title:
Detection of H2O and evidence for TiO/VO in an ultra hot exoplanet
  atmosphere

abstract:
  We present a primary transit observation for the ultra hot (Teq~2400K) gas
giant expolanet WASP-121b, made using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field
Camera 3 in spectroscopic mode across the 1.12-1.64 micron wavelength range.
The 1.4 micron water absorption band is detected at high confidence (5.4 sigma)
in the planetary atmosphere. We also reanalyze ground-based photometric
lightcurves taken in the B, r', and z' filters. Significantly deeper transits
are measured in these optical bandpasses relative to the near-infrared
wavelengths. We conclude that scattering by high-altitude haze alone is
unlikely to account for this difference, and instead interpret it as evidence
for titanium oxide and vanadium oxide absorption. Enhanced opacity is also
inferred across the 1.12-1.3 micron wavelength range, possibly due to iron
hydride absorption. If confirmed, WASP-121b will be the first exoplanet with
titanium oxide, vanadium oxide, and iron hydride detected in transmission. The
latter are important species in M/L dwarfs, and their presence is likely to
have a significant effect on the overall physics and chemistry of the
atmosphere, including the production of a strong thermal inversion.


title:
Bethe vectors for models based on the super-Yangian
  $Y(\mathfrak{gl}(m|n))$

abstract:
  We study Bethe vectors of integrable models based on the super-Yangian
$Y(\mathfrak{gl}(m|n))$. Starting from the super-trace formula, we exhibit
recursion relations for these vectors in the case of $Y(\mathfrak{gl}(2|1))$
and $Y(\mathfrak{gl}(1|2))$. These recursion relations allow to get explicit
expressions for the Bethe vectors. Using an antimorphism of the super-Yangian
$Y(\mathfrak{gl}(m|n))$, we also construct a super-trace formula for dual Bethe
vectors, and, for $Y(\mathfrak{gl}(2|1))$ and $Y(\mathfrak{gl}(1|2))$
super-Yangians, show recursion relations for them. Again, the latter allow us
to get explicit expressions for dual Bethe vectors.


title: A coupling model for quasi-normal modes of photonic resonators

abstract:
  We develop a model for the coupling of quasi-normal modes in open photonic
systems consisting of two resonators. By expressing the modes of the coupled
system as a linear combination of the modes of the individual particles, we
obtain a generalized eigenvalue problem involving small size dense matrices. We
apply this technique to dielectric rod dimmer of rectangular cross section for
Transverse Electric (TE) polarization in a two-dimensional (2D) setup. The
results of our model show excellent agreement with full-wave finite element
simulations. We provide a convergence analysis, and a simplified model with a
few modes to study the influence of the relative position of the two
resonators. This model provides interesting physical insights on the coupling
scheme at stake in such systems and pave the way for systematic and efficient
design and optimization of resonances in more complicated systems, for
applications including sensing, antennae and spectral filtering.


title:
Norm-preserving Orthogonal Permutation Linear Unit Activation Functions
  (OPLU)

abstract:
  We propose a novel activation function that implements piece-wise orthogonal
non-linear mappings based on permutations. It is straightforward to implement,
and very computationally efficient, also it has little memory requirements. We
tested it on two toy problems for feedforward and recurrent networks, it shows
similar performance to tanh and ReLU. OPLU activation function ensures norm
preservance of the backpropagated gradients, therefore it is potentially good
for the training of deep, extra deep, and recurrent neural networks.


title: Time-domain Ramsey interferometry with interacting Rydberg atoms

abstract:
  We theoretically investigate the dynamics of a gas of strongly interacting
Rydberg atoms subject to a time-domain Ramsey interferometry protocol. The
many-body dynamics is governed by an Ising-type Hamiltonian with long range
interactions of tunable strength. We analyze and model the contrast degradation
and phase accumulation of the Ramsey signal and identify scaling laws for
varying interrogation times, ensemble densities, and ensemble dimensionalities.


title: Direct growth of low-doped graphene on Ge/Si(001) surfaces

abstract:
  The practical difficulties to use graphene in microelectronics and
optoelectronics is that the available methods to grow graphene are not easily
integrated in the mainstream technologies. A growth method that could overcome
at least some of these problems is chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of graphene
directly on semiconducting (Si or Ge) substrates. Here we report on the
comparison of the CVD and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of graphene on
the technologically relevant Ge(001)/Si(001) substrate from ethene (C$_2$H$_4$)
precursor and describe the physical properties of the films as well as we
discuss the surface reaction and diffusion processes that may be responsible
for the observed behavior. Using nano angle resolved photoemission (nanoARPES)
complemented by transport studies and Raman spectroscopy, we report the direct
observation of massless Dirac particles in monolayer graphene, providing a
comprehensive mapping of their low-hole doped Dirac electron bands. The
micrometric graphene flakes are oriented along two predominant directions
rotated by $30^\circ$ with respect to each other. The growth mode is attributed
to the mechanism when small graphene "molecules" nucleate on the Ge(001)
surface and it is found that hydrogen plays a significant role in this process.


title:
Free-Space Detection with Self-Supervised and Online Trained Fully
  Convolutional Networks

abstract:
  Recently, vision-based Advanced Driver Assist Systems have gained broad
interest. In this work, we investigate free-space detection, for which we
propose to employ a Fully Convolutional Network (FCN). We show that this FCN
can be trained in a self-supervised manner and achieve similar results compared
to training on manually annotated data, thereby reducing the need for large
manually annotated training sets. To this end, our self-supervised training
relies on a stereo-vision disparity system, to automatically generate (weak)
training labels for the color-based FCN. Additionally, our self-supervised
training facilitates online training of the FCN instead of offline.
Consequently, given that the applied FCN is relatively small, the free-space
analysis becomes highly adaptive to any traffic scene that the vehicle
encounters. We have validated our algorithm using publicly available data and
on a new challenging benchmark dataset that is released with this paper.
Experiments show that the online training boosts performance with 5% when
compared to offline training, both for Fmax and AP.


title: Disjoint paths in unions of tournaments

abstract:
  Given $k$ pairs of vertices $(s_i,t_i)\;(1\le i\le k)$ of a digraph $G$, how
can we test whether there exist vertex-disjoint directed paths from $s_i$ to
$t_i$ for $1\le i\le k$? This is NP-complete in general digraphs, even for $k =
2$, but in an earlier paper we proved that for all fixed $k$, there is a
polynomial-time algorithm to solve the problem if $G$ is a tournament (or more
generally, a semicomplete digraph). Here we prove that for all fixed $k$ there
is a polynomial-time algorithm to solve the problem when $V(G)$ is partitioned
into a bounded number of sets each inducing a semicomplete digraph (and we are
given the partition).


title:
Bayesian Smooth-and-Match strategy for ordinary differential equations
  models that are linear in the parameters

abstract:
  In many fields of application, dynamic processes that evolve through time are
well described by systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The
analytical solution of the ODEs is often not available and different methods
have been proposed to infer these quantities: from numerical optimization to
regularized (penalized) models, these procedures aim to estimate indirectly the
parameters without solving the system. We focus on the class of techniques that
use smoothing to avoid direct integration and, in particular, on a Bayesian
Smooth-and-Match strategy that allows to obtain the ODEs' solution while
performing inference on models that are linear in the parameters. We
incorporate in the strategy two main sources of uncertainty: the noise level in
the measurements and the model error. We assess the performance of the proposed
approach in three different simulation studies and we compare the results on a
dataset on neuron electrical activity.


title:
Wellposedness of a nonlocal nonlinear diffusion equation of image
  processing

abstract:
  Existence and uniqueness are established for a degenerate regularization of
the well-known Perona-Malik equation proposed by the first author for
non-smooth initial data. The results heavily rely on the choice of appropriate
functional setting inspired by a recent approach to degenerate parabolic
equations via so-called singular Riemannian manifolds introduced by Herbert
Amann.


title:
Discrete space-time symmetry, polarization eigenmodes and their
  degeneracies

abstract:
  The irreducible representations of the group C4(direct product)V can be used
to distinguish polarization eigenmodes, to account for their degeneracies and
to associate them with particular magnetic crystal classes. The occurrence of
this finite Abelian group points to a possible connection with topology but,
irrespective of this, qualitative features of gyrotropy in condensed media can
be approached in a way that does not depend on arbitrarily truncated tensor
expansions.


title: The supernova remnant W44: a case of cosmic-Ray reacceleration

abstract:
  Supernova remnants (SNRs) are thought to be the primary sources of Galactic
Cosmic Rays (CRs). In the last few years, the wealth of gamma-ray data
collected by GeV and TeV instruments has provided important information about
particle energisation in these astrophysical sources, allowing us to make
progress in assessing their role as CR accelerators. In particular, the
spectrum of the gamma-ray emission detected by AGILE and Fermi-LAT from the two
middle aged Supernova Remnants (SNRs) W44 and IC443, has been proposed as a
proof of CR acceleration in SNRs. Here we discuss the possibility that the
radio and gamma-ray spectra from W44 may be explained in terms of
re-acceleration and compression of Galactic CRs. The recent measurement of the
interstellar CR flux by Voyager I has been instrumental for our work, in that
the result of the reprocessing of CRs by the shock in W44 depends on the CR
spectrum at energies that are precluded to terrestrial measurement due to solar
modulation. We introduce both CR protons and helium nuclei in our calculations,
and secondary electrons produced in situ are compared with the flux of Galactic
CR electrons reprocessed by the slow shock of this SNR.We find that the
multi-wavelength spectrum of W44 can be explained by reaccelerated particles
with no need of imposing any break on their distribution, but just a high
energy cut-off at the maximum energy the accelerator can provide.We also find
that a model including both re-acceleration and a very small fraction of
freshly accelerated particles may be more satisfactory on physical grounds


title:
Adaptive Load-Aware Sampling for Network Monitoring on Multicore
  Commodity Hardware

abstract:
  Many current traffic monitoring systems employ deep packet inspection (DPI)
in order to analyze network traffic. These systems include intrusion detection
systems, software for network traffic accounting, traffic classification, or
systems for monitoring service-level agreements. Traffic volumes and link
speeds of current enterprise and ISP networks transform the process of
inspecting traffic payload into a challenging task. In this paper we propose a
novel adaptive sampling algorithm that selects the maximum number of packets
from the network that the DPI system is able to consume. Our algorithm adapts
its sampling rate according to the network traffic currently observed, and the
number of packets that a monitoring application is able to process. It can be
used in conjunction with current multicore-aware network traffic analysis
setups, which allow for exploiting current multi-core hardware. We show the
applicability of our algorithm with live-tests on a heavily used 10G link with
real network monitoring tools.


title:
A system of serial computation for classified rules prediction in
  non-regular ontology trees

abstract:
  Objects or structures that are regular take uniform dimensions. Based on the
concepts of regular models, our previous research work has developed a system
of a regular ontology that models learning structures in a multiagent system
for uniform pre-assessments in a learning environment. This regular ontology
has led to the modelling of a classified rules learning algorithm that predicts
the actual number of rules needed for inductive learning processes and decision
making in a multiagent system. But not all processes or models are regular.
Thus this paper presents a system of polynomial equation that can estimate and
predict the required number of rules of a non-regular ontology model given some
defined parameters.


title:
Harvesting, coupling and control of single exciton coherences in
  photonic waveguide antennas

abstract:
  We perform coherent non-linear spectroscopy of individual excitons strongly
confined in single InAs quantum dots (QDs). The retrieval of their
intrinsically weak four-wave mixing (FWM) response is enabled by a
one-dimensional dielectric waveguide antenna. Compared to a similar QD embedded
in bulk media, the FWM detection sensitivity is enhanced by up to four orders
of magnitude, over a broad operation bandwidth. Three-beam FWM is employed to
investigate coherence and population dynamics within individual QD transitions.
We retrieve their homogenous dephasing in a presence of spectral wandering.
Two-dimensional FWM reveals off-resonant F\"orster coupling between a pair of
distinct QDs embedded in the antenna. We also detect a higher order QD
non-linearity (six-wave mixing) and use it to coherently control the FWM
transient. Waveguide antennas enable to conceive multi-color coherent
manipulation schemes of individual emitters.


title: An O(|E|)-linear Model for the MaxCut Problem

abstract:
  A polytope $P$ is a {\em model} for a combinatorial problem on finite graphs
$G$ whose variables are indexed by the edge set $E$ of $G$ if the points of $P$
with (0,1)-coordinates are precisely the characteristic vectors of the subset
of edges inducing the feasible configurations for the problem. In the case of
the (simple) MaxCut Problem, which is the one that concern us here, the
feasible subsets of edges are the ones inducing the bipartite subgraphs of $G$.
In this paper we introduce a new polytope $\mathbb{P}_{12} \subset
\mathbb{R}^{|E|}$ given by at most $11|E|$ inequalities, which is a model for
the MaxCut Problem on $G$. Moreover, the left side of each inequality is the
sum of at most 4 edge variables with coefficients $\pm1$ and right side 0,1, or
2. We restrict our analysis to the case of $G=K_{z}$, the complete graph in $z$
vertices, where $z$ is an even positive integer $z\ge 4$. This case is
sufficient to study because the simple MaxCut problem for general graphs $G$
can be reduced to the complete graph $K_z$ by considering the obective function
of the associated integer programming as the characteristic vector of the edges
in $G \subseteq K_z$. This is a polynomial algorithmic transformation.


title: Peculiarities of the SEHRS and SERS Spectra of - Bipyridine Molecule

abstract:
  The SEHRS and SERS spactra of 4,4 - Bipyridine are analyzed on the base of
the Dipole-Quadrupole theory for two possible geometries of the molecule. It is
demonstrated that there appear strong lines caused by vibrations transforming
after a unit irreducible representation both for the geometry with D2 and D2h
symmetry groups, which may probably describe the symmetry properties of the
molecule. Appearance of these lines is associated with a strong quadrupole
light-molecule interaction, which arises in nano size rregions of sharp
roughness of the metal. In addition, there are the lines caused by
contributions from both the vibrations transforming after the unit irredicible
representations A or Ag and the representations B1 or B1u, respectively, which
describe transformational properties of the Ez component of the dipole moment,
which is perpendicular to the surface for both geometries. This result is
associated with a specific geometry of the molecule, when the indicated
vibrations can be nearly degenerated and can not be resolved by the SEHRS and
SERS spectra analysis. This issue is in a full compliance with the results of
the SEHRS and SERS Dipole-Quadrupole theory.


title: Palindromic Density

abstract:
  In this paper we consider the palindromes that can be formed by taking
unordered sets of $n$ elements from an alphabet of $b$ letters. In particular,
we seek to find the probability that given a random member of this space we are
able to re-arrange its elements to form a palindrome. We conclude by exploring
the behaviour of this probability as $n, b \to \infty$


title:
Relativistic stars in Starobinsky gravity with the matched asymptotic
  expansions method

abstract:
  We study the structure of relativistic stars in $\mathcal{R}+\alpha
\mathcal{R}^{2}$ theory using the method of matched asymptotic expansion to
handle the higher order derivatives in field equations arising from the higher
order curvature term. We find solutions, parametrized by $\alpha$, for uniform
density stars. We obtain the mass-radius relations and study the dependence of
maximum mass on $\alpha$. We find that $M_{\max}$ is almost linearly
proportional to $\alpha$. For each $\alpha$ the maximum mass configuration has
the biggest compactness parameter ($\eta = GM/Rc^2$), and we argue that the
general relativistic stellar configuration corresponding to $\alpha=0$ is the
least compact among these.


title:
Evaluation of the Convolution Sum involving the Sum of Divisors Function
  for 14, 22 and 26

abstract:
  For all natural numbers $n$, we discuss the evaluation of the convolution
sum, $\underset{\substack{{(l,m) \in \mathbb{N}_0^2} \\ {\alpha\,l+\beta\,m=n}
} }{\sum}\sigma(l)\sigma(m)$, where $\alpha\beta=14,22,26$. We generalize the
extraction of the convolution sum using Eisenstein forms of weight $4$ for all
pairs of positive integers $(\alpha,\beta)$. We also determine formulae for the
number of representations of a positive integer by the octonary quadratic forms
$a\,(x_1^2 + x_2^2 + x_3^2 + x_4^2)+ b\,(x_5^2 + x_6^2 + x_7^2 + x_8^2)$, where
$(a,b)= (1,1), (1,3), (2,3), (1,9)$. These numbers of representations of a
positive integer are applications of the evaluation of certain convolution sums
by J. G. Huard et al., A. Alaca et al. and D. Ye.


title: On the dynamics of a spherically shaped top on a plane with friction

abstract:
  The simple realistic model of the tippe top is considered. An averaged system
of equations of motion is obtained in special evolutionary variables. Through
the qualitative analysis of this system the general features of the motion of
the top are obtained. Finally, some numerical results are presented.


title: Electromagnetic Energy Momentum Tensor in a Spatially Dispersive Medium

abstract:
  We derive a generalized Minkowski Energy Momentum Tensor for a monochromatic
wave in a lossless medium exhibiting temporal and spatial dispersion. The
Energy Momentum Tensor is then related to familiar expressions for energy
density and energy flux, as well as new expressions for momentum density and
momentum flux.


title: Singularity transition in a Yukawa-Reissner-Nordstr\"om spacetime

abstract:
  A screened charge by a Yukawa potential implies that the corresponding
electric field is assimptotically zero far away from a small radius scaling.
Considering a screened charge, we have a modified metric of type
Yukawa-Reissner-Nordstr\"om spacetime, that assimptotically decays from a
Reissner-Nordstr\"om spacetime to a Schwarzschild spacetime. This implies that
the singularity is screened by distance reducing from two singularities to one
single singularity for a suitable distance. We consider the tetrad fields
associated to the Yukawa-Reissner-Nordstr\"om spacetime and show that a linear
motion in the proper time lead to suitable estimatives to the Yukawa screening
parameter associated to a Schwarzschild radius.


title: Information Theoretic Caching: The Multi-User Case

abstract:
  In this paper, we consider a cache aided network in which each user is
assumed to have individual caches, while upon users' requests, an update
message is sent though a common link to all users. First, we formulate a
general information theoretic setting that represents the database as a
discrete memoryless source, and the users' requests as side information that is
available everywhere except at the cache encoder. The decoders' objective is to
recover a function of the source and the side information. By viewing cache
aided networks in terms of a general distributed source coding problem and
through information theoretic arguments, we present inner and outer bounds on
the fundamental tradeoff of cache memory size and update rate. Then, we
specialize our general inner and outer bounds to a specific model of content
delivery networks: File selection networks, in which the database is a
collection of independent equal-size files and each user requests one of the
files independently. For file selection networks, we provide an outer bound and
two inner bounds (for centralized and decentralized caching strategies). For
the case when the user request information is uniformly distributed, we
characterize the rate vs. cache size tradeoff to within a multiplicative gap of
4. By further extending our arguments to the framework of Maddah-Ali and
Niesen, we also establish a new outer bound and two new inner bounds in which
it is shown to recover the centralized and decentralized strategies, previously
established by Maddah-Ali and Niesen. Finally, in terms of rate vs. cache size
tradeoff, we improve the previous multiplicative gap of 72 to 4.7 for the
average case with uniform requests.


title:
Real-Time Computation of Parameter Fitting and Image Reconstruction
  Using Graphical Processing Units

abstract:
  In recent years graphical processing units (GPUs) have become a powerful tool
in scientific computing. Their potential to speed up highly parallel
applications brings the power of high performance computing to a wider range of
users. However, programming these devices and integrating their use in existing
applications is still a challenging task.
  In this paper we examined the potential of GPUs for two different
applications. The first application, created at Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI),
is used for parameter fitting during data analysis of muSR (muon spin rotation,
relaxation and resonance) experiments. The second application, developed at
ETH, is used for PET (Positron Emission Tomography) image reconstruction and
analysis. Applications currently in use were examined to identify parts of the
algorithms in need of optimization. Efficient GPU kernels were created in order
to allow applications to use a GPU, to speed up the previously identified
parts. Benchmarking tests were performed in order to measure the achieved
speedup
  During this work, we focused on single GPU systems to show that real time
data analysis of these problems can be achieved without the need for large
computing clusters. The results show that the currently used application for
parameter fitting, which uses OpenMP to parallelize calculations over multiple
CPU cores, can be accelerated around 40 times through the use of a GPU. The
speedup may vary depending on the size and complexity of the problem. For PET
image analysis, the obtained speedups of the GPU version was more than x40
larger compared to a single core CPU implementation. The achieved results show
that it is possible to improve the execution time by orders of magnitude.


title:
Liu-type Negative Binomial Regression: A Comparison of Recent Estimators
  and Applications

abstract:
  This paper introduces a new biased estimator for the negative binomial
regression model that is a generalization of Liu-type estimator proposed for
the linear model in [12]. Since the variance of the maximum likelihood
estimator (MLE) is inflated when there is multicollinearity between the
explanatory variables, a new biased estimator is proposed to solve the problem
and decrease the variance of MLE in order to make stable inferences. Moreover,
we obtain some theoretical comparisons between the new estimator and some
others via matrix mean squared error (MMSE) criterion. Furthermore, a Monte
Carlo simulation study is designed to evaluate performances of the estimators
in the sense of mean squared error. Finally, a real data application is used to
illustrate the benefits of new estimator.


title:
Back to the Basics: Bayesian extensions of IRT outperform neural
  networks for proficiency estimation

abstract:
  Estimating student proficiency is an important task for computer based
learning systems. We compare a family of IRT-based proficiency estimation
methods to Deep Knowledge Tracing (DKT), a recently proposed recurrent neural
network model with promising initial results. We evaluate how well each model
predicts a student's future response given previous responses using two
publicly available and one proprietary data set. We find that IRT-based methods
consistently matched or outperformed DKT across all data sets at the finest
level of content granularity that was tractable for them to be trained on. A
hierarchical extension of IRT that captured item grouping structure performed
best overall. When data sets included non-trivial autocorrelations in student
response patterns, a temporal extension of IRT improved performance over
standard IRT while the RNN-based method did not. We conclude that IRT-based
models provide a simpler, better-performing alternative to existing RNN-based
models of student interaction data while also affording more interpretability
and guarantees due to their formulation as Bayesian probabilistic models.


title: The $K$-theoretic bulk-edge correspondence for topological insulators

abstract:
  We study the application of Kasparov theory to topological insulator systems
and the bulk-edge correspondence. We consider observable algebras as modelled
by crossed products, where bulk and edge systems may be linked by a short exact
sequence. We construct unbounded Kasparov modules encoding the dynamics of the
crossed product. We then link bulk and edge Kasparov modules using the Kasparov
product. Because of the anti-linear symmetries that occur in topological
insulator models, real $C^*$-algebras and $KKO$-theory must be used.


title:
Functional integral approach to the kinetic theory of inhomogeneous
  systems

abstract:
  We present a derivation of the kinetic equation describing the secular
evolution of spatially inhomogeneous systems with long-range interactions, the
so-called inhomogeneous Landau equation, by relying on a functional integral
formalism. We start from the BBGKY hierarchy derived from the Liouville
equation. At the order ${1/N}$, where $N$ is the number of particles, the
evolution of the system is characterised by its 1-body distribution function
and its 2-body correlation function. Introducing associated auxiliary fields,
the evolution of these quantities may be rewritten as a traditional functional
integral. By functionally integrating over the 2-body autocorrelation, one
obtains a new constraint connecting the 1-body DF and the auxiliary fields.
When inverted, this constraint allows us to obtain the closed non-linear
kinetic equation satisfied by the 1-body distribution function. This derivation
provides an alternative to previous methods, either based on the direct
resolution of the truncated BBGKY hierarchy or on the Klimontovich equation. It
may turn out to be fruitful to derive more accurate kinetic equations, e.g.,
accounting for collective effects, or higher order correlation terms.


title: Epi-two-dimensional flow and generalized enstrophy

abstract:
  The conservation of the enstrophy ($L^2$ norm of the vorticity $\omega$)
plays an essential role in the physics and mathematics of two-dimensional (2D)
Euler fluids. Generalizing to compressible ideal (inviscid and barotropic)
fluids, the generalized enstrophy $\int_{\Sigma(t)} f(\omega/\rho)\rho\, d^2
x$, ($f$ an arbitrary smooth function, $\rho$ the density, and $\Sigma(t)$ an
arbitrary 2D domain co-moving with the fluid) is a constant of motion, and
plays the same role. On the other hand, for the three-dimensional (3D) ideal
fluid, the helicity $\int_{M} {V}\cdot\omega\,d^3x$, ($V$ the flow velocity,
$\omega=\nabla\times V$, and ${M}$ the three-dimensional domain containing the
fluid) is conserved. Evidently, the helicity degenerates in a 2D system, and
the (generalized) enstrophy emerges as a compensating constant. This transition
of the constants of motion is a reflection of an essential difference between
2D and 3D systems, because the conservation of the (generalized) enstrophy
imposes stronger constraints, than the helicity, on the flow. In this paper, we
make a deeper inquiry into the helicity-enstrophy interplay: the ideal fluid
mechanics is cast into a Hamiltonian form in the phase space of Clebsch
parameters, generalizing 2D to a wider category of epi-2D flows (2D embedded in
3D has zero helicity, while the converse is not true -- our epi-2D category
encompasses a wider class of zero-helicity flows); how helicity degenerates and
is substituted by a new constant is delineated; and how a further generalized
enstrophy is introduced as a constant of motion applying to epi-2D flow is
described.


title:
The collisional evolution of undifferentiated asteroids and the
  formation of chondritic meteoroids

abstract:
  Most meteorites are fragments from recent collisions experienced in the
asteroid belt. In such a hyper-velocity collision, the smaller collision
partner is destroyed, whereas a crater on the asteroid is formed or it is
entirely disrupted, too. The present size distribution of the asteroid belt
suggests that an asteroid with 100 km radius is encountered $10^{14}$ times
during the lifetime of the Solar System by objects larger than 10 cm in radius;
the formed craters cover the surface of the asteroid about 100 times. We
present a Monte Carlo code that takes into account the statistical bombardment
of individual infinitesimally small surface elements, the subsequent compaction
of the underlying material, the formation of a crater and a regolith layer. For
the entire asteroid, 10,000 individual surface elements are calculated. We
compare the ejected material from the calculated craters with the shock stage
of meteorites with low petrologic type and find that these most likely stem
from smaller parent bodies that do not possess a significant regolith layer.
For larger objects, which accrete a regolith layer, a prediction of the
thickness depending on the largest visible crater can be made. Additionally, we
compare the crater distribution of an object initially 100 km in radius with
the shape model of the asteroid (21) Lutetia, assuming it to be initially
formed spherical with a radius that is equal to its longest present ellipsoid
length. Here, we find the shapes of both objects to show resemblance to each
other.


title:
Magnetic Dipoles at Topological Defects in the Meissner State of a
  Nanostructured Superconductor

abstract:
  In a magnetic field, superconductivity is manifested by total magnetic field
expulsion (Meissner effect) or by the penetration of integer multiples of the
flux quantum {\Phi}_0. Here we present experimental results revealing magnetic
dipoles formed by Meissner current flowing around artificially introduced
topological defects (lattice of antidots). By using scanning Hall probe
microscopy, we have detected ordered magnetic dipole lattice generated at
spatially periodic antidots in a Pb superconducting film. While the
conventional homogeneous Meissner state breaks down, the total magnetic flux of
the magnetic dipoles remains quantized and is equal to zero. The observed
magnetic dipoles strongly depend on the intensity and direction of the locally
flowing Meissner current, making the magnetic dipoles an effective way to
monitor the local supercurrent. We have also investigated the first step of the
vortex depinning process, where, due to the generation of magnetic dipoles, the
pinned Abrikosov vortices are deformed and shifted from their original pinning
sites.


title: Typical and Admissible ranks over fields

abstract:
  Let $X(\RR)$ be a geometrically connected variety defined over $\RR$ and such
that the set of all its (also complex) points $X(\CC)$ is non-degenerate.
  We introduce the notion of \emph{admissible rank} of a point $P$ with respect
to $X$ to be the minimal cardinality of a set of points of $X(\CC)$ such that
$P\in \langle S \rangle$ that is stable under conjugation.
  Any set evincing the admissible rank can be equipped with a \emph{label}
keeping track of the number of its complex and real points. We show that in the
case of generic identifiability there is an open dense euclidean subset of
points with certain admissible rank for any possible label. Moreover we show
that if $X$ is a rational normal curve than there always exists a label for the
generic element. We present two examples in which either the label doesn't
exists or the admissible rank is strictly bigger than the usual complex rank.


title: Degrees of Freedom of the Quark Gluon Plasma, tested by Heavy Mesons

abstract:
  Heavy quarks (charm and bottoms) are one of the few probes which are
sensitive to the degrees of freedom of a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), which cannot
be revealed by lattice gauge calculations in equilibrium. Due to the rapid
expansion of the QGP energetic heavy quarks do not come to an equilibrium with
the QGP. Their energy loss during the propagation through the QGP medium
depends strongly on the modelling of the interaction of the heavy quarks with
the QGP quarks and gluons, i.e. on the assuption of the degrees of freedom of
the plasma. Here we compare the results of different models, the pQCD based
Monte-Carlo (MC@sHQ), the Dynamical Quasi Particle Model (DQPM) and the
effective mass approach, for the drag force in a thermalized QGP and discuss
the sensitivity of heavy quark energy loss on the properties of the QGP as well
as on non-equilibrium dynamics


title:
331 Models Facing the Tensions in $\Delta F=2$ Processes with the Impact
  on $\varepsilon^\prime/\varepsilon$, $B_s\to\mu^+\mu^-$ and $B\to
  K^*\mu^+\mu^-$

abstract:
  Motivated by the recently improved lattice QCD results on the hadronic matrix
elements entering $\Delta M_{s,d}$ in $B_{s,d}^0-\bar B_{s,d}^0$ mixings and
the resulting increased tensions between $\Delta M_{s,d}$ and $\varepsilon_K$
in the Standard Model and CMFV models, we demonstrate that these tensions can
be removed in 331 models based on the gauge group $SU(3)_C\times SU(3)_L\times
U(1)_X$ both for $M_{Z^\prime}$ in the LHC reach and well beyond it. But the
implied new physics (NP) patterns in $\Delta F=1$ observables depend
sensitively on the value of $|V_{cb}|$. Concentrating the analysis on three 331
models that have been selected by us previously on the basis of their
performance in electroweak precision tests and $\varepsilon^\prime/\varepsilon$
we illustrate this for $|V_{cb}|=0.042$ and $|V_{cb}|=0.040$. We find that
these new lattice data still allow for positive shifts in
$\varepsilon^\prime/\varepsilon$ up to $6\times 10^{-4}$ for
  $M_{Z^\prime}=3~TeV$ for both values of $$|V_{cb}|$ but for
$M_{Z^\prime}=10~TeV$ only for $|V_{cb}|=0.040$ such shifts can be obtained. NP
effects in $B_s\to\mu^+\mu^-$ and in the Wilson coefficient $C_9$ are
significantly larger in all three models for the case of $|V_{cb}|=0.040$. In
particular in two models the rate for $B_s\to\mu^+\mu^-$ can be reduced by NP
by $20\%$ for $M_{Z^\prime}=3~TeV$ resulting in values in the ballpark of
central values from CMS and LHCb. In the third model a shift in $C_9$ up to
$C_9^\text{NP}=-0.5$ is possible. We also consider the simplest 331 model,
analyzed recently in the literature, in which $X=Y$, the usual hypercharge. We
find that in this model NP effects in flavour observables are much smaller than
in the three models with $X\not=Y$, in particular NP contributions to the ratio
  $\varepsilon^\prime/\varepsilon$ are very strongly suppressed.


title: An Aerodynamic Analysis of a Robustly Redesigned Modern Aero-Engine Fan

abstract:
  This paper documents results from a recent computational study aimed at
de-sensitizing fan stage aerodynamics---in a modern, high bypass ratio
aero-engine---to the effects of rear-seal leakage flows. These flows are the
result of seal erosion between a rotor and stator disk in an engine, and
deterioration over the life of an engine. The density-matching technique for
optimization under uncertainty was applied to this problem. This involved RANS
and adjoint flow solves of a full fan stage carried out at two different
leakage conditions. Here a detailed analysis of the fan stage aerodynamics is
carried out to determine why exactly the new design is more insensitive to the
effects of leakage flows. Specifically, it is shown that this insensitivity is
attributed to three main factors: a slight rearward shift in loading, and thus
a reduction in incidence; a reduction in the cross-passage pressure gradient;
and a re-acceleration of the flow towards the trailing edge, which prevented
any corner separation.


title:
Strong coupling results from the numerical solution of the quantum
  spectral curve

abstract:
  In this paper, we solved numerically the Quantum Spectral Curve (QSC)
equations corresponding to some twist-2 single trace operators with even spin
from the $sl(2)$ sector of $AdS_5/CFT_4$ correspondence. We describe all
technical details of the numerical method which are necessary to implement it
in C++ language.
  In the $S=2,4,6,8$ cases, our numerical results confirm the analytical
results, known in the literature for the first 4 coefficients of the strong
coupling expansion for the anomalous dimensions of twist-2 operators. In the
case of the Konishi operator, due to the high precision of the numerical data
we could give numerical predictions to the values of two further coefficients,
as well.
  The strong coupling behaviour of the coefficients $c_{a,n}$ in the power
series representation of the ${\bf P}_{\!a}$-functions is also investigated.
Based on our numerical data, in the regime, where the index of the coefficients
is much smaller than $\lambda^{1/4}$, we conjecture that the coefficients have
polynomial index dependence at strong coupling. This allows one to propose a
strong coupling series representation for the ${\bf P}$-functions being valid
far enough from the real short cut. In the paper the qualitative strong
coupling behaviour of the ${\bf P}$-functions at the branch points is also
discussed.


title:
Ladder and Subdivision of Ladder Graphs with Pendant Edges are Odd
  Graceful

abstract:
  The ladder graph plays an important role in many applications as Electronics,
Electrical and Wireless communication areas. The aim of this work is to present
a new class of odd graceful labeling for the ladder graph. In particular, we
show that the ladder graph Ln with m-pendant Ln + mk1 is odd graceful. We also
show that the subdivision of ladder graph Ln with m-pendant S(Ln) + mk1 is odd
graceful. Finally, we prove that all the subdivision of triangular snakes
(delt-k snake) with pendant edges S(delt-k snake)+ mk are odd graceful.


title: A toric proof of B\'ezout's theorem for weighted projective spaces

abstract:
  Using toric geometry we prove a B\'ezout type theorem for weighted projective
spaces.


title: \"Uber die von einem Ideal $I \subset R$ erzeugten $R$-Moduln

abstract:
  Let $(R, \mathfrak m)$ be a commutative noetherian local ring. We investigate
under which conditions an $R$-module $M$ is generated by an ideal $I$, i.e.
there exists an epimorphism $I^{(\Lambda)} \twoheadrightarrow M$. If $M$ is
uniserial, i.e. $\mathcal{L}(M)$ is totally ordered and finite, this is
equivalent to $\mathfrak{m}^{n-1} \cdot I \not\subset \operatorname{Ann}_R(M)
\cdot I$ ($\operatorname{length}(M) = n \geq 1$). If $M$ is cyclic and $I =
\mathfrak{m}$, this is equivalent to: Either it is $M \cong R/\mathfrak{p}$
($R/\mathfrak{p}$ a discrete valuation ring) or $M \cong
C/\operatorname{So}(C)$ ($C$ a uniserial $R$-module). If $A$ is free and $B$ is
a submodule of $A$, then the Matlis dual $(A/B)^{\circ} =
operatorname{Hom}_R(A/B, E)$ is $I$-generated if and only if $B = (IB) :_A I$.
In the case $I = \mathfrak{m}$, this condition leads to the "basically full
ideals" considered by Heinzer, Ratliff~Jr. and Rush. By studying the dual
condition $M = I(M :_X I)$ in the last section, we can generalize some results
of that work.


title:
The COSMOS2015 Catalog: Exploring the 1<z<6 Universe with half a million
  galaxies

abstract:
  We present the COSMOS2015 catalog which contains precise photometric
redshifts and stellar masses for more than half a million objects over the
2deg$^{2}$ COSMOS field. Including new $YJHK_{\rm s}$ images from the
UltraVISTA-DR2 survey, $Y$-band from Subaru/Hyper-Suprime-Cam and infrared data
from the Spitzer Large Area Survey with the Hyper-Suprime-Cam Spitzer legacy
program, this near-infrared-selected catalog is highly optimized for the study
of galaxy evolution and environments in the early Universe. To maximise catalog
completeness for bluer objects and at higher redshifts, objects have been
detected on a $\chi^{2}$ sum of the $YJHK_{\rm s}$ and $z^{++}$ images. The
catalog contains $\sim 6\times 10^5$ objects in the 1.5 deg$^{2}$
UltraVISTA-DR2 region, and $\sim 1.5\times 10^5$ objects are detected in the
"ultra-deep stripes" (0.62 deg$^{2}$) at $K_{\rm s}\leq 24.7$ (3$\sigma$, 3",
AB magnitude). Through a comparison with the zCOSMOS-bright spectroscopic
redshifts, we measure a photometric redshift precision of $\sigma_{\Delta
z/(1+z_s)}$ = 0.007 and a catastrophic failure fraction of $\eta=0.5$%. At
$3<z<6$, using the unique database of spectroscopic redshifts in COSMOS, we
find $\sigma_{\Delta z/(1+z_s)}$ = 0.021 and $\eta=13.2\% $. The deepest
regions reach a 90\% completeness limit of 10$^{10}M_\odot$ to $z=4$. Detailed
comparisons of the color distributions, number counts, and clustering show
excellent agreement with the literature in the same mass ranges. COSMOS2015
represents a unique, publicly available, valuable resource with which to
investigate the evolution of galaxies within their environment back to the
earliest stages of the history of the Universe. The COSMOS2015 catalog is
distributed via anonymous ftp
(ftp://ftp.iap.fr/pub/from_users/hjmcc/COSMOS2015/) and through the usual
astronomical archive systems (CDS, ESO Phase 3, IRSA).


title:
An Exact Factorization Perspective on Quantum Interferences in
  Nonadiabatic Dynamics

abstract:
  Nonadiabatic quantum interferences emerge whenever nuclear wavefunctions in
different electronic states meet and interact in a nonadiabatic region. In this
work, we analyze how nonadiabatic quantum interferences translate in the
context of the exact factorization of the molecular wavefunction. In
particular, we focus our attention on the shape of the time-dependent potential
energy surface - the exact surface on which the nuclear dynamics takes place.
We use a one-dimensional exactly-solvable model to reproduce different
conditions for quantum interferences, whose characteristic features already
appear in one-dimension. The time-dependent potential energy surface develops
complex features when strong interferences are present, in clear contrast to
the observed behavior in simple nonadiabatic crossing cases. Nevertheless,
independent classical trajectories propagated on the exact time-dependent
potential energy surface reasonably conserve a distribution in configuration
space that mimics the one of the exact nuclear probability density.


title: A Stone-\v{C}ech Theorem for $C_0(X)$-algebras

abstract:
  For a $C_0(X)$-algebra $A$, we study $C(K)$-algebras $B$ that we regard as
compactifications of $A$, generalising the notion of (the algebra of continuous
functions on) a compactification of a completely regular space. We show that
$A$ admits a Stone-\v{C}ech-type compactification $A^{\beta}$, a $C(\beta
X)$-algebra with the property that every bounded continuous section of the
C$^*$-bundle associated with $A$ has a unique extension to a continuous section
of the bundle associated with $A^{\beta}$. Moreover, $A^{\beta}$ satisfies a
maximality property amongst compactifications of $A$ (with respect to
appropriately chosen morphisms) analogous to that of $\beta X$. We investigate
the structure of the space of points of $\beta X$ for which the fibre algebras
of $A^{\beta}$ are non-zero, and partially characterise those $C_0(X)$-algebras
$A$ for which this space is precisely $\beta X$.


title:
The Spitzer Data Fusion: Contents, Construction and Applications to
  Galaxy Evolution Studies

abstract:
  We present the Spitzer Data Fusion, a database incorporating far-ultraviolet
to far-infrared flux measurements as well as photometric and spectroscopic
redshifts for 4.4 million IRAC-selected sources detected over 8 extragalactic
fields covering 65 deg$^2$ observed by Spitzer in all IRAC and MIPS bands
during its cryogenic mission. Deeper Spitzer observations carried out during
its warm mission over 5 sub-fields as part of the SERVS project are also
presented and analysed in a similar fashion, detecting 2.8 million
IRAC-selected sources over 18 deg$^2$ and merging them with multi-wavelength
catalogues within the SERVS Data Fusion. When combined with Herschel SPIRE
surveys and radio continuum observations over the same fields, the Spitzer Data
Fusion and the SERVS Data Fusion provide an invaluable resource for
multi-wavelength galaxy formation and evolution studies at
infrared/millimetre/radio wavelengths. The catalogues and their future updates
will be released at http://www.mattiavaccari.net/df/ and on CDS/VizieR.


title: Bayesian Neighbourhood Component Analysis

abstract:
  Learning a good distance metric in feature space potentially improves the
performance of the KNN classifier and is useful in many real-world
applications. Many metric learning algorithms are however based on the point
estimation of a quadratic optimization problem, which is time-consuming,
susceptible to overfitting, and lack a natural mechanism to reason with
parameter uncertainty, an important property useful especially when the
training set is small and/or noisy. To deal with these issues, we present a
novel Bayesian metric learning method, called Bayesian NCA, based on the
well-known Neighbourhood Component Analysis method, in which the metric
posterior is characterized by the local label consistency constraints of
observations, encoded with a similarity graph instead of independent pairwise
constraints. For efficient Bayesian optimization, we explore the variational
lower bound over the log-likelihood of the original NCA objective. Experiments
on several publicly available datasets demonstrate that the proposed method is
able to learn robust metric measures from small size dataset and/or from
challenging training set with labels contaminated by errors. The proposed
method is also shown to outperform a previous pairwise constrained Bayesian
metric learning method.


title: The (1+1) Elitist Black-Box Complexity of LeadingOnes

abstract:
  One important goal of black-box complexity theory is the development of
complexity models allowing to derive meaningful lower bounds for whole classes
of randomized search heuristics. Complementing classical runtime analysis,
black-box models help us understand how algorithmic choices such as the
population size, the variation operators, or the selection rules influence the
optimization time. One example for such a result is the $\Omega(n \log n)$
lower bound for unary unbiased algorithms on functions with a unique global
optimum [Lehre/Witt, GECCO 2010], which tells us that higher arity operators or
biased sampling strategies are needed when trying to beat this bound. In lack
of analyzing techniques, almost no non-trivial bounds are known for other
restricted models. Proving such bounds therefore remains to be one of the main
challenges in black-box complexity theory.
  With this paper we contribute to our technical toolbox for lower bound
computations by proposing a new type of information-theoretic argument. We
regard the permutation- and bit-invariant version of \textsc{LeadingOnes} and
prove that its (1+1) elitist black-box complexity is $\Omega(n^2)$, a bound
that is matched by (1+1)-type evolutionary algorithms. The (1+1) elitist
complexity of \textsc{LeadingOnes} is thus considerably larger than its
unrestricted one, which is known to be of order $n\log\log n$ [Afshani et al.,
2013].


title: Intercommutation of U(1) global cosmic strings

abstract:
  Global strings (those which couple to Goldstone modes) may play a role in
cosmology. In particular, if the QCD axion exists, axionic strings may control
the efficiency of axionic dark matter abundance. The string network dynamics
depend on the string intercommutation efficiency (whether strings re-connect
when they cross). We point out that the velocity and angle in a collision
between global strings "renormalize" between the network scale and the
microscopic scale, and that this plays a significant role in their
intercommutation dynamics. We also point out a subtlety in treating
intercommutation of very nearly antiparallel strings numerically. We find that
the global strings of a O(2)-breaking scalar theory do intercommute for all
physically relevant angles and velocities.


title: Melt Flow and Heat Transfer in Laser Drilling

abstract:
  During the laser drilling process the recoil pressure drives melt flow and
affects the heat transfer and material removal rate. To get a more realistic
picture of the melt flow, a series of differential equations are formulated
here that govern the process from pre-heating to melting and evaporation. In
particular, the Navier-Stokes equation governing the melt flow is solved with
the use of the boundary layer theory and integral methods. Heat conduction in
solid is investigated by using the classical method with the corrections that
reflect the change in boundary condition from the constant heat flux to Stefan
condition. The dependence of saturation temperature on the vapor pressure is
taken into account by using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. Both constantly
rising radial velocity profiles and rising-fall velocity profiles are
considered. The proposed approach is compared with existing ones. In spite of
the assumed varying velocity profiles, the proposed model predicts that the
drilling hole profiles are very close to each other in a specific super alloy
for given laser beam intensity and pulse duration. The numerical results show
that the effect of melt flow on material removal can be ignored in some cases.
The findings obtained from the current work provide a better understanding of
the effects of melt flow and vaporization on the laser drilling profile
evolution, and could improve the solid material removal efficiency.


title:
A Hybrid Classification Algorithm to Classify Engineering Students'
  Problems and Perks

abstract:
  The social networking sites have brought a new horizon for expressing views
and opinions of individuals. Moreover, they provide medium to students to share
their sentiments including struggles and joy during the learning process. Such
informal information has a great venue for decision making. The large and
growing scale of information needs automatic classification techniques.
Sentiment analysis is one of the automated techniques to classify large data.
The existing predictive sentiment analysis techniques are highly used to
classify reviews on E-commerce sites to provide business intelligence. However,
they are not much useful to draw decisions in education system since they
classify the sentiments into merely three preset categories: positive, negative
and neutral. Moreover, classifying the students sentiments into positive or
negative category does not provide deeper insight into their problems and
perks. In this paper, we propose a novel Hybrid Classification Algorithm to
classify engineering students sentiments. Unlike traditional predictive
sentiment analysis techniques, the proposed algorithm makes sentiment analysis
process descriptive. Moreover, it classifies engineering students perks in
addition to problems into several categories to help future students and
education system in decision making.


title:
A Transmon Quantum Annealer: Decomposing Many-Body Ising Constraints
  Into Pair Interactions

abstract:
  Adiabatic quantum computing is an analog quantum computing scheme with
various applications in solving optimization problems. In the parity picture of
quantum optimization, the problem is encoded in local fields that act on qubits
which are connected via local 4-body terms. We present an implementation of a
parity annealer with Transmon qubits with a specifically tailored Ising
interaction from Josephson ring modulators.


title:
Interplay between viscosity and elasticity in freely expanding liquid
  sheets

abstract:
  We investigate the dynamics of freely expanding liquid sheets prepared with
fluids with different rheological properties, (i) viscous fluids with a
zero-shear viscosity $\eta_0$ in the range $(1-1000) \, \mathrm{mPa.s}$ and
(ii) viscoelastic Maxwell fluids whose elastic modulus, $G_0$, characteristic
relaxation time, $\tau$, and zero-shear viscosity, $\eta_0=G_0 \tau$, can be
tuned over several orders of magnitude. The sheets are produced by impacting a
drop of fluid on a small cylindrical solid target. For viscoelastic fluids, we
show that, when $\tau$ is shorter than the typical lifetime of the sheet ($\sim
10$ ms), the dynamics of the sheet is similar to that of Newtonian viscous
liquids with equal zero-shear viscosity. In that case, for little viscous
samples ($\eta_0 <\sim 30$ mPa.s), the maximal expansion of the sheet,
$d_{\rm{max}}$, is independent of $\eta_0$, whereas for more viscous samples,
$d_{\rm{max}}$ decreases as $\eta_0$ increases. We provide a simple model to
account for the dependence of the maximal expansion of the sheet with the
viscosity that is based on an energy balance between inertia, surface tension
and viscous shear dissipation on the solid target, and which accounts well for
our experimental data. By contrast, when $\tau$ is longer than the typical
lifetime of the sheet, the behavior drastically differs. The sheet expansion is
strongly enhanced as compared to that of viscous samples with comparable
zero-shear viscosity, but is heterogeneous with the occurrence of cracks,
revealing the elastic nature of the viscoelastic fluid.


title:
On the existence of ratio limits of weighted $n$-generalized Fibonacci
  sequences with arbitrary initial conditions

abstract:
  We study ratio limits of the consecutive terms of weighted $n$-generalized
Fibonacci sequences generated from arbitrary complex initial conditions by
linear recurrences with arbitrary complex weights. We prove that if the
characteristic polynomial of such a linear recurrence is asymptotically simple,
then the ratio limit exists for any sequence generated from arbitrary
nontrivial initial conditions and it is equal to the unique zero of the
characteristic polynomial.


title: Stirling Stuff

abstract:
  Robert Stirling's patent for what was essentially a new type of engine to
create work from heat was submitted in 1816. Its reception was underwhelming
and although the idea was sporadically developed, it was eclipsed by the steam
engine and, later, the internal combustion engine. Today, though, the
environmentally favourable credentials of the Stirling engine principles are
driving a resurgence of interest, with modern designs using modern materials.
These themes are woven through a historically based narrative that introduces
Robert Stirling and his background, a description of his patent and the
principles behind his engine, and discusses the now popular model Stirling
engines readily available. These topical models, or alternatives made 'in
house', form a good platform for investigating some of the thermodynamics
governing the performance of engines in general.


title: $C^3$-index: Revisiting Authors' Performance Measure

abstract:
  Author performance indices (such as h-index and its variants) fail to resolve
ties while ranking authors with low index values (majority in number) which
includes the young researchers. In this work we leverage the citations as well
as collaboration profile of an author in a novel way using a weighted
multi-layered network and propose a variant of page-rank algorithm to obtain a
new author performance measure, $C^3$-index. Experiments on a massive
publication dataset reveal several interesting characteristics of our metric:
(i) we observe that $C^3$-index is consistent over time, (ii) $C^3$-index has
high potential to break ties among low rank authors, (iii) $C^3$-index can
effectively be used to predict future achievers at the early stage of their
career.


title: Modeling Representation of Minorities Under Multiwinner Voting Rules

abstract:
  The goal of this paper is twofold. First and foremost, we aim to
experimentally and quantitatively show that the choice of a multiwinner voting
rule can play a crucial role on the way minorities are represented. We also
test the possibility for some of these rules to achieve proportional
representation.


title: Electron transport mechanisms in polymer-carbon sphere composites

abstract:
  A set of uniform carbon microspheres (CS) whose diameters have the order of $
0.125 \mu m$ to $10 \mu m $ was prepared from aqueous sucrose solution by means
of hydrothermal carbonization of sugar molecules. A pressed pellet was composed
by mixing CSs with polyethylene oxide (PEO). Electrical characterization of the
pellet was carried out showing Ohmic current-voltage characteristics and
temperature-dependent conductivity in the range $ 80K < T < 300K.$ The
conductivity reached a maximum value of $ 0.245 S/cm $ at $ 258K. $ The
dependence of conductivity on temperature was theoretically analyzed to
determine predominating mechanisms of electron transport. It was shown that
thermally-induced electron tunneling between adjacent spheres may take on an
important part in the electron transport through the CS/PEO composites.


title:
The decays $h^0 \to b \bar{b}$ and $h^0 \to c \bar{c}$ in the light of
  the MSSM with quark flavour violation

abstract:
  We calculate the decay width of h0 -> b bbar in the Minimal Supersymmetric
Standard Model (MSSM) with quark flavour violation (QFV) at full one-loop
level. We study the effect of scharm-stop mixing and sstrange-sbottom mixing
taking into account the constraints from the B meson data. We discuss and
compare in detail the decays h0 -> c cbar and h0 -> b bbar within the framework
of the perturbative mass insertion technique using the Flavour Expansion
Theorem. The deviation of both decay widths from the Standard Model values can
be quite large. Whereas in h0 -> c cbar it is almost entirely due to the
flavour violating part of the MSSM, in h0 -> b bbar it is mainly due to the
flavour conserving part. Nevertheless, the QFV contribution to Gamma(h0 -> b
bbar) due to scharm-stop mixing and chargino exchange can go up to about 8%.


title:
Microarcsecond VLBI pulsar astrometry with PSRPI I. Two binary
  millisecond pulsars with white dwarf companions

abstract:
  Model-independent distance constraints to binary millisecond pulsars (MSPs)
are of great value to both the timing observations of the radio pulsars, and
multiwavelength observations of their companion stars. Very Long Baseline
Interferometry (VLBI) astrometry can be employed to provide these
model-independent distances with very high precision via the detection of
annual geometric parallax. Using the Very Long Baseline Array, we have observed
two binary millisecond pulsars, PSR J1022+1001 and J2145-0750, over a two-year
period and measured their distances to be 700 +14 -10 pc and 613 +16 -14 pc
respectively. We use the well-calibrated distance in conjunction with revised
analysis of optical photometry to tightly constrain the nature of their massive
(M ~ 0.85 Msun) white dwarf companions. Finally, we show that several
measurements of their parallax and proper motion of PSR J1022+1001 and PSR
J2145-0750 obtained by pulsar timing array projects are incorrect, differing
from the more precise VLBI values by up to 5 sigma. We investigate possible
causes for the discrepancy, and find that imperfect modeling of the solar wind
is a likely candidate for the timing model errors given the low ecliptic
latitude of these two pulsars.


title:
A Security Evaluation Framework for U.K. E-Goverment Services Agile
  Software Development

abstract:
  This study examines the traditional approach to software development within
the United Kingdom Government and the accreditation process. Initially we look
at the Waterfall methodology that has been used for several years. We discuss
the pros and cons of Waterfall before moving onto the Agile Scrum methodology.
Agile has been adopted by the majority of Government digital departments
including the Government Digital Services. Agile, despite its ability to
achieve high rates of productivity organized in short, flexible, iterations,
has faced security professionals disbelief when working within the U.K.
Government. One of the major issues is that we develop in Agile but the
accreditation process is conducted using Waterfall resulting in delays to go
live dates. Taking a brief look into the accreditation process that is used
within Government for I.T. systems and applications, we focus on giving the
accreditor the assurance they need when developing new applications and
systems. A framework has been produced by utilizing the Open Web Application
Security Project (OWASP) Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS).
This framework will allow security and Agile to work side by side and produce
secure code.


title: Dual flows in hyperbolic space and de Sitter space

abstract:
  We consider contracting flows in $(n+1)$-dimensional hyperbolic space and
expanding flows in $(n+1)$-dimensional de Sitter space. When the flow
hypersurfaces are strictly convex we relate the contracting hypersurfaces and
the expanding hypersurfaces by the Gauss map. The contracting hypersurfaces
shrink to a point $x_0$ in finite time while the expanding hypersurfaces
converge to the maximal slice $\{ \tau =0\}$. After rescaling, by the same
scale factor, the resclaed contracting hypersurfaces converge to a unit
geodesic sphere, while the rescaled expanding hypersufaces converge to slice
$\{ \tau = -1\}$ exponential fast in $C^\infty(\mathbb{S}^n)$.


title:
The Affine Wealth Model: An agent-based model of asset exchange that
  allows for negative-wealth agents and its empirical validation

abstract:
  We present a stochastic, agent-based, binary-transaction Asset-Exchange Model
(AEM) for wealth distribution that allows for agents with negative wealth. This
model retains certain features of prior AEMs such as redistribution and
wealth-attained advantage, but it also allows for shifts as well as scalings of
the agent density function. We derive the Fokker-Planck equation describing its
time evolution and we describe its numerical solution, including a methodology
for solving the inverse problem of finding the model parameters that best match
empirical data. Using this methodology, we compare the steady-state solutions
of the Fokker-Planck equation with data from the United States Survey of
Consumer Finances over a time period of 27 years. In doing so, we demonstrate
agreement with empirical data of an average error less than 0.16\% over this
time period. We present the model parameters for the US wealth distribution
data as a function of time under the assumption that the distribution responds
to their variation adiabatically. We argue that the time series of model
parameters thus obtained provides a valuable new diagnostic tool for analyzing
wealth inequality.


title:
Vacuum energy, Standard Model physics and the $750\; \rm{GeV}$ Diphoton
  Excess at the LHC

abstract:
  The conditions for the cancellation of one loop contributions to vacuum
energy (both U.V. divergent and finite) coming from the known (Standard Model)
fields and the field associated with the hypothetical 750 Gev diphoton excess
are examined. Depending on the nature of this latter resonance we find that in
order to satisfy the constraints (sum rules) different additional, minimal
field contributions are required, leading to yet to be observed particles.


title: Torsional Oscillations of a Magnetar with a Tangled Magnetic Field

abstract:
  Motivated by stability considerations and observational evidence, we argue
that magnetars possess highly-tangled internal magnetic fields. We propose that
the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) seen to accompany giant flares can be
explained as torsional modes supported by a tangled magnetic field, and we
present a simple model that supports this hypothesis for SGR 1900+14. Taking
the strength of the tangle as a free parameter, we find that the magnetic
energy in the tangle must dominate that in the dipolar component by a factor of
$\sim 14$ to accommodate the observed 28 Hz QPO. Our simple model provides
useful scaling relations for how the QPO spectrum depends on the bulk
properties of the neutron star and the tangle strength. The energy density in
the tangled field inferred for SGR 1900+14 renders the crust nearly dynamically
irrelevant, a significant simplification for study of the QPO problem. The
predicted spectrum is about three times denser than observed, which could be
explained by preferential mode excitation or beamed emission. We emphasize that
field tangling is needed to stabilize the magnetic field, so should not be
ignored in treatment of the QPO problem.


title: Implications of adopting plane angle as a base quantity in the SI

abstract:
  The treatment of angles within the SI is anomalous compared with other
quantities, and there is a case for removing this anomaly by declaring plane
angle to be an additional base quantity within the system. It is shown that
this could bring several benefits in terms of treating angle on an equal basis
with other metrics, removing potentially harmful ambiguities, and bringing SI
units more in line with concepts in basic physics, but at the expense of
significant upheaval to familiar equations within mathematics and physics. This
paper sets out the most important of these changes so that an alternative unit
system containing angle as a base quantity can be seen in the round,
irrespective of whether it is ever widely adopted. The alternative formulas and
units can be treated as the underlying, more general equations of mathematical
physics, independent of the units used for angle, which are conventionally
simplified by implicitly assuming that the unit used for angle is the radian.


title:
High resolution transient and permanent spectral hole burning in
  Ce$^{3+}$:Y$_2$SiO$_5$ at liquid helium temperatures

abstract:
  We perform hole burning with a low drift stabilized laser within the zero
phonon line of the 4f-5d transition in Ce$^{3+}$:Y$_2$SiO$_5$ at 2K. The
narrowest spectral holes appear for small applied magnetic fields and are
$6\pm4$ MHz wide (FWHM). This puts an upper bound on the homogeneous linewidth
of the transition to $3\pm2$ MHz, which is close to lifetime limited. The spin
level relaxation time is measured to $72\pm21$ ms with a magnetic field of 10
mT.
  A slow permanent hole burning mechanism is observed. If the excitation
frequency is not changed the fluorescence intensity is reduced by more than
50$\%$ after a couple of minutes of continuous excitation. The spectral hole
created by the permanent hole burning has a width in the tens of MHz range,
which indicates that a trapping mechanism occurs via the 5d-state.


title: Improved regularization from Quantum Reduced Loop Gravity

abstract:
  The choice of the regularization scheme in Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC) is
crucial for the predicted phenomenology. We outline how the improved scheme can
be naturally realized in Quantum Reduced Loop Gravity, describing the Universe
as an ensemble of microstates labeled by different graphs. The new effective
dynamics presents corrections to LQC, which do not significantly affect the
bouncing scenario for the most relevant kinds of matter fields in cosmology $(w
\leq 1)$.


title: Finding Optimal Combination of Kernels using Genetic Programming

abstract:
  In Computer Vision, problem of identifying or classifying the objects present
in an image is called Object Categorization. It is a challenging problem,
especially when the images have clutter background, occlusions or different
lighting conditions. Many vision features have been proposed which aid object
categorization even in such adverse conditions. Past research has shown that,
employing multiple features rather than any single features leads to better
recognition. Multiple Kernel Learning (MKL) framework has been developed for
learning an optimal combination of features for object categorization. Existing
MKL methods use linear combination of base kernels which may not be optimal for
object categorization. Real-world object categorization may need to consider
complex combination of kernels(non-linear) and not only linear combination.
Evolving non-linear functions of base kernels using Genetic Programming is
proposed in this report. Experiment results show that non-kernel generated
using genetic programming gives good accuracy as compared to linear combination
of kernels.


title:
A New Communication Theory on Complex Information and a Groundbreaking
  New Declarative Method to Update Object Databases

abstract:
  In this article I introduce a new communication theory for complex
information represented as a direct graph of nodes. In addition, I introduce an
application for the theory, a new radical method, embed, that can be used to
update object databases declaratively. The embed method revolutionizes updating
of object databases. One embed method call can replace dozens of lines of
complicated updating code in a traditional client program of an object
database, which is a huge improvement. As a declarative method the embed method
takes only one natural parameter, the root object of a modified object
structure in the run-time memory, which makes it extremely easy to use.The
communication theory behind the embed method states that modified complex
information represented as a directed graph of nodes can always be transferred
back to its original system in an exact and meaningful way. The theory can also
have additional applications since today information often has a network or
directed graph like structure and it often evolves or it is maintained. The
embed method applies the communication theory by modeling the object database
and a modified object structure in the run-time memory as directed graphs of
nodes without any artificial limitations. For example, different kinds of
circular substructures and their modifications are allowed. Persistence in the
object database is defined in a well known and accepted way, by reachability
from persistent root objects. The embed method also removes structures of
garbage objects from the object database if any appear during the update
operation, leaving the database in a consistent state. The embed method applies
reference counting techniques. It understands local topology of the object
database, avoiding examining unrelated objects in the database. For these
reasons, the embed method is efficient and it scales for databases of different
sizes.


title:
Higher frobenius-schur indicators for drinfeld doubles of finite groups
  through characters of centralizers

abstract:
  We present a new approach to calculating the higher Frobenius-Schur
indicators for the simple modules over the Drinfeld double of a finite group.
In contrast to the formula by Kashina-Sommerh{\"a}user-Zhu that involves a sum
over all group elements satisfying a certain condition, our formula operates on
the level of conjugacy classes and character tables. It can be implemented in
the computer algebra system GAP, efficiently enough to deal, on a laptop, with
symmetric groups up to $S_{18}$ (providing further evidence that indicators are
non-negative in this case) or simple groups of order up to $2 \cdot 10^8$. The
approach also allows us to test whether all indicators over the double of a
given group are rational , without computing them. Among simple groups of order
up to about $5 \cdot 10^{11}$ an inspection yields exactly one example (of
order about $5 \cdot 10^9$) where irrational indicators occur.


title:
Search for narrow resonances in $\pi p$ elastic scattering from the
  EPECUR experiment

abstract:
  The analysis of high-precision $\pi^{\pm}p \to \pi^{\pm}p$ cross section data
from the EPECUR Collaboration based on the multichannel $K$-matrix approach is
presented.The sharp structures seen in these data are studied in terms of both
opening thresholds and new resonance contributions. Some prominent features are
found to be due to the opening $K\Sigma$ channel. However, a complete
description of the data is improved with the addition of two narrow resonant
structures at $W\sim 1.686$ and $W\sim 1.720$ GeV. These structures are
interpreted as manifestations of $S_{11}$ and $P_{11}$ resonances. The
underlying nature of the observed phenomena is discussed.


title:
Group secret key agreement over state-dependent wireless broadcast
  channels

abstract:
  We consider a group of $m$ trusted and authenticated nodes that aim to create
a shared secret key $K$ over a wireless channel in the presence of an
eavesdropper Eve. We assume that there exists a state dependent wireless
broadcast channel from one of the honest nodes to the rest of them including
Eve. All of the trusted nodes can also discuss over a cost-free, noiseless and
unlimited rate public channel which is also overheard by Eve. For this setup,
we develop an information-theoretically secure secret key agreement protocol.
We show the optimality of this protocol for "linear deterministic" wireless
broadcast channels. This model generalizes the packet erasure model studied in
literature for wireless broadcast channels. For "state-dependent Gaussian"
wireless broadcast channels, we propose an achievability scheme based on a
multi-layer wiretap code. Finding the best achievable secret key generation
rate leads to solving a non-convex power allocation problem. We show that using
a dynamic programming algorithm, one can obtain the best power allocation for
this problem. Moreover, we prove the optimality of the proposed achievability
scheme for the regime of high-SNR and large-dynamic range over the channel
states in the (generalized) degrees of freedom sense.


title: Morphisms of 1-motives defined by line bundles

abstract:
  Let $S$ be a normal base scheme. The aim of this paper is to study the line
bundles on 1-motives defined over $S$. We first compute a d\'evissage of the
Picard group of a 1-motive $M$ according to the weight filtration of $M$. This
d\'evissage allows us to associate, to each line bundle $L$ on $M$, a linear
morphism $\varphi_{L}: M \rightarrow M^*$ from $M$ to its Cartier dual. This
yields a group homomorphism $\Phi : Pic(M) / Pic(S) \to Hom(M,M^*)$. We also
prove the Theorem of the Cube for 1-motives, which furnishes another
construction of the group homomorphism $\Phi : Pic(M) / Pic(S) \to Hom(M,M^*)$.
Finally we prove that these two independent constructions of linear morphisms
$M \to M^*$ using line bundles on $M$ coincide. However, the first
construction, involving the d\'evissage of $Pic(M)$, is more explicit and
geometric and it furnishes the motivic origin of some linear morphisms between
1-motives. The second construction, involving the Theorem of the Cube, is more
abstract but perhaps also more enlightening.


title: Leptogenesis via the 750 GeV pseudoscalar

abstract:
  Recently the ATLAS and CMS collaborations have reported evidence of a
diphoton excess which may be interpreted as a pseudoscalar boson S with a mass
around 750 GeV. To explain the diphoton excess, such a boson is coupled to the
Standard Model gauge fields via SFF-dual operators. In this work, we consider
the implications of this state for early universe cosmology; in particular, the
S field can acquire a large vacuum expectation value due to quantum
fluctuations during inflation. During reheating, it then relaxes to its
equilibrium value, during which time the same operators introduced to explain
the diphoton excess induce a nonzero chemical potential for baryon and lepton
number. Interactions such as those involving right-handed neutrinos allow the
system to develop a non-zero lepton number, and therefore, this state may also
be responsible for the observed cosmological matter-antimatter asymmetry.


title: Flow noise in planar sonar applications

abstract:
  In this paper an investigation of flow noise in sonar applications is
presented. Based on a careful identification of the dominant coupling effects,
the acoustic noise at the sensor position resulting from the turbulent wall
pressure fluctuations is modelled with a system of hydrodynamic, bending and
acoustic waves. We describe for the first time an analytical solution of the
problem which is based on a biorthogonal system which can be solved in the
spectral domain without the usual simplifying assumptions. Finally, it is
demonstrated that the analytical solution describes the flow noise generation
and propagation mechanisms of the considered sea trials.


title: Diffractions from the brane and GW150914

abstract:
  In the braneworld scenario the zero mode gravitons are trapped on a brane due
to non-linear warping effect, so that gravitational waves can reflect from the
brane walls. If the reflected waves form an interference pattern on the brane
then it can be detected on existing detectors due to spatial variations of
intensity in the pattern. As an example we interpret the LIGO event GW150914 as
a manifestation of such interference pattern produced by the burst
gravitational waves, emitted by a powerful source inside or outside the brane
and reflected from the brane walls.


title:
Measurements of timing resolution of ultra-fast silicon detectors with
  the SAMPIC waveform digitizer

abstract:
  The SAMpler for PICosecond time (SAMPIC) chip has been designed by a
collaboration including CEA/IRFU/SEDI, Saclay and CNRS/LAL/SERDI, Orsay. It
benefits from both the quick response of a time to digital converter and the
versatility of a waveform digitizer to perform accurate timing measurements.
Thanks to the sampled signals, smart algorithms making best use of the pulse
shape can be used to improve time resolution. A software framework has been
developed to analyse the SAMPIC output data and extract timing information by
using either a constant fraction discriminator or a fast cross-correlation
algorithm. SAMPIC timing capabilities together with the software framework have
been tested using pulses generated by a signal generator or by a silicon
detector illuminated by a pulsed infrared laser. Under these ideal experimental
conditions, the SAMPIC chip has proven to be capable of timing resolutions down
to 4 ps with synthesized signals and 40 ps with silicon detector signals.


title: An extensible formal semantics for UML activity diagrams

abstract:
  This paper presents an operational semantics for UML activity diagrams. The
purpose of this semantics is three-fold: to give a robust basis for verifying
model correctness; to help validate model transformations; and to provide a
well-formed basis for assessing whether a proposed extension/interpretation of
the modeling language is consistent with the standard. The challenges of a
general formal framework for UML models include the semi-formality of the
semantics specification, the extensibility of the language, and (sometimes
deliberate, sometimes accidental) under-specification of model behavior in the
standard. Our approach is based on structural operational semantics, which can
be extended according to domain-specific needs. The presented semantics has
been implemented and tested.


title: Comparing classical and quantum equilibration

abstract:
  By using a physically-relevant and theory independent definition of
measurement-based equilibration, we show quantitatively that equilibration is
easier for quantum systems than for classical systems, in the situation where
the initial state of the system is completely known (pure state). This shows
that quantum equilibration is a fundamental, nigh unavoidable, aspect of
physical systems, while classical equilibration relies on experimental
ignorance. When the state is not completely known, a mixed state, this
framework also shows quantum equilibration requires weaker conditions.


title:
STD2P: RGBD Semantic Segmentation Using Spatio-Temporal Data-Driven
  Pooling

abstract:
  We propose a novel superpixel-based multi-view convolutional neural network
for semantic image segmentation. The proposed network produces a high quality
segmentation of a single image by leveraging information from additional views
of the same scene. Particularly in indoor videos such as captured by robotic
platforms or handheld and bodyworn RGBD cameras, nearby video frames provide
diverse viewpoints and additional context of objects and scenes. To leverage
such information, we first compute region correspondences by optical flow and
image boundary-based superpixels. Given these region correspondences, we
propose a novel spatio-temporal pooling layer to aggregate information over
space and time. We evaluate our approach on the NYU--Depth--V2 and the SUN3D
datasets and compare it to various state-of-the-art single-view and multi-view
approaches. Besides a general improvement over the state-of-the-art, we also
show the benefits of making use of unlabeled frames during training for
multi-view as well as single-view prediction.


title: Characteristic cycles and the microlocal geometry of the Gauss map, I

abstract:
  We propose two new approaches to the Tannakian Galois groups of holonomic
D-modules on abelian varieties. The first is an interpretation in terms of
principal bundles given by the Fourier-Mukai transform, which shows that they
are almost connected. The second constructs a microlocalization functor
relating characteristic cycles to Weyl group orbits of weights. This explains
the ubiquity of minuscule representations, and we illustrate it with a Torelli
theorem and with a bound for decompositions of a given subvariety as a sum of
subvarieties. The appendix sketches a twistor variant that may be useful for
D-modules not coming from Hodge theory.


title: Minimax Optimal Procedures for Locally Private Estimation

abstract:
  Working under a model of privacy in which data remains private even from the
statistician, we study the tradeoff between privacy guarantees and the risk of
the resulting statistical estimators. We develop private versions of classical
information-theoretic bounds, in particular those due to Le Cam, Fano, and
Assouad. These inequalities allow for a precise characterization of statistical
rates under local privacy constraints and the development of provably (minimax)
optimal estimation procedures. We provide a treatment of several canonical
families of problems: mean estimation and median estimation, generalized linear
models, and nonparametric density estimation. For all of these families, we
provide lower and upper bounds that match up to constant factors, and exhibit
new (optimal) privacy-preserving mechanisms and computationally efficient
estimators that achieve the bounds. Additionally, we present a variety of
experimental results for estimation problems involving sensitive data,
including salaries, censored blog posts and articles, and drug abuse; these
experiments demonstrate the importance of deriving optimal procedures.


title: Mass-radius relations of white dwarfs at finite temperatures

abstract:
  We construct mass-radius relations of white dwarfs taking into account the
effects of rotation and finite temperatures. We compare and contrast the
theoretical mass-radius relations with observational data.


title:
Decentralized consensus finite-element Kalman filter for field
  estimation

abstract:
  The paper deals with decentralized state estimation for spatially distributed
systems described by linear partial differential equations from discrete
in-space-and-time noisy measurements provided by sensors deployed over the
spatial domain of interest. A fully scalable approach is pursued by decomposing
the domain into overlapping subdomains assigned to different processing nodes
interconnected to form a network. Each node runs a local finite-dimensional
Kalman filter which exploits the finite element approach for spatial
discretization and the parallel Schwarz method to iteratively enforce consensus
on the estimates and covariances over the boundaries of adjacent subdomains.
Stability of the proposed distributed consensus-based finite element Kalman
filter is mathematically proved and its effectiveness is demonstrated via
simulation experiments concerning the estimation of a bi-dimensional
temperature field.


title: Induced Compression of White Dwarfs by Angular Momentum Loss

abstract:
  We investigate isolated sub- and super-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs which lose
angular momentum through magnetic dipole braking. We construct constant rest
mass sequences by fulfilling all stability criteria of rotating configurations
and show how the main structure of white dwarfs such as the central density,
mean radius and angular velocity change with time. We explicitly demonstrate
that all isolated white dwarfs regardless of their masses, by angular momentum
loss, shrink and increase their central density. We also analyze the effects of
the structure parameters on the evolution timescale both in the case of
constant magnetic field and constant magnetic flux.


title:
One-shot calculation of temperature-dependent optical spectra and
  phonon-induced band-gap renormalization

abstract:
  Recently, Zacharias et al [Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 177401 (2015)] developed a
new ab initio theory of temperature-dependent optical absorption spectra and
band gaps in semiconductors and insulators. In that work the zero-point
renormalization and the temperature dependence were obtained by sampling the
nuclear wavefunctions using a stochastic approach. In the present work, we show
that the stochastic sampling can be replaced by fully deterministic supercell
calculations based on a single optimal configuration of the atomic positions.
We demonstrate that a single calculation is able to capture the
temperature-dependent band gap renormalization including quantum nuclear
effects in direct and indirect-gap semiconductors, as well as phonon-assisted
optical absorption in indirect-gap semiconductors. In order to demonstrate this
methodology we calculate from first principles the temperature-dependent
optical absorption spectra and the renormalization of direct and indirect band
gaps in Si, C, and GaAs, and we obtain good agreement with experiment and with
previous calculations. In this work we also establish the formal connection
between the Williams-Lax theory of optical transitions and the related theories
of indirect absorption by Hall, Bardeen, and Blatt, and of
temperature-dependent band structures by Allen and Heine. Furthermore, we
identify an additional band gap renormalization that arises in the case of
degenerate band extrema, and which has not been considered in previous work.
The present methodology enables systematic ab initio calculations of optical
absorption spectra at finite temperature, including both direct and indirect
transitions. This feature will be useful for high-throughput calculations of
optical properties at finite temperature, and for calculating
temperature-dependent optical properties using high-level theories such as GW
and Bethe-Salpeter approaches.


title: Proving Tucker's Lemma with a Volume Argument

abstract:
  Sperner's lemma is a statement about labeled triangulations of a simplex.
McLennan and Tourky (2007) provided a novel proof of Sperner's Lemma by
examining volumes of simplices in a triangulation under time-linear
simplex-linear deformation. We adapt a similar argument to prove Tucker's Lemma
on a triangulated cross-polytope $P$. The McLennan-Tourky technique does not
directly apply because this deformation may distort the volume of $P$. We
remedy this by inscribing $P$ in its dual polytope, triangulating it, and
considering how the volumes of deformed simplices behave.


title:
Controlling roughening processes in the stochastic Kuramoto-Sivashinsky
  equation

abstract:
  We present a novel control methodology to control the roughening processes of
semilinear parabolic stochastic partial differential equations in one
dimension, which we exemplify with the stochastic Kuramoto-Sivashinsky
equation. The original equation is split into a linear stochastic and a
nonlinear deterministic equation so that we can apply linear feedback control
methods. Our control strategy is then based on two steps: first, stabilize the
zero solution of the deterministic part and, second, control the roughness of
the stochastic linear equation. We consider both periodic controls and point
actuated ones, observing in all cases that the second moment of the solution
evolves in time according to a power-law until it saturates at the desired
controlled value.


title: Bianisotropy and magnetism in plasmonic gratings

abstract:
  We present a simple design to achieve bianisotropy at visible wavelengths: an
ultrathin plasmonic grating made of a gold grating covered by a thin flat layer
of gold. We show experimentally and through simulations that the grating
exhibits magneto-electric coupling and features asymmetric reflection and
absorption, all that with a device thickness of a tenth of the operating
wavelength. We compared the spectral results and retrieved the effective
material parameters of different polarizations and devices. We show that both
asymmetry and strong coupling between the incoming light and the optically
interacting surfaces are required for obtaining asymmetric optical behavior in
metasurfaces.


title:
Main parameters of neutron stars from quasi-periodic oscillations in low
  mass X-ray binaries

abstract:
  We investigate the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations of low-mass X-ray
binaries within the Hartle-Thorne spacetime. On the basis the relativistic
precession model we extract the total mass $M$, angular momentum $J$, and
quadrupole moment $Q$ of a compact object in a low-mass X-ray binary by
analyzing the data of the Z -source GX 5-1. In view of the recent neutron star
model we compute the radius, angular velocity and other parameters of this
source by imposing the observational and theoretical constraints on the
mass-radius relation.


title:
Representing high throughput expression profiles via perturbation
  barcodes reveals compound targets

abstract:
  High throughput mRNA expression profiling can be used to characterize the
response of cell culture models to perturbations such as pharmacologic
modulators and genetic perturbations. As profiling campaigns expand in scope,
it is important to homogenize, summarize, and analyze the resulting data in a
manner that captures significant biological signals in spite of various noise
sources such as batch effects and stochastic variation. We used the L1000
platform for large-scale profiling of 978 genes, chosen to be representative of
the genome as whole, across thousands of compound treatments. Here, a method is
described that uses deep learning techniques to convert the expression changes
of the landmark genes into a perturbation barcode that reveals important
features of the underlying data, performing better than the raw data in
revealing important biological insights. The barcode captures compound
structure and target information, in addition to predicting a compound's high
throughput screening promiscuity, to a higher degree than the original data
measurements, indicating that the approach uncovers underlying factors of the
expression data that are otherwise entangled or masked by noise. Furthermore,
we demonstrate that visualizations derived from the perturbation barcode can be
used to more sensitively assign functions to unknown compounds through a
guilt-by-association approach, which we use to predict and experimentally
validate the activity of compounds on the MAPK pathway. The demonstrated
application of deep metric learning to large-scale chemical genetics projects
highlights the utility of this and related approaches to the extraction of
insights and testable hypotheses from big, sometimes noisy data.


title: Calling Dunbar's Numbers

abstract:
  The social brain hypothesis predicts that humans have an average of about 150
relationships at any given time. Within this 150, there are layers of friends
of an ego, where the number of friends in a layer increases as the emotional
closeness decreases. Here we analyse a mobile phone dataset, firstly, to
ascertain whether layers of friends can be identified based on call frequency.
We then apply different clustering algorithms to break the call frequency of
egos into clusters and compare the number of alters in each cluster with the
layer size predicted by the social brain hypothesis. In this dataset we find
strong evidence for the existence of a layered structure. The clustering yields
results that match well with previous studies for the innermost and outermost
layers, but for layers in between we observe large variability.


title: Observational Constraints on Decoupled Hidden Sectors

abstract:
  We consider an extension of the Standard Model with a singlet sector
consisting of a real (pseudo)scalar and a Dirac fermion coupled with the
Standard Model only via the scalar portal. We assume that the portal coupling
is weak enough for the singlet sector not to thermalize with the Standard Model
allowing the production of singlet particles via the freeze-in mechanism. If
the singlet sector interacts with itself sufficiently strongly, it may
thermalize within itself, resulting in dark matter abundance determined by the
freeze-out mechanism operating within the singlet sector. We investigate this
scenario in detail. In particular, we show that requiring the absence of
inflationary isocurvature fluctuations provides lower bounds on the magnitude
of the dark sector self-interactions and in parts of the parameter space favors
sufficiently large self-couplings, supported also by the features observed in
the small-scale structure formation.


title: Decay of superconductivity away from the magnetic zero set

abstract:
  We establish exponential bounds on the Ginzburg-Landau order parameter away
from the curve where the applied magnetic field vanishes. In the units used in
this paper, the estimates are valid when the parameter measuring the strength
of the applied magnetic field is comparable with the Ginzburg-Landau parameter.
This completes a previous work by the authors analyzing the case when this
strength was much higher. Our results display the distribution of surface and
bulk superconductivity and are valid under the assumption that the magnetic
field is H\"older continuous.


title:
Cluster-Span Threshold: An unbiased threshold for binarising weighted
  complete networks in functional connectivity analysis

abstract:
  We propose a new unbiased threshold for network analysis named the
Cluster-Span Threshold (CST). This is based on the clustering coefficient, C,
following logic that a balance of `clustering' to `spanning' triples results in
a useful topology for network analysis and that the product of complementing
properties has a unique value only when perfectly balanced. We threshold
networks by fixing C at this balanced value, rather than fixing connection
density at an arbitrary value, as has been the trend. We compare results from
an electroencephalogram data set of volunteers performing visual short term
memory tasks of the CST alongside other thresholds, including maximum spanning
trees. We find that the CST holds as a sensitive threshold for distinguishing
differences in the functional connectivity between tasks. This provides a
sensitive and objective method for setting a threshold on weighted complete
networks which may prove influential on the future of functional connectivity
research.


title:
Comparison of Network Analysis Approaches on EEG Connectivity in Beta
  during Visual Short-Term Memory Binding Tasks

abstract:
  We analyse the electroencephalogram signals in the beta band of working
memory representation recorded from young healthy volunteers performing several
different Visual Short-Term Memory (VSTM) tasks which have proven useful in the
assessment of clinical and preclinical Alzheimer's disease. We compare network
analysis using Maximum Spanning Trees (MSTs) with network analysis obtained
using 20% and 25% connection thresholds on the VSTM data. MSTs are a promising
method of network analysis negating the more classical use of thresholds which
are so far chosen arbitrarily. However, we find that the threshold analyses
outperforms MSTs for detection of functional network differences. Particularly,
MSTs fail to find any significant differences. Further, the thresholds detect
significant differences between shape and shape-colour binding tasks when these
are tested in the left side of the display screen, but no such differences are
detected when these tasks are tested for in the right side of the display
screen. This provides evidence that contralateral activity is a significant
factor in sensitivity for detection of cognitive task differences.


title: Coarse property {C} and decomposition complexity

abstract:
  The coarse category was established by Roe to distill the salient features of
the large-scale approach to metric spaces and groups that was started by
Gromov. In this paper, we use the language of coarse spaces to define coarse
versions of asymptotic property C and decomposition complexity. We prove that
coarse property C implies coarse property A; we also show that these coarse
versions share many of the features of their metric analogs such as
preservation by products or unions.