Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From Non-Markovian Dissipation to Spatiotemporal Control of Quantum Nanodevices

Nanodevices exploiting quantum effects are critically important elements of future quantum technologies (QT), but their real-world performance is strongly limited by decoherence arising from local `environmental' interactions. Compounding this, as devices become more complex, i.e. contain multiple functional units, the `local' environments begin to overlap, creating the possibility of environmentally mediated decoherence phenomena on new time-and-length scales. Such complex and inherently non-Markovian dynamics could present a challenge for scaling up QT, but -- on the other hand -- the ability of environments to transfer `signals' and energy might also enable sophisticated spatiotemporal coordination of inter-component processes, as is suggested to happen in biological nanomachines, like enzymes and photosynthetic proteins. Exploiting numerically exact many body methods (tensor networks) we study a fully quantum model that allows us to explore how propagating environmental dynamics can instigate and direct the evolution of spatially remote, non-interacting quantum systems. We demonstrate how energy dissipated into the environment can be remotely harvested to create transient excited/reactive states, and also identify how reorganisation triggered by system excitation can qualitatively and reversibly alter the `downstream' kinetics of a `functional' quantum system. With access to complete system-environment wave functions, we elucidate the microscopic processes underlying these phenomena, providing new insight into how they could be exploited for energy efficient quantum devices.
Magnetic B stars observed with BRITE: Spots, magnetospheres, binarity, and pulsations

Magnetic B-type stars exhibit photometric variability due to diverse causes, and consequently on a variety of timescales. In this paper we describe interpretation of BRITE photometry and related ground-based observations of 4 magnetic B-type systems: $\epsilon$ Lupi, $\tau$ Sco, a Cen and $\epsilon$ CMa.
First observation of $B\!\to \bar{D}_1(\to\bar{D}\pi^+\pi^-)\ell^+\nu_\ell$ and measurement of the $B\!\to \bar{D}^{(*)}\pi\ell^+\nu_\ell$ and $B\!\to \bar{D}^{(*)}\pi^+\pi^-\ell^+\nu_\ell$ branching fractions with hadronic tagging at Belle

We report measurements of the ratios of branching fractions for $B \to \bar{D}^{(*)}\pi\ell^+\nu_\ell$ and $B \to \bar{D}^{(*)}\pi^+\pi^-\ell^+\nu_\ell$ relative to $B \to \bar{D}^*\ell^+\nu_\ell$ decays with $\ell = e, \mu$. These results are obtained from a data sample that contains $772 \times 10^6 B\bar{B}$ pairs collected near the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy $e^+e^-$ collider. Fully reconstructing both $B$ mesons in the event, we obtain \begin{align*} \frac{B(B^0 \to \bar{D}^0\pi^-\ell^+\nu_\ell)}{B(B^0 \to D^{*-}\ell^+\nu_\ell)}&= (7.24\pm0.36\pm0.12)\%\ ,\\ \frac{B(B^+ \to D^-\pi^+\ell^+\nu_\ell)}{B(B^+ \to \bar{D}^{*0}\ell^+\nu_\ell)}&= (6.78\pm0.24\pm0.15)\%\ ,\\ \frac{B(B^0 \to \bar{D}^{*0}\pi^-\ell^+\nu_\ell)}{B(B^0 \to D^{*-}\ell^+\nu_\ell)}&= (11.10\pm0.48\pm0.20)\%\ ,\\ \frac{B(B^+ \to D^{*-}\pi^+\ell^+\nu_\ell)}{B(B^+ \to \bar{D}^{*0}\ell^+\nu_\ell)}&= (9.50\pm0.33\pm0.27)\%\ ,\\ \frac{B(B^0 \to D^-\pi^+\pi^-\ell^+\nu_\ell)}{B(B^0 \to D^{*-}\ell^+\nu_\ell)}&= (2.91\pm0.37\pm0.25)\%\ ,\\ \frac{B(B^+ \to \bar{D}^0\pi^+\pi^-\ell^+\nu_\ell)}{B(B^+ \to \bar{D}^{*0}\ell^+\nu_\ell)}&= (3.10\pm0.26\pm0.21)\%\ ,\\ \frac{B(B^0 \to D^{*-}\pi^+\pi^-\ell^+\nu_\ell)}{B(B^0 \to D^{*-}\ell^+\nu_\ell)}&= (1.03\pm0.43\pm0.18)\%\ ,\\ \frac{B(B^+ \to \bar{D}^{*0}\pi^+\pi^-\ell^+\nu_\ell)}{B(B^+ \to \bar{D}^{*0}\ell^+\nu_\ell)}&= (1.25\pm0.27\pm0.15)\%\ , \end{align*} where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The invariant mass spectra of the $D\pi$, $D^*\pi$, and $D\pi\pi$ systems are studied. Branching fraction products are extracted, among them the first observations of $B(B^0 \to D_1^-\ell^+\nu_\ell) \times B(D_1^- \to D^-\pi^+\pi^-) = (0.102\pm0.013\pm0.009)\%$ and $B(B^+ \to \bar{D}_1^0\ell^+\nu_\ell) \times B(\bar{D}_1^0 \to \bar{D}^0\pi^+\pi^-) = (0.105\pm0.011\pm0.008)\%$.
High-order exponential approximations for the Gaussian Q-function obtained by genetic algorithm

This article presents new and accurate approximations for the Gaussian Q-function, which is an important tool in the field of communication theory. A genetic algorithm was employed to find the optimum coefficients of the proposed approximations. The accuracy of the new approximations was examined and compared with those of previous works in the literature. It was shown that the presented high-order exponential approximations provide better accuracy compared to the previously introduced approximations, in general, at the cost of slightly increased mathematical complexity.
On the Validity of the Loudness Scale

Although encouraging progress has been made in the measurement of loudness, certain objections to the sone scale have been raised from time to time. This paper tries to answer some of these objections, and especially to show how the form of the sone scale can be verified by cross‐modality matchings. Instead of working with numerical estimations of magnitudes or ratios, these new procedures allow observers to equate the apparent intensity of stimuli in two different sense modalities. It turns out that the results of these cross‐modality matches can be predicted from the relation between the sone scale and the subjective scales in the other modalities. These experiments strengthen the evidence for the validity of the sone scale. They also suggest that the form of the subjective intensity function depends on the “input‐output” operating characteristic of the sensory system and not on some prior experience which the observer may have had with a “physical correlate” of the stimulus.
Minimum entropy control for a class of macro-micro robot based on ILC frame

A new scheme to minimise the closed loop randomness for a kind of intelligent welding robot system is presented. It is assumed that the system is subjected from bounded random disturbances. The parameters of controller have been optimised according to a minimum entropy index function by using minimum entropy control method based on an iterative learning frame. As the entropy is the measure of randomness for random variable, the control method advantages to reduce the uncertainty of the closed loop system, which help to obtain a better performance. The iterative learning frame about minimum entropy control has been proposed and is used to optimal the controller parameters. In addition, the convergence of the control algorithm has been analysed. Finally, the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed control schemes are verified by using an experimental robot.
Spatially offset AGN candidates in the CLASS survey

Prompted by a recent claim by Barrows et al. that X-ray AGN are often found significantly offset from the centres of their host galaxies, we have looked for examples of compact radio sources which are offset from the optical centroids of nearby (z < 0.2) galaxies. We have selected a sample of 345 galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxy catalog which have nearby compact radio sources listed in the Cosmic-Lens All Sky Survey (CLASS) catalog. We find only three matches (0.87 per cent of the sample) with offsets greater than 600 milliarcsec (mas), which is considerably fewer than we would have expected from the Barrows et al. X-ray survey. We fit our histogram of offsets with a Rayleigh distribution with {\sigma} = 60.5 mas, but find that there is an excess of objects with separations greater than approximately 150 mas. Assuming that this excess represents AGN with real offsets, we place an upper limit of approximately 17 per cent on the fraction of offset AGN in our radio-selected sample. We select 38 objects with offsets greater than 150 mas, and find they have some diverse properties: some are well known, such as Mrk 273 and Arp 220, and others have dust lanes which may have affected the optical astrometry, while a few are strong new candidates for offset AGN.
3D-Guided Frontal Face Generation for Pose-Invariant Recognition

Although deep learning techniques have achieved extraordinary accuracy in recognizing human faces, the pose variances of images captured in real-world scenarios still hinder reliable model appliance. To mitigate this gap, we propose to recognize faces via generation frontal face images with a 3D-Guided Deep Pose-Invariant Face Recognition Model (3D-PIM) consisted of a simulator and a refiner module. The simulator employs a 3D Morphable Model (3D MM) to fit the shape and appearance features and recover primary frontal images with less training data. The refiner further enhances the image realism on both global facial structure and local details with adversarial training, while keeping the discriminative identity information consistent with original images. An Adaptive Weighting (AW) metric is then adopted to leverage the complimentary information from recovered frontal faces and original profile faces and to obtain credible similarity scores for recognition. Extended experiments verify the superiority of the proposed “recognition via generation” framework over state-of-the-art.
Measuring the effective pulse duration of nanosecond and femtosecond laser pulses for laser-induced damage experiments

Abstract. We report on our approach to measure the quantity named effective pulse duration as defined in the ISO 21254-1:2011 standard, which deals with laser-induced damage (LID) threshold measurements. The approach is applied to measure pulses from two laser sources: an injection-seeded electro-optically Q-switched Nd:YAG nanosecond system with 10-Hz pulse repetition frequency, and a fully integrated Ti:sapphire laser with 150–400 fs and 2-kHz pulse repetition frequency. For comparison, the full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) of the same pulses is also measured. The analysis and description of the measurement process, the experimental results, and the corresponding uncertainties are presented. A smaller combined uncertainty is obtained for the effective pulse duration than for the FWHM-defined pulse duration for each time scale involved in experiments. This suggests that the effective pulse duration is the appropriate parameter to characterize the pulse duration in LID experiments.
Modeling of dielectronic satellites to diagnose exotic states of matter created by XUV/X-ray free electron lasers, plasma ion electric microfield mixing dynamics rate (II): application to the 2l2l' configuration of helium-like aluminium

In the present paper we give numerical estimations of the plasma ion electric microfield mixing dynamics rate. This rate was deduced from a quantum atomic density matrix formalism and corresponds to the mixing dynamics effect of energy levels by the plasma ion electric microfield. The rate in question is to be added to the usual collisional-radiative model for the modeling of dielectronic satellites originating from multi-excited atomic configurations to diagnose high density plasma regimes generated by the interaction of X-ray free electron lasers (XFEL's) with solid density matter. The obtained numerical values of this rate are compared to usual relaxation atomic rates of the collisional-radiative model in the case of three atomic energy levels of the doubly excited 2l2l' configuration of helium-like aluminium (Z = 13): 2p^2 1D_2, 2s2p 1P_1 and 2p2 1S_0. The comparison is made for different values of the electronic density n_e (10^+20, 10^+22, 10^+23, 10^+24 cm^-3) and for the electronic temperature T_e = 500 eV. The numerical result shows that at high densities this rate is at the same order of magnitude as usual collisional-radiative rates and even exceed them in certain cases. This demonstrates the potential role of this rate for a better understanding of the heating mechanism underlying the evolution of a solid state matter to a plasma.
Modelling CESEE Countries Export Dynamics: Global Vector Autoregressive Approach

Abstract One of the main aspects of the transition process in Central, Eastern and Southeastern European (CESEE) countries was the trade liberalisation. As their financial systems are still underdeveloped and the trade channel is the dominant shock transmitter, this paper focuses on export dynamics for a selected set of CESEE countries. The employed methodology, Global Vector Autoregressive (GVAR) approach, allows modelling interactions and spillovers among countries. Furthermore, it enables joint modelling of exports and imports. This is of particular importance as the opening of new markets enabled astonishing export growth, but also opened the CESEE markets to foreign products. The empirical analysis reveals that a shock in German imports has a larger impact on CESEE countries’ exports than a shock in German output. Moreover, the results indicate that the role of the real exchange rate is less pronounced in comparison to previous similar research.
Accounting Discretion, Loan Loss Provision in Financial Distress: Evidence from Commercial Banks

Abstract This study explores the association between earning management practices and financial distress in commercial banks. Earning management is measured through discretionary loan loss provisions and non-discretionary loan loss provisions. Modified Altman’s Z-score has been used as a proxy for financial distress. Panel regression with fixed and random effect has been employed for empirical analysis. The study finds a significant positive association between DLLP, NDLLP and financial distress in terms of the Altman Z-score. In the case of NDLLP, liquidity reduces the probability of financial distress. Whereas, a bank’s SIZE, LEVG and AQ enhance the likelihood of financial distress. The robustness tests were applied to find the association between NDLLP and FD using logistic regression to validate baseline estimates results of the random effect model. The findings of this study have implications for the policymakers, regulators and internal stakeholders to devise effective regulatory measures for well-informed investment decisions.
Ion kinetic effects on nonlinear processes of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability

The nonlinear evolution of the Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability at a transverse velocity shear layer in an inhomogeneous space plasma is investigated by means of a four-dimensional (two spatial and two velocity dimensions) electromagnetic Vlasov simulation. When the rotation direction of the primary KH vortex and the direction of ion gyro motion are the same (i.e., the inner product between the vorticity of the primary velocity shear and the magnetic field vector is negative) there exists a strong ion cyclotron damping. In this case, spatial inhomogeneity inside the primary KH vortex is smoothed and the secondary Rayleigh–Taylor/KH instabilities are suppressed. It is also found that another secondary instability on the electron inertial scale is simultaneously generated at secondary shear layers for both cases, but at different locations. The small-scale secondary instability takes place only when the inner product between the vorticity of the secondary shear layer and the magnetic field vector is positive, suggesting the damping of small-scale processes by ion gyro motion. These results indicate that secondary instabilities occurring in the nonlinear stage of the primary KHI show different evolutions depending on the sign of the inner product between the magnetic field and the vorticity of the velocity shear layer.
Thermal rectification in thin films driven by gradient grain microstructure

As one of the basic components of phononics, thermal rectifiers transmit heat current asymmetrically similar to electronic rectifiers in microelectronics. Heat can be conducted through them easily in one direction while being blocked in the other direction. In this work, we report a thermal rectifier that is driven by the gradient grain structure and the inherent gradient in thermal properties as found in these materials. To demonstrate their thermal rectification properties, we build a spectral thermal conductivity model with complete phonon dispersion relationships using the thermophysical properties of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond films which possess gradient grain microstructures. To explain the observed significant thermal rectification, the temperature and thermal conductivity distribution are studied. Additionally, the effects of temperature bias and film thickness are discussed, which shed light on tuning the thermal rectification based on the gradient microstructures. Our results show that the columnar grain microstructure makes CVD materials unique candidates for mesoscale thermal rectifiers without a sharp temperature change.As one of the basic components of phononics, thermal rectifiers transmit heat current asymmetrically similar to electronic rectifiers in microelectronics. Heat can be conducted through them easily in one direction while being blocked in the other direction. In this work, we report a thermal rectifier that is driven by the gradient grain structure and the inherent gradient in thermal properties as found in these materials. To demonstrate their thermal rectification properties, we build a spectral thermal conductivity model with complete phonon dispersion relationships using the thermophysical properties of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond films which possess gradient grain microstructures. To explain the observed significant thermal rectification, the temperature and thermal conductivity distribution are studied. Additionally, the effects of temperature bias and film thickness are discussed, which shed light on tuning the thermal rectification based on the gradient microstructures. Our results show t.
KMT-2016-BLG-0212: First KMTNet-Only Discovery of a Substellar Companion

We present the analysis of KMT-2016-BLG-0212, a low flux-variation $(I_{\rm flux-var}\sim 20$) microlensing event, which is well-covered by high-cadence data from the three Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) telescopes. The event shows a short anomaly that is incompletely covered due to the brief visibility intervals that characterize the early microlensing season when the anomaly occurred. We show that the data are consistent with two classes of solutions, characterized respectively by low-mass brown-dwarf $(q=0.037)$ and sub-Neptune $(q<10^{-4})$ companions, respectively. Future high-resolution imaging should easily distinguish between these solutions.
The galaxy-subhalo connection in low-redshift galaxy clusters from weak gravitational lensing

We measure the gravitational lensing signal around satellite galaxies in a sample of galaxy clusters at $z<0.15$ by combining high-quality imaging data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope with a large sample of spectroscopically-confirmed cluster members. We use extensive image simulations to assess the accuracy of shape measurements of faint, background sources in the vicinity of bright satellite galaxies. We find a small but significant bias, as light from the lenses makes the shapes of background galaxies appear radially aligned with the lens. We account for this bias by applying a correction that depends on both lens size and magnitude. We also correct for contamination of the source sample by cluster members. We use a physically-motivated definition of subhalo mass, namely the mass bound to the subhalo, $m_\mathrm{bg}$, similar to definitions used by common subhalo finders in numerical simulations. Binning the satellites by stellar mass we provide a direct measurement of the subhalo-to-stellar-mass relation, $\log m_\mathrm{bg}/\mathrm{M}_\odot = (11.54\pm0.05) + (0.95\pm0.10)\log[m_\star/(2\times10^{10}\mathrm{M}_\odot)]$. This best-fitting relation implies that, at a stellar mass $m_\star\sim3\times10^{10}\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$, subhalo masses are roughly 50 per cent of those of central galaxies, and this fraction decreases at higher stellar masses. We find some evidence for a sharp change in the total-to-stellar mass ratio around the clusters' scale radius, which could be interpreted as galaxies within the scale radius having suffered more strongly from tidal stripping, but remain cautious regarding this interpretation.
Galaxy Structure in the Ultraviolet: The Dependence of Morphological Parameters on Rest-frame Wavelength

Evolutionary studies that compare galaxy structure as a function of redshift are complicated by the fact that any particular galaxy’s appearance depends in part on the rest-frame wavelength of the observation. This leads to the necessity for a “morphological k-correction” between different passbands, especially when comparing the rest-frame optical or infrared (IR) to the ultraviolet (UV). This is of particular concern for high-redshift studies that are conducted in the rest-frame UV. We investigate the effects of this “bandpass shifting” out of the UV by quantifying nearby galaxy structure via concentration, asymmetry, and clumpiness (CAS) parameters. For this study we combine panchromatic data from the UV through the near-IR with Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) data of 2073 nearby galaxies in the “near-UV” (NUV; ∼230 nm) and 1127 in the “far-UV” (FUV; ∼150 nm), providing the largest study of this kind in the mid- to far-UV. We find a relationship between the CAS parameters and observed rest-frame wavelength that make galaxies appear more late-type at shorter wavelengths, particularly in the UV. The effect is strongest for E/S0 galaxies in the far-UV, which have concentrations and asymmetries that more closely resemble those of spiral and peculiar/merging galaxies in the optical. This may be explained by extended disks containing recent star formation. Here, we also release the CAS values of the galaxies imaged in GALEX NUV and FUV for use in comparisons with deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging and the James Webb Space Telescope in the future.
SN 2005bf: A Possible Transition Event between Type Ib/c Supernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursts

We present u′g′r′i′BV photometry and optical spectroscopy of the Type Ib/Ic SN 2005bf covering the first ~100 days following discovery. The u′g′BV light curves displayed an unprecedented morphology among Type Ib/Ic supernovae, with an initial maximum some 2 weeks after discovery and a second, main maximum about 25 days after that. The bolometric light curve indicates that SN 2005bf was a remarkably luminous event, radiating at least 6.3 × 1042 ergs s-1 at maximum light and a total of 2.1 × 1049 ergs during the first 75 days after the explosion. Spectroscopically, SN 2005bf underwent a unique transformation from a Type Ic-like event at early times to a typical Type Ib supernova at later phases. The initial maximum in u′g′BV was accompanied by the presence in the spectrum of high-velocity (>14,000 km s-1) absorption lines of Fe II, Ca II, and H I. The photospheric velocity derived from spectra at early epochs was below 10,000 km s-1, which is unusually low compared with ordinary Type Ib supernovae. We describe one-dimensional computer simulations that attempt to account for these remarkable properties. The most favored model is that of a very energetic (2 × 1051 ergs), asymmetric explosion of a massive (8.3 M☉) Wolf-Rayet WN star that had lost most of its hydrogen envelope. We speculate that an unobserved relativistic jet was launched producing a two-component explosion consisting of (1) a polar explosion containing a small fraction of the total mass and moving at high velocity and (2) the explosion of the rest of the star. At first, only the polar explosion is observed, producing the initial maximum and the high-velocity absorption-line spectrum resembling a Type Ic event. At late times, this fast-moving component becomes optically thin, revealing the more slowly moving explosion of the rest of the star and transforming the observed spectrum to that of a typical Type Ib supernova. If this scenario is correct, then SN 2005bf is the best example to date of a transition object between normal Type Ib/Ic supernovae and γ-ray bursts.