is a subgraph formed by deleting an edge. The
edge-reconstruction number of a graph G, ern(G), is the minimum number of
edge-cards required to determine G up to isomorphism. A da-ecard is an
edge-card which also specifies the degree of the deleted edge, that is, the
number of edges adjacent to it. The degree-associated edge-reconstruction
number, dern(G) is the minimum number of da- ecards that suffice to determine
the graph G. In this paper we state some known results on the
edge-reconstruction number of disconnected graphs and trees. Then we
investigate how the degree-associated edge- reconstruction number of
disconnected graphs and trees vary from their respective edge-reconstruction
number. We show how we can select two da-ecards to identify caterpillars
uniquely. Finally we conjecture that for any tree T, dern(T)<= 2.


title: A Novel Reflectometer for Relative Reflectance Measurements of CCDs

abstract:
  The high quantum efficiencies (QE) of backside illuminated charge coupled
devices (CCD) has ushered in the age of the large scale astronomical survey.
The QE of these devices can be greater than 90 %, and is dependent upon the
operating temperature, device thickness, backside charging mechanisms, and
anti-reflection (AR) coatings. But at optical wavelengths the QE is well
approximated as one minus the reflectance, thus the measurement of the backside
reflectivity of these devices provides a second independent measure of their
QE.
  We have designed and constructed a novel instrument to measure the relative
specular reflectance of CCD detectors, with a significant portion of this
device being constructed using a 3D fused deposition model (FDM) printer. This
device implements both a monitor and measurement photodiode to simultaneously
collect incident and reflected measurements reducing errors introduced by the
relative reflectance calibration process. While most relative reflectometers
are highly dependent upon a precisely repeatable target distance for accurate
measurements, we have implemented a method of measurement which minimizes these
errors.
  Using the reflectometer we have measured the reflectance of two types of
Hamamatsu CCD detectors. The first device is a Hamamatsu 2k x 4k backside
illuminated high resistivity p-type silicon detector which has been optimized
to operate in the blue from 380 nm - 650 nm. The second detector being a 2k x
4k backside illuminated high resistivity p-type silicon detector optimized for
use in the red from 640 nm - 960 nm. We have not only been able to measure the
reflectance of these devices as a function of wavelength we have also sampled
the reflectance as a function of position on the device, and found a reflection
gradient across these devices.


title:
The Study of Cosmic Ray Tomography Using Multiple Scattering of Muons
  for Imaging of High-Z Materials

abstract:
  Muon tomography is developing as a promising system to detect high-Z (atomic
number) material for ensuring homeland security. In the present work, three
kinds of spatial locations of materials which are made of aluminum, iron, lead
and uranium are simulated with GEANT4 codes, which are horizontal, diagonal and
vertical objects, respectively. Two statistical algorithms are used with MATLAB
software to reconstruct the image of detected objects, which are the Point of
Closet Approach (PoCA) and Maximum Likelihood Scattering-Expectation
Maximization iterative algorithm (MLS-EM), respectively. Two analysis methods
are used to evaluate the quality of reconstruction image, which are the
Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) and the localization ROC (LROC) curves,
respectively. The reconstructed results show that, compared with PoCA
algorithm, MLS-EM can achieve a better image quality in both edge preserving
and noise reduction. And according to the analysis of ROC (LROC) curves, it
shows that MLS-EM algorithm can discriminate and exclude the presence and
location of high-Z object with a high efficiency, which is more flexible with
an different EM algorithm employed than prior work. Furthermore the MLS-EM
iterative algorithm will be modified and ran in parallel executive way for
improving the reconstruction speed.


title:
The modular organization of human anatomical brain networks: Accounting
  for the cost of wiring

abstract:
  Brain networks are expected to be modular. However, existing techniques for
estimating a network's modules make it difficult to assess the influence of
organizational principles such as wiring cost reduction on the detected
modules. Here, we present a modification of an existing module detection
algorithm that allows us to focus on connections that are unexpected under a
cost-reduction wiring rule and to identify modules from among these
connections. We apply this technique to anatomical brain networks and show that
the modules we detect differ from those detected using the standard technique.
We demonstrate that these novel modules are spatially distributed, exhibit
unique functional fingerprints, and overlap considerably with rich clubs,
giving rise to an alternative and complementary interpretation of the
functional roles of specific brain regions. Finally, we demonstrate that, using
the modified module detection approach, we can detect modules in a
developmental dataset that track normative patterns of maturation.
Collectively, these findings support the hypothesis that brain networks are
composed of modules and provide additional insight into the function of those
modules.


title: The Wilson-Racah Quantum System

abstract:
  Using a recent formulation of quantum mechanics without potential function,
we present a four-parameter system associated with the Wilson and Racah
polynomials. The continuum scattering states are written in terms of the Wilson
polynomials whose asymptotics gives the scattering amplitude and phase shift.
On the other hand, the finite number of discrete bound states are associated
with the Racah polynomials.
  We are honored to dedicate this work to Prof. Hashim A. Yamani on the
occasion of his 70th birthday.


title:
The survey operation software system development for Prime Focus
  Spectrograph (PFS) on Subaru Telescope

abstract:
  The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) is a wide-field, multi-object spectrograph
accommodating 2394 fibers to observe the sky at the prime focus of the Subaru
telescope. The software system to operate a spectroscopic survey is structured
by the four packages: Instrument control software, exposure targeting software,
data reduction pipeline, and survey planning and tracking software. In
addition, we operate a database system where various information such as
properties of target objects, instrument configurations, and observation
conditions is stored and is organized via a standardized data model for future
references to update survey plans and to scientific researches. In this
article, we present an overview of the software system and describe the
workflows that need to be performed in the PFS operation, with some highlights
on the database that organizes various information from sub-processes in the
survey operation, and on the process of fiber configuration from the software
perspectives.


title: Fast computation of spectral projectors of banded matrices

abstract:
  We consider the approximate computation of spectral projectors for symmetric
banded matrices. While this problem has received considerable attention,
especially in the context of linear scaling electronic structure methods, the
presence of small relative spectral gaps challenges existing methods based on
approximate sparsity. In this work, we show how a data-sparse approximation
based on hierarchical matrices can be used to overcome this problem. We prove a
priori bounds on the approximation error and propose a fast algo- rithm based
on the QDWH algorithm, along the works by Nakatsukasa et al. Numerical
experiments demonstrate that the performance of our algorithm is robust with
respect to the spectral gap. A preliminary Matlab implementation becomes faster
than eig already for matrix sizes of a few thousand.


title:
K2-98 b: A 32-M$_\oplus$ Neptune-sized planet in a 10-day orbit
  transiting an F8 star

abstract:
  We report the discovery of K2-98 b (EPIC 211391664 b), a transiting
Neptune-sized planet monitored by the K2 mission during its campaign 5. We
combine the K2 time-series data with ground-based photometric and spectroscopic
follow-up observations to confirm the planetary nature of the object and derive
its mass, radius, and orbital parameters. K2-98 b is a warm Neptune-like planet
in a 10-day orbit around a V=12.2~mag F-type star with $M_\star$=$
1.074\pm0.042$, $R_\star$=$ 1.311 ^{+ 0.083} _{ - 0.048} $, and age of
$5.2_{-1.0}^{+1.2}$~Gyr. We derive a planetary mass and radius of
$M_\mathrm{p}$=$ 32.2 \pm 8.1 $ and $R_\mathrm{p}$=$4.3^{+0.3}_{-0.2}$. K2-98 b
joins the relatively small group of Neptune-sized planets whose both mass and
radius have been derived with a precision better than 25 %. We estimate that
the planet will be engulfed by its host star in $\sim$3~Gyr, due to the
evolution of the latter towards the red giant branch.


title:
Compressive deformation of Fe nanopillar : Modalities of dislocation
  dynamics

abstract:
  Unlike the tensile mode, compressive deformation of a bcc metallic
nanostructure is mediated by the glide of screw dislocation. Although the bcc
screw dislocations are well known to possess unusual attributes, it is still
unclear how these unique effects manifest in a nanoscale solid. In the present
study, atomistic simulations render a close look at the dislocation activities
underlying the compressive deformation of bcc iron nanopillars. It is found
that instead of performing simple glide motion, the line defects exhibit a host
of complex features. In this regard, the temperature is observed to have a
pronounced effect on the dislocation mechanisms and consequently, on the
overall plastic response of the material. Additionally, statistical features of
the load-strain data have been explored.