title:
Multiwavelength observations of a VHE gamma-ray flare from PKS 1510-089
  in 2015

abstract:
  Context. PKS 1510-089 is one of only a few flat spectrum radio quasars
detected in the VHE (very-high-energy, > 100 GeV) gamma-ray band. Aims. We
study the broadband spectral and temporal properties of the PKS 1510-089
emission during a high gamma-ray state. Methods. We performed VHE gamma-ray
observations of PKS 1510-089 with the MAGIC telescopes during a long high
gamma-ray state in May 2015. In order to perform broadband modelling of the
source, we have also gathered contemporaneous multiwavelength data in radio,
IR, optical photometry and polarization, UV, X-ray and GeV gamma-ray ranges. We
construct a broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) in two periods,
selected according to VHE gamma-ray state. Results. PKS 1510-089 has been
detected by MAGIC during a few day-long observations performed in the middle of
a long, high optical and gamma-ray state, showing for the first time a
significant VHE gamma-ray variability. Similarly to the optical and gamma-ray
high state of the source detected in 2012, it was accompanied by a rotation of
the optical polarization angle and the emission of a new jet component observed
in radio. However, due to large uncertainty on the knot separation time, the
association with the VHE gamma-ray emission cannot be firmly established. The
spectral shape in the VHE band during the flare is similar to the ones obtained
during previous measurements of the source. The observed flux variability sets
for the first time constraints on the size of the region from which VHE gamma
rays are emitted. We model the broadband SED in the framework of the external
Compton scenario and discuss the possible emission site in view of
multiwavelength data and alternative emission models.


title: Semantic Identification Attacks on Web Browsing

abstract:
  We introduce a Semantic Identification Attack, in which an adversary uses
semantic signals about the pages visited in one browsing session to identify
other browsing sessions launched by the same user. This attack allows an adver-
sary to determine if two browsing sessions originate from the same user
regardless of any measures taken by the user to disguise their browser or
network. We use the MSNBC Anonymous Browsing data set, which contains a large
set of user visits (labeled by category) to implement such an attack and show
that even very coarse semantic information is enough to identify users. We
discuss potential counter- measures users can take to defend against this
attack.


title: Hopf bifurcations in fast/slow systems with rate-dependent tipping

abstract:
  We analyze rate-dependent tipping in a fast/slow system with an equilibrium
near the fold of a critical manifiold. We find a Hopf bifurcation as the rate
parameter increases in the reduced co-moving system. This implies the growth of
a limit cycle as the system changes from tracking a quasi-static equilibrium to
tipping. Rather than trajectories diverging at a critical rate, they continue
to track the quasi-static equilibrium in a spiral corresponding to an emerging
limit cycle at the Hopf bifurcation. We apply the same analysis to a forced van
der Pol oscillator to show this phenomenon in a familiar system where the
growth of this limit cycle is well understood.


title: An investigation of stability on certain toric surfaces

abstract:
  We investigate the relationship between stability and the existence of
extremal K\"ahler metrics on certain toric surfaces. In particular, we consider
how log stability depends on weights for toric surfaces whose moment polytope
is a quadrilateral. We introduce a space of symplectic potentials for toric
manifolds, which induces metrics with mixed Poincar\'e type and cone angle
singularities. For quadrilaterals, we give a computable criterion for stability
with 0 weights along two of the edges of the quadrilateral. This in turn
implies the existence of a definite log-stable region for generic
quadrilaterals. This uses constructions due to Apostolov-Calderbank-Gauduchon
and Legendre.


title:
Dynamic matrix recovery from incomplete observations under an exact
  low-rank constraint

abstract:
  Low-rank matrix factorizations arise in a wide variety of applications --
including recommendation systems, topic models, and source separation, to name
just a few. In these and many other applications, it has been widely noted that
by incorporating temporal information and allowing for the possibility of
time-varying models, significant improvements are possible in practice.
However, despite the reported superior empirical performance of these dynamic
models over their static counterparts, there is limited theoretical
justification for introducing these more complex models. In this paper we aim
to address this gap by studying the problem of recovering a dynamically
evolving low-rank matrix from incomplete observations. First, we propose the
locally weighted matrix smoothing (LOWEMS) framework as one possible approach
to dynamic matrix recovery. We then establish error bounds for LOWEMS in both
the {\em matrix sensing} and {\em matrix completion} observation models. Our
results quantify the potential benefits of exploiting dynamic constraints both
in terms of recovery accuracy and sample complexity. To illustrate these
benefits we provide both synthetic and real-world experimental results.


title:
The Navier-Stokes-$\alpha$ equation via forward-backward stochastic
  differential systems

abstract:
  In this paper, we use forward-backward stochastic differential systems to
study the solution of two and d dimensional ($d\geq 3$) Navier-Stokes-$\alpha$
equation. For the two dimensional Navier-Stokes-$\alpha$ equation with space
periodic boundary conditions, we derive the Feynmann-Kac formula associated
with the vorticity equation and prove the global existence and uniqueness of
the solution. For the d dimensional ($d\geq 3$) case, we prove the local
existence and uniqueness of the solution in Sobolev space.


title:
Simultaneously preperiodic points for families of polynomials in normal
  form

abstract:
  Let $d>m>1$ be integers, let $c_1,\dots, c_{m+1}$ be distinct complex
numbers, and let $\mathbf{f}(z):=z^d+t_1z^{m-1}+t_2z^{m-2}+\cdots +
t_{m-1}z+t_m$ be an $m$-parameter family of polynomials. We prove that the set
of $m$-tuples of parameters $(t_1,\dots, t_m)\in\mathbb{C}^m$ with the property
that each $c_i$ (for $i=1,\dots, m+1$) is preperiodic under the action of the
corresponding polynomial $\mathbf{f}(z)$ is contained in finitely many
hypersurfaces of the parameter space $\mathbb{A}^m$.


title:
Computational genomic algorithms for miRNA-based diagnosis of lung
  cancer: the potential of machine learning

abstract:
  The advent of large scale, high-throughput genomic screening has introduced a
wide range of tests for diagnostic purposes. Prominent among them are tests
using miRNA expression levels. Genomics and proteomics now provide expression
levels of hundreds of miRNAs at a time. However, for actual diagnostic tools to
become reality requires the simultaneous development of methods to interpret
the large amounts of miRNA expression data that can be generated from a single
patient sample. Because these data are in numeric form, quantitative methods
must be developed. Statistics such as p-values and log fold change give some
insight, but the diagnostic effectiveness of each miRNA test must first be
evaluated. Here, the author has developed a traditional, sensitivity- and
specificity-based algorithm, as well as a modern machine learning algorithm,
and evaluated their diagnostic potential for lung cancer against a publicly
available database. The findings suggest that the machine learning algorithm
achieves higher accuracy (97% for cancerous and 73% for normal samples), in
addition to providing confidence intervals that could provide valuable
diagnostic support. The machine learning algorithm also has significant
potential for expansion to more complex diagnoses of lung cancer sub-types, to
other cancers as well diseases beyond cancer. Both algorithms are available on
the Github repo: https://github.com/neerja-g/machine-learning-miRNA.


title: Initial conditions for cosmological perturbations

abstract:
  Penrose proposed that the big bang singularity should be constrained by
requiring that the Weyl curvature vanishes there. The idea behind this past
hypothesis is attractive because it constrains the initial conditions for the
universe in geometric terms and is not confined to a specific early universe
paradigm. However, the precise statement of Penrose's hypothesis is tied to
classical space-times and furthermore restricts only the gravitational degrees
of freedom. These are encapsulated only in the tensor modes of the commonly
used cosmological perturbation theory. Drawing inspiration from the underlying
idea, we propose a quantum generalization of Penrose's hypothesis using the
Planck regime in place of the big bang, and simultaneously incorporating tensor
as well as scalar modes. Initial conditions selected by this generalization
constrain the universe to be as homogeneous and isotropic in the Planck regime
\emph{as permitted by the Heisenberg uncertainty relations}.

categories: gr-qc astro-ph.CO hep-th math-ph math.MP


title:
Investigation of Confinement Induced Resonance in Atomic Waveguides with
  Different Geometries by Quantum Monte Carlo Methods

abstract:
  We have investigated the quantum dynamics of two ultracold bosons inside an
atomic waveguide for two different confinement geometries (cigar-shaped and
toroidal waveguides) by quantum Monte Carlo methods. For quasi-1D gases, the
confining potential of the waveguide leads to the so-called confinement induced
resonance (CIR), results in the phase transition of the gas to the impenetrable
bosonic regime (known as TG gas). In this regime the bosons repel each other
strongly and behave like fermions. We reproduce CIR for a cigar-shaped
waveguide and analyze the behavior of the system for different conditions.
Moreover, our analysis demonstrates appearance of CIR for a toroidal waveguide.
Particularly, we show that the resonance position is dependent on the size of
the waveguide, which is in contrast to the cigar shaped waveguides for which it
is universal.


title: Trajectory stratification of stochastic dynamics

abstract:
  We present a general mathematical framework for trajectory stratification for
simulating rare events. Trajectory stratification involves decomposing
trajectories of the underlying process into fragments limited to restricted
regions of state space (strata), computing averages over the distributions of
the trajectory fragments within the strata with minimal communication between
them, and combining those averages with appropriate weights to yield averages
with respect to the original underlying process. Our framework reveals the full
generality and flexibility of trajectory stratification, and it illuminates a
common mathematical structure shared by existing algorithms for sampling rare
events. We demonstrate the power of the framework by defining strata in terms
of both points in time and path-dependent variables for efficiently estimating
averages that were not previously tractable.


title: Impact of germline susceptibility variants in cancer genetic studies

abstract:
  Although somatic mutations are the main contributor to cancer, underlying
germline alterations may increase the risk of cancer, mold the somatic
alteration landscape and cooperate with acquired mutations to promote the tumor
onset and/or maintenance. Therefore, both tumor genome and germline sequence
data have to be analyzed to have a more complete picture of the overall genetic
foundation of the disease. To reinforce such notion we quantitatively assess
the bias of restricting the analysis to somatic mutation data using mutational
data from well-known cancer genes which displays both types of alterations,
inherited and somatically acquired mutations.


title: Beyond Exchangeability: The Chinese Voting Process

abstract:
  Many online communities present user-contributed responses such as reviews of
products and answers to questions. User-provided helpfulness votes can
highlight the most useful responses, but voting is a social process that can
gain momentum based on the popularity of responses and the polarity of existing
votes. We propose the Chinese Voting Process (CVP) which models the evolution
of helpfulness votes as a self-reinforcing process dependent on position and
presentation biases. We evaluate this model on Amazon product reviews and more
than 80 StackExchange forums, measuring the intrinsic quality of individual
responses and behavioral coefficients of different communities.


title: Sigma limits in 2-categories and flat pseudofunctors

abstract:
  In this paper we introduce sigma limits (which we write $\sigma$-limits), a
concept that interpolates between lax and pseudolimits: for a fixed family
$\Sigma$ of arrows of a 2-category $\mathcal{A}$, a $\sigma$-cone for a
$2$-functor $\mathcal{A} \stackrel{F}{\rightarrow} \mathcal{B}$ is a lax cone
such that the structural 2-cells corresponding to the arrows of $\Sigma$ are
invertible. The conical $\sigma$-limit of $F$ is the universal $\sigma$-cone.
Similary we define $\sigma$-natural transformations and weighted
$\sigma$-limits. We consider also the case of bilimits. We develop the theory
of $\sigma$-limits and $\sigma$-bilimits, whose importance relies on the
following key fact: any weighted $\sigma$-limit (or $\sigma$-bilimit) can be
expressed as a conical one. From this we obtain, in particular, a canonical
expression of an arbitrary $\mathcal{C}at$-valued 2-functor as a conical
$\sigma$-bicolimit of representable 2-functors, for a suitable choice of
$\Sigma$, which is equivalent to the well known bicoend formula.
  As an application, we establish the 2-dimensional theory of flat
pseudofunctors. We define a $\mathcal{C}at$-valued pseudofunctor to be flat
when its left bi-Kan extension along the Yoneda 2-functor preserves finite
weighted bilimits. We introduce a notion of 2-filteredness of a 2-category with
respect to a class $\Sigma$, which we call $\sigma$-filtered. Our main result
is: A pseudofunctor $\mathcal{A} \rightarrow \mathcal{C}at$ is flat if and only
if it is a $\sigma$-filtered $\sigma$-bicolimit of representable 2-functors. In
particular the reader will notice the relevance of this result for the
development of a theory of 2-topoi.


title: Lorentz-Violating QCD Corrections to Deep Inelastic Scattering

abstract:
  In this work, we present CPT- and Lorentz-violating corrections to observable
quantities in electron-proton scattering. We also show how the theoretical
prediction can be used together with data to establish bounds on a coefficient
for CPT and Lorentz violation in the QCD sector.


title: Attention acts to suppress goal-based conflict under high competition

abstract:
  It is known that when multiple stimuli are present, top-down attention
selectively enhances the neural signal in the visual cortex for task-relevant
stimuli, but this has been tested only under conditions of minimal competition
of visual attention. Here we show during high competition, that is, two stimuli
in a shared receptive field possessing opposing modulatory goals, top-down
attention suppresses both task-relevant and irrelevant neural signals within
100 ms of stimuli onset. This non-selective engagement of top-down attentional
resources serves to reduce the feedforward signal representing irrelevant
stimuli.


title:
Robust linear control of nonconvex battery operation in transmission
  systems

abstract:
  We describe a robust multiperiod transmission plan- ning model including
renewables and batteries, where battery output is used to partly offset
renewable output deviations from forecast. A central element is a nonconvex
battery operation model which is used with a robust model of forecast errors
and a linear control scheme. Even though the problem is nonconvex we provide an
efficient and theoretically valid algorithm that effectively solves cases on
large transmission systems. Index Terms. Batteries, control, robust
optimization.


title: The Lindley paradox: The loss of resolution in Bayesian inference

abstract:
  There are three principle paradigms of statistics: Bayesian, frequentist and
information-based inference. Although these paradigms are in agreement in some
contexts, the Lindley paradox describes a class of problems, models of unknown
dimension, where conflicting conclusions are generated by frequentist and
Bayesian inference. This conflict can materially affect the scientific
conclusions. Understanding the Lindley paradox---where it applies, why it
occurs, and how it can be avoided---is therefore essential to the understanding
of statistical analysis. In this paper, we revisit the Lindley paradox in the
context of a simple biophysical application. We describe how predictive and
postdictive measures of model performance provide a natural framework for
understanding the Lindley paradox. We then identify methods which result in
optimal experimental resolution for discovery.


title:
The Universal Composable Security of Quantum Message Authentication with
  Key Recyling

abstract:
  Barnum, Crepeau, Gottesman, Tapp, and Smith (quant-ph/0205128) proposed
methods for authentication of quantum messages. The first method is an
interactive protocol (TQA') based on teleportation. The second method is a
noninteractive protocol (QA) in which the sender first encrypts the message
using a protocol QEnc and then encodes the quantum ciphertext with an error
correcting code chosen secretly from a set (a purity test code (PTC)).
Encryption was shown to be necessary for authentication.
  We augment the protocol QA with an extra step which recycles the entire
encryption key provided QA accepts the message. We analyze the resulting
integrated protocol for quantum authentication and key generation, which we
call QA+KG. Our main result is a proof that QA+KG is universal composably (UC)
secure in the Ben-Or-Mayers model (quant-ph/0409062). More specifically, this
implies the UC-security of (a) QA, (b) recycling of the encryption key in QA,
and (c) key-recycling of the encryption scheme QEnc by appending PTC. For an
m-qubit message, encryption requires 2m bits of key; but PTC can be performed
using only O(log m) + O(log e) bits of key for probability of failure e. Thus,
we reduce the key required for both QA and QEnc, from linear to logarithmic net
consumption, at the expense of one bit of back communication which can happen
any time after the conclusion of QA and before reusing the key. UC-security of
QA also extends security to settings not obvious from quant-ph/0205128.
  Our security proof structure is inspired by and similar to that of
quant-ph/0205128, reducing the security of QA to that of TQA'. In the process,
we define UC-secure entanglement, and prove the UC-security of the entanglement
generating protocol given in quant-ph/0205128, which could be of independent
interest.


title:
On the Power of Weaker Pairwise Interaction: Fault-Tolerant Simulation
  of Population Protocols

abstract:
  In this paper we investigate the computational power of Population Protocols
(PP) under some unreliable and/or weaker interaction models. More precisely, we
focus on two features related to the power of interactions: omission failures
and one-way communications. An omission failure, a notion that this paper
introduces for the first time in the context of PP, is the loss by one or both
parties of the information transmitted in an interaction. The failure may or
may not be detected by either party. On the other hand, in one-way models,
communication happens only in one direction: only one of the two agents can
change its state depending on both agents' states, and the other agent may or
may not be aware of the interaction. These notions can be combined, obtaining
one-way protocols with (possibly detectable) omission failures.
  A general question is what additional power is necessary and sufficient to
completely overcome the weakness of one-way protocols and enable them to
simulate two-way protocols, with and without omission failures. As a basic
feature, a simulator needs to implement an atomic communication of states
between two agents; this task is further complicated by the anonymity of the
agents, their lack of knowledge of the system, and the limited amount of memory
that they may have.
  We provide the first answers to these questions by presenting and analyzing
several simulators, i.e., wrapper protocols converting any protocol for the
standard two-way model into one running on a weaker one.


title: Tungsten based Anisotropic Metamaterial as an Ultra-broadband Absorber

abstract:
  The trapped rainbow effect has been mostly found on tapered anisotropic
metamaterials (MMs) made of low loss noble metals, such as gold, silver, etc.
In this work, we demonstrate that an anisotropic MM waveguide made of high loss
metal tungsten can also support the trapped rainbow effect similar to the noble
metal based structure. We show theoretically that an array of
tungsten/germanium anisotropic nano-cones placed on top of a reflective
substrate can absorb light at the wavelength range from 0.3 micrometer to 9
micrometer with an average absorption efficiency approaching 98%. It is found
that the excitation of multiple orders of slow-light resonant modes is
responsible for the efficient absorption at wavelengths longer than 2
micrometer, and the anti-reflection effect of tapered lossy material gives rise
to the near perfect absorption at shorter wavelengths. The absorption spectrum
suffers a small dip at around 4.2 micrometer where the first order and second
order slow-light modes get overlapped, but we can get rid of this dip if the
absorption band edge at long wavelength range is reduced down to 5 micrometer.
The parametrical study reflects that the absorption bandwidth is mainly
determined by the filling ratio of tungsten as well as the bottom diameter of
the nano-cones and the interaction between neighboring nano-cones is quite
weak. Our proposal has some potential applications in the areas of solar energy
harvesting and thermal emitters.


title:
Spatial-Temporal BEM and Channel Estimation Strategy for Massive MIMO
  Time-Varying Systems

abstract:
  This paper proposes a new channel estimation scheme for the multiuser massive
multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems in time-varying environment. We
introduce a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) aided spatial-temporal basis
expansion model (ST-BEM) to reduce the effective dimensions of uplink/downlink
channels, such that training overhead and feedback cost could be greatly
decreased. The newly proposed ST-BEM is suitable for both time division duplex
(TDD) systems and frequency division duplex (FDD) systems thanks to the angle
reciprocity, and can be efficiently deployed by fast Fourier transform (FFT).
Various numerical results have corroborated the proposed studies.


title:
Local Universality for Zeros and Critical Points of Monochromatic Random
  Waves

abstract:
  This paper concerns the asymptotic behavior of zeros and critical points for
monochromatic random waves $\phi_\lambda$ of frequency $\lambda$ on a compact,
smooth, Riemannian manifold $(M,g)$ as $\lambda \rightarrow \infty$. We prove
that the measure of integration over the zero set of $\phi_\lambda$ restricted
to balls of radius $\approx \lambda^{-1}$ converges in distribution to the
measure of integration over the zero set of a frequency $1$ random wave on
$\mathbb R^n$, where $n$ is the dimension of $M$. We also prove convergence of
finite moments for the counting measure of the critical points of
{\phi}{\lambda}, again restricted to balls of radius $\approx \lambda^{-1}$, to
the corresponding moments for frequency $1$ random waves. We then patch
together these local results to obtain new global variance estimates on the
volume of the zero set and numbers of critical points of $\phi_\lambda$ on all
of $M.$ Our local results hold under conditions about the structure of
geodesics on $M$ that are generic in the space of all metrics on $M$, while our
global results hold whenever $(M,g)$ has no conjugate points (e.g is negatively
curved).


title: The equivalence between Feynman transform and Verdier duality

abstract:
  The equivalence between dg duality and Verdier duality has been established
for cyclic operads earlier. We propose a generalization of this correspondence
from cyclic operads and dg duality to twisted modular operads and Feynman
transform. Specifically, for each twisted modular operad $\mathcal{P}$ (taking
values in dg-vector spaces over a field $k$ of characteristic 0), there is a
certain sheaf $\mathcal{F}$ associated with it on the moduli space of stable
metric graphs such that the Verdier dual sheaf $D\mathcal{F}$ is associated
with the Feynman transform $F\mathcal{P}$ of $\mathcal{P}$. In the course of
the proof, we also prove a relation between cyclic operads and modular operads
originally proposed in the pioneering work of Getzler and Kapranov; however, to
the best knowledge of the author, no proof has been given in any literature.
This geometric interpretation in operad theory is of fundamental importance. We
believe this result will illuminate many aspects of the theory of modular
operads and find many applications in the future. We illustrate an application
of this result, giving another proof on the homotopy properties of Feynman
transform, which is quite intuitive and simpler than the original proof.


title:
Periodic Orbit Families in the Gravitational Field of Irregular-shaped
  Bodies

abstract:
  The discovery of binary and triple asteroids in addition to the execution of
space missions to minor celestial bodies in the past several years have focused
increasing attention on periodic orbits around irregular-shaped celestial
bodies. In the present work, we adopt a polyhedron shape model for providing an
accurate representation of irregular-shaped bodies, and employ the model to
calculate their corresponding gravitational and effective potentials. We also
investigate the characteristics of periodic orbit families and the continuation
of periodic orbits. We prove a fact, which provides a conserved quantity that
permits restricting the number of periodic orbits in a fixed energy curved
surface about an irregular-shaped body. The collisions of Floquet multipliers
are maintained during the continuation of periodic orbits around the comet
1P/Halley. Multiple bifurcations in the periodic orbit families about
irregular-shaped bodies are also discussed. Three bifurcations in the periodic
orbit family have been found around the asteroid 216 Kleopatra, which include
two real saddle bifurcations and one period-doubling bifurcation.


title:
Efficient method to calculate the electron-phonon coupling constant and
  superconducting transition temperature

abstract:
  We show an efficient way to compute the electron-phonon coupling constant,
$\lambda$, and the superconducting transition temperature, Tc from
first-principles calculations. This approach gives rapid convergence of Tc with
respect to the size of the k-point mesh, and is seamlessly connected to the
formulation used in large molecular systems such as alkali fullerides where
momentum dependence can be neglected. Since the phonon and electron-phonon
calculations are time consuming particularly in complicated systems, the
present approach will strongly reduce the computational cost, which facilitates
high-throughput superconducting material design.


title:
Internal and external radiative widths in the combined R-matrix and
  potential model formalism

abstract:
  Using the $R$-matrix approach we calculate the radiative width for a
resonance decaying to a bound state through electric dipole, $E1$, transitions.
The total radiative width is determined by the interference of the nuclear
internal and external radiative width amplitudes. For a given channel radius
the external radiative width amplitude is model independent and is determined
by the asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC) of the bound state to which
the resonance decays. It also depends on the partial resonance width. To
calculate the internal radiative width amplitude we show that a single particle
potential model is appropriate. We compare our results with a few experimental
data.


title: Local coordinate systems on quantum flag manifolds

abstract:
  This paper consist of 3 sections. In the first section, we will give a brief
introduction to the "Feigin's homomorphisms" and will see how they will help us
to prove our main and fundamental theorems related to quantum Serre relations
and screening operators. In the second section, we will introduce Local
integral of motions as the space of invariants of nilpotent part of quantum
affine Lie algebras and will find two and three point invariants in the case of
$U_q(\hat{sl_2}) $ by using Volkov's scheme. In the third section, we will
introduce lattice Virasoro algebras as the space of invariants of Borel part
$U_q(B_{+})$ of $U_q(g)$ for simple Lie algebra $g$ and will find the set of
generators of Lattice Virasoro algebra connected to $sl_2$ and $U_q(sl_2)$. And
as a new result, we found the set of some generators of lattice Virasoro
algebra.


title: Fluctuations When Driving Between Nonequilibrium Steady States

abstract:
  Maintained by environmental fluxes, biological systems are thermodynamic
processes that operate far from equilibrium without detailed-balance dynamics.
Yet, they often exhibit well defined nonequilibrium steady states (NESSs). More
importantly, critical thermodynamic functionality arises directly from
transitions among their NESSs, driven by environmental switching. Here, we
identify constraints on excess thermodynamic quantities that ride above the
NESS housekeeping background. We do this by extending the Crooks fluctuation
theorem to transitions among NESSs, without invoking an unphysical dual
dynamics. This and corresponding integral fluctuation theorems determine how
much work must be expended when controlling systems maintained far from
equilibrium. This generalizes feedback control theory, showing that Maxwellian
Demons can leverage mesoscopic-state information to take advantage of the
excess energetics in NESS transitions. Altogether, these point to universal
thermodynamic laws that are immediately applicable to the accessible degrees of
freedom within the effective dynamic at any emergent level of hierarchical
organization. By way of illustration, this readily allows analyzing a
voltage-gated sodium ion channel whose molecular conformational dynamics play a
critical functional role in propagating action potentials in mammalian neuronal
membranes.

categories: cond-mat.stat-mech nlin.AO physics.bio-ph q-bio.NC


title: On Toric Poisson Structures of Type $(1,1)$ and their Cohomology

abstract:
  We classify real Poisson structures on complex toric manifolds of type
$(1,1)$ and initiate an investigation of their Poisson cohomology. For smooth
toric varieties, such structures are necessarily algebraic and are homogeneous
quadratic in each of the distinguished holomorphic coordinate charts determined
by the open cones of the associated simplicial fan. As an approximation to the
smooth cohomology problem in each ${\mathbb C}^n$ chart, we consider the
Poisson differential on the complex of polynomial multi-vector fields. For the
algebraic problem, we compute $H^0$ and $H^1$ under the assumption that the
Poisson structure is generically non-degenerate. The paper concludes with
numerical investigations of the higher degree cohomology groups of $({\mathbb
C}^2,\pi_B)$ for various $B$.


title:
Candidates of eclipsing multiples based on extraneous eclipses on binary
  light curves: KIC 7622486, KIC 7668648, KIC 7670485 and KIC 8938628

abstract:
  Four candidates of eclipsing multiples, based on new extraneous eclipses
found on Kepler binary light curves, are presented and studied. KIC 7622486 is
a double eclipsing binary candidate with orbital period of 2.2799960 days and
40.246503 days. The two binary systems do not eclipse each other in the line of
sight, but there is mutual gravitational influence between them which leads to
the small but definite eccentricity 0.0035(0.0022) on the short 2.2799960 days
period orbit. KIC 7668648 is hierarchical quadruple system candidate, with two
sets of solid 203(+-5) days period extraneous eclipses and another independent
set of extraneous eclipses. A clear and credible extraneous eclipse is found on
the binary light curve of KIC 7670485 which made it a triple system candidates.
Two sets of extraneous eclipse of about 390 days and 220 days period are found
on KIC 8938628 binary curves, which not only confirms the previous conclusion
of $388.5(+-0.3) triple system, but also proposed a new additional objects that
make KIC 8938628 a hierarchical quadruple system candidates. It is wished that
the four candidates here will make some contributions to the field of eclipsing
multiples.


title: Asynchronous Stochastic Block Coordinate Descent with Variance Reduction

abstract:
  Asynchronous parallel implementations for stochastic optimization have
received huge successes in theory and practice recently. Asynchronous
implementations with lock-free are more efficient than the one with writing or
reading lock. In this paper, we focus on a composite objective function
consisting of a smooth convex function $f$ and a block separable convex
function, which widely exists in machine learning and computer vision. We
propose an asynchronous stochastic block coordinate descent algorithm with the
accelerated technology of variance reduction (AsySBCDVR), which are with
lock-free in the implementation and analysis. AsySBCDVR is particularly
important because it can scale well with the sample size and dimension
simultaneously. We prove that AsySBCDVR achieves a linear convergence rate when
the function $f$ is with the optimal strong convexity property, and a sublinear
rate when $f$ is with the general convexity. More importantly, a near-linear
speedup on a parallel system with shared memory can be obtained.


title: A New Electron Density Model for Estimation of Pulsar and FRB Distances

abstract:
  We present a new model for the distribution of free electrons in the Galaxy,
the Magellanic Clouds and the intergalactic medium (IGM) that can be used to
estimate distances to real or simulated pulsars and fast radio bursts (FRBs)
based on their dispersion measure (DM). The Galactic model has an extended
thick disk representing the so-called warm interstellar medium, a thin disk
representing the Galactic molecular ring, spiral arms based on a recent fit to
Galactic HII regions, a Galactic Center disk and seven local features including
the Gum Nebula, Galactic Loop I and the Local Bubble. An offset of the Sun from
the Galactic plane and a warp of the outer Galactic disk are included in the
model. Parameters of the Galactic model are determined by fitting to 189
pulsars with independently determined distances and DMs. Simple models are used
for the Magellanic Clouds and the IGM. Galactic model distances are within the
uncertainty range for 86 of the 189 independently determined distances and
within 20\% of the nearest limit for a further 38 pulsars. We estimate that
95\% of predicted Galactic pulsar distances will have a relative error of less
than a factor of 0.9. The predictions of YMW16 are compared to those of the
TC93 and NE2001 models showing that YMW16 performs significantly better on all
measures. Timescales for pulse broadening due to interstellar scattering are
estimated for (real or simulated) Galactic and Magellanic Cloud pulsars and
FRBs.


title:
Cognitive Access Protocol for Alleviating Sensing Errors in Cognitive
  Multiple-Access Systems

abstract:
  This letter studies a time-slotted multiple-access system with a primary user
(PU) and a secondary user (SU) sharing the same channel resource. We propose a
novel secondary access protocol which alleviates sensing errors and detects the
availability of primary channels with the highest ability of detection. Under
the proposed protocol, the SU may access the channel at one of a predefined
instants within the time slot each of which associated with a certain access
probability that changes based on the sensing outcome. There is also a
possibility of accessing the channel at the beginning of the time slot without
channel sensing. The optimization problem is stated such that the secondary
throughput is maximized under stability of the primary queue and a constraint
on the primary queueing delay. Numerical results demonstrate the beneficial
gains of the proposed protocol in terms of secondary throughput.


title:
Evaluation of Automated Vehicles in the Frontal Cut-in Scenario - an
  Enhanced Approach using Piecewise Mixture Models

abstract:
  Evaluation and testing are critical for the development of Automated Vehicles
(AVs). Currently, companies test AVs on public roads, which is very
time-consuming and inefficient. We proposed the Accelerated Evaluation concept
which uses a modified statistics of the surrounding vehicles and the Importance
Sampling theory to reduce the evaluation time by several orders of magnitude,
while ensuring the final evaluation results are accurate. In this paper, we
further extend this idea by using Piecewise Mixture Distribution models instead
of Single Distribution models. We demonstrate this idea to evaluate vehicle
safety in lane change scenarios. The behavior of the cut-in vehicles was
modeled based on more than 400,000 naturalistic driving lane changes collected
by the University of Michigan Safety Pilot Model Deployment Program. Simulation
results confirm that the accuracy and efficiency of the Piecewise Mixture
Distribution method are better than the single distribution.


title: KeystoneML: Optimizing Pipelines for Large-Scale Advanced Analytics

abstract:
  Modern advanced analytics applications make use of machine learning
techniques and contain multiple steps of domain-specific and general-purpose
processing with high resource requirements. We present KeystoneML, a system
that captures and optimizes the end-to-end large-scale machine learning
applications for high-throughput training in a distributed environment with a
high-level API. This approach offers increased ease of use and higher
performance over existing systems for large scale learning. We demonstrate the
effectiveness of KeystoneML in achieving high quality statistical accuracy and
scalable training using real world datasets in several domains. By optimizing
execution KeystoneML achieves up to 15x training throughput over unoptimized
execution on a real image classification application.


title: Characterising Dark Energy through supernovae

abstract:
  Type Ia supernovae are a powerful cosmological probe, that gave the first
strong evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Here we
provide an overview of how supernovae can go further to reveal information
about what is causing the acceleration, be it dark energy or some modification
to our laws of gravity. We first summarise the many different approaches used
to explain or test the acceleration, including parametric models (like the
standard model, LambdaCDM), non-parametric models, dark fluid models such as
quintessence, and extensions to standard gravity. We also show how supernova
data can be used beyond the Hubble diagram, to give information on
gravitational lensing and peculiar velocities that can be used to distinguish
between models that predict the same expansion history. Finally, we review the
methods of statistical inference that are commonly used, making a point of
separating parameter estimation from model selection.


title:
Degrees of Freedom in Wireless Interference Networks with Cooperative
  Transmission and Backhaul Load Constraints

abstract:
  Degrees of freedom (DoF) gains are studied in wireless networks with
cooperative transmission under a backhaul load constraint that limits the
average number of messages that can be delivered from a centralized controller
to base station transmitters. The backhaul load is defined as the sum of all
the messages available at all the transmitters per channel use, normalized by
the number of users. For Wyner's linear interference network, where each
transmitter is connected to the receiver having the same index as well as one
succeeding receiver, the per user DoF is characterized and the optimal scheme
is presented. Furthermore, it is shown that the optimal assignment of messages
to transmitters is asymmetric and satisfies a local cooperation constraint, and
that the optimal coding scheme relies only on one-shot cooperative zero-forcing
transmit beamforming. Using insights from the analysis of Wyner's linear
interference network, the results are extended to the more practical hexagonal
sectored cellular network, and coding schemes based on cooperative zero-forcing
are shown to deliver significant DoF gains. It is established that by allowing
for cooperative transmission and a flexible message assignment that is
constrained only by an average backhaul load, one can deliver the rate gains
promised by information-theoretic upper bounds with practical one-shot schemes
that incur little or no additional load on the backhaul. Finally, useful upper
bounds on the per user DoF for schemes based on cooperative zero-forcing are
presented for lower values of the average backhaul load constraint, and an
optimization framework is formulated for the general converse problem.


title:
A spectrally tunable plasmonic photosensor with an ultrathin
  semiconductor region

abstract:
  Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been widely utilized to improve the
absorption performance in the photosensors. Graphene has emerged as a promising
plasmonic material, which supports tunable SPR and shows significant
flexibility over metals. In this letter, a hybrid photosensor based on the
integration of periodic cross-shaped graphene arrays with an ultrathin
light-absorbing semiconductor is proposed. A tenfold absorption enhancement
over a large range of the incidence angle for both light polarizations as well
as a considerably high photogeneration rate ($\sim10^{37}$) is demonstrated at
the resonance. Compared with traditional metal-based plasmon-enhanced
photosensors, the absorption enhancement here can be expediently tuned with
manipulating the Fermi energy of graphene. The proposed photosensor can amplify
the photoresponse to the incidence light at the selected wavelength and thus be
utilized in photosensing with high efficiency and tunable spectral selectivity
in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) and terahertz (THz) regime.


title: Selective De-noising of Sparse-Coloured Images

abstract:
  Since time immemorial, noise has been a constant source of disturbance to the
various entities known to mankind. Noise models of different kinds have been
developed to study noise in more detailed fashion over the years. Image
processing, particularly, has extensively implemented several algorithms to
reduce noise in photographs and pictorial documents to alleviate the effect of
noise. Images with sparse colours-lesser number of distinct colours in them-are
common nowadays, especially in astronomy and astrophysics where black and white
colours form the main components. Additive noise of Gaussian type is the most
common form of noise to be studied and analysed in majority of communication
channels, namely-satellite links, mobile base station to local cellular tower
communication channel,et. al. Most of the time, we encounter images from
astronomical sources being distorted with noise maximally as they travel long
distance from telescopes in outer space to Earth. Considering Additive White
Gaussian Noise(AWGN) to be the common noise in these long distance channels,
this paper provides an insight and an algorithmic approach to pixel-specific
de-noising of sparse-coloured images affected by AWGN. The paper concludes with
some essential future avenues and applications of this de-noising method in
industry and academia.


title: Forward sensitivity analysis for contracting stochastic systems

abstract:
  In this work we investigate gradient estimation for a class of contracting
stochastic systems on a continuous state space. We find conditions on the
one-step transitions, namely differentiability and contraction in a Wasserstein
distance, that guarantee differentiability of stationary costs. Then we show
how to estimate the derivatives, deriving an estimator that can be seen as a
generalization of the forward sensitivity analysis method used in deterministic
systems. We apply the results to examples, including a neural network model.


title: Background Study on Supernova Relic Neutrinos Search in SuperK-Gd

abstract:
  The detection of supernova relic neutrinos could provide precious information
on the evolution of the universe, the formation of stars, the mechanism of
supernova bursts and the related neutrino physics. Many experiments, such as
Kamland, Borexino, Sudbury Neutrino Observatory and Super-Kamiokande have
conducted searches for the supernova relic neutrinos. However, no supernova
relic neutrino signal has been observed until now. This paper reports the
background study on the supernova relic neutrinos search for the future
neutrino experiment in SuperK-Gd project. The expected event rate for various
background sources and supernova relic neutrino models are calculated,
respectively.


title: Spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates held under toroidal trap

abstract:
  We study a quasispin-$1/2$ Bose-Einstein condensate with synthetically
generated spin-orbit coupling in a toroidal trap, and show that the system has
a rich variety of ground and metastable states. As the central hole region
increases, i.e., the potential changes from harmonic-like to ring-like, the
condensate exhibits a variety of structures, such as triangular stripes,
flower-petal patterns, and counter-circling states. We also show that the
rotating systems have exotic vortex configurations. In the limit of a quasi-one
dimensional ring, the quantum many-body ground state is obtained, which is
found to be the fragmented condensate.


title: Three-dimensional Shock Structure of Orion KL Outflow with IGRINS

abstract:
  We report a study of the three-dimensional (3D) outflow structure of a
15$\arcsec$ $\times$ 13$\arcsec$ area around H$_{2}$ peak 1 in Orion KL with
slit-scan observations (13 slits) using the Immersion Grating Infrared
Spectrograph. The datacubes, with high velocity-resolution ($\sim$ 7.5 {\kms})
provide high contrast imaging within ultra-narrow bands, and enable the
detection of the main stream of the previously reported H$_{2}$ outflow
fingers. We identified 31 distinct fingers in H$_{2}$ 1$-$0 S(1) $\lambda$2.122
$\micron$ emission. The line profile at each finger shows multiple-velocity
peaks with a strong low-velocity component around the systemic velocity at
${\VLSR}$ = $+$8 {\kms} and high velocity emission ($|$${\VLSR}$$|$ = 45$-$135
{\kms}) indicating a typical bow-shock. The observed radial velocity gradients
of $\sim$ 4 {\kms} arcsec$^{-1}$ agree well with the velocities inferred from
large-scale proper motions, where the projected motion is proportional to
distance from a common origin. We construct a conceptual 3D map of the fingers
with the estimated inclination angles of 57$\degree$$-$74$\degree$. The
extinction difference ($\Delta$$A_{\rm v}$ $>$ 10 mag) between blueshifted and
redshifted fingers indicates high internal extinction. The extinction, the
overall angular spread and scale of the flow argue for an ambient medium with
very high density (10$^{5}$$-$10$^{6}$ cm$^{-3}$), consistent with molecular
line observations of the OMC core. The radial velocity gradients and the 3D
distributions of the fingers together support the hypothesis of simultaneous,
radial explosion of the Orion KL outflow.


title: Building Energy Load Forecasting using Deep Neural Networks

abstract:
  Ensuring sustainability demands more efficient energy management with
minimized energy wastage. Therefore, the power grid of the future should
provide an unprecedented level of flexibility in energy management. To that
end, intelligent decision making requires accurate predictions of future energy
demand/load, both at aggregate and individual site level. Thus, energy load
forecasting have received increased attention in the recent past, however has
proven to be a difficult problem. This paper presents a novel energy load
forecasting methodology based on Deep Neural Networks, specifically Long Short
Term Memory (LSTM) algorithms. The presented work investigates two variants of
the LSTM: 1) standard LSTM and 2) LSTM-based Sequence to Sequence (S2S)
architecture. Both methods were implemented on a benchmark data set of
electricity consumption data from one residential customer. Both architectures
where trained and tested on one hour and one-minute time-step resolution
datasets. Experimental results showed that the standard LSTM failed at
one-minute resolution data while performing well in one-hour resolution data.
It was shown that S2S architecture performed well on both datasets. Further, it
was shown that the presented methods produced comparable results with the other
deep learning methods for energy forecasting in literature.


title: Fast Learning with Nonconvex L1-2 Regularization

abstract:
  Convex regularizers are often used for sparse learning. They are easy to
optimize, but can lead to inferior prediction performance. The difference of
$\ell_1$ and $\ell_2$ ($\ell_{1-2}$) regularizer has been recently proposed as
a nonconvex regularizer. It yields better recovery than both $\ell_0$ and
$\ell_1$ regularizers on compressed sensing. However, how to efficiently
optimize its learning problem is still challenging. The main difficulty is that
both the $\ell_1$ and $\ell_2$ norms in $\ell_{1-2}$ are not differentiable,
and existing optimization algorithms cannot be applied. In this paper, we show
that a closed-form solution can be derived for the proximal step associated
with this regularizer. We further extend the result for low-rank matrix
learning and the total variation model. Experiments on both synthetic and real
data sets show that the resultant accelerated proximal gradient algorithm is
more efficient than other noncovex optimization algorithms.


title: Predicting Urban Water Quality with Ubiquitous Data

abstract:
  Urban water quality is of great importance to our daily lives. Prediction of
urban water quality help control water pollution and protect human health.
However, predicting the urban water quality is a challenging task since the
water quality varies in urban spaces non-linearly and depends on multiple
factors, such as meteorology, water usage patterns, and land uses. In this
work, we forecast the water quality of a station over the next few hours from a
data-driven perspective, using the water quality data and water hydraulic data
reported by existing monitor stations and a variety of data sources we observed
in the city, such as meteorology, pipe networks, structure of road networks,
and point of interests (POIs). First, we identify the influential factors that
affect the urban water quality via extensive experiments. Second, we present a
multi-task multi-view learning method to fuse those multiple datasets from
different domains into an unified learning model. We evaluate our method with
real-world datasets, and the extensive experiments verify the advantages of our
method over other baselines and demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.


title:
Sparse Signal Recovery for Binary Compressed Sensing by Majority Voting
  Neural Networks

abstract:
  In this paper, we propose majority voting neural networks for sparse signal
recovery in binary compressed sensing. The majority voting neural network is
composed of several independently trained feedforward neural networks employing
the sigmoid function as an activation function. Our empirical study shows that
a choice of a loss function used in training processes for the network is of
prime importance. We found a loss function suitable for sparse signal recovery,
which includes a cross entropy-like term and an $L_1$ regularized term. From
the experimental results, we observed that the majority voting neural network
achieves excellent recovery performance, which is approaching the optimal
performance as the number of component nets grows. The simple architecture of
the majority voting neural networks would be beneficial for both software and
hardware implementations.


title:
Removing discretely self-similar singularities for the 3D Navier-Stokes
  equations

abstract:
  We study the scenario of discretely self-similar blow-up for Navier-Stokes
equations. We prove that at the possible blow-up time such solutions only one
point singularity.
  In case of the scaling parameter $ \lambda $ near $ 1$ we remove the
singularity.


title:
Resource Management in Non-orthogonal Multiple Access Networks for 5G
  and Beyond

abstract:
  Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) schemes have been proposed for the next
generation of mobile communication systems to improve the access efficiency by
allowing multiple users to share the same spectrum in a non-orthogonal way. Due
to the strong co-channel interference among mobile users introduced by NOMA, it
poses significant challenges for system design and resource management. This
article reviews resource management issues in NOMA systems. The main taxonomy
of NOMA is presented by focusing on the following two categories: power-domain
NOMA and code-domain NOMA. Then a novel radio resource management framework is
presented based on game-theoretic models for uplink and downlink transmissions.
Finally, potential applications and open research directions in the area of
resource management for NOMA are provided.


title:
The Dynamics of The Potts-Bethe Mapping over $\mathbb{Q}_p:$ The Case
  $p\equiv 2 \ (mod \ 3) $

abstract:
  In this paper, we study the dynamics of the Potts-Bethe mapping associated
with the $p-$adic $q-$state Potts model over the Cayley tree of order three.
Namely, we establish the regularity of the Potts-Bethe mapping for the case
$p\equiv 2 \ (mod \ 3)$ with $p\geq5$.


title:
On Bhargava's heuristics for $\mathbf{GL}_2(\mathbb{F}_p)$-number fields
  and the number of elliptic curves of bounded conductor

abstract:
  We propose a new model for counting $\mathbf{GL}_2(\mathbb{F}_p)$-number
fields having the same local properties as the splitting field of the mod
$p$-Galois representation associated with an elliptic curve over the rational
numbers. We explain how this new model and Bhargava's local-to-global
heuristics for counting $\mathbf{GL}_2(\mathbb{F}_p)$-number fields both shed
light on the problem of estimating the number of elliptic curves over the
rational numbers of squarefree conductor $N < X.$
  The new model predicts the existence of significantly more
$\mathbf{GL}_2(\mathbb{F}_p)$-number fields with the desired local properties
than does the local-to-global model when $N$ has a large number of distinct
prime factors, owing to degeneracies caused by Atkin-Lehner involutions. We
describe computational evidence supporting the new model.


title:
Revealing extremely low energy amplitude modes in the
  charge-density-wave compound LaAgSb$_2$

abstract:
  The layered lanthanum silver antimonide LaAgSb$_2$ was known to experience
two charge density (CDW) phase transitions, which were proposed recently to be
closely related to the newly identified Dirac cone. We present optical
spectroscopy and ultrafast pump-probe measurement on the compound. The
development of energy gaps were clearly observed below the phase transition
temperatures in optical conductivity, which removes most part of the free
carrier spectral weight. Time resolved measurement demonstrated the emergence
of strong oscillations upon entering the CDW states, which were illuminated to
come from the amplitude mode of CDW collective excitations. The frequencies of
them are surprisingly low: only 0.12 THz for the CDW order with higher
transition temperature and 0.34 THz for the lower one, which shall be caused by
their small modulation wave vectors. Furthermore, the amplitude and relaxation
time of photoinduced reflectivity stayed unchanged across the two phase
transitions, which might be connected to the extremely low energy scales of
amplitude modes.


title: Densely related groups

abstract:
  We study the class of densely related groups. These are finitely generated
(or more generally, compactly generated locally compact) groups satisfying a
strong negation of being finitely presented, in the sense that new relations
appear at all scales. Here, new relations means relations that do not follow
from relations of smaller size. Being densely related is a quasi-isometry
invariant among finitely generated groups.
  We check that a densely related group has none of its asymptotic cones simply
connected. In particular a lacunary hyperbolic group cannot be densely related.
  We prove that the Grigorchuk group is densely related. We also show that a
finitely generated group that is (infinite locally finite)-by-cyclic and which
satisfies a law must be densely related. Given a class $\mathcal{C}$ of
finitely generated groups, we consider the following dichotomy: every group in
$\mathcal{C}$ is either finitely presented or densely related. We show that
this holds within the class of nilpotent-by-cyclic groups and the class of
metabelian groups. In contrast, this dichotomy is no longer true for the class
of $3$-step solvable groups.


title: Tiling with Cuisenaire Rods

abstract:
  In this paper a closed form expression for the number of tilings of an
$n\times n$ square border with $1\times 1$ and $2\times1$ cuisenaire rods is
proved using a transition matrix approach. This problem is then generalised to
$m\times n$ rectangular borders. The number of distinct tilings up to
rotational symmetry is considered, and closed form expressions are given, in
the case of a square border and in the case of a rectangular border. Finally,
the number of distinct tilings up to dihedral symmetry is considered, and a
closed form expression is given in the case of a square border.


title:
Non-symmetry of a hydraulic fracture due to the inhomogeneity of the
  reservoir

abstract:
  It is usually assumed that hydraulic fracture has two symmetrical wings with
respect to the fluid injection point. Hence, authors limit themselves to
modelling of one half of the fracture. In our work we demonstrate that the case
of a symmetrical fracture occurs only in a homogeneous reservoir with constant
physical parameters and confining {\it in situ} stress. Otherwise,
inhomogeneity in the stress or the rock permeability can significantly change
the dynamics of the fracture propagation. The mathematical model of the
hydraulic fracturing used in the paper is adopted from our earlier work
\cite{Golovin_Baykin_2016_Pore}. In present paper we perform numerical
experiments demonstrating that in case of non-constant confining stress or
reservoir permeability the fracture is developing non-symmetrically. An
important role is played by the action of the backstress that is formed near
the fracture due to the pore pressure. To support this observation we give a
formal definition of the backstress and compare the values of the backstress
acting on the two different fracture wings. These numerical experiments
underline the importance of the proper modelling of the interaction between
pore and fracturing fluids for the correct simulation of the hydraulic
fracturing.


title:
Large Deviations for Processes on Half-Line: Random Walk and Compound
  Poisson

abstract:
  We establish, under the Cramer exponential moment condition in a
neighbourhood of zero, the Extended Large Deviation Principle for the Random
Walk and the Compound Poisson processes in the metric space $\V$ of functions
of finite variation on $[0,\infty)$ with the modified Borovkov metric $\r(f,g)=
\r_\B(\hat{f},\hat{g}) $, where $ \hat f(t)= f(t)/(1+t)$, $t\in \R$, and
$\r_\B$ is the Borovkov metric. LDP in this space is "more precise" than that
with the usual metric of uniform convergence on compacts.


title:
Design of an Ultra-Efficient Reversible Full Adder-Subtractor in
  Quantum-dot Cellular Automata

abstract:
  By the progressive scaling of the feature size and power consumption in VLSI
chips the part of energy dissipated due to information loss in irreversible
computations will become a serious limitation in the near future. Quantum-dot
cellular automata (QCA) is an emerging nanotechnology with extremely low energy
dissipation which facilitates new computation paradigms such as reversible
computing. In this paper a novel reversible full adder-subtractor circuit based
on QCA is proposed. Our proposed design is implemented using only one layer and
does not require any rotated cells which significantly improves the
manufacturability of the design. In addition, it improves the cell count, area
and total energy dissipation by almost 45% and 50% and 48%, respectively, as
compared to the existing QCA-based single-layer and multilayer reversible full
adders.


title: Deformations of harmonic function germs

abstract:
  We study the classification problem of singularities of function-germs with
harmonic leading terms of two variables under the right-equivalence. We observe
that the multiple actions of Laplacian appear for the classifications of such
class of function-germs.


title: Conformal symmetry breaking operators for anti-de Sitter spaces

abstract:
  For a pseudo-Riemannian manifold $X$ and a totally geodesic hypersurface $Y$,
we consider the problem of constructing and classifying all linear differential
operators $\mathcal{E}^i(X) \to \mathcal{E}^j(Y)$ between the spaces of
differential forms that intertwine multiplier representations of the Lie
algebra of conformal vector fields. Extending the recent results in the
Riemannian setting by Kobayashi-Kubo-Pevzner [Lecture Notes in Math.~2170,
(2016)], we construct such differential operators and give a classification of
them in the pseudo-Riemannian setting where both $X$ and $Y$ are of constant
sectional curvature, illustrated by the examples of anti-de Sitter spaces and
hyperbolic spaces.


title: Measurement of $CP$ asymmetry in $D^0\rightarrow K^-K^+$ decays

abstract:
  A measurement of the time-integrated $CP$ asymmetry in the Cabibbo-suppressed
decay $D^0\rightarrow K^-K^+$ is performed using pp collision data,
corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3fb$^{-1}$, collected with the
LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. The flavour of the
charm meson at production is determined from the charge of the pion in
$D^{*+}\rightarrow D^0 \pi^+$ and $D^{*-}\rightarrow \bar{D^0} \pi^-$ decays.
The time-integrated $CP$ asymmetry $A_{CP}(K^-K^+)$ is obtained assuming
negligible $CP$ violation in charm mixing and in Cabibbo-favoured
$D^0\rightarrow K^-\pi^+$, $D^+\rightarrow K^-\pi^+\pi^+$ and $D^+\rightarrow
\bar{K^0}\pi^+$ decays used as calibration channels. It is found to be
$A_{CP}(K^-K^+)=(0.14\pm0.15(stat)\pm0.10(syst))\%$. A combination of this
result with previous LHCb measurements yields
$A_{CP}(K^-K^+)=(0.04\pm0.12(stat)\pm0.10(syst))\%$,
$A_{CP}(\pi^-\pi^+)=(0.07\pm0.14(stat)\pm0.11(syst))\%$. These are the most
precise measurements from a single experiment. The result for $A_{CP}(K^-K^+)$
is the most precise determination of a time-integrated $CP$ asymmetry in the
charm sector to date, and neither measurement shows evidence of CP asymmetry.


title: Shadow of a Kerr-Sen dilaton-axion Black Hole

abstract:
  We analyze the shadow of charged stationary axially symmetric space-time
(Kerr-Sen dilaton-axion black hole). This black hole is defined by a mass $M$,
a spin $a$ and $r_{\alpha}=Q^{2}/M$, where $Q$ is the electric charge. Shadows
are investigated in two conditions, i) for an observer at infinity in vacuum
and ii) for an observer at infinity in the presence of plasma with radial
power-low density. In vacuum, the shadow of this black hole depends on charge
and spin parameter. We can see that, increasing electric charge, $Q$ decreases
the size of shadow. Also, increasing spin parameter $a$ decreases the size of
shadow. However, in existence of plasma, parameter of plasma like refraction
index, $n$, playing an important role on shadows. In fact, decreasing
refraction index decreases the size of shadow.


title: Random search for a dark resonance

abstract:
  A pair of resonant laser fields can drive a three-level system into a dark
state where it seizes to absorb and emit radiation due to destructive
interference. We propose a scheme to search for this resonance by randomly
changing the frequency of one of the fields each time a fluorescence photon is
detected. The longer the system is probed, the more likely the frequency is
close to resonance and the system populates the dark state. Due to the
correspondingly long waiting times between detection events, the evolution is
non-ergodic and the precision of the frequency estimate does not follow from
the conventional Cram\'er-Rao bound of parameter estimation. Instead, a
L\'{e}vy statistical analysis yields the scaling of the estimation error with
time for precision probing of this kind.


title:
Semiconductor quantum wells with BenDaniel - Duke boundary conditions:
  approximate analytical results

abstract:
  The Schrodinger equation for a particle moving in a square well potential
with BenDaniel - Duke boundary conditions is solved. Using algebraic
approximations for trigonometric functions, the transcendental equations of the
bound states energy are transformed into tractable, algebraic equations. For
the ground state and the first excited state, they are cubic equations; we
obtain simple formulas for their physically interesting roots. The case of
higher excited states is also analyzed. Our results have direct applications in
the physics of type I and type II semiconductor heterostructures.


title: Microservice-based IoT for Smart Buildings

abstract:
  A large percentage of buildings in domestic or special-purpose is expected to
become increasingly "smarter" in the future, due to the immense benefits in
terms of energy saving, safety, flexibility, and comfort, that relevant new
technologies offer. As concerns hardware, software, or platform level, however,
no clearly dominant standards currently exist. Such standards, would ideally,
fulfill a number of important desiderata, which are to be touched upon in this
paper. Here, we will present a prototype platform for supporting multiple
concurrent applications for smart buildings, which is utilizing an advanced
sensor network as well as a distributed microservices architecture, centrally
featuring the Jolie programming language. The architecture and benefits of our
system are discussed, as well as a prototype containing a number of nodes and a
user interface, deployed in a real-world academic building environment. Our
results illustrate the promising nature of our approach, as well as open
avenues for future work towards its wider and larger scale applicability.


title: Quantum Thermodynamics with Degenerate Eigenstate Coherences

abstract:
  We establish quantum thermodynamics for open quantum systems weakly coupled
to their reservoirs when the system exhibits degeneracies. The first and second
law of thermodynamics are derived, as well as a finite-time fluctuation theorem
for mechanical work and energy and matter currents. Using a double quantum dot
junction model, local eigenbasis coherences are shown to play a crucial role on
thermodynamics and on the electron counting statistics.


title: From Simplicity to Complexity Based on Consensus: A Case Study

abstract:
  Distributed consensus has been intensively studied in recent years as a means
to mitigate state differences among dynamic nodes on a graph. It has been
successfully employed in various applications, e.g., formation control of
multi-robots, load balancing, clock synchronization. However, almost all
existing applications cast an impression of consensus as a simple process to
iteratively reach agreement, without any clue on possibility to generate
advanced complexity, say shortest path planning, which has been proved to be
NP-hard. Counter-intuitively, we show for the first time that the complexity of
shortest path planning can emerge from a perturbed version of min-consensus
protocol, which as a case study may shed lights to researchers in the field of
distributed control to re-think the nature of complexity and the distance
between control and intelligence. Besides, we rigorously prove the convergence
of graph dynamics and its equivalence to shortest path solutions. An
illustrative simulation on a small scale graph is provided to show the
convergence of the biased min-consensus dynamics to shortest path solution over
the graph. To demonstrate the scalability to large scale problems, a graph with
43826 nodes, which corresponds to a map of a maze in 2D, is considered in the
simulation study. Apart from possible applications in robot path planning, the
result is further extended to robot complete coverage, showing its potential in
real practice such as cleaning robots.


title:
Searching for New Spin-Dependent Interactions with SmCo$_5$ Spin Sources
  and a SERF Comagnetometer

abstract:
  We propose a novel method to search for possible new macro-scale spin- and/or
velocity-dependent forces (SVDFs) based on specially designed SmCo$_5$ spin
sources and a spin exchange relaxation-free (SERF) comagnetometer. A simulation
shows that, by covering a SmCo$_5$ permanent magnet with a layer of pure iron,
a high net spin density source of about $1\times 10^{22}$/cm$^3$ could be
obtained. Taking advantages of the high spin density of this iron-shielded
SmCo$_5$ and the high sensitivity of the SERF, the proposed method could set up
new limits of greater than 10 orders of magnitude more sensitive than those
from previous experiments or proposals in exploring SVDFs in force ranges
larger than 1 cm.


title:
Cluster Glimpses with Raven: AO Corrected Near and Mid-Infrared Images
  of Glimpse C01 and Glimpse C02

abstract:
  We discuss images of the star clusters GLIMPSE C01 (GC01) and GLIMPSE C02
(GC02) that were recorded with the Subaru IRCS. Distortions in the wavefront
were corrected with the RAVEN adaptive optics (AO) science demonstrator,
allowing individual stars in the central regions of both clusters -- where the
fractional contamination from non-cluster objects is lowest -- to be imaged. In
addition to J, H, and K' images, both clusters were observed through a
narrow-band filter centered near 3.05um; GC01 was also observed through two
other narrow-band filters that sample longer wavelengths. Stars in the
narrow-band images have a FWHM that is close to the telescope diffraction
limit, demonstrating that open loop AO systems like RAVEN can deliver
exceptional image quality. The near-infrared color magnitude diagram of GC01 is
smeared by non-uniform extinction with a dispersion +/- 0.13 magnitudes in A_K.
The Red Clump is identified in the K luminosity function (LF) of GC01, and a
distance modulus of 13.6 is found. The K LF of GC01 is consistent with a system
that is dominated by stars with an age > 1 Gyr. As for GC02, the K LF is flat
for K > 16, and the absence of a sub-giant branch argues against an old age if
the cluster is at a distance of ~ 7 kpc. Archival SPITZER [3.6] and [4.5]
images of the clusters are also examined, and the red giant branch-tip is
identified.


title:
Crowdsourced science: sociotechnical epistemology in the e-research
  paradigm

abstract:
  Recent years have seen a surge in online collaboration between experts and
amateurs on scientific research. In this article, we analyse the
epistemological implications of these crowdsourced projects, with a focus on
Zooniverse, the world's largest citizen science web portal. We use quantitative
methods to evaluate the platform's success in producing large volumes of
observation statements and high impact scientific discoveries relative to more
conventional means of data processing. Through empirical evidence, Bayesian
reasoning, and conceptual analysis, we show how information and communication
technologies enhance the reliability, scalability, and connectivity of
crowdsourced e-research, giving online citizen science projects powerful
epistemic advantages over more traditional modes of scientific investigation.
These results highlight the essential role played by technologically mediated
social interaction in contemporary knowledge production. We conclude by calling
for an explicitly sociotechnical turn in the philosophy of science that
combines insights from statistics and logic to analyse the latest developments
in scientific research.


title: Evangelism in Social Networks: Algorithms and Complexity

abstract:
  We consider a population of interconnected individuals that, with respect to
a piece of information, at each time instant can be subdivided into three
(time-dependent) categories: agnostics, influenced, and evangelists. A
dynamical process of information diffusion evolves among the individuals of the
population according to the following rules. Initially, all individuals are
agnostic. Then, a set of people is chosen from the outside and convinced to
start evangelizing, i.e., to start spreading the information. When a number of
evangelists, greater than a given threshold, communicate with a node v, the
node v becomes influenced, whereas, as soon as the individual v is contacted by
a sufficiently much larger number of evangelists, it is itself converted into
an evangelist and consequently it starts spreading the information. The
question is: How to choose a bounded cardinality initial set of evangelists so
as to maximize the final number of influenced individuals? We prove that the
problem is hard to solve, even in an approximate sense. On the positive side,
we present exact polynomial time algorithms for trees and complete graphs. For
general graphs, we derive exact parameterized algorithms. We also investigate
the problem when the objective is to select a minimum number of evangelists
capable of influencing the whole network. Our motivations to study these
problems come from the areas of Viral Marketing and the analysis of
quantitative models of spreading of influence in social networks.


title: Self-organized UAV Traffic in Realistic Environments

abstract:
  We investigated different dense multirotor UAV traffic simulation scenarios
in open 2D and 3D space, under realistic environments with the presence of
sensor noise, communication delay, limited communication range, limited sensor
update rate and finite inertia. We implemented two fundamental self-organized
algorithms: one with constant direction and one with constant velocity
preference to reach a desired target. We performed evolutionary optimization on
both algorithms in five basic traffic scenarios and tested the optimized
algorithms under different vehicle densities. We provide optimal algorithm and
parameter selection criteria and compare the maximal flux and collision risk of
each solution and situation. We found that i) different scenarios and densities
require different algorithmic approaches, i.e., UAVs have to behave differently
in sparse and dense environments or when they have common or different targets;
ii) a slower-is-faster effect is implicitly present in our models, i.e., the
maximal flux is achieved at densities where the average speed is far from
maximal; iii) communication delay is the most severe destabilizing
environmental condition that has a fundamental effect on performance and needs
to be taken into account when designing algorithms to be used in real life.


title:
Existence of solutions for a biological model using topological degree
  theory

abstract:
  Topological degree theory is a useful tool for studying systems of
differential equations. In this work, a biological model is considered.
Specifically, we prove the existence of positive T-periodic solutions of a
system of delay differential equations for a model with feedback arising on
Circadian oscillations in the Drosophila period gene protein.


title: On the existence of $d$-homogeneous $3$-way Steiner trades

abstract:
  A $\mu$-way $(v, k, t)$ trade $T = \{T_{1} , T_{2}, . . ., T_{\mu} \}$ of
volume $m$ consists of $\mu$ disjoint collections $T_{1}, T_{2}, \ldots,
T_{\mu}$, each of $m$ blocks of size $k$, such that for every $t$-subset of
$v$-set $V$ the number of blocks containing this $t$-subset is the same in each
$T_{i}$ (for $1 \leq i \leq \mu$). A $\mu$-way $(v, k, t)$ trade is called
$\mu$-way $(v, k, t)$ Steiner trade if any $t$-subset of found$(T)$ occurs at
most once in $T_{1}$ $(T_{j},\ j \geq 2)$. A $\mu$-way $(v,k,t)$ trade is
called $d$-homogeneous if each element of $V$ occurs in precisely $d$ blocks of
$T_{1}$ $(T_{j},~ j \geq 2)$. In this paper we characterize the $3$-way
$3$-homogeneous $(v,3,2)$ Steiner trades of volume $v$. Also we show how to
construct a $3$-way $d$-homogeneous $(v,3,2)$ Steiner trade for $d\in
\{4,5,6\}$, except for seven small values of $v$.


title: A general multiblock method for structured variable selection

abstract:
  Regularised canonical correlation analysis was recently extended to more than
two sets of variables by the multiblock method Regularised generalised
canonical correlation analysis (RGCCA). Further, Sparse GCCA (SGCCA) was
proposed to address the issue of variable selection. However, for technical
reasons, the variable selection offered by SGCCA was restricted to a covariance
link between the blocks (i.e., with $\tau=1$). One of the main contributions of
this paper is to go beyond the covariance link and to propose an extension of
SGCCA for the full RGCCA model (i.e., with $\tau\in[0, 1]$). In addition, we
propose an extension of SGCCA that exploits structural relationships between
variables within blocks. Specifically, we propose an algorithm that allows
structured and sparsity-inducing penalties to be included in the RGCCA
optimisation problem. The proposed multiblock method is illustrated on a real
three-block high-grade glioma data set, where the aim is to predict the
location of the brain tumours, and on a simulated data set, where the aim is to
illustrate the method's ability to reconstruct the true underlying weight
vectors.


title: SDP Relaxation with Randomized Rounding for Energy Disaggregation

abstract:
  We develop a scalable, computationally efficient method for the task of
energy disaggregation for home appliance monitoring. In this problem the goal
is to estimate the energy consumption of each appliance over time based on the
total energy-consumption signal of a household. The current state of the art is
to model the problem as inference in factorial HMMs, and use quadratic
programming to find an approximate solution to the resulting quadratic integer
program. Here we take a more principled approach, better suited to integer
programming problems, and find an approximate optimum by combining convex
semidefinite relaxations randomized rounding, as well as a scalable ADMM method
that exploits the special structure of the resulting semidefinite program.
Simulation results both in synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate the
superiority of our method.


title:
Scalable Focused Ion Beam Creation of Nearly Lifetime-Limited Single
  Quantum Emitters in Diamond Nanostructures

abstract:
  The controlled creation of defect center---nanocavity systems is one of the
outstanding challenges for efficiently interfacing spin quantum memories with
photons for photon-based entanglement operations in a quantum network. Here, we
demonstrate direct, maskless creation of atom-like single silicon-vacancy (SiV)
centers in diamond nanostructures via focused ion beam implantation with $\sim
32$ nm lateral precision and $< 50$ nm positioning accuracy relative to a
nanocavity. Moreover, we determine the Si+ ion to SiV center conversion yield
to $\sim 2.5\%$ and observe a 10-fold conversion yield increase by additional
electron irradiation. We extract inhomogeneously broadened ensemble emission
linewidths of $\sim 51$ GHz, and close to lifetime-limited single-emitter
transition linewidths down to $126 \pm13$ MHz corresponding to $\sim 1.4$-times
the natural linewidth. This demonstration of deterministic creation of
optically coherent solid-state single quantum systems is an important step
towards development of scalable quantum optical devices.


title:
Machine learning methods for accurate delineation of tumors in PET
  images

abstract:
  In oncology, Positron Emission Tomography imaging is widely used in
diagnostics of cancer metastases, in monitoring of progress in course of the
cancer treatment, and in planning radiotherapeutic interventions. Accurate and
reproducible delineation of the tumor in the Positron Emission Tomography scans
remains a difficult task, despite being crucial for delivering appropriate
radiation dose, minimizing adverse side-effects of the therapy, and reliable
evaluation of treatment. In this piece of research we attempt to solve the
problem of automated delineation of the tumor using 3d implementations of the
spatial distance weighted fuzzy c-means, the deep convolutional neural network
and a dictionary model. The methods, in diverse ways, combine intensity and
spatial information.


title: Excess Volume at Grain Boundaries in hcp Metals

abstract:
  The excess volume associated with grain boundaries represents a key
structural parameter for the characterization of grain boundaries. It plays a
critical role in segregation of impurity and alloy elements to grain
boundaries, and influences significantly the mechanical and functional
properties of materials. We have carried out first-principles density
functional calculations on the atomic structure of the (10-12) coherent twin
boundary in hexagonal close packed (hcp) Ti and Zr and the basal-prismatic
boundary in Zn, Cd, and Zr. We find the calculated excess volume has a
vanishing magnitude at the (10-12) coherent twin boundary in Ti and Zr; whereas
it is remarkable at the basal-prismatic boundary in Zn, Cd, and Zr.


title:
Widths of weighted Sobolev classes with restrictions
  $f(a)=\dots=f^{(k-1)}(a)=f^{(k)}(b)=\dots=f^{(r-1)}(b)=0$ and spectra of
  non-linear differential equations

abstract:
  In this paper we prove that Kolmogorov widths of weighted Sobolev classes
with restrictions $f(a)=\dots=f^{(k-1)}(a)=f^{(k)}(b)=\dots=f^{(r-1)}(b)=0$ in
a weighted Lebesgue space and spectral numbers of some non-linear differential
equation coincide. Here we suppose that the embedding is compact.


title:
Construction of a spectrally stable self-similar blowup solution to the
  supercritical corotational harmonic map heat flow

abstract:
  We prove the existence of a (spectrally) stable self-similar blow-up solution
$f_0$ to the heat flow for corotational harmonic maps from $\mathbb R^3$ to the
three-sphere. In particular, our result verifies the spectral gap conjecture
stated by one of the authors and lays the groundwork for the proof of the
nonlinear stability of $f_0$. At the heart of our analysis lies a new existence
result of a monotone self-similar solution $f_0$. Although solutions of this
kind have already been constructed before, our approach reveals substantial
quantitative properties of $f_0$, leading to the stability result. A key
ingredient is the use of interval arithmetic: a rigorous computer-assisted
method for estimating functions. It is easy to verify our results by robust
numerics but the purpose of the present paper is to provide mathematically
rigorous proofs.


title:
Stable self-similar blowup in the supercritical heat flow of harmonic
  maps

abstract:
  We consider the heat flow of corotational harmonic maps from $\mathbb R^3$ to
the three-sphere and prove the nonlinear asymptotic stability of a particular
self-similar shrinker that is not known in closed form. Our method provides a
novel, systematic, robust, and constructive approach to the stability analysis
of self-similar blowup in parabolic evolution equations. In particular, we
completely avoid using delicate Lyapunov functionals, monotonicity formulas,
indirect arguments, or fragile parabolic structure like the maximum principle.
As a matter of fact, our approach reduces the nonlinear stability analysis of
self-similar shrinkers to the spectral analysis of the associated self-adjoint
linearized operators.


title:
A MAP-MRF filter for phase-sensitive coil combination in autocalibrating
  partially parallel susceptibility weighted MRI

abstract:
  A statistical approach for combination of channel phases is developed for
optimizing the Contrast-to-Noise Ratio (CNR) in Susceptibility Weighted Images
(SWI) acquired using autocalibrating partially parallel techniques. The
unwrapped phase images of each coil are filtered using local random field based
probabilistic weights, derived using energy functions representative of noisy
sensitivity and tissue information pertaining to venous structure in the
individual channel phase images. The channel energy functions are obtained as
functions of local image intensities, first or second order clique phase
difference and a threshold scaling parameter dependent on the input noise
level. Whereas the expectation of the individual energy functions with respect
to the noise distribution in clique phase differences is to be maximized for
optimal filtering, the expectation of tissue energy function decreases and
noise energy function increases with increase in threshold scale parameter. The
optimum scaling parameter is shown to occur at the point where expectations of
both energy functions contribute to the largest possible extent. It is shown
that implementation of the filter in the same lines as that of Iterated
Conditional Modes (ICM) algorithm provides structural enhancement in the coil
combined phase, with reduced noise amplification. Application to simulated and
in vivo multi-channel SWI shows that CNR of combined phase obtained using
MAP-MRF filter is higher as compared to that of coil combination using weighted
average.


title:
A criterion of singularity formation for the non-isentropic gas dynamics
  equations

abstract:
  For the 1D non-isentropic polytropic gas dynamics equations we find
sufficient and necessary conditions for blow up of derivatives in the terms of
Cauchy data. In particular, the method allows to determine exact class of
initial data corresponding to globally smooth in time solution.


title: Efficient Entity Resolution on Heterogeneous Records

abstract:
  Entity resolution (ER) is the problem of identifying and merging records that
refer to the same real-world entity. In many scenarios, raw records are stored
under heterogeneous environment. Specifically, the schemas of records may
differ from each other. To leverage such records better, most existing work
assume that schema matching and data exchange have been done to convert records
under different schemas to those under a predefined schema. However, we observe
that schema matching would lose information in some cases, which could be
useful or even crucial to ER.
  To leverage sufficient information from heterogeneous sources, in this paper,
we address several challenges of ER on heterogeneous records and show that none
of existing similarity metrics or their transformations could be applied to
find similar records under heterogeneous settings. Motivated by this, we design
the similarity function and propose a novel framework to iteratively find
records which refer to the same entity. Regarding efficiency, we build an index
to generate candidates and accelerate similarity computation. Evaluations on
real-world datasets show the effectiveness and efficiency of our methods.


title: Study of the skin effect in superconducting materials

abstract:
  The skin effect is analyzed to provide the numerous measurements of the
penetration depth of the electromagnetic field in superconducting materials
with a theoretical basis. Both the normal and anomalous skin effects are
accounted for within a single framework. The emphasis is laid on the conditions
required for the penetration depth to be equal to London's length, which
enables us to validate an assumption widely used in the interpretation of all
current experimental results.


title:
Sidak-type tests for the two-sample problem based on precedence and
  exceedance statistics

abstract:
  This paper deals with a class of nonparametric two-sample tests for ordered
alternatives. The test statistics proposed are based on the number of
observations from one sample that precede or exceed a threshold specified by
the other sample, and they are extensions of \v{S}id\'ak's test. We derive
their exact null distributions and also discuss a large-sample approximation.
We then study their power properties exactly against the Lehmann alternative
and make some comparative comments. Finally, we present an example to
illustrate the proposed tests.


title: The Joint Signature and Encryption Revisited

abstract:
  We study the Sign_then_Encrypt, Commit_then_Encrypt_and_Sign, and
Encrypt_then_Sign paradigms in the context of two cryptographic primitives,
namely designated confirmer signatures and signcryption. Our study identifies
weaknesses in those paradigms which impose the use of expensive encryption (as
a building block) in order to meet a reasonable security level. Next, we
propose some optimizations which annihilate the found weaknesses and allow
consequently cheap encryption without compromising the overall security. Our
optimizations further enjoy verifiability, a property profoundly needed in many
real-life applications of the studied primitives.


title:
Efficient Computation of Null-Geodesic with Applications to Coherent
  Vortex Detection

abstract:
  Recent results suggest that boundaries of coherent fluid vortices (elliptic
coherent structures) can be identified as closed null-geodesics of appropriate
Lorentzian metrics defined on the flow domain. Here we derive an automated
method for computing such null-geodesics based on the geometry of the
underlying geodesic flow. Our approach simplifies and improves existing
procedures for computing variationally defined Eulerian and Lagrangian vortex
boundaries. As an illustration, we compute objective vortex boundaries from
satellite-inferred ocean velocity data. A MATLAB implementation of our method
is available as supplementary material.


title:
Gravitational waves from merging intermediate-mass black holes : II
  Event rates at ground-based detectors

abstract:
  Based on a dynamical formation model of a supermassive black hole (SMBH), we
estimate the expected observational profile of gravitational wave at
ground-based detectors, such as KAGRA or advanced LIGO/VIRGO. Noting that the
second generation of detectors have enough sensitivity from 10 Hz and up
(especially with KAGRA owing to its location at less seismic noise), we are
able to detect the ring-down gravitational wave of a BH with the mass $M <
2\times 10^3 M_\odot $. This enables us to check the sequence of BH mergers to
SMBHs via intermediate-mass BHs. We estimate the number density of galaxies
from the halo formation model and estimate the number of BH mergers from the
giant molecular cloud model assuming hierarchical growth of merged cores. At
the designed KAGRA (and/or advanced LIGO/VIRGO), we find that the BH merger of
its total mass $M\sim 60M_\odot$ is at the peak of the expected mass
distribution. With its signal-to-noise ratio $\rho=10 (30)$, we estimate the
event rate $R \sim 200 (20)$ per year in the most optimistic case, and we also
find that BH mergers in the range $M < 150 M_\odot$ are $R>1$ per year for
$\rho=10$. Thus, if we observe a BH with more than $100 M_\odot$ in future
gravitational-wave observations, our model naturally explains its source.


title: Data Source Selection for Information Integration in Big Data Era

abstract:
  In Big data era, information integration often requires abundant data
extracted from massive data sources. Due to a large number of data sources,
data source selection plays a crucial role in information integration, since it
is costly and even impossible to access all data sources. Data Source selection
should consider both efficiency and effectiveness issues. For efficiency, the
approach should achieve high performance and be scalability to fit large data
source amount. From effectiveness aspect, data quality and overlapping of
sources are to be considered, since data quality varies much from data sources,
with significant differences in the accuracy and coverage of the data provided,
and the overlapping of sources can even lower the quality of data integrated
from selected data sources.
  In this paper, we study source selection problem in \textit{Big Data Era} and
propose methods which can scale to datasets with up to millions of data sources
and guarantee the quality of results. Motivated by this, we propose a new
object function taking the expected number of true values a source can provide
as a criteria to evaluate the contribution of a data source. Based on our
proposed index we present a scalable algorithm and two pruning strategies to
improve the efficiency without sacrificing precision. Experimental results on
both real world and synthetic data sets show that our methods can select
sources providing a large proportion of true values efficiently and can scale
to massive data sources.


title:
Rogue wave and a pair of resonance stripe solitons to a reduced
  generalized (3+1)-dimensional KP equation

abstract:
  Based on the bilinear operator and symbol calculation, some lump solutions
are presented, rationally localized in all directions in the space, to a
reduced (3+1)-dimensional KP equation. The lump solutions all contain six
parameters, four of which must cater to the non-zero conditions so as to insure
the analyticity and rational localization, while the others are free. Then the
interaction between lump soliton and one stripe soliton is described and the
result shows that the lump soliton will be drowned or swallowed by the stripe
soliton. Furthermore, we extend this method to a new combination of positive
quadratic function and hyperbolic functions. Especially, it is interesting that
a rogue wave is found to be aroused by the interaction between lump soliton and
a pair of resonance stripe solitons. By choosing the values of the parameters,
the dynamic properties of lump solution, interaction between lump soliton and
one stripe soliton, rogue wave, generated by the interaction between lump
soliton and a pair of resonance solitons, are shown graphically.


title:
Solar, supernova, atmospheric and geo neutrino studies using JUNO
  detector

abstract:
  Aside from its primary purpose of shedding light on the mass hierarchy (MH)
using reactor anti-neutrinos, the JUNO experiment in Jiangmen (China) will also
contribute to study neutrinos from non-reactor sources. In this poster we
review JUNO's goals in the realms of supernova, atmospheric, solar and
geo-neutrinos; present the related experimental issues and provide the current
estimates of its potential. For a typical galactic SN at a distance of 10 kpc,
JUNO will record about 5000 events from inverse beta decay, 2000 events from
elastic neutrino-proton scattering, 300 events from neutrino-electron
scattering, and the charged current and neutral current interactions on the
${^{12}}{\rm C}$ nuclei. For atmospheric neutrinos, JUNO should be able to
detect $\nu_e$ and $\nu_\mu$ charged current events. Optimistically, a
determination of the MH could be achieved at the 1.8$\sigma$ (2.6$\sigma$)
level after 10 (20) years of data taking. JUNO will also study solar neutrinos
from ${^{7}}{\rm Be}$ and ${^{8}}{\rm B}$, at low ($\approx$1 MeV) and higher
energies respectively, to improve our understanding of the matter effects on
the oscillation mechanism and of the solar metallicity. Challenges come
primarily from the radioactive and cosmogenic backgrounds: the expected
performance for two benchmark scintillator radio-purities, are shown. The flux
of geo-neutrinos gives us an insight on the Earth composition and formation. We
will show how the increased sample size given by JUNO's large sensitive mass of
20 KTon liquid scintillator will provide data to answer to several geological
questions among which the U/Th ratio and mantle measurements.

categories: hep-ex astro-ph.HE hep-ph physics.ins-det


title:
Remarks on Local Boundedness and Local H\"older Continuity of Local Weak
  Solutions to Anisotropic $p$-Laplacian Type Equations

abstract:
  Locally bounded, local weak solutions to a special class of quasilinear,
anisotropic, $p$-Laplacian type elliptic equations, are shown to be locally
H\"older continuous. Homogeneous local upper bounds are established for local
weak solutions to a general class of quasilinear anisotropic equations.


title: Nodal lines and nodal loops in non-symmorphic odd-parity superconductors

abstract:
  We discuss the nodal structure of odd-parity superconductors in the presence
of non-symmorphic crystal symmetries, both with and without spin-orbit
coupling, and with and without time reversal symmetry. We comment on the
relation of our work to previous work in the literature, and also the
implications for unconventional superconductors such as UPt$_3$.


title: Serious Games for Cyber Security Education

abstract:
  Phishing is an online identity theft that aims to steal sensitive information
such as username, passwords and online banking details from its victims.
Phishing education needs to be considered as a means to combat this threat.
This book focuses on a design and development of a mobile game prototype as an
educational tool helping computer users to protect themselves against phishing
attacks. The elements of a game design framework for avoiding phishing attacks
were used to address the game design issues. The mobile game design aimed to
enhance the user's avoidance behaviour through motivation to protect themselves
against phishing threats. A think-aloud study was conducted, along with a pre-
and post-test, to assess the game design framework through the developed mobile
game prototype. The study results showed a significant improvement of
participants' phishing avoidance behaviour in their post-test assessment.
Furthermore, the study findings suggest that participants' threat perception,
safeguard effectiveness, self-efficacy, perceived severity and perceived
susceptibility elements positively impact threat avoidance behaviour, whereas
safeguard cost had a negative impact on it.