cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relating Bone Strain to Local Changes in Radius Microstructure Following 12 Months of Axial Forearm Loading in Women

Work in animal models suggests that bone structure adapts to local bone strain, but this relationship has not been comprehensively studied in humans. Here, we quantified the influence of strain magnitude and gradient on bone adaptation in the forearm of premenopausal women performing compressive forearm loading (n = 11) and nonloading controls (n = 10). High resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HRpQCT) scans of the distal radius acquired at baseline and 12 months of a randomized controlled experiment were used to identify local sites of bone formation and resorption. Bone strain was estimated using validated finite element (FE) models. Trabecular strain magnitude and gradient were higher near (within 200 μm) formation versus resorption (p 95th percentile) versus low (<5th percentile) strain magnitude and gradient elements, and very low strain elements were more likely to be near resorption than formation (p < 0.05). In the cortical compartment, strain gradient was higher near formation versus resorption (p < 0.05), and both formation and resorption occurred preferentially near very high versus low strain gradient elements (p < 0.05). At most, 54% of very high and low strain elements were near formation or resorption only, and similar trends were observed in the control and load groups. These findings suggest that strain, likely in combination with other physiological factors, influences adaptation under normal loads and in response to a novel loading intervention, and represents an important step toward defining exercise interventions to maximize bone strength.
An Instrumental Variable Estimator for Mixed Indicators: Analytic Derivatives and Alternative Parameterizations.

Methodological development of the model-implied instrumental variable (MIIV) estimation framework has proved fruitful over the last three decades. Major milestones include Bollen’s (Psychometrika 61(1):109–121, 1996) original development of the MIIV estimator and its robustness properties for continuous endogenous variable SEMs, the extension of the MIIV estimator to ordered categorical endogenous variables (Bollen and Maydeu-Olivares in Psychometrika 72(3):309, 2007), and the introduction of a generalized method of moments estimator (Bollen et al., in Psychometrika 79(1):20–50, 2014). This paper furthers these developments by making several unique contributions not present in the prior literature: (1) we use matrix calculus to derive the analytic derivatives of the PIV estimator, (2) we extend the PIV estimator to apply to any mixture of binary, ordinal, and continuous variables, (3) we generalize the PIV model to include intercepts and means, (4) we devise a method to input known threshold values for ordinal observed variables, and (5) we enable a general parameterization that permits the estimation of means, variances, and covariances of the underlying variables to use as input into a SEM analysis with PIV. An empirical example illustrates a mixture of continuous variables and ordinal variables with fixed thresholds. We also include a simulation study to compare the performance of this novel estimator to WLSMV.
Efficient Global Multi-object Tracking Under Minimum-cost Circulation Framework.

We developed a minimum-cost circulation framework for solving the global data association problem, which plays a key role in the tracking-by-detection paradigm of multi-object tracking. The problem was extensively studied under the minimum-cost flow framework, which is theoretically attractive as being flexible and globally solvable. However, the high computational burden has been a long-standing obstacle to its wide adoption in practice. While enjoying the same theoretical advantages and maintaining the same optimal solution as the minimum-cost flow framework, our new framework has a better theoretical complexity bound and leads to orders of practical efficiency improvement. Exploring the specialty that an overwhelming majority of the vertices are with unit capacity, we designed an implementation of the framework and proved it has the best theoretical complexity so far. We evaluated our method with 40 experiments on five MOT benchmark data sets. Our method was always the most efficient and averagely 53 to 1,192 times faster than the three state-of-the-art methods. When our method served as a sub-module for global data association methods using higher-order constraints, similar efficiency improvement was attained. We further illustrated through several case studies how the improved computational efficiency enables more sophisticated tracking models and yields better tracking accuracy.
A fast radio burst associated with a Galactic magnetar.

Since their discovery in 20071, much effort has been devoted to uncovering the sources of the extragalactic, millisecond-duration fast radio bursts (FRBs)2. A class of neutron stars known as magnetars is a leading candidate source of FRBs3,4. Magnetars have surface magnetic fields in excess of 1014 gauss, the decay of which powers a range of high-energy phenomena5. Here we report observations of a millisecond-duration radio burst from the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154, with a fluence of 1.5 ± 0.3 megajansky milliseconds. This event, FRB 200428 (ST 200428A), was detected on 28 April 2020 by the STARE2 radio array6 in the 1,281–1,468 megahertz band. The isotropic-equivalent energy released in FRB 200428 is 4 × 103 times greater than that of any radio pulse from the Crab pulsar—previously the source of the brightest Galactic radio bursts observed on similar timescales7. FRB 200428 is just 30 times less energetic than the weakest extragalactic FRB observed so far8, and is drawn from the same population as the observed FRB sample. The coincidence of FRB 200428 with an X-ray burst9–11 favours emission models that describe synchrotron masers or electromagnetic pulses powered by magnetar bursts and giant flares3,4,12,13. The discovery of FRB 200428 implies that active magnetars such as SGR 1935+2154 can produce FRBs at extragalactic distances. Observations of the fast radio burst FRB 200428 coinciding with X-rays from the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 indicate that active magnetars can produce fast radio bursts at extragalactic distances.
Change of Bike-share Usage in Five Cities of United States during COVID-19

This study explores how bike-share usage varied over the six months of the coronavirus pandemic (March’20-August’20) in five US cities. First, it finds that in most of the months, the changes (both increase or decrease) of bike-share usage from the preceding months are significantly higher in central tracts than peripheral tracts. This finding has more statistical significance for cities that are popular for biking (e.g. DC, Boston, Portland). Second, biking is found to be positively associated with cities' non-work trip rate and people's COVID exposure and it was diminished with more people maintaining social distance and staying at home.
Modeling House Price Synchronization across the U.S. States and their Time-Varying Macroeconomic Linkages

This paper analyzes the time-varying impact of macroeconomic forces on the synchronization in housing movements across all the U.S. states. Using a Bayesian modeling approach, the house price movements are decomposed into national, regional, and state-specific factors. We then analyze the time-varying impact of macroeconomic forces on these national and regional factors. Evidence suggests that in several Western and Eastern states the house price variations are dominated by the national factor, whereas the regional factor dominates the Southern and Midwestern markets. These factors are found to have a time-varying relationship with most macroeconomic indicators with particularly pronounced time-variation caused by national house prices, inflation rate, and consumer sentiments.
On the well-posedness of relativistic viscous fluids with non-zero vorticity

We study the problem of coupling Einstein’s equations to a physically well-motivated relativistic modification of the Navier-Stokes equations. Under a technical condition for the vorticity, we prove existence and uniqueness in a suitable Gevrey class if the fluid’s dynamic velocity has vanishing divergence, and show that the solutions enjoy the finite propagation speed property.
Towards resolving the evolution of multi-supernova superbubbles

Interstellar superbubbles generated by multiple supernova explosions are common in star-forming galaxies. They are the most obvious manifestation of mechanical feedback, and are largely responsible for transferring both thermal and kinetic energy to the interstellar medium from the massive star population. However, the details of this energy transfer remain surprisingly murky when individual objects are studied. I will summarize what we currently know about candidate dominant processes on these scales.
Type IIB orientifolds with discrete torsion

We consider compact four-dimensional ZN × ZM type IIB orientifolds, for certain values of N and M. We allow the additional feature of discrete torsion and discuss the modification of the consistency conditions arising from tadpole cancellation. We point out the differences between the cases with and without discrete torsion.
Exporting Terrestrial Life Out of the Solar System with Gravitational Slingshots of Earthgrazing Bodies

Exporting terrestrial life out of the Solar System requires a process that both embeds microbes in boulders and ejects those boulders out of the Solar System. We explore the possibility that Earthgrazing long-period comets (LPCs) and interstellar objects (ISOs) could export life from Earth by collecting microbes from the atmosphere and receiving a gravitational slingshot effect from the Earth. We estimate the total number of exportation events over the lifetime of the Earth to be ~1–10 for LPCs and ~1–50 for ISOs. If life existed above an altitude of 100 km, then the number is dramatically increased up to ~105 exportation events over Earth's lifetime.
QUANTUM HALL EFFECT OF HARD CORE BOSONS

Motivated by a mean field approach, which has been employed for anyon superfluidity and the fractional quantum Hall effect, the quantum Hall effect (QHE) of hard core bosons is investigated. It is shown that QHE is possible only in the thermodynamic limit. The filling factors where QHE may be expected are obtained with the help of two adiabatic schemes.
Multicolor Photometry of the Type II Cepheid Prototype W Virginis

We present the results of recent long-term BVRCIC photometric monitoring of the type II Cepheid prototype W Virginis. These new observations, made during the 2006 and 2007 observing season, represent the longest homogeneous, multicolor light curve of W Vir to date. The BVRCIC light and color curves show conclusively that W Vir exhibits modest but detectable cycle-to-cycle variations, the cause of which appears to be multiperiodicity rather than nonlinearity. We combined our V-band data with the five available years of ASAS-3 V-band photometry to obtain a 6.5 yr light curve that we then analyzed to obtain the pulsation spectrum of W Vir. We find a best-fit period P0 = 17.27134 days; along with this period and the integer-ratio harmonics P0/2 through P0/5 inclusive, we clearly detect two additional periods, P1 and Plow, that are close to but not exactly 2P0/3 and 2P0, respectively. The former, P1 = 11.52562 days, we interpret to be the first overtone mode; the latter, Plow = 34.59760 days, is close to the beat period of (P - P)-1, as well as to the value of 2P0. We interpret the previously reported but thus far unconfirmed descriptions of alternating minima as manifestations of this multiperiodicity. Finally, we use the period derived from the V-band light curve to define a new ephemeris: HJDmax = 2,452,758.172 + 17.27134E. We compiled an (O - C) diagram spanning 75 yr from 1932 to 2007 using a variety of published photometric data and visual observations from the American Association of Variable Star Observers and derived a period-change term for the ephemeris equal to -9.9 ? 10-7E2, indicating a period decrease.
Introducing Astrocytes on a Neuromorphic Processor: Synchronization, Local Plasticity and Edge of Chaos

While there is still a lot to learn about astrocytes and their neuromodulatory role in the spatial and temporal integration of neuronal activity, their introduction to neuromorphic hardware is timely, facilitating their computational exploration in basic science questions as well as their exploitation in real-world applications. Here, we present an astrocytic module that enables the development of a spiking Neuronal-Astrocytic Network (SNAN) into Intel's Loihi neuromorphic chip. The basis of the Loihi module is an end-to-end biophysically plausible compartmental model of an astrocyte that simulates the intracellular activity in response to the synaptic activity in space and time. To demonstrate the functional role of astrocytes in SNAN, we describe how an astrocyte may sense and induce activity-dependent neuronal synchronization, switch on and off spike-time-dependent plasticity (STDP) to introduce single-shot learning, and monitor the transition between ordered and chaotic activity at the synaptic space. Our module may serve as an extension for neuromorphic hardware, by either replicating or exploring the distinct computational roles that astrocytes have in forming biological intelligence.
Real-Time Rejection and Mitigation of Time Synchronization Attacks on the Global Positioning System

This paper introduces the time synchronization attack rejection and mitigation (TSARM) technique for time synchronization attacks over the global positioning system (GPS). The technique estimates the clock bias and drift of the GPS receiver along with the possible attack contrary to previous approaches. Having estimated the time instants of the attack, the clock bias and drift of the receiver are corrected. The proposed technique is computationally efficient and can be easily implemented in real time in a fashion complementary to standard algorithms for position, velocity, and time estimation in off-the-shelf receivers. The performance of this technique is evaluated on a set of collected data from a real GPS receiver. Our method renders excellent time recovery consistent with the application requirements. The numerical results demonstrate that the TSARM technique outperforms competing approaches in the literature.
CO-Induced Lifting of Au(001) Surface Reconstruction

We report CO-induced lifting of the hexagonal surface reconstruction on Au(001). Using in situ surface X-ray scattering, we determined a pressure-temperature phase diagram for the reconstruction and measured the dynamical evolution of the surface structure in real time. Our observations provide evidence that, under certain conditions, even macroscopic Au surfaces, much larger than catalytic Au nanoparticles (Haruta, M. Catal. Today 1997, 36, 153), can exhibit some of the reactive properties and surface transitions observed in systems known to be catalytically active such as Pt(001).
Characterization and Approximation of Strong General Dual Feasible Functions

Dual feasible functions (DFFs) have been used to provide bounds for standard packing problems and valid inequalities for integer optimization problems. In this paper, the connection between general DFFs and a particular family of cut-generating functions is explored. We find the characterization of (restricted/strongly) maximal general DFFs and prove a 2-slope theorem for extreme general DFFs. We show that any restricted maximal general DFF can be well approximated by an extreme general DFF.
Preserving positivity for matrices with sparsity constraints

Functions preserving Loewner positivity when applied entrywise to positive semidefinite matrices have been widely studied in the literature. Following the work of Schoenberg [Duke Math. J. 9], Rudin [Duke Math. J. 26], and others, it is well-known that functions preserving positivity for matrices of all dimensions are absolutely monotonic (i.e., analytic with nonnegative Taylor coefficients). In this paper, we study functions preserving positivity when applied entrywise to sparse matrices, with zeros encoded by a graph $G$ or a family of graphs $G_n$. Our results generalize Schoenberg and Rudin's results to a modern setting, where functions are often applied entrywise to sparse matrices in order to improve their properties (e.g. better conditioning). The only such result known in the literature is for the complete graph $K_2$. We provide the first such characterization result for a large family of non-complete graphs. Specifically, we characterize functions preserving Loewner positivity on matrices with zeros according to a tree. These functions are multiplicatively midpoint-convex and super-additive. Leveraging the underlying sparsity in matrices thus admits the use of functions which are not necessarily analytic nor absolutely monotonic. We further show that analytic functions preserving positivity on matrices with zeros according to trees can contain arbitrarily long sequences of negative coefficients, thus obviating the need for absolute monotonicity in a very strong sense. This result leads to the question of exactly when absolute monotonicity is necessary when preserving positivity for an arbitrary class of graphs. We then provide a stronger condition in terms of the numerical range of all symmetric matrices, such that functions satisfying this condition on matrices with zeros according to any family of graphs with unbounded degrees are necessarily absolutely monotonic.
T′ AND THE CABIBBO ANGLE

The use of the binary tetrahedral group (T′) as flavor symmetry is discussed. I emphasize the CKM quark and PMNS neutrino mixings. I present a novel formula for the Cabibbo angle.
Discrete solitons and vortices in anisotropic hexagonal and honeycomb lattices

In the present work, we consider the self-focusing discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation on hexagonal and honeycomb lattice geometries. Our emphasis is on the study of the effects of anisotropy, motivated by the tunability afforded in recent optical and atomic physics experiments. We find that multi-soliton and discrete vortex states undergo destabilizing bifurcations as the relevant anisotropy control parameter is varied. We quantify these bifurcations by means of explicit analytical calculations of the solutions, as well as of their spectral linearization eigenvalues. Finally, we corroborate the relevant stability picture through direct numerical computations. In the latter, we observe the prototypical manifestation of these instabilities to be the spontaneous rearrangement of the solution, for larger values of the coupling, into localized waveforms typically centered over fewer sites than the original unstable structure. For weak coupling, the instability appears to result in a robust breathing of the relevant waveforms.
On D-branes and black holes in four dimensions

Abstract We find extremal four-dimensional black holes with finite area constructed entirely from intersecting D-branes. We argue that the microscopic degeneracy of these configurations agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula. The absence of solitonic objects in these configurations may make them useful for dynamical studies of black holes.
Universal wait-free memory reclamation

In this paper, we present a universal memory reclamation scheme, Wait-Free Eras (WFE), for deleted memory blocks in wait-free concurrent data structures. WFE's key innovation is that it is completely wait-free. Although some prior techniques provide similar guarantees for certain data structures, they lack support for arbitrary wait-free data structures. Consequently, developers are typically forced to marry their wait-free data structures with lock-free Hazard Pointers or (potentially blocking) epoch-based memory reclamation. Since both these schemes provide weaker progress guarantees, they essentially forfeit the strong progress guarantee of wait-free data structures. Though making the original Hazard Pointers scheme or epoch-based reclamation completely wait-free seems infeasible, we achieved this goal with a more recent, (lock-free) Hazard Eras scheme, which we extend to guarantee wait-freedom. As this extension is non-trivial, we discuss all challenges pertaining to the construction of universal wait-free memory reclamation. WFE is implementable on ubiquitous x86_64 and AArch64 (ARM) architectures. Its API is mostly compatible with Hazard Pointers, which allows easy transitioning of existing data structures into WFE. Our experimental evaluations show that WFE's performance is close to epoch-based reclamation and almost matches the original Hazard Eras scheme, while providing the stronger wait-free progress guarantee.
t Hooft defects and wall crossing in SQM

In this paper we study the contribution of monopole bubbling to the expectation value of supersymmetric ’t Hooft defects in Lagrangian theories of class S on ℝ3× S1. This can be understood as the Witten index of an SQM living on the world volume of the ’t Hooft defect that couples to the bulk 4D theory. The computation of this Witten index has many subtleties originating from a continuous spectrum of scattering states along the non-compact vacuum branches. We find that even after properly dealing with the spectral asymmetry, the standard localization result for the ’t Hooft defect does not agree with the result obtained from the AGT correspondence. In this paper we will explicitly show that one must correct the localization result by adding an extra term to the standard Jeffrey-Kirwan residue formula. This extra term accounts for the contribution of ground states localized along the non-compact branches. This extra term restores both the ex- pected symmetry properties of the line defect expectation value and reproduces the results derived using the AGT correspondence.
Magnification Bias in Galactic Microlensing Searches

It is shown that a significant amount of detectable gravitational microlensing events that could potentially be found by Massively Parallel Photometry (MAPP) project (such as the MACHO, EROS, and OGLE collaborations) will occur for stars too dim to be easily noticed individually by these projects. This is the result of a large magnification bias effect, a bias of including high-magnification events in any flux-limited sample. The probablility of detecting these events may be as high as 2.3 times the lensing probability of stars currently being monitored by MAPP collaborations.
Experimental investigation of circular Bragg phenomenon exhibited by a mirror-backed chiral sculptured thin film

Experimentation with obliquely incident light established that all four circular reflectances of a chiral sculptured thin film backed by a metallic mirror contain strong evidence of the circular Bragg phenomenon. When the mirror is removed, strong evidence of that phenomenon is found only in the spectrum of the copolarized and cohanded reflectance.
CHARGE EXCHANGE-INDUCED X-RAY EMISSION OF Fe xxv AND Fe xxvi VIA A STREAMLINED MODEL

Charge exchange is an important process for the modeling of X-ray spectra obtained by the Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Suzaku X-ray observatories, as well as the anticipated Astro-H mission. The understanding of the observed X-ray spectra produced by many astrophysical environments is hindered by the current incompleteness of available atomic and molecular data -- especially for charge exchange. Here, we implement a streamlined program set that applies quantum defect methods and the Landau-Zener theory to generate total, n-resolved, and nlS-resolved cross sections for any given projectile ion/ target charge exchange collision. Using this data in a cascade model for X-ray emission, theoretical spectra for such systems can be predicted. With these techniques, Fe25+ and Fe26+ charge exchange collisions with H, He, H2, N2, H2O, and CO are studied for single electron capture. These systems have been selected as they illustrate computational difficulties for high projectile charges. Further, Fe XXV and Fe XXVI emission lines have been detected in the Galactic center and Galactic ridge. Theoretical X-ray spectra for these collision systems are compared to experimental data generated by an electron beam ion trap study. Several l- distribution models have been tested for Fe25+ and Fe26+ single electron capture. Such analysis suggests that commonly used l-distribution models struggle to accurately reflect the true distribution of electron capture as understood by more advanced theoretical methods.
Nature of the electromagnetic force between classical magnetic dipoles

The Lorentz force law of classical electrodynamics states that the force 𝑭𝑭 exerted by the magnetic induction 𝑩𝑩 on a particle of charge 𝑞𝑞 moving with velocity 𝑽𝑽 is given by 𝑭𝑭 = 𝑞𝑞𝑽𝑽 × 𝑩𝑩. Since this force is orthogonal to the direction of motion, the magnetic field is said to be incapable of performing mechanical work. Yet there is no denying that a permanent magnet can readily perform mechanical work by pushing/pulling on another permanent magnet or by attracting pieces of magnetizable material such as scrap iron or iron filings. We explain this apparent contradiction by examining the magnetic Lorentz force acting on an Amperian current loop, which is the model for a magnetic dipole. We then extend the discussion by analyzing the Einstein-Laub model of magnetic dipoles in the presence of external magnetic fields.
Bounds on alternating surgery slopes

We show that if p∕q–surgery on a nontrivial knot K yields the branched double cover of an alternating knot, then |p∕q|≤ 4g(K) + 3. This generalises a bound for lens space surgeries first established by Rasmussen. We also show that all surgery coefficients yielding the double branched covers of alternating knots must be contained in an interval of width two and this full range can be realised only if the knot is a cable knot. The work of Greene and Gibbons shows that if Sp∕q3(K) bounds a sharp 4–manifold X, then the intersection form of X takes the form of a changemaker lattice. We extend this to show that the intersection form is determined uniquely by the knot K, the slope p∕q and the Betti number b2(X).
Trace of the Twisted Heisenberg Category

We show that the trace decategorification, or zeroth Hochschild homology, of the twisted Heisenberg category defined by Cautis and Sussan is isomorphic to a quotient of $${W^-}$$ , a subalgebra of $${W_{1+\infty}}$$ defined by Kac, Wang, and Yan. Our result is a twisted analogue of that by Cautis, Lauda, Licata, and Sussan relating $${W_{1+\infty}}$$ and the trace decategorification of the Heisenberg category.
On the rotational alignment of graphene domains grown on Ge(110) and Ge(111)

We have used low-energy electron diffraction and microscopy to compare the growth of graphene on hydrogen-free Ge(111) and Ge(110) from an atomic carbon flux. Growth on Ge(110) leads to significantly better rotational alignment of graphene domains with the substrate. To explain the poor rotational alignment on Ge(111), we have investigated experimentally and theoretically how the adatom reconstructions of Ge interact with graphene. We find that the ordering transition of the Ge(111) adatom reconstruction is not significantly perturbed by graphene. Density functional theory calculations show that graphene on reconstructed Ge(110) has large-amplitude corrugations, whereas it is remarkably flat on reconstructed Ge(111). We argue that the absence of corrugations prevents graphene islands from locking into a preferred orientation.
General maximum likelihood empirical Bayes estimation of normal means

We propose a general maximum likelihood empirical Bayes (GMLEB) method for the estimation of a mean vector based on observations with i.i.d. normal errors. We prove that under mild moment conditions on the unknown means, the average mean squared error (MSE) of the GMLEB is within an infinitesimal fraction of the minimum average MSE among all separable estimators which use a single deterministic estimating function on individual observations, provided that the risk is of greater order than (log n)5/n. We also prove that the GMLEB is uniformly approximately minimax in regular and weak lp balls when the order of the length-normalized norm of the unknown means is between (log n)κ1/n1/(p∧2) and n/(log n)κ2. Simulation experiments demonstrate that the GMLEB outperforms the James–Stein and several state-of-the-art threshold estimators in a wide range of settings without much down side.
Magnification Effects as Measures of Large-Scale Structure

The magnification effects of clustered matter produce variations in the image sizes and number densities of galaxies across the sky. This Letter advocates the use of these effects in wide-field surveys to map large-scale structure and the profiles of galaxy- and cluster-sized halos. The magnitude of the size variation as a function of angular scale is computed, and the signal-to-noise ratio is estimated for different survey parameters. Forthcoming surveys, especially well-designed space-based imaging surveys, will have high signal-to-noise ratios on scales of about 01 to several degrees. Thus, the clustering of matter could be measured on spatial scales of about 50 kpc-100 Mpc. The signal-to-noise ratio is dominated by sample variance rather than shot noise because of the finite number density of galaxies; hence, the accuracy of the measurements will be limited primarily by survey area, sampling strategy, and possible systematics. Methods based on magnification are compared with the use of shape distortions, and the contrasts and complementaries are discussed. Future work, which is needed to plan survey strategy and interpret measurements based on magnification, is outlined.
Fast and slow two-fluid magnetic reconnection

We present a two-fluid magnetohydrodynamics model of quasi-stationary, two-dimensional magnetic reconnection in an incompressible plasma composed of electrons and ions. We found that there are two distinct regimes of slow and fast reconnection. The presence of these two regimes can provide a possible explanation for the initial slow build-up and the subsequent rapid release of magnetic energy frequently observed in cosmic and laboratory plasmas.
On rotations as spin matrix polynomials

Recent results for rotations expressed as polynomials of spin matrices are derived here by elementary differential equation methods. Structural features of the results are then examined in the framework of biorthogonal systems, to obtain an alternate derivation. The central factorial numbers play key roles in both derivations.
Evolution of a Model Quantum System¶ Under Time Periodic Forcing:¶Conditions for Complete Ionization

We analyze the time evolution of a one-dimensional quantum system with an attractive delta function potential whose strength is subjected to a time periodic (zero mean) parametric variation η(t). We show that for generic η(t), which includes the sum of any finite number of harmonics, the system, started in a bound state will get fully ionized as t→∞. This is irrespective of the magnitude or frequency (resonant or not) of η(t). There are however exceptional, very non-generic η(t), that do not lead to full ionization, which include rather simple explicit periodic functions. For these η(t) the system evolves to a nontrivial localized stationary state which is related to eigenfunctions of the Floquet operator.
Scout: Rapid Exploration of Interface Layout Alternatives through High-Level Design Constraints

Although exploring alternatives is fundamental to creating better interface designs, current processes for creating alternatives are generally manual, limiting the alternatives a designer can explore. We present Scout, a system that helps designers rapidly explore alternatives through mixed-initiative interaction with high-level constraints and design feedback. Prior constraint-based layout systems use low-level spatial constraints and generally produce a single design. Tosupport designer exploration of alternatives, Scout introduces high-level constraints based on design concepts (e.g.,~semantic structure, emphasis, order) and formalizes them into low-level spatial constraints that a solver uses to generate potential layouts. In an evaluation with 18 interface designers, we found that Scout: (1) helps designers create more spatially diverse layouts with similar quality to those created with a baseline tool and (2) can help designers avoid a linear design process and quickly ideate layouts they do not believe they would have thought of on their own.
Parametric dependence of hot electron relaxation timescales on electron-electron and electron-phonon interaction strengths

Understanding how photoexcited electron dynamics depend on electron-electron (e-e) and electron-phonon (e-p) interaction strengths is important for many fields, e.g. ultrafast magnetism, photocatalysis, plasmonics, and others. Here, we report simple expressions that capture the interplay of e-e and e-p interactions on electron distribution relaxation times. We observe a dependence of the dynamics on e-e and e-p interaction strengths that is universal to most metals and is also counterintuitive. While only e-p interactions reduce the total energy stored by excited electrons, the time for energy to leave the electronic subsystem also depends on e-e interaction strengths because e-e interactions increase the number of electrons emitting phonons. The effect of e-e interactions on energy-relaxation is largest in metals with strong e-p interactions. Finally, the time high energy electron states remain occupied depends only on the strength of e-e interactions, even if e-p scattering rates are much greater than e-e scattering rates. Non-thermal populations of electrons and holes in metals relax via a complex cascade process consisting of multiple scattering mechanisms that are energy-dependent. This work presents a systematic analysis of relaxation dynamics in different metals based on simple expressions for their time-dependent distributions.
Positive Geometries and Canonical Forms

Recent years have seen a surprising connection between the physics of scattering amplitudes and a class of mathematical objects — the positive Grassmannian, positive loop Grassmannians, tree and loop Amplituhedra — which have been loosely referred to as “positive geometries”. The connection between the geometry and physics is provided by a unique differential form canonically determined by the property of having logarithmic singularities (only) on all the boundaries of the space, with residues on each boundary given by the canonical form on that boundary. The structures seen in the physical setting of the Amplituhedron are both rigid and rich enough to motivate an investigation of the notions of “positive geometries” and their associated “canonical forms” as objects of study in their own right, in a more general mathematical setting. In this paper we take the first steps in this direction. We begin by giving a precise definition of positive geometries and canonical forms, and introduce two general methods for finding forms for more complicated positive geometries from simpler ones — via “triangulation” on the one hand, and “push-forward” maps between geometries on the other. We present numerous examples of positive geometries in projective spaces, Grassmannians, and toric, cluster and flag varieties, both for the simplest “simplex-like” geometries and the richer “polytope-like” ones. We also illustrate a number of strategies for computing canonical forms for large classes of positive geometries, ranging from a direct determination exploiting knowledge of zeros and poles, to the use of the general triangulation and push-forward methods, to the representation of the form as volume integrals over dual geometries and contour integrals over auxiliary spaces. These methods yield interesting representations for the canonical forms of wide classes of positive geometries, ranging from the simplest Amplituhedra to new expressions for the volume of arbitrary convex polytopes.
Spectral and transport properties of quark–gluon plasma in a nonperturbative approach

Nonperturbative methods play an important role in quantum many-body systems, especially in situations with an interplay of continuum and bound states and/or large coupling strengths between the constituents. Employing the Luttinger–Ward functional (LWF) we have computed the equation of state (EoS) of the quark–gluon plasma using fully dressed selfconsistent one- and two-body propagators. We first give an alternative derivation of our previously reported results for resumming the ladder diagram series of the LWF using a “matrix log” technique which accounts for dynamically formed bound and resonant states. Two types of solutions were found in selfconsistent fits to lattice-QCD data for the EoS, heavy-quark free energy and quarkonium correlators: a strongly coupled scenario (SCS) with broad parton spectral functions and strong meson resonances near the transition temperature vs. a weakly coupled scenario (WCS) with well-defined parton quasiparticles and weak meson resonances. Here, we discuss how these solutions can be distinguished by analyzing the pertinent transport properties. We focus on the specific shear viscosity, $$(4\pi )\eta /s$$, and the heavy-quark diffusion coefficient, $$(2\pi T) {{\mathcal {D}}}_{s}$$, including its mass dependence. At low temperatures, in the SCS, they turn out to be a factor of 2 within their conjectured quantum lower bound, while they are a factor of 2–5 larger in the WCS. At higher temperatures, the transport parameters of the two scenarios approach each other. We propose the ratio $$ (4\pi \eta /s)/(2\pi T {{\mathcal {D}}}_s )$$ as a measure to distinguish the perturbative and strong-coupling limits of 5/2 and 1, respectively.
Decoding quantum errors with subspace expansions.

With rapid developments in quantum hardware comes a push towards the first practical applications. While fully fault-tolerant quantum computers are not yet realized, there may exist intermediate forms of error correction that enable practical applications. In this work, we consider the idea of post-processing error decoders using existing quantum codes, which mitigate errors on logical qubits using post-processing without explicit syndrome measurements or additional qubits beyond the encoding overhead. This greatly simplifies the experimental exploration of quantum codes on real, near-term devices, removing the need for locality of syndromes or fast feed-forward. We develop the theory of the method and demonstrate it on an example with the perfect [[5, 1, 3]] code, which exhibits a pseudo-threshold of p ≈ 0.50 under a single qubit depolarizing channel applied to all qubits. We also provide a demonstration of improved performance on an unencoded hydrogen molecule. Fault-tolerant quantum computation is still far, but there could be ways in which quantum error correction could improve currently available devices. Here, the authors show how to exploit existing quantum codes through only post-processing and random measurements in order to mitigate errors in NISQ devices.
A Flexible GPU-Accelerated Radio-frequency Readout for Superconducting Detectors

We have developed a flexible radio-frequency readout system suitable for a variety of superconducting detectors commonly used in millimeter and submillimeter astrophysics, including kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs), Thermal KID bolometers, and quantum capacitance detectors. Our system avoids custom FPGA-based readouts and instead uses commercially available software radio hardware for analog to digital converter chip/digital to analog converter chip and a GPU to handle real-time signal processing. Because this system is written in common C++/CUDA, the range of different algorithms that can be quickly implemented make it suitable for the readout of many others cryogenic detectors and for the testing of different and possibly more effective data acquisition schemes.
Exact black hole degeneracies and the topological string

Motivated by the recent conjecture of Ooguri, Strominger and Vafa, we compute the semi-canonical partition function of BPS black holes in = 4 and = 8 string theories, to all orders in perturbation theory. Not only are the black hole partition functions surprisingly simple; they capture the full topological string amplitudes, as expected from the OSV conjecture. The agreement is not perfect, however, as there are differences between the black hole and topological string partition functions even at the perturbative level. We propose a minimal modification of the OSV conjecture, in which these differences are understood as a nontrivial measure factor for the topological string.
Meshing strategies for the alleviation of mesh-induced effects in cohesive element models

One of the main approaches for modeling fracture and crack propagation in solid materials is adaptive insertion of cohesive elements, in which line-like (2D) or surface-like (3D) elements are inserted into the finite element mesh to model the nucleation and propagation of failure surfaces. In this approach, however, cracks are forced to propagate along element boundaries, following paths that in general require more energy per unit crack extension (greater driving forces) than those followed in the original continuum. This, in turn, leads to erroneous solutions. We illustrate how the introduction of a discretization produces mesh-induced anisotropy and mesh-induced toughness for problems involving brittle fracture. Subsequently, we quantify those effects through polar plots of the path deviation ratio for commonly adopted meshes. Finally, we propose to reduce those effects through a new type of mesh, which we term conjugate-directions mesh.
Ergodicity: a historical perspective. Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium

A view on the physical meaning of the so called ergodic hypothesis: its role on the foundations of equilibrium statistical mechanics in mid ’1800, its interpretations and hints at its relevance for modern nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. Followed by appendices with detailed comments on the original papers.
MATCHING WEAK COUPLING AND QUASICLASSICAL EXPANSIONS FOR DUAL QES PROBLEMS

Certain quasi-exactly solvable systems exhibit an energy reflection property that relates the energy levels of a potential or of a pair of potentials. We investigate two sister potentials and show the existence of this energy reflection relationship between the two potentials. We establish a relationship between the lowest energy edge in the first potential using the weak coupling expansion and the highest energy level in the sister potential using a WKB approximation carried out to higher order.
PIV/BOS synthetic image generation in variable density environments for error analysis and experiment design

We present an image generation methodology based on ray tracing that can be used to render realistic images of particle image velocimetry (PIV) and background oriented schlieren (BOS) experiments in the presence of density/refractive index gradients. This methodology enables the simulation of aero-thermodynamics experiments for experiment design, error, and uncertainty analysis. Images are generated by emanating light rays from the particles or dot pattern, and propagating them through the density gradient field and the optical elements, up to the camera sensor. The rendered images are realistic, and can replicate the features of a given experimental setup, like optical aberrations and perspective effects, which can be deliberately introduced for error analysis. We demonstrate this methodology by simulating a BOS experiment with a known density field obtained from direct numerical simulations of homogeneous buoyancy driven turbulence, and comparing the light ray displacements from ray tracing to results from BOS theory. The light ray displacements show good agreement with the reference data. This methodology provides a framework for further development of simulation tools for use in experiment design and development of image analysis tools for PIV and BOS applications. An implementation of the proposed methodology in a Python-CUDA program is made available as an open source software for researchers.
Accelerator based fusion reactor

A feasibility study of fusion reactors based on accelerators is carried out. We consider a novel scheme where a beam from the accelerator hits the target plasma on the resonance of the fusion reaction and establish characteristic criteria for a workable reactor. We consider the reactions , and in this study. The critical temperature of the plasma is determined from overcoming the stopping power of the beam with the fusion energy gain. The needed plasma lifetime is determined from the width of the resonance, the beam velocity and the plasma density. We estimate the critical beam flux by balancing the energy of fusion production against the plasma thermo-energy and the loss due to stopping power for the case of an inert plasma. The product of critical flux and plasma lifetime is independent of plasma density and has a weak dependence on temperature. Even though the critical temperatures for these reactions are lower than those for the thermonuclear reactors, the critical flux is in the range of for the plasma density in the case of an inert plasma. Several approaches to control the growth of the two-stream instability are discussed. We have also considered several scenarios for practical implementation which will require further studies. Finally, we consider the case where the injected beam at the resonance energy maintains the plasma temperature and prolongs its lifetime to reach a steady state. The equations for power balance and particle number conservation are given for this case.
GRUEN for Evaluating Linguistic Quality of Generated Text

Automatic evaluation metrics are indispensable for evaluating generated text. To date, these metrics have focused almost exclusively on the content selection aspect of the system output, ignoring the linguistic quality aspect altogether. We bridge this gap by proposing GRUEN for evaluating Grammaticality, non-Redundancy, focUs, structure and coherENce of generated text. GRUEN utilizes a BERT-based model and a class of syntactic, semantic, and contextual features to examine the system output. Unlike most existing evaluation metrics which require human references as an input, GRUEN is reference-less and requires only the system output. Besides, it has the advantage of being unsupervised, deterministic, and adaptable to various tasks. Experiments on seven datasets over four language generation tasks show that the proposed metric correlates highly with human judgments.
An Algebraic Approach to the Control of Decentralized Systems

Optimal decentralized controller design is notoriously difficult, but recent research has identified large subclasses of such problems that may be convexified and, thus, are amenable to solution via efficient numerical methods. One recently discovered sufficient condition for convexity is quadratic invariance (QI). Despite the simple algebraic characterization of QI, which relates the plant and controller maps, proving convexity of the set of achievable closed-loop maps requires tools from functional analysis. In this paper, we present a new formulation of QI that is purely algebraic. While our results are similar in flavor to those from traditional QI theory, they do not follow from that body of work. Furthermore, they are applicable to new types of systems that are difficult to treat using functional analysis. Examples discussed include rational transfer matrices, systems with delays, and multidimensional systems.