title:
Site-Specific Colloidal Crystal Nucleation by Template-enhanced Particle
  Transport

abstract:
  The monomer surface mobility is the single most important parameter that
decides the nucleation density and morphology of islands during thin film
growth. During template-assisted surface growth in particular, low surface
mobilities can prevent monomers from reaching target sites and this results in
a partial to complete loss of nucleation control. While in atomic systems a
broad range of surface mobilities can be readily accessed, for colloids, owing
to their large size, this window is substantially narrow and therefore imposes
severe restrictions in extending template-assisted growth techniques to steer
their self-assembly. Here, we circumvented this fundamental limitation by
designing templates with spatially varying feature sizes, in this case moire
patterns, which in the presence of short-range depletion attraction presented
surface energy gradients for the diffusing colloids. The templates serve a dual
purpose, first, directing the particles to target sites by enhancing their
surface mean free paths and second, dictating the size and symmetry of the
growing crystallites. Using optical microscopy, we directly followed the
nucleation and growth kinetics of colloidal islands on these surfaces at the
single-particle level. We demonstrate nucleation control, with high fidelity,
in a regime that has remained unaccessed in theoretical, numerical and
experimental studies on atoms and molecules as well. Our findings pave the way
for fabricating non-trivial surface architectures composed of complex colloids
and nanoparticles.


title: Quantum field theories of extended objects

abstract:
  First steps are taken in a project to construct a general class of conformal
and perhaps, eventually, non-conformal quantum field theories of
(n-1)-dimensional extended objects in a d=2n dimensional conformal space-time
manifold M. The fields live on the spaces E of relative integral (n-1)-cycles
in M -- the integral (n-1)-currents of given boundary. Each E is a complete
metric space geometrically analogous to a Riemann surface $\Sigma$. For
example, if $M=S^d$, $\Sigma = S^2$. The quantum fields on E are to be mapped
to observables in a 2d CFT on $\Sigma$. The correlation functions on E are to
be given by the 2d correlation functions on $\Sigma$. The goal is to construct
a CFT of extended objects in d=2n dimensions for every 2d CFT, and eventually a
non-conformal QFT of extended objects for every non-conformal 2d QFT, so that
all the technology of 2d QFT can be applied to the construction and analysis of
quantum field theories of extended objects. The project depends crucially on
settling some mathematical questions about analysis in the spaces E. The
project also depends on extending the observables of 2d CFT from the finite
sets of points in a Riemann surface to the integral 0-currents.


title: The LASSO Estimator: Distributional Properties

abstract:
  The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) is a popular
technique for simultaneous estimation and model selection. There have been a
lot of studies on the large sample asymptotic distributional properties of the
LASSO estimator, but it is also well-known that the asymptotic results can give
a wrong picture of the LASSO estimator's actual finite-sample behavior. The
finite sample distribution of the LASSO estimator has been previously studied
for the special case of orthogonal models. The aim in this work is to
generalize the finite sample distribution properties of LASSO estimator for a
real and linear measurement model in Gaussian noise.
  In this work, we derive an expression for the finite sample characteristic
function of the LASSO estimator, we then use the Fourier slice theorem to
obtain an approximate expression for the marginal probability density functions
of the one-dimensional components of a linear transformation of the LASSO
estimator.


title: Mean-Field-Type Games in Engineering

abstract:
  A mean-field-type game is a game in which the instantaneous payoffs and/or
the state dynamics functions involve not only the state and the action profile
but also the joint distributions of state-action pairs. This article presents
some engineering applications of mean-field-type games including road traffic
networks, multi-level building evacuation, millimeter wave wireless
communications, distributed power networks, virus spread over networks, virtual
machine resource management in cloud networks, synchronization of oscillators,
energy-efficient buildings, online meeting and mobile crowdsensing.


title: Capacity of Three-Dimensional Erasure Networks

abstract:
  In this paper, we introduce a large-scale three-dimensional (3D) erasure
network, where $n$ wireless nodes are randomly distributed in a cuboid of
$n^{\lambda}\times n^{\mu}\times n^{\nu}$ with $\lambda+\mu+\nu=1$ for
$\lambda,\mu,\nu>0$, and completely characterize its capacity scaling laws. Two
fundamental path-loss attenuation models (i.e., exponential and polynomial
power-law models) are used to suitably model an erasure probability for packet
transmission. Then, under the two erasure models, we introduce a routing
protocol using percolation highway in 3D space, and then analyze its achievable
throughput scaling laws. It is shown that, under the two erasure models, the
aggregate throughput scaling $n^{\min\{1-\lambda,1-\mu,1-\nu\}}$ can be
achieved in the 3D erasure network. This implies that the aggregate throughput
scaling $n^{2/3}$ can be achieved in 3D cubic erasure networks while $\sqrt{n}$
can be achieved in two-dimensional (2D) square erasure networks. The gain comes
from the fact that, compared to 2D space, more geographic diversity can be
exploited via 3D space, which means that generating more simultaneous
percolation highways is possible. In addition, cut-set upper bounds on the
capacity scaling are derived to verify that the achievable scheme based on the
3D percolation highway is order-optimal within a polylogarithmic factor under
certain practical operating regimes on the decay parameters.


title:
Implementation of the open source virtualization technologies in cloud
  computing

abstract:
  The Virtualization and Cloud Computing is a recent buzzword in the digital
world. Cloud computing provide IT as a service to the users on demand basis.
This service has greater flexibility, availability, reliability and scalability
with utility computing model. This new concept of computing has an immense
potential in it to be used in the field of e-governance and in the overall IT
development perspective in developing countries like Bangladesh.


title: Machine Comprehension Based on Learning to Rank

abstract:
  Machine comprehension plays an essential role in NLP and has been widely
explored with dataset like MCTest. However, this dataset is too simple and too
small for learning true reasoning abilities. \cite{hermann2015teaching}
therefore release a large scale news article dataset and propose a deep LSTM
reader system for machine comprehension. However, the training process is
expensive. We therefore try feature-engineered approach with semantics on the
new dataset to see how traditional machine learning technique and semantics can
help with machine comprehension. Meanwhile, our proposed L2R reader system
achieves good performance with efficiency and less training data.


title:
Carrier mediated reduction of stiffness in nanoindented crystalline
  Si(100)

abstract:
  We report the observation of carrier mediated decrease in the stiffness of
crystalline (c)-Si(100) under nanoindentation. The apparent elastic modulii of
heavily dopes (1E21 cm-3) p- and n-type c-Si are observed to be lower by 5.-7.5
percent that the estimated value for intrinsic (1E14 cm-3) c-Si. The deviation
observed with respect to elastic modulus remarkably matches with the estimated
value while considering the electronic elastic strain effect on carrier
concentration as an influence of negative pressure coefficient of band gap for
Si. The value is predominantly higher than the reported value of a decrease of
1-3 percent in stiffness as an effect of impurity in c-Si.


title: Multicores-periphery structure in networks

abstract:
  Many real-world networks exhibit a multicores-periphery structure, with
densely connected vertices in multiple cores surrounded by a general periphery
of sparsely connected vertices. Identification of the multicores-periphery
structure can provide a new lens to understand the structures and functions of
various real-world networks. This paper defines the multicores-periphery
structure and introduces an algorithm to identify the optimal partition of
multiple cores and the periphery in general networks. We demonstrate the
performance of our algorithm by applying it to a well-known social network and
a patent technology network, which are best characterized by the
multicores-periphery structure. The analyses also reveal the differences
between our multicores-periphery detection algorithm and two state-of-the-art
algorithms for detecting the single core-periphery structure and community
structure.


title:
A search for the radiative neutrinoless double electron capture of
  $^{58}$Ni

abstract:
  A search for the radiative neutrinoless double electron capture with single
\gray\ emission has been performed in $^{58}$Ni. Gamma radiation from a 7286 g
nickel sample in natural isotope composition was measured for 58.3 d with an
ultra low background HPGe detector in the Felsenkeller underground laboratory
in Dresden, Germany. A new lower half-life limit of $2.1 \times 10^{21}$ yr
(90% CL) was obtained for this decay mode. This half-life limit is two orders
of magnitude higher than the existing limit for $^{58}$Ni and among the best
half-life limits for neutrinoless double electron capture decays.


title: Path-integral action of a particle in the noncommutative phase-space

abstract:
  In this paper we construct a path integral formulation of quantum mechanics
on noncommutative phase-space. We first map the system to an equivalent system
on the noncommutative plane. Then by applying the formalism of representing a
quantum system in the space of Hilbert-Schmidt operators acting on
noncommutative configuration space, the path integral action of a particle is
derived. It is observed that the action has a similar form to that of a
particle in a magnetic field in the noncommutative plane. From this action the
energy spectrum is obtained for the free particle and the harmonic oscillator
potential. We also show that the nonlocal nature (in time) of the action yields
a second class constrained system from which the noncommutative Heisenberg
algebra can be recovered.


title: A variational approach to stochastic minimization of convex functionals

abstract:
  Stochastic methods for minimizing a convex integral functional, as initiated
by Robbins and Monro in the early 1950s, rely on the evaluation of a gradient
(or subgradient if the function is not smooth) and moving in the corresponding
direction. In contrast, we use a variational technique resulting in an implicit
stochastic minimization method, which has recently appeared in several diverse
contexts. Such an approach is desirable whenever the underlying space does not
have a differentiable structure and moreover it exhibits better stability
properties which makes it preferable even in linear spaces. Our results are
formulated in locally compact Hadamard spaces, but they are new even in
Euclidean space, the main novelty being more general growth conditions on the
functional. We verify that the assumptions of our convergence theorem are
satisfied in a few classical minimization problems.


title:
Physically Unclonable Function using Initial Waveform of Ring
  Oscillators

abstract:
  A silicon physically unclonable function (PUF) is considered to be one of the
key security system solutions for local devices in an era in which the internet
is pervasive. Among many proposals, a PUF using ring oscillators (RO-PUF) has
the advantage of easy application to FPGA. In the conventional RO-PUF,
frequency difference between two ROs is used as one bit of ID. Thus, in order
to obtain an ID of long bit length, the corresponding number of RO pairs are
required and consequently power consumption is large, leading to difficulty in
implementing RO-PUF in local devices. Here, we provide a RO-PUF using the
initial waveform of the ROs. Because a waveform constitutes a part of the ID,
the number of ROs is greatly reduced and the time needed to generate the ID is
finished in a couple of system clocks. We also propose a solution to a change
of PUF performance attributable to temperature or voltage change.


title:
Nonpolar p-GaN/n-Si heterojunction diode characteristics: A comparison
  between ensemble and single nanowire devices

abstract:
  The electrical and photodiode characteristics of ensemble and single p-GaN
nanowire and n-Si heterojunction devices were studied. Ideality factor of the
single nanowire p-GaN/n-Si device was found to be about three times lower
compared to that of the ensemble nanowire device. Apart from the deep-level
traps in p-GaN nanowires, defect states due to inhomogeneity in Mg dopants in
the ensemble nanowire device are attributed to the origin of high ideality
factor. Photovoltaic mode of ensemble nanowire device showed an improvement in
the fill-factors up to 60 percent over the single nanowire device with
fill-factors up to 30 percent. Reponsivity of the single nanowire device in
photoconducting mode was found to be enhanced by five orders, at 470 nm. The
enhanced photoresponse of the single nanowire device also confirms the
photoconduction due to defect states in p-GaN nanowires.


title: The Laguerre finite difference one-way equation solver

abstract:
  This paper presents a new finite difference algorithm for solving the 2D
one-way wave equation with a preliminary approximation of a pseudo-differential
operator by a system of partial differential equations. As opposed to the
existing approaches, the integral Laguerre transform instead of Fourier
transform is used. After carrying out the approximation of spatial variables it
is possible to obtain systems of linear algebraic equations with better
computing properties and to reduce computer costs for their solution. High
accuracy of calculations is attained at the expense of employing finite
difference approximations of higher accuracy order that are based on the
dispersion-relationship-preserving method and the Richardson extrapolation in
the downward continuation direction. The numerical experiments have verified
that as compared to the spectral difference method based on Fourier transform,
the new algorithm allows one to calculate wave fields with a higher degree of
accuracy and a lower level of numerical noise and artifacts including those for
non-smooth velocity models. In the context of solving the geophysical problem
the post-stack migration for velocity models of the types Syncline and
Sigsbee2A has been carried out. It is shown that the images obtained contain
lesser noise and are considerably better focused as compared to those obtained
by the known Fourier Finite Difference and Phase-Shift Plus Interpolation
methods. There is an opinion that purely finite difference approaches do not
allow carrying out the seismic migration procedure with sufficient accuracy,
however the results obtained disprove this statement. For the supercomputer
implementation it is proposed to use the parallel dichotomy algorithm when
solving systems of linear algebraic equations with block-tridiagonal matrices.


title:
Localized Charge Transfer Process and Surface Band Bending in Methane
  Sensing by GaN Nanowires

abstract:
  The physicochemical processes at the surfaces of semiconductor nanostructures
involved in electrochemical and sensing devices are strongly influenced by the
presence of intrinsic or extrinsic defects. To reveal the surface controlled
sensing mechanism, intentional lattice oxygen defects are created on the
surfaces of GaN nanowires for the elucidation of charge transfer process in
methane (CH4) sensing. Experimental and simulation results of electron energy
loss spectroscopy (EELS) studies on oxygen rich GaN nanowires confirmed the
possible presence of 2(ON) and VGa-3ON defect complexes. A global resistive
response for sensor devices of ensemble nanowires and a localized charge
transfer process in single GaN nanowires are studied in situ scanning by Kelvin
probe microscopy (SKPM). A localized charge transfer process, involving the
VGa-3ON defect complex on nanowire surface is attributed in controlling the
global gas sensing behavior of the oxygen rich ensemble GaN nanowires.


title:
Better lower bounds for missing species: improved non-parametric
  moment-based estimation for large experiments

abstract:
  Estimation of the number of species or unobserved classes from a random
sample of the underlying population is a ubiquitous problem in statistics. In
classical settings, the size of the sample is usually small. New technologies
such as high-throughput DNA sequencing have allowed for the sampling of
extremely large and heterogeneous populations at scales not previously
attainable or even considered. New algorithms are required that take advantage
of the size of the data to account for heterogeneity, but are also sufficiently
fast and scale well with large data. We present a non-parametric moment-based
estimator that is both computationally efficient and is sufficiently flexible
to account for heterogeneity in the abundances of underlying population. This
estimator is based on an extension of a popular moment-based lower bound (Chao,
1984), originally developed by Harris (1959) but unattainable due to the lack
of economical algorithms to solve the system of nonlinear equation required for
estimation. We apply results from the classical moment problem to show that
solutions can be obtained efficiently, allowing for estimators that are
simultaneously conservative and use more information. This is critical for
modern genomic applications, where there may be many large experiments that
require the application of species estimation. We present applications of our
estimator to estimating T-Cell receptor repertoire and dropout in single cell
RNA-seq experiments.


title:
Localized tip enhanced Raman spectroscopic study of impurity
  incorporated single GaN nanowire in the sub-diffraction limit

abstract:
  The localized effect of impurities in single GaN nanowires in the
sub-diffraction limit is reported using the study of lattice vibrational modes
in the evanescent field of Au nanoparticle assisted tip enhanced Raman
spectroscopy (TERS). GaN nanowires with the O impurity and the Mg dopants were
grown by the chemical vapor deposition technique in the catalyst assisted
vapor-liquid-solid process. Symmetry allowed Raman modes of wurtzite GaN are
observed for undoped and doped nanowires. Unusually very strong intensity of
the non-zone center zone boundary mode is observed for the TERS studies of both
the undoped and the Mg doped GaN single nanowires. Surface optical mode of A1
symmetry is also observed for both the undoped and the Mg doped GaN samples. A
strong coupling of longitudinal optical (LO) phonons with free electrons,
however is reported only in the O rich single nanowires with the asymmetric
A1(LO) mode. Study of the local vibration mode shows the presence of Mg as
dopant in the single GaN nanowires.


title: Introduction to graded bundles

abstract:
  We review the concept of a graded bundle as a natural generalisation of a
vector bundle. Such geometries are particularly nice examples of more general
graded manifolds. With hindsight there are many examples of graded bundles that
appear in the existing literature. We start with a discussion of graded spaces,
passing through graded bundles and their linearisation to end with weighted
(graded) Lie groupoids/algebroids.


title:
Goldilocks Models of Higher-Dimensional Inflation (including modulus
  stabilization)

abstract:
  We explore the mechanics of inflation in simplified extra-dimensional models
involving an inflaton interacting with the Einstein-Maxwell system in two extra
dimensions. The models are Goldilocks-like in that they are just complicated
enough to include a mechanism to stabilize the extra-dimensional size, yet
simple enough to solve the full 6D field equations using basic tools. The
solutions are not limited to the effective 4D regime with H << m_KK (the latter
referring to the mass splitting of the Kaluza-Klein excitations) because the
full 6D Einstein equations are solved. This allows an exploration of
inflationary physics in a controlled regime away from the usual 4D lamp-post.
The inclusion of modulus stabilization is important as experience with string
models teaches that this is usually what makes models fail: stabilization
energies dominate the shallow potentials required by slow roll and open up
directions to evolve that are steeper than those of the putative inflationary
direction. We explore three representative inflationary scenarios within this
simple setup. In one the radion is trapped in an inflaton-dependent local
minimum whose non-zero energy drives inflation. Inflation ends as this energy
relaxes to zero when the inflaton finds its minimum. The others involve
power-law solutions during inflation. One is an attractor whose features are
relatively insensitive to initial conditions but whose slow-roll parameters
cannot be arbitrarily small; the other is not an attractor but can roll much
more slowly, until eventually decaying to the attractor. These solutions can
satisfy H > m_KK, but when they do standard 4D fluctuation calculations need
not apply. When in a 4D regime the solutions predict eta ~ 0 hence r ~ 0.11
when n_s ~ 0.96 and so are ruled out if tensor modes remain unseen. Analysis of
general parameters is difficult without a full 6D fluctuation calculation.


title:
All-optical production and transport of a large $^6$Li quantum gas in a
  crossed optical dipole trap

abstract:
  We report on an efficient production scheme for a large quantum degenerate
sample of fermionic lithium. The approach is based on our previous work on
narrow-line $ 2S_{1/2}\rightarrow 3P_{3/2} $ laser cooling resulting in a high
phase-space density of up to $3\times10^{-4}$. This allows utilizing a large
volume crossed optical dipole trap with a total power of $45\,\textrm{W}$,
leading to high loading efficiency and $8\times10^6$ trapped atoms. The same
optical trapping configuration is used for rapid adiabatic transport over a
distance of $25\,\textrm{cm}$ in $0.9\,\textrm{s}$, and subsequent evaporative
cooling. With optimized evaporation we achieve a degenerate Fermi gas with
$1.7\times 10^{6}$ atoms at a temperature of $60 \, \textrm{nK}$, corresponding
to $T/T_{\text{F}}=0.16\left(2 \right)$. Furthermore, the performance is
demonstrated by evaporation near a broad Feshbach resonance creating a
molecular Bose-Einstein condensate of $3\times10^5$ lithium dimers.


title:
The Southern Hemisphere Hunt for Dark Matter at the Stawell Underground
  Physics Laboratory

abstract:
  I report on the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL), a new facility
to be built in 2016, located 1 km below the surface in western Victoria,
Australia. I will discuss the status of the proposed SABRE experiment, which
will be comprised of a pair of high purity 50-60 kg NaI crystal detectors with
active veto shielding to be located in labs in the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres respectively. I also discuss projects beyond SABRE, including
directional dark matter detectors, which will be used to determine the origin
of any true dark matter signals.


title:
Measurement of the charged pion mass using X-ray spectroscopy of exotic
  atoms

abstract:
  The $5g-4f$ transitions in pionic nitrogen and muonic oxygen were measured
simultaneously by using a gaseous nitrogen-oxygen mixture at 1.4\,bar. Due to
the precise knowledge of the muon mass the muonic line provides the energy
calibration for the pionic transition. A value of
(139.57077\,$\pm$\,0.00018)\,MeV/c$^{2}$ ($\pm$\,1.3ppm) is derived for the
mass of the negatively charged pion, which is 4.2ppm larger than the present
world average.


title: Le cam theory on the comparison of statistical models

abstract:
  We recall the main concepts of the Le Cam theory of statistical experiments ,
especially the notion of Le Cam distance and its properties. We also review
classical tools for bounding such a distance before presenting some examples. A
proof of the classical equivalence result between density estimation problems
and Gaussian white noise models will be analyzed.


title: Gender gap and polarisation of physics on global courses

abstract:
  We extend on previous research on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) given to
first year classical mechanics students (N=66 students, over four years) pre
and post score, for students on an international (global) course at Osaka
University. In particular, we revisit the notion of "polarisation" in
connection with the six polarisation-inducing questions in the FCI and examine
its gender aspect. Our data suggest that this phenomenon is not unique to one
gender. Furthermore, the extent by which it is exhibited by males may differ
from that of females at the beginning (pretest) but the gap closes upon
learning more about forces (posttest). These findings are for the most part,
complemented by our result for the FCI as a whole. Although the differences in
means for males and females suggest a gender gap, statistical analysis shows
that there is no gender difference at the 95% confidence level.


title:
Retrieving the ground state of spin glasses using thermal noise:
  Performance of quantum annealing at finite temperatures

abstract:
  We study the problem to infer the ground state of a spin-glass Hamiltonian
using data from another Hamiltonian with interactions disturbed by noise from
the original Hamiltonian, motivated by the ground-state inference in quantum
annealing on a noisy device. It is shown that the average Hamming distance
between the inferred spin configuration and the true ground state is minimized
when the temperature of the noisy system is kept at a finite value, and not at
zero temperature. We present a spin-glass generalization of a well-established
result that the ground state of a purely ferromagnetic Hamiltonian is best
inferred at a finite temperature in the sense of smallest Hamming distance when
the original ferromagnetic interactions are disturbed by noise. We use the
numerical transfer-matrix method to establish the existence of an optimal
finite temperature in one- and two-dimensional systems. Our numerical results
are supported by mean-field calculations, which give an explicit expression of
the optimal temperature to infer the spin-glass ground state as a function of
variances of the distributions of the original interactions and the noise. The
mean-field prediction is in qualitative agreement with numerical data.
Implications on postprocessing of quantum annealing on a noisy device are
discussed.


title:
Significant enhancement of ${\rm H_2}$ formation in disk galaxies under
  strong ram pressure

abstract:
  We show, for the first time, that ${\rm H_2}$ formation on dust grains can be
enhanced in disk galaxies under strong ram-pressure (RP). We numerically
investigate how the time evolution, of ${\rm H}$ {\sc i} and ${\rm H_2}$
components in disk galaxies orbiting a group/cluster of galaxies, can be
influenced by hydrodynamical interaction between the gaseous components of the
galaxies and the hot intra-cluster medium (ICM). We find that compression of
${\rm H}$ {\sc i} caused by RP increases ${\rm H_2}$ formation in disk
galaxies, before RP rapidly strips ${\rm H}$ {\sc i}, cutting off the fuel
supply and causing a drop in ${\rm H_2}$ density. We also find that the level
of this ${\rm H_2}$ formation enhancement in a disk galaxy under RP depends on
the mass of its host cluster dark matter (DM) halo, initial positions and
velocities of the disk galaxy, and disk inclination angle with respect to the
orbital plane. We demonstrate that dust growth is a key factor in the evolution
of the ${\rm H}$ {\sc i} and ${\rm H_2}$ mass in disk galaxies under strong RP.
We discuss how the correlation between ${\rm H_2}$ fractions and surface gas
densities of disk galaxies evolves with time in the galaxies under RP. We also
discuss whether or not galaxy-wide star formation rates (SFRs) in cluster disk
galaxies can be enhanced by RP if the SFRs depend on ${\rm H_2}$ densities.


title:
Polarized Raman and photoluminescence studies of a sub-micron sized
  hexagonal AlGaN crystallite for structural and optical properties

abstract:
  The polarized Raman spectroscopy is capable of giving confirmation regarding
the crystalline phase as well as the crystallographic orientation of the
sample. In this context, apart from crystallographic x-ray and electron
diffraction tools, polarized Raman spectroscopy and corresponding spectral
imaging can be a promising crystallographic tool for determining both
crystalline phase and orientation. Sub-micron sized hexagonal AlGaN
crystallites are grown by a simple atmospheric pressure chemical vapor
deposition technique using the self catalytic vapor-solid process under N-rich
condition. The crystallites are used for the polarized Raman spectra in
different crystalline orientations along with spectral imaging studies. The
results obtained from the polarized Raman spectral studies shows single
crystalline nature of sub-micron sized hexagonal AlGaN crystallites. Optical
properties of the crystallites for different crystalline orientations are also
studied using polarized photoluminescence measurements. The influence of
internal crystal field to the photoluminescence spectra is proposed to explain
the distinctive observation of splitting of emission intensity reported, for
the first time, in case of c-plane oriented single crystalline AlGaN
crystallite as compared to that of m-plane oriented crystallite.


title: High dimensional thresholded regression and shrinkage effect

abstract:
  High-dimensional sparse modeling via regularization provides a powerful tool
for analyzing large-scale data sets and obtaining meaningful, interpretable
models. The use of nonconvex penalty functions shows advantage in selecting
important features in high dimensions, but the global optimality of such
methods still demands more understanding. In this paper, we consider sparse
regression with hard-thresholding penalty, which we show to give rise to
thresholded regression. This approach is motivated by its close connection with
the $L_0$-regularization, which can be unrealistic to implement in practice but
of appealing sampling properties, and its computational advantage. Under some
mild regularity conditions allowing possibly exponentially growing
dimensionality, we establish the oracle inequalities of the resulting
regularized estimator, as the global minimizer, under various prediction and
variable selection losses, as well as the oracle risk inequalities of the
hard-thresholded estimator followed by a further $L_2$-regularization. The risk
properties exhibit interesting shrinkage effects under both estimation and
prediction losses. We identify the optimal choice of the ridge parameter, which
is shown to have simultaneous advantages to both the $L_2$-loss and prediction
loss. These new results and phenomena are evidenced by simulation and real data
examples.


title:
Electromagnetic properties of a double layer graphene system with
  electron-hole pairing

abstract:
  We study electromagnetic properties of a double layer graphene system in
which electrons from one layer are coupled with holes from the other layer. The
gauge invariant linear response functions are obtained. The frequency
dependences of the transmission, reflection and absorption coefficients are
computed. We predict a peak in the reflection and absorption at the frequency
equals to the gap in the quasiparticle spectrum. It is shown that the
electron-hole pairing results in an essential modification of the spectrum of
surface TM plasmons. We find that the optical TM mode splits into a low
frequency undamped branch and a high frequency damped branch. At zero
temperature the lower branch disappears. It is established that the pairing
does not influence the acoustic TM mode. It is also shown that the pairing
opens the frequency window in the subgap range for the surface TE wave.


title: Electrochemical supercapacitor performance of SnO2 quantum dots

abstract:
  Metal oxide nanostructures are widely used in energy applications like super
capacitors and Li-on battery. Smaller size nanocrystals show better stability,
low ion diffusion time, higher-ion flux and low pulverization than bigger size
nanocrystals during electrochemical operation. Studying the distinct properties
of smaller size nanocrystals such as quantum dots (QDs) can improve the
understanding on reasons behind the better performance and it will also help in
using QDs or smaller size nanoparticles (NPs) more efficiently in different
applications. Aqua stable pure SnO2 QDs with compositional stability and high
surface to volume ratio are studied as an electrochemical super capacitor
material and compared with bigger size NPs of size 25 nm. Electron energy-loss
spectroscopic study of the QDs revealed dominant role of surface over the bulk.
Temperature dependent study of low frequency Raman mode and defect Raman mode
of QDs indicated no apparent volume change in the SnO2 QDs within the
temperature range of 80-300 K. The specific capacitance of these high surface
area and stable SnO2 QDs has showed only 9% loss while increasing the scan rate
from 20 mV/S to 500 mV/S. Capacitance loss for the QDs is less than 2% after
1000 cycles of charging discharging, whereas for the 25 nm SnO2 NPs, the
capacitance loss is 8% after 1000 cycles. Availability of excess open volume in
QDs leading to no change in volume during the electro-chemical operation and
good aqua stability is attributed to the better performance of QDs over bigger
sized NPs.


title: Approximation of plurifinely plurisubharmonic functions

abstract:
  In this paper, we study the approximation of negative plurifinely
plurisubharmonic function defined on a plurifinely domain by an increasing
sequence of plurisubharmonic functions defined in Euclidean domains.


title:
Asymptotic equivalence of regularization methods in thresholded
  parameter space

abstract:
  High-dimensional data analysis has motivated a spectrum of regularization
methods for variable selection and sparse modeling, with two popular classes of
convex ones and concave ones. A long debate has been on whether one class
dominates the other, an important question both in theory and to practitioners.
In this paper, we characterize the asymptotic equivalence of regularization
methods, with general penalty functions, in a thresholded parameter space under
the generalized linear model setting, where the dimensionality can grow up to
exponentially with the sample size. To assess their performance, we establish
the oracle inequalities, as in Bickel, Ritov and Tsybakov (2009), of the global
minimizer for these methods under various prediction and variable selection
losses. These results reveal an interesting phase transition phenomenon. For
polynomially growing dimensionality, the $L_1$-regularization method of Lasso
and concave methods are asymptotically equivalent, having the same convergence
rates in the oracle inequalities. For exponentially growing dimensionality,
concave methods are asymptotically equivalent but have faster convergence rates
than the Lasso. We also establish a stronger property of the oracle risk
inequalities of the regularization methods, as well as the sampling properties
of computable solutions. Our new theoretical results are illustrated and
justified by simulation and real data examples.


title: The constrained Dantzig selector with enhanced consistency

abstract:
  The Dantzig selector has received popularity for many applications such as
compressed sensing and sparse modeling, thanks to its computational efficiency
as a linear programming problem and its nice sampling properties. Existing
results show that it can recover sparse signals mimicking the accuracy of the
ideal procedure, up to a logarithmic factor of the dimensionality. Such a
factor has been shown to hold for many regularization methods. An important
question is whether this factor can be reduced to a logarithmic factor of the
sample size in ultra-high dimensions under mild regularity conditions. To
provide an affirmative answer, in this paper we suggest the constrained Dantzig
selector, which has more flexible constraints and parameter space. We prove
that the suggested method can achieve convergence rates within a logarithmic
factor of the sample size of the oracle rates and improved sparsity, under a
fairly weak assumption on the signal strength. Such improvement is significant
in ultra-high dimensions. This method can be implemented efficiently through
sequential linear programming. Numerical studies confirm that the sample size
needed for a certain level of accuracy in these problems can be much reduced.


title: Gravitational collapse of Hagedorn fluids

abstract:
  We consider a toy model for relativistic collapse of an homogeneous perfect
fluid that takes into account an equation of state for high density matter, in
the form of an Hagedorn phase, and semiclassical corrections in the strong
field. We show that collapse reaches a critical minimum size and then bounces.
We discuss the conditions for collapse to halt and form a compact object. We
argue that implications of models such as the one presented here are of great
importance for astrophysics as they show that black holes may not be the only
final outcome of collapse of very massive stars.


title:
Innovated scalable efficient estimation in ultra-large Gaussian
  graphical models

abstract:
  Large-scale precision matrix estimation is of fundamental importance yet
challenging in many contemporary applications for recovering Gaussian graphical
models. In this paper, we suggest a new approach of innovated scalable
efficient estimation (ISEE) for estimating large precision matrix. Motivated by
the innovated transformation, we convert the original problem into that of
large covariance matrix estimation. The suggested method combines the strengths
of recent advances in high-dimensional sparse modeling and large covariance
matrix estimation. Compared to existing approaches, our method is scalable and
can deal with much larger precision matrices with simple tuning. Under mild
regularity conditions, we establish that this procedure can recover the
underlying graphical structure with significant probability and provide
efficient estimation of link strengths. Both computational and theoretical
advantages of the procedure are evidenced through simulation and real data
examples.


title: Two-dimensional RCFT's without Kac-Moody symmetry

abstract:
  Using the method of modular-invariant differential equations, we classify a
family of Rational Conformal Field Theories with two and three characters
having no Kac-Moody algebra. In addition to unitary and non-unitary minimal
models, we find "dual" theories whose characters obey bilinear relations with
those of the minimal models to give the Moonshine Module. In some ways this
relation is analogous to cosets of meromorphic CFT's. The theory dual in this
sense to the Ising model has central charge 47/2 and is related to the Baby
Monster Module.


title:
Interaction pursuit in high-dimensional multi-response regression via
  distance correlation

abstract:
  Feature interactions can contribute to a large proportion of variation in
many prediction models. In the era of big data, the coexistence of high
dimensionality in both responses and covariates poses unprecedented challenges
in identifying important interactions. In this paper, we suggest a two-stage
interaction identification method, called the interaction pursuit via distance
correlation (IPDC), in the setting of high-dimensional multi-response
interaction models that exploits feature screening applied to transformed
variables with distance correlation followed by feature selection. Such a
procedure is computationally efficient, generally applicable beyond the
heredity assumption, and effective even when the number of responses diverges
with the sample size. Under mild regularity conditions, we show that this
method enjoys nice theoretical properties including the sure screening
property, support union recovery, and oracle inequalities in prediction and
estimation for both interactions and main effects. The advantages of our method
are supported by several simulation studies and real data analysis.


title:
Decentralized Hypothesis Testing in Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor
  Networks

abstract:
  We consider the problem of decentralized hypothesis testing in a network of
energy harvesting sensors, where sensors make noisy observations of a
phenomenon and send quantized information about the phenomenon towards a fusion
center. The fusion center makes a decision about the present hypothesis using
the aggregate received data during a time interval. We explicitly consider a
scenario under which the messages are sent through parallel access channels
towards the fusion center. To avoid limited lifetime issues, we assume each
sensor is capable of harvesting all the energy it needs for the communication
from the environment. Each sensor has an energy buffer (battery) to save its
harvested energy for use in other time intervals. Our key contribution is to
formulate the problem of decentralized detection in a sensor network with
energy harvesting devices. Our analysis is based on a queuing-theoretic model
for the battery and we propose a sensor decision design method by considering
long term energy management at the sensors. We show how the performance of the
system changes for different battery capacities. We then numerically show how
our findings can be used in the design of sensor networks with energy
harvesting sensors.


title:
High-pressure behavior of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) hybrid
  perovskite

abstract:
  In this paper we provide an accurate high-pressure structural and optical
study of MAPbI3 hybrid perovskite. Structural data show the presence of a phase
transition towards an orthorhombic structure around 0.3 GPa followed by full
amorphization of the system above 3 GPa. After releasing pressure the systems
keeps the high-pressure orthorhombic phase. The occurrence of these structural
transitions is further confirmed by pressure induced variations of the
photoluminescence signal at high pressure. These variations clearly indicate
that the bandgap value and the electronic structure of MAPI change across the
phase transition.


title:
Transition-metal dichalcogenide heterostructure solar cells: A numerical
  study

abstract:
  We evaluate the tunneling short-circuit current density $J_{TU}$ in a
$p$-$i$-$n$ solar cell in which the transition metal dichalcogenide
heterostructure (MoS$_2$/WS$_2$ superlattice) is embedded in the intrinsic $i$
region. The effects of varying well and barrier widths, Fermi energy levels and
number of quantum wells in the $i$ region on $J_{TU}$ are examined. A similar
analysis is performed for the thermionic current $J_{TH}$ that arises due to
the escape and recapture of charge carriers between adjacent potential wells in
the $i$-region. The interplay between $J_{TU}$ and $J_{TH}$ in the temperature
range (300 K - 330 K) is examined. The thermionic current is seen to exceed the
tunneling current considerably at temperatures beyond 310 K, a desirable
attribute in heterostructure solar cells. This work demonstrates the
versatility of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides when utilized as
fabrication materials for van der Waals heterostructure solar cells.


title: On cardinalities of $k$-abelian equivalence classes

abstract:
  Two words $u$ and $v$ are $k$-abelian equivalent if, for each word $x$ of
length at most $k$, $x$ occurs equally many times as a factor in both $u$ and
$v$. The notion of $k$-abelian equivalence is an intermediate notion between
the abelian equivalence and the equality of words. In this paper, we study the
equivalence classes induced by the $k$-abelian equivalence, mainly focusing on
the cardinalities of the classes. In particular, we are interested in the
number of singleton $k$-abelian classes, i.e., classes containing only one
element. We find a connection between the singleton classes and cycle
decompositions of the de Bruijn graph. We show that the number of classes of
words of length $n$ containing one single element is of order $\mathcal
O(n^{N_m(k-1)-1})$, where $N_m(l) = \tfrac{1}{l}\sum_{d\mid l}
\varphi(d)m^{l/d}$ is the number of necklaces of length $l$ over an $m$-ary
alphabet. We conjecture that the upper bound is sharp. We also remark that, for
$k$ even and $m = 2$, the lower bound $\Omega(n^{N_m(k-1)-1})$ follows from an
old conjecture on the existence of Gray codes for necklaces of odd length. We
verify this conjecture for necklaces of length up to 15.


title: Magnetic reconnection between a solar filament and nearby coronal loops

abstract:
  Magnetic reconnection, the rearrangement of magnetic field topology, is a
fundamental physical process in magnetized plasma systems all over the
universe1,2. Its process is difficult to be directly observed. Coronal
structures, such as coronal loops and filament spines, often sketch the
magnetic field geometry and its changes in the solar corona3. Here we show a
highly suggestive observation of magnetic reconnection between an erupting
solar filament and its nearby coronal loops, resulting in changes in connection
of the filament. X-type structures form when the erupting filament encounters
the loops. The filament becomes straight, and bright current sheets form at the
interfaces with the loops. Many plasmoids appear in these current sheets and
propagate bi-directionally. The filament disconnects from the current sheets,
which gradually disperse and disappear, reconnects to the loops, and becomes
redirected to the loop footpoints. This evolution of the filament and the loops
suggests successive magnetic reconnection predicted by theories1 but rarely
detected with such clarity in observations. Our results on the formation,
evolution, and disappearance of current sheets, confirm three-dimensional
magnetic reconnection theory and have implications for the evolution of
dissipation regions and the release of magnetic energy for reconnection in many
magnetized plasma systems.


title: Tuning parameter selection in high dimensional penalized likelihood

abstract:
  Determining how to appropriately select the tuning parameter is essential in
penalized likelihood methods for high-dimensional data analysis. We examine
this problem in the setting of penalized likelihood methods for generalized
linear models, where the dimensionality of covariates p is allowed to increase
exponentially with the sample size n. We propose to select the tuning parameter
by optimizing the generalized information criterion (GIC) with an appropriate
model complexity penalty. To ensure that we consistently identify the true
model, a range for the model complexity penalty is identified in GIC. We find
that this model complexity penalty should diverge at the rate of some power of
$\log p$ depending on the tail probability behavior of the response variables.
This reveals that using the AIC or BIC to select the tuning parameter may not
be adequate for consistently identifying the true model. Based on our
theoretical study, we propose a uniform choice of the model complexity penalty
and show that the proposed approach consistently identifies the true model
among candidate models with asymptotic probability one. We justify the
performance of the proposed procedure by numerical simulations and a gene
expression data analysis.


title: On tiling the integers with $4$-sets of the same gap sequence

abstract:
  Partitioning a set into similar, if not, identical, parts is a fundamental
research topic in combinatorics. The question of partitioning the integers in
various ways has been considered throughout history. Given a set $\{x_1,
\ldots, x_n\}$ of integers where $x_1<\cdots<x_n$, let the {\it gap sequence}
of this set be the nondecreasing sequence $d_1, \ldots, d_{n-1}$ where $\{d_1,
\ldots, d_{n-1}\}$ equals $\{x_{i+1}-x_i:i\in\{1,\ldots, n-1\}\}$ as a
multiset. This paper addresses the following question, which was explicitly
asked by Nakamigawa: can the set of integers be partitioned into sets with the
same gap sequence? The question is known to be true for any set where the gap
sequence has length at most two. This paper provides evidence that the question
is true when the gap sequence has length three. Namely, we prove that given
positive integers $p$ and $q$, there is a positive integer $r_0$ such that for
all $r\geq r_0$, the set of integers can be partitioned into $4$-sets with gap
sequence $p, q$, $r$.


title:
Influence of structural defects on the magnetocaloric effect in the
  vicinity of the first order magnetic transition in Fe(50.4)Rh(49.6)

abstract:
  The large magnetocaloric effect (MCE), which accompanies the first order
ferromagnetic/anti-ferromagnetic transition in CsCl-ordered Fe-Rh alloys, has
been investigated by measurements in slowly cycled magnetic fields of up to 2 T
in magnitude for a range of temperatures, 300K < T < 350K. A bulk sample with
composition Fe(50.4)Rh(49.6) was used and the results were compared with those
produced by the ab-initio density functional theory-based disordered local
moment (DLM) theory of the MCE. The measurements revealed an irreversibility
effect in which the temperature of the material did not return to its initial
value following several cycles of the magnetic field. These observations were
explained in the framework of the ab-initio theory for the first order
transition in which the consequences of the incomplete long range compositional
order and small compositional inhomogeneities of the sample were included. The
mean value of the long range order parameter S used in the theoretical work was
0.985, close to the value obtained experimentally from XRD measurements. The
sample inhomogeneities were modeled by regions in the sample having a
distribution of S values with narrow half-width 0.004 about the mean value. The
influence of such compositional disorder on both the transition temperature
(323.5 K) and MCE adiabatic temperature change (delT = 7.5 K) was also studied.


title: Unsupervised Semantic Action Discovery from Video Collections

abstract:
  Human communication takes many forms, including speech, text and
instructional videos. It typically has an underlying structure, with a starting
point, ending, and certain objective steps between them. In this paper, we
consider instructional videos where there are tens of millions of them on the
Internet.
  We propose a method for parsing a video into such semantic steps in an
unsupervised way. Our method is capable of providing a semantic "storyline" of
the video composed of its objective steps. We accomplish this using both visual
and language cues in a joint generative model. Our method can also provide a
textual description for each of the identified semantic steps and video
segments. We evaluate our method on a large number of complex YouTube videos
and show that our method discovers semantically correct instructions for a
variety of tasks.


title: Multi-class Vector AutoRegressive Models for Multi-store Sales Data

abstract:
  Retailers use the Vector AutoRegressive (VAR) model as a standard tool to
estimate the effects of prices, promotions and sales in one product category on
the sales of another product category. Besides, these price, promotion and
sales data are available for not just one store, but a whole chain of stores.
We propose to study cross-category effects using a multi-class VAR model: we
jointly estimate cross-category effects for several distinct but related VAR
models, one for each store. Our methodology encourages effects to be similar
across stores, while still allowing for small differences between stores to
account for store heterogeneity. Moreover, our estimator is sparse: unimportant
effects are estimated as exactly zero, which facilitates the interpretation of
the results. A simulation study shows that the proposed multi-class estimator
improves estimation accuracy by borrowing strength across classes. Finally, we
provide three visual tools showing (i) the clustering of stores on identical
cross-category effects, (ii) the networks of product categories and (iii) the
similarity matrices of shared cross-category effects across stores.


title:
Generalized Taylor formula with integral remainder for Besov-Dunkl
  spaces

abstract:
  In the present paper, we propose to prove some properties and estimates of
the integral remainder in the generalized Taylor formula associated to the
Dunkl operator on the real line and to describe the Besov-Dunkl spaces for
which the remainder has a given order.


title:
Effect of Strain Relaxation and the Burstein-Moss Energy Shift on the
  Optical Properties of InN Films Grown in the Self-Seeded Catalytic Process

abstract:
  For the first time, high optical quality InN films were grown on sapphire
substrate using atmospheric chemical vapour deposition technique in the
temperature range of 560-650 oC. Self-catalytic approach was adopted to
overcome the nucleation barrier for depositing InN films. In this process,
seeding of the nucleation sites and subsequent growth was performed in the
presence of reactive NH3. We investigated the simultaneous effect of strain and
Burstein-Moss (BM) energy shift on optical properties of InN films using Raman
and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Existence of compressive strain in all
films is revealed by Raman spectroscopic analysis and is found to relax with
increasing growth temperature. The asymmetric broadening of the A1(LO) phonon
mode is observed with the onset of plasmon-phonon interaction for films grown
at 620 oC. Large blue shift of the band gap of InN (1.2 eV) is observed as a
collective result of compressive strain in films as well as BM shift. Carrier
density is calculated using the BM shift in the photoluminescence spectra.
Finally, blue shift in band edge emission is observed further because of the
presence of compressive strain in the films along with the BM effect.


title: A robust particle detection algorithm based on symmetry

abstract:
  Particle tracking is common in many biophysical, ecological, and
micro-fluidic applications. Reliable tracking information is heavily dependent
on of the system under study and algorithms that correctly determines particle
position between images. However, in a real environmental context with the
presence of noise including particular or dissolved matter in water, and low
and fluctuating light conditions, many algorithms fail to obtain reliable
information. We propose a new algorithm, the Circular Symmetry algorithm
(C-Sym), for detecting the position of a circular particle with high accuracy
and precision in noisy conditions. The algorithm takes advantage of the spatial
symmetry of the particle allowing for subpixel accuracy. We compare the
proposed algorithm with four different methods using both synthetic and
experimental datasets. The results show that C-Sym is the most accurate and
precise algorithm when tracking micro-particles in all tested conditions and it
has the potential for use in applications including tracking biota in their
environment.


title: Slider Thickness Promotes Lubricity: from 2D Islands to 3D Clusters

abstract:
  The sliding of three-dimensional clusters and two-dimensional islands
adsorbed on crystal surfaces represent an important test case to understand
friction. Even for the same material, monoatomic islands and thick clusters
will not as a rule exhibit the same friction, but specific differences have not
been explored. Through realistic molecular dynamics simulations of the static
friction gold on graphite, an experimentally relevant system, we uncover as a
function of gold thickness a progressive drop of static friction from monolayer
islands, that are easily pinned, towards clusters, that slide more readily. The
main ingredient contributing to this thickness-induced lubricity appears to be
the increased effective rigidity of the atomic contact, acting to reduce the
cluster interdigitation with the substrate. A second element which plays a role
is lateral contact size, which can accommodate the solitons typical of the
incommensurate interface only above a critical contact diameter, which is
larger for monolayer islands than for thick clusters. The two effects concur to
make clusters more lubric than islands, and large sizes more lubric than
smaller ones. These conclusions are expected to be of broader applicability in
diverse nanotribological systems, where the role played by static, and dynamic,
friction is generally quite important.


title:
On Asymptotic Inference in Stochastic Differential Equations with
  Time-Varying Covariates

abstract:
  In this article, we introduce a system of stochastic differential equations
(SDEs) consisting of time-dependent covariates and consider both fixed and
random effects set-ups. We also allow the functional part associated with the
drift function to depend upon unknown parameters. In this general set-up of SDE
system we establish consistency and asymptotic normality of the M LE through
verification of the regularity conditions required by existing relevant
theorems. Besides, we consider the Bayesian approach to learning about the
population parameters, and prove consistency and asymptotic normality of the
corresponding posterior distribution. We supplement our theoretical
investigation with simulated and real data analyses, obtaining encouraging
results in each case.


title:
Quantifying Data Rate and Bandwidth Requirements for Immersive 5G
  Experience

abstract:
  The proliferation of smartphones/mobile devices that support a wide range of
broadband applications and services has driven the volume of mobile data
traffic to an unprecedented high level, requiring a next generation mobile
communication system, i.e., the fifth generation (5G). Millimeter wave bands,
due to the large available spectrum bandwidth, are considered as one of the
most promising approaches to significantly boost the capacity. In this paper,
we define a typical use case envisaged in the early stage of the 5G system
rollout, where users can experience 100M+ data rate in the target area and at
the same time enjoy services demanding extremely high data rates, such as
virtual reality and ultra-high definition video. We then break down the use
case into four different traffic types: web browsing, content sharing, virtual
reality experience and ultra-high definition video, and derive and analyze the
distributions of the required instantaneous data rates for each individual
traffic type. Finally, we consider the case where multiple users with mixture
of traffic types are simultaneously active and analyze the overall data rate
and bandwidth requirements to support such a scenario.


title: On shadowing and hyperbolicity for geodesic flows on surfaces

abstract:
  We prove that the geodesic flow on closed surfaces displays a hyperbolic set
if the shadowing property holds C2-robustly on the metric. Similar results are
obtained when considering even feeble properties like the weak shadowing and
the specification properties. Despite the Hamiltonian nature of the geodesic
flow, the arguments in the present paper differ completely from those used in
[5] for Hamiltonian systems.


title:
On Classical and Bayesian Asymptotics in Stochastic Differential
  Equations with Random Effects having Mixture Normal Distributions

abstract:
  Delattre et al. (2013) considered a system of stochastic differential
equations (SDEs) in a random effects setup. Under the independent and identical
(iid) situation, and assuming normal distribution of the random effects, they
established weak consistency of the maximum likelihood estimators (M LEs) of
the population parameters of the random effects.
  In this article, respecting the increasing importance and versatility of
normal mixtures and their ability to approximate any standard distribution, we
consider the random effects having mixture of normal distributions and prove
asymptotic results associated with the MLEs in both independent and identical
(iid) and independent but not identical (non-iid) situations. Besides, we
consider iid and non-iid setups under the Bayesian paradigm and establish
posterior consistency and asymptotic normality of the posterior distribution of
the population parameters, even when the number of mixture components is
unknown and treated as a random variable.
  Although ours is an independent work, we later noted that Delattre et al.
(2016) also assumed the SDE setup with normal mixture distribution of the
random effect parameters but considered only the iid case and proved only weak
consistency of the M LE under an extra, strong assumption as opposed to strong
consistency that we are able to prove without the extra assumption.
Furthermore, they did not deal with asymptotic normality of M LE or the
Bayesian asymptotics counterpart which we investigate in details.
  Ample simulation experiments and application to a real, stock market data set
reveal the importance and usefulness of our methods even for small samples.


title:
Vibrational and thermoelastic properties of bcc iron from selected EAM
  potentials

abstract:
  A comprehensive, critical study of the vibrational, thermodynamic and
thermoelastic properties of bcc iron is presented, using well established
semi-empirical embedded-atom method potentials available in the literature.
Classical molecular dynamics simulations are used to address temperature
effects, where dynamical matrices are constructed as a time average of the
second moment of the atomic displacements. The $C_{11}, C_{44}, C'$ elastic
constants are then obtained from the sound velocities along high symmetry
directions in reciprocal space. Results are compared to ultrasonic measurements
and highlight the limitations of the potentials considered here in describing
thermoelastic properties.


title: Asymptotic properties for combined $L_1$ and concave regularization

abstract:
  Two important goals of high-dimensional modeling are prediction and variable
selection. In this article, we consider regularization with combined $L_1$ and
concave penalties, and study the sampling properties of the global optimum of
the suggested method in ultra-high dimensional settings. The $L_1$-penalty
provides the minimum regularization needed for removing noise variables in
order to achieve oracle prediction risk, while concave penalty imposes
additional regularization to control model sparsity. In the linear model
setting, we prove that the global optimum of our method enjoys the same oracle
inequalities as the lasso estimator and admits an explicit bound on the false
sign rate, which can be asymptotically vanishing. Moreover, we establish oracle
risk inequalities for the method and the sampling properties of computable
solutions. Numerical studies suggest that our method yields more stable
estimates than using a concave penalty alone.


title: Robust detection of CID double stars in SDSS

abstract:
  Aims. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) offers a unique possibility of not
only detecting Colour Induced Displacement (CID) double stars but also
confirming these detections. Methods. Successive cuts are applied to the SDSS
DR12 database in order to reduce the size of the sample to be considered. The
resulting dataset is then screened with a criterion based on the distance and
orientation of the photocentres in different photometric bands. Results. About
3 200 distinct objects are classified as CID double stars, 40 of which are
confirmed with at least a second detection. A consistency check further
validates these detections.


title: Coordinated Initial Access in Millimetre Wave Standalone Networks

abstract:
  In this paper, a novel coordinated initial access (IA) scheme for clustered
millimeter wave small cells (mmSCs) is proposed for the fifth generation mobile
communication networks (5G). This solution is a method for efficient and fast
initial access for ultra-dense millimeter wave standalone networks without
presence of overlaid legacy networks operating on lower frequency. In contrast
to the current full beam sweep scheme, where time consuming exhaustive
searching is employed, the mmSCs within one cluster will perform the IA
procedure in a coordinated manner based on the power delay profile (PDP)
measurement reports shared with each other via the backhaul links and thereby
avoiding the full beam sweep. The proposed scheme significantly reduces the
initial access time, enhances the access robustness and reduces the cost and
complexity of the mobile terminals.


title:
Talk More Listen Less: Energy-Efficient Neighbor Discovery in Wireless
  Sensor Networks

abstract:
  Neighbor discovery is a fundamental service for initialization and managing
network dynamics in wireless sensor networks and mobile sensing applications.
In this paper, we present a novel design principle named Talk More Listen Less
(TMLL) to reduce idle-listening in neighbor discovery protocols by learning the
fact that more beacons lead to fewer wakeups. We propose an extended neighbor
discovery model for analyzing wakeup schedules in which beacons are not
necessarily placed in the wakeup slots. Furthermore, we are the first to
consider channel occupancy rate in discovery protocols by introducing a new
metric to trade off among duty-cycle, latency and channel occupancy rate.
Guided by the TMLL principle, we have designed Nihao, a family of
energy-efficient asynchronous neighbor discovery protocols for symmetric and
asymmetric cases. We compared Nihao with existing state of the art protocols
via analysis and real-world testbed experiments. The result shows that Nihao
significantly outperforms the others both in theory and practice.


title:
Transition State Theory for solvated reactions beyond recrossing-free
  dividing surfaces

abstract:
  The accuracy of rate constants calculated using transition state theory
depends crucially on the correct identification of a recrossing--free dividing
surface. We show here that it is possible to define such optimal dividing
surface in systems with non--Markovian friction. However, a more direct
approach to rate calculation is based on invariant manifolds and avoids the use
of a dividing surface altogether, Using that method we obtain an explicit
expression for the rate of crossing an anharmonic potential barrier. The
excellent performance of our method is illustrated with an application to a
realistic model for LiNC$\rightleftharpoons$LiCN isomerization.


title:
Piezoelectric Domains in the AlGaN Hexagonal Microrods: Effect of
  Crystal Orientations

abstract:
  Presently, the piezoelectric materials are finding tremendous applications in
the micro-mechanical actuators, sensors and self-powered devices. In this
context, the studies pertaining to piezoelectric properties of materials in the
different size ranges are very important for the scientific community. The
III-nitrides are exceptionally important, not only for optoelectronic but also
for their piezoelectric applications. In the present study, we synthesized
AlGaN via self catalytic vapor-solid mechanism by atmospheric pressure chemical
vapor deposition technique on AlN base layer over intrinsic Si(100) substrate.
The growth process is substantiated using X-ray diffraction and X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy. The Raman and photoluminescence study reveal the
formation of AlGaN microrods in the wurtzite phase and ensures the high optical
quality of the crystalline material. The single crystalline, direct wide band
gap and hexagonally shaped AlGaN microrods are studied for understanding the
behavior of the crystallites under the application of constant external
electric field using the piezoresponse force microscopy. The present study is
mainly focused on understanding the behavior of induced polarization for the
determination of piezoelectric coefficient of AlGaN microrod along the c-axis
and imaging of piezoelectric domains in the sample originating because of the
angular inclination of AlGaN microrods with respect to its AlN base layers.


title:
First-Principles Theory of Momentum Dependent Local Ansatz Approach to
  Correlated Electron System

abstract:
  We have extended the momentum-dependent local-ansatz (MLA) wavefunction
method to the first-principles version using the tight-binding LDA+U
Hamiltonian for the description of correlated electrons in the real system. The
MLA reduces to the Rayleigh-Schr\"odinger perturbation theory in the weak
correlation limit, and describes quantitatively the ground state and related
low-energy excitations in solids. The theory has been applied to the
paramagnetic Fe. The role of electron correlations on the energy, charge
fluctuations, amplitude of local moment, momentum distribution functions, as
well as the mass enhancement factor in Fe has been examined as a function of
Coulomb interaction strength. It is shown that the inter-orbital charge-charge
correlations between $d$ electrons make a significant contribution to the
correlation energy and charge fluctuations, while the intra-orbital and
inter-orbital spin-spin correlations make a dominant contribution to the
amplitude of local moment and the mass enhancement in Fe. Calculated partial
mass enhancements are found to be 1.01, 1.01, and 3.33 for $s$, $p$, and $d$
electrons, respectively. The averaged mass enhancement 1.65 is shown to be
consistent with the experimental data as well as the recent results of
theoretical calculations.


title: High-temperature quantum Hall effect in finite gapped HgTe quantum wells

abstract:
  We report on the observation of the quantum Hall effect at high temperatures
in HgTe quantum wells with a finite band gap and a thickness below and above
the critical thickness $d_\textnormal{c}$ that separates a conventional
semiconductor from a two-dimensional topological insulator. At high carrier
concentrations we observe a quantized Hall conductivity up to 60\,K with energy
gaps between Landau Levels of the order of 25\,meV, in good agreement with the
Landau Level spectrum obtained from $\mathbf{k\cdot p}$-calculations. Using the
scaling approach for the plateau-plateau transition at $\nu=2\rightarrow 1$, we
find the scaling coefficient $\kappa =0.45 \pm 0.04$ to be consistent with the
universality of scaling theory and we do not find signs of increased
electron-phonon interaction to alter the scaling even at these elevated
temperatures. Comparing the high temperature limit of the quantized Hall
resistance in HgTe quantum wells with a finite band gap with room temperature
experiment in graphene, we find the energy gaps at the break-down of the
quantization to exceed the thermal energy by the same order of magnitude.


title:
Solving the two dimensional Schr\"odinger equation using basis
  truncation: a controversial case

abstract:
  Solutions of the Schr\"odinger equation by spanning the wave function is a
complete basis is a common practice is many-body interacting systems. We shall
study the case of a two-dimensional quantum system composed by two interacting
spin-less electrons and see that the correctness of the matrix approach depends
inexplicably on the type of interaction existing between particles.


title: Go-ICP: A Globally Optimal Solution to 3D ICP Point-Set Registration

abstract:
  The Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm is one of the most widely used
methods for point-set registration. However, being based on local iterative
optimization, ICP is known to be susceptible to local minima. Its performance
critically relies on the quality of the initialization and only local
optimality is guaranteed. This paper presents the first globally optimal
algorithm, named Go-ICP, for Euclidean (rigid) registration of two 3D
point-sets under the L2 error metric defined in ICP. The Go-ICP method is based
on a branch-and-bound (BnB) scheme that searches the entire 3D motion space
SE(3). By exploiting the special structure of SE(3) geometry, we derive novel
upper and lower bounds for the registration error function. Local ICP is
integrated into the BnB scheme, which speeds up the new method while
guaranteeing global optimality. We also discuss extensions, addressing the
issue of outlier robustness. The evaluation demonstrates that the proposed
method is able to produce reliable registration results regardless of the
initialization. Go-ICP can be applied in scenarios where an optimal solution is
desirable or where a good initialization is not always available.


title: The dynamics of Andromeda's dwarf galaxies and stellar streams

abstract:
  As part of the Z-PAndAS Keck II DEIMOS survey of resolved stars in our
neighboring galaxy, Andromeda (M31), we have built up a unique data set of
measured velocities and chemistries for thousands of stars in the Andromeda
stellar halo, particularly probing its rich and complex substructure. In this
contribution, we will discuss the structural, dynamical and chemical properties
of Andromeda's dwarf spheroidal galaxies, and how there is no observational
evidence for a difference in the evolutionary histories of those found on and
off M31's vast plane of satellites. We will also discuss a possible extension
to the most significant merger event in M31 - the Giant Southern Stream - and
how we can use this feature to refine our understanding of M31's mass profile,
and its complex evolution.


title:
Far field photoluminescence imaging of single AlGaN nanowire in the
  sub-diffraction length scale using optical confinement of polarized light

abstract:
  Till now the nanoscale focussing and imaging in the sub-diffraction limit is
achieved mainly with the help of plasmonic field enhancement assisted with
noble metal nanoparticles. Using far field imaging technique, we have recorded
polarized spectroscopic photoluminescence (PL) imaging of a single AlGaN
nanowire (NW) of diameter ~ 100 nm using confinement of polarized light. The
nanowires on the substrate have a nematic ordering. It is found that the PL
from a single NW is influenced by the proximity to other NWs with the PL
intensity scaling as 1/(lxd), where l and d are the NW length and the
separation from the neighbouring NW, respectively. We show that this proximity
induced PL intensity enhancement can be understood, if we assume the existence
of reasonably long lived photons in the intervening space between the NWs. A
nonzero non-equilibrium population of such photons causes stimulated emission
leading to the enhanced PL emission with the intensity scaling as 1/(lxd). The
effect is analogous to the Purcell enhancement of polarized optical emissions
induced by confined photons in micro-cavities. The enhancement of PL emission
facilitated the far field spectroscopic imaging of a single semiconducting
nanowire in the sub-diffraction regime.


title: A Note on the least squarefree number in an arithmetic progression

abstract:
  We prove an asymptotic formula for squarefree in arithmetic progressions with
squarefree moduli, improving previous results by Prachar. The main tool is an
estimate for counting solutions of a congruence inside a box that goes beyond
what can be obtained by using the Weil bound.


title:
Light-matter interaction of single semiconducting AlGaN nanowire and
  noble metal Au nanoparticle in the sub-diffraction limit

abstract:
  The near field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) is not only a tool for
imaging of sub-diffraction limited objects but also a prominent characteristic
tool for understanding the intrinsic properties of the nanostructures. In order
to understand the light-matter interactions in the near field regime using NSOM
technique with an excitation of 532 nm (2.33 eV), we selected an isolated
single semiconducting AlGaN nanowire (NW) of diameter ~120 nm grown via vapor
liquid solid (VLS) mechanism along with metallic Au nanoparticle (NP) catalyst.
The role of electronic transitions from different native defect related energy
states of AlGaN are discussed in understanding the NSOM images for the
semiconducting NW. The effect of strong surface plasmon resonance absorption of
excitation laser in the NSOM images for Au NP, involved in the VLS growth
mechanism of NWs, is also observed. Keywo


title: On Weighted Random Band-Matrices with Dependences

abstract:
  We develop techniques to compute the k-th Moment of the Eigenvalue-statistic
for a random Matrix M the entries of which do not have to be necessarily
Independent. The dependence is controlled via an equivalence relation on the
pairs of the entries of M. Furthermore the entries are weighted, that means
they are multiplied with a Riemann-integrable function on (0,1). Finally also
weak convergence in probability of the Eigenvalue statsitic is discussed not
for the weighted Matrix but also for band matrices the band-width of which
behaves like o(N).


title: A direct approach to Gaussian measurement based quantum computation

abstract:
  In this work we introduce a general scheme for measurement based quantum
computation in continuous variables. Our approach does not necessarily rely on
the use of ancillary cluster states to achieve its aim, but rather on the
detection of a resource state in a suitable mode basis followed by digital
post-processing, and involves an optimization of the adjustable experimental
parameters. After introducing the general method, we present some examples of
application to simple specific computations.


title:
Excitation dependent Raman studies of self-seeded grown InN
  nanoparticles with different carrier concentration

abstract:
  High quality InN nanoparticles are grown using atmospheric chemical vapour
deposition technique via a self-seeded catalytic approach in the temperature
range of 580 to 650 oC. In this temperature region, nucleation barrier of InN
is overcome by seeding the low density In nano-particles prior to the
introduction of reactive ammonia. Samples having increasing carrier density are
grown with the help of increasing growth temperature to understand its role in
optical phonon structure. Near resonance Raman spectra show complete different
phonon pictures as compared to those for the off-resonance spectra. A Raman
forbidden mode of B1(high), because of the possible breakdown of selection rule
in the near-resonance condition, is invoked for the first time. Intensity and
frequency of this mode strongly depend on the carrier concentration in the
sample. In off-resonance conditions, A1(LO) mode for the sample with high
carrier concentration is dominated by Fano interference rather than
plasmon-phonon coupling. Variation of intensity of the B1(high) mode is
correlated with band filling effect, which is substantiated by the luminescence
studies of the InN samples with different carrier concentration.


title: Quantile tests in frequency domain for sinusoid models

abstract:
  For second order stationary processes, the spectral distribution function is
uniquely deter- mined by the autocovariance functions of the processes. We
define the quantiles of the spectral distribution function and propose two
estimators for the quantiles. Asymptotic properties of both estimators are
elucidated and the difference from the quantile estimators in time do- main is
also indicated. We construct a testing procedure of quantile tests from the
asymptotic distribution of the estimators and strong statistical power is shown
in our numerical studies.


title: Proposing A Symmetric Key Bit-Level Block Cipher

abstract:
  A novel bit level block cipher based symmetric key cryptographic technique
using G.C.D is proposed in this research paper. Entire plain text file is read
one character at a time and according to the binary representation of ASCII
value of the characters, entire plain text file is divided into n number of 16
bit blocks. Then an agreed-upon symmetric key file is formed by dividing each
16 bit block into two 8 bit sub blocks and by using Greatest Common Divisor
(G.C.D) operation among them. The key size is 40 times the number of 16 bit
blocks present in the plain text file as each block produces a key of size 40
bits. The character corresponding to the G.C.D value for each block is stored
in the cipher text file which is sent by the sender to the receiver along with
the symmetric key file. From the symmetric key file and the cipher text file,
the receiver by applying reverse procedure, gets back the original plain text
file. This technique has several merits, some of them are formation of
symmetric key file dynamically, achievement of 50% compression rate in the
cipher text file, better security in terms of brute force attack and
applicability of the technique for a large number of files of different size
and type.


title: The Vitali Covering Theorem in the Weihrauch Lattice

abstract:
  We study the uniform computational content of the Vitali Covering Theorem for
intervals using the tool of Weihrauch reducibility. We show that a more
detailed picture emerges than what a related study by Giusto, Brown, and
Simpson has revealed in the setting of reverse mathematics. In particular,
different formulations of the Vitali Covering Theorem turn out to have
different uniform computational content. These versions are either computable
or closely related to uniform variants of Weak Weak K\H{o}nig's Lemma.


title:
Effect of Temperature, Pressure and Aging time on the Relaxation
  Dynamics of Bi0.9Gd0.1Fe0.9Mn0.1O3 System: Direct Evidence of Glassy State
  and Pressure Induced Relaxor Behavior

abstract:
  The fundamental aspects of relaxation dynamics in Bi0.9Gd0.1Fe0.9Mn0.1O3
multiferroic system have been reported. The study was carried out employing
dielectric relaxation spectroscopy covering eight decades in frequency 0.01
to106 Hz and in a wide range of temperature 423 K to 153 K, hydrostatic
pressure 0.1 MPa to 1765 MPa and aging time 0 s to 80000 s. The temperature
dependent dielectric response indicates three relaxations processes in the
dynamic window of modulus formalism. Variable range hopping model of small
polarons manifests the bulk conduction mechanism. The bulk and grain boundary
contributions have been estimated using impedance spectroscopy analysis and
reveal that localized process dominates the relaxation. The direct evidence of
glassy feature is established below 200 K by aging experiments. Our findings
provide a potential connection between nearly constant loss features appearing
below 200 K with fastest relaxation of magnitude 0.16 eV. We also discuss the
time temperature superposition behavior using modulus scaling. A pressure
driven normal ferroelectric to relaxor behavior is witnessed above a critical
pressure as a result of relative competition between short range and long range
forces. Our findings focus the role of high pressure as a fundamental bridge
between normal ferroelectrics and relaxors. Intriguingly, there exists a direct
connection between chemical pressure induced by substitution and external
hydrostatic pressure. These findings have robust fundamental importance on
theoretical elucidation of relaxation dynamics in perovskite systems.


title: Dual of Codes over Finite Quotients of Polynomial Rings

abstract:
  Let $A=\frac{\mathbb{F}[x]}{\langle f(x)\rangle }$, where $f(x)$ is a monic
polynomial over a finite field $\mathbb{F}$. In this paper, we study the
relation between $A$-codes and their duals. In particular, we state a
counterexample and a correction to a theorem of Berger and El Amrani (Codes
over finite quotients of polynomial rings, \emph{Finite Fields Appl.}
\textbf{25} (2014), 165--181) and present an efficient algorithm to find a
system of generators for the dual of a given $A$-code. Also we characterize
self-dual $A$-codes of length 2 and investigate when the $\mathbb{F}$-dual of
$A$-codes are $A$-codes.


title: A Morse index formula for radial solutions of Lane-Emden problems

abstract:
  We consider the semilinear Lane-Emden problem:
\begin{equation}\label{problemAbstract}\left\{\begin{array}{lr}-\Delta u=
|u|^{p-1}u\qquad \mbox{ in }B u=0\qquad\qquad\qquad\mbox{ on }\partial B
\end{array}\right.\tag{$\mathcal E_p$} \end{equation} where $B$ is the unit
ball of $\mathbb R^N$, $N\geq3$, centered at the origin and $1<p<p_S$,
$p_S=\frac{N+2}{N-2}$. We prove that for any radial solution $u_p$ of
\eqref{problemAbstract} with $m$ nodal domains its Morse index
$\mathsf{m}(u_p)$ is given by the formula \[\mathsf{m}(u_p)=m+N(m-1)\] if $p$
is sufficiently close to $p_S$.


title:
Functional Characteristics of Gene Expression Motifs with Single and
  Dual Strategies of Regulation

abstract:
  Transcriptional regulation by transcription factors and post-transcriptional
regulation by microRNAs constitute two major modes of regulation of gene
expression. While gene expression motifs incorporating solely transcriptional
regulation are well investigated, the dynamics of motifs with dual strategies
of regulation, i.e., both transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation,
have not been studied as extensively. In this paper, we probe the dynamics of a
four-gene motif with dual strategies of regulation of gene expression. Some of
the functional characteristics are compared with those of a two-gene motif, the
genetic toggle, employing only transcriptional regulation. Both the motifs
define positive feedback loops with the potential for bistability and
hysteresis. The four-gene motif, contrary to the genetic toggle, is found to
exhibit bistability even in the absence of cooperativity in the regulation of
gene expression. The four-gene motif further exhibits a novel dynamical feature
in which two regions of monostability with linear threshold response are
separated by a region of bistability with digital response.
  Using the linear noise approximation (LNA), we further show that the
coefficient of variation (a measure of noise), associated with the protein
levels in the steady state, has a lower magnitude in the case of the four-gene
motif as compared to the case of the genetic toggle. We next compare
transcriptional with post-transcriptional regulation from an information
theoretic perspective. We focus on two gene expression motifs, Motif 1 with
transcriptional regulation and Motif 2 with post-transcriptional regulation.
  We show that amongst the two motifs, Motif 2 has a greater capacity for
information transmission for an extended range of parameter values.


title:
Excitonic linewidth and coherence lifetime in monolayer transition metal
  dichalcogenides

abstract:
  Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are direct-gap
semiconductors with strong light-matter and Coulomb interaction. The latter
accounts for tightly bound excitons, which dominate the optical properties of
these technologically promising materials. Besides the optically accessible
bright excitons, these systems exhibit a variety of dark excitonic states. They
are not visible in optical spectra, but can strongly influence the coherence
lifetime and the linewidth of the emission from bright exciton states. In a
recent study, an experimental evidence for the existence of such dark states
has been demonstrated, as well as their strong impact on the quantum efficiency
of light emission in TMDs. Here, we reveal the microscopic origin of the
excitonic coherence lifetime in two representative TMD materials (WS$_2$ and
MoSe$_2$) within a joint study combining microscopic theory with optical
experiments. We show that the excitonic coherence lifetime is determined by
phonon-induced intra- and intervalley scattering into dark excitonic states.
Remarkably, and in accordance with the theoretical prediction, we find an
efficient exciton relaxation in WS$_2$ through phonon emission at all
temperatures.


title: The Use of Harmonic Information in the Optimal Synthesis of Mechanisms

abstract:
  This paper reviews several uses of harmonic information in the synthesis of
mechanisms and shows that such information can be put to even greater use in
this field. Results are presented for both single and multi-degree of freedom
systems which support this claim. In both cases, the inclusion of harmonic
information into the objective function aids the search to locate high quality
solutions.


title: Twistor spinors and extended conformal superalgebras

abstract:
  We show that the first-order symmetry operators of twistor spinors can be
constructed from conformal Killing-Yano forms in conformally-flat backgrounds.
We express the conditions on conformal Killing-Yano forms to obtain mutually
commuting symmetry operators of twistor spinors. Conformal superalgebras which
consist of conformal Killing vectors and twistor spinors and play important
roles in supersymmetric field theories in conformal backgrounds are extended to
more general superalgebras by using the graded Lie algebra structure of
conformal Killing-Yano forms and the symmetry operators of twistor spinors. The
even part of the extended conformal superalgebra corresponds to conformal
Killing-Yano forms and the odd part consists of twistor spinors.


title:
Optical orientation of hole magnetic polarons in (Cd,Mn)Te/(Cd,Mn,Mg)Te
  quantum wells

abstract:
  The optically induced spin polarization in (Cd,Mn)Te/(Cd,Mn,Mg)Te
diluted-magnetic-semiconductor quantum wells is investigated by means of
picosecond pump-probe Kerr rotation. At 1.8 K temperature, additionally to the
oscillatory signals from photoexcited electrons and Manganese spins precessing
about an external magnetic field, a surprisingly long-lived (up to 60 ns)
nonoscillating spin polarization is detected. This polarization is related to
optical orientation of equilibrium magnetic polarons involving resident holes.
The suggested mechanism for the optical orientation of the equilibrium magnetic
polarons indicates that the detected polaron dynamics originates from unexcited
magnetic polarons. The polaron spin dynamics is controlled by the anisotropic
spin structure of the heavy-hole resulting in a freezing of the polaron
magnetic moment in one of the two stable states oriented along the structure
growth axis. Spin relaxation between these states is prohibited by a potential
barrier, which depends on temperature and magnetic field. The magnetic polaron
relaxation is accelerated with increasing temperature and in magnetic field.


title:
Massive higher spin fields in curved spacetime and necessity of
  non-minimal couplings

abstract:
  Free massive higher spin fields in weak background gravitational fields are
discussed. Contrary to the spin one case, higher spin fields should have
nontrivial non-minimal couplings to the curvature. A precise analysis is given
for the spin 2 case, and it is shown that two conditions should be satisfied
among five non-minimal coupling constants, which we derive both in the
Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formalisms. It is checked that the linearized limit
of the massive gravity theory indeed has the non-minimal couplings that satisfy
the conditions. We also discuss the form of the non-minimal couplings for the
spin 3 case.


title: Active Uncertainty Calibration in Bayesian ODE Solvers

abstract:
  There is resurging interest, in statistics and machine learning, in solvers
for ordinary differential equations (ODEs) that return probability measures
instead of point estimates. Recently, Conrad et al. introduced a sampling-based
class of methods that are 'well-calibrated' in a specific sense. But the
computational cost of these methods is significantly above that of classic
methods. On the other hand, Schober et al. pointed out a precise connection
between classic Runge-Kutta ODE solvers and Gaussian filters, which gives only
a rough probabilistic calibration, but at negligible cost overhead. By
formulating the solution of ODEs as approximate inference in linear Gaussian
SDEs, we investigate a range of probabilistic ODE solvers, that bridge the
trade-off between computational cost and probabilistic calibration, and
identify the inaccurate gradient measurement as the crucial source of
uncertainty. We propose the novel filtering-based method Bayesian Quadrature
filtering (BQF) which uses Bayesian quadrature to actively learn the
imprecision in the gradient measurement by collecting multiple gradient
evaluations.


title: Chemistry in AGB stars: successes and challenges

abstract:
  Emission and absorption line observations of molecules in late-type stars are
a vital component in our understanding of stellar evolution, dust formation and
mass loss in these objects. The molecular composition of the gas in the
circumstellar envelopes of AGB stars reflects chemical processes in gas whose
properties are strong functions of radius with density and temperature varying
by more than ten and two orders of magnitude, respectively. In addition, the
interstellar UV field plays a critical role in determining not only molecular
abundances but also their radial distributions. In this article, I shall
briefly review some recent successful approaches to describing chemistry in
both the inner and outer envelopes and outline areas of challenge for the
future.


title: Broadband observations of the X-ray burster 4U 1705-44 with BeppoSAX

abstract:
  4U 1705-44 is one of the most-studied type I X-ray burster and Atoll sources.
This source represents a perfect candidate to test different models proposed to
self-consistently track the physical changes occurring between different
spectral states because it shows clear spectral state transitions. The
broadband coverage, the sensitivity and energy resolution of the BeppoSAX
satellite offers the opportunity to disentangle the components that form the
total X-ray spectrum and to study their changes according to the spectral
state. Using two BeppoSAX observations carried out in August and October 2000,
respectively, for a total effective exposure time of about 100 ks, we study the
spectral evolution of the source from a soft to hard state. Energy spectra are
selected according to the source position in the color-color diagram (CCD)
Results. We succeeded in modeling the spectra of the source using a physical
self-consistent scenario for both the island and banana branches (the double
Comptonization scenario). The components observed are the soft Comptonization
and hard Comptonization, the blackbody, and a reflection component with a broad
iron line. When the source moves from the banana state to the island state, the
parameters of the two Comptonization components change significantly and the
blackbody component becomes too weak to be detected. We interpret the soft
Comptonization component as emission from the hot plasma surrounding the
neutron star, hard Comptonization as emission from the disk region, and the
blackbody component as emission from the inner accretion disk. The broad
feature in the iron line region is compatible with reflection from the inner
accretion disk.


title:
Charged jets in p--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV
  measured with the ALICE detector

abstract:
  Highly energetic jets are sensitive probes for the kinematics and the
topology of nuclear collisions. Jets are collimated sprays of charged and
neutral particles, which are produced in the fragmentation of hard scattered
partons in the early stage of the collision. The measurement of nuclear
modification of charged jet spectra in p-Pb collisions provides an important
way of quantifying the effects of cold nuclear matter in the initial state on
jet production, fragmentation, and hadronization. Unlike in Pb-Pb collisions,
modifications of jet production due to hot nuclear matter effects are not
expected to occur in p-Pb collisions. Therefore, measurements of nuclear
modifications in charged jet spectra in p-Pb collisions (commonly known as
$R_\mathrm{pPb}$) can be used to isolate and quantify cold nuclear matter
effects. Potential nuclear effects are expected to be more pronounced in more
central p-Pb collisions due to a higher probability of an interaction between
the proton and the lead-nucleus. To measure the centrality dependence of
charged jet spectra, it is crucial to use a reliable definition of event
centrality, which ALICE developed utilizing the Zero-Degree Calorimeter (ZDC).


title: On non-K\"ahler degrees of complex manifolds

abstract:
  We study cohomological properties of complex manifolds. In particular, under
suitable metric conditions, we extend to higher dimensions a result by A.
Teleman, which provides an upper bound for the Bott-Chern cohomology in terms
of Betti numbers for compact complex surfaces according to the dichotomy $b_1$
even or odd.


title: On the relation between Airy integral and Bessel functions revisited

abstract:
  The Airy integral and Bessel functions are of significant in mathematical
description of spectral distribution of different types of radiation produced
by relativistic charged particles moving in synchrotron and in periodical
macro- and micro-structures. A simple proof of the relation between Airy
integral and modified Bessel function is of most important for radiation
physicists, who are not expert in pure mathematics. In this paper we discuss an
old proof proposed by Nicholson, and suggest another simple one based on the
Bowman transformation of Bessel differential equation with a complex constant.


title:
Adaptive cyclically dominating game on co-evolving networks: Numerical
  and analytic results

abstract:
  A co-evolving and adaptive Rock (R)-Paper (P)-Scissors (S) game (ARPS) in
which an agent uses one of three cyclically dominating strategies is proposed
and studied numerically and analytically. An agent takes adaptive actions to
achieve a neighborhood to his advantage by rewiring a dissatisfying link with a
probability $p$ or switching strategy with a probability $1-p$. Numerical
results revealed two phases in the steady state. An active phase for
$p<p_{\text{cri}}$ has one connected network of agents using different
strategies who are continually interacting and taking adaptive actions. A
frozen phase for $p>p_{\text{cri}}$ has three separate clusters of agents using
only R, P, and S, respectively with terminated adaptive actions. A mean-field
theory of link densities in co-evolving network is formulated in a general way
that can be readily modified to other co-evolving network problems of multiple
strategies. The analytic results agree with simulation results on ARPS well. We
point out the different probabilities of winning, losing, and drawing a game
among the agents as the origin of the small discrepancy between analytic and
simulation results. As a result of the adaptive actions, agents of higher
degrees are often those being taken advantage of. Agents with a smaller
(larger) degree than the mean degree have a higher (smaller) probability of
winning than losing. The results are useful in future attempts on formulating
more accurate theories.