title: 2-fold complete Segal operads

abstract:
  We define the notion of Cartesian 2-fibrations, and prove a weak analogue of
straightening. Using Barwick's notion of operator categories and the notion of
a Cartesian 2-fibration, we extend the notion of $\infty$-operads to the
$(\infty,2)$-categorical context. These $(\infty,2)$-operads are used to define
and study 2-rings in the $\infty$-categorical context.


title: Presence of negative entropies in Casimir interactions

abstract:
  Negative entropy in connection with the Casimir effect at uniform temperature
is a phenomenon rooted in the circumstance that one is describing a nonclosed
system, or only part of a closed system. In this paper we show that the
phenomenon is not necessarily restricted to electromagnetic theory, but can be
derived from the quantum theory of interacting harmonic oscillators, most
typically two oscillators interacting not directly but indirectly via a third
one. There are two such models, actually analogous to the transverse magnetic
(TM) and transverse electric (TE) modes in electrodynamics. These mechanical
models in their simplest version were presented some years ago, by J. S.
H{\o}ye et al., Physical Review E {\bf 67}, 056116 (2003). In the present paper
we re-emphasize the physical significance of the mechanical picture, and extend
the theory so as to include the case where there are several mediating
oscillators, instead of only one. The TE oscillator exhibits negative entropy.
Finally, we show explicitly how the interactions via the electromagnetic field
contain the two oscillator models.


title: Relations for Einstein-Yang-Mills amplitudes from the CHY representation

abstract:
  We show that a recently discovered relation, which expresses tree-level
single trace Einstein-Yang-Mills amplitudes with one graviton and $(n-1)$ gauge
bosons as a linear combination of pure Yang-Mills tree amplitudes with $n$
gauge bosons, can be derived from the CHY representation. In addition we show
that there is a generalisation, which expresses tree-level single trace
Einstein-Yang-Mills amplitudes with $r$ gravitons and $(n-r)$ gauge bosons as a
linear combination of pure Yang-Mills tree amplitudes with $n$ gauge bosons. We
present a general formula for this case.


title:
Automatic parametrization of implicit solvent models for the blind
  prediction of solvation free energies

abstract:
  In this work, a systematic protocol is proposed to automatically parametrize
implicit solvent models with polar and nonpolar components. The proposed
protocol utilizes the classical Poisson model or the Kohn-Sham density
functional theory (KSDFT) based polarizable Poisson model for modeling polar
solvation free energies. For the nonpolar component, either the standard model
of surface area, molecular volume, and van der Waals interactions, or a model
with atomic surface areas and molecular volume is employed. Based on the
assumption that similar molecules have similar parametrizations, we develop
scoring and ranking algorithms to classify solute molecules. Four sets of
radius parameters are combined with four sets of charge force fields to arrive
at a total of 16 different parametrizations for the Poisson model. A large
database with 668 experimental data is utilized to validate the proposed
protocol. The lowest leave-one-out root mean square (RMS) error for the
database is 1.33k cal/mol. Additionally, five subsets of the database, i.e.,
SAMPL0-SAMPL4, are employed to further demonstrate that the proposed protocol
offers some of the best solvation predictions. The optimal RMS errors are 0.93,
2.82, 1.90, 0.78, and 1.03 kcal/mol, respectively for SAMPL0, SAMPL1, SAMPL2,
SAMPL3, and SAMPL4 test sets. These results are some of the best, to our best
knowledge.


title:
Deep Learning of Local RGB-D Patches for 3D Object Detection and 6D Pose
  Estimation

abstract:
  We present a 3D object detection method that uses regressed descriptors of
locally-sampled RGB-D patches for 6D vote casting. For regression, we employ a
convolutional auto-encoder that has been trained on a large collection of
random local patches. During testing, scene patch descriptors are matched
against a database of synthetic model view patches and cast 6D object votes
which are subsequently filtered to refined hypotheses. We evaluate on three
datasets to show that our method generalizes well to previously unseen input
data, delivers robust detection results that compete with and surpass the
state-of-the-art while being scalable in the number of objects.


title:
The convolution sum $\sum_{al+bm=n} \sigma(l) \sigma(m)$ for
  $(a,b)=(1,28), (4,7), (1,14), (2,7), (1,7)$

abstract:
  We evaluate the convolution sum $\displaystyle W_{a,b}(n):= \sum_{al+bm=n}
\hspace{-3mm} \sigma(l) \sigma(m)$ for $(a,b)=(1,28), (4,7), (2,7)$ for all
positive integers $n$. We use a modular form approach. We also re-evaluate the
known sums $W_{1,14}(n)$ and $W_{1,7}(n)$ with our method. We then use these
evaluations to determine the number of representations of $n$ by the octonary
quadratic form $x_1^2 + x_2^2 +x_3^2 + x_4^2 + 7(x_5^2 + x_6^2 + x_7^2 +
x_8^2)$. Finally we compare our evaluations of the sums $W_{1,7}(n)$ and
$W_{1,14}(n)$ with the evaluations of Lemire and Williams [10] and Royer [13]
to express the modular forms $\Delta_{4,7}(z)$, $\Delta_{4,14, 1}(z)$ and
$\Delta_{4,14, 2}(z)$ (given in [10, 13]) as linear combinations of eta
quotients.


title: Minimizing heat loss in DC networks using batteries

abstract:
  Electricity transmission networks dissipate a non-negligible fraction of the
power they transport due to the heat loss in the transmission lines. In this
work we explore how the transport of energy can be more efficient by adding to
the network multiple batteries that can coordinate their operations. Such
batteries can both charge using the current excess in the network or discharge
to meet the network current demand. Either way, the presence of batteries in
the network can be leveraged to mitigate the intrinsic uncertainty in the power
generation and demand and, hence, transport the energy more efficiently through
the network. We consider a resistive DC network with stochastic external
current injections or consumptions and show how the expected total heat loss
depends on the network structure and on the batteries operations. Furthermore,
in the case where the external currents are modeled by Ornstein-Uhlenbeck
processes, we derive the dynamical optimal control for the batteries over a
finite time interval.


title: Planar algebras in braided tensor categories

abstract:
  We generalize Jones' planar algebras by internalising the notion to a pivotal
braided tensor category $\mathcal{C}$. To formulate the notion, the planar
tangles are now equipped with additional `anchor lines' which connect the inner
circles to the outer circle. We call the resulting notion an anchored planar
algebra. If we restrict to the case when $\mathcal{C}$ is the category of
vector spaces, then we recover the usual notion of a planar algebra. Building
on our previous work on categorified traces, we prove that there is an
equivalence of categories between anchored planar algebras in $\mathcal{C}$ and
pivotal module tensor categories over $\mathcal{C}$ equipped with a chosen
self-dual generator. Even in the case of usual planar algebras, the precise
formulation of this theorem, as an equivalence of categories, has not appeared
in the literature. Using our theorem, we describe many examples of anchored
planar algebras.


title: The DoF of Two-way Butterfly Networks

abstract:
  This paper studies the two-way butterfly network, a class of two-way
four-unicast networks. We first show that bidirectional links do not increase
the degrees of freedom for this network thus giving the first example for
networks, to the best of our knowledge, where bidirectional links do not
increase the degrees of freedom. Further, we see that sufficient caching at the
relays or increasing the number of antennas in the relays can double the
two-way degrees of freedom for butterfly network.


title:
Effective dissipation: breaking time-reversal symmetry in driven
  microscopic energy transmission

abstract:
  At molecular scales, fluctuations play a significant role and prevent
biomolecular processes from always proceeding in a preferred direction, raising
the question of how limited amounts of free energy can be dissipated to obtain
directed progress. We examine the system and process characteristics that
efficiently break time-reversal symmetry at fixed energy loss; in particular
for a simple model of a molecular machine, an intermediate energy barrier
produces unusually high asymmetry for a given dissipation. We relate the
symmetry-breaking factors found in this model to recent observations of
biomolecular machines.


title:
Tail Index for a Distributed Storage System with Pareto File Size
  Distribution

abstract:
  Distributed storage systems often employ erasure codes to achieve high data
reliability while attaining space efficiency. Such storage systems are known to
be susceptible to long tails in response time. It has been shown that in modern
online applications such as Bing, Facebook, and Amazon, the long tail of
latency is of particular concern, with $99.9$th percentile response times that
are orders of magnitude worse than the mean. Taming tail latency is very
challenging in erasure-coded storage systems since quantify tail latency (i.e.,
$x$th-percentile latency for arbitrary $x\in[0,1]$) has been a long-standing
open problem. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model to quantify {\em
tail index} of service latency for arbitrary erasure-coded storage systems, by
characterizing the asymptotic behavior of latency distribution tails. When file
size has a heavy tailed distribution, we find tail index, defined as the
exponent at which latency tail probability diminishes to zero, in closed-form,
and further show that a family of probabilistic scheduling algorithms are
(asymptotically) optimal since they are able to achieve the exact tail index.


title: Novel Theory for Transient Light Matter Interaction

abstract:
  A new theory is proposed for explaining the experimental results with intense
short optical pulses. The theory is characterized by conjugate momentum
interaction and especially large quantum enhancement factor and will unify the
generation processes of coherent phonon formerly assigned as ISRS and DECP. It
is applied to the instantaneous generation of lattice strain and the
quantitative relation between the incident fluence and the resultant strain is
shown.


title:
A Probability-Density Function Approach to Capture the Stochastic
  Dynamics of the Nanomagnet and Impact on Circuit Performance

abstract:
  In this paper we systematically evaluate the variation in the reversal delay
of a nanomagnet driven by a longitudinal spin current while under the influence
of thermal noise. We then use the results to evaluate the performance of an
All-Spin-Logic (ASL) circuit. First, we review and expand on the physics of
previously-published analytical models on stochastic nanomagnet switching. The
limits of previously established models are defined and it is shown that these
models are valid for nanomagnet reversal times < 200 ps. Second, the insight
obtained from previous models allows us to represent the probability density
function (PDF) of the nanomagnet switching delay using the double exponential
function of the Frechet distribution. The PDF of a single nanomagnet is
extended to more complex nanomagnet circuit configurations. It is shown that
the delay-variation penalty incurred by nanomagnets arranged in parallel
configuration is dwarfed by the average delay increase for nanomagnets arranged
in a series configuration. Finally, we demonstrate the impact of device-level
performance variation on the circuit behavior using ASL logic gates. While the
analysis presented in this paper uses an ASL-AND gate as the prototype
switching circuit in the spin domain, the physical concepts are generic and can
be extended to any complex spin-based circuit.


title:
Twist-2 at seven loops in planar N=4 SYM theory: Full result and
  analytic properties

abstract:
  The anomalous dimension of twist-2 operators of arbitrary spin in planar N=4
SYM theory is found at seven loops by using the quantum spectral curve to
compute values at fixed spin, and reconstructing the general result using the
LLL-algorithm together with modular arithmetic. The result of the analytic
continuation to negative spin is presented, and its relation with the recently
computed correction to the BFKL and double-logarithmic equation is discussed.


title: First Passage Under Restart

abstract:
  First passage under restart has recently emerged as a conceptual framework
suitable for the description of a wide range of phenomena, but the endless
variety of ways in which restart mechanisms and first passage processes mix and
match hindered the identification of unifying principles and general truths.
Hope that these exist came from a recently discovered universality displayed by
processes under optimal, constant rate, restart---but extensions and
generalizations proved challenging as they marry arbitrarily complex processes
and restart mechanisms. To address this challenge, we develop a generic
approach to first passage under restart. Key features of diffusion under
restart---the ultimate poster boy for this wide and diverse class of
problems---are then shown to be completely universal.


title: Energy-Momentum Squared Gravity

abstract:
  A new covariant generalization of Einstein's general relativity is developed
which allows the existence of a term proportional to
$T_{\alpha\beta}T^{\alpha\beta}$ in the action functional of the theory
($T_{\alpha\beta}$ is the energy-momentum tensor). Consequently the relevant
field equations are different from general relativity only in the presence of
matter sources. In the case of a charged black hole, we find exact solutions
for the field equations. Applying this theory to a homogeneous and isotropic
space-time, we find that there is a maximum energy density $\rho_{\text{max}}$,
and correspondingly a minimum length $a_{\text{min}}$, at early universe. This
means that there is a bounce at early times and this theory avoids the
existence of an early time singularity. Moreover we show that this theory
possesses a true sequence of cosmological eras. Also, we argue that although in
the context of the standard cosmological model the cosmological constant
$\Lambda$ does not play any important role in the early times and becomes
important only after the matter dominated era, in this theory the "repulsive"
nature of the cosmological constant plays a crucial role at early times for
resolving the singularity.


title: Multiple Silicon Atom Artificial Molecules

abstract:
  We present linear ensembles of dangling bond chains on a hydrogen terminated
Si(100) surface, patterned in the closest spaced arrangement allowed by the
surface lattice. Local density of states maps over a range of voltages
extending spatially over the close-coupled entities reveal a rich energetic and
spatial variation of electronic states. These artificial molecules exhibit
collective electronic states resulting from covalent interaction of the
constituent atoms. A pronounced electrostatic perturbation of dangling bond
chain structure is induced by close placement of a negatively dangling bond.
The electronic changes so induced are entirely removed, paradoxically, by
addition of a second dangling bond.


title: Bayesian Analysis of Rank Data with Covariates and Heterogeneous Rankers

abstract:
  Data in the form of ranking lists are frequently encountered, and combining
ranking results from different sources can potentially generate a better
ranking list and help understand behaviors of the rankers. Of interest here are
the rank data under the following settings: (i) covariate information available
for the ranked entities; (ii) rankers of varying qualities or having different
opinions; and (iii) incomplete ranking lists for non-overlapping subgroups. We
review some key ideas built around the Thurstone model family by researchers in
the past few decades and provide a unifying approach for Bayesian Analysis of
Rank data with Covariates (BARC) and its extensions in handling heterogeneous
rankers. With this Bayesian framework, we can study rankers' varying quality,
cluster rankers' heterogeneous opinions, and measure the corresponding
uncertainties. To enable an efficient Bayesian inference, we advocate a
parameter-expanded Gibbs sampler to sample from the target posterior
distribution. The posterior samples also result in a Bayesian aggregated
ranking list, with credible intervals quantifying its uncertainty. We
investigate and compare performances of the proposed methods and other rank
aggregation methods in both simulation studies and two real-data examples.


title: Fundamental limits on the electro-optic device figure of merit

abstract:
  Device figures of merit are commonly employed to assess bulk material
properties for a particular device class, yet these properties ultimately
originate in the linear and nonlinear susceptibilities of the material which
are not independent of each other. In this work, we calculate the electro-optic
device figure of merit based on the half-wave voltage and linear loss, which is
important for phase modulators and serves as the simplest example of the
approach. This figure of merit is then related back to the microscopic
properties in the context of a dye-doped polymer, and its fundamental limits
are obtained to provide a target. Surprisingly, the largest figure of merit is
not always associated with a large nonlinear-optical response, the quantity
that is most often the focus of optimization. An important lesson to materials
design is that the figure of merit alone should be optimized. The best device
materials can have low nonlinearity provided that the loss is low; or, near
resonance high loss may be desirable because it is accompanied by
resonantly-enhanced, ultra-large nonlinear response so device lengths are
short. Our work shows which frequency range of operation is most promising for
optimizing the material figure of merit for electro-optic devices.


title: Dual addition formulas associated with dual product formulas

abstract:
  We observe that the linearization coefficients for ultraspherical polynomials
are the orthogonality weights for Racah polynomials with special parameters.
Then it turns out that the linearization sum with such a Racah polynomial as
extra factor inserted, can also be evaluated. The corresponding Fourier--Racah
expansion is an addition type formula which is dual to the well-known addition
formula for ultraspherical polynomials. The limit to the case of Hermite
polynomials of this dual addition formula is also considered. Similar results
as for ultraspherical polynomials, although only formal, are given by taking
the Ruijsenaars--Halln\"as dual product formula for Gegenbauer functions as a
starting point and by working with Wilson polynomials.


title: Impurities near an Antiferromagnetic-Singlet Quantum Critical Point

abstract:
  Heavy fermion systems, and other strongly correlated electron materials,
often exhibit a competition between antiferromagnetic (AF) and singlet ground
states. Using exact Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations, we examine the
effect of impurities in the vicinity of such AF- singlet quantum critical
points, through an appropriately defined impurity susceptibility, $\chi_{imp}$.
Our key finding is a connection, within a single calculational framework,
between AF domains induced on the singlet side of the transition, and the
behavior of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation rate $1/T_1$. We
show that local NMR measurements provide a diagnostic for the location of the
QCP which agrees remarkably well with the vanishing of the AF order parameter
and large values of $\chi_{imp}$. We connect our results with experiments on
Cd-doped CeCoIn$_5$.


abstract:
  A trophallaxis inspired model for distributed transport between randomly
interacting agents Trophallaxis, the regurgitation and mouth to mouth transfer
of liquid food between members of eusocial insect societies, is an important
process that allows the fast and efficient dissemination of food in the colony.
Trophallactic systems are typically treated as a network of agent interactions.
This approach, though valuable, does not easily lend itself to analytic
predictions. In this work we consider a simple trophallactic system of randomly
interacting agents with finite carrying capacity, and calculate analytically
and via a series of simulations the global food intake rate for the whole
colony as well as observables describing how uniformly the food is distributed
within the nest. Our work serves as a stepping stone to describing the
collective properties of more complex trophallactic systems, such as those
including division of labor between foragers and workers.


title:
Negative refraction index of the quantum lossy left-handed transmission
  lines affected by the displaced squeezed Fock state and dissipation

abstract:
  Quantum lossy left-handed transmission lines (LHTLs) are central to the
miniaturized application in microwave band. This work discusses the NRI of the
quantized lossy LHTLs in the presence of the resistance and the conductance in
a displaced squeezed Fock state (DSFS). And the results show some novel
specific quantum characteristics of NRI caused by the DSFS and dissipation,
which may be significant for its miniaturized application in a suit of novel
microwave devices.


title:
Dirac spin gapless semiconductors: Ideal platforms for massless and
  dissipationless spintronics and new (quantum) anomalous spin Hall effects

abstract:
  It is proposed that the new generation of spintronics should be ideally
massless and dissipationless for the realization of ultra-fast and
ultra-low-power spintronic devices. We demonstrate that the spin-gapless
materials with linear energy dispersion are unique materials that can realize
these massless and dissipationless states. Furthermore, we propose four new
types of spin Hall effects which consist of spin accumulation of equal numbers
of electrons and holes having the same or opposite spin polarization at the
sample edge in Hall effect measurements, but with vanishing Hall voltage. These
new Hall effects can be classified as (quantum) anomalous spin Hall effects.
The physics for massless and dissipationless spintronics and the new spin Hall
effects are presented for spin-gapless semiconductors with either linear or
parabolic dispersion. New possible candidates for Dirac-type or parabolic type
spin-gapless semiconductors are demonstrated in ferromagnetic monolayers of
simple oxides with either honeycomb or square lattices.


title: Perturbations of the Voter Model in One-Dimension

abstract:
  We study the scaling limit of a large class of voter model perturbations in
one dimension, including stochastic Potts models, to a universal limiting
object, the continuum voter model perturbation. The perturbations can be
described in terms of bulk and boundary nucleations of new colors (opinions).
The discrete and continuum (space) models are obtained from their respective
duals, the discrete net with killing and Brownian net with killing. These
determine the color genealogy by means of reduced graphs. We focus our
attention on models where the voter and boundary nucleation dynamics depend
only on the colors of nearest neighbor sites, for which convergence of the
discrete net with killing to its continuum analog was proved in an earlier
paper by the authors. We use some detailed properties of the Brownian net with
killing to prove voter model perturbations convergence to its continuum
counterpart. A crucial property of reduced graphs is that even in the
continuum, they are finite almost surely. An important issue is how vertices of
the continuum reduced graphs are strongly approximated by their discrete
analogues.


title:
Modelling multimodal photometric redshift regression with noisy
  observations

abstract:
  In this work, we are trying to extent the existing photometric redshift
regression models from modeling pure photometric data back to the spectra
themselves. To that end, we developed a PCA that is capable of describing the
input uncertainty (including missing values) in a dimensionality reduction
framework. With this "spectrum generator" at hand, we are capable of treating
the redshift regression problem in a fully Bayesian framework, returning a
posterior distribution over the redshift. This approach allows therefore to
approach the multimodal regression problem in an adequate fashion. In addition,
input uncertainty on the magnitudes can be included quite naturally and lastly,
the proposed algorithm allows in principle to make predictions outside the
training values which makes it a fascinating opportunity for the detection of
high-redshifted quasars.


title: Lifting Homeomorphisms and Cyclic Branched Covers of Spheres

abstract:
  We characterize the cyclic branched covers of the 2-sphere where every
homeomorphism of the sphere lifts to a homeomorphism of the covering surface.
This answers a question that appeared in an early version of the erratum of
Birman and Hilden [2].


title:
Simion's type $B$ associahedron is a pulling triangulation of the
  Legendre polytope

abstract:
  We show that Simion's type $B$ associahedron is combinatorially equivalent to
a pulling triangulation of a type $B$ root polytope called the Legendre
polytope. Furthermore, we show that every pulling triangulation of the Legendre
polytope yields a flag complex. Our triangulation refines a decomposition of
the Legendre polytope given by Cho. We extend Cho's cyclic group action to the
triangulation in such a way that it corresponds to rotating centrally symmetric
triangulations of a regular $(2n+2)$-gon. Finally, we present a bijection
between the faces of the Simion's type $B$ associahedron and Delannoy paths.


title: Hashmod: A Hashing Method for Scalable 3D Object Detection

abstract:
  We present a scalable method for detecting objects and estimating their 3D
poses in RGB-D data. To this end, we rely on an efficient representation of
object views and employ hashing techniques to match these views against the
input frame in a scalable way. While a similar approach already exists for 2D
detection, we show how to extend it to estimate the 3D pose of the detected
objects. In particular, we explore different hashing strategies and identify
the one which is more suitable to our problem. We show empirically that the
complexity of our method is sublinear with the number of objects and we enable
detection and pose estimation of many 3D objects with high accuracy while
outperforming the state-of-the-art in terms of runtime.


title: Fragment Allocation Configuration in Distributed Database Systems

abstract:
  In distributed database (DDB) management systems, fragment allocation is one
of the most important components that can directly affect the performance of
DDB. In this research work, we will show that declarative programming
languages, e.g. logic programming languages, can be used to represent different
data fragment allocation techniques. Results indicate that, using declarative
programming language significantly simplifies the representation of fragment
allocation algorithm, thus opens door for any further developments and
optimizations. The under consideration case study also show that our approach
can be extended to be used in different areas of distributed systems.


title:
Readout of two-kilopixel transition-edge sensor arrays for Advanced
  ACTPol

abstract:
  Advanced ACTPol is an instrument upgrade for the six-meter Atacama Cosmology
Telescope (ACT) designed to measure the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
temperature and polarization with arcminute-scale angular resolution. To
achieve its science goals, Advanced ACTPol utilizes a larger readout
multiplexing factor than any previous CMB experiment to measure detector arrays
with approximately two thousand transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers in each
150 mm detector wafer. We present the implementation and testing of the
Advanced ACTPol time-division multiplexing readout architecture with a 64-row
multiplexing factor. This includes testing of individual multichroic detector
pixels and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) multiplexing
chips as well as testing and optimizing of the integrated readout electronics.
In particular, we describe the new automated multiplexing SQUID tuning
procedure developed to select and optimize the thousands of SQUID parameters
required to readout each Advanced ACTPol array. The multichroic detector pixels
in each array use separate channels for each polarization and each of the two
frequencies, such that four TESes must be read out per pixel. Challenges
addressed include doubling the number of detectors per multiplexed readout
channel compared to ACTPol and optimizing the Nyquist inductance to minimize
detector and SQUID noise aliasing.


title: Realizing the $XY$ Hamiltonian in polariton simulators

abstract:
  Several platforms are currently being explored for simulating physical
systems whose complexity increases faster than polynomially with the number of
particles or degrees of freedom in the system. Defects and vacancies in
semiconductors or dielectric materials, magnetic impurities embedded in solid
helium \cite{lemeshko13}, atoms in optical lattices, photons, trapped ions and
superconducting q-bits are among the candidates for predicting the behaviour of
spin glasses, spin-liquids, and classical magnetism among other phenomena with
practical technological applications. Here we investigate the potential of
polariton graphs as an efficient simulator for finding the global minimum of
the $XY$ Hamiltonian. By imprinting polariton condensate lattices of bespoke
geometries we show that we can simulate a large variety of systems undergoing
the U(1) symmetry breaking transitions. We realise various magnetic phases,
such as ferromagnetic, anti-ferromagnetic, and frustrated spin configurations
on unit cells of various lattices: square, triangular, linear and a disordered
graph. Our results provide a route to study unconventional superfluids,
spin-liquids, Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition, classical
magnetism among the many systems that are described by the $XY$ Hamiltonian.


title: Reconstruction of Monte Carlo replicas from Hessian parton distributions

abstract:
  We explore connections between two common methods for quantifying the
uncertainty in parton distribution functions (PDFs), based on the Hessian error
matrix and Monte-Carlo sampling. CT14 parton distributions in the Hessian
representation are converted into Monte-Carlo replicas by a numerical method
that reproduces important properties of CT14 Hessian PDFs: the asymmetry of
CT14 uncertainties and positivity of individual parton distributions. The
ensembles of CT14 Monte-Carlo replicas constructed this way at NNLO and NLO are
suitable for various collider applications, such as cross section reweighting.
Master formulas for computation of asymmetric standard deviations in the
Monte-Carlo representation are derived. A correction is proposed to address a
bias in asymmetric uncertainties introduced by the Taylor series approximation.
A numerical program is made available for conversion of Hessian PDFs into
Monte-Carlo replicas according to normal, log-normal, and Watt-Thorne sampling
procedures.


title: Tauberian theorem for value functions

abstract:
  For two-person dynamic zero-sum games (both discrete and continuous
settings), we investigate the limit of value functions of finite horizon games
with long run average cost as the time horizon tends to infinity and the limit
of value functions of $\lambda$-discounted games as the discount tends to zero.
  We prove that the Dynamic Programming Principle for value functions directly
leads to the Tauberian Theorem---that the existence of a uniform limit of the
value functions for one of the families implies that the other one also
uniformly converges to the same limit. No assumptions on strategies are
necessary.
  To this end, we consider a mapping that takes each payoff to the
corresponding value function and preserves the sub- and super- optimality
principles (the Dynamic Programming Principle). With their aid, we obtain
certain inequalities on asymptotics of sub- and super- solutions, which lead to
the Tauberian Theorem. In particular, we consider the case of differential
games without relying on the existence of the saddle point; a very simple
stochastic game model is also considered.


title:
Approximating Spanners and Directed Steiner Forest: Upper and Lower
  Bounds

abstract:
  It was recently found that there are very close connections between the
existence of additive spanners (subgraphs where all distances are preserved up
to an additive stretch), distance preservers (subgraphs in which demand pairs
have their distance preserved exactly), and pairwise spanners (subgraphs in
which demand pairs have their distance preserved up to a multiplicative or
additive stretch) [Abboud-Godwin SODA '16, Godwin-Williams SODA '16]. We study
these problems from an optimization point of view, where rather than studying
the existence of extremal instances we are given an instance and are asked to
find the sparsest possible spanner/preserver. We give an $O(n^{3/5 +
\epsilon})$-approximation for distance preservers and pairwise spanners (for
arbitrary constant $\epsilon > 0$). This is the first nontrivial upper bound
for either problem, both of which are known to be as hard to approximate as
Label Cover. We also prove Label Cover hardness for approximating additive
spanners, even for the cases of additive 1 stretch (where one might expect a
polylogarithmic approximation, since the related multiplicative 2-spanner
problem admits an $O(\log n)$-approximation) and additive polylogarithmic
stretch (where the related multiplicative spanner problem has an
$O(1)$-approximation).
  Interestingly, the techniques we use in our approximation algorithm extend
beyond distance-based problem to pure connectivity network design problems. In
particular, our techniques allow us to give an $O(n^{3/5 +
\epsilon})$-approximation for the Directed Steiner Forest problem (for
arbitrary constant $\epsilon > 0$) when all edges have uniform costs, improving
the previous best $O(n^{2/3 + \epsilon})$-approximation due to Berman et
al.~[ICALP '11] (which holds for general edge costs).


title:
Order estimates of approximative characteristics of functions from
  classes $S^{r}_{1,\theta}B(\mathbb{R}^d)$

abstract:
  We obtained exact order estimates of approximation of the classes
$S^{\boldsymbol{r}}_{1,\theta}B$ by entire functions of exponential type with
supports of their Fourier transforms in step hyperbolic cross. The error of the
approximation estimated in the metric of Lebesgue spaces, $L_q(\mathbb{R}^d)$,
$1<q\leqslant \infty$.


title: Heat trace for Laplacian type operators with non-scalar symbols

abstract:
  For an elliptic selfadjoint operator $P =-[u^{\mu\nu}\partial_\mu
\partial_\nu +v^\nu \partial_\nu +w]$ acting on a fiber bundle over a
Riemannian manifold, where $u,v^\mu,w$ are $N\times N$-matrices, we develop a
method to compute the heat-trace coefficients $a_r$ which allows to get them by
a pure computational machinery. It is exemplified in dimension 4 by the value
of $a_1$ written both in terms of $u,v^\mu,w$ or diffeomorphic and gauge
invariants. We also answer to the question: when is it possible to get explicit
formulae for $a_r$?

categories: math.FA hep-th math-ph math.CA math.MP math.SP


title: Failure of necessity of the energy condition

abstract:
  We give an example of a pair of weights (u,v) on the line, and an elliptic
convolution singular integral operator H on the line, such that H_u is bounded
from L^2(u) to L^2(v), yet the measure pair (u,v) fails to satisfy the backward
energy condition. The key to the construction is that the kernel K of H has
flat spots where d/dx K(x) = 0. Conversely, we show that if H is gradient
elliptic, i.e. d/dx K(x) =< c < 0, then the energy conditions are necessary for
boundedness of H, and by our theorem in arXiv:1603.04332v2, the T1 theorem
holds for H.


title: On the symmetry algebras of 5-dimensional CR-manifolds

abstract:
  We show that for a real-analytic connected holomorphically nondegenerate
5-dimensional CR-hypersurface $M$ and its symmetry algebra $\mathfrak{s}$ one
has either: (i) $\dim\mathfrak{s}=15$ and $M$ is spherical (with Levi form of
signature either $(2,0)$ or $(1,1)$ everywhere), or (ii)
$\dim\mathfrak{s}\le11$ where $\dim\mathfrak{s}=11$ can only occur if on a
dense open subset $M$ is spherical with Levi form of signature $(1,1)$.
Furthermore, we construct a series of examples of pairwise nonequivalent
CR-hypersurfaces with $\dim\mathfrak{s}=11$.


title:
Interacting topological phases in thin films of topological mirror Kondo
  insulators

abstract:
  We study the interaction effects on thin films of topological mirror Kondo
insulators (TMKI), where the strong interaction is expected to play an
important role. Our study has led to the following results: (1) We identify a
rich phase diagram of non-interacting TMKI with different mirror Chern numbers
in the monolayer and bilayer thin films; (2) We obtain the phase diagram with
interaction and identify the regimes of interaction parameters to mimic bosonic
symmetry protected topological phases with either gapless bosonic modes or
spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking at the boundary; (3) For the spontaneous
mirror symmetry breaking boundary, we also study various domain-wall defects
between different mirror symmetry breaking order parameters at the boundary.
Our results reveal that the thin film TMKI serves as an intriguing platform for
the experimental studies of interacting topological phases.


title: Exploring Peaks and Valleys in the Diphoton Spectrum

abstract:
  We investigate the effects of resonance-continuum interference on the
diphoton spectrum in the presence of a new spin-0 or spin-2 state produced via
gluons or quarks and decaying to pairs of photons. Interference effects can
significantly influence the extraction of resonance masses and widths from the
diphoton spectrum, particularly in the case of a spin-2 resonance produced via
quarks. We illustrate these effects via a binned likelihood analysis of LHC
diphoton data at both 8 and 13 TeV.


title:
The Relationship Between Star-formation Activity and Galaxy Structural
  Properties in CANDELS and a Semi-analytic Model

abstract:
  We study the correlation of galaxy structural properties with their location
relative to the SFR-M* correlation, also known as the star formation "main
sequence" (SFMS), in the CANDELS and GAMA surveys and in a semi-analytic model
(SAM) of galaxy formation. We first study the distribution of median Sersic
index, effective radius, star formation rate (SFR) density and stellar mass
density in the SFR-M* plane. We then define a redshift dependent main sequence
and examine the medians of these quantities as a function of distance from this
main sequence, both above (higher SFRs) and below (lower SFRs). Finally, we
examine the distributions of distance from the main sequence in bins of these
quantities. We find strong correlations between all of these galaxy structural
properties and the distance from the SFMS, such that as we move from galaxies
above the SFMS to those below it, we see a nearly monotonic trend towards
higher median Sersic index, smaller radius, lower SFR density, and higher
stellar density. In the semi-analytic model, bulge growth is driven by mergers
and disk instabilities, and is accompanied by the growth of a supermassive
black hole which can regulate or quench star formation via Active Galactic
Nucleus (AGN) feedback. We find that our model qualitatively reproduces the
trends described above, supporting a picture in which black holes and bulges
co-evolve, and AGN feedback plays a critical role in moving galaxies off of the
SFMS.


title: Dependence of the TMCI threshold on the space charge tune shift

abstract:
  Transverse mode coupling instability of a bunch with space charge is
considered in frameworks of the boxcar model. Presented results demonstrate a
monotonous growth of the TMCI threshold at increasing space charge tune shift,
and do not support the supposition that the monotony can be violated at a
higher SC.


title: Primordial Black Holes as Dark Matter

abstract:
  The possibility that the dark matter comprises primordial black holes (PBHs)
is considered, with particular emphasis on the currently allowed mass windows
at $10^{16}$ - $10^{17}\,$g, $10^{20}$ - $10^{24}\,$g and $1$ -
$10^{3}\,M_{\odot}$. The Planck mass relics of smaller evaporating PBHs are
also considered. All relevant constraints (lensing, dynamical, large-scale
structure and accretion) are reviewed and various effects necessary for a
precise calculation of the PBH abundance (non-Gaussianity, non-sphericity,
critical collapse and merging) are accounted for. It is difficult to put all
the dark matter in PBHs if their mass function is monochromatic but this is
still possible if the mass function is extended, as expected in many scenarios.
A novel procedure for confronting observational constraints with an extended
PBH mass spectrum is therefore introduced. This applies for arbitrary
constraints and a wide range of PBH formation models, and allows us to identify
which model-independent conclusions can be drawn from constraints over all mass
ranges. We focus particularly on PBHs generated by inflation, pointing out
which effects in the formation process influence the mapping from the
inflationary power spectrum to the PBH mass function. We then apply our scheme
to two specific inflationary models in which PBHs provide the dark matter. The
possibility that the dark matter is in intermediate-mass PBHs of $1$ -
$10^{3}\,M_{\odot}$ is of special interest in view of the recent detection of
black-hole mergers by LIGO. The possibility of Planck relics is also intriguing
but virtually untestable.


title:
Existence And Convergence Theorems For Multivalued Generalized Hybrid
  Mappings In Cat({\kappa})-Space

abstract:
  In this study, we give definition of some multivalued hybrid mappings which
are general than many mappings in the existing literature, then we give some
existence and convergence results for these mappings in CAT({\kappa})-spaces


title: B\"acklund Transformations: Some Old and New Perspectives

abstract:
  B\"acklund transformations (BTs) are traditionally regarded as a tool for
integrating nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs). Their use has been
recently extended, however, to problems such as the construction of recursion
operators for symmetries of PDEs, as well as the solution of linear systems of
PDEs. In this article, the concept and some applications of BTs are reviewed.
As an example of an integrable linear system of PDEs, the Maxwell equations of
electromagnetism are shown to constitute a BT connecting the wave equations for
the electric and the magnetic field; plane-wave solutions of the Maxwell system
are constructed in detail. The connection between BTs and recursion operators
is also discussed.


title: An Epistemic View of Quantum Communication

abstract:
  This paper presents an epistemological perspective on quantum communication
between parties that highlights the choices that must be made in order to send
and obtain information. The notion of information obtained in such a
communication is a property associated with the observers and while dependent
on the nature of the physical system its fundamental basis is epistemic. We
argue that the observation process is in accord with the principle of
psychophysical parallelism that was used by Bohr, von Neumann, Schrodinger and
others to establish the philosophical basis of complementarity but has since
fallen out of fashion. This principle gave coherence to the original Copenhagen
Interpretation without which the latter has come to have some sort of an ad hoc
character.


title:
Comment on "Analytic model of the energy spectrum of a graphene quantum
  dot in a perpendicular magnetic field"

abstract:
  In recent work by Schnez et al. [PRB 78, 195427 (2008)], they studied the
analytical model of the energy spectrum of a graphene quantum dot in a
perpendicular magnetic field. In this comment we first point out that the
results Eqs.(5), (6) and (11) presented by them in [1] are not reliable and
then give our results.


title: About a new family of sequences

abstract:
  First we define a new kind of function over $\mathbb{N}$. For each
$i\in\mathbb{N}$ we have an associated function, which will be called $S_i$ .
Then we define a new kind of sequence, to be made from the functions $S_i$ .
Finally, we will see that some of these sequences has a self-similarity
feature.


title:
Searching for axion-like particles with ultra-peripheral heavy-ion
  collisions

abstract:
  We show that ultra-peripheral heavy-ion collisions at the LHC can be used to
search for axion-like particles with mass below 100 GeV. The $Z^4$ enhanced
photon-photon luminosity from the ions provides a large exclusive production
rate, with a signature of a resonant pair of back-to-back photons and no other
activity in the detector. In addition, we present both new and updated limits
from recasting multi-photon searches at LEP II and the LHC, which are more
stringent than those currently in the literature for the mass range 100 MeV to
100 GeV.


title:
Positivity Constraints for Pseudo-linear Massive Spin-2 and Vector
  Galileons

abstract:
  We derive analyticity constraints on a nonlinear ghost-free effective theory
of a massive spin-2 particle known as pseudo-linear massive gravity, and on a
generalized theory of a massive spin-1 particle, both of which provide simple
IR completions of Galileon theories. For pseudo-linear massive gravity we find
that, unlike dRGT massive gravity, there is no window of parameter space which
satisfies the analyticity constraints. For massive vectors which reduce to
Galileons in the decoupling limit, we find that no two-derivative actions are
compatible with positivity, but that higher derivative actions can be made
compatible.


title:
Spatially inhomogeneous electron state deep in the extreme quantum limit
  of strontium titanate

abstract:
  When an electronic system is subjected to a sufficiently strong magnetic
field that the cyclotron energy is much larger than the Fermi energy, the
system enters the "extreme quantum limit" (EQL) and becomes susceptible to a
number of instabilities. Bringing a three-dimensional electronic system deeply
into the EQL can be difficult, however, since it requires a small Fermi energy,
large magnetic field, and low disorder. Here we present an experimental study
of the EQL in lightly-doped single crystals of strontium titanate, which remain
good bulk conductors down to very low temperatures and high magnetic fields.
Our experiments probe deeply into the regime where theory has long predicted
electron-electron interactions to drive the system into a charge density wave
or Wigner crystal state. A number of interesting features arise in the
transport in this regime, including a striking re-entrant nonlinearity in the
current-voltage characteristics and a saturation of the quantum-limiting field
at low carrier density. We discuss these features in the context of possible
correlated electron states, and present an alternative picture based on
magnetic-field induced puddling of electrons.


title:
Modelling the nebular emission from primeval to present-day star-forming
  galaxies

abstract:
  We present a new model of the nebular emission from star-forming galaxies in
a wide range of chemical compositions, appropriate to interpret observations of
galaxies at all cosmic epochs. The model relies on the combination of
state-of-the-art stellar population synthesis and photoionization codes to
describe the ensemble of HII regions and the diffuse gas ionized by young stars
in a galaxy. A main feature of this model is the self-consistent yet versatile
treatment of element abundances and depletion onto dust grains, which allows
one to relate the observed nebular emission from a galaxy to both gas-phase and
dust-phase metal enrichment. We show that this model can account for the
rest-frame ultraviolet and optical emission-line properties of galaxies at
different redshifts and find that ultraviolet emission lines are more sensitive
than optical ones to parameters such as C/O abundance ratio, hydrogen gas
density, dust-to-metal mass ratio and upper cutoff of the stellar initial mass
function. We also find that, for gas-phase metallicities around solar to
slightly sub-solar, widely used formulae to constrain oxygen ionic fractions
and the C/O ratio from ultraviolet and optical emission-line luminosities are
reasonable faithful. However, the recipes break down at non-solar
metallicities, making them inappropriate to study chemically young galaxies. In
such cases, a fully self-consistent model of the kind presented in this paper
is required to interpret the observed nebular emission.


title:
Fermi surface reconstruction and drop of Hall number due to spiral
  antiferromagnetism in high-$T_c$ cuprates

abstract:
  We show that a Fermi surface reconstruction due to spiral antiferromagnetic
order may explain the rapid change in the Hall number as recently observed near
optimal doping in cuprate superconductors [Badoux~\textit{et. al.}, Nature
\textbf{531}, 210 (2016)]. The single-particle spectral function in the spiral
state exhibits hole pockets which look like Fermi arcs due to a strong momentum
dependence of the spectral weight. Adding charge-density wave order further
reduces the Fermi surface to a single electron pocket. We propose quantum
oscillation measurements to distinguish between commensurate and spiral
antiferromagnetic order. Similar results apply to certain metals in which
topological order replaces antiferromagnetic order.


title: A Synoptic Map of Halo Substructures from the Pan-STARRS1 3\pi\ Survey

abstract:
  We present a panoramic map of the entire Milky Way halo north of dec~-30
degrees (~30,000 deg^2), constructed by applying the matched-filter technique
to the Pan-STARRS1 3Pi Survey dataset. Using single-epoch photometry reaching
to g~22, we are sensitive to stellar substructures with heliocentric distances
between 3.5 and ~35 kpc. We recover almost all previously-reported streams in
this volume and demonstrate that several of these are significantly more
extended than earlier datasets have indicated. In addition, we also report five
new candidate stellar streams. One of these features appears significantly
broader and more luminous than the others and is likely the remnant of a dwarf
galaxy. The other four streams are consistent with a globular cluster origin,
and three of these are rather short in projection (<10 degrees), suggesting
that streams like Ophiuchus may not be that rare. Finally, a significant number
of more marginal substructures are also revealed by our analysis; many of these
features can also be discerned in matched-filter maps produced by other authors
from SDSS data, and hence they are very likely to be genuine. However, the
extant 3Pi data is currently too shallow to determine their properties or
produce convincing CMDs. The global view of the Milky Way provided by
Pan-STARRS1 provides further evidence for the important role of both globular
cluster disruption and dwarf galaxy accretion in building the Milky Way's
stellar halo.


title:
Morphology Dependence Of Stellar Age in Quenched Galaxies at Redshift ~
  1.2: Massive Compact Galaxies Are Older Than More Extended Ones

abstract:
  We report the detection of morphology dependent stellar age in massive
quenched galaxies (QGs) at z~1.2. The sense of the dependence is that compact
QGs are 0.5-2 Gyr older than normal-sized ones. The evidence comes from three
different age indicators, Dn4000, Hdelta and fits to spectral synthesis models,
applied to their stacked optical spectra. All age indicators consistently show
that the stellar populations of compact QGs are older than their normally-sized
counterparts. We detect weak [OII] emission in a fraction of QGs, and the
strength of the line, when present, is similar between the two samples;
however, compact galaxies exhibit significantly lower frequency of [OII]
emission than normal ones. A fraction of both samples are individually detected
in 7 Ms Chandra X-ray images (luminosities$\sim10^{40}$-$10^{41}$ erg/sec). 7
Ms stacks of non-detected galaxies show similarly low luminosities in the soft
band only, consistent with a hot gas origin for the X-ray emission. While both
[OII] emitters and non-emitters are also X-ray sources among normal galaxies,
no compact galaxy with [OII] emission is an X-ray source, arguing against an
AGN powering the line in compact galaxies. We interpret the [OII] properties as
further evidence that compact galaxies are older and further along into the
process of quenching star-formation and suppressing gas accretion. Finally, we
argue that the older age of compact QGs is evidence of progenitor bias: compact
QGs simply reflect the smaller sizes of galaxies at their earlier quenching
epoch, with stellar density most likely having nothing directly to do with
cessation of star-formation.


title: Energy as a detector of nonlocality of many-body spin systems

abstract:
  We present a method to show that low-energy states of quantum many-body
interacting systems in one spatial dimension are nonlocal. We assign a Bell
inequality to the Hamiltonian of the system in a natural way and we efficiently
find its classical bound using dynamic programming. The Bell inequality is such
that its quantum value for a given state, and for appropriate observables,
corresponds to the energy of the state. Thus, the presence of nonlocal
correlations can be certified for states of low enough energy. The method can
also be used to optimize certain Bell inequalities: in the translationally
invariant (TI) case, we provide an exponentially faster computation of the
classical bound and analytically closed expressions of the quantum value for
appropriate observables and Hamiltonians. The power and generality of our
method is illustrated through four representative examples: a tight TI
inequality for 8 parties, a quasi TI uniparametric inequality for any even
number of parties, ground states of spin-glass systems, and a non-integrable
interacting XXZ-like Hamiltonian. Our work opens the possibility for the use of
low-energy states of commonly studied Hamiltonians as multipartite resources
for quantum information protocols that require nonlocality.


title: Satellite Quenching, Galaxy Inner Density and the Halo Environment

abstract:
  Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we adopt the sSFR-$\Sigma_{1kpc}$ diagram
as a diagnostic tool to understand quenching in different environments. sSFR is
the specific star formation rate, and $\Sigma_{1kpc}$ is the stellar surface
density in the inner kpc. Although both the host halo mass and group-centric
distance affect the satellite population, we find that these can be
characterised by a single number, the quenched fraction, such that key features
of the sSFR-$\Sigma_{1kpc}$ diagram vary smoothly with this proxy for the
"environment". Particularly, the sSFR of star-forming galaxies decreases
smoothly with this quenched fraction, the sSFR of satellites being 0.1 dex
lower than in the field. Furthermore, $\Sigma_{1kpc}$ of the transition
galaxies (i.e., the "green valley" or GV) decreases smoothly with the
environment, by as much as 0.2 dex for $M_* = 10^{9.75-10} M_{\odot}$ from the
field, and decreasing for satellites in larger halos and at smaller radial
distances within same-mass halos. We interpret this shift as indicating the
relative importance of today's field quenching track vs. the cluster quenching
track. These environmental effects in the sSFR-$\Sigma_{1kpc}$ diagram are most
significant in our lowest mass range ($9.75 < \log M_{*}/M_{\odot} < 10$). One
feature that is shared between all environments is that at a given $M_{*}$
quenched galaxies have about 0.2-0.3 dex higher $\Sigma_{1kpc}$ than the
star-forming population. These results indicate that either $\Sigma_{1kpc}$
increases (subsequent to satellite quenching), or $\Sigma_{1kpc}$ for
individual galaxies remains unchanged, but the original $M_*$ or the time of
quenching is significantly different from those now in the GV.


title: Rotation of cold molecular ions inside a Bose-Einstein condensate

abstract:
  We use recently developed angulon theory [Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 203001
(2015)] to study the rotational spectrum of a cyanide molecular anion immersed
into Bose-Einstein condensates of rubidium and strontium. Based on $\textit {ab
initio}$ potential energy surfaces, we provide a detailed study of the
rotational Lamb shift and many-body-induced fine structure which arise due to
dressing of molecular rotation by a field of phonon excitations. We demonstrate
that the magnitude of these effects is large enough in order to be observed in
modern experiments on cold molecular ions. Furthermore, we introduce a novel
method to construct pseudopotentials starting from the $\textit {ab initio}$
potential energy surfaces, which provides a means to obtain effective coupling
constants for low-energy polaron models.


title:
Galactic cosmic-ray propagation in the light of AMS-02: I. Analysis of
  protons, helium, and antiprotons

abstract:
  We present novel constraints on cosmic-ray propagation in the Galaxy using
the recent precise measurements of proton and helium spectra from AMS-02,
together with preliminary AMS-02 data on the antiproton over proton ratio. To
explore efficiently the large (up to eleven-dimensional) parameter space we
employ the nested-sampling algorithm as implemented in the \textsc{MultiNest}
package, interfaced with the \textsc{Galprop} code to compute the
model-predicted spectra. We use VOYAGER proton and helium data, sampling the
local inter-stellar spectra, to constrain the solar modulation potential. We
find that the turbulence of the Galactic magnetic field is well constrained,
i.e., $\delta=0.30^{+0.03}_{-0.02}(stat)^{+0.10}_{-0.04}(sys)$, with
uncertainties dominated by systematic effects. Systematic uncertainties are
determined checking the robustness of the results to the minimum rigidity cut
used to fit the data (from 1 GV to 5 GV), to the propagation scenario
(convection vs no-convection), and to the uncertainties in the knowledge of the
antiproton production cross section. Convection and reaccelaration are found to
be degenerate and not well-constrained singularly when using data above 5 GV.
Using data above 1 GV reacceleration is required, $v_{\rm A}=25\pm2$km/s,
although this value might be significantly affected by the low energy
systematic uncertainty in the solar modulation. In a forthcoming companion
paper, we investigate the constraints imposed by AMS-02 measurements on
lithium, boron, and carbon.


title: Doping dependent charge order correlations in electron-doped cuprates

abstract:
  Understanding the interplay between charge order (CO) and other phenomena
(e.g. pseudogap, antiferromagnetism, and superconductivity) is one of the
central questions in the cuprate high-temperature superconductors. The
discovery that similar forms of CO exist in both hole- and electron-doped
cuprates opened a path to determine what subset of the CO phenomenology is
universal to all the cuprates. Here, we use resonant x-ray scattering to
measure the charge order correlations in electron-doped cuprates (La2-xCexCuO4
and Nd2-xCexCuO4) and their relationship to antiferromagnetism, pseudogap, and
superconductivity. Detailed measurements of Nd2-xCexCuO4 show that CO is
present in the x = 0.059 to 0.166 range, and that its doping dependent
wavevector is consistent with the separation between straight segments of the
Fermi surface. The CO onset temperature is highest between x = 0.106 and 0.166,
but decreases at lower doping levels, indicating that it is not tied to the
appearance of antiferromagnetic correlations or the pseudogap. Near optimal
doping, where the CO wavevector is also consistent with a previously observed
phonon anomaly, measurements of the CO below and above the superconducting
transition temperature, or in a magnetic field, show that the CO is insensitive
to superconductivity. Overall these findings indicate that, while verified in
the electron-doped cuprates, material-dependent details determine whether the
CO correlations acquire sufficient strength to compete for the ground state of
the cuprates.


title: Combined search for Lorentz violation in short-range gravity

abstract:
  Short-range experiments testing the gravitational inverse-square law at the
submillimeter scale offer uniquely sensitive probes of Lorentz invariance. A
combined analysis of results from the short-range gravity experiments
HUST-2015, HUST-2011, IU-2012, and IU-2002 permits the first independent
measurements of the 14 nonrelativistic coefficients for Lorentz violation in
the pure-gravity sector at the level of $10^{-9}$ m$^2$, improving by an order
of magnitude the sensitivity to numerous types of Lorentz violation involving
quadratic curvature derivatives and curvature couplings.


title: The Missing Magnetic Morphology Term in Stellar Rotation Evolution

abstract:
  This study examines the relationship between magnetic field complexity and
mass and angular momentum losses. Observations of open clusters have revealed a
bimodal distribution of the rotation periods of solar-like stars that has
proven difficult to explain under the existing rubric of magnetic braking.
Recent studies suggest that magnetic complexity can play an important role in
controlling stellar spin-down rates. However, magnetic morphology is still
neglected in most rotation evolution models due to the difficulty of properly
accounting for its effects on wind driving and angular momentum loss. Using
state-of-the-art magnetohydrodynamical magnetized wind simulations we study the
effect that different distributions of the magnetic flux at different levels of
geometrical complexity have on mass and angular momentum loss rates. Angular
momentum loss rates depend strongly on the level of complexity of the field but
are independent of the way this complexity is distributed. We deduce the
analytical terms representing the magnetic field morphology dependence of mass
and angular momentum loss rates. We also define a parameter that best
represents complexity for real stars. As a test, we use these analytical
methods to estimate mass and angular momentum loss rates for $8$ stars with
observed magnetograms and compare them to the simulated results. Magnetic field
complexity provides a natural physical basis for stellar rotation evolution
models requiring a rapid transition between weak and strong spin-down modes.


title:
Detection of Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Features in the Large-Scale
  3-Point Correlation Function of SDSS BOSS DR12 CMASS Galaxies

abstract:
  We present the large-scale 3-point correlation function (3PCF) of the SDSS
DR12 CMASS sample of $777,202$ Luminous Red Galaxies, the largest-ever sample
used for a 3PCF or bispectrum measurement. We make the first high-significance
($4.5\sigma$) detection of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) in the 3PCF.
Using these acoustic features in the 3PCF as a standard ruler, we measure the
distance to $z=0.57$ to $1.7\%$ precision (statistical plus systematic). We
find $D_{\rm V}= 2024\pm29\;{\rm Mpc\;(stat)}\pm20\;{\rm Mpc\;(sys)}$ for our
fiducial cosmology (consistent with Planck 2015) and bias model. This
measurement extends the use of the BAO technique from the 2-point correlation
function (2PCF) and power spectrum to the 3PCF and opens an avenue for deriving
additional cosmological distance information from future large-scale structure
redshift surveys such as DESI. Our measured distance scale from the 3PCF is
fairly independent from that derived from the pre-reconstruction 2PCF and is
equivalent to increasing the length of BOSS by roughly 10\%; reconstruction
appears to lower the independence of the distance measurements. Fitting a model
including tidal tensor bias yields a moderate significance ($2.6\sigma)$
detection of this bias with a value in agreement with the prediction from local
Lagrangian biasing.


title:
Constraining the Baryon-Dark Matter Relative Velocity with the
  Large-Scale 3-Point Correlation Function of the SDSS BOSS DR12 CMASS Galaxies

abstract:
  We search for a galaxy clustering bias due to a modulation of galaxy number
with the baryon-dark matter relative velocity resulting from recombination-era
physics. We find no detected signal and place the constraint $b_v < 0.01$ on
the relative velocity bias for the CMASS galaxies. This bias is an important
potential systematic of Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) method measurements
of the cosmic distance scale using the 2-point clustering. Our limit on the
relative velocity bias indicates a systematic shift of no more than $0.3\%$ rms
in the distance scale inferred from the BAO feature in the BOSS 2-point
clustering, well below the $1\%$ statistical error of this measurement. This
constraint is the most stringent currently available and has important
implications for the ability of upcoming large-scale structure surveys such as
DESI to self-protect against the relative velocity as a possible systematic.


title:
Testing Galaxy Quenching Theories with Scatter in the Stellar to Halo
  Mass Relation

abstract:
  We use the scatter in the stellar-to-halo mass relation to constrain galaxy
evolution models. If the efficiency of converting accreted baryons into stars
varies with time, halos of the same present-day mass but different formation
histories will have different z=0 galaxy stellar mass. This is one of the
sources of scatter in stellar mass at fixed halo mass, $\sigma_{\log M\ast}$.
For massive halos that undergo rapid quenching of star formation at z~2,
different mechanisms that trigger this quenching yield different values of
$\sigma_{\log M\ast}$. We use this framework to test various models in which
quenching begins after a galaxy crosses a threshold in one of the following
physical quantities: redshift, halo mass, stellar mass, and stellar-to-halo
mass ratio. Our model is highly idealized, with other sources of scatter likely
to arise as more physics is included. Thus, our test is whether a model can
produce scatter lower than observational bounds, leaving room for other
sources. Recent measurements find $\sigma_{\log M\ast}=0.16$ dex for 10^11 Msol
galaxies. Under the assumption that the threshold is constant with time, such a
low value of $\sigma_{\log M\ast}$ rules out all of these models with the
exception of quenching by a stellar mass treshold. Most physical quantities,
such as metallicity, will increase scatter if they are uncorrelated with halo
formation history. Thus, to decrease the scatter of a given model, galaxy
properties would correlate tightly with formation history, creating testable
predictions for their clustering. Understanding why $\sigma_{\log M\ast}$ is so
small may be key to understanding the physics of galaxy formation.


title: Conformal energy currents on the edge of a topological superconductor

abstract:
  The boundary of a 2D topological superconductor can be modeled by a conformal
field theory. Here we demonstrate the behaviors of this high level description
emerging from a microscopic model at finite temperatures. To achieve that, we
analyze the low energy sector of Kitaev's honeycomb lattice model and probe its
energy current. We observe that the scaling of the energy current with
temperature reveals the central charge of the conformal field theory, which is
in agreement with the Chern number of the bulk. Importantly, these currents can
discriminate between distinct topological phases at finite temperatures. We
assess the resilience of this measurement of the central charge under coupling
disorder, bulk dimerisation and defects at the boundary, thus establishing it
as a favorable means of experimentally probing topological superconductors.


title: The vacuum structure of the Higgs complex singlet-doublet model

abstract:
  The complex singlet-doublet model is a popular theory to account for dark
matter and electroweak baryogenesis, wherein the Standard Model particle
content is supplemented by a complex scalar gauge singlet, with certain
discrete symmetries imposed. The scalar potential which results thereof can
have seven different types of minima at tree-level, which may coexist for
specific choices of parameters. There is therefore the possibility that a given
minimum is not global but rather a local one, and may tunnel to a deeper
extremum, thus causing vacuum instability. This rich vacuum structure is
explained and discussed in detail.


title:
Chemical Abundances in a Sample of Red Giants in the Open Cluster NGC
  2420 from APOGEE

abstract:
  NGC 2420 is a $\sim$2 Gyr-old well-populated open cluster that lies about 2
kpc beyond the solar circle, in the general direction of the Galactic
anti-center. Most previous abundance studies have found this cluster to be
mildly metal-poor, but with a large scatter in the obtained metallicities for
this open cluster. Detailed chemical abundance distributions are derived for 12
red-giant members of NGC 2420 via a manual abundance analysis of
high-resolution (R = 22,500) near-infrared ($\lambda$1.5 - 1.7$\mu$m) spectra
obtained from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment
(APOGEE) survey. The sample analyzed contains 6 stars that are identified as
members of the first-ascent red giant branch (RGB), as well as 6 members of the
red clump (RC). We find small scatter in the star-to-star abundances in NGC
2420, with a mean cluster abundance of [Fe/H] = -0.16 $\pm$ 0.04 for the 12 red
giants. The internal abundance dispersion for all elements (C, N, O, Na, Mg,
Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co and Ni) is also very small ($\sim$0.03 - 0.06
dex), indicating a uniform cluster abundance distribution within the
uncertainties. NGC 2420 is one of the clusters used to calibrate the APOGEE
Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundance Pipeline (ASPCAP). The results from
this manual analysis compare well with ASPCAP abundances for most of the
elements studied, although for Na, Al and V there are more significant offsets.
No evidence of extra-mixing at the RGB luminosity bump is found in the $^{12}$C
and $^{14}$N abundances from the pre-luminosity-bump RGB stars in comparison to
the post-He core-flash RC stars.


title: Nuclear shape transitions, level density, and underlying interactions

abstract:
  The configuration interaction approach to nuclear structure uses the
effective Hamiltonian in a finite orbital space. The various parts of this
Hamiltonian and their interplay are responsible for specific features of
physics including the shape of the mean field and level density. This
interrelation is not sufficiently understood. We intend to study phase
transitions between spherical and deformed shapes driven by different parts of
the nuclear Hamiltonian and to establish the presence of the collective
enhancement of the nuclear level density by varying the shell-model matrix
elements. Varying the interaction matrix elements we define, for nuclei in the
sd and pf shells, the sectors with spherical and deformed shapes. Using the
moments method that does not require the full diagonalization we relate the
shape transitions with the corresponding level density. Enhancement of the
level density in the low-energy part of the spectrum is observed in clear
correlation with a deformation phase transition induced mainly by the matrix
elements of single-particle transfer. The single-particle transfer matrix
elements in the shell model nuclear Hamiltonian are indeed the carriers of
deformation, providing rotational observables and enhanced level densities.


title: X-Ray and Radio Emission from the Luminous Supernova 2005kd

abstract:
  SN 2005kd is among the most luminous supernovae (SNe) to be discovered at
X-ray wavelengths. We have re-analysed all good angular resolution (better than
$20"$ FWHM PSF) archival X-ray data for SN 2005kd. The data reveal an X-ray
light curve that decreases as t$^{-1.62 \pm 0.06}$. Our modelling of the data
suggests that the early evolution is dominated by emission from the forward
shock in a high-density medium. Emission from the radiative reverse shock is
absorbed by the cold dense shell formed behind the reverse shock. Our results
suggest a progenitor with a mass-loss rate towards the end of its evolution of
$\ge$ 4.3 $\times$ 10$^{-4} M_{\odot} \,{\rm yr}^{-1}$, for a wind velocity of
10 km s$^{-1}$, at 4.0 $\times$ 10$^{16}$ cm. This mass-loss rate is too high
for most known stars, except perhaps hypergiant stars. A higher wind velocity
would lead to a correspondingly higher mass-loss rate. A Luminous Blue Variable
star undergoing a giant eruption could potentially fulfill this requirement,
but would need a high mass-loss rate lasting for several hundred years, and
need to explain the plateau observed in the optical light curve. The latter
could perhaps be due to the ejecta expanding in the dense circumstellar
material at relatively small radii. These observations are consistent with the
fact that Type IIn SNe appear to expand into high density and high mass-loss
rate environments, and also suggest rapid variability in the wind mass-loss
parameters within at least the last 5000 years of stellar evolution prior to
core-collapse.


title: A Monodromy from London

abstract:
  We focus on the massive gauge theory formulation of axion monodromy
inflation. We argue that a gauge symmetry hidden in these models is the key
protection mechanism from dangerous corrections from both field theory and
gravitational dynamics. The effective theory of large field inflation is a dual
to a massive U(1) 4-form gauge theory, which is similar to a massive gauge
theory description of superconductivity. The gauge theory explicitly realizes
the old Julia-Toulouse proposal for a low energy description of a gauge theory
in a defect condensate. While we work mostly with the example of quadratic
axion potential induced by flux monodromy, we discuss how other types of
potentials can arise from inclusion of gauge invariant corrections to the
theory.


title: On the complexity of automatic complexity

abstract:
  Generalizing the notion of automatic complexity of individual strings due to
Shallit and Wang, we define the automatic complexity $A(E)$ of an equivalence
relation $E$ on a finite set $S$ of strings.
  We prove that the problem of determining whether $A(E)$ equals the number
$|E|$ of equivalence classes of $E$ is $\mathsf{NP}$-complete. The problem of
determining whether $A(E) = |E| + k$ for a fixed $k\ge 1$ is complete for the
second level of the Boolean hierarchy for $\mathsf{NP}$, i.e.,
$\mathsf{BH}_2$-complete.
  Let $L$ be the language consisting of all strings of maximal nondeterministic
automatic complexity. We characterize the complexity of infinite subsets of $L$
by showing that they can be co-context-free but not context-free, i.e., $L$ is
$\mathsf{CFL}$-immune, but not $\mathsf{coCFL}$-immune.
  We show that for each $\epsilon>0$, $L_\epsilon\not\in\mathsf{coCFL}$, where
$L_\epsilon$ is the set of all strings whose deterministic automatic complexity
$A(x)$ satisfies $A(x)\ge |x|^{1/2-\epsilon}$.


title: Valley blockade in a silicon double quantum dot

abstract:
  Electrical transport in double quantum dots (DQDs) illuminates many
interesting features of the dots' carrier states. Recent advances in silicon
quantum information technologies have renewed interest in the valley states of
electrons confined in silicon. Here we show measurements of DC transport
through a mesa-etched silicon double quantum dot. Comparing bias triangles
(i.e., regions of allowed current in DQDs) at positive and negative bias
voltages we find a systematic asymmetry in the size of the bias triangles at
the two bias polarities. Asymmetries of this nature are associated with
blocking of tunneling events due to the occupation of a metastable state.
Several features of our data lead us to conclude that the states involved are
not simple spin states. Rather, we develop a model based on selective filling
of valley states in the DQD that is consistent with all of the qualitative
features of our data.


title:
Bose and Fermi Statistics and the Regularization of the Nonrelativistic
  Jacobian for the Scale Anomaly

abstract:
  We regulate in Euclidean space the Jacobian under scale transformations for
two-dimensional nonrelativistic fermions and bosons interacting via contact
interactions and compare the resulting scaling anomalies. For fermions,
Grassmannian integration inverts the Jacobian: however, this effect is
cancelled by the regularization procedure and a result similar to that of
bosons is attained. We show the independence of the result with respect to the
regulating function, and show the robustness of our methods by comparing the
procedure with an effective potential method using both cutoff and
$\zeta$-function regularization.


title: The S-matrix Bootstrap I: QFT in AdS

abstract:
  We propose a strategy to study massive Quantum Field Theory (QFT) using
conformal bootstrap methods. The idea is to consider QFT in hyperbolic space
and study correlation functions of its boundary operators. We show that these
are solutions of the crossing equations in one lower dimension. By sending the
curvature radius of the background hyperbolic space to infinity we expect to
recover flat-space physics. We explain that this regime corresponds to large
scaling dimensions of the boundary operators, and discuss how to obtain the
flat-space scattering amplitudes from the corresponding limit of the boundary
correlators. We implement this strategy to obtain universal bounds on the
strength of cubic couplings in 2D flat-space QFTs using 1D conformal bootstrap
techniques. Our numerical results match precisely the analytic bounds obtained
in our companion paper using S-matrix bootstrap techniques.


title: The S-matrix Bootstrap II: Two Dimensional Amplitudes

abstract:
  We consider constraints on the S-matrix of any gapped, Lorentz invariant
quantum field theory in 1 + 1 dimensions due to crossing symmetry and
unitarity. In this way we establish rigorous bounds on the cubic couplings of a
given theory with a fixed mass spectrum. In special cases we identify
interesting integrable theories saturating these bounds. Our analytic bounds
match precisely with numerical bounds obtained in a companion paper where we
consider massive QFT in an AdS box and study boundary correlators using the
technology of the conformal bootstrap.


title: Correlations in Electrically Coupled Chaotic Lasers

abstract:
  We show how two electrically coupled semiconductor lasers having optical
feedback can present simultaneous anti-phase correlated fast power
fluctuations, and strong in-phase synchronized spikes of chaotic power drops.
This quite counter intuitive phenomenon is demonstrated experimentally and
confirmed by numerical solutions of a deterministic dynamical system of rate
equations. The occurrence of negative and positive cross correlation between
parts of a complex system according to time scales, as proved in our simple
arrangement, is relevant for the understanding and characterization of
collective properties in complex networks.


title:
Wide-Dynamic-Range Cantilever Magnetometry Using a Fiber-Optic
  Interferometer and its Application to High-frequency Electron Spin Resonance
  Spectroscopy

abstract:
  We present a method of broadening the dynamic range of optical
interferometric detection of cantilever displacement. The key idea of this
system is to use a wavelength-tunable laser source. The wavelength is subject
to proportional-integral control, which is used to keep the cavity detuning
constant during a measurement. Under this control, the change in wavelength is
proportional to the cantilever displacement. Using this technique, we can
measure large displacements ($>1\ \mathrm{\mu m}$) without degradation of
sensitivity. We apply this technique to high-frequency electron spin resonance
spectroscopy and succeed in removing an irregular background signal that arises
from the constantly varying sensitivity of the interferometer.


title:
Guided macro-mutation in a graded energy based genetic algorithm for
  protein structure prediction

abstract:
  Protein structure prediction is considered as one of the most challenging and
computationally intractable combinatorial problem. Thus, the efficient modeling
of convoluted search space, the clever use of energy functions, and more
importantly, the use of effective sampling algorithms become crucial to address
this problem. For protein structure modeling, an off-lattice model provides
limited scopes to exercise and evaluate the algorithmic developments due to its
astronomically large set of data-points. In contrast, an on-lattice model
widens the scopes and permits studying the relatively larger proteins because
of its finite set of data-points. In this work, we took the full advantage of
an on-lattice model by using a face-centered-cube lattice that has the highest
packing density with the maximum degree of freedom. We proposed a graded
energy-strategically mixes the Miyazawa-Jernigan (MJ) energy with the
hydrophobic-polar (HP) energy-based genetic algorithm (GA) for conformational
search. In our application, we introduced a 2x2 HP energy guided macro-mutation
operator within the GA to explore the best possible local changes exhaustively.
Conversely, the 20x20 MJ energy model-the ultimate objective function of our GA
that needs to be minimized-considers the impacts amongst the 20 different amino
acids and allow searching the globally acceptable conformations. On a set of
benchmark proteins, our proposed approach outperformed state-of-the-art
approaches in terms of the free energy levels and the root-mean-square
deviations.


title: Life, Intelligence and Multiverse

abstract:
  Hypothetical existence of other universes gives an opportunity not only to
extend the scope of physics, but the scope of biology, SETI, and METI as well.
Some steps of the development of alien life concept shall be briefly
summarized, then the multiverse proposal shall be used as a framework of
interpretation to introduce an extended taxonomy of possible or at least
imaginable types of life and intelligence based on either different
biochemistry or physics. Some consequences shall be presented about SETI and
METI in connection with both multiverse hypothesis and anthropic principle.


title:
A complete set of intertwiners for arbitrary tensor product
  representations via current algebras

abstract:
  Let $\mathfrak{g}$ be a reductive Lie algebra and let
$\vec{V}(\vec{\lambda})$ be a tensor product of $k$ copies of finite
dimensional irreducible $\mathfrak{g}$-modules. Choosing $k$ points in
$\mathbb{C}$, $\vec{V}(\vec{\lambda})$ acquires a natural structure of the
current algebra $\mathfrak{g}\otimes \mathbb{C}[t]$-module. Following a work of
Rao [R], we produce an explicit and complete set of $\mathfrak{g}$-module
intertwiners of $\vec{V}(\vec{\lambda})$ in terms of the action of the current
algebra.


title:
Generalized Sampling Expansions Associated with Quaternion Fourier
  Transform

abstract:
  Quaternion-valued signals along with quaternion Fourier transforms
(QFT)provide an effective framework for vector-valued signal and image
processing. However, the sampling theory of quaternion valued signals has not
been well developed. In this paper, we present the generalized sampling
expansions associated with QFT by using the generalized translation and
convolution. We show that a {\sigma}-bandlimited quaternion valued signal in
QFT sense can be reconstructed from the samples of output signals of M linear
systems based on QFT. Quaternion linear canonical transform (QLCT) is a
generalization of QFT with six parameters. Using the relationship between QFT,
we derive the sampling formula for {\sigma}-bandlimited quaternion-valued
signal in QLCT sense. Examples are given to illustrate our results.


title: A Brown Dwarf Census from the SIMP Survey

abstract:
  We have conducted a near-infrared (NIR) proper motion survey, the Sondage
Infrarouge de Mouvement Propre, in order to discover field ultracool dwarfs
(UCD) in the solar neighborhood. The survey was conducted by imaging $\sim28\%$
of the sky with the Cam\'era PAnoramique Proche-InfraRouge both in the southern
hemisphere at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 1.5 m telescope, and
in the northern hemisphere at the Observatoire du Mont-M\'egantic 1.6 m
telescope and comparing the source positions from these observations with the
Two Micron All-Sky Survey Point Source Catalog (2MASS PSC). Additional color
criteria were used to further discriminate unwanted astrophysical sources. We
present the results of an NIR spectroscopic follow-up of 169 M, L, and T
dwarfs. Among the sources discovered are 2 young field brown dwarfs, 6
unusually red M and L dwarfs, 25 unusually blue M and L dwarfs, 2 candidate
unresolved L+T binaries, and 24 peculiar UCDs. Additionally, we add 9 L/T
transition dwarfs (L6--T4.5) to the already known objects.


title: Fermat's Last Theorem: Algebra, Geometry, and Number Theory

abstract:
  In our work we give the examples using Fermat's Last Theorem for solving some
problems from algebra, geometry and number theory


title: Unconventional quantum Hall effect in Floquet topological insulators

abstract:
  We study an unconventional quantum Hall effect for the surface states of
ultrathin Floquet topological insulators in a perpendicular magnetic field. The
resulting band structure is modified by photon dressing and the topological
property is governed by the low-energy dynamics of a single surface. An
exchange of symmetric and antisymmetric surface states occurs by reversing the
light's polarization. We find a novel quantum Hall state in which the zeroth
Landau level undergoes a phase transition from a trivial insulator state, with
Hall conductivity $\sigma_{yx}=0$ at zero Fermi energy, to a Hall insulator
state with $\sigma_{yx}=e^2/2h$. These findings open new possibilities for
experimentally realizing nontrivial quantum states and unusual quantum Hall
plateaux at $(\pm1/2,\pm3/2,\pm5/2,...)e^2/h$.


title: Field dynamics on the trapping horizon in Vaidya spacetime

abstract:
  In this article, we shed some light on the field theoretic aspect of the
spherically symmetric trapping horizon in Vaidya spacetime. The effective field
equations are that of a Chern-Simons theory coupled to bulk sources through two
different couplings, one is purely geometric and the other is matter dependent.
This is an effective generalization of the equilibrium horizon scenario where
the Chern-Simons theory is coupled to the bulk geometry through a constant
matter-independent coupling. Further, we note that the field equations
pulled-back to a cross-section of the horizon is inadequate to manifest the
nature of the horizon. Hence, contrary to the usual practice, the evolution
equation needs to be considered at least while passing on to the quantum
theory.


title:
Fate of the conformal fixed point with twelve massless fermions and
  SU(3) gauge group

abstract:
  We report new results on the conformal properties of an important strongly
coupled gauge theory, a building block of composite Higgs models beyond the
Standard Model. With twelve massless fermions in the fundamental representation
of the SU(3) color gauge group, an infrared fixed point of the $\beta$-function
was recently reported in the theory (Cheng:2014jba) with uncertainty in the
location of the critical gauge coupling inside the narrow $[ 6.0<g_*^2<6.4]$
interval and widely accepted since as the strongest evidence for a conformal
fixed point and scale invariance in the theory with model-building
implications. Using the exact same renormalization scheme as the previous
study, we show that no fixed point of the $\beta$-function exists in the
reported interval. Our findings eliminate the only seemingly credible evidence
for conformal fixed point and scale invariance in the $N_f=12$ model whose
infrared properties remain unresolved. The implications of the recently
completed 5-loop QCD beta function for arbitrary flavor number are discussed
with respect to our work.


title: Families with no $s$ pairwise disjoint sets

abstract:
  For integers $n\ge s\ge 2$ let $e(n,s)$ denote the maximum of $|\mathcal F|,$
where $\mathcal F$ is a family of subsets of an $n$-element set and $\mathcal
F$ contains no $s$ pairwise disjoint members. Half a century ago, solving a
conjecture of Erd\H os, Kleitman determined $e(sm-1,s)$ and $e(sm,s)$ for all
$m,s\ge 1$. During the years very little progress in the general case was made.
  In the present paper we state a general conjecture concerning the value of
$e(sm-l,m)$ for $1<l<s$ and prove its validity for $s>s_0(l,m).$ For $l=2$ we
determine the value of $e(sm-2,m)$ for all $s\ge 5.$
  Some related results shedding light on the problem from a more general
context are proved as well.


title:
Predicting Branch Visits and Credit Card Up-selling using Temporal
  Banking Data

abstract:
  There is an abundance of temporal and non-temporal data in banking (and other
industries), but such temporal activity data can not be used directly with
classical machine learning models. In this work, we perform extensive feature
extraction from the temporal user activity data in an attempt to predict user
visits to different branches and credit card up-selling utilizing user
information and the corresponding activity data, as part of \emph{ECML/PKDD
Discovery Challenge 2016 on Bank Card Usage Analysis}. Our solution ranked
\nth{4} for \emph{Task 1} and achieved an AUC of \textbf{$0.7056$} for
\emph{Task 2} on public leaderboard.


title: Characterization of qubit chains by Feynman probes

abstract:
  We address the characterization of qubit chains and assess the performances
of local measurements compared to those provided by Feynman probes, i.e.
nonlocal measurements realized by coupling a single qubit regis- ter to the
chain. We show that local measurements are suitable to estimate small values of
the coupling and that a Bayesian strategy may be successfully exploited to
achieve optimal precision. For larger values of the coupling Bayesian local
strategies do not lead to a consistent estimate. In this regime, Feynman probes
may be exploited to build a consistent Bayesian estimator that saturates the
Cram\'er-Rao bound, thus providing an effective characterization of the chain.
Finally, we show that ultimate bounds to precision, i.e. saturation of the
quantum Cram\'er-Rao bound, may be achieved by a two-step scheme employing
Feynman probes followed by local measurements.


title: Sequence to sequence learning for unconstrained scene text recognition

abstract:
  In this work we present a state-of-the-art approach for unconstrained natural
scene text recognition. We propose a cascade approach that incorporates a
convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture followed by a long short term
memory model (LSTM). The CNN learns visual features for the characters and uses
them with a softmax layer to detect sequence of characters. While the CNN gives
very good recognition results, it does not model relation between characters,
hence gives rise to false positive and false negative cases (confusing
characters due to visual similarities like "g" and "9", or confusing background
patches with characters; either removing existing characters or adding
non-existing ones) To alleviate these problems we leverage recent developments
in LSTM architectures to encode contextual information. We show that the LSTM
can dramatically reduce such errors and achieve state-of-the-art accuracy in
the task of unconstrained natural scene text recognition. Moreover we manually
remove all occurrences of the words that exist in the test set from our
training set to test whether our approach will generalize to unseen data. We
use the ICDAR 13 test set for evaluation and compare the results with the state
of the art approaches [11, 18]. We finally present an application of the work
in the domain of for traffic monitoring.


title:
Two problems on matchings in set families - in the footsteps of
  Erd\H{o}s and Kleitman

abstract:
  The families $\mathcal F_1,\ldots, \mathcal F_s\subset 2^{[n]}$ are called
$q$-dependent if there are no pairwise disjoint $F_1\in \mathcal F_1,\ldots,
F_s\in\mathcal F_s$ satisfying $|F_1\cup\ldots\cup F_s|\le q.$ We determine
$\max |\mathcal F_1|+\ldots +|\mathcal F_s| $ for all values $n\ge q,s\ge 2$.
The result provides a far-reaching generalization of an important classical
result of Kleitman.
  The well-known Erd\H os Matching Conjecture suggests the largest size of a
family $\mathcal F\subset {[n]\choose k}$ with no $s$ pairwise disjoint sets.
After more than 50 years its full solution is still not in sight. In the
present paper, we provide a Hilton-Milner-type stability theorem for the
Erd\H{o}s Matching Conjecture in a relatively wide range, in particular, for
$n\ge (2+o(1))sk$ with $o(1)$ depending on $s$ only. This is a considerable
improvement of a classical result due to Bollob\'as, Daykin and Erd\H{o}s.
  We apply our results to advance in the following anti-Ramsey-type problem,
proposed by \"Ozkahya and Young. Let $ar(n,k,s)$ be the minimum number $x$ of
colors such that in any coloring of the $k$-element subsets of $[n]$ with $x$
(non-empty) colors there is a \textit{rainbow matching} of size $s$, that is,
$s$ sets of different colors that are pairwise disjoint. We prove a stability
result for the problem, which allows to determine $ar(n,k,s)$ for all $k\ge 3$
and $n\ge sk+(s-1)(k-1).$ Some other consequences of our results are presented
as well.


title: On weaker notions of nonlinear embeddings between Banach spaces

abstract:
  In this paper, we study nonlinear embeddings between Banach spaces. More
specifically, the goal of this paper is to study weaker versions of coarse and
uniform embeddability, and to provide suggestive evidences that those weaker
embeddings may be stronger than one would think. We do such by proving that
many known results for coarse and uniform embeddings remain valid for those
weaker notions of embeddings.


title: Grover's Algorithm and the Secant Varieties

abstract:
  In this paper we investigate the entanglement nature of quantum states
generated by Grover's search algorithm by means of algebraic geometry. More
precisely we establish a link between entanglement of states generated by the
algorithm and auxiliary algebraic varieties built from the set of separable
states. This new perspective enables us to propose qualitative interpretations
of earlier numerical results obtained by M. Rossi et al. We also illustrate our
purpose with a couple of examples investigated in details.


title:
Braking indices of pulsars obtained in the presence of an effective
  force

abstract:
  Braking indices of pulsars present a scientific challenge as their
theoretical calculation is still an open problem. In this paper we report
results of a study regarding such calculation which adapts the canonical model
(which admits that pulsars are rotating magnetic dipoles) basically by
introducing a compensating component in the energy conservation equation of the
system. This component would correspond to an effective force that varies with
the first power of the tangential velocity of the pulsar's crust. We test the
proposed model using data available and predict braking indices values for
different stars. We comment on the high braking index recently measured of the
pulsar J1640-4631.


title: Studies on the Magnetic Ground State of a Spin M\"obius Strip

abstract:
  Here we report the synthesis, structure and detailed characterisation of
three n-membered oxovanadium rings,
Na$_n$[(V=O)$_n$Na$_n$(H$_2$O)$_n$($\alpha$, $\beta$, or
$\gamma$-CD)$_2$]$m$H$_2$O (n = 6, 7, or 8), prepared by the reactions of
(V=O)SO$_4$$\cdot$$x$H$_2$O with $\alpha$, $\beta$, or $\gamma$-cyclodextrins
(CDs) and NaOH in water. Their alternating heterometallic vanadium/sodium
cyclic core structures were sandwiched between two CD moieties such that O-Na-O
groups separated neighbouring vanadyl ions. Antiferromagnetic interactions
between the $S$ = 1/2 vanadyl ions led to $S$ = 0 ground states for the
even-membered rings, but to two quasi-degenerate $S$ = 1/2 states for the
spin-frustrated heptanuclear cluster.


title: Performance of Topological Insulator Interconnects

abstract:
  The poor performance of copper interconnects at the nanometer scale calls for
new material solutions for continued scaling of integrated circuits. We propose
the use of three dimensional time-reversal-invariant topological insulators
(TIs), which host backscattering-protected surface states, for this purpose.
Using semiclassical methods, we demonstrate that nanoscale TI interconnects
have a resistance 1-3 orders of magnitude lower than copper interconnects and
graphene nanoribbons at the nanometer scale. We use the nonequilibrium Green
function (NEGF) formalism to measure the change in conductance of nanoscale TI
and metal interconnects caused by the presence of impurity disorder. We show
that metal interconnects suffer a resistance increase, relative to the clean
limit, in excess of 500% due to disorder while the TI's surface states increase
less than 35% in the same regime.