Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
X-RAY AND γ-RAY STUDIES OF THE MILLISECOND PULSAR AND POSSIBLE X-RAY BINARY/RADIO PULSAR TRANSITION OBJECT PSR J1723–2837

We present X-ray observations of the “redback” eclipsing radio millisecond pulsar (MSP) and candidate radio pulsar/X-ray binary transition object PSR J1723–2837. The X-ray emission from the system is predominantly non-thermal and exhibits pronounced variability as a function of orbital phase, with a factor of ∼2 reduction in brightness around superior conjunction. Such temporal behavior appears to be a defining characteristic of this variety of peculiar MSP binaries and is likely caused by a partial geometric occultation by the main-sequence-like companion of a shock within the binary. There is no indication of diffuse X-ray emission from a bow shock or pulsar wind nebula associated with the pulsar. We also report on a search for point source emission and γ-ray pulsations in Fermi Large Area Telescope data using a likelihood analysis and photon probability weighting. Although PSR J1723–2837 is consistent with being a γ-ray point source, due to the strong Galactic diffuse emission at its position a definitive association cannot be established. No statistically significant pulsations or modulation at the orbital period are detected. For a presumed detection, the implied γ-ray luminosity is ≲5% of its spin-down power. This indicates that PSR J1723–2837 is either one of the least efficient γ-ray producing MSPs or, if the detection is spurious, the γ-ray emission pattern is not directed toward us.
Towards High-Fidelity Quantum Computation and Simulation on a Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuit

We propose and analyze the design of a programmable photonic integrated circuit for high-fidelity quantum computation and simulation. We demonstrate that the reconfigurability of our design allows us to overcome two major impediments to quantum optics on a chip: it removes the need for a full fabrication cycle for each experiment and allows for compensation of fabrication errors using numerical optimization techniques. Under a pessimistic fabrication model for the silicon-on-insulator process, we demonstrate a dramatic fidelity improvement for the linear optics CNOT and CPHASE gates and, showing the scalability of this approach, the iterative phase estimation algorithm built from individually optimized gates. We also propose and simulate a novel experiment that the programmability of our system would enable: a statistically robust study of the evolution of entangled photons in disordered quantum walks. Overall, our results suggest that existing fabrication processes are sufficient to build a quantum photonic processor capable of high fidelity operation.
Star formation history of And XVIII: a dwarf spheroidal galaxy in isolation

We present a photometric study of the Andromeda XVIII dwarf spheroidal galaxy associated with M31, and situated well outside of the virial radius of the M31 halo. The galaxy was resolved into stars with Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys revealing the old red giant branch and red clump. With the new observational data we determined the Andromeda XVIII distance to be D = 1.33+-0.08 Mpc using the tip of red giant branch method. Thus, the dwarf is situated at the distance of 579 kpc from M31. We model the star formation history of Andromeda XVIII from the stellar photometry and Padova theoretical stellar isochrones. An ancient burst of star formation occurred 12-14 Gyr ago. There is no sign of recent/ongoing star formation in the last 1.5 Gyr. The mass fractions of the ancient and intermediate age stars are 34 and 66 per cent, respectively, and the total stellar mass is 4.2x10^6 Msun. It is probable that the galaxy has not experienced an interaction with M31 in the past. We also discuss star formation processes of dSphs KKR 25, KKs 03, as well as dTr KK 258. Their star formation histories were uniformly measured by us from HST/ACS observations. All the galaxies are situated well beyond the Local Group and the two dSphs KKR 25 and KKs 03 are extremely isolated. Evidently, the evolution of these objects has proceeded without influence of neighbours.
Influences of a topological defect on the spin Hall effect

Department of Physics, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036, Zhejiang, P. R. ChinaWe study the inﬂuence of topological defects on the spin current as well as the spin Hall eﬀect. We ﬁnd that the nontrivial deformation of the space time due to topological defects can generate aspin-dependent current which then induces an imbalanced accumulation of spin states on the edgesof the sample. The corresponding spin Hall conductivity has also been calculated for the topologicaldefect of a cosmic string. Compared to the ordinary value, a correction which is linear with massdensity of the cosmic string appears. Our approach to the dynamics of non relativistic spinor in thepresence of a topological defect is based on the Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation. The spin currentis obtained by using the extended Drude model which is independent of the scattering mechanism.
Scaling limits for the critical Fortuin-Kastelyn model on a random planar map III: finite volume case

We prove scaling limit results for the finite-volume version of the inventory accumulation model of Sheffield (2011), which encodes a random planar map decorated by a collection of loops sampled from the critical Fortuin-Kasteleyn (FK) model. In particular, we prove that the random walk associated with the finite-volume version of this model converges in the scaling limit to a correlated Brownian motion $\dot Z$ conditioned to stay in the first quadrant for two units of time and satisfy $\dot Z(2) = 0$. We also show that the times which describe complementary connected components of FK loops in the discrete model converge to the $\pi/2$-cone times of $\dot Z$. Combined with recent results of Duplantier, Miller, and Sheffield, our results imply that many interesting functionals of the FK loops on a finite-volume FK planar map (e.g. their boundary lengths and areas) converge in the scaling limit to the corresponding "quantum" functionals of the CLE$_\kappa$ loops on a $4/\sqrt\kappa$-Liouville quantum gravity sphere for $\kappa \in (4,8)$. Our results are finite-volume analogues of the scaling limit theorems for the infinite-volume version of the inventory accumulation model proven by Sheffield (2011) and Gwynne, Mao, and Sun (2015).
HIGHLY EXCITED H2 IN HERBIG–HARO 7: FORMATION PUMPING IN SHOCKED MOLECULAR GAS?

We have obtained K-band spectra at R ∼ 5000 and an angular resolution of 0. ″3 of a section of the Herbig–Haro 7 (HH7) bow shock, using the Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrograph at Gemini North. Present in the portion of the data cube corresponding to the brightest part of the bow shock are emission lines of H2 with upper state energies ranging from ∼6000 K to the dissociation energy of H2, ∼50,000 K. Because of low signal-to-noise ratios, the highest excitation lines cannot be easily seen elsewhere in the observed region. However, excitation temperatures, measured throughout much of the observed region using lines from levels as high as 25,000 K, are a strong function of upper level energy, indicating that the very highest levels are populated throughout. The level populations in the brightest region are well fit by a two-temperature model, with 98.5% of the emitting gas at T = 1800 K and 1.5% at T = 5200 K. The bulk of the H2 line emission in HH7, from the 1800 K gas, has previously been well-modeled by a continuous shock, but the 5200 K cozmponent is inconsistent with standalone standard continuous shock models. We discuss various possible origins for the hot component and suggest that this component is H2 newly reformed on dust grains and then ejected from them, presumably following dissociation of some of the H2 by the shock.
A generalized Weierstrass representation of Lorentzian surfaces in $\mathbb{R}^{2,2}$ and applications

We give a generalized Weierstrass formula for a Lorentz surface conformally immersed in the four-dimensional space $\mathbb{R}^{2,2}$ using spinors and Lorentz numbers. We also study the immersions of a Lorentzian surface in {\bf the} Anti-de Sitter space (a pseudo-sphere in $\mathbb{R}^{2,2}$): we give a new spinor representation formula and deduce the conformal description of a flat Lorentzian surface in that space.
Quantum Fisher Information for Density Matrices with Arbitrary Ranks

We provide a new expression of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) for a general system. Utilizing this expression, the QFI for a non-full rank density matrix is only determined by its support. This expression can bring convenience for an infinite-dimensional density matrix with a finite support. Besides, a matrix representation of the QFI is also given.
Blazar Anti-Sequence of Spectral Variability for Individual TeV Blazars

We compile from literature the broadband SEDs of twelve TeV blazars observed simultaneously or quasi-simultaneously with Fermi/LAT and other instruments. Two SEDs are available for each of the objects and the state is identified as a low or high state according to its flux density at GeV/TeV band. The observed SEDs of BL Lac objects (BL Lacs) are fitted well with the synchrotron + synchrotron-self-Compton (syn+SSC) model, whereas the SEDs of the two flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) need to include the contributions of external Compton scattering. In this scenario, it is found that the Doppler factor delta of FSRQs is smaller than that of BL Lacs, but the magnetic field strength B of FSRQs is larger than that of BL Lacs. The increase of the peak frequency of the SEDs is accompanied with the increase of the flux for the individual sources, which seems opposite to the observational phenomena of the blazar sequence. We refer this phenomenon to blazar anti-sequence of spectral variability for individual TeV blazars. However, both the blazar sequence from FSRQs to BL Lacs and blazar anti-sequence of the spectral variability from low state to high state are accompanied by an increase of the break Lorentz factor of the electron's spectrum gamma_b and a decrease of B. We propose a model in which the mass accretion rate is the driving force behind both the blazar sequence for ensembles of blazars and the blazar anti-sequence for individual blazars. Specifically we suggest that the differences in mass accretion rate of different blazars produce the observed blazar sequence, but \Delta M in each blazar results in the observed blazar anti-sequence.
Internal resonance in nonlinear disk oscillations and the amplitude evolution of neutron-star kilohertz QPOs

We study the properties of twin kilohertz quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) with a simple toy model consisting of two oscillation modes coupled with a general nonlinear force. We examine resonant effects by slowly varying the values of the tunable, and nearly commensurable, eigenfrequencies. The behavior of the true oscillation frequencies and amplitudes during a slow transition through the 3:2 resonance is examined in detail, and it is shown that both are affected significantly by the nonlinearities in the governing equations. In particular, the amplitudes of oscillations reflect a resonant exchange of energy between the modes, and as a result the initially weaker mode may become dominant after the transition. We note that a qualitatively similar behavior was reported for several neutron-star sources where the difference in the amplitudes of neutron-star twin-peak QPOs changes sign as the observed frequency ratio of the QPOs passes through the value 3:2.
Temperature, gravity, and bolometric correction scales for non-supergiant OB stars

Context. Precise and accurate determinations of the atmospheric parameters effective temperature and surface gravity are mandatory to derive reliable chemical abundances in OB stars. Furthermore, fundamental parameters like distances, masses, radii, luminosities can also be derived from the temperature and gravity of the stars. Aims. Atmospheric parameters recently determined at high precision with several independent spectroscopic indicators in non-local thermodynamic equilibrium, with typical uncertainties of ∼300 K for temperature and of ∼0.05 dex for gravity, are employed to calibrate photometric relationships. This is in order to investigate whether a faster tool to estimate atmospheric parameters can be provided. Methods. Temperatures and gravities of 30 calibrators, i.e. well-studied OB main sequence to giant stars in the solar neighbourhood, are compared to reddening-independent quantities of the Johnson and Stromgren photometric systems, assuming normal reddening. In addition, we examine the spectral and luminosity classification of the star sample and compute bolometric corrections. Results. Calibrations of temperatures and gravities are proposed for various photometric indices and spectral types. Once the luminosity of the stars is well known, effective temperatures can be determined at a precision of ∼400 K for luminosity classes III/IV and ∼800 K for luminosity class V. Furthermore, surface gravities can reach internal uncertainties as low as ∼0.08 dex when using our calibration to the Johnson Q-parameter. Similar precision is achieved for gravities derived from the β-index and the precision is lower for both atmospheric parameters when using the Stromgren indices [c1] and [u −b]. In contrast, external uncertainties are larger for the Johnson than for the Stromgren calibrations. Our uncertainties are smaller than typical differences among other methods in the literature, reaching values up to ±2000 K for temperature and ±0.25 dex for gravity, and in extreme cases, +6000 K and ±0.4 dex, respectively. A parameter calibration for sub-spectral types is also proposed. Moreover, we present a new bolometric correction relation to temperature based on our empirical data, rather than on synthetic grids. Conclusions. The photometric calibrations presented here are useful tools to estimate effective temperatures and surface gravities of non-supergiant OB stars in a fast manner. This is also applicable to some single-line spectroscopic binaries, but caution has to be taken for undetected double-lined spectroscopic binaries and single objects with anomalous reddening-law, dubious photometric quantities and/or luminosity classes, for which the systematic uncertainties may increase significantly. We recommend to use these calibrations only as a first step of the parameter estimation, with subsequent refinements based on spectroscopy. A larger sample covering more uniformly the parameter space under consideration will allow refinements to the present calibrations.
Two species of the hoverfly genus Eumerus Meigen (Diptera: Syrphidae) new record for Pakistan

An updated checklist of the genus Eumerus Meigen, 1822 is presented from Pakistan along with two new country records, i.e., Eumerus vestitus Bezzi, 1912 and Eumerus sogdianus Stackelberg, 1952. Eumerus sogdianus is native to Central and Southern Europe, but recorded from east to Central and Southern Asia, and Eumerus vestitus is native to the Afrotropical region, but recently also recorded from India. Both species are collected from northern areas of Pakistan – the extreme edge of the western Himalayas, where a significant diversity of hoverflies has been reported in recent studies. A brief diagnosis, identification key, and a taxonomic remark on known Pakistani Eumerus species are presented. A distribution map and detailed photographs of the newly recorded species are also presented.
Extra-Dimensional Bi-Inflation

We study a solution to the Einstein field equations on an eight-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian manifold (a spacetime of four space dimensions and four time dimensions) that exhibits inflation of three of the four space dimensions and deflation of three of the four time dimensions. Hubble parameters $(\mathbb{H}_4, \mathbb{H}_8)$ exist for each of the unscaled dimensions $(\textrm{time}x^4, \textrm{space}x^8)$. The scale factor for the three ordinary space dimensions $(x^1, x^2, x^3)$ is $a = a(x^4, x^8)$, and during inflation is functionally a product of exponentials $a = e^{\mathbb{H}_4\, x^4\,/\,c} \; e^{\mathbb{H}_8\, x^8\,/\,c}$ of each Hubble parameter times its respective unscaled coordinate ($c$ is the physical speed of gravitational waves in vacuum in the observed universe). We investigate the conjecture that every particle/field in our universe is carried along the $x^8$-axis in the same way that it is carried along the $x^4$-axis, that is, in a manner that is independent of its energy, and with no freedom to change either its rate of passage along the $x^8$-axis or its location within the $x^8$-dimension. The evolution of the particle/field through the unscaled dimensions $(x^4, x^8) \in \mathbb{R}^{1,1}$ in our universe is entrapped and entrained by geometry. We employ a line element of the form $ {ds}^2 = -|g_{4\,4}| \; {(c_4 \, d x^4)}^2 + g_{8\,8} \; {(d x^8)}^2 \;+\;. $ to define a physical time $t = x^0$ through the relation % $ |g_{t\,t}| \; {(c \, d t)}^2 = |g_{4\,4}| \; {(c_4 \, d x^4)}^2 - g_{8\,8} \; {(d x^8)}^2 $. Here $c_4$ is a speed related parameter (in this paper $g_{t\,t} = g_{4\,4} = -1 $). This model offers new insight into physical time.
Insect Models in Nutrition Research

Insects are the most diverse organisms on earth, accounting for ~80% of all animals. They are valuable as model organisms, particularly in the context of genetics, development, behavior, neurobiology and evolutionary biology. Compared to other laboratory animals, insects are advantageous because they are inexpensive to house and breed in large numbers, making them suitable for high-throughput testing. They also have a short life cycle, facilitating the analysis of generational effects, and they fulfil the 3R principle (replacement, reduction and refinement). Many insect genomes have now been sequenced, highlighting their genetic and physiological similarities with humans. These factors also make insects favorable as whole-animal high-throughput models in nutritional research. In this review, we discuss the impact of insect models in nutritional science, focusing on studies investigating the role of nutrition in metabolic diseases and aging/longevity. We also consider food toxicology and the use of insects to study the gut microbiome. The benefits of insects as models to study the relationship between nutrition and biological markers of fitness and longevity can be exploited to improve human health.
Initial value constraints with tensor matter

In generally covariant metric gravity theories with tensor matter fields, the initial value constraint equations, unlike in general relativity, are in general not just the 0μ components of the metric field equation. This happens because higher derivatives can occur in the matter stress tensor. A universal form for these constraints is derived here from a generalized Bianchi identity that includes matter fields. As an application, the constraints for Einstein-aether theory are found.
Unconditional security proof of a deterministic quantum key distribution with a two-way quantum channel

In a deterministic quantum key distribution (DQKD) protocol with a two-way quantum channel, Bob sends a qubit to Alice who then encodes a key bit onto the qubit and sends it back to Bob. After measuring the returned qubit, Bob can obtain Alice's key bit immediately, without basis reconciliation. Since an eavesdropper may attack the qubits traveling on either the Bob-Alice channel or the Alice-Bob channel, the security analysis of DQKD protocol with a two-way quantum channel is complicated and its unconditional security has been controversial. This paper presents a security proof of a single-photon four-state DQKD protocol against general attacks.
Exact treatment of magnetism-driven ferroelectricity in the one-dimensional compass model

We consider a class of one-dimensional compass models with antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange interaction in an external magnetic field. Based on the exact solution derived by means of Jordan-Wigner transformation, we study the excitation gap, spin correlations, ground-state degeneracy, and critical properties at phase transitions. The phase diagram at finite electric and magnetic field consists of three phases: ferromagnetic, canted antiferromagnetic, and chiral. Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction induces an electrical polarization in the ground state of the chiral phase, where the nonlocal string order and special features of entanglement spectra arise, while strong chiral correlations emerge at finite temperature in the other phases and are controlled by a gap between the nonchiral ground state and the chiral excitations. We further show that the magnetoelectric effects in all phases disappear above a typical temperature corresponding to the total bandwidth of the effective fermionic model. To this end we explore the entropy, specific heat, magnetization, electric polarization, and the magnetoelectric tensor at finite temperature. We identify rather peculiar specific-heat and polarization behavior of the compass model which follows from highly frustrated interactions.
THE IMPACT OF GALAXY GEOMETRY AND MASS EVOLUTION ON THE SURVIVAL OF STAR CLUSTERS

Direct N-body simulations of globular clusters in a realistic Milky-Way-like potential are carried out using the code NBODY6 to determine the impact of the host galaxy disk mass and geometry on the survival of star clusters. A relation between disk mass and star-cluster dissolution timescale is derived. These N-body models show that doubling the mass of the disk from 5 × 1010 M☉ to 10 × 1010 M☉ halves the dissolution time of a satellite star cluster orbiting the host galaxy at 6 kpc from the galactic center. Different geometries in a disk of identical mass can determine either the survival or dissolution of a star cluster orbiting within the inner 6 kpc of the galactic center. Furthermore, disk geometry has measurable effects on the mass loss of star clusters up to 15 kpc from the galactic center. N-body simulations performed with a fine output time step show that at each disk crossing the outer layers of star clusters experiences an increase in velocity dispersion of ∼5% of the average velocity dispersion in the outer section of star clusters. This leads to an enhancement of mass loss—a clearly discernable effect of disk shocking. By running models with different inclinations, we determine that star clusters with an orbit that is perpendicular to the Galactic plane have larger mass loss rates than do clusters that evolve in the Galactic plane or in an inclined orbit.
An Updated Model of Computation for VLSI and Applications to FPGA Implementation

In this report, we present a theoretical model for VLSI computation, with assumptions updated for modern technology, and a number of asymptotic lower bounds in this model. Among other facts, we show unconditionally that all n -input computations of a single output require time ⌦ ( 3 p n ), that dense matrix multiplication requires time ⌦ ( n ) for n ⇥ n matrices, and that sparse-matrix-times-dense-vector multiplication (SpMV) requires time ⌦ ( p n/ log n ) for some matrices. We also show that implementation of the Bellman-Ford shortest paths algorithm requires time ⌦ ( n 4 / 3 ) for some graphs. Additionally, we develop bounds on placement quality for FPGA designs, and algorithms for applying them. We present comparisons between our bounds and the quality of an actual placement for several benchmark designs.