cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Smoothed Possibility of Social Choice

We develop a framework that leverages the smoothed complexity analysis by Spielman and Teng to circumvent paradoxes and impossibility theorems in social choice, motivated by modern applications of social choice powered by AI and ML. For Condrocet's paradox, we prove that the smoothed likelihood of the paradox either vanishes at an exponential rate as the number of agents increases, or does not vanish at all. For the ANR impossibility on the non-existence of voting rules that simultaneously satisfy anonymity, neutrality, and resolvability, we characterize the rate for the impossibility to vanish, to be either polynomially fast or exponentially fast. We also propose a novel easy-to-compute tie-breaking mechanism that optimally preserves anonymity and neutrality for even number of alternatives in natural settings. Our results illustrate the smoothed possibility of social choice -- even though the paradox and the impossibility theorem hold in the worst case, they may not be a big concern in practice.
A Lagrangian effective field theory

We have continued the development of Lagrangian, cosmological perturbation theory for the low-order correlators of the matter density field. We provide a new route to understanding how the effective field theory (EFT) of large-scale structure can be formulated in the Lagrandian framework and a new resummation scheme, comparing our results to earlier work and to a series of high-resolution N-body simulations in both Fourier and configuration space. The `new' terms arising from EFT serve to tame the dependence of perturbation theory on small-scale physics and improve agreement with simulations (though with an additional free parameter). We find that all of our models fare well on scales larger than about two to three times the non-linear scale, but fail as the non-linear scale is approached. This is slightly less reach than has been seen previously. At low redshift the Lagrangian model fares as well as EFT in its Eulerian formulation, but at higher z the Eulerian EFT fits the data to smaller scales than resummed, Lagrangian EFT. All the perturbative models fare better than linear theory.
Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays

Abstract In this report we review the important progress made in recent years towards understanding the experimental data on ultra-high-energy ( E ≳ 1 0 9 GeV ) cosmic rays. We begin with a general survey of the available data, including a description of the energy spectrum, the nuclear composition, and the distribution of arrival directions. At this point we also give a synopsis of experimental techniques. After that, we introduce the fundamentals of cosmic ray acceleration and energy loss during propagation, with a view of discussing the conjectured nearby sources. Next, we survey the state of the art regarding the high- and ultra-high-energy cosmic neutrinos which may be produced in association with the observed cosmic rays. These neutrinos could constitute key messengers identifying currently unknown cosmic accelerators, possibly in the distant universe, because their propagation is not influenced by background photon or magnetic fields. Subsequently, we summarize the phenomenology of cosmic ray air showers. We describe the hadronic interaction models used to extrapolate results from collider data to ultra-high energies and the main electromagnetic processes that govern the longitudinal shower evolution. Armed with these two principal shower ingredients and motivation from the underlying physics, we describe the different methods proposed to distinguish the primary particle species. In the end, we explore how ultra-high-energy cosmic rays can be used as probes of beyond standard model physics models.
Multiple fibrations in Calabi-Yau geometry and string dualities

In this work we explore the physics associated to Calabi-Yau (CY) n-folds that can be described as a fibration in more than one way. Beginning with F-theory vacua in various dimensions, we consider limits/dualities with M-theory, type IIA, and heterotic string theories. Our results include many M-/F-theory correspondences in which distinct F-theory vacua — associated to different elliptic fibrations of the same CY n-fold — give rise to the same M-theory limit in one dimension lower. Examples include 5-dimensional correspondences between 6-dimensional theories with Abelian, non-Abelian and superconformal structure, as well as examples of higher rank Mordell-Weil geometries. In addition, in the context of heterotic/F-theory duality, we investigate the role played by multiple K3- and elliptic fibrations in known and novel string dualities in 8-, 6- and 4-dimensional theories. Here we systematically summarize nested fibration structures and comment on the roles they play in T-duality, mirror symmetry, and 4-dimensional compactifications of F-theory with G-flux. This investigation of duality structures is made possible by geometric tools developed in a companion paper [1].
Enforcing the non‐negativity constraint and maximum principles for diffusion with decay on general computational grids

In this paper, we consider anisotropic diffusion with decay, which takes the form �(x)c(x) div(D(x)grad(c(x))) = f(x) with decay coefficient�(x) � 0, and diffusivity coefficient D(x) to be a second-order symmetric and positive definite tensor. It is well-known that this partic- ular equation is a second-order elliptic equation, and satisfies a maximum principle under certain regularity assumptions. However, the finite element implementation of the classical Galerkin for- mulation for both anisotropic and isotropic diffusion with decay does not respect the maximum principle. Put differently, the classical Galerkin formulation violates the discrete maximum princi- ple for diffusion with decay even on structured computational meshes. We first show that the numerical accuracy of the classical Galerkin formulation deteriorates dramatically with an increase infor isotropic media and violates the discrete maximum prin- ciple. However, in the case of isotropic media, the extent of violation decreases with the mesh refinement. We then show that, in the case of anisotropic media, the classical Galerkin formulation for anisotropic diffusion with decay violates the discrete maximum principle even at lower values of decay coefficient and does not vanish with mesh refinement. We then present a methodology for enforcing maximum principles under the classical Galerkin formulation for anisotropic diffusion with decay on general computational grids using optimization techniques. Representative numer- ical results (which take into account anisotropy and heterogeneity) are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed formulation. In this paper we consider heterogeneous anisotropic diffusion with decay, which takes the form: �(x)c(x)−div(D(x)grad(c(x))) = f(x) with �(x) � 0 and D(x) is a symmetric and positive definite second-order tensor. This equation is a linear second-order elliptic partial differential equation (21). There are many important problems in Mathematical Physics which give rise to this equation (60). Also, this equation arises in numerical methods and mathematical analysis of transient problems (35). Some of these cases include:
Amplitude expansions for instabilities in populations of globally-coupled oscillators

We analyze the nonlinear dynamics near the incoherent state in a mean-field model of coupled oscillators. The population is described by a Fokker-Planck equation for the distribution of phases, and we apply center-manifold reduction to obtain the amplitude equations for steady-state and Hopf bifurcation from the equilibrium state with a uniform phase distribution. When the population is described by a native frequency distribution that is reflection-symmetric about zero, the problem has circular symmetry. In the limit of zero extrinsic noise, although the critical eigenvalues are embedded in the continuous spectrum, the nonlinear coefficients in the amplitude equation remain finite, in contrast to the singular behavior found in similar instabilities described by the Vlasov-Poisson equation. For a bimodal reflection-symmetric distribution, both types of bifurcation are possible and they coincide at a codimension-two Takens-Bogdanov point. The steady-state bifurcation may be supercritical or subcritical and produces a time-independent synchronized state. The Hopf bifurcation produces both supercritical stable standing waves and supercritical unstable traveling waves. Previous work on the Hopf bifurcation in a bimodal population by Bonilla, Neu, and Spigler and by Okuda and Kuramoto predicted stable traveling waves and stable standing waves, respectively. A comparison to these previous calculations shows that the prediction of stable traveling waves results from a failure to include all unstable modes.
Quantum engineered Kondo lattices.

Atomic manipulation techniques have provided a bottom-up approach to investigating the unconventional properties and complex phases of strongly correlated electron materials. By engineering artificial systems containing tens to thousands of atoms with tailored electronic or magnetic properties, it has become possible to explore how quantum many-body effects emerge as the size of a system is increased from the nanoscale to the mesoscale. Here we investigate both theoretically and experimentally the quantum engineering of nanoscale Kondo lattices – Kondo droplets – exemplifying nanoscopic replicas of heavy-fermion materials. We demonstrate that by changing a droplet’s real-space geometry, we can not only create coherently coupled Kondo droplets whose properties asymptotically approach those of a quantum-coherent Kondo lattice, but also markedly increase or decrease the droplet’s Kondo temperature. Furthermore we report on the discovery of a new quantum phenomenon – the Kondo echo – a signature of droplets containing Kondo holes functioning as direct probes of spatially extended, quantum-coherent Kondo cloud correlations. The mechanism underlying screening of a Kondo lattice of magnetic moments by conduction electrons is an important unsolved problem. Figgins et al. use STM techniques to assemble nanoscale Kondo droplets that extrapolate between a single moment and the Kondo lattice, providing a platform for further study.
Synchrotron spectra of GRB prompt emission and pulsar wind nebulae

Particle acceleration is a fundamental process in many high-energy astrophysical environments and determines the spectral features of their synchrotron emission. We have studied the adiabatic stochastic acceleration (ASA) of electrons arising from the basic dynamics of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence and found that the ASA acts to efficiently harden the injected electron energy spectrum. The dominance of the ASA at low energies and the dominance of synchrotron cooling at high energies result in a broken power-law shape of both electron energy spectrum and photon synchrotron spectrum. Furthermore, we have applied the ASA to studying the synchrotron spectra of the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). The good agreement between our theories and observations confirms that the stochastic particle acceleration is indispensable in explaining their synchrotron emission.
Eddington Accretion and QSO Emission Lines at z ~ 2

Broad absorption line (BAL) QSOs have been suggested to be youthful superaccretors based on their powerful radiatively driven absorbing outflows and often reddened continua. To test this hypothesis, we observed near-IR spectra of the Hβ region for 11 bright BAL QSOs at redshift z ~ 2. We measured these and literature spectra for six BAL QSOs and 13 radio-loud and seven radio-quiet non-BAL QSOs. Using the luminosity and Hβ broad line width to derive black hole mass and accretion rate, we find that both BAL and non-BAL QSOs at z ~ 2 tend to have higher L/LEdd than those at low z—probably a result of selecting the brightest QSOs. However, we find that the high-z QSOs, in particular the BAL QSOs, have extremely strong Fe II and very weak [O III], extending the inverse relationship found for low-z QSOs. This suggests that, even while radiating near LEdd, the BAL QSOs have a more plentiful fuel supply than non-BAL QSOs. Comparison with low-z QSOs shows for the first time that the inverse Fe II-[O III] relationship is indeed related to L/LEdd, rather than black hole mass.
Obstructions to convexity in neural codes

Abstract How does the brain encode spatial structure? One way is through hippocampal neurons called place cells, which become associated to convex regions of space known as their receptive fields: each place cell fires at a high rate precisely when the animal is in the receptive field. The firing patterns of multiple place cells form what is known as a convex neural code. How can we tell when a neural code is convex? To address this question, Giusti and Itskov identified a local obstruction, defined via the topology of a code's simplicial complex, and proved that convex neural codes have no local obstructions. Curto et al. proved the converse for all neural codes on at most four neurons. Via a counterexample on five neurons, we show that this converse is false in general. Additionally, we classify all codes on five neurons with no local obstructions. This classification is enabled by our enumeration of connected simplicial complexes on 5 vertices up to isomorphism. Finally, we examine how local obstructions are related to maximal codewords (maximal sets of neurons that co-fire). Curto et al. proved that a code has no local obstructions if and only if it contains certain “mandatory” intersections of maximal codewords. We give a new criterion for an intersection of maximal codewords to be non-mandatory, and prove that it classifies all such non-mandatory codewords for codes on up to five neurons.
THREE-DIMENSIONAL ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION OF HOT JUPITERS ON HIGHLY ECCENTRIC ORBITS

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Origins and Planetary Atmospheres grant))
Velocity decay estimates for Boltzmann equation with hard potentials

We establish pointwise polynomial decay estimates in velocity space for the spatially inhomogeneous Boltzmann equation without cutoff, in the case of hard potentials (γ + 2s > 2), under the assumption that the mass, energy, and entropy densities are bounded above, and the mass density is bounded below. These estimates are self-generating, i.e. they do not require corresponding decay assumptions on the initial data. Our results extend the recent work of Imbert et al [2020 J. Ecole Polytech. 7 143–83], which addressed the case of moderately soft potentials (γ + 2s ∈ [0, 2]).
The Physical Origin of Long Gas Depletion Times in Galaxies

We present a model that explains why galaxies form stars on a time scale significantly longer than the time scales of processes governing the evolution of interstellar gas. We show that gas evolves from a non-star-forming to a star-forming state on a relatively short time scale and thus the rate of this evolution does not limit the star formation rate. Instead, the star formation rate is limited because only a small fraction of star-forming gas is converted into stars before star-forming regions are dispersed by feedback and dynamical processes. Thus, gas cycles into and out of star-forming state multiple times, which results in a long time scale on which galaxies convert gas into stars. Our model does not rely on the assumption of equilibrium and can be used to interpret trends of depletion times with the properties of observed galaxies and the parameters of star formation and feedback recipes in simulations. In particular, the model explains how feedback self-regulates the star formation rate in simulations and makes it insensitive to the local star formation efficiency. We illustrate our model using the results of an isolated $L_*$-sized galaxy simulation that reproduces the observed Kennicutt-Schmidt relation for both molecular and atomic gas. Interestingly, the relation for molecular gas is almost linear on kiloparsec scales, although a nonlinear relation is adopted in simulation cells. We discuss how a linear relation emerges from non-self-similar scaling of the gas density PDF with the average gas surface density.
Testing the Universality of the Fundamental Metallicity Relation at High Redshift Using Low-mass Gravitationally Lensed Galaxies

We present rest-frame optical spectra for a sample of nine low-mass star-forming galaxies in the redshift range 1.5 = 0.01 ± 0.08, suggesting a universal relationship. Remarkably, the scatter around the fundamental metallicity relation is only 0.24 dex, smaller than that observed locally at the same stellar masses, which may provide an important additional constraint for galaxy evolution models.
The High-Energy Spectra of Accreting Black Holes: Observational Evidence for Bulk-Motion Infall

We discuss the emergent spectra from accreting black holes, considering in particular the case where the accretion is characterized by relativistic bulk motion. We suggest that such accretion is likely to occur in a wide variety of black hole environments, where the strong gravitational field is expected to dominate the pressure forces, and that this is likely to lead to a characteristic high-energy spectroscopic signature: an extended power-law tail. It is in the high (soft) state that matter impinging upon the event horizon can be viewed directly, and the intrinsic power law is seen. Certain types of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) may represent the extragalactic analog of the high-soft state accretion, which would further support our ideas, demonstrating the stability of the (α~1.8) power law. This stability is a result of the asymptotic independence of the spectral index on the mass accretion rate and its weak dependence on plasma temperatures. We have computed the expected spectral energy distribution for an accreting black hole binary in terms of our three model parameters: the disk color temperature, a geometric factor related to the illumination of the black hole site by the disk, and a spectral index related to the efficiency of the bulk-motion up-scattering. We emphasize that this is a fully self-consistent approach, and it is not to be confused with the more common phenomenological methods employing additive power law and blackbody or multicolor disk. A test of the model is presented using observational data from the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) and the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), covering 2-200 keV for two recent galactic black hole X-ray nova outbursts. The resulting model fits are encouraging and, along with some observational trends cited from the literature, they support our bulk-motion hypothesis.
Mobility extraction and quantum capacitance impact in high performance graphene field-effect transistor devices

The field-effect mobility of graphene devices is discussed. We argue that the graphene ballistic mean free path, Lball can only be extracted by taking into account both, the electrical characteristics and the channel length dependent mobility. In doing so we find a ballistic mean free path of Lball=300plusmn100 nm at room-temperature for a carrier concentration of ~1012 cm-2 and that a substantial series resistance of around 300 Omega mum has to be taken into account. Furthermore, we demonstrate first quantum capacitance measurements on single-layer graphene devices.
The magnetoelectric effect in transition metal oxides: Insights and the rational design of new materials from first principles

Abstract The search for materials displaying a large magnetoelectric effect has occupied researchers for many decades. The rewards could include not only advanced electronics technologies, but also fundamental insights concerning the dielectric and magnetic properties of condensed matter. In this article, we focus on the magnetoelectric effect in transition metal oxides and review the manner in which first-principles calculations have helped guide the search for (and increasingly, predicted) new materials and shed light on the microscopic mechanisms responsible for magnetoelectric phenomena.
A Moving Target Defense for Securing Cyber-Physical Systems

This article considers the design and analysis of multiple moving target defenses for recognizing and isolating attacks on cyber-physical systems. We consider attackers who perform integrity attacks on some set of sensors and actuators in a control system. In such cases, it has been shown that a model aware adversary can carefully design attack vectors to bypass bad data detection and identification filters while causing damage to the control system. To counter such an attacker, we propose the moving target defense which introduces stochastic, time-varying parameters in the control system. The underlying random dynamics of the system limit an attacker's knowledge of the model and inhibit his or her ability to construct stealthy attack sequences. Moreover, the time-varying nature of the dynamics thwarts adaptive adversaries. We explore three main designs. First, we consider a hybrid system where parameters within the existing plant are switched among multiple modes. We demonstrate how such an approach can enable both the detection and identification of malicious nodes. Next, we investigate the addition of an extended system with dynamics that are coupled to the original plant but do not affect the system performance. Here, an attack on the original system will affect the authenticating subsystem and in turn be revealed by a set of sensors measuring the extended plant. Finally, we propose the use of sensor nonlinearities to enhance the effectiveness of the moving target defense. The nonlinear dynamics act to conceal normal operational behavior from an attacker who has tampered with the system state, further hindering an attacker's ability to glean information about the time-varying dynamics. In all cases mechanisms for analysis and design are proposed. Finally, we analyze attack detectability for each moving target defense by investigating expected lower bounds on the detection statistic. Our contributions are also tested via simulation.
Imaging Redshift Estimates for BL Lacertae Objects

We have obtained high dynamic range, good natural seeing i' images of BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs) to search for the active galactic nucleus host and thus constrain the source redshift. These objects are drawn from a sample of bright flat-spectrum radio sources that are either known (via recent Fermi Large Area Telescope observations) gamma-ray emitters or similar sources that might be detected in continuing gamma-ray observations. All had spectroscopic confirmation as BL Lac sources, but no redshift solution. We detected hosts for 25/49 objects. As these galaxies have been argued to be standard candles, our measured host magnitudes provide redshift estimates (ranging from 0.2 to 1.0). Lower bounds are established on the redshifts of non-detections. The mean of the fit redshifts (and lower limits) is higher than those of spectroscopic solutions in the radio-loud and gamma-ray-loud parent samples, suggesting corrections may be needed for the luminosity function and evolution of these sources.
Conductivity bounds in probe brane models

We discuss upper and lower bounds on the electrical conductivity of finite temperature strongly coupled quantum field theories, holographically dual to probe brane models, within linear response. In a probe limit where disorder is introduced entirely through an inhomogeneous background charge density, we find simple lower and upper bounds on the electrical conductivity in arbitrary dimensions. In field theories in two spatial dimensions, we show that both bounds persist even when disorder is included in the bulk metric. We discuss the challenges with finding sharp lower bounds on conductivity in three or more spatial dimensions when the metric is inhomogeneous.
Affine Macdonald conjectures and special values of Felder–Varchenko functions

We refine the statement of the denominator and evaluation conjectures for affine Macdonald polynomials proposed by Etingof–Kirillov Jr. (Duke Math J 78(2):229–256, 1995) and prove the first non-trivial cases of these conjectures. Our results provide a q-deformation of the computation of genus 1 conformal blocks via elliptic Selberg integrals by Felder–Stevens–Varchenko (Math Res Lett 10(5–6):671–684, 2003). They allow us to give precise formulations for the affine Macdonald conjectures in the general case which are consistent with computer computations. Our method applies recent work of the second named author to relate these conjectures in the case of U_q(sl_2) to evaluations of certain theta hypergeometric integrals defined by Felder–Varchenko (Int Math Res Not 21:1037–1055, 2004). We then evaluate the resulting integrals, which may be of independent interest, by well-chosen applications of the elliptic beta integral introduced by Spiridonov (Uspekhi Mat Nauk 56(1(337)):181–182, 2001).
Ultrabroadband Supercontinuum Generation and Frequency-Comb Stabilization Using On-Chip Waveguides with Both Cubic and Quadratic Nonlinearities

Nanoscale aluminum nitride waveguides transform near-infrared laser light into a broad rainbow of colors, from midinfrared to visible frequencies. The asymmetric crystal structure of AlN endows the material with both ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(2)}$ and ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(3)}$ nonlinearities and allows the same color of light to be generated via different nonlinear pathways, enabling stabilization of the frequency comb and a rich, complex output spectrum. This development is of significant practical importance, as basing such waveguides on a lithography-compatible material allows for customization and mass production, greatly reducing their cost and boosting access to them worldwide.
Diagram spaces, diagram spectra and spectra of units

This article compares the infinite loop spaces associated to symmetric spectra, orthogonal spectra and EKMM S‐modules. Each of these categories of structured spectra has a corresponding category of structured spaces that receives the infinite loop space functor � 1 . We prove that these models for spaces are Quillen equivalent and that the infinite loop space functors � 1 agree. This comparison is then used to show that two different constructions of the spectrum of units gl 1 R of a commutative ring spectrum R agree. 55P42, 55P43, 55P47, 55U35, 55U40; 55P48, 18G55
GIT semistability of Hilbert points of Milnor algebras

We study GIT semistability of Hilbert points of Milnor algebras of homogeneous forms. Our first result is that a homogeneous form F in n variables is GIT semistable with respect to the natural \({{\mathrm{SL}}}(n)\)-action if and only if the gradient point of F, which is the first non-trivial Hilbert point of the Milnor algebra of F, is semistable. We also prove that the induced morphism on the GIT quotients is finite, and injective on the locus of stable forms. Our second result is that the associated form of F, also known as the Macaulay inverse system of the Milnor algebra of F, and which is apolar to the last non-trivial Hilbert point of the Milnor algebra, is GIT semistable whenever F is a smooth form. These two results answer questions of Alper and Isaev.
Three-point galaxy-galaxy lensing as a probe of dark matter halo shapes

We propose a method to measure the ellipticities of dark matter halos using the lens-shear-shear 3-point correlation function. This method is immune to effects of galaxy-halo misalignments that can potentially limit 2-point galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements of halo anisotropy. Using a simple model for the projected mass distributions of dark matter halos, we construct an ellipticity estimator that sums over all possible triangular configurations of the 3-point function. By applying our estimator to halos from N-body simulations, we find that systematic errors in the recovered ellipticity will be at the 5% fractional level. We estimate that future imaging surveys like LSST will have sufficient statistics to detect halo ellipticities using 3-point lensing.
Effects of Voice-Based Synthetic Assistant on Performance of Emergency Care Provider in Training

As part of a perennial project, our team is actively engaged in developing new synthetic assistant (SA) technologies to assist in training combat medics and medical first responders. It is critical that medical first responders are well trained to deal with emergencies more effectively. This would require real-time monitoring and feedback for each trainee. Therefore, we introduced a voice-based SA to augment the training process of medical first responders and enhance their performance in the field. The potential benefits of SAs include a reduction in training costs and enhanced monitoring mechanisms. Despite the increased usage of voice-based personal assistants (PAs) in day-to-day life, the associated effects are commonly neglected for a study of human factors. Therefore, this paper focuses on performance analysis of the developed voice-based SA in emergency care provider training for a selected emergency treatment scenario. The research discussed in this paper follows design science in developing proposed technology; at length, we discussed architecture and development and presented working results of voice-based SA. The empirical testing was conducted on two groups as user studies using statistical analysis tools, one trained with conventional methods and the other with the help of SA. The statistical results demonstrated the amplification in training efficacy and performance of medical responders powered by SA. Furthermore, the paper also discusses the accuracy and time of task execution (t) and concludes with the guidelines for resolving the identified problems.
Probing beyond ETH at large c

We study probe corrections to the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH) in the context of 2D CFTs with large central charge and a sparse spectrum of low dimension operators. In particular, we focus on observables in the form of non-local composite operators $$ {\mathcal{O}}_{\mathrm{obs}}(x)={\mathcal{O}}_L(x){\mathcal{O}}_L(0) $$ with h L ≪ c. As a light probe, $$ {\mathcal{O}}_{\mathrm{obs}}(x) $$ is constrained by ETH and satisfies $$ {\left\langle {\mathcal{O}}_{\mathrm{obs}}(x)\right\rangle}_{h_H}\approx {\left\langle {\mathcal{O}}_{\mathrm{obs}}(x)\right\rangle}_{\mathrm{micro}} $$ for a high energy energy eigenstate |h H 〉. In the CFTs of interests, $$ {{\left\langle {\mathcal{O}}_{\mathrm{obs}}(x)\right\rangle}_h}_{{}_H} $$ is related to a Heavy-Heavy-Light-Light (HL) correlator, and can be approximated by the vacuum Virasoro block, which we focus on computing. A sharp consequence of ETH for $$ {\mathcal{O}}_{\mathrm{obs}}(x) $$ is the so called “forbidden singularities”, arising from the emergent thermal periodicity in imaginary time. Using the monodromy method, we show that finite probe corrections of the form $$ \mathcal{O}\left({h}_L/c\right) $$ drastically alter both sides of the ETH equality, replacing each thermal singularity with a pair of branch-cuts. Via the branch-cuts, the vacuum blocks are connected to infinitely many additional “saddles”. We discuss and verify how such violent modification in analytic structure leads to a natural guess for the blocks at finite c: a series of zeros that condense into branch cuts as c → ∞. We also discuss some interesting evidences connecting these to the Stoke’s phenomena, which are non-perturbative e−c effects. As a related aspect of these probe modifications, we also compute the Renyi-entropy S n in high energy eigenstates on a circle. For subsystems much larger than the thermal length, we obtain a WKB solution to the monodromy problem, and deduce from this the entanglement spectrum.
Evaluating the neuroprotective impact of senolytic drugs on human vision.

Glaucoma, a chronic neurodegenerative disease of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Its management currently focuses on lowering intraocular pressure to slow disease progression. However, disease-modifying, neuroprotective treatments for glaucoma remain a major unmet need. Recently, senescent cells have been observed in glaucomatous eyes, exposing a potential pathway for alternative glaucoma therapies. Prior studies demonstrated that targeting senescent RGCs for removal (i.e., a senolytic approach) protected healthy RGCs and preserved visual function in a mouse ocular hypertension model. However, the effects of senolytic drugs on vision in human patients are unknown. Here, we used existing clinical data to conduct a retrospective cohort study in 28 human glaucoma patients who had been exposed to senolytics. Senolytic exposure was not associated with decreased visual acuity, elevated intraocular pressure, or documentation of senolytic-related adverse ocular effects by treating ophthalmologists. Additionally, patients exposed to senolytics (n = 9) did not exhibit faster progression of glaucomatous visual field damage compared to matched glaucoma patients (n = 26) without senolytic exposure. These results suggest that senolytic drugs do not carry significant ocular toxicity and provide further support for additional evaluation of the potential neuroprotective effects of senolytics on glaucoma and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Cervical cancer risk and screening among women seeking assistance with basic needs

Background In the United States, more than half of cervical cancers occur in women who are inadequately screened. Interventions to improve access to cervical cancer preventive care is critical to reduce health inequities. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the need for cervical cancer screening among women seeking assistance with basic needs and to assess best approaches to facilitate Papanicolaou test referral. Study Design This study is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of low-income female callers to 2-1-1 Missouri, a helpline for local health and social services. The need for cervical cancer screening was assessed. Callers were randomized to 1 of 3 arms, each providing a Papanicolaou test referral: verbal referral only, verbal referral and tailored print reminder, or verbal referral and navigator. The primary outcome was contacting a Papanicolaou test referral 1 month following intervention. Student t tests or Mann-Whitney U tests were used to analyze significant differences in continuous variables, whereas Fisher exact or χ2 tests were used for categorical variables. We stratified by number of unmet basic needs (0–1 vs ≥2) and compared success of contacting a Papanicolaou test referral among study groups (verbal referral vs tailored reminder vs navigator) using the Fisher exact test and χ2 test, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess risk factors for nonadherence for Papanicolaou test at baseline and at 1 month follow-up, adjusting for race and ethnicity, age, insurance status, self-rated health, smoking, and study group. Results Among 932 female callers, 250 (26.8%) needed cervical cancer screening. The frequency of unmet basic needs was high, the most common being lack of money for unexpected expenses (91.2%) and necessities, such as food, shelter, and clothing (73.2%). Among those needing a Papanicolaou test, 211 women received screening referrals. Women in the navigator group (21 of 71, 29.6%) reported higher rates of contacting a Papanicolaou test referral than those exposed to verbal referral only (11/73, 15.1%) or verbal referral and tailored print reminder (9/67, 13.4%) (P=.03). Among 176 women with ≥2 unmet needs who received a Papanicolaou test referral, the provision of a navigator remained associated with contacting the referral (navigator [33.9%] vs verbal referral [17.2%] vs tailored reminder [10.2%]; P=.005). Assignment to the navigator group (adjusted odds ratio, 3.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.4–8.5) and nonwhite race (adjusted odds ratio, 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.5–2.8) were independent predictors of contacting a Papanicolaou test referral. Conclusion Low-income women seeking assistance with basic needs often lack cervical cancer screening. Health navigators triple the likelihood that women will make contact with Papanicolaou test services, but most 2-1-1 callers still fail to schedule Papanicolaou testing despite assistance from navigators. Interventions beyond health navigators are needed to reduce cervical cancer disparities.
Large color R-matrix for knot complements and strange identities

The Gukov–Manolescu series, denoted by FK, is a conjectural invariant of knot complements that, in a sense, analytically continues the colored Jones polynomials. In this paper we use the large colo...
Quadratic Extensions in ACL2.

Given a field K, a quadratic extension field L is an extension of K that can be generated from K by adding a root of a quadratic polynomial with coefficients in K. This paper shows how ACL2(r) can be used to reason about chains of quadratic extension fields Q = K_0, K_1, K_2, ..., where each K_i+1 is a quadratic extension field of K_i. Moreover, we show that some specific numbers, such as the cube root of 2 and the cosine of pi/9, cannot belong to any of the K_i, simply because of the structure of quadratic extension fields. In particular, this is used to show that the cube root of 2 and cosine of pi/9 are not rational.
Liquid Droplet Radiators for Heat Rejection in Space

A radiator for heat rejection in space is described which utilizes a stream of liquid droplets to radiate waste heat. The large surface area per mass makes the liquid droplet radiator at least an order of magnitude lighter than tube and fin radiators. Generation and collection of the droplets, as well as heat transfer to the liquid, can be achieved with modest extensions of conventional technology. Low vapor pressure liquids are available which cover a radiating temperature range 250-1000 K with negligible evaporation losses. The droplet radiator may be employed for a wide range of heat rejection applications in space. Three applications - heat rejection for a high temperature Rankine cycle, cooling of photovoltaic cells, and low temperature heat rejection for refrigeration in space illustrate the versatility of the radiator.
Low Rank Approximation for Smoothing Spline via Eigensystem Truncation

Smoothing splines provide a powerful and flexible means for nonparametric estimation and inference. With a cubic time complexity, fitting smoothing spline models to large data is computationally prohibitive. In this paper, we use the theoretical optimal eigenspace to derive a low rank approximation of the smoothing spline estimates. We develop a method to approximate the eigensystem when it is unknown and derive error bounds for the approximate estimates. The proposed methods are easy to implement with existing software. Extensive simulations show that the new methods are accurate, fast, and compares favorably against existing methods.
An Approach to Neutrino Radiative Transfer in Supernova Simulations

Neutrinos dominate the energetics of core-collapse supernovae, and are believed to play an important role in driving the explosion. The development of a spatially multidimensional neutrino radiative transfer code is a key part of the Terascale Supernova Initiative, a multi-year effort aimed at understanding the supernova explosion mechanism through supercomputer simulations. I will describe the conservative formulations of general relativistic radiative transfer we have developed for this application, and the algorithm we are implementing in our parallel code.
Accounting Is an Evolved Economic Institution

We develop our paper by defining "accounting history research" and posing six big picture questions about historical accounting evolution. The paper selectively summarizes accounting history over the past ten thousand years, organized around our six questions. This review provides useful examples that we draw upon for subsequent sections, but can also be used as a US accounting history primer. We explain how accounting history can inform scholars studying modern institutions by analyzing several exemplary research papers. The paper discusses numerous empirical studies using archival accounting data and suggests further questions that can build upon and extend published research. Finally, we discuss the implications of our evolutionary perspective for accounting research, and identify numerous research opportunities under each of our six big picture questions that will together help us build a coherent evolutionary theory of accounting.
A dynamic theory of public spending, taxation and debt

This paper presents a dynamic political economy theory of public spending, taxation and debt. Policy choices are made by a legislature consisting of representatives elected by geographically-defined districts. The legislature can raise revenues via a distortionary income tax and by borrowing. These revenues can be used tofinance a national public good and district-specific transfers (interpreted as pork-barrel spending). The value of the public good is stochastic, reflecting shocks such as wars or natural disasters. In equilibrium, policy-making cycles between two distinct regimes: “business-as-usual” in which legislators bargain over the allocation of pork, and “responsible-policy-making” in which policies maximize the collective good. Transitions between the two regimes are brought about by shocks in the value of the public good. In the long run, equilibrium tax rates are too high and too volatile, public good provision is too low and debt levels are too high. In some environments, a balanced budget requirement can improve citizen welfare.
Cheap Labor Meets Costly Capital: The Impact of Devaluations on Commodity Firms

Abstract This paper examines how devaluations affect the relative costs of labor and capital and, therefore, influence production, profitability, investment and stock returns for firms in the “crisis” country, as well as competitors in the rest of the world. After developing these ideas in a small, open-economy model, the paper performs a series of empirical tests using information for about 1100 firms in 10 commodity industries between 1996 and 2000. The empirical tests support the model's main predictions: (1) immediately after devaluations, commodity firms in the crisis country have output growth rates about 10–20% higher than competitors in other countries; (2) immediately after devaluations, commodity firms in the crisis country have operating profit growth rates about 15–25% higher than competitors in other countries; (3) the effect of devaluations on fixed capital investment and stock returns (and, therefore, expected long-run output and profits) is determined by capital/labor ratios and changes in the cost of capital. For example, crisis-country firms have higher rates of capital growth and better stock performance after devaluations if they had lower capital/labor ratios and there was no substantial increase in their interest rates.
What kind of state in our future? Fact and Conjecture in Vito Tanzi’s Government versus Markets

This is a review essay on Vito Tanzi’s Government versus Markets: The Changing Economic Role of the State. The bulk of this book looks backward on the relative growth of government from late in the 19th century until recent times when that growth seems to have stopped in many places. Tanzi also looks forward in speculating on possible qualitative changes in the character of state activity through substitution of regulation for taxation. Much wisdom is presented in these pages, and yet the book contains some significant conceptual shortcomings and lacunae due to its apparent embrace of the possibility of measurement without theory. All the same, the book poses significant challenges for scholarship in political economy and public economics.
Why a Jury Trial is More Like a Movie Than a Novel

This essay is concerned to note the way in which successful trial advocacy seems to stem from the ability to convert legal discourse into a story form. These stories need to be ones with which a jury is familiar. These increasingly come from visual media, particularly film. It looks in detail at one trial where this process of relating a defence to the jury employed the structure of a Mafia film. The essay concludes by examining the reasons why the nature of the novel differs significantly from that of the film and how in the novel-to-film adaptation process a certain simplification is bound to occur.
We don't want to hear it: Psychology, literature and the narrative model of judging

The “narrative” model of legal judging argues that legal decision makers both do and should render judgments by assembling sensible stories out of evidence (as opposed to using Bayesian-type, linear models). This model is usually understood to demand that before one may judge a situation, one must give the parties the opportunity to tell their story in a manner that invites, or at least allows, empathy from the judger. This Article refers to this as the “inclusionary approach” to the narrative model of judging. Using psychological research in emotions and perspective taking and the more intuitive techniques of literary criticism, this Article challenges the inclusionary narrative approach, arguing that, in practice, the law gives equal weight to an “exclusionary approach.” That is, in order to render sound, legitimate legal judgments, the law deliberately limits the sort of stories parties are allowed to tell—and does so on moral grounds, not, or at least not only, to improve the “accuracy” of the legal judgment. That is, as both a descriptive and normative matter, impoverished narratives can be better than enriched ones in leading decision makers to morally acceptable legal judgments.
Comparative cheap talk

Abstract When are comparative statements credible? We show that simple complementarity conditions ensure that an expert with private information about multiple issues can credibly rank the issues for a decision maker. By restricting the expert's ability to exaggerate, multidimensional cheap talk of this form permits communication when it would not be credible in a single dimension. The communication gains can be substantial with even a couple of dimensions, and the complete ranking is asymptotically equivalent to full revelation as the number of issues becomes large. Nevertheless, partial rankings are sometimes more credible and/or more profitable for the expert than the complete ranking. Comparative cheap talk is robust to asymmetries that are not too large. Consequently, for sufficiently many independent issues, there are always some issues sufficiently symmetric to permit comparative cheap talk.