cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF NEUTRON STAR RECOIL IN THE OXYGEN-RICH SUPERNOVA REMNANT PUPPIS A

A sequence of three Chandra X-Ray Observatory High Resolution Camera images taken over a span of five years reveals arcsecond-scale displacement of RX J0822-4300, the stellar remnant (presumably a neutron star) near the center of the Puppis A supernova remnant. We measure its proper motion to be 0.165'' ± 0.025'' yr-1 toward the west-southwest. At a distance of 2 kpc, this corresponds to a transverse space velocity of ~1600 km s-1. The space velocity is consistent with the explosion center inferred from proper motions of the oxygen-rich optical filaments and confirms the idea that Puppis A resulted from an asymmetric explosion accompanied by a kick that imparted roughly 3×1049 ergs of kinetic energy (some 3% of the kinetic energy for a typical supernova) to the stellar remnant. We discuss constraints on core-collapse supernova models that have been proposed to explain neutron star kick velocities.
XMM-NEWTON MEASUREMENT OF THE GALACTIC HALO X-RAY EMISSION USING A COMPACT SHADOWING CLOUD

Observations of interstellar clouds that cast shadows in the soft X-ray background can be used to separate the background Galactic halo emission from the local emission due to solar wind charge exchange (SWCX) and/or the Local Bubble (LB). We present an XMM-Newton observation of a shadowing cloud, G225.60?66.40, that is sufficiently compact that the on- and off-shadow spectra can be extracted from a single field of view (unlike previous shadowing observations of the halo with CCD-resolution spectrometers, which consisted of separate on- and off-shadow pointings). We analyzed the spectra using a variety of foreground models: one representing LB emission, and two representing SWCX emission. We found that the resulting halo model parameters (temperature T h 2 ? 106 K, emission measure ) were not sensitive to the foreground model used. This is likely due to the relative faintness of the foreground emission in this observation. However, the data do favor the existence of a foreground. The halo parameters derived from this observation are in good agreement with those from previous shadowing observations, and from an XMM-Newton survey of the Galactic halo emission. This supports the conclusion that the latter results are not subject to systematic errors, and can confidently be used to test models of the halo emission.
Empirical Survey of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Matrix Elements

Neutrinoless double beta decay has been the subject of intensive theoretical work as it represents the only practical approach to discovering whether neutrinos are Majorana particles or not, and whether lepton number is a conserved quantum number. Available calculations of matrix elements and phase-space factors are reviewed from the perspective of a future large-scale experimental search for 0νββ decay. Somewhat unexpectedly, a uniform inverse correlation between phase-space and the square of the nuclear matrix element emerges. As a consequence, no isotope is either favored or disfavored; all have qualitatively the same decay rate per unit mass for any given value of the Majorana mass.
Collective vibrations of a hydrodynamic active lattice.

Recent experiments show that quasi-one-dimensional lattices of self-propelled droplets exhibit collective instabilities in the form of out-of-phase oscillations and solitary-like waves. This hydrod...
Unsupervised Classification in Hyperspectral Imagery With Nonlocal Total Variation and Primal-Dual Hybrid Gradient Algorithm

In this paper, a graph-based nonlocal total variation method is proposed for unsupervised classification of hyperspectral images (HSI). The variational problem is solved by the primal-dual hybrid gradient algorithm. By squaring the labeling function and using a stable simplex clustering routine, an unsupervised clustering method with random initialization can be implemented. The effectiveness of this proposed algorithm is illustrated on both synthetic and real-world HSI, and numerical results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other standard unsupervised clustering methods, such as spherical $K$ -means, nonnegative matrix factorization, and the graph-based Merriman–Bence–Osher scheme.
Strings, extended objects, and the classical double copy

We extend Shen’s recent formulation (arXiv:1806.07388) of the classical double copy, based on explicit color-kinematic duality, to the case of finite-size sources with non-zero spin. For the case of spinning Yang-Mills sources, the most general consistent double copy consists of gravitating objects which carry pairs of spin degrees of freedom. We find that the couplings of such objects to background fields match those of a classical (i.e. heavy) closed bosonic string, suggesting a string theory interpretation of sources related by color-kinematics duality. As a special case, we identify a limit, corresponding to unoriented strings, in which the 2-form Kalb-Ramond axion field decouples from the gravitational side of the double copy. Finally, we apply the classical double copy to extended objects, described by the addition of finite-size operators to the worldline effective theory. We find that consistency of the color-to-kinematics map requires that the Wilson coefficients of tidal operators obey certain relations, indicating that the extended gravitating objects generated by the double copy of Yang-Mills are not completely generic.
Is rust used safely by software developers

Rust, an emerging programming language with explosive growth, provides a robust type system that enables programmers to write memory-safe and data-race free code. To allow access to a machine's hardware and to support low-level performance optimizations, a second language, Unsafe Rust, is embedded in Rust. It contains support for operations that are difficult to statically check, such as C-style pointers for access to arbitrary memory locations and mutable global variables. When a program uses these features, the compiler is unable to statically guarantee the safety properties Rust promotes. In this work, we perform a large-scale empirical study to explore how software developers are using Unsafe Rust in real-world Rust libraries and applications. Our results indicate that software engineers use the keyword unsafe in less than 30% of Rust libraries, but more than half cannot be entirely statically checked by the Rust compiler because of Unsafe Rust hidden somewhere in a library's call chain. We conclude that although the use of the keyword unsafe is limited, the propagation of unsafeness offers a challenge to the claim of Rust as a memory-safe language. Furthermore, we recommend changes to the Rust compiler and to the central Rust repository's interface to help Rust software developers be aware of when their Rust code is unsafe.
OXYGEN AND SODIUM ABUNDANCES IN M13 (NGC 6205) GIANTS: LINKING GLOBULAR CLUSTER FORMATION SCENARIOS, DEEP MIXING, AND POST-RGB EVOLUTION

We present O, Na, and Fe abundances, as well as radial velocities, for 113 red giant branch (RGB) and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the globular cluster M13. The abundances and velocities are based on spectra obtained with the WIYN-Hydra spectrograph, and the observations range in luminosity from the horizontal branch (HB) to RGB tip. The results are examined in the context of recent globular cluster formation scenarios. We find that M13 exhibits many key characteristics that suggest its formation and chemical enrichment are well described by current models. Some of these observations include the central concentration of O-poor stars, the notable decrease in [O/Fe] (but small increase in [Na/Fe]) with increasing luminosity that affects primarily the "extreme" population, the small fraction of stars with halo-like composition, and the paucity of O-poor AGB stars. In agreement with recent work, we conclude that the most O-poor M13 giants are likely He-enriched and that most (all?) O-poor RGB stars evolve to become extreme HB and AGB-manque stars. In contrast, the "primordial" and "intermediate" population stars appear to experience standard HB and AGB evolution.
Automated Detection of Rest Disruptions in Critically Ill Patients

Sleep has been shown to be an indispensable and important component of patients’ recovery process. Nonetheless, the sleep quality of patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is often low, due to factors such as noise, pain, and frequent nursing care activities. Frequent sleep disruptions by the medical staff and/or visitors at certain times might lead to disruption of the patient's sleep-wake cycle and can also impact the severity of pain. Examining the association between sleep quality and frequent visitation has been difficult, due to the lack of automated methods for visitation detection. In this study, we recruited 38 patients to automatically assess visitation frequency from captured video frames. We used the DensePose R-CNN (ResNet-101) model to calculate the number of people in the room in a video frame. We examined when patients are interrupted the most, and we examined the association between frequent disruptions and patient outcomes on pain and length of stay.Clinical Relevance— This study shows that rest disruptions can be automatically detected in the ICU, and such information can be used to better understand the sleep quality of patients in the ICU.
Partially observed Boolean sequences and noise sensitivity

Let H denote a collection of subsets of {1,2,...,n}, and assign independent random variables uniformly distributed over [0,1] to the n elements. Declare an element p-present if its corresponding value is at most p. In this paper, we quantify how much the observation of the r-present (r > p) set of elements affects the probability that the set of p-present elements is contained in H. In the context of percolation, we find that this question is closely linked to the near-critical regime. As a consequence, we show that for every r > 1/2, bond percolation on the subgraph of the square lattice given by the set of r-present edges is almost surely noise sensitive at criticality, thus generalizing a result due to Benjamini, Kalai and Schramm.
Software for cut-generating functions in the Gomory--Johnson model and beyond

We present software for investigations with cut-generating functions in the Gomory–Johnson model and extensions, implemented in the computer algebra system SageMath.
Preperiodic portraits for unicritical polynomials

Let $K$ be an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero, and for $c \in K$ and an integer $d \ge 2$, define $f_{d,c}(z) := z^d + c \in K[z]$. We consider the following question: If we fix $x \in K$ and integers $M \ge 0$, $N \ge 1$, and $d \ge 2$, does there exist $c \in K$ such that, under iteration by $f_{d,c}$, the point $x$ enters into an $N$-cycle after precisely $M$ steps? We conclude that the answer is generally affirmative, and we explicitly give all counterexamples. When $d = 2$, this answers a question posed by Ghioca, Nguyen, and Tucker.
Strong forms of self-duality for Hopf monoids in species

A vector species is a functor from the category of finite sets with bijections to vector spaces (over a fixed field); informally, one can view this as a sequence of $S_n$-modules. A Hopf monoid (in the category of vector species) consists of a vector species with unit, counit, product, and coproduct morphisms satisfying several compatibility conditions, analogous to a graded Hopf algebra. A vector species has a basis if and only if it is given by a sequence of $S_n$-modules which are permutation representations. We say that a Hopf monoid is freely self-dual if it is connected and finite-dimensional, and if it has a basis in which the structure constants of its product and coproduct coincide. Such Hopf monoids are self-dual in the usual sense, and we show that they are furthermore both commutative and cocommutative. We prove more specific classification theorems for freely self-dual Hopf monoids whose products (respectively, coproducts) are linearized in the sense that they preserve the basis; we call such Hopf monoids strongly self-dual (respectively, linearly self-dual). In particular, we show that every strongly self-dual Hopf monoid has a basis isomorphic to some species of block-labeled set partitions, on which the product acts as the disjoint union. In turn, every linearly self-dual Hopf monoid has a basis isomorphic to the species of maps to a fixed set, on which the coproduct acts as restriction. It follows that every linearly self-dual Hopf monoid is strongly self-dual. Our final results concern connected Hopf monoids which are finite-dimensional, commutative, and cocommutative. We prove that such a Hopf monoid has a basis in which its product and coproduct are both linearized if and only if it is strongly self-dual with respect to a basis equipped with a certain partial order, generalizing the refinement partial order on set partitions.
Bers slices are Zariski dense

We prove that every Bers slice of quasi-Fuchsian space is Zariski dense in the character variety.
A Positive Operator-Valued Measure for an Iterated Function System

Given an iterated function system (IFS) on a complete and separable metric space $Y$ , there exists a unique compact subset $X \subseteq Y$ satisfying a fixed point relation with respect to the IFS. This subset is called the attractor set, or fractal set, associated to the IFS. The attractor set supports a specific Borel probability measure, called the Hutchinson measure, which itself satisfies a fixed point relation. P. Jorgensen generalized the Hutchinson measure to a projection-valued measure, under the assumption that the IFS does not have essential overlap (Jorgensen in Adv. Appl. Math. 34(3):561–590, 2005; Operator Theory, Operator Algebras, and Applications, pp. 13–26, 2006). In previous work, we developed an alternative approach to proving the existence of this projection-valued measure (Davison in Acta Appl. Math. 140(1):11–22, 2015; Acta Appl. Math. 140(1):23–25, 2015; Generalizing the Kantorovich metric to projection-valued measures: with an application to iterated function systems, 2015). The situation when the IFS exhibits essential overlap has been studied by Jorgensen and colleagues in Jorgenson et al. (J. Math. Phys. 48(8):083511, 35, 2007). We build off their work to generalize the Hutchinson measure to a positive-operator valued measure for an arbitrary IFS, that may exhibit essential overlap. This work hinges on using a generalized Kantorovich metric to define a distance between positive operator-valued measures. It is noteworthy to mention that this generalized metric, which we use in our previous work as well, was also introduced by R.F. Werner to study the position and momentum observables, which are central objects of study in the area of quantum theory (Werner in J. Quantum Inf. Comput. 4(6):546–562, 2004). We conclude with a discussion of Naimark’s dilation theorem with respect to this positive operator-valued measure, and at the beginning of the paper, we prove a metric space completion result regarding the classical Kantorovich metric.
The enhanced principal rank characteristic sequence over a field of characteristic 2

The enhanced principal rank characteristic sequence (epr-sequence) of an $n \times n$ symmetric matrix over a field $\F$ was recently defined as $\ell_1 \ell_2 \cdots \ell_n$, where $\ell_k$ is either $\tt A$, $\tt S$, or $\tt N$ based on whether all, some (but not all), or none of the order-$k$ principal minors of the matrix are nonzero. Here, a complete characterization of the epr-sequences that are attainable by symmetric matrices over the field $\Z_2$, the integers modulo $2$, is established. Contrary to the attainable epr-sequences over a field of characteristic $0$, this characterization reveals that the attainable epr-sequences over $\Z_2$ possess very special structures. For more general fields of characteristic $2$, some restrictions on attainable epr-sequences are obtained.
Fast vortex oscillations in a ferrimagnetic disk near the angular momentum compensation point

We theoretically study the oscillatory dynamics of a vortex core in a ferrimagnetic disk near its angular momentum compensation point, where the spin density vanishes but the magnetization is finite. Due to the finite magnetostatic energy, a ferrimagnetic disk of suitable geometry can support a vortex as a ground state similar to a ferromagnetic disk. In the vicinity of the angular momentum compensation point, the dynamics of the vortex resemble those of an antiferromagnetic vortex, which is described by equations of motion analogous to Newton's second law for the motion of particles. Owing to the antiferromagnetic nature of the dynamics, the vortex oscillation frequency can be an order of magnitude larger than the frequency of a ferromagnetic vortex, amounting to tens of GHz in common transition-metal based alloys. We show that the frequency can be controlled either by applying an external field or by changing the temperature. In particular, the latter property allows us to detect the angular momentum co...
Higher real K‐theories and topological automorphic forms

Given a maximal finite subgroup G of the nth Morava stabilizer group at a prime p, we address the question: is the associated higher real K-theory EOn a summand of the K(n)-localization of a TAF-spectrum associated to a unitary similitude group of type U (1,n− 1)? We answer this question in the affirmative for p ∈{ 2, 3, 5, 7} and n =( p − 1)p r�1 for a maximal finite subgroup containing an element of order p r . We answer the question in the negative for all other odd primary cases. In all odd primary cases, we give an explicit presentation of a global division algebra with involution in which the group G embeds unitarily.
Hessian and graviton propagator of the proper vertex

The proper spin-foam vertex amplitude is obtained from the EPRL vertex by projecting out all but a single gravitational sector, in order to achieve correct semi-classical behavior. In this paper we calculate the gravitational two-point function predicted by the proper spin-foam vertex to lowest order in the vertex expansion. We find the same answer as in the EPRL case in the 'continuum spectrum' limit, so that the theory is consistent with the predictions of linearized gravity in the regime of small curvature. The method for calculating the two-point function is similar to that used in prior works: we cast it in terms of an action integral and use stationary phase methods. Thus, the calculation of the Hessian matrix plays a key role. Once the Hessian is calculated, it is used not only to calculate the two-point function, but also to calculate the coefficient appearing in the semi-classical limit of the proper vertex amplitude itself. This coefficient is the effective discrete 'measure factor' encoded in the spin-foam model. Through a non-trivial cancellation of different factors, we find that this coefficient is the same as the coefficient in front of the term in the asymptotics of the EPRL vertex corresponding to the selected gravitational sector.
UTILITARIAN OPACITY MODEL FOR AGGREGATE PARTICLES IN PROTOPLANETARY NEBULAE AND EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES

As small solid grains grow into larger ones in protoplanetary nebulae, or in the cloudy atmospheres of exoplanets, they generally form porous aggregates rather than solid spheres. A number of previous studies have used highly sophisticated schemes to calculate opacity models for irregular, porous particles with size much smaller than a wavelength. However, mere growth itself can affect the opacity of the medium in far more significant ways than the detailed compositional and/or structural differences between grain constituents once aggregate particle sizes exceed the relevant wavelengths. This physics is not new; our goal here is to provide a model that provides physical insight and is simple to use in the increasing number of protoplanetary nebula evolution, and exoplanet atmosphere, models appearing in recent years, yet quantitatively captures the main radiative properties of mixtures of particles of arbitrary size, porosity, and composition. The model is a simple combination of effective medium theory with small-particle closed-form expressions, combined with suitably chosen transitions to geometric optics behavior. Calculations of wavelength-dependent emission and Rosseland mean opacity are shown and compared with Mie theory. The model's fidelity is very good in all comparisons we have made, except in cases involving pure metal particles or monochromatic opacities for solid particles with size comparable to the wavelength.
The Genesis of Super Star Clusters as Self-Gravitating HII Regions

We examine the effects of ionization, radiation pressure and main sequence winds from massive stars on self-gravitating, clumpy molecular clouds, thereby modeling the formation and pre-supernova feedback of massive star clusters. We find the process of “turbulent mass loading” is effective in confining HII regions. Extrapolating typical Galactic high-mass star forming regions to greater initial gas cloud masses and assuming steady star formation rates, we determine the timescales for cloud disruption. We find that a dense (n c ≃ 2 x 105 cm−3) cloud with initial mass M c ≃ 4 x 105 M⊙ is able to form ~ 2 x 105 M⊙ of stars ( 50% efficiency) before feedback disperses the gas after ~ 3 Myr. This mass and age are typical of young, optically visible super star clusters (SSCs). The high efficiency permits the creation of a bound stellar system.
Studying the Normal-Fluid Flow in Helium-II Using Metastable Helium Molecules

We demonstrate that metastable helium molecules can be used as tracers to visualize the flow of the normal fluid in superfluid 4He using a laser-induced-fluorescence technique. The flow pattern of a normal-fluid jet impinging on the center of a copper disc is imaged. A ring-shaped circulation structure of the normal fluid is observed as the jet passes across the disc surface. The fluorescence signal for the molecules trapped in the circulation structure is measured as a function of time after we turn off the molecule source. The radiative lifetime and density of the molecules can be determined by fitting the measured data using a simple analytic model. We also discuss a proposed experiment on using a previously developed molecule tagging-imaging technique to visualize the normal-fluid velocity profile during the transition of quantum turbulence in a thermal counterflow channel.
Douglas–Rachford splitting and ADMM for pathological convex optimization

Despite the vast literature on DRS and ADMM, there has been very little work analyzing their behavior under pathologies. Most analyses assume a primal solution exists, a dual solution exists, and strong duality holds. When these assumptions are not met, i.e., under pathologies, the theory often breaks down and the empirical performance may degrade significantly. In this paper, we establish that DRS only requires strong duality to work, in the sense that asymptotically iterates are approximately feasible and approximately optimal.
Optimizing the efficiency of Fabry-Perot interferometers with silicon-substrate mirrors

We present the novel design of microfabricated, silicon-substrate based mirrors for use in cryogenic Fabry-Perot Interferometers (FPIs) for the mid-IR to sub-mm/mm wavelength regime. One side of the silicon substrate will have a double-layer metamaterial anti-reflection coating (ARC) anisotropically etched into it and the other side will be metalized with a re ective mesh pattern. The double-layer ARC ensures a re ectance of less than 1% at the surface substrate over the FPI bandwidth. This low reflectance is required to achieve broadband capability and to mitigate contaminating resonances from the silicon surface. Two silicon substrates with their metalized surfaces facing each other and held parallel with an adjustable separation will compose the FPI. To create an FPI with nearly uniform finesse over the FPI bandwidth, we use a combination of inductive and capacitive gold meshes evaporated onto the silicon substrate. We also consider the use of niobium as a superconducting reflective mesh for long wavelengths to eliminate ohmic losses at each reflection in the resonating cavity of the FPI and thereby increase overall transmission. We develop these silicon-substrate based FPIs for use in ground (e.g. CCAT-prime), air (e.g. HIRMES), and future space-based telescopes (e.g. the Origins Space Telescope concept). Such FPIs are well suited for spectroscopic imaging with the upcoming large IR/sub-mm/mm TES bolometer detector arrays. Here we present the fabrication and performance of multi-layer, plasma-etched, silicon metamaterial ARC, as well as models of the mirrors and FPIs.
Program sketching with live bidirectional evaluation

We present a system called Smyth for program sketching in a typed functional language whereby the concrete evaluation of ordinary assertions gives rise to input-output examples, which are then used to guide the search to complete the holes. The key innovation, called live bidirectional evaluation, propagates examples "backward" through partially evaluated sketches. Live bidirectional evaluation enables Smyth to (a) synthesize recursive functions without trace-complete sets of examples and (b) specify and solve interdependent synthesis goals. Eliminating the trace-completeness requirement resolves a significant limitation faced by prior synthesis techniques when given partial specifications in the form of input-output examples. To assess the practical implications of our techniques, we ran several experiments on benchmarks used to evaluate Myth, a state-of-the-art example-based synthesis tool. First, given expert examples (and no partial implementations), we find that Smyth requires on average 66% of the number of expert examples required by Myth. Second, we find that Smyth is robust to randomly-generated examples, synthesizing many tasks with relatively few more random examples than those provided by an expert. Third, we create a suite of small sketching tasks by systematically employing a simple sketching strategy to the Myth benchmarks; we find that user-provided sketches in Smyth often further reduce the total specification burden (i.e. the combination of partial implementations and examples). Lastly, we find that Leon and Synquid, two state-of-the-art logic-based synthesis tools, fail to complete several tasks on which Smyth succeeds.
Dissipation enhancement by mixing

We quantitatively study the interaction between diffusion and mixing in both the continuous, and discrete time setting. in discrete time, we consider a mixing dynamical system interposed with diffusion. in continuous time, we consider the advection diffusion equation where the advecting vector field is assumed to be sufficiently mixing. the main results of this paper estimate the dissipation time and energy decay based on as assumption quantifying the mixing rate.
Stein Self-Repulsive Dynamics: Benefits From Past Samples

We propose a new Stein self-repulsive dynamics for obtaining diversified samples from intractable un-normalized distributions. Our idea is to introduce Stein variational gradient as a repulsive force to push the samples of Langevin dynamics away from the past trajectories. This simple idea allows us to significantly decrease the auto-correlation in Langevin dynamics and hence increase the effective sample size. Importantly, as we establish in our theoretical analysis, the asymptotic stationary distribution remains correct even with the addition of the repulsive force, thanks to the special properties of the Stein variational gradient. We perform extensive empirical studies of our new algorithm, showing that our method yields much higher sample efficiency and better uncertainty estimation than vanilla Langevin dynamics.
Geometry and Destiny

The recognition that the cosmological constantmay be non-zero forces us to re-evaluate standardnotions about the connection between geometry and thefate of our Universe. An open Universe can recollapse, and a closed Universe can expand forever. As acorollary, we point out that there is no set ofcosmological observations we can perform that willunambiguously allow us to determine what the ultimatedestiny of the Universe will be.
On the Abundance Problem for $3$-folds in characteristic $p>5$

In this article we prove two cases of the abundance conjecture for 3-folds in characteristic $$p>5$$ : (i) $$(X, \Delta )$$ is klt and $$\kappa (X, K_X+\Delta )=1$$ , and (ii) $$(X, \Delta )$$ is klt, $$K_X+\Delta \equiv 0$$ and X is not uniruled.
HST/ACS DIRECT AGES OF THE DWARF ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES NGC 147 AND NGC 185

We present the deepest optical photometry for any dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxy based on Hubble Space Telescope ACS observations of the Local Group dE galaxies NGC 147 and NGC 185. The resulting F606W and F814W color-magnitude diagrams are the first to reach below the main sequence turnoff in a dE galaxy, allowing us to determine full star formation histories in these systems. The ACS fields are located ~1.5 effective radii from the galaxy center to avoid photometric crowding. While our ACS pointings in both dEs show unambiguous evidence for old and intermediate age stars, the mean age in NGC 147 is ~ 4 Gyr younger as compared to NGC 185. In NGC 147, only 40% of stars were in place 12.5 Gyrs ago (z~5), with the bulk of the remaining stellar population forming between 5 to 7 Gyr. In contrast, 70% of stars were formed in NGC 185 field more than12.5 Gyr ago with the majority of the remaining population forming between 8 to 10 Gyr. Star formation ceased in both ACS fields at least 3 Gyr ago. Previous observations in the central regions of NGC 185 show evidence for star formation as recent as 100 Myr ago and a strong metallicity gradient with radius. We suggest that the orbit of NGC 185 has a larger pericenter as compared to NGC 147, allowing it to preserve radial gradients and maintain a small central reservoir of recycled gas. We interpret the inferred differences in star formation histories to imply an earlier infall time into the M31 environment for NGC 185 as compared to NGC 147.
Ion species stratification within strong shocks in two-ion plasmas

Strong collisional shocks in multi-ion plasmas are featured in many environments, with Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) experiments being one prominent example. Recent work [Keenan et al., Phys. Rev. E 96, 053203 (2017)] answered in detail a number of outstanding questions concerning the kinetic structure of steady-state, planar plasma shocks, e.g., the shock width scaling by the Mach number, M. However, it did not discuss shock-driven ion-species stratification (e.g., relative concentration modification and temperature separation). These are important effects since many recent ICF experiments have evaded explanation by standard, single-fluid, radiation-hydrodynamic (rad-hydro) numerical simulations, and shock-driven fuel stratification likely contributes to this discrepancy. Employing the state-of-the-art Vlasov-Fokker-Planck code, iFP, along with multi-ion hydro simulations and semi-analytics, we quantify the ion stratification by planar shocks with the arbitrary Mach number and the relative species co...
Intrinsic spectrally-dependent background in spectroscopic visible-light optical coherence tomography

Visible-light optical coherence tomography (vis-OCT) has enabled new spectroscopic applications, such as retinal oximetry, as a result of increased optical absorption and scattering contacts in biological tissue and improved axial resolution. Besides extracting tissue properties from back-scattered light, spectroscopic analyses must consider spectral alterations induced by image reconstruction itself. We investigated an intrinsic spectral bias in the background noise floor, which is hereby referred to as the spectrally-dependent background (SDBG). We developed an analytical model to predict the SDBG-induced bias and validated this model using numerically simulated and experimentally acquired data. We found that SDBG systemically altered the measured spectra of blood in human retinal vessels in vis-OCT, as compared to literature data. We provided solutions to quantify and compensate for SDBG in retinal oximetry. This work is particularly significant for clinical applications of vis-OCT.
Crafty: efficient, HTM-compatible persistent transactions

Byte-addressable persistent memory, such as Intel/Micron 3D XPoint, is an emerging technology that bridges the gap between volatile memory and persistent storage. Data in persistent memory survives crashes and restarts; however, it is challenging to ensure that this data is consistent after failures. Existing approaches incur significant performance costs to ensure crash consistency. This paper introduces Crafty, a new approach for ensuring consistency and atomicity on persistent memory operations using commodity hardware with existing hardware transactional memory (HTM) capabilities, while incurring low overhead. Crafty employs a novel technique called nondestructive undo logging that leverages commodity HTM to control persist ordering. Our evaluation shows that Crafty outperforms state-of-the-art prior work under low contention, and performs competitively under high contention.
The Bott cofiber sequence in deformation K-theory and simultaneous similarity in U(n)

We show that there is a homotopy cofiber sequence of spectra relating Carlsson's deformation K-theory of a group G to its "deformation representation ring," analogous to the Bott periodicity sequence relating connective K-theory to ordinary homology. We then apply this to study simultaneous similarity of unitary matrices.
A SIMPLE GRAVITATIONAL LENS MODEL FOR COSMIC VOIDS

We present a simple gravitational lens model to illustrate the ease of using the embedded lensing theory when studying cosmic voids. It confirms the previously used repulsive lensing models for deep voids. We start by estimating magnitude fluctuations and weak-lensing shears of background sources lensed by large voids. We find that sources behind large (~90 Mpc) and deep voids (density contrast about −0.9) can be magnified or demagnified with magnitude fluctuations of up to ~0.05 mag and that the weak-lensing shear can be up to the ~10−2 level in the outer regions of large voids. Smaller or shallower voids produce proportionally smaller effects. We investigate the "wiggling" of the primary cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropies caused by intervening cosmic voids. The void-wiggling of primary CMB temperature gradients is of the opposite sign to that caused by galaxy clusters. Only extremely large and deep voids can produce wiggling amplitudes similar to galaxy clusters, ~15 μK by a large void of radius ~4° and central density contrast −0.9 at redshift 0.5 assuming a CMB background gradient of ~10 μK arcmin−1. The dipole signal is spread over the entire void area, and not concentrated at the lens center as it is for clusters. Finally, we use our model to simulate CMB sky maps lensed by large cosmic voids. Our embedded theory can easily be applied to more complicated void models and used to study gravitational lensing of the CMB, to probe dark matter profiles, to reduce the lensing-induced systematics in supernova Hubble diagrams, and to study the integrated Sachs–Wolfe effect.
Evaluating Proxy Influence in Assimilated Paleoclimate Reconstructions—Testing the Exchangeability of Two Ensembles of Spatial Processes

Climate field reconstructions (CFRs) attempt to estimate spatiotemporal fields of climate variables in the past using climate proxies such as tree rings, ice cores, and corals. Data assimilation (D...
Holographic Entanglement Entropy for d = 4 N = 2 SCFTs in F-Theory

We compute the holographic entanglement entropy in the gravity with higher curvature terms dual to d=4 N=2 SCFTs in F-theory using the method proposed in arXiv:1011.5819. The log term of this entanglement entropy reproduces the A-type anomaly of the dual SCFTs in F- theory using the gravity dual with the higher derivative term, which, using the field redefinition, can be transformed to the Gauss-Bonnet term in the subleading order of a derivative expansion. Our analysis shows that the 1/N^2 correction for the central charges should be produced from the gravity including higher derivative terms up to curvature squared terms. To obtain consistent results, we discuss the holographic c-theorem.
Large N thirring matter in three dimensions

In this paper we calculate properties of the three-dimensional system of N species of fermions at zero temperature and finite chemical potential, with the four-fermionic interaction of the Thirring type. We observe that this model fits consistently into framework of the Landau Fermi liquid theory, and possesses a non-trivial zeroth and first Landau parameters. Our result is derived to all orders of the Thirring coupling constant and to the leading order of the large-N expansion. In particular we solve for the exact current-current correlation function, and show that it exhibits a singular behavior at zero frequency and twice of the Fermi momentum.
Separability probability formulas and their proofs for generalized two-qubit X-matrices endowed with Hilbert–Schmidt and induced measures

Two-qubit X-matrices have been the subject of considerable recent attention, as they lend themselves more readily to analytical investigations than two-qubit density matrices of arbitrary nature. Here, we maximally exploit this relative ease of analysis to formally derive an exhaustive collection of results pertaining to the separability probabilities of generalized two-qubit X-matrices endowed with Hilbert–Schmidt and, more broadly, induced measures. Further, the analytical results obtained exhibit interesting parallels to corresponding earlier (but, contrastingly, not yet fully rigorous) results for general two-qubit states — deduced on the basis of determinantal moment formulas. Geometric interpretations can be given to arbitrary positive values of the random-matrix Dyson-index-like parameter α employed.
Nonlocal thresholds for improving the spatial resolution of pixel detectors

Pixel detectors only record signals above a tuned threshold in order to suppress noise. As sensors become thinner, pitches decrease, and radiation damage reduces the collected charge, it is increasingly desirable to lower thresholds. By making the observation that hit pixels tend to be spatially close to each other, we discuss two schemes for dynamic threshold adjustment which could be realized at the level of frontend electronics: one utilizing cross-talk originating from capacitive coupling between neighboring pixels, and the other requiring the use of a nominal high threshold and a triggerable low neighbor threshold. These schemes are tested in the context of single particle simulations with a single pixel layer following the specifications of upcoming ATLAS and CMS detector upgrades. By adjusting the parameters of each algorithm, we find that the pixel cluster position resolution in both schemes is more stable under threshold changes than the default fixed threshold approach. These dynamic threshold methods may have important implications for pixel readout chip design at the Large Hadron Collider and other future colliders.
SHORT-TIME DECOHERENCE AND DEVIATION FROM PURE QUANTUM STATES

In systems considered for quantum computing, i.e., for control of quantum dynamics with the goal of processing information coherently, decoherence and deviation from pure quantum states, are the main obstacles to error correction. At low temperatures, usually assumed in quantum computing designs, some of the accepted approaches to evaluation of relaxation mechanisms break down. We develop a new formalism for the estimation of decoherence at short times, appropriate for evaluation of quantum computing architectures.
Concentration of norms and eigenvalues of random matrices

We prove concentration results for lpn operator norms of rectangular random matrices and eigenvalues of self-adjoint random matrices. The random matrices we consider have bounded entries which are independent, up to a possible self-adjointness constraint. Our results are based on an isoperimetric inequality for product spaces due to Talagrand.
ON THE ACCRETION-FED GROWTH OF NEUTRON STARS DURING COMMON ENVELOPE

This paper models the orbital inspiral of a neutron star (NS) through the envelope of its giant-branch companion during a common envelope (CE) episode. These CE episodes are necessary to produce close pairs of NSs that can inspiral and merge due to gravitational wave losses in less than a Hubble time. Because cooling by neutrinos can be very efficient, NSs have been predicted to accumulate significant mass during CE events, perhaps enough to lead them to collapse to black holes. We revisit this conclusion with the additional consideration of CE structure, particularly density gradients across the embedded NS's accretion radius. This work is informed by our recent numerical simulations that find that the presence of a density gradient strongly limits accretion by imposing a net angular momentum to the flow around the NS. Our calculations suggest that NSs should survive CE encounters. They accrete only modest amounts of envelope material, ≲ 0.1 M {sub ☉}, which is broadly consistent with mass determinations of double NS binaries. With less mass gain, NSs must spiral deeper to eject their CE, leading to a potential increase in mergers. The survival of NSs in CE events has implications for the formation mechanism of observedmore » double NS binaries, as well as for predicted rates of NS binary gravitational wave inspirals and their electromagnetic counterparts.« less
Two-qubit separability probabilities as joint functions of the Bloch radii of the qubit subsystems

We detect a certain pattern of behavior of separability probabilities p(rA,rB) for two-qubit systems endowed with Hilbert–Schmidt (HS), and more generally, random induced measures, where rA and rB are the Bloch radii (0≤rA,rB≤1) of the qubit reduced states (A,B). We observe a relative repulsion of radii effect, that is p(rA,rA)<p(rA,1−rA), except for rather narrow “crossover” intervals [rA,12]. Among the seven specific cases we study are, firstly, the “toy” seven-dimensional X-states model and, then, the fifteen-dimensional two-qubit states obtained by tracing over the pure states in 4×K-dimensions, for K=3,4,5, with K=4 corresponding to HS (flat/Euclidean) measure. We also examine the real (two-rebit) K=4, the X-states K=5, and Bures (minimal monotone)–for which no nontrivial crossover behavior is observed–instances. In the two X-states cases, we derive analytical results; for K=3,4, we propose formulas that well-fit our numerical results; and for the other scenarios, rely presently upon large numerical...
Probing Our Heliospheric History. I. High-resolution Observations of Na I and Ca II along the Solar Historical Trajectory

Over the course of its motion through the Galaxy, our solar system has encountered many interstellar environments of varying characteristics. Interstellar medium (ISM) density variations spanning seven orders of magnitude are commonly seen throughout the general Galactic environment, and a sufficiently dense cloud within this range has the potential to dramatically alter the structure of the heliosphere. We present observations of the ISM environments the Sun has most recently encountered based on high-resolution optical spectra toward nearby stars in the direction of the historical solar trajectory. The data were obtained with the highest-resolution spectrographs available, including the Tull Spectrograph on the Harlan J. Smith Telescope at McDonald Observatory and the Ultra-High-Resolution Facility on the Anglo-Australian Telescope at the Anglo-Australian Observatory. Observations were made of interstellar Na I and Ca II doublet absorption toward 43 bright stars within ~500 pc. No absorption is seen out to a distance of 120 pc (consistent with the outer boundary of the Local Bubble), but a complex collection of absorbers is seen in stars beyond 120 pc. While common absorbers are consistently seen in most sight lines, significant spatial variation is also detected, even between closely spaced sight lines. This pervasive evidence of small-scale structure not only speaks to the complexity of the morphology or physical properties of the gas in the ISM, but also emphasizes that dramatic structural changes to the heliosphere are common and it is important to understand the implications of such changes, such as the modulation in the cosmic ray flux, on planets.
One-loop quantum gravity in the Einstein universe

We study quantum gravity with the Einstein-Hilbert action including the cosmological constant on the Euclidean Einstein universe S 1 × S 3. We compute exactly the spectra and the heat kernels of the relevant operators on S 3 and use these results to compute the heat trace of the graviton and ghost operators and the exact one-loop effective action on S 1 × S 3. We show that the system is unstable in the infrared limit due to the presence of the negative modes of the graviton and the ghost operators. We study the thermal properties of the model with the temperature T = (2πa 1)−1 determined by the radius a 1 of the circle S 1. We show that the heat capacity C v is well defined and behaves like ∼ T 3 in the high temperature limit and has a singularity of the type ∼ (T − T c )−1, indicating a second-order phase transition, with the critical temperature T c determined by the cosmological constant Λ and the radius a of the sphere S 3. We also discuss some peculiar properties of the model such as the negative heat capacity as well as possible physical applications.
Effect of electron-phonon coupling on thermal transport across metal-nonmetal interface —A second look

The effect of electron-phonon (e-ph) coupling on thermal transport across metal-nonmetal interfaces is yet to be completely understood. In this paper, we use a series of molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations with e-ph coupling effect included by Langevin dynamics to calculate the thermal conductance at a model metal-nonmetal interface. It is found that while e-ph coupling can present additional thermal resistance on top of the phonon-phonon thermal resistance, it can also make the phonon-phonon thermal conductance larger than the pure phonon transport case. This is because the e-ph interaction can disturb the phonon subsystem and enhance the energy communication between different phonon modes inside the metal. This facilitates redistributing phonon energy into modes that can more easily transfer energy across the interfaces. Compared to the pure phonon thermal conduction, the total thermal conductance with e-ph coupling effect can become either smaller or larger depending on the coupling factor. This result helps clarify the role of e-ph coupling in thermal transport across metal-nonmetal interface.
Perturbative variational formulation of the Vlasov-Maxwell equations

The perturbative variational formulation of the Vlasov-Maxwell equations is presented up to the third order in the perturbation analysis. From the second and third-order Lagrangian densities, the first-order and second-order Vlasov-Maxwell equations are expressed in gauge-invariant and gauge-independent forms, respectively. Upon deriving the reduced second-order Vlasov-Maxwell Lagrangian for the linear nonadiabatic gyrokinetic Vlasov-Maxwell equations, the reduced Lagrangian densities for the linear drift-wave equation and the linear hybrid kinetic-magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations are derived, with their associated wave-action conservation laws obtained by the Noether method. The exact wave-action conservation law for the linear hybrid kinetic-MHD equations is written explicitly. Finally, a new form of the third-order Vlasov-Maxwell Lagrangian is derived in which ponderomotive effects play a crucial role.