title:
Role of Mobility and Health Disparities on the Transmission Dynamics of
  Tuberculosis

abstract:
  The transmission dynamics of Tuberculosis (TB) involve complex
epidemiological and socio-economical interactions between individuals living in
highly distinct regional conditions. The level of exogenous reinfection and
first time infection rates within high-incidence settings may influence the
impact of control programs on TB prevalence. This study aims at enhancing the
understanding of TB dynamics via the study of scenarios, within {\it
simplified}, two patch, risk-defined environments, in the presence of short
term mobility and variations in reinfection and infection rates. The modeling
framework captures the role of individuals' `daily' dynamics within and between
places of residency, work or business via the proportion of time spent in
residence and as visitors to TB-risk environments (patches). As a result, the
{\it effective population size} of Patch $i$ (home of $i$-residents) at time
$t$ must account for visitors and residents of Patch $i$, at time $t$. The
impact that {\it effective population size} and the distribution of {\it
individuals' residence times} in different patches have on TB transmission and
control are studied using selected scenarios where risk is defined by the
estimated or perceive first time infection and/or exogenous re-infection rates.
Our results suggest that, under certain conditions, allowing infected
individuals to move from high to low TB prevalence areas (for example via the
sharing of treatment and isolation facilities) may lead to a reduction in the
total TB prevalence in the overall, here two-patch, population.


title: Separability idempotents in C*-algebras

abstract:
  In this paper, we study the notion of a separability idempotent in the
C*-algebra framework. This is analogous to the notion in the purely algebraic
setting, typically considered in the case of (finite-dimensional) algebras with
identity, then later also considered in the multiplier algebra framework by the
second-named author. The current work was motivated by the appearance of such
objects in the authors' ongoing work on locally compact quantum groupoids.


title:
A Discussion on Triangle Singularities in the $\Lambda_b \to J/\psi
  K^{-} p$ Reaction

abstract:
  We have analyzed the singularities of a triangle loop integral in detail and
derived a formula for an easy evaluation of the triangle singularity on the
physical boundary. It is applied to the $\Lambda_b \rightarrow J/\psi K^{-} p$
process via $\Lambda^*$-charmonium-proton intermediate states. Although the
evaluation of absolute rates is not possible, we identify the $\chi_{c1}$ and
the $\psi(2S)$ as the relatively most relevant states among all possible
charmonia up to the $\psi(2S)$. The $\Lambda(1890)\, \chi_{c1}\, p$ loop is
very special as its normal threshold and triangle singularities merge at about
4.45 GeV, generating a narrow and prominent peak in the amplitude in the case
that the $\chi_{c1}\, p$ is in an $S$-wave. We also see that loops with the
same charmonium and other $\Lambda^*$ hyperons produce less dramatic peaks from
the threshold singularity alone. For the case of $\chi_{c1}\, p \rightarrow
J/\psi\, p$ and quantum numbers $3/2^-$ or $5/2^+$ one needs $P$- and
$D$-waves, respectively, in the $\chi_{c1}\, p$, which drastically reduce the
strength of the contribution and smooth the threshold peak. In this case we
conclude that the singularities cannot account for the observed narrow peak. In
the case of $1/2^+$, $3/2^+$ quantum numbers, where $\chi_{c1}\, p \rightarrow
J/\psi\, p$ can proceed in an $S$-wave, the $\Lambda(1890)\,\chi_{c1}\,p$
triangle diagram could play an important role, though can neither assert their
strength without further input from experiments and lattice QCD calculations.


title: Robust scheme for magnetotransport analysis in topological insulators

abstract:
  The recent excitement about Dirac and Weyl fermion systems has renewed
interest in magnetotransport properties of multi-carrier systems. However, the
complexity of their analysis, even in the simplest two-carrier case, has
hampered a good understanding of the underlying phenomena. Here we propose a
new analysis scheme for two independent conduction channels, that strongly
reduces previous ambiguities and allows to draw robust conclusions. This is
demonstrated explicitly for the example of three-dimensional topological
insulators. Their temperature and gate voltage-dependent Hall coefficient and
transverse magnetoresistance behavior, including the phenomenon of huge linear
transverse magnetoresistance, can be traced back to two conduction channels,
with fully determined carrier concentrations and mobilities. We further derive
an upper limit for the transverse magnetoresistance. Its violation implies
field dependences in the electronic band structure or scattering processes, or
the presence of more than two effective carrier types. Remarkably, none of the
three-dimensional topological insulators or semimetals with particularly large
transverse magnetoresistance violates this limit.


title:
Real-time testbed for diversity in powerline and wireless smart grid
  communications

abstract:
  Two-way communication is a key feature in a smart grid. It is enabled by
either powerline communication or wireless communication technologies.
Utilizing both technologies can potentially enhance communication reliability,
and many diversity combining schemes have been proposed. In this paper, we
propose a flexible real-time testbed to evaluate diversity combining schemes
over physical channels. The testbed provides essential parts of physical layers
on which both powerline and wireless communications operate. The contributions
of this paper are 1) design and implementation of a real-time testbed for
diversity of simultaneous powerline and wireless communications, 2) release of
the setup information and complete source code for the testbed, and 3)
performance evaluation of maximal ratio combining (MRC) on the testbed. As
initial results, we show that performance of MRC from measurements obtained on
the testbed over physical channels is very close to that in simulations in
various test cases under a controlled laboratory environment.


title: Stochastic predator-prey dynamics of transposons in the human genome

abstract:
  Transposable elements, or transposons, are DNA sequences that can jump from
site to site in the genome during the life cycle of a cell, usually encoding
the very enzymes which perform their excision. However, some transposons are
parasitic, relying on the enzymes produced by the regular transposons. In this
case, we show that a stochastic model, which takes into account the small copy
numbers of the transposons in a cell, predicts noise-induced predator-prey
oscillations with a characteristic time scale that is much longer than the cell
replication time, indicating that the state of the predator-prey oscillator is
stored in the genome and transmitted to successive generations. Our work
demonstrates the important role of number fluctuations in the expression of
mobile genetic elements, and shows explicitly how ecological concepts can be
applied to the dynamics and fluctuations of living genomes.


title:
Finite-size scaling study of dynamic critical phenomena in a
  vapor-liquid transition

abstract:
  Via a combination of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and finite-size
scaling (FSS) analysis, we study dynamic critical phenomena for the
vapor-liquid transition in a three dimensional Lennard-Jones system. The phase
behavior of the model, including the critical point, have been obtained via the
Monte Carlo simulations. The transport properties, viz., the bulk viscosity and
the thermal conductivity, are calculated via the Green-Kubo relations, by
taking inputs from the MD simulations in the microcanonical ensemble. The
critical singularities of these quantities are estimated via the FSS method.
The results thus obtained are in nice agreement with the predictions of the
dynamic renormalization group and mode-coupling theories.


title: A Critical Account of Perturbation Analysis of Markov Chains

abstract:
  Perturbation analysis of Markov chains provides bounds on the effect that a
change in a Markov transition matrix has on the corresponding stationary
distribution. This paper compares and analyzes bounds found in the literature
for finite and denumerable Markov chains and introduces new bounds based on
series expansions. We discuss a series of examples to illustrate the
applicability and numerical efficiency of the various bounds. Specifically, we
address the question on how the bounds developed for finite Markov chains
behave as the size of the system grows.In addition, we provide for the first
time an analysis of the relative error of these bounds. For the case of a
scaled perturbation we show that perturbation bounds can be used to analyze
stability of a stable Markov chain with respect to perturbation with an
unstable chain.


title:
Global bifurcation analysis of mean field equations and the Onsager
  microcanonical description of two-dimensional turbulence

abstract:
  On strictly starshaped domains of second kind we find natural sufficient
conditions which allow the solution of two long standing open problems closely
related to the mean field equation $\prl$ below. On one side we catch the
global behaviour of the Entropy for the mean field Microcanonical Variational
Principle ((MVP) for short) arising in the Onsager description of
two-dimensional turbulence. This is the completion of well known results first
established in Caglioti et al. Comm.Math.Phys. (1995). Among other things we
find a full unbounded interval of strict convexity of the Entropy. On the other
side, to achieve this goal, we have to provide a detailed qualitative
description of the global branch of solutions of $\prl$ emanating from $\lm=0$
and crossing $\lm=8\pi$. This is the completion of well known results first
established in Suzuki A.I.H.P. (1992) and Chang et al. New Stud. Adv. Math.
(2003) for $\lm\leq 8\pi$, and it has an independent mathematical interest,
since global branches of semilinear elliptic equations, with very few well
known exceptions, are poorly understood. The (MVP) suggests the right variable
(which is the energy) to be used to obtain a global parametrization of
solutions of $\prl$. A crucial spectral simplification is obtained by using the
fact that, by definition, solutions of the (MVP) maximize the entropy at fixed
energy and total vorticity.


title: Eisenstein cycles as modular symbols

abstract:
  For any odd integer N, we explicitly write down the Eisenstein cycles in the
first homology group of modular curves of level N as linear combinations of
Manin symbols. These cycles are, by definition, those over which every integral
of holomorphic differential forms vanish. Our result can be seen as an explicit
version of the Manin-Drinfeld Theorem. Our method is to characterize such
Eisenstein cycles as eigenvectors for the Hecke operators. We make crucial use
of expressions of Hecke actions on modular symbols and on auxiliary level 2
structures.


title:
Spirals and heteroclinic cycles in a spatially extended
  Rock-Paper-Scissors model of cyclic dominance

abstract:
  Spatially extended versions of the cyclic-dominance Rock-Paper-Scissors model
have traveling wave (in one dimension) and spiral (in two dimensions) behavior.
The far field of the spirals behave like traveling waves, which themselves have
profiles reminiscent of heteroclinic cycles. We compute numerically a nonlinear
dispersion relation between the wavelength and wavespeed of the traveling
waves, and, together with insight from heteroclinic bifurcation theory and
further numerical results from 2D simulations, we are able to make predictions
about the overall structure and stability of spiral waves in 2D cyclic
dominance models.


title: Multiplicative Invariant Fields of Dimension \le 6

abstract:
  The finite subgroups of $GL_4(\bm{Z})$ are classified up to conjugation in
\cite{BBNWZ}; in particular, there exist $710$ non-conjugate finite groups in
$GL_4(\bm{Z})$. Each finite group $G$ of $GL_4(\bm{Z})$ acts naturally on
$\bm{Z}^{\oplus 4}$; thus we get a faithful $G$-lattice $M$ with ${\rm
rank}_\bm{Z} M=4$. In this way, there are exactly $710$ such lattices. Given a
$G$-lattice $M$ with ${\rm rank}_\bm{Z} M=4$, the group $G$ acts on the
rational function field $\bm{C}(M):=\bm{C}(x_1,x_2,x_3,x_4)$ by multiplicative
actions, i.e. purely monomial automorphisms over $\bm{C}$. We are concerned
with the rationality problem of the fixed field $\bm{C}(M)^G$. A tool of our
investigation is the unramified Brauer group of the field $\bm{C}(M)^G$ over
$\bm{C}$. A formula of the unramified Brauer group ${\rm Br}_u(\bm{C}(M)^G)$
for the multiplicative invariant field was found by Saltman in 1990. However,
to calculate ${\rm Br}_u(\bm{C}(M)^G)$ for a specific multiplicatively
invariant field requires additional efforts, even when the lattice $M$ is of
rank equal to $4$. Theorem 1. Among the $710$ finite groups $G$, let $M$ be the
associated faithful $G$-lattice with ${\rm rank}_\bm{Z} M=4$, there exist
precisely $5$ lattices $M$ with ${\rm Br}_u(\bm{C}(M)^G)\neq 0$. In these
situations, $B_0(G)=0$ and thus ${\rm Br}_u(\bm{C}(M)^G)\subset H^2(G,M)$. The
{\rm GAP IDs} of the five groups $G$ are {\rm (4,12,4,12), (4,32,1,2),
(4,32,3,2), (4,33,3,1), (4,33,6,1)} in {\rm \cite{BBNWZ}} and in {\rm
\cite{GAP}}. Theorem 2. There exist $6079$ finite subgroups $G$ in
$GL_5(\bm{Z})$. Let $M$ be the lattice with rank $5$ associated to each group
$G$. Among these lattices precisely $46$ of them satisfy the condition ${\rm
Br}_u(\bm{C}(M)^G)\neq 0$. A similar result for lattices of rank $6$ is found
also.


title: Extended McKay correspondence for quotient surface singularities

abstract:
  Let $G$ be a finite subgroup of $\mbox{GL}(2)$ acting on
$\mathbf{A}^2\setminus\{0\}$ freely. The $G$-orbit Hilbert scheme
$G\mbox{-Hilb}(\mathbf{A}^2)$ is a minimal resolution of the quotient
$\mathbf{A}^2/G$. We determine the generator sheaf of the ideal defining the
universal $G$-cluster over $G\mbox{-Hilb}(\mathbf{A}^2)$, which somewhat
strengthens the well-known McKay correspondence for a finite subgroup of
$\mbox{SL}(2)$. We also study the quiver structure of
$G\mbox{-Hilb}(\mathbf{A}^2)$ at every $G$-cluster
$O_{Z_y}=O_{\mathbf{A}^2}/I_y$ in terms of a collection of sort of minimal
$G$-submodules of $O_{Z_y}$ (called mono-special $O_{\mathbf{A}^2}$-submodules)
and generating $G$-submodules of $I_y$.


title: Geometry of two-qubit states with negative conditional entropy

abstract:
  We review the geometric features of negative conditional entropy and the
properties of the conditional amplitude operator proposed by Cerf and Adami for
two qubit states in comparison with entanglement and nonlocality of the states.
We identify the region of negative conditional entropy in the tetrahedron of
locally maximally mixed two-qubit states. Within this set of states, negative
conditional entropy implies nonlocality and entanglement, but not vice versa,
and we show that the Cerf-Adami conditional amplitude operator provides an
entanglement witness equivalent to the Peres-Horodecki criterion. Outside of
the tetrahedron this equivalence is generally not true.


title:
Decoherence as a way to measure extremely soft collisions with dark
  matter

abstract:
  A new frontier in the search for dark matter (DM) is based on the idea of
detecting the decoherence caused by DM scattering against a mesoscopic
superposition of normal matter. Such superpositions are uniquely sensitive to
very small momentum transfers from new particles and forces, especially DM with
a mass below 100 MeV. Here we investigate what sorts of dark sectors are
inaccessible with existing methods but would induce noticeable decoherence in
the next generation of matter interferometers. We show that very soft, but
medium range (0.1 nm - 1 $\mu$m) elastic interactions between nuclei and DM are
particularly suitable. We construct toy models for such interactions, discuss
existing constraints, and delineate the expected sensitivity of forthcoming
experiments. The first hints of DM in these devices would appear as small
variations in the anomalous decoherence rate with a period of one sidereal day.
This is a generic signature of interstellar sources of decoherence, clearly
distinguishing it from terrestrial backgrounds. The OTIMA experiment under
development in Vienna will begin to probe Earth-thermalizing DM once sidereal
variations in the background decoherence rate are pushed below one part in a
hundred for superposed 5-nm gold nanoparticles. The proposals by Bateman et al.
and Geraci et al. could be similarly sensitive, although they would require at
least a month of data taking. DM that is absorbed or elastically reflected by
the Earth, and so avoids a greenhouse density enhancement, would not be
detectable by those three experiments. On the other hand, the aggressive
proposals of the MAQRO collaboration and Pino et al. would immediately open up
many orders of magnitude in DM mass, interaction range, and coupling strength,
regardless of how DM behaves in bulk matter.


title: Antisymmetric Paramodular Forms of Weights 2 and 3

abstract:
  We define an algebraic set in $23$~dimensional projective space whose
$\mathbb Q$-rational points correspond to meromorphic, antisymmetric,
paramodular Borcherds products. We know two lines inside this algebraic set.
Some rational points on these lines give holomorphic Borcherds products and
thus construct examples of Siegel modular forms on degree two paramodular
groups. Weight $3$ examples provide antisymmetric canonical differential forms
on Siegel modular threefolds. Weight $2$ is the minimal weight and these
examples, via the Paramodular Conjecture, give evidence for the modularity of
some rank one abelian surfaces defined over $\mathbb Q$.


title:
HMD Vision-based Teleoperating UGV and UAV for Hostile Environment using
  Deep Learning

abstract:
  The necessity of maintaining a robust antiterrorist task force has become
imperative in recent times with resurgence of rogue element in the society. A
well equipped combat force warrants the safety and security of citizens and the
integrity of the sovereign state. In this paper we propose a novel
teleoperating robot which can play a major role in combat, rescue and
reconnaissance missions by substantially reducing loss of human soldiers in
such hostile environments. The proposed robotic solution consists of an
unmanned ground vehicle equipped with an IP camera visual system broadcasting
real-time video data to a remote cloud server. With the advancement in machine
learning algorithms in the field of computer vision, we incorporate state of
the art deep convolutional neural networks to identify and predict individuals
with malevolent intent. The classification is performed on every frame of the
video stream by the trained network in the cloud server. The predicted output
of the network is overlaid on the video stream with specific colour marks and
prediction percentage. Finally the data is resized into half-side by side
format and streamed to the head mount display worn by the human controller
which facilitates first person view of the scenario. The ground vehicle is also
coupled with an unmanned aerial vehicle for aerial surveillance. The proposed
scheme is an assistive system and the final decision evidently lies with the
human handler.


title: Color Spanning Annulus: Square, Rectangle and Equilateral Triangle

abstract:
  In this paper, we study different variations of minimum width color-spanning
annulus problem among a set of points $P=\{p_1,p_2,\ldots,p_n\}$ in $I\!\!R^2$,
where each point is assigned with a color in $\{1, 2, \ldots, k\}$. We present
algorithms for finding a minimum width color-spanning axis parallel square
annulus $(CSSA)$, minimum width color spanning axis parallel rectangular
annulus $(CSRA)$, and minimum width color-spanning equilateral triangular
annulus of fixed orientation $(CSETA)$. The time complexities of computing (i)
a $CSSA$ is $O(n^3+n^2k\log k)$ which is an improvement by a factor $n$ over
the existing result on this problem, (ii) that for a $CSRA$ is $O(n^4\log n)$,
and for (iii) a $CSETA$ is $O(n^3k)$. The space complexity of all the
algorithms is $O(k)$.


title:
Dichotomy of the transport coefficients of correlated electron liquids
  in SrTiO3

abstract:
  We discuss the Seebeck coefficient and the Hall mobility of electrons
confined in narrow SrTiO3 quantum wells as a function of the three-dimensional
carrier density and temperature. The quantum wells contain a fixed sheet
carrier density of ~ 7x10^14 cm^-2 and their thickness is varied. At high
temperatures, both properties exhibit apparent Fermi liquid behavior. In
particular, the Seebeck coefficient increases nearly linearly with temperature
(T) when phonon drag contributions are minimized, while the mobility decreases
proportional to T^2. Furthermore, the Seebeck coefficient scales inversely with
the Fermi energy (decreasing quantum well thickness). In contrast, the
transport scattering rate is independent of the Fermi energy, which is
inconsistent with a Fermi liquid. At low temperatures, the Seebeck coefficient
deviates from the linear temperature dependence for those electron liquids that
exhibit a correlation-induced pseudogap, indicating a change in the energy
dependence of the scattering rate. The implications for describing transport in
strongly correlated materials are discussed.


title: Practical Statistics for Particle Physicists

abstract:
  These three lectures provide an introduction to the main concepts of
statistical data analysis useful for precision measurements and searches for
new signals in High Energy Physics. The frequentist and Bayesian approaches to
probability theory are introduced and, for both approaches, inference methods
are presented. Hypothesis tests will be discussed, then significance and upper
limit evaluation will be presented with an overview of the modern and most
advanced techniques adopted for data analysis at the Large Hadron Collider.


title:
Post-quench dynamics and suppression of thermalization in an open
  half-filled Hubbard layer

abstract:
  We study the time evolution of a half-filled Hubbard layer coupled to a
magnon bath after a quench of the Hubbard interaction. Qualitatively different
regimes, regarding the asymptotic long-time dynamics, are identified and
characterized within the mean-field approximation. In the absence of the bath,
the dynamics of the closed system is similar to that of a quenched BCS
condensate. Though the presence of the bath introduces an additional relaxation
mechanism, our numerical results and analytical arguments show that
equilibration with the bath is not necessarily attained within the
approximations used. Instead, nonequilibrium states, similar to the ones
observed in the closed system, can emerge at long times as a consequence of the
competition between the intrinsic relaxation mechanism (Landau damping, for
example), and the bath-induced dissipation.


title: Pseudospin bases for a model of Cu:Bi$_2$Se$_3$

abstract:
  We consider the construction of pseudospin bases for a time-reversal and
inversion symmetric system, illustrated by a model for Cu:Bi$_2$Se$_3$.
Different methods and bases are compared.


title: The Gaia mission

abstract:
  Gaia is a cornerstone mission in the science programme of the European Space
Agency (ESA). The spacecraft construction was approved in 2006, following a
study in which the original interferometric concept was changed to a
direct-imaging approach. Both the spacecraft and the payload were built by
European industry. The involvement of the scientific community focusses on data
processing for which the international Gaia Data Processing and Analysis
Consortium (DPAC) was selected in 2007. Gaia was launched on 19 December 2013
and arrived at its operating point, the second Lagrange point of the
Sun-Earth-Moon system, a few weeks later. The commissioning of the spacecraft
and payload was completed on 19 July 2014. The nominal five-year mission
started with four weeks of special, ecliptic-pole scanning and subsequently
transferred into full-sky scanning mode. We recall the scientific goals of Gaia
and give a description of the as-built spacecraft that is currently (mid-2016)
being operated to achieve these goals. We pay special attention to the payload
module, the performance of which is closely related to the scientific
performance of the mission. We provide a summary of the commissioning
activities and findings, followed by a description of the routine operational
mode. We summarise scientific performance estimates on the basis of in-orbit
operations. Several intermediate Gaia data releases are planned and the data
can be retrieved from the Gaia Archive, which is available through the Gaia
home page at http://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia.


title: Automorphisms of certain Niemeier lattices and Elliptic Fibrations

abstract:
  Nishiyama introduced a lattice theoretic classification of the elliptic
fibrations on a $K3$ surface. In a previous paper we used his method to exhibit
$52$ elliptic fibrations, up to isomorphisms, of the singular $K3$ surface of
discriminant $-12$. We prove here that the list is complete with a $53$th
fibration, thanks to a remark of Elkies and Sch\"{u}tt. We characterize the
fibration both theoretically and with a Weierstrass model.


title:
A model study on a pair of trapped particles interacting with an
  arbitrary effective range

abstract:
  We study the effects of the effective range of interaction on the eigenvalues
and eigenstates of two particles confined in a three-dimensional (3D) isotropic
as well as one- or quasi-one dimensional harmonic (1D) traps. For this we
employ model potentials which mimic finite-range s-wave interactions over a
wide range of s-wave scattering length $a_s$ including the unitarity limits
$a_s \rightarrow \pm\infty$. Our results show that when the range is larger
than the 3D or 1D harmonic oscillator length scale, the eigenvalues and
eigenstates are nearly similar to those of noninteracting two particles in the
3D or 1D trap, respectively. In case of 3D, we find that when the range goes to
zero, the results of contact potential as derived by Busch {\it et al.}
[Foundations of Physics, {\bf28}, 549 (1998)] are reproduced. However, in the
case of 1D, such reproducibility does not occur as the range goes to zero. We
have calculated the eigenvalues and eigenstates in 1D harmonic trap taking
one-dimensional finite- range model potential. We have also calculated bound
state properties of two particles confined in a highly anisotropic quasi-1D
trap taking three-dimensional finite-range model potential, and examined
whether these quasi-1D results approach towards 1D ones as the aspect ratio
$\eta$ of the radial to axial frequency of the trap increases. We find that if
the range is very small compared to the axial size of the trap, then one can
reach 1D regime for $\eta \ge 10000$. However, for large range, one can nearly
get 1D results for smaller values of $\eta$. This study will be important for
exploration of two-body or many body physics of trapped ultracold atoms
interacting with narrow Feshbach resonance for which the effective range can be
large.


title: The Gaussian Graphical Model in Cross-sectional and Time-series Data

abstract:
  We discuss the Gaussian graphical model (GGM; an undirected network of
partial correlation coefficients) and detail its utility as an exploratory data
analysis tool. The GGM shows which variables predict one-another, allows for
sparse modeling of covariance structures, and may highlight potential causal
relationships between observed variables. We describe the utility in 3 kinds of
psychological datasets: datasets in which consecutive cases are assumed
independent (e.g., cross-sectional data), temporally ordered datasets (e.g., n
= 1 time series), and a mixture of the 2 (e.g., n > 1 time series). In
time-series analysis, the GGM can be used to model the residual structure of a
vector-autoregression analysis (VAR), also termed graphical VAR. Two network
models can then be obtained: a temporal network and a contemporaneous network.
When analyzing data from multiple subjects, a GGM can also be formed on the
covariance structure of stationary means---the between-subjects network. We
discuss the interpretation of these models and propose estimation methods to
obtain these networks, which we implement in the R packages graphicalVAR and
mlVAR. The methods are showcased in two empirical examples, and simulation
studies on these methods are included in the supplementary materials.


title: Single-photon scattering with counter rotating wave interaction

abstract:
  Recent experiments have pushed the studies on atom-photon interactions to the
ultrastrong regime, which motivates the exploration of physics beyond the
rotation wave approximation. Here we study the single-photon scattering on a
system composed by a coupling cavity array with a two-level atom in the center
cavity, which, by varying two outside coupling parameters, corresponds to a
model from a supercavity QED to a waveguide QED with counter-rotating wave
(CRW) interaction. By applying a time-independent scattering theory based on
the bound states in the scattering region, we find that the CRW interaction
obviously changes the transmission valley even in the weak atom-cavity coupling
regime; In particular, the CRW interaction leads to an inelastic scattering
process and a Fano-type resonance, which is directly observed in the crossover
from the supercavity QED case to the waveguide QED case. Predictably, our
findings provide the potential of manipulating the CRW effects in realistic
systems.


title: Quantum non-Markovianity induced by Anderson localization

abstract:
  As discovered by P. W. Anderson, excitations do not propagate freely in a
disordered lattice, but, due to destructive interference, they localise. As a
consequence when an atom interacts with a disordered lattice one indeed
observes, a non-trivial excitation exchange between atom and lattice. Such
non-trivial atomic dynamics will in general be characterised also by a
non-trivial quantum information backflow, a clear signature of non-Markovian
dynamics. To investigate the above scenario we consider a quantum emitter, or
atom, weakly coupled to a uniform coupled-cavity array (CCA). If initially
excited, in the absence of disorder, the emitter undergoes a Markovian
spontaneous emission by releasing all its excitation into the CCA (initially in
its vacuum state). By introducing static disorder in the CCA the field normal
modes become Anderson-localized, giving rise to a non-Markovian atomic
dynamics. We show the existence of a functional relationship between a rigorous
measure of quantum non-Markovianity and the CCA localization. We furthermore
show that the average non-Markovianity of the atomic dynamics is well-described
by a phenomenological model in which the atom is coupled, at the same time, to
a single mode and to a standard - Markovian - dissipative bath.


title:
Steady-state localized-delocalized phase transition of an
  incoherent-pumped dissipative Bose-Hubbard model

abstract:
  We investigate steady-state properties of a two-dimensional incoherent-pumped
dissipative Bose-Hubbard model, which describes a photon square lattice. This
incoherent pumping exhibits an important environment-induced higher-order
fluctuation effect, which induces a strong competition between the
driven-dissipative channel, the photon-photon interaction, and the photon
hopping in multi-photon processes. This new competition gives rise to a
spontaneous breaking of the U(1) symmetry of system. As a result, we predict a
many-body steady-state localized-delocalized phase transition and an
anti-blockade effect, in which the increasing of the repulsive photon-photon
interaction promotes the emergence of phase transition. These unconventional
many-body steady-state phenomena can be understood by analyzing the
single-cavity properties. Our results pave a new way to control many-body
dynamics of driven-dissipative systems.


title: Correlated Percolation

abstract:
  Cluster concepts have been extremely useful in elucidating many problems in
physics. Percolation theory provides a generic framework to study the behavior
of the cluster distribution. In most cases the theory predicts a geometrical
transition at the percolation threshold, characterized in the percolative phase
by the presence of a spanning cluster, which becomes infinite in the
thermodynamic limit. Standard percolation usually deals with the problem when
the constitutive elements of the clusters are randomly distributed. However
correlations cannot always be neglected. In this case correlated percolation is
the appropriate theory to study such systems. The origin of correlated
percolation could be dated back to 1937 when Mayer [1] proposed a theory to
describe the condensation from a gas to a liquid in terms of mathematical
clusters (for a review of cluster theory in simple fluids see [2]). The
location for the divergence of the size of these clusters was interpreted as
the condensation transition from a gas to a liquid. One of the major drawback
of the theory was that the cluster number for some values of thermodynamic
parameters could become negative. As a consequence the clusters did not have
any physical interpretation [3]. This theory was followed by Frenkel's
phenomenological model [4], in which the fluid was considered as made of non
interacting physical clusters with a given free energy. This model was later
improved by Fisher [3], who proposed a different free energy for the clusters,
now called droplets, and consequently a different scaling form for the droplet
size distribution. This distribution, which depends on two geometrical
parameters, has the nice feature that the mean droplet size exhibits a
divergence at the liquid-gas critical point.


title: Optimization on the biorthogonal manifold

abstract:
  In this paper, we consider optimization problems w.r.t. to pairs of
orthogonal matrices $XY = I$. Problems of this form arise in several
applications such as finding shape correspondence in computer graphics. We show
that the space of such matrices is a Riemannian manifold, which we call the
biorthogonal manifold. To our knowledge, this manifold has not been studied
before. We give expressions of tangent space projection, exponential map, and
retraction operators of the biorthogonal manifold, and discuss their numerical
implementation.


title:
HST Grism Confirmation of Two $z \sim 2$ Structures from the Clusters
  Around Radio-Loud AGN (CARLA) Survey

abstract:
  Using HST slitless grism data, we report the spectroscopic confirmation of
two distant structures at $z \sim 2$ associated with powerful high-redshift
radio-loud AGN. These rich structures, likely (forming) clusters, are among the
most distant currently known and were identified on the basis of Spitzer/IRAC
[3.6] - [4.5] color. We spectroscopically confirm 9 members in the field of MRC
2036-254, comprising eight star-forming galaxies and the targeted radio galaxy.
The median redshift is $z = 2.000$. We spectroscopically confirm 10 members in
the field of B3 0756+406, comprising eight star-forming galaxies and two AGN,
including the targeted radio-loud quasar. The median redshift is $z = 1.986$.
All confirmed members are within 500 kpc (1 arcmin) of the targeted AGN. We
derive median (mean) star-formation rates of $\sim 35~M_{\odot}\rm ~ yr^{-1}$
($\sim 50~M_{\odot}\rm ~ yr^{-1}$) for the confirmed star-forming members of
both structures based on their [OIII]$\lambda5007$ luminosities, and estimate
average galaxy stellar masses $\lesssim 1 \times 10^{11} ~M_{\odot}$ based on
mid-infrared fluxes and SED modeling. Most of our confirmed members are located
above the star-forming main-sequence towards starburst galaxies, consistent
with clusters at these early epochs being the sites of significant levels of
star formation. The structure around MRC 2036-254 shows an overdensity of
IRAC-selected candidate galaxy cluster members consistent with being quiescent
galaxies, while the structure around B3 0756+406 shows field values, albeit
with many lower limits to colors that could allow an overdensity of faint red
quiescent galaxies. The structure around MRC 2036-254 shows a red sequence of
passive galaxy candidates.


title:
Scale dependence of mechanics and dynamics of active gels with
  increasing motor concentration

abstract:
  The cytoskeleton protein actin assembles into large bundles when supporting
stresses in the cell, but grows into a fine branched network to induce cell
motion. Such self-organization processes are studied in artificial networks of
cytoskeleton proteins with thick actin bundles and large motor protein
aggregates to enable optical observation. The effect of motor aggregate size on
the cytoskeleton mechanical properties is studied here in networks comprised of
much smaller motor assemblies. Large motor protein clusters are known to
increase the stiffness of actin based networks by introducing tension and
additional cross-linking cites. We find that these effects are universal to
actin gels regardless of actin bundle thickness and motor aggregate size and
are relevant, therefore, to a wide range of cytoskeleton based cellular
processes. In contrast, motor induced active fluctuations depend significantly
on motor assembly size, featuring unique non-Gaussian statistics at high
concentrations of small assemblies.


title:
Local resilience of the $1T$-TiSe$_2$ charge density wave to Ti
  self-doping

abstract:
  In Ti-intercalated self-doped $1T$-TiSe$_2$ crystals, the charge density wave
(CDW) superstructure induces two nonequivalent sites for Ti dopants. Recently,
it has been shown that increasing Ti doping dramatically influences the CDW by
breaking it into phase-shifted domains. Here, we report scanning tunneling
microscopy and spectroscopy experiments that reveal a dopant-site dependence of
the CDW gap. Supported by density functional theory, we demonstrate that the
loss of the longrange phase coherence introduces an imbalance in the
intercalated-Ti site distribution and restrains the CDW gap closure. This local
resilient behavior of the $1T$-TiSe$_2$ CDW reveals a novel mechanism between
CDW and defects in mutual influence.


title: Zariski density of monodromy groups via Picard-Lefschetz type formula

abstract:
  For the universal family of cyclic covers of projective spaces branched along
hyperplane arrangements in general position, we consider its monodromy group
acting on an eigen linear subspace of the middle cohomology of the fiber. We
prove the monodromy group is Zariski dense in the corresponding linear group.
It can be viewed as a degenerate analogy of
  Carlson-Toledo's result about the monodromy groups of smooth hypersurfaces
[Duke Math. J. 97(3) (1999), 621-648]. The main ingredient in the proof is a
Picard-Lefschetz type formula for a suitable degeneration of this family.


title:
Reciprocity relation for the vector radiative transport equation and its
  application to diffuse optical tomography with polarized light

abstract:
  We derive a reciprocity relation for vector radiative transport equation
(vRTE) that describes propagation of polarized light in multiple-scattering
media. We then show how this result, together with translational invariance of
a plane-parallel sample, can be used to compute efficiently the sensitivity
kernel of diffuse optical tomography (DOT) by Monte Carlo simulations.
Numerical examples of polarization-selective sensitivity kernels thus computed
are given.


title:
Proceedings of the third "international Traveling Workshop on
  Interactions between Sparse models and Technology" (iTWIST'16)

abstract:
  The third edition of the "international - Traveling Workshop on Interactions
between Sparse models and Technology" (iTWIST) took place in Aalborg, the 4th
largest city in Denmark situated beautifully in the northern part of the
country, from the 24th to 26th of August 2016. The workshop venue was at the
Aalborg University campus. One implicit objective of this biennial workshop is
to foster collaboration between international scientific teams by disseminating
ideas through both specific oral/poster presentations and free discussions. For
this third edition, iTWIST'16 gathered about 50 international participants and
features 8 invited talks, 12 oral presentations, and 12 posters on the
following themes, all related to the theory, application and generalization of
the "sparsity paradigm": Sparsity-driven data sensing and processing (e.g.,
optics, computer vision, genomics, biomedical, digital communication, channel
estimation, astronomy); Application of sparse models in non-convex/non-linear
inverse problems (e.g., phase retrieval, blind deconvolution, self
calibration); Approximate probabilistic inference for sparse problems; Sparse
machine learning and inference; "Blind" inverse problems and dictionary
learning; Optimization for sparse modelling; Information theory, geometry and
randomness; Sparsity? What's next? (Discrete-valued signals; Union of
low-dimensional spaces, Cosparsity, mixed/group norm, model-based,
low-complexity models, ...); Matrix/manifold sensing/processing (graph,
low-rank approximation, ...); Complexity/accuracy tradeoffs in numerical
methods/optimization; Electronic/optical compressive sensors (hardware).


title: Beyond AdS Space-times, New Holographic Correspondences and Applications

abstract:
  To describe Lifshitz and hyperscaling violating (HSV) phenomena in CM one
uses gauge fields on the gravity side which naturally realize the breaking of
Lorentz invariance. These gravity constructions often contain naked
singularities. In this thesis, we construct a resolution of the infra-red (IR)
singularity of the HSV background. The idea is to add squared curvature terms
to the Einstein-Maxwell dilaton action to build a flow from $\text{AdS}_4$ in
the ultra violate (UV) to an intermediating HSV region and then to an
$\text{AdS}_2 \times {\text{R}}^2$ region in the IR. This general solution is
free from the naked singularities and would be more appropriate for
applications of HSV in physical systems.
  We also study the Schwinger effect by using the AdS/CFT duality. We present
the phase diagrams of the Schwinger effect and also the "butterfly shaped-phase
diagrams" of the entanglement entropy for four different confining supergravity
backgrounds. Comparing different features of all of these diagrams could point
out to a potential relation between the Schwinger effect and the entanglement
entropy which could lead to a method of measuring entanglement entropy in the
laboratory.
  Finally, we study the "new massive gravity" theory and the different black
hole solutions it admits. We first present three different methods of
calculating the conserved charges. Then, by calculating the on-shell Gibbs free
energy we construct the Hawking-Page phase diagrams for different solutions in
two thermodynamical ensembles. As the massive gravity models are dual to
dissipating systems, studying the Hawking-Page diagrams could point out to
interesting results for the confinement-deconfinement phase transitions of the
dual boundary theories.


title:
Quantifying magma mixing with the Shannon entropy: application to
  simulations and experiments

abstract:
  We introduce a new quantity to petrology, the Shannon entropy, as a tool for
quantifying mixing as well as the rate of production of hybrid compositions in
the mixing system. The Shannon entropy approach is applied to time series
numerical simulations and high-temperature experiments performed with natural
melts. We note that in both cases the Shannon entropy increases linearly during
the initial stages of mixing and then saturates toward constant values.
Furthermore, chemical elements with different mobilities display different
rates of increase of the Shannon entropy. This indicates that the hybrid
composition for the different elements is attained at different times
generating a wide range of spatio-compositional domains which further increase
the apparent complexity of the mixing process. Results from the application of
the Shannon entropy analysis are compared with the concept of Relaxation of
Concentration Variance (RCV), a measure recently introduced in petrology to
quantify chemical exchanges during magma mixing. We derive a linear expression
relating the change of concentration variance during mixing and the Shannon
entropy. We show that the combined use of Shannon entropy and RCV provides the
most complete information about the space and time complexity of magma mixing.
As a consequence, detailed information about this fundamental petrogenetic and
volcanic process can be gathered. In particular, the Shannon entropy can be
used as complement to the RCV method to quantify the mobility of chemical
elements in magma mixing systems, to obtain information about the rate of
production of compositional heterogeneities, and to derive empirical
relationships linking the rate of chemical exchanges between interacting magmas
and mixing time.


title:
Testing one-zone synchrotron-self-Compton models with spectral energy
  distributions of Mrk 421

abstract:
  We test one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) models with high-quality
multiwavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) data of Mrk 421. We use
Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique to fit twelve day-scale SEDs of Mrk
421 with one-zone SSC models. Three types of electron energy distribution
(EED), a log-parabola (LP) EED, a power-law log-parabola (PLLP) EED and a
broken power-law (BPL) EED, are assumed in fits. We find that the one-zone SSC
model with the PLLP EED provides successful fits to all the twelve SEDs.
However, the one-zone SSC model with the LP and BPL EEDs fail to provide
acceptable fits to the highest energy X-ray data or GeV data in several states.
We therefore conclude that the one-zone SSC model works well in explaining the
SEDs of Mrk 421, and the PLLP EED is preferred over the LP and BPL EEDs for Mrk
421 during the flare in March 2010. We derive magnetic field $B'\sim0.01$\ G,
Doppler factor $\delta_{\rm D}\sim$30--50, and the curvature parameter of EED
$r\sim1$--$10$ in the model with the PLLP EED. The evolutions of model
parameters are explored. The physical implications of our results are
discussed.


title:
Determination of the STM tip-graphene repulsive forces by comparative
  STM and AFM measurements on suspended graphene

abstract:
  Graphene grown by chemical vapour deposition is transferred on top of flat
gold nanoislands and characterized by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and
atomic force microscopy (AFM). Graphene bubbles are formed with lateral
dimensions determined by the size and shape of nanoislands. These graphene
bubbles can be squeezed during STM imaging using bias voltages of less than 250
mV and tunnelling currents of 1 nA. Similarly, the graphene suspended over gold
nanovoids is deflected 4 - 5 nm by the STM tip when imaging at low bias
voltages (U = 30 mV). Nanoindentation measurements performed by AFM show that
the squeezing of graphene bubbles occurs at repulsive forces of 20 - 35 nN, and
such forces can result in deflections of several nanometres in suspended
graphene parts, respectively. Comparing the AFM and STM results, this study
reveals that mechanical forces of the order of 10e-8 N occur between the STM
tip and graphene under ambient imaging conditions and typical tunnelling
parameters.


title:
Gaia Data Release 1. Summary of the astrometric, photometric, and survey
  properties

abstract:
  At about 1000 days after the launch of Gaia we present the first Gaia data
release, Gaia DR1, consisting of astrometry and photometry for over 1 billion
sources brighter than magnitude 20.7. We summarize Gaia DR1 and provide
illustrations of the scientific quality of the data, followed by a discussion
of the limitations due to the preliminary nature of this release. Gaia DR1
consists of: a primary astrometric data set which contains the positions,
parallaxes, and mean proper motions for about 2 million of the brightest stars
in common with the Hipparcos and Tycho-2 catalogues and a secondary astrometric
data set containing the positions for an additional 1.1 billion sources. The
second component is the photometric data set,consisting of mean G-band
magnitudes for all sources. The G-band light curves and the characteristics of
~3000 Cepheid and RR Lyrae stars, observed at high cadence around the south
ecliptic pole, form the third component. For the primary astrometric data set
the typical uncertainty is about 0.3 mas for the positions and parallaxes, and
about 1 mas/yr for the proper motions. A systematic component of ~0.3 mas
should be added to the parallax uncertainties. For the subset of ~94000
Hipparcos stars in the primary data set, the proper motions are much more
precise at about 0.06 mas/yr. For the secondary astrometric data set, the
typical uncertainty of the positions is ~10 mas. The median uncertainties on
the mean G-band magnitudes range from the mmag level to ~0.03 mag over the
magnitude range 5 to 20.7. Gaia DR1 represents a major advance in the mapping
of the heavens and the availability of basic stellar data that underpin
observational astrophysics. Nevertheless, the very preliminary nature of this
first Gaia data release does lead to a number of important limitations to the
data quality which should be carefully considered before drawing conclusions
from the data.


title: Every Schnyder Drawing is a Greedy Embedding

abstract:
  Geographic routing is a routing paradigm, which uses geographic coordinates
of network nodes to determine routes. Greedy routing, the simplest form of
geographic routing forwards a packet to the closest neighbor towards the
destination. A greedy embedding is a embedding of a graph on a geometric space
such that greedy routing always guarantees delivery. A Schnyder drawing is a
classical way to draw a planar graph. In this manuscript, we show that every
Schnyder drawing is a greedy embedding, based on a generalized definition of
greedy routing.


title: On the coupon-collector's problem with several parallel collections

abstract:
  In this note we evaluate the expectation and variance of the waiting time to
complete $m$ parallel collections of coupons, in the case of coupons which
arrives independently, one by one and with equal probabilities.


title:
Optimizing impulsive X-ray Raman scattering for population transfer in
  atomic systems

abstract:
  Impulsive X-ray Raman excitations of Lithium, Neon, and Sodium are calculated
using the Multiconfiguration Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock method. Using linearly
polarized laser pulses without chirp, we determine the optimum central
frequency, intensity, and duration for maximum population transfer to valence
excited states. We demonstrate the existence of two local optima or "sweet
spots" for population transfer, either of which, depending on the system, may
be superior. For some systems we find that population transfer can be maximized
by nonresonant Raman transitions, red-detuned below K-edge, because such
detuning minimizes core-excited populations and ionization loss. For instance,
in Neon near the K-edge the global optimum for population transfer occurs at
high intensity (8 $\times$ 10$^{19}$ W cm$^{-2}$), short duration (82as
full-width-at-half-maximum), and 24eV red-detuned from the K-edge.


title: Liveness of Parameterized Timed Networks

abstract:
  We consider the model checking problem of infinite state systems given in the
form of parameterized discrete timed networks with multiple clocks. We show
that this problem is decidable with respect to specifications given by B- or
S-automata. Such specifications are very expressive (they strictly subsume
omega-regular specifications), and easily express complex liveness and safety
properties. Our results are obtained by modeling the passage of time using
symmetric broadcast, and by solving the model checking problem of parameterized
systems of un-timed processes communicating using k-wise rendezvous and
symmetric broadcast. Our decidability proof makes use of automata theory,
rational linear programming, and geometric reasoning for solving certain
reachability questions in vector addition systems; we believe these proof
techniques will be useful in solving related problems.


title:
Precision Measurement of the Quadrupole Transition Matrix Element in a
  Single Trapped $^{40}$Ca$^{+}$

abstract:
  We report the first experimental determination of the $4s \ ^{2}S_{1/2} $
$\leftrightarrow $ $3d \ ^{2}D_{5/2}$ quadrupole transition matrix element in
$^{40}$Ca$^+$ by measuring the branching ratio of the $3d \ ^{2}D_{5/2} $ state
decaying into the ground state $4s \ ^{2}S_{1/2} $ and the lifetime of the $3d
\ ^{2}D_{5/2} $ state, using a technique of highly synchronized measurement
sequence for laser control and highly efficient quantum state detection for
quantum jumps. The measured branching ratio and improved lifetime are,
respectively, 0.9992(80) and 1.1652(46) s, which yield the value of the
quadrupole transition matrix element (in absolute value) 9.737(43)~$ea_{0}^{2}$
with the uncertainty at the level of 0.44\%. The measured quadrupole transition
matrix element is in good agreement with the most precise many-body atomic
structure calculations. Our method can be universally applied to measurements
of transition matrix elements in single ions and atoms of similar structure.


title: Stability properties of the ENO method

abstract:
  We review the currently available stability properties of the ENO
reconstruction procedure, such as its monotonicity and non-oscillatory
properties, the sign property, upper bounds on cell interface jumps and a total
variation-type bound. We also outline how these properties can be applied to
derive stability and convergence of high-order accurate schemes for
conservation laws.


title:
More on functional and quantitative versions of the isoperimetric
  inequality

abstract:
  This paper deals with the famous isoperimetric inequality. In a first part,
we give some new functional form of the isoperimetric inequality, and in a
second part, we give a quantitative form with a remainder term involving
Wasserstein distance of the classical isopemetric inequality. In both parts, we
use optimal transportation. Finally, we use our refined isoperimetric
inequality in some classical cases arising in convex geometry.


title: A Scaling Analysis of a Star Network with Logarithmic Weights

abstract:
  The paper investigates the properties of a class of resource allocation
algorithms for communication networks: if a node of this network has $x$
requests to transmit, then it receives a fraction of the capacity proportional
to $\log(1{+}L)$, the logarithm of its current load $L$. A stochastic model of
such an algorithm is investigated in the case of the star network, in which $J$
nodes can transmit simultaneously, but interfere with a central node $0$ in
such a way that node $0$ cannot transmit while one of the other nodes does. One
studies the impact of the log policy on these $J+1$ interacting communication
nodes. A fluid scaling analysis of the network is derived with the scaling
parameter $N$ being the norm of the initial state. It is shown that the
asymptotic fluid behaviour of the system is a consequence of the evolution of
the state of the network on a specific time scale $(N^t,\, t{\in}(0,1))$. The
main result is that, on this time scale and under appropriate conditions, the
state of a node with index $j\geq 1$ is of the order of $N^{a_j(t)}$, with
$0{\leq}a_j(t){<}1$, where $t\mapsto a_j(t)$ is a piecewise linear function.
Convergence results on the fluid time scale and a stability property are
derived as a consequence of this study.


title:
A modified thermodynamics method to generate exact solutions of the
  Einstein equations

abstract:
  We modify the method to generate the exact solutions of the Einstein
equations basing on the laws of thermodynamics. Firstly, the Komar mass is used
to take the place of the Misner-Sharp energy which is used in the original
methods, and then several exact solutions of Einstein equations are obtained,
including the black hole solution which surrounded by quintessence. Moreover,
the geometry surface gravity defined by Komar mass is obtained. Secondly, we
use both the Komar mass and the ADM mass to modify such method, and the similar
results are obtained. Moreover, with some generalize added to the definition of
the ADM mass, our method can be generalized to global monopole sapcetime.


title:
Relationship Between the Hosoya Polynomial and the Edge-Hosoya
  Polynomial of Trees

abstract:
  We prove the relationship between the Hosoya polynomial and the edge-Hosoya
polynomial of trees. The connection between the edge-hyper-Wiener index and the
edge-Hosoya polynomial is established. With these results we also prove
formulas for the computation of the edge-Wiener index and the edge-hyper-Wiener
index of trees using the Wiener index and the hyper-Wiener index. Moreover, the
closed formulas are derived for a family of chemical trees called regular
dendrimers.


title:
Iron Isotope Effect in SmFeAsO0.65 and SmFeAsO0.77H0.12 Superconductors:
  A Raman Study

abstract:
  We report the inelastic light scattering studies on SmFeAsO0.65 and
SmFeAsO0.77H0.12 with iron isotopes namely 54Fe and 57Fe. In both of these
systems under investigation we observed a significant shift in the frequency of
the phonon modes associated with the displacement of Fe atoms around ~ 200
cm-1. The observed shift in the Fe mode (B1g) for SmFeAsO0.65 is ~ 1.4 % and
lower in case of SmFeAsO0.77H0.12, which is ~ 0.65 %, attributed to the lower
percentage of isotopic substitution in case of SmFeAsO0.77H0.12. Our study
reveals the significant iron isotope effect in these systems hinting towards
the crucial role of electron-phonon coupling in the pairing mechanism of iron
based superconductors.


title: Particle plasmons: Why shape matters

abstract:
  Simple analytic expressions for the polarizability of metallic nanoparticles
are in wide use in the field of plasmonics, but their origins are not obvious.
In this article, expressions for the polarizability of a particle are derived
in the quasistatic limit in a manner that allows the physical origin of the
terms to be clearly seen. The discussion is tutorial in nature, with particular
attention given to the role of particle shape since this is a controlling
factor in particle plasmon resonances.


title: 2HDM Higgs-to-Higgs Decays at Next-to-Leading Order

abstract:
  The detailed investigation of the Higgs sector at present and future
colliders necessitates from the theory side as precise predictions as possible,
including higher order corrections. An important ingredient for the computation
of higher order corrections is the renormalization of the model parameters and
fields. In this paper we complete the renormalization of the 2-Higgs-Doublet
Model (2HDM) Higgs sector launched in a previous contribution with the
investigation of the renormalization of the mixing angles $\alpha$ and $\beta$.
Here, we treat the renormalization of the mass parameter $m_{12}^2$ that softly
breaks the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry of the 2HDM Higgs sector. We investigate the
impact of two different renormalization schemes on the sample Higgs-to-Higgs
decay $H\to hh$. This decay also allows us to analyze the renormalization of
the mixing angles and to confirm the properties extracted before in other Higgs
decays. In conclusion we find that a gauge-independent, process-independent and
numerically stable renormalization of the 2HDM Higgs sector is given by the
application of the tadpole-pinched scheme for the mixing angles $\alpha$ and
$\beta$ and by the use of the $\overline{MS}$ scheme for $m_{12}^2$.


title: Neural Machine Translation with Supervised Attention

abstract:
  The attention mechanisim is appealing for neural machine translation, since
it is able to dynam- ically encode a source sentence by generating a alignment
between a target word and source words. Unfortunately, it has been proved to be
worse than conventional alignment models in aligment accuracy. In this paper,
we analyze and explain this issue from the point view of re- ordering, and
propose a supervised attention which is learned with guidance from conventional
alignment models. Experiments on two Chinese-to-English translation tasks show
that the super- vised attention mechanism yields better alignments leading to
substantial gains over the standard attention based NMT.


title:
Principal submatrices, restricted invertibility and a quantitative
  Gauss-Lucas theorem

abstract:
  We apply the techniques developed by Marcus, Spielman and Srivastava, working
with principal submatrices in place of rank $1$ decompositions to give an
alternate proof of their results on restricted invertibility. We show that one
can find well conditioned column submatrices all the way upto the so called
modified stable rank. All constructions are algorithmic. A byproduct of these
results is an interesting quantitative version of the classical Gauss-Lucas
theorem on the critical points of complex polynomials. We show that for any
degree $n$ polynomial $p$ and any $c \geq \frac{1}{2}$, the area of the convex
hull of the roots of $p^{(cn)}$ is at most $4(c-c^2)$ that of the area of the
convex hull of the roots of $p$.


title:
The necessary and sufficient conditions for stochastic differential
  systems with multi-time states cost functional

abstract:
  From economics point of view, we investigate a new optimal control problem
driven by a stochastic differential equation with a multi-time states cost
functional. By constructing a series of first-order adjoint equations, we
establish the stochastic maximum principle and sufficient optimality conditions
for this new optimal control problem. A constraints problem also be studied. In
the end, we develop a near optimal control problem for a general cost
functional.


title: Electronic Transport in Gadolinium Atomic-Size Contacts

abstract:
  We report on the fabrication, transport measurements, and density functional
theory (DFT) calculations of atomic size contacts made out of gadolinium (Gd).
Gd is known to have local moments mainly associated with $f$ electrons. These
coexist with itinerant $s$ and $d$ bands that account for its metallic
character. Here we explore whether and how the local moments influence
electronic transport properties at the atomic scale. Using both Scanning
Tunneling Microscope (STM) and lithographic Mechanically Controllable Break
Junction (MCBJ) techniques under cryogenic conditions, we study the conductance
of Gd when only few atoms form the junction between bulk electrodes made out of
the very same material. Thousands of measurements shows that Gd has an average
lowest conductance, attributed to an atom-size contact, below $\frac{2e^2}{h}$.
Our DFT calculations for monostrand chains anticipate that the $f$ bands are
fully spin polarized and insulating, and that the conduction may be dominated
by $s$, $p$, and $d$ bands. DFT quantum transport calculations quantitatively
reproduce the experimental results for zero bias and reveal that, while $s-p$
bands are dominant for transport, $d$ orbitals seem to have a relevant
contribution in some cases.


title:
Analytic functions in a bidisc of bounded $\mathbf{L}$-index in joint
  variables

abstract:
  A concept of boundedness of L-index in joint variables (see in Bordulyak M.T.
The space of entire in $\mathbb{C}^n$ functions of bounded L-index, Mat. Stud.,
4 (1995), 53--58. (in Ukrainian)) is generalised for analytic in a bidisc
function. We proved criteria of boundedness of $\mathbf{L}$-index in joint
variables which describe local behaviour of partial derivative and give an
estimate of maximum modulus on a skeleton of polydisc. Some improvements of
known sufficient conditions of boundednees of $\mathbf{L}$-index in joint
variables are obtained.


title: On the number of solutions in random graph $k$-colouring

abstract:
  Let $k \ge 3$ be a fixed integer. We exactly determine the asymptotic
distribution of $\ln Z_k(G(n,m))$, where $Z_k(G(n,m))$ is the number of
$k$-colourings of the random graph $G(n,m)$. A crucial observation to this aim
is that the fluctuations in the number of colourings can be attributed to the
fluctuations in the number of small cycles in $G(n,m)$. Our result holds for a
wide range of average degrees, and for $k$ exceeding a certain constant $k_0$
it covers all average degrees up to the so-called "condensation phase
transition".


title: Riemann-Hilbert correspondence for mixed twistor D-Modules

abstract:
  We introduce the notion of regularity for a relative holonomic $\mathcal
D$-module in the sense of arXiv:1204.1331. We prove that the solution functor
from the bounded derived category of regular relative holonomic modules to that
of relative constructible complexes is essentially surjective by constructing a
right quasi-inverse functor. When restricted to relative $\mathcal D$-modules
underlying a regular mixed twistor $\mathcal D$-module, this functor satisfies
the left quasi-inverse property.


title: Cauchy-Riemann equations and Jacobians of quaternion polynomials

abstract:
  A map $f$ from the quaternion skew field $H$ to itself, can also be thought
as a transformation $f:R^4 \to R^4$. In this manuscript, the Jacobian $J(f)$ of
$f$ is computed, in the case where $f$ is a quaternion polynomial. As a
consequence, the Cauchy-Riemman equations for $f$ are derived. It is also shown
that the Jacobian determinant of $f$ is non negative over $H$. The above
commensurates well with the theory of analytic functions of one complex
variable.


title:
Solving $\overline\partial$ with prescribed support on Hartogs triangles
  in $\mathbb C^2$ and $\mathbb C\mathbb P^2$

abstract:
  In this paper we study the solvability of the Cauchy-Riemann equation with
prescibed support in different spaces of forms. The unbounded Hartogs triangle
in $\mathbb C^2$ and the Hartogs domains in $\mathbb C\mathbb P^2$ provide us
new unexpected phenomena. In particular we prove that the Dolbeault isomorphism
fails to hold for the Dolbeault cohomology with prescribed support


title: Mixed Determinants and the Kadison-Singer problem

abstract:
  We adapt the arguments of Marcus, Spielman and Srivastava in their proof of
the Kadison-Singer problem to prove improved paving estimates. Working with
Anderson's paving formulation of Kadison-Singer instead of Weaver's vector
balancing version, we show that the machinery of interlacing polyomials due to
Marcus, Spielman and Srivastava works in this setting as well. The relevant
expected characteristic polynomials turn out to be related to the so called
"mixed determinants" that have been carefully studied by Borcea and Branden.
This technique allows us to show that any projection with diagonal entries
strictly less than $\frac{1}{4}$ can be two paved, matching recent results of
Bownik, Casazza, Marcus and Speegle, though our estimates are asymptotically
weaker. We also show that any projection with diagonal entries at most
$\frac{1}{2}$ can be four paved, yielding improvements over currently known
estimates. We also relate the problem of finding optimal paving estimates to
bounding the root intervals of a natural one parameter deformation of the
characteristic polynomial of a matrix that turns out to have some remarkable
combinatorial properties.


title:
Optimal Representations for Adaptive Streaming in Interactive Multi-View
  Video Systems

abstract:
  Interactive multi-view video streaming (IMVS) services permit to remotely
immerse within a 3D scene. This is possible by transmitting a set of reference
camera views (anchor views), which are used by the clients to freely navigate
in the scene and possibly synthesize additional viewpoints of interest. From a
networking perspective, the big challenge in IMVS systems is to deliver to each
client the best set of anchor views that maximizes the navigation quality,
minimizes the view-switching delay and yet satisfies the network constraints.
Integrating adaptive streaming solutions in free-viewpoint systems offers a
promising solution to deploy IMVS in large and heterogeneous scenarios, as long
as the multi-view video representations on the server are properly selected. We
therefore propose to optimize the multi-view data at the server by minimizing
the overall resource requirements, yet offering a good navigation quality to
the different users. We propose a video representation set optimization for
multiview adaptive streaming systems and we show that it is NP-hard. We
therefore introduce the concept of multi-view navigation segment that permits
to cast the video representation set selection as an integer linear programming
problem with a bounded computational complexity. We then show that the proposed
solution reduces the computational complexity while preserving optimality in
most of the 3D scenes. We then provide simulation results for different classes
of users and show the gain offered by an optimal multi-view video
representation selection compared to recommended representation sets (e.g.,
Netflix and Apple ones) or to a baseline representation selection algorithm
where the encoding parameters are decided a priori for all the views.


title:
ADWISERv2: A Plug-and-play Controller for Managing TCP Transfers in
  IEEE~802.11 Infrastructure WLANs with Multiple Access Points

abstract:
  In this paper, we present a generic plug-and-play controller that ensures
fair and efficient operation of IEEE~802.11 infrastructure wireless local area
networks with multiple co-channel access points, without any change to
hardware/firmware of the network devices. Our controller addresses performance
issues of TCP transfers in multi-AP WLANs, by overlaying a coarse time-slicing
scheduler on top of a cascaded fair queuing scheduler. The time slices and
queue weights, used in our controller, are obtained from the solution of a
constrained utility optimization formulation. A study of the impact of coarse
time-slicing on TCP is also presented in this paper. We present an improved
algorithm for adaptation of the service rate of the fair queuing scheduler and
provide experimental results to illustrate its efficacy. We also present the
changes that need to be incorporated to the proposed approach, to handle
short-lived and interactive TCP flows. Finally, we report the results of
experiments performed on a real testbed, demonstrating the efficacy of our
controller.


title:
On the closed embedding of the product of theta divisors into product of
  Jacobians and Chow groups

abstract:
  In this article we generalize the injectivity of the push-forward
homomorphism at the level of Chow groups, induced by the closed embedding of
$\Sym^m C$ into $\Sym^n C$ for $m\leq n$, where $C$ is a smooth projective
curve, to symmetric powers of a smooth projective variety of higher dimension.
We also prove the analog of this theorem for product of symmetric powers of
smooth projective varieties. As an application we prove the injectivity of the
push-forward homomorphism at the level of Chow groups, induced by the closed
embedding of self product of theta divisor into the self product of the
Jacobian of a smooth projective curve.


title: Entropy and efficiency of the ETF market

abstract:
  We investigate the relative information efficiency of financial markets by
measuring the entropy of the time series of high frequency data. Our tool to
measure efficiency is the Shannon entropy, applied to 2-symbol and 3-symbol
discretisations of the data. Analysing 1-minute and 5-minute price time series
of 55 Exchange Traded Funds traded at the New York Stock Exchange, we develop a
methodology to isolate true inefficiencies from other sources of regularities,
such as the intraday pattern, the volatility clustering and the microstructure
effects. The first two are modelled as multiplicative factors, while the
microstructure is modelled as an ARMA noise process. Following an analytical
and empirical combined approach, we find a strong relationship between low
entropy and high relative tick size and that volatility is responsible for the
largest amount of regularity, averaging 62% of the total regularity against 18%
of the intraday pattern regularity and 20% of the microstructure.


title: Transmitting more than 10 bit with a single photon

abstract:
  Encoding information in the position of single photons has no known limits,
given infinite resources. Using a heralded single-photon source and a Spatial
Light Modulator (SLM), we steer single photons to specific positions in a
virtual grid on a large-area spatially resolving photon-counting detector
(ICCD). We experimentally demonstrate selective addressing any location
(symbol) in a 9072 size grid (alphabet) to achieve 10.5 bit of mutual
information between the sender and receiver per detected photon. Our results
set the stage for very-high-dimensional quantum information processing.


title:
Quotients of orders in algebras obtained from skew polynomials with
  applications to coding theory

abstract:
  We describe families of nonassociative finite unital rings that occur as
quotients of natural nonassociative orders in generalized nonassociative cyclic
division algebras over number fields. These natural orders have already been
used to systematically construct fully diverse fast-decodable space-time block
codes. We show how the quotients of natural orders can be employed for coset
coding. Previous results by Oggier and Sethuraman involving quotients of orders
in associative cyclic division algebras are obtained as special cases.


title:
Comparison of particle properties in Kerr metric and in rotating
  coordinates

abstract:
  Properties of particles in Kerr metric are compared with properties of
particles in rotating coordinates in Minkowski space-time. It is shown that
particles with negative and zero energies existing in the ergosphere of the
rotating black hole also exist in the region out of the static limit in
rotating coordinates in Minkowski space-time. Some similarities like the
Penrose process and differences in both cases are analyzed.


title: Waterfiling: Balancing the Tor network with maximum diversity

abstract:
  We present the Waterfilling circuit selection method, which we designed in
order to mitigate the risks of a successful end-to-end traffic correlation
attack. Waterfilling proceeds by balancing the Tor network load as evenly as
possible on endpoints of user paths. We simulate the use of Waterfilling thanks
to the TorPS and Shadow tools. Applying several security metrics, we show that
the adoption of Waterfilling considerably increases the number of nodes that an
adversary needs to control in order to be able to mount a successful attack,
while somewhat decreasing the minimum amount of bandwidth required to do so.
Moreover, we evaluate Waterfilling into Shadow and show that it does not impact
significantly the performance of the network. Furthermore, Waterfilling reduces
the benefits that an attacker could obtain by hacking into a top bandwidth Tor
relay, hence limiting the risks raised by such relays.


title: Is nonstandard interaction a solution to the three neutrino tensions?

abstract:
  In this work we present a scenario in which a nonstandard interaction in
neutrino propagation can explain the three major tensions in the neutrino
oscillation data at present. These tensions are: (i) a non-zero best-fit value
of the non-standard oscillation parameters in the the global analysis of the
solar and KamLAND data which rules out the standard oscillation scenario at
$90\%$ C.L, (ii) the measurement of the non-maximal value of $\theta_{23}$ by
NO$\nu$A which excludes the maximal mixing at $2.5 \sigma$ C.L. and (iii) a
discrepancy in the $\theta_{13}$ measurement by T2K which has a tension with
the reactor best-fit value of $\sin^2\theta_{13}=0.021$ at $90\%$ C.L. Our
results show that all these three above mentioned anomalies can be explained if
one assumes the existence of the non-standard interactions in neutrino
propagation with $\theta_{23}=45^\circ$ and $\sin^2\theta_{13}=0.021$ in the
case of normal hierarchy. In our scenario the phase of $\epsilon_{e\tau}$ is
zero and the most favorable value of the Dirac CP phase is approximately
$255^\circ$.


title: The AARTFAAC All Sky Monitor: System Design and Implementation

abstract:
  The Amsterdam-ASTRON Radio Transients Facility And Analysis Center (AARTFAAC)
all sky monitor is a sensitive, real time transient detector based on the Low
Frequency Array (LOFAR). It generates images of the low frequency radio sky
with spatial resolution of 10s of arcmin, MHz bandwidths, and a time cadence of
a few seconds, while simultaneously but independently observing with LOFAR. The
image timeseries is then monitored for short and bright radio transients. On
detection of a transient, a low latency trigger will be generated for LOFAR,
which can interrupt its schedule to carry out follow-up observations of the
trigger location at high sensitivity and resolutions. In this paper, we
describe our heterogeneous, hierarchical design to manage the 240 Gbps raw data
rate, and large scale computing to produce real-time images with minimum
latency. We discuss the implementation of the instrumentation, its performance,
and scalability.


title:
Optical spectroscopy study of charge density wave order in
  Sr$_{3}$Rh$_{4}$Sn$_{13}$ and (Sr$_{0.5}$Ca$_{0.5}$)$_{3}$Rh$_{4}$Sn$_{13}$

abstract:
  We perform optical spectroscopy measurement across the charge density wave
(CDW) phase transitions on single-crystal samples of Sr$_{3}$Rh$_{4}$Sn$_{13}$
and (Sr$_{0.5}$Ca$_{0.5}$)$_{3}$Rh$_{4}$Sn$_{13}$. Formation of CDW energy gap
was clearly observed for both single-crystal samples when they undergo the
phase transitions. The existence of a Drude component in $\sigma_1(\omega)$
below \TCDW indicates that the Fermi surface is only partially gapped in the
CDW state. The obtained value of 2$\Delta$/K$_{B}$T$_{CDW}$ is roughly 13 for
both Sr$_{3}$Rh$_{4}$Sn$_{13}$ and
(Sr$_{0.5}$Ca$_{0.5}$)$_{3}$Rh$_{4}$Sn$_{13}$ compounds. The value is
considerably larger than the mean-field value based on the weak-coupling BCS
theory. The observed spectral feature in
(Sr$_{x}$Ca$_{1-x}$)$_{3}$Rh$_{4}$Sn$_{13}$ resembles those seen in many other
CDW systems.


title: First-principles re-investigation of bulk WO3

abstract:
  Using first-principles calculations, we analyze the structural properties of
tungsten trioxide WO3 . Our calculations rely on density functional theory and
the use of the B1-WC hybrid functional, which provides very good agreement with
experimental data. The hypothetical high-symmetry cubic reference structure
combines several ferroelectric and antiferrodistortive (antipolar cation
motions, rotations and tilts of oxygen octahedra) structural instabilities. The
instability related to antipolar W motions combines with those associated to
oxygen rotations and tilts to produce the biggest energy reduction, yielding a
P21/c ground state. This non-polar P21/c phase is only different from the
experimentally reported Pc ground state by the absence of a very tiny
additional ferroelectric distortion. The calculations performed on a
stoichiometric compound so suggest that the low temperature phase of WO3 is not
intrinsically ferroelectric and that the reported ferroelectric character might
arise from extrinsic defects such as oxygen vacancies. Independently, we also
identify never observed R3m and R3c ferroelectric phases with large
polarizations and low energies close to the P 21/c ground state, which makes
WO3 a potential antiferroelectric material. The relative stability of various
phases is discussed in terms of the couplings between different structural
distortions, highlighting a very complex interplay involving improper-like
couplings up to fourth order in the energy expansion in the cubic phase.


title: The $\mu$-permanent, a new graph labeling, and a known integer sequence

abstract:
  Let $A=(a_{ij})$ be an $n$-by-$n$ matrix. For any real number $\mu$, we
define the polynomial $$P_\mu(A)=\sum_{\sigma\in S_n} a_{1\sigma(1)}\cdots
a_{n\sigma(n)}\,\mu^{\ell(\sigma)}\; ,$$ as the $\mu$-permanent of $A$, where
$\ell(\sigma)$ is the number of inversions of the permutation $\sigma$ in the
symmetric group $S_n$. In this note, motivated by this notion, we discuss a new
graph labeling for trees whose matrices satisfy certain $\mu$-permanental
identities. We relate the number of labelings of a path with a known integer
sequence. Several examples are provided.


title:
Invariant subspace method: a tool for solving fractional partial
  differential equations

abstract:
  In this paper invariant subspace method has been employed for solving linear
and non-linear fractional partial differential equations involving Caputo
derivative. A variety of illustrative examples are solved to demonstrate the
effectiveness and applicability of the method.


title: NGC 55: a disc galaxy with flat abundance gradients

abstract:
  We present new spectroscopic observations obtained with GMOS@Gemini-S of a
sample of 25 hii regions located in NGC 55, a late-type galaxy in the nearby
Sculptor group. We derive physical conditions and chemical composition through
the te-method for 18 hii regions, and strong-line abundances for 22 hii
regions. We provide abundances of He, O, N, Ne, S, Ar, finding a substantially
homogenous composition in the ionised gas of the disc of NGC 55, with no trace
of radial gradients. The oxygen abundances, both derived with \te- and
strong-line methods, have similar mean values and similarly small dispersion:
12+$\log$(O/H)=8.13$\pm$0.18~dex with the former and
12+$\log$(O/H)=8.17$\pm$0.13~dex with the latter. The average metallicities and
the flat gradients agree with previous studies of smaller samples of \hii\
regions and there is a qualitative agreement with the blue supergiant radial
gradient as well. We investigate the origin of such flat gradients comparing
NGC 55 with NGC 300, its companion galaxy, which is also twin of NGC 55 in
terms of mass and luminosity. We suggest that the differences in the metal
distributions in the two galaxies might be related to the differences in their
K-band surface density profile. The flatter profile of NGC 55 probably causes
in this galaxy higher infall/outflow rates than in similar galaxies. This
likely provokes a strong mixing of gas and a re-distribution of metals.


title:
Emitter and absorber assembly for multiple self-dual operation and
  directional transparency

abstract:
  A recursive scheme for the design of scatterers acting simultaneously as
emitters and absorbers, such as lasers and coherent perfect absorbers in
optics, at multiple prescribed frequencies is proposed. The approach is based
on the assembly of non-Hermitian emitter and absorber units into self-dual
emitter-absorber trimers at different composition levels, exploiting the simple
structure of the corresponding transfer matrices. In particular, lifting the
restriction to parity-time-symmetric setups enables the realization of emitter
and absorber action at distinct frequencies and provides flexibility in the
choice of realistic parameters. We further show how the same assembled
scatterers can be rearranged to produce unidirectional and bidirectional
transparency at the selected frequencies. With the design procedure being
generically applicable to wave scattering in single-channel settings, we
demonstrate it with concrete examples of photonic multilayer setups.


title:
Formalizing Neurath's Ship: Approximate Algorithms for Online Causal
  Learning

abstract:
  Higher-level cognition depends on the ability to learn models of the world.
We can characterize this at the computational level as a structure-learning
problem with the goal of best identifying the prevailing causal relationships
among a set of relata. However, the computational cost of performing exact
Bayesian inference over causal models grows rapidly as the number of relata
increases. This implies that the cognitive processes underlying causal learning
must be substantially approximate. A powerful class of approximations that
focuses on the sequential absorption of successive inputs is captured by the
Neurath's ship metaphor in philosophy of science, where theory change is cast
as a stochastic and gradual process shaped as much by people's limited
willingness to abandon their current theory when considering alternatives as by
the ground truth they hope to approach. Inspired by this metaphor and by
algorithms for approximating Bayesian inference in machine learning, we propose
an algorithmic-level model of causal structure learning under which learners
represent only a single global hypothesis that they update locally as they
gather evidence. We propose a related scheme for understanding how, under these
limitations, learners choose informative interventions that manipulate the
causal system to help elucidate its workings. We find support for our approach
in the analysis of four experiments.


title: Transient Casimir forces from quenches in thermal and active matter

abstract:
  We compute fluctuation-induced (Casimir) forces for classical systems after a
temperature quench. Using a generic coarse-grained model for fluctuations of a
conserved density, we find that transient forces arise even if the initial and
final states are force-free. In setups reminiscent of Casimir (planar walls)
and van der Waals (small inclusions) interactions, we find comparable exact
universal expressions for the force. Dynamical details only scale the time axis
of transient force curves. We propose that such quenches can be achieved, for
instance, in experiments on active matter, employing tunable activity or
interaction protocols.


title:
"Flow Size Difference" Can Make a Difference: Detecting Malicious TCP
  Network Flows Based on Benford's Law

abstract:
  Statistical characteristics of network traffic have attracted a significant
amount of research for automated network intrusion detection, some of which
looked at applications of natural statistical laws such as Zipf's law,
Benford's law and the Pareto distribution. In this paper, we present the
application of Benford's law to a new network flow metric "flow size
difference", which have not been studied before by other researchers, to build
an unsupervised flow-based intrusion detection system (IDS). The method was
inspired by our observation on a large number of TCP flow datasets where normal
flows tend to follow Benford's law closely but malicious flows tend to deviate
significantly from it. The proposed IDS is unsupervised, so it can be easily
deployed without any training. It has two simple operational parameters with a
clear semantic meaning, allowing the IDS operator to set and adapt their values
intuitively to adjust the overall performance of the IDS. We tested the
proposed IDS on two (one closed and one public) datasets, and proved its
efficiency in terms of AUC (area under the ROC curve). Our work showed the
"flow size difference" has a great potential to improve the performance of any
flow-based network IDSs.


title:
Investigation of supramolecular architectures of bent-shaped pyridine
  derivatives: from a three-ring crystalline compound towards five-ring
  mesogens

abstract:
  In searching for novel photoactive liquid crystals, we have synthesized a
series of five-ring pyridine-based bent-core compounds bearing different
substituents at the peripheral phenyl rings (CH3O, Cl and NO2). Their
mesomorphic behaviour has been investigated by polarizing optical microscopy,
differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray scattering, and then compared with
the unsubstituted parent compound. The introduction of the methoxy groups at
the peripheral phenyl rings of the bent core results in a non-mesomorphic
compound, whereas the chloro- and nitro-substituted compounds form
enantiotropic B1-like phases. Significant changes of the textures and
transition temperatures of the mesophase have been observed under UV light. The
presented investigation of the mesomorphic properties of the synthesized
compounds, coupled with analysis of the molecular packing of the related
three-ring compounds, will help to design self-organized molecules suitable for
UV indicators.


title:
Modemless Multiple Access Communications over Powerlines for DC
  Microgrid Control

abstract:
  We present a communication solution tailored specifically for DC microgrids
(MGs) that exploits: (i) the communication potential residing in power
electronic converters interfacing distributed generators to powerlines and (ii)
the multiple access nature of the communication channel presented by
powerlines. The communication is achieved by modulating the parameters of the
primary control loop implemented by the converters, fostering execution of the
upper layer control applications. We present the proposed solution in the
context of the distributed optimal economic dispatch, where the generators
periodically transmit information about their local generation capacity, and,
simultaneously, using the properties of the multiple access channel, detect the
aggregate generation capacity of the remote peers, with an aim of distributed
computation of the optimal dispatch policy. We evaluate the potential of the
proposed solution and illustrate its inherent trade-offs.


title:
Broadband microwave sub-second pulsations in an expanding coronal loop
  of the 2011 August 10 flare

abstract:
  We studied the characteristic physical properties and behavior of broadband
microwave sub-second pulsations observed in an expanding coronal loop during
the GOES C2.4 solar flare on 2011 August 10. We found sub-second pulsations and
other different burst groups in the complex radio spectrum. The broadband
(bandwidth about 1 GHz) sub-second pulsations (temporal period range 0.07-1.49
s, no characteristic dominant period) lasted 70 s in the frequency range 4-7
GHz. These pulsations were not correlated at their individual frequencies, had
no measurable frequency drift, and zero polarization. In these pulsations, we
found the signatures of fast sausage magnetoacoustic waves with the
characteristic periods of 0.7 and 2 s. The other radio bursts showed their
characteristic frequency drifts in the range of -262-520 MHz/s. They helped us
to derive average values of 20-80 G for the coronal magnetic field strength in
the place of radio emission. It was revealed that the microwave event belongs
to an expanding coronal loop with twisted sub-structures observed in the 131,
94, and 193 A SDO/AIA channels. Their slit-time diagrams were compared with the
location of the radio source at 5.7 GHz to realize that the EUV intensity of
the expanding loop increased just before the radio source triggering. We reveal
two EUV bidirectional flows that are linked with the start time of the loop
expansion. Their positions were close to the radio source and propagated with
velocities within a range of 30-117 km/s. We demonstrate that periodic regime
of the electron acceleration in a model of the quasi-periodic magnetic
reconnection might be able to explain physical properties and behavior of the
sub-second pulsations. The depolarization process of the microwave emission
might be caused by a plasma turbulence in the radio source. Finally, the
observed EUV flows might be linked with reconnection outflows.


title: The complexity of propositional proofs

abstract:
  In this paper, we consider the complexity of propositional proofs of
classical and intuitionistic tautologies. In fact, we describe a
nondeterministic polynomial-time decision procedure for intuitionistic
implicational tautologies. For this purpose, we reduce a decision problem for
intuitionistic implicational tautologies to a decision problem for deductive
proof diagrams which are a short form for representing of proofs in the
intuitionistic implicational calculus. Next, we transform deductive proof
diagrams to a special form in which any proof has the size bounded by a
polynomial in the length of input formula. Also, we show that this procedure
can be extended to all classical and intuitionistic tautologies, and deduce
some corollaries including results about complexity classes and polynomially
bounded proof systems.


title: Atomic absorption and emission in non-product states

abstract:
  The properties of non-product states, both (anti)symmetrized and entangled,
have been extensively studied in the literature. In this paper, by extending
previous partial results, we introduce a general framework to describe atomic
absorption and emission in these states. Our approach shows the existence of
some fundamental differences between entanglement and (anti)symmetrization and
between absorption and emission. For instance, modifications of the emission
properties with respect to that of uncorrelated systems occur for any
(anti)symmetrized state but only for some very specific entangled states.


title:
Valence excitation of NO$_2$ by impulsive stimulated x-ray Raman
  scattering

abstract:
  The global optimum for valence population transfer in the NO$_2$ molecule
driven by impulsive x-ray stimulated Raman scattering of one-femtosecond x-ray
pulses tuned below the Oxygen K-edge is determined with the Multiconfiguration
Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock method, a fully-correlated first-principles
treatment that allows for the ionization of every electron in the molecule.
Final valence state populations computed in the fixed-nuclei, nonrelativistic
approximation are reported as a function of central wavelength and intensity.
The convergence of the calculations with respect to their adjustable parameters
is fully tested. Fixing the 1fs duration but varying the central frequency and
intensity of the pulse, without chirp, orientation-averaged maximum population
transfer of 0.7\% to the valence B$_1$ state is obtained at an intensity of
3.16$\times$10$^{17}$ W cm$^{-2}$, with the central frequency substantially 6eV
red-detuned from the 2nd order optimum; 2.39\% is obtained at one specific
orientation. The behavior near the global optimum, below the Oxygen K-edge, is
consistent with the mechanism of nonresonant Raman transitions driven by the
near-edge fine structure oscillator strength.


title:
Structured Perfect Bayesian Equilibrium in Infinite Horizon Dynamic
  Games with Asymmetric Information

abstract:
  In dynamic games with asymmetric information structure, the widely used
concept of equilibrium is perfect Bayesian equilibrium (PBE). This is expressed
as a strategy and belief pair that simultaneously satisfy sequential
rationality and belief consistency. Unlike symmetric information dynamic games,
where subgame perfect equilibrium (SPE) is the natural equilibrium concept, to
date there does not exist a universal algorithm that decouples the
interdependence of strategies and beliefs over time in calculating PBE. In this
paper we find a subset of PBE for an infinite horizon discounted reward
asymmetric information dynamic game. We refer to it as Structured PBE or SPBE;
in SPBE, any agents' strategy depends on the public history only through a
common public belief and on private history only through the respective agents'
latest private information (his private type). The public belief acts as a
summary of all the relevant past information and it's dimension does not
increase with time. The motivation for this comes the common information
approach proposed in Nayyar et al. (2013) for solving decentralized team
(non-strategic) resource allocation problems with asymmetric information. We
calculate SPBE by solving a single-shot fixed-point equation and a
corresponding forward recursive algorithm. We demonstrate our methodology by
means of a public goods example.


title:
Grouped functional time series forecasting: An application to
  age-specific mortality rates

abstract:
  Age-specific mortality rates are often disaggregated by different attributes,
such as sex, state and ethnicity. Forecasting age-specific mortality rates at
the national and sub-national levels plays an important role in developing
social policy. However, independent forecasts at the sub-national levels may
not add up to the forecasts at the national level. To address this issue, we
consider reconciling forecasts of age-specific mortality rates, extending the
methods of Hyndman et al. (2011) to functional time series, where age is
considered as a continuum. The grouped functional time series methods are used
to produce point forecasts of mortality rates that are aggregated appropriately
across different disaggregation factors. For evaluating forecast uncertainty,
we propose a bootstrap method for reconciling interval forecasts. Using the
regional age-specific mortality rates in Japan, obtained from the Japanese
Mortality Database, we investigate the one- to ten-step-ahead point and
interval forecast accuracies between the independent and grouped functional
time series forecasting methods. The proposed methods are shown to be useful
for reconciling forecasts of age-specific mortality rates at the national and
sub-national levels. They also enjoy improved forecast accuracy averaged over
different disaggregation factors. Supplemental materials for the article are
available online.


title: Galois representations for general symplectic groups

abstract:
  We prove the existence of GSpin-valued Galois representations corresponding
to cohomological cuspidal automorphic representations of general symplectic
groups over totally real number fields under the local hypothesis that there is
a Steinberg component. This confirms the Buzzard-Gee conjecture on the global
Langlands correspondence in new cases. As an application we complete the
argument by Gross and Savin to construct a rank seven motive whose Galois group
is of type G_2 in the cohomology of Siegel modular varieties of genus three.
Under some additional local hypotheses we also show automorphic multiplicity
one as well as meromorphic continuation of the spin L-functions.