cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Attention Routing: Track-Assignment Detailed Routing Using Attention-Based Reinforcement Learning

In the physical design of integrated circuits, global and detailed routing are critical stages involving the determination of the interconnected paths of each net on a circuit while satisfying the design constraints. Existing actual routers as well as routability predictors either have to resort to expensive approaches that lead to high computational times, or use heuristics that do not generalize well. Even though new, learning-based routing methods have been proposed to address this need, requirements on labelled data and difficulties in addressing complex design rule constraints have limited their adoption in advanced technology node physical design problems. In this work, we propose a new router: attention router, which is the first attempt to solve the track-assignment detailed routing problem using reinforcement learning. Complex design rule constraints are encoded into the routing algorithm and an attention-model-based REINFORCE algorithm is applied to solve the most critical step in routing: sequencing device pairs to be routed. The attention router and its baseline genetic router are applied to solve different commercial advanced technologies analog circuits problem sets. The attention router demonstrates generalization ability to unseen problems and is also able to achieve more than 100 times acceleration over the genetic router without significantly compromising the routing solution quality. We also discover a similarity between the attention router and the baseline genetic router in terms of positive correlations in cost and routing patterns, which demonstrate the attention router's ability to be utilized not only as a detailed router but also as a predictor for routability and congestion.
Abundant Atmospheric Methane from Volcanism on Terrestrial Planets Is Unlikely and Strengthens the Case for Methane as a Biosignature

The disequilibrium combination of abundant methane and carbon dioxide has been proposed as a promising exoplanet biosignature that is readily detectable with upcoming telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope. However, few studies have explored the possibility of non-biological CH4 and CO2 and related contextual clues. Here, we investigate whether magmatic volcanic outgassing on terrestrial planets can produce atmospheric CH4 and CO2 with a thermodynamic model. Our model suggests that volcanoes are unlikely to produce CH4 fluxes comparable to biological fluxes. Improbable cases where volcanoes produce biological amounts of CH4 also produce ample carbon monoxide. We show, using a photochemical model, that high abiotic CH4 abundances produced by volcanoes would be accompanied by high CO abundances, which could be a detectable false positive diagnostic. Overall, when considering known mechanisms for generating abiotic CH4 on terrestrial planets, we conclude that observations of atmospheric CH4 with CO2 are difficult to explain without the presence of biology when the CH4 abundance implies a surface flux comparable to modern Earth's biological CH4 flux. A small or negligible CO abundance strengthens the CH4+CO2 biosignature because life readily consumes atmospheric CO, while reducing volcanic gases likely cause CO to build up in a planet's atmosphere. Furthermore, the difficulty of volcanically-generated CH4-rich atmospheres suitable for an origin of life may favor alternatives such as impact-induced reducing atmospheres.
Oblique-Length Contraction Factor in the Special Theory of Relativity

1 IntroductionAccording to the Special Theory of Relativity, the LorentzContraction Factor is referred to the lengths moving alongthe motion direction. The lengths which are perpendicular onthe direction motion do not contract at all [1].In this paper one investigates the lengths that are obliqueto the motion direction and one finds their Oblique-LengthContraction Factor [3], which is a generalization of theLorentz Contraction Factor (for θ = 0) and of the perpen-dicular lengths (for θ= π/2). We also calculate the distortedangles of lengths of the moving object.2 Length-Contraction FactorLength-Contraction FactorC(v) is just Lorentz Factor:C(v) =r1 −v
The neutrino Casimir force

In the low energy effective theory of the weak interaction, a macroscopic force arises when pairs of neutrinos are exchanged. We calculate the neutrino Casimir force between plates, allowing for two different mass eigenstates within the loop. We also provide the general potential between point sources. We discuss the possibility of distinguishing whether neutrinos are Majorana or Dirac fermions using these quantum forces.
THE FORMATION OF PLUTO'S LOW-MASS SATELLITES

Motivated by the New Horizons mission, we consider how Pluto's small satellites—currently Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra—grow in debris from the giant impact that forms the Pluto-Charon binary. After the impact, Pluto and Charon accrete some of the debris and eject the rest from the binary orbit. During the ejection, high-velocity collisions among debris particles produce a collisional cascade, leading to the ejection of some debris from the system and enabling the remaining debris particles to find stable orbits around the binary. Our numerical simulations of coagulation and migration show that collisional evolution within a ring or a disk of debris leads to a few small satellites orbiting Pluto-Charon. These simulations are the first to demonstrate migration-induced mergers within a particle disk. The final satellite masses correlate with the initial disk mass. More massive disks tend to produce fewer satellites. For the current properties of the satellites, our results strongly favor initial debris masses of 3-10 × 1019 g and current satellite albedos A ≈ 0.4-1. We also predict an ensemble of smaller satellites, R 1-3 km, and very small particles, R ≈ 1-100 cm and optical depth τ 10–10. These objects should have semimajor axes outside the current orbit of Hydra.
Cross-sections of unknotted ribbon disks and algebraic curves

We resolve parts (A) and (B) of Problem 1.100 from Kirby’s list [Problems in low-dimensional topology, in Geometric topology, AMS/IP Studies in Advanced Mathematics, vol. 2 (American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI, 1997), 35–473] by showing that many nontrivial links arise as cross-sections of unknotted holomorphic disks in the four-ball. The techniques can be used to produce unknotted ribbon surfaces with prescribed cross-sections, including unknotted Lagrangian disks with nontrivial cross-sections.
Optimized Lie–Trotter–Suzuki decompositions for two and three non-commuting terms

Abstract Lie–Trotter–Suzuki decompositions are an efficient way to approximate operator exponentials exp ( t H ) when H is a sum of n (non-commuting) terms which, individually, can be exponentiated easily. They are employed in time-evolution algorithms for tensor network states, digital quantum simulation protocols, path integral methods like quantum Monte Carlo, and splitting methods for symplectic integrators in classical Hamiltonian systems. We provide optimized decompositions up to order t 6 . The leading error term is expanded in nested commutators (Hall bases) and we minimize the 1-norm of the coefficients. For n = 2 terms, several of the optima we find are close to those in McLachlan (1995). Generally, our results substantially improve over unoptimized decompositions by Forest, Ruth, Yoshida, and Suzuki. We explain why these decompositions are sufficient to efficiently simulate any one- or two-dimensional lattice model with finite-range interactions. This follows by solving a partitioning problem for the interaction graph.
PT symmetry in classical and quantum statistical mechanics

PT-symmetric Hamiltonians and transfer matrices arise naturally in statistical mechanics. These classical and quantum models often require the use of complex or negative weights and thus fall outside the conventional equilibrium statistical mechanics of Hermitian systems. PT-symmetric models form a natural class where the partition function is necessarily real, but not necessarily positive. The correlation functions of these models display a much richer set of behaviours than Hermitian systems, displaying sinusoidally modulated exponential decay, as in a dense fluid, or even sinusoidal modulation without decay. Classical spin models with PT-symmetry include Z(N) models with a complex magnetic field, the chiral Potts model and the anisotropic next-nearest-neighbour Ising model. Quantum many-body problems with a non-zero chemical potential have a natural PT-symmetric representation related to the sign problem. Two-dimensional quantum chromodynamics with heavy quarks at non-zero chemical potential can be solved by diagonalizing an appropriate PT-symmetric Hamiltonian.
Free groups in lattices

Let G be any locally compact, unimodular, metrizable group. The main result of this paper, roughly stated, is that if F<G is any finitely generated free group and \Gamma < G any lattice, then up to a small perturbation and passing to a finite index subgroup, F is a subgroup of \Gamma. If G/\Gamma is noncompact then we require additional hypotheses that include G=SO(n,1).
The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves

The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves is a collaboration of researchers who are actively engaged in using North American radio telescopes to detect and study gravitational waves (GWs) via pulsar timing. To achieve this goal, we regularly observe millisecond pulsars with the Arecibo and Green Bank telescopes and develop and implement new instrumentation and algorithms for searching for and observing pulsars, calculating arrival times, understanding and correcting for propagation delays and sources of noise in our data and detecting and characterizing a variety of GW sources. We collaborate on these activities with colleagues in the International Pulsar Timing Array. We also educate students of all levels and the public about the detection and study of GWs via pulsar timing.
Distance to the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy Using Macho Project RR Lyrae Stars

We derive the distance to the northern extension of the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf spheroidal galaxy from 203 Sgr RR0 Lyrae stars found in the MACHO database. Their distances are determined differentially with respect to 288 Galactic bulge RR0 Lyrae stars also found in the MACHO data. We find a distance modulus difference of 2.41 mag at l = 5{sup 0} and b = -8{sup 0} and that the extension of the Sgr galaxy toward the galactic plane is inclined toward us. Assuming R {sub GC} = 8 kpc, this implies the distance to these stars is (m - M){sub 0} = 16.97 {+-} 0.07 mag, which corresponds to D = 24.8 {+-} 0.8 kpc. Although this estimate is smaller than previous determinations for this galaxy and agrees with previous suggestions that Sgr's body is truly closer to us, this estimate is larger than studies at comparable galactic latitudes.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF EXTREME OUTFLOWS FROM EXTREME STARBURSTS

Interstellar ultraviolet absorption-lines provide crucial information about the properties of galactic outflows. In this paper, we augment our previous analysis of the systematic properties of starburst-driven galactic outflows by expanding our sample to include a rare population of starbursts with exceptionally high outflow velocities. In principle, these could be a qualitatively different phenomenon from more typical outflows. However, we find that instead these starbursts lie on, or along the extrapolation of, the trends defined by the more typical systems studied previously by us. We exploit the wide dynamic range provided by this new sample to determine scaling relations of outflow velocity with galaxy stellar mass (M*), circular velocity, star-formation rate (SFR), SFR/M*, and SFR/area. We argue that these results can be accommodated within the general interpretational framework we previously advocated, in which a population of ambient interstellar or circum-galactic clouds is accelerated by the combined forces of gravity and the momentum flux from the starburst. We show that this simple physical picture is consistent with both the strong cosmological evolution of galactic outflows in typical star-forming galaxies and the paucity of such galaxies with spectra showing inflows. We also present simple parameterizations of these results that can be implemented in theoretical models and numerical simulations of galaxy evolution.
On a Drift–Diffusion System for Semiconductor Devices

In this note, we study a fractional Poisson–Nernst–Planck equation modeling a semiconductor device. We prove several decay estimates for the Lebesgue and Sobolev norms in one, two and three dimensions. We also provide the first term of the asymptotic expansion as $${t\rightarrow\infty}$$ .
Time-and-frequency-gated photon coincidence counting; a novel multidimensional spectroscopy tool

Coherent multidimensional optical spectroscopy is broadly applied across the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from NMR to UV. These techniques reveal the properties of matter through the correlation plots of signal fields generated in response to sequences of short pulses with variable delays. Here we discuss a new class of multidimensional techniques obtained by the time-and-frequency-resolved photon coincidence counting measurements of N photons, which constitute a dimensional spectrum. A compact description of these signals is developed based on time-ordered superoperators rather than the normally ordered ordinary operators used in Glauber's photon counting formalism. The independent control of the time and frequency gate parameters reveals fine details of matter dynamics not available otherwise. These signal are illustrated for application to an anharmonic oscillator model with fluctuating energy and anharmonicity.
Constraints from the Hubble Deep Field on High-Redshift Quasar Models

High-resolution, deep-imaging surveys are instrumental in setting constraints on semianalytical structure formation models in cold dark matter (CDM) cosmologies. We show here that the lack of unresolved B-band "dropouts" with V>25 mag in the Hubble Deep Field appears to be inconsistent with the number of "miniquasars" expected if massive black holes form with a constant universal efficiency in all CDM halos. To reconcile the models with the data, a mechanism is needed that suppresses the formation of active nuclei in halos with circular velocities vcirc50-75 km s-1. This feedback naturally arises because of the photoionization heating of the gas by the UV background. We consider several alternative effects that would help reducing the number of miniquasars and find that these cannot alone account for the observed lack of detections. If reddening by dust can be neglected at early epochs, consistency with the optical data also requires that the luminous extent of dwarf galaxies at high redshifts be larger than a few percent of the virial radii of their dark matter halos, in order not to overpredict the number of pointlike B-band dropouts. Future deep observations in the J and H bands with NICMOS might reveal several z5 objects per field or provide even stronger constraints on the models than existing B, V, and I data.
X-RAY SCALING RELATION IN EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES: DARK MATTER AS A PRIMARY FACTOR IN RETAINING HOT GAS

We have revisited the X-ray scaling relations of early-type galaxies (ETG) by investigating, for the first time, the L X,Gas-M Total relation in a sample of 14 ETGs. In contrast to the large scatter (a factor of 102-103) in the L X,Total-L B relation, we found a tight correlation between these physically motivated quantities with an rms deviation of a factor of three in L X,Gas = 1038-1043 erg s–1 or M Total = a few × 1010 to a few × 1012 M ☉. More striking, this relation becomes even tighter with an rms deviation of a factor of 1.3 among the gas-rich galaxies (with L X,Gas > 1040 erg s–1). In a simple power-law form, the new relation is (L X,Gas/1040 erg s–1) = (M Total/3.2 × 1011 M ☉)3. This relation is also consistent with the steep relation between the gas luminosity and temperature, L X,Gas ~ T Gas 4.5, identified by Boroson et al., if the gas is virialized. Our results indicate that the total mass of an ETG is the primary factor in regulating the amount of hot gas. Among the gas-poor galaxies (with L X,Gas < a few × 1039 erg s–1), the scatter in the L X,Gas-M Total (and L X,Gas-T Gas) relation increases, suggesting that secondary factors (e.g., rotation, flattening, star formation history, cold gas, environment, etc.) may become important.
On the Progenitor System of the Type Iax Supernova 2014dt in M61

We present pre-explosion and post-explosion Hubble Space Telescope images of the Type Iax supernova (SN Iax) 2014dt in M61. After astrometrically aligning these images, we do not detect any stellar sources at the position of the SN in the pre-explosion images to relatively deep limits (3σ limits of M_F438W > –5.0 mag and M_F814W > –5.9 mag). These limits are similar to the luminosity of SN 2012Z's progenitor system (M F435W = –5.43 ± 0.15 and M_F814W = –5.24 ± 0.16 mag), the only probable detected progenitor system in pre-explosion images of a SN Iax, and indeed, of any white-dwarf supernova. SN 2014dt is consistent with having a C/O white-dwarf primary/helium-star companion progenitor system, as was suggested for SN 2012Z, although perhaps with a slightly smaller or hotter donor. The data are also consistent with SN 2014dt having a low-mass red giant or main-sequence star companion. The data rule out main-sequence stars with M_init ≳ 16 M_☉ and most evolved stars with M_init ≳ 8 M_☉ as being the progenitor of SN 2014dt. Hot Wolf-Rayet stars are also allowed, but the lack of nearby bright sources makes this scenario unlikely. Because of its proximity (D = 12 Mpc), SN 2014dt is ideal for long-term monitoring, where images in ~2 yr may detect the companion star or the luminous bound remnant of the progenitor white dwarf.
Advanced Analysis of Quantum Contextuality in a Psychophysical Double-Detection Experiment

Abstract The results of behavioral experiments typically exhibit inconsistent connectedness, i.e., they violate the condition known as “no-signaling,” “no-disturbance,” or “marginal selectivity.” This prevents one from evaluating these experiments in terms of quantum contextuality if the latter understood traditionally (as, e.g., in the Kochen–Specker theorem or Bell-type inequalities). The Contextuality-by-Default (CbD) theory separates contextuality from inconsistent connectedness. When applied to quantum physical experiments that exhibit inconsistent connectedness (due to context-dependent errors and/or signaling), the CbD computations reveal quantum contextuality in spite of this. When applied to a large body of published behavioral experiments, the CbD computations reveal no quantum contextuality: all context-dependence in these experiments is described by inconsistent connectedness alone. Until recently, however, experimental analysis of contextuality was confined to so-called cyclic systems of binary random variables. Here, we present the results of a psychophysical double-detection experiment that do not form a cyclic system: their analysis requires that we use a recent modification of CbD, one that makes the class of noncontextual systems more restricted. Nevertheless our results once again indicate that when inconsistent connectedness is taken into account, the system exhibits no contextuality.
Brain Predictability toolbox: a Python library for neuroimaging-based machine learning.

Summary Brain Predictability toolbox (BPt) represents a unified framework of machine learning (ML) tools designed to work with both tabulated data (e.g., brain derived, psychiatric, behavioral, and physiological variables) and neuroimaging specific data (e.g., brain volumes and surfaces). This package is suitable for investigating a wide range of different neuroimaging-based ML questions, in particular, those queried from large human datasets. Availability and implementation BPt has been developed as an open-source Python 3.6+ package hosted at https://github.com/sahahn/BPt under MIT License, with documentation provided at https://bpt.readthedocs.io/en/latest/, and continues to be actively developed. The project can be downloaded through the github link provided. A web GUI interface based on the same code is currently under development and can be set up through docker with instructions at https://github.com/sahahn/BPt_app.
On the Production of Flux Vortices and Magnetic Monopoles in Phase Transitions

We examine the basic assumptions underlying a scenario due to Kibble that is widely used to estimate the production of topological defects. We argue that one of the crucial assumptions, namely the geodesic rule, although completely valid for global defects, becomes ill-defined for the case of gauged defects. We address the issues involved in formulating a suitable geodesic rule for this case and argue that the dynamics plays an important role in the production of gauge defects.
A Hierarchical Self-Attentive Model for Recommending User-Generated Item Lists

User-generated item lists are a popular feature of many different platforms. Examples include lists of books on Goodreads, playlists on Spotify and YouTube, collections of images on Pinterest, and lists of answers on question-answer sites like Zhihu. Recommending item lists is critical for increasing user engagement and connecting users to new items, but many approaches are designed for the item-based recommendation, without careful consideration of the complex relationships between items and lists. Hence, in this paper, we propose a novel user-generated list recommendation model called AttList. Two unique features of AttList are careful modeling of (i) hierarchical user preference, which aggregates items to characterize the list that they belong to, and then aggregates these lists to estimate the user preference, naturally fitting into the hierarchical structure of item lists; and (ii) item and list consistency, through a novel self-attentive aggregation layer designed for capturing the consistency of neighboring items and lists to better model user preference. Through experiments over three real-world datasets reflecting different kinds of user-generated item lists, we find that AttList results in significant improvements in NDCG, Precision@k, and Recall@k versus a suite of state-of-the-art baselines. Furthermore, all code and data are available at https://github.com/heyunh2015/AttList.
Continuity properties of measurable group cohomology

A version of group cohomology for locally compact groups and Polish modules has previously been developed using a bar resolution restricted to measurable cochains. That theory was shown to enjoy analogs of most of the standard algebraic properties of group cohomology, but various analytic features of those cohomology groups were only partially understood. This paper re-examines some of those issues. At its heart is a simple dimension-shifting argument which enables one to ‘regularize’ measurable cocycles, leading to some simplifications in the description of the cohomology groups. A range of consequences are then derived from this argument. First, we prove that for target modules that are Frechet spaces, the cohomology groups agree with those defined using continuous cocycles, and hence they vanish in positive degrees when the acting group is compact. Using this, we then show that for Frechet, discrete or toral modules the cohomology groups are continuous under forming inverse limits of compact base groups, and also under forming direct limits of discrete target modules. Lastly, these results together enable us to establish various circumstances under which the measurable-cochains cohomology groups coincide with others defined using sheaves on a semi-simplicial space associated to the underlying group, or sheaves on a classifying space for that group. We also prove in some cases that the natural quotient topologies on the measurable-cochains cohomology groups are Hausdorff.
Pattern selection and super-patterns in the bounded confidence model

We study pattern formation in the bounded confidence model of opinion dynamics. In this random process, opinion is quantified by a single variable. Two agents may interact and reach a fair compromise, but only if their difference of opinion falls below a fixed threshold. Starting from a uniform distribution of opinions with compact support, a traveling wave forms and it propagates from the domain boundary into the unstable uniform state. Consequently, the system reaches a steady state with isolated clusters that are separated by distance larger than the interaction range. These clusters form a quasi-periodic pattern where the sizes of the clusters and the separations between them are nearly constant. We obtain analytically the average separation between clusters L. Interestingly, there are also very small quasi-periodic modulations in the size of the clusters. The spatial periods of these modulations are a series of integers that follow from the continued-fraction representation of the irrational average separation L.
When is a quantum cellular automaton (QCA) a quantum lattice gas automaton (QLGA)

Quantum cellular automata (QCA) are models of quantum computation of particular interest from the point of view of quantum simulation. Quantum lattice gas automata (QLGA - equivalently partitioned quantum cellular automata) represent an interesting subclass of QCA. QLGA have been more deeply analyzed than QCA, whereas general QCA are likely to capture a wider range of quantum behavior. Discriminating between QLGA and QCA is therefore an important question. In spite of much prior work, classifying which QCA are QLGA has remained an open problem. In the present paper we establish necessary and sufficient conditions for unbounded, finite QCA (finitely many active cells in a quiescent background) to be QLGA. We define a local condition that classifies those QCA that are QLGA, and we show that there are QCA that are not QLGA. We use a number of tools from functional analysis of separable Hilbert spaces and representation theory of associative algebras that enable us to treat QCA on finite but unbounded configurations in full detail.
Efficient containment of exact SIR Markovian processes on networks

This paper introduces a theoretical framework for the analysis and control of the stochastic susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) spreading process over a network of heterogeneous agents. In our analysis, we analyze the exact networked Markov process describing the SIR model, without resorting to mean-field approximations, and introduce a convex optimization framework to find an efficient allocation of resources to contain the expected number of accumulated infections over time. Numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.
Eliashberg theory of phonon-mediated superconductivity — When it is valid and how it breaks down

Abstract We analyze the validity of Eliashberg theory of phonon-mediated superconductivity in 2D systems in light of recent extensive Monte-Carlo studies of the Holstein model. Conventional wisdom says that Eliashberg theory is applicable as long as vertex corrections remain small. For small ratio of the phonon energy Ω 0 and the Fermi energy E F , this condition is supposed to hold even when the dimensionless electron–phonon coupling λ is larger than one, i.e., in the strong coupling regime. A comparison between various quantities computed in the Migdal approximation and those computed by Quantum Monte Carlo prove that this belief is wrong, and we identify analytically some of the ways in which this breakdown occurs for various “normal state” properties at λ = λ c r , where λ c r = O ( 1 ) . The breakdown occurs at temperatures high enough that neither superconducting nor charge–density wave correlations extend over any significant range of distances, so it cannot be associated with the onset of an instability toward any of the relevant ordered ground-states — rather it is associated with the local physics of classical bipolaron formation. Still, we show that certain properties, including the superconducting T c and the superconducting gap structure below T c , can be accurately inferred from the strong-coupling limit of Eliashberg theory at λ ≤ λ c r .
“Weakly” elliptic Gorenstein singularities of surfaces

The main message of the paper is that for Gorenstein singularities, whose (real) link is rational homology sphere, the Artin--Laufer program can be continued. Here we give the complete answer in the case of elliptic singularities. The main result of the paper says that in the case of an elliptic Gorenstein singularity whose link is rational homology sphere, the geometric genus is a topological invariant. Actually, it is exactly the length of the elliptic sequence in the minimal resolution (or, equivalently, in S. S.-T. Yau's terminology: these singularities are maximally elliptic). In the paper we characterize the singularities with this property, and we compute their Hilbert-Samuel function from their resolution graph (generalizing some results of Laufer and Yau). The obstruction for a normal surface singularity to be maximally elliptic can be connected with the torsion part of some Picard groups, this is the new idea of the paper.
Spectroscopic Abundances in the Open Cluster NGC 6819

High-dispersion spectra of 333 stars in the open cluster NGC 6819, obtained using the HYDRA spectrograph on the WIYN 3.5 m telescope, have been analyzed to determine the abundances of iron and other metals from lines in the 400 Å region surrounding the Li 6708 Å line. Our spectra, with signal-to-noise per pixel ranging from 60 to 300, span the luminosity range from the tip of the red giant branch to a point two magnitudes below the top of the cluster turnoff. We derive radial and rotational velocities for all stars, as well as [Fe/H] based on 17 iron lines, [Ca/H], [Si/H], and [Ni/H] in the 247 most probable, single members of the cluster. Input Teff estimates for model atmosphere analysis are provided by colors merged from several sources, with individual reddening corrections applied to each star relative to a cluster mean of = 0.16. Extensive use is made of ROBOSPECT, an automatic equivalent width measurement program; its effectiveness on large spectroscopic samples is discussed. From the sample of likely single members, [Fe/H] = −0.03 ± 0.06, where the error describes the median absolute deviation about the sample median value, leading to internal precision for the cluster below 0.01 dex. The final uncertainty in the cluster abundance is therefore dominated by external systematics due to the temperature scale, surface gravity, and microturbulent velocity, leading to [Fe/H] = −0.02 ± 0.02 for a sub-sample restricted to main sequence and turnoff stars. This result is consistent with our recent intermediate-band photometric determination of a slightly subsolar abundance for this cluster. [Ca/Fe], [Si/Fe], and [Ni/Fe] are determined to be solar within the uncertainties. NGC 6819 has an abundance distribution typical of solar metallicity thin disk stars in the solar neighborhood.
Three Quasi-Local Masses

We propose a definition of quasi-local mass based on the Penrose Inequality. Two further definitions are given by measuring distortions of the exponential map.
COSMIC NEEDLES VERSUS COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION

It has been suggested by a number of authors that the 2.7 K cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation might have arisen from the radiation of "Population III" objects thermalized by conducting cosmic graphite/iron needle-shaped dust. Due to a lack of an accurate solution to the absorption properties of exceedingly elongated grains, in existing literature which studies the CMB thermalizing process they are generally modeled as (1) needle-like spheroids in terms of the Rayleigh approximation, (2) infinite cylinders, and (3) antennae. We show here that the Rayleigh approximation is not valid since the Rayleigh criterion is not satisfied for highly conducting needles. We also show that the available intergalactic iron dust, if modeled as infinite cylinders, is not sufficient to supply the required opacity at long wavelengths to obtain the observed isotropy and Planckian nature of the CMB. If appealing to the antenna theory, conducting iron needles with exceedingly large elongations ( >104) appear able to provide sufficient opacity to thermalize the CMB within the iron density limit. But the applicability of the antenna theory to exceedingly thin needles of nanometer/micrometer thickness has not yet been verified.
Thermodynamically-efficient local computation and the inefficiency of quantum memory compression

Author(s): Loomis, SP; Crutchfield, JP | Abstract: Modularity dissipation identifies how locally implemented computation entails costs beyond those required by Landauer's bound on thermodynamic computing. We establish a general theorem for efficient local computation, giving the necessary and sufficient conditions for a local operation to have zero modularity cost. Applied to thermodynamically-generating stochastic processes it confirms a conjecture that classical generators are efficient if and only if they satisfy retrodiction, which places minimum-memory requirements on the generator. This extends immediately to quantum computation: Any quantum simulator that employs quantum memory compression cannot be thermodynamically efficient.
Spin-Circuit Representation of Spin Pumping

In electronics, circuit theory has been tremendously successful in translating physical equations into circuit elements in an organized manner, for further analysis and the proposing of creative designs for applications. Considering that spintronics is seen as a replacement for electronics, it might similarly benefit from such a framework. The author develops the spin-circuit representation of spin pumping and verifies that it reproduces literature results, and furthermore shows how complex multilayers can be analyzed. Circuits can be simply solved analytically by hand, or programmatically for complex devices.
Solidification and loss of hydrostaticity in liquid media used for pressure measurements.

We carried out a study of the pressure dependence of the solidification temperature in nine pressure transmitting media that are liquid at ambient temperature, under pressures up to 2.3 GPa. These fluids are 1:1 isopentane/n-pentane, 4:6 light mineral oil/n-pentane, 1:1 isoamyl alcohol/n-pentane, 4:1 methanol/ethanol, 1:1 FC72/FC84 (Fluorinert), Daphne 7373, isopentane, and Dow Corning PMX silicone oils 200 and 60 000 cS. We relied on the high sensitivity of the electrical resistivity of Ba(Fe1−xRux)2As2 single crystals to the freezing of the pressure media and cross-checked with corresponding anomalies observed in the resistance of the manganin coil that served as the ambient temperature resistive manometer. In addition to establishing the temperature-pressure line separating the liquid (hydrostatic) and frozen (non-hydrostatic) phases, these data permit rough estimates of the freezing pressure of these media at ambient temperature. This pressure establishes the extreme limit for the medium to be considered hydrostatic. For higher applied pressures, the medium has to be treated as non-hydrostatic.
VIBNN: Hardware Acceleration of Bayesian Neural Networks

Bayesian Neural Networks (BNNs) have been proposed to address the problem of model uncertainty in training and inference. By introducing weights associated with conditioned probability distributions, BNNs are capable of resolving the overfitting issue commonly seen in conventional neural networks and allow for small-data training, through the variational inference process. Frequent usage of Gaussian random variables in this process requires a properly optimized Gaussian Random Number Generator (GRNG). The high hardware cost of conventional GRNG makes the hardware implementation of BNNs challenging. In this paper, we propose VIBNN, an FPGA-based hardware accelerator design for variational inference on BNNs. We explore the design space for massive amount of Gaussian variable sampling tasks in BNNs. Specifically, we introduce two high performance Gaussian (pseudo) random number generators: 1) the RAM-based Linear Feedback Gaussian Random Number Generator (RLF-GRNG), which is inspired by the properties of binomial distribution and linear feedback logics; and 2) the Bayesian Neural Network-oriented Wallace Gaussian Random Number Generator. To achieve high scalability and efficient memory access, we propose a deep pipelined accelerator architecture with fast execution and good hardware utilization. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed VIBNN implementations on an FPGA can achieve throughput of 321,543.4 Images/s and energy efficiency upto 52,694.8 Images/J while maintaining similar accuracy as its software counterpart.
Voltage tunable plasmon propagation in dual gated bilayer graphene

In this paper, we theoretically investigate plasmon propagation characteristics in AB and AA stacked bilayer graphene (BLG) in the presence of energy asymmetry due to an electrostatic field oriented perpendicularly to the plane of the graphene sheet. We first derive the optical conductivity of BLG using the Kubo formalism incorporating energy asymmetry and finite electron scattering. All results are obtained for room temperature (300 K) operation. By solving Maxwell's equations in a dual gate device setup, we obtain the wavevector of propagating plasmon modes in the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) directions at terahertz frequencies. The plasmon wavevector allows us to compare the compression factor, propagation length, and the mode confinement of TE and TM plasmon modes in bilayer and monolayer graphene sheets and also to study the impact of material parameters on plasmon characteristics. Our results show that the energy asymmetry can be harnessed to increase the propagation length of TM plasmons in BLG. AA stacked BLG shows a larger increase in the propagation length than AB stacked BLG; conversely, it is very insensitive to the Fermi level variations. Additionally, the dual gate structure allows independent modulation of the energy asymmetry and the Fermi level in BLG, which is advantageous for reconfiguring plasmon characteristics post device fabrication.
Global Solutions to the Three-Dimensional Full Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Flows

The equations of the three-dimensional viscous, compressible, and heat conducting magnetohydrodynamic flows are considered in a bounded domain. The viscosity coefficients and heat conductivity can depend on the temperature. A solution to the initial-boundary value problem is constructed through an approximation scheme and a weak convergence method. The existence of a global variational weak solution to the three-dimensional full magnetohydrodynamic equations with large data is established.
Resonant Drag Instability of Grains Streaming in Fluids

We show that grains streaming through a fluid are generically unstable if their velocity, projected along some direction, matches the phase velocity of a fluid wave (linear oscillation). This can occur whenever grains stream faster than any fluid wave. The wave itself can be quite general—sound waves, magnetosonic waves, epicyclic oscillations, and Brunt–Vaisala oscillations each generate instabilities, for example. We derive a simple expression for the growth rates of these "resonant drag instabilities" (RDI). This expression (i) illustrates why such instabilities are so virulent and generic and (ii) allows for simple analytic computation of RDI growth rates and properties for different fluids. As examples, we introduce several new instabilities, which could see application across a variety of physical systems from atmospheres to protoplanetary disks, the interstellar medium, and galactic outflows. The matrix-based resonance formalism we introduce can also be applied more generally in other (nonfluid) contexts, providing a simple means for calculating and understanding the stability properties of interacting systems.
Constraints on baryogenesis from the decay of superstring axions

We calculate the dilution of the baryon-to-photon ratio by the decay of superstring axions. We find that the dilution is of the order of 107. We review several models of baryogenesis and show that most of them can not tolerate such a large dilution. In particular, only one current model of electroweak baryogenesis possibly survives. The Affleck-Dine mechanism in SUSY GUTs is very robust and the dilution by axions could contribute to the dilution required in these models. Baryogenesis scenarios involving topological defects and black hole evaporation are also capable of producing a sufficiently large baryon asymmetry.
Basic Bell-MHD turbulence

Nonresonant current instability was identified by Bell as an important mechanism for magnetic field amplification in supernova remnants. In this paper we focus on studying the nonlinear stage of this instability using the incompressible MHD formulation. We demonstrate that the evolution of magnetic turbulence driven by the Bell instability resembles turbulence driven on large scales. More importantly, we demonstrate that the energy-containing scale for magnetic fields is proportional to the square root of the magnetic energy density. Given the observational constraints of the possible field amplification, this new relation allows us to directly estimate the maximum energy of particles scattered by such fields, and this estimate is normally below the average particle energy. This implies that, without taking into account the feedback to cosmic rays (CRs), the typical scales of Bell fields, in either the linear or nonlinear regime, will be too small to affect high-energy particle acceleration. We mention several scenarios of back reaction to CRs that could be important.
STAR HOPPERS: PLANET INSTABILITY AND CAPTURE IN EVOLVING BINARY SYSTEMS

Many planets are observed in stellar binary systems, and their frequency may be comparable to that of planetary systems around single stars. Binary stellar evolution in such systems influences the dynamical evolution of the resident planets. Here, we study the evolution of a single planet orbiting one star in an evolving binary system. We find that stellar evolution can trigger dynamical instabilities that drive planets into chaotic orbits. This instability leads to planet-star collisions, exchange of the planet between the binary stars ("star hoppers"), and ejection of the planet from the system. The means by which planets can be recaptured is similar to the pull-down capture mechanism for irregular solar system satellites. Because planets often suffer close encounters with the primary on the asymptotic giant branch, captures during a collision with the stellar envelope are also possible for more massive planets. Such capture could populate the habitable zone around white dwarfs.
Experimental realization of a non-magnetic one-way spin switch.

Controlling magnetism through non-magnetic means is highly desirable for future electronic devices, as such means typically have ultra-low power requirements and can provide coherent control. In recent years, great experimental progress has been made in the field of electrical manipulation of magnetism in numerous material systems. These studies generally do not consider the directionality of the applied non-magnetic potentials and/or magnetism switching. Here, we theoretically conceive and experimentally demonstrate a non-magnetic one-way spin switch device using a spin-orbit coupled Bose–Einstein condensate subjected to a moving spin-independent repulsive dipole potential. The physical foundation of this unidirectional device is based on the breakdown of Galilean invariance in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. Such a one-way spin switch opens an avenue for designing quantum devices with unique functionalities and may facilitate further experimental investigations of other one-way spintronic and atomtronic devices. For use in electronic and quantum applications, controlling the magnetism of a system through non-magnetic means is important. Here, the authors demonstrate a unidirectional non-magnetic spin-switch device using spin-momentum coupling in Bose–Einstein condensates of ultracold Rb-87 atoms.
Ultimate RF Performance Potential of Carbon Electronics

Carbon electronics based on carbon nanotube array field-effect transistors (AFETs) and 2-D graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) have recently attracted significant attention for potential RF applications. Here, we explore the ultimate RF performance potential for these two unique devices using semiclassical ballistic transport simulations. It is shown that the intrinsic current-gain and power-gain cutoff frequencies (fT and fMAX ) above 1 THz should be possible in both AFETs and GFETs. Thus, both devices could deliver higher cutoff frequencies than traditional semiconductors such as Si and III-V's. In the case of AFETs, we show that their RF operation is not sensitive to the diameter variation of semiconducting tubes and the presence of metallic tubes in the channel. The ultimate fT and fMAX values in AFETs are observed to be higher than that in GFETs. The optimum device biasing conditions for AFETs require smaller biasing currents, and thus, lower power dissipation compared to GFETs. The degradation in high-frequency performance in the presence of external parasitics is also seen to be lower in AFETs compared to GFETs.
Early-Learning Regularization Prevents Memorization of Noisy Labels

We propose a novel framework to perform classification via deep learning in the presence of noisy annotations. When trained on noisy labels, deep neural networks have been observed to first fit the training data with clean labels during an "early learning" phase, before eventually memorizing the examples with false labels. We prove that early learning and memorization are fundamental phenomena in high-dimensional classification tasks, even in simple linear models, and give a theoretical explanation in this setting. Motivated by these findings, we develop a new technique for noisy classification tasks, which exploits the progress of the early learning phase. In contrast with existing approaches, which use the model output during early learning to detect the examples with clean labels, and either ignore or attempt to correct the false labels, we take a different route and instead capitalize on early learning via regularization. There are two key elements to our approach. First, we leverage semi-supervised learning techniques to produce target probabilities based on the model outputs. Second, we design a regularization term that steers the model towards these targets, implicitly preventing memorization of the false labels. The resulting framework is shown to provide robustness to noisy annotations on several standard benchmarks and real-world datasets, where it achieves results comparable to the state of the art.
DORGE: Discovery of Oncogenes and tumoR suppressor genes using Genetic and Epigenetic features

Data-driven discovery of cancer driver genes, including tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) and oncogenes (OGs), is imperative for cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Although epigenetic alterations are important for tumor initiation and progression, most known driver genes were identified based on genetic alterations alone. Here, we developed an algorithm, DORGE (Discovery of Oncogenes and tumor suppressoR genes using Genetic and Epigenetic features), to identify TSGs and OGs by integrating comprehensive genetic and epigenetic data. DORGE identified histone modifications as strong predictors for TSGs, and it found missense mutations, super enhancers, and methylation differences as strong predictors for OGs. We extensively validated DORGE-predicted cancer driver genes using independent functional genomics data. We also found that DORGE-predicted dual-functional genes (both TSGs and OGs) are enriched at hubs in protein-protein interaction and drug-gene networks. Overall, our study has deepened the understanding of epigenetic mechanisms in tumorigenesis and revealed previously undetected cancer driver genes.