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2015-08-19
Variations in solar wind fractionation as seen by ACE/SWICS over a solar cycle and the implications for Genesis Mission results
We use ACE/SWICS elemental composition data to compare the variations in solar wind fractionation as measured by SWICS during the last solar maximum (1999-2001), the solar minimum (2006-2009) and the period in which the Genesis spacecraft was collecting solar wind (late 2001 - early 2004). We differentiate our analysis in terms of solar wind regimes (i.e. originating from interstream or coronal hole flows, or coronal mass ejecta). Abundances are normalized to the low-FIP ion magnesium to uncover correlations that are not apparent when normalizing to high-FIP ions. We find that relative to magnesium, the other low-FIP elements are measurably fractionated, but the degree of fractionation does not vary significantly over the solar cycle. For the high-FIP ions, variation in fractionation over the solar cycle is significant: greatest for Ne/Mg and C/Mg, less so for O/Mg, and the least for He/Mg. When abundance ratios are examined as a function of solar wind speed, we find a strong correlation, with the remarkable observation that the degree of fractionation follows a mass-dependent trend. We discuss the implications for correcting the Genesis sample return results to photospheric abundances.
1508.04566v1
2015-08-28
Cosmic variance in the nanohertz gravitational wave background
We use large N-body simulations and empirical scaling relations between dark matter halos, galaxies, and supermassive black holes to estimate the formation rates of supermassive black hole binaries and the resulting low-frequency stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB). We find this GWB to be relatively insensitive ($\lesssim10\%$) to cosmological parameters, with only slight variation between WMAP5 and Planck cosmologies. We find that uncertainty in the astrophysical scaling relations changes the amplitude of the GWB by a factor of $\sim 2$. Current observational limits are already constraining this predicted range of models. We investigate the Poisson variance in the amplitude of the GWB for randomly-generated populations of supermassive black holes, finding a scatter of order unity per frequency bin below 10 nHz, and increasing to a factor of $\sim 10$ near 100 nHz. This variance is a result of the rarity of the most massive binaries, which dominate the signal, and acts as a fundamental uncertainty on the amplitude of the underlying power law spectrum. This Poisson uncertainty dominates at $\gtrsim 20$ nHz, while at lower frequencies the dominant uncertainty is related to our poor understanding of the astrophysical scaling relations, although very low frequencies may be dominated by uncertainties related to the final parsec problem and the processes which drive binaries to the gravitational wave dominated regime. Cosmological effects are negligible at all frequencies.
1508.07336v2
2015-09-01
Magnon-driven longitudinal spin Seebeck effect in F|N and N|F|N structures: role of asymmetric in-plane magnetic anisotropy
The influence of an asymmetric in-plane magnetic anisotropy on the thermally activated spin current is studied theoretically for two different systems; (i) the system consisting of a ferromagnetic insulator in a direct contact with a nonmagnetic metal, and the sandwich structure consisting of a ferromagnetic insulating part sandwiched between two nonmagnetic metals. It is shown that when the difference between the temperatures of the two nonmagnetic metals in a structure is not large, the spin pumping currents from the magnetic part to the nonmagnetic ones are equal in amplitude and have opposite directions, so only the spin torque current contributes to the total spin current. The spin current flows then from the nonmagnetic metal with the higher temperature to the nonmagnetic metal having a lower temperature. Its amplitude varies linearly with the difference in temperatures. In addition, we have found that if the magnetic anisotropy is in the layer plane, then the spin current increases with the magnon temperature, while in the case of an out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy the spin current decreases when the magnon temperature enhances. Enlarging the difference between the temperatures of the nonmagnetic metals, the linear response becomes important, as confirmed by analytical expressions inferred from the Fokker-Planck approach and by the results obtained upon a full numerical integration of the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation.
1509.00376v1
2015-09-08
Stellar Dynamics around a Massive Black Hole II: Resonant Relaxation
We present a first-principles theory of Resonant Relaxation (RR) of a low mass stellar system orbiting a more massive black hole (MBH). We first extend the kinetic theory of Gilbert (1968) to include the Keplerian field of a black hole of mass $M_\bullet$. Specializing to a Keplerian stellar system of mass $M \ll M_\bullet$, we use the orbit-averaging method of Sridhar & Touma (2015; Paper I) to derive a kinetic equation for RR. This describes the collisional evolution of a system of $N \gg 1$ Gaussian Rings in a reduced 5-dim space, under the combined actions of self-gravity, 1 PN and 1.5 PN relativistic effects of the MBH and an arbitrary external potential. In general geometries RR is driven by both apsidal and nodal resonances, so the distinction between scalar-RR and vector-RR disappears. The system passes through a sequence of quasi-steady secular collisionless equilibria, driven by irreversible 2-Ring correlations that accrue through gravitational interactions, both direct and collective. This correlation function is related to a `wake function', which is the linear response of the system to the perturbation of a chosen Ring. The wake function is easier to appreciate, and satisfies a simpler equation, than the correlation function. We discuss general implications for the interplay of secular dynamics and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics in the evolution of Keplerian stellar systems toward secular thermodynamic equilibria, and set the stage for applications to the RR of axisymmetric discs in Paper III.
1509.02401v2
2015-10-11
End-to-End Error-Correcting Codes on Networks with Worst-Case Symbol Errors
The problem of coding for networks experiencing worst-case symbol errors is considered. We argue that this is a reasonable model for highly dynamic wireless network transmissions. We demonstrate that in this setup prior network error-correcting schemes can be arbitrarily far from achieving the optimal network throughput. A new transform metric for errors under the considered model is proposed. Using this metric, we replicate many of the classical results from coding theory. Specifically, we prove new Hamming-type, Plotkin-type, and Elias-Bassalygo-type upper bounds on the network capacity. A commensurate lower bound is shown based on Gilbert-Varshamov-type codes for error-correction. The GV codes used to attain the lower bound can be non-coherent, that is, they do not require prior knowledge of the network topology. We also propose a computationally-efficient concatenation scheme. The rate achieved by our concatenated codes is characterized by a Zyablov-type lower bound. We provide a generalized minimum-distance decoding algorithm which decodes up to half the minimum distance of the concatenated codes. The end-to-end nature of our design enables our codes to be overlaid on the classical distributed random linear network codes [1]. Furthermore, the potentially intensive computation at internal nodes for the link-by-link error-correction is un-necessary based on our design.
1510.03060v1
2015-10-12
Analysis of laser shock experiments on precompressed samples using a quartz reference and application to warm dense hydrogen and helium
Megabar (1 Mbar = 100 GPa) laser shocks on precompressed samples allow reaching unprecedented high densities and moderately high 10000-100000K temperatures. We describe here a complete analysis framework for the velocimetry (VISAR) and pyrometry (SOP) data produced in these experiments. Since the precompression increases the initial density of both the sample of interest and the quartz reference for pressure-density, reflectivity and temperature measurements, we describe analytical corrections based on available experimental data on warm dense silica and density-functional-theory based molecular dynamics computer simulations. Using our improved analysis framework we report a re-analysis of previously published data on warm dense hydrogen and helium, compare the newly inferred pressure, density and temperature data with most advanced equation of state models and provide updated reflectivity values.
1510.03301v1
2015-11-09
Simulations of the Pairwise Kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Signal
The pairwise kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) signal from galaxy clusters is a probe of their line-of-sight momenta, and thus a potentially valuable source of cosmological information. In addition to the momenta, the amplitude of the measured signal depends on the properties of the intra-cluster gas and observational limitations such as errors in determining cluster centers and redshifts. In this work we simulate the pairwise kSZ signal of clusters at z<1, using the output from a cosmological N-body simulation and including the properties of the intra-cluster gas via a model that can be varied in post-processing. We find that modifications to the gas profile due to star formation and feedback reduce the pairwise kSZ amplitude of clusters by ~50%, relative to the naive 'gas traces mass' assumption. We demonstrate that mis-centering can reduce the overall amplitude of the pairwise kSZ signal by up to 10%, while redshift errors can lead to an almost complete suppression of the signal at small separations. We confirm that a high-significance detection is expected from the combination of data from current-generation, high-resolution CMB experiments, such as the South Pole Telescope, and cluster samples from optical photometric surveys, such as the Dark Energy Survey. Furthermore, we forecast that future experiments such as Advanced ACTPol in conjunction with data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument will yield detection significances of at least 20{\sigma}, and up to 57{\sigma} in an optimistic scenario. Our simulated maps are publicly available at: http://www.hep.anl.gov/cosmology/ksz.html
1511.02843v2
2015-11-11
Magnetization switching by current and microwaves
We propose a theoretical model of magnetization switching in a ferromagnetic multilayer by both electric current and microwaves. The electric current gives a spin transfer torque on the magnetization, while the microwaves induce a precession of the magnetization around the initial state. Based on numerical simulation of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation, it is found that the switching current is significantly reduced compared with the switching caused solely by the spin transfer torque when the microwave frequency is in a certain range. We develop a theory of switching from the LLG equation averaged over a constant energy curve. It was found that the switching current should be classified into four regions, depending on the values of the microwave frequency. Based on the analysis, we derive an analytical formula of the optimized frequency minimizing the switching current, which is smaller than the ferromagnetic resonance frequency. We also derive an analytical formula of the minimized switching current. Both the optimized frequency and the minimized switching current decrease with increasing the amplitude of the microwave field. The results will be useful to achieve high thermal stability and low switching current in spin torque systems simultaneously.
1511.03366v2
2015-11-13
Time-domain numerical modeling of brass instruments including nonlinear wave propagation, viscothermal losses, and lips vibration
A time-domain numerical modeling of brass instruments is proposed. On one hand, outgoing and incoming waves in the resonator are described by the Menguy-Gilbert model, which incorporates three key issues: nonlinear wave propagation, viscothermal losses, and a variable section. The non-linear propagation is simulated by a TVD scheme well-suited to non-smooth waves. The fractional derivatives induced by the viscothermal losses are replaced by a set of local-in-time memory variables. A splitting strategy is followed to couple optimally these dedicated methods. On the other hand, the exciter is described by a one-mass model for the lips. The Newmark method is used to integrate the nonlinear ordinary differential equation so-obtained. At each time step, a coupling is performed between the pressure in the tube and the displacement of the lips. Finally, an extensive set of validation tests is successfully completed. In particular, self-sustained oscillations of the lips are simulated by taking into account the nonlinear wave propagation in the tube. Simulations clearly indicate that the nonlinear wave propagation has a major influence on the timbre of the sound, as expected. Moreover, simulations also highlight an influence on playing frequencies, time envelopes and on the playability of the low frequencies in the case of a variable lips tension.
1511.04247v1
2015-11-24
Planetary Candidates from the First Year of the K2 Mission
The Kepler Space Telescope is currently searching for planets transiting stars along the ecliptic plane as part of its extended K2 mission. We processed the publicly released data from the first year of K2 observations (Campaigns 0, 1, 2, and 3) and searched for periodic eclipse signals consistent with planetary transits. Out of 59,174 targets we searched, we detect 234 planetary candidates around 208 stars. These candidates range in size from gas giants to smaller than the Earth, and range in orbital periods from hours to over a month. We conducted initial reconnaissance spectroscopy of 68 of the brighter candidate host stars, and present high resolution optical spectra for these stars. We make all of our data products, including light curves, spectra, and vetting diagnostics available to users online.
1511.07820v2
2015-11-25
A Search for Water in the Atmosphere of HAT-P-26b Using LDSS-3C
The characterization of a physically-diverse set of transiting exoplanets is an important and necessary step towards establishing the physical properties linked to the production of obscuring clouds or hazes. It is those planets with identifiable spectroscopic features that can most effectively enhance our understanding of atmospheric chemistry and metallicity. The newly-commissioned LDSS-3C instrument on Magellan provides enhanced sensitivity and suppressed fringing in the red optical, thus advancing the search for the spectroscopic signature of water in exoplanetary atmospheres from the ground. Using data acquired by LDSS-3C and the Spitzer Space Telescope, we search for evidence of water vapor in the transmission spectrum of the Neptune-mass planet HAT-P-26b. Our measured spectrum is best explained by the presence of water vapor, a lack of potassium, and either a high-metallicity, cloud-free atmosphere or a solar-metallicity atmosphere with a cloud deck at ~10 mbar. The emergence of multi-scale-height spectral features in our data suggests that future observations at higher precision could break this degeneracy and reveal the planet's atmospheric chemical abundances. We also update HAT-P-26b's transit ephemeris, t_0 = 2455304.65218(25) BJD_TDB, and orbital period, p = 4.2345023(7) days.
1511.08226v2
2015-12-22
Induced voltage in an open wire
A puzzle arising from Faraday's law is considered and solved concerning the question which voltage is induced in an open wire with a time-varying homogeneous magnetic field. In contrast to closed wires where the voltage is determined by the time variance of magnetic field and enclosed area, in an open wire we have to integrate the electric field along the wire. It is found that the longitudinal electric field contributes with 1/3 and the transverse field with 2/3 to the induced voltage. In order to find the electric fields the sources of the magnetic fields are necessary to know. The representation of a homogeneous and time-varying magnetic field implies unavoidably a certain symmetry point or symmetry line which depend on the geometry of the source. As a consequence the induced voltage of an open wire is found to be the area covered with respect to this symmetry line or point perpendicular to the magnetic field. This in turn allows to find the symmetry points of a magnetic field source by measuring the voltage of an open wire placed with different angles in the magnetic field. We present exactly solvable models for a symmetry point and for a symmetry line, respectively. The results are applicable to open circuit problems like corrosion and for astrophysical applications.
1512.07133v3
2015-12-22
Charge transport and vector meson dissociation across the thermal phase transition in lattice QCD with two light quark flavors
We compute and analyze correlation functions in the isovector vector channel at vanishing spatial momentum across the deconfinement phase transition in lattice QCD. The simulations are carried out at temperatures $T/T_c=0.156, 0.8, 1.0, 1.25$ and $1.67$ with $T_c\simeq203$MeV for two flavors of Wilson-Clover fermions with a zero-temperature pion mass of $\simeq270$MeV. Exploiting exact sum rules and applying a phenomenologically motivated ansatz allows us to determine the spectral function $\rho(\omega,T)$ via a fit to the lattice correlation function data. From these results we estimate the electrical conductivity across the deconfinement phase transition via a Kubo formula and find evidence for the dissociation of the $\rho$ meson by resolving its spectral weight at the available temperatures. We also apply the Backus-Gilbert method as a model-independent approach to this problem. At any given frequency, it yields a local weighted average of the true spectral function. We use this method to compare kinetic theory predictions and previously published phenomenological spectral functions to our lattice study.
1512.07249v1
2016-01-18
Search for transiting exoplanets and variable stars in the open cluster NGC 7243
We report results of the first five observing campaigns for the open stellar cluster NGC 7243 in the frame of project Young Exoplanet Transit Initiative (YETI). The project focuses on the monitoring of young and nearby stellar clusters, with the aim to detect young transiting exoplanets, and to study other variability phenomena on time-scales from minutes to years. After five observing campaigns and additional observations during 2013 and 2014, a clear and repeating transit-like signal was detected in the light curve of J221550.6+495611. Furthermore, we detected and analysed 37 new eclipsing binary stars in the studied region. The best fit parameters and light curves of all systems are given. Finally, we detected and analysed 26 new, presumably pulsating variable stars in the studied region. The follow-up investigation of these objects, including spectroscopic measurements of the exoplanet candidate, is currently planned.
1601.04562v1
2016-01-21
Basker: A Threaded Sparse LU Factorization Utilizing Hierarchical Parallelism and Data Layouts
Scalable sparse LU factorization is critical for efficient numerical simulation of circuits and electrical power grids. In this work, we present a new scalable sparse direct solver called Basker. Basker introduces a new algorithm to parallelize the Gilbert-Peierls algorithm for sparse LU factorization. As architectures evolve, there exists a need for algorithms that are hierarchical in nature to match the hierarchy in thread teams, individual threads, and vector level parallelism. Basker is designed to map well to this hierarchy in architectures. There is also a need for data layouts to match multiple levels of hierarchy in memory. Basker uses a two-dimensional hierarchical structure of sparse matrices that maps to the hierarchy in the memory architectures and to the hierarchy in parallelism. We present performance evaluations of Basker on the Intel SandyBridge and Xeon Phi platforms using circuit and power grid matrices taken from the University of Florida sparse matrix collection and from Xyce circuit simulations. Basker achieves a geometric mean speedup of 5.91x on CPU (16 cores) and 7.4x on Xeon Phi (32 cores) relative to KLU. Basker outperforms Intel MKL Pardiso (PMKL) by as much as 53x on CPU (16 cores) and 13.3x on Xeon Phi (32 cores) for low fill-in circuit matrices. Furthermore, Basker provides 5.4x speedup on a challenging matrix sequence taken from an actual Xyce simulation.
1601.05725v1
2016-02-16
JSJ decompositions of groups
This is an account of the theory of JSJ decompositions of finitely generated groups, as developed in the last twenty years or so. We give a simple general definition of JSJ decompositions (or rather of their Bass-Serre trees), as maximal universally elliptic trees. In general, there is no preferred JSJ decomposition, and the right object to consider is the whole set of JSJ decompositions, which forms a contractible space: the JSJ deformation space (analogous to Outer Space). We prove that JSJ decompositions exist for any finitely presented group, without any assumption on edge groups. When edge groups are slender, we describe flexible vertices of JSJ decompositions as quadratically hanging extensions of 2-orbifold groups. Similar results hold in the presence of acylindricity, in particular for splittings of torsion-free CSA groups over abelian groups, and splittings of relatively hyperbolic groups over virtually cyclic or parabolic subgroups. Using trees of cylinders, we obtain canonical JSJ trees (which are invariant under automorphisms). We introduce a variant in which the property of being universally elliptic is replaced by the more restrictive and rigid property of being universally compatible. This yields a canonical compatibility JSJ tree, not just a deformation space. We show that it exists for any finitely presented group. We give many examples, and we work throughout with relative decompositions (restricting to trees where certain subgroups are elliptic).
1602.05139v2
2016-03-28
Write error rate of spin-transfer-torque random access memory including micromagnetic effects using rare event enhancement
Spin-transfer-torque random access memory (STT-RAM) is a promising candidate for the next-generation of random-access-memory due to improved scalability, read-write speeds and endurance. However, the write pulse duration must be long enough to ensure a low write error rate (WER), the probability that a bit will remain unswitched after the write pulse is turned off, in the presence of stochastic thermal effects. WERs on the scale of 10$^{-9}$ or lower are desired. Within a macrospin approximation, WERs can be calculated analytically using the Fokker-Planck method to this point and beyond. However, dynamic micromagnetic effects within the bit can affect and lead to faster switching. Such micromagnetic effects can be addressed via numerical solution of the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert-Slonczewski (LLGS) equation. However, determining WERs approaching 10$^{-9}$ would require well over 10$^{9}$ such independent simulations, which is infeasible. In this work, we explore calculation of WER using "rare event enhancement" (REE), an approach that has been used for Monte Carlo simulation of other systems where rare events nevertheless remain important. Using a prototype REE approach tailored to the STT-RAM switching physics, we demonstrate reliable calculation of a WER to 10$^{-9}$ with sets of only approximately 10$^{3}$ ongoing stochastic LLGS simulations, and the apparent ability to go further.
1603.08512v2
2016-04-04
Probing unconventional superconductivity in inversion symmetric doped Weyl semimetal
Unconventional superconductivity has been predicted to arise in the topologically non-trivial Fermi surface of doped inversion symmetric Weyl semimetals (WSM). In particular, Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) and nodal BCS states are theoretically predicted to be possible superconductor pairing states in inversion symmetric doped WSM. In an effort to resolve preferred pairing state, we theoretically study two separate four terminal quantum transport methods that each exhibit a unique electrical signature in the presence of FFLO and nodal BCS states in doped WSMs. We first introduce a Josephson junction that consists of a doped WSM and an s-wave superconductor in which we show that the application of a transverse uniform current in s-wave superconductor effectively cancels the momentum carried by FFLO states in doped WSM. From our numerical analysis, we find a peak in Josephson current amplitude at finite uniform current in s-wave superconductor that serves as an indicator of FFLO states in doped WSMs. Furthermore, we show using a four terminal measurement configuration that the nodal points may be shifted by an application of transverse uniform current in doped WSM. We analyze the topological phase transitions induced by nodal pair annihilation in non-equilibrium by constructing the phase diagram and we find a characteristic decrease in the density of states that serves as a signature of the quantum critical point in the topological phase transition, thereby identifying nodal BCS states in doped WSM.
1604.01040v1
2016-04-22
Opt: A Domain Specific Language for Non-linear Least Squares Optimization in Graphics and Imaging
Many graphics and vision problems can be expressed as non-linear least squares optimizations of objective functions over visual data, such as images and meshes. The mathematical descriptions of these functions are extremely concise, but their implementation in real code is tedious, especially when optimized for real-time performance on modern GPUs in interactive applications. In this work, we propose a new language, Opt (available under http://optlang.org), for writing these objective functions over image- or graph-structured unknowns concisely and at a high level. Our compiler automatically transforms these specifications into state-of-the-art GPU solvers based on Gauss-Newton or Levenberg-Marquardt methods. Opt can generate different variations of the solver, so users can easily explore tradeoffs in numerical precision, matrix-free methods, and solver approaches. In our results, we implement a variety of real-world graphics and vision applications. Their energy functions are expressible in tens of lines of code, and produce highly-optimized GPU solver implementations. These solver have performance competitive with the best published hand-tuned, application-specific GPU solvers, and orders of magnitude beyond a general-purpose auto-generated solver.
1604.06525v3
2016-05-06
Spin orbit alignment for KELT-7b and HAT-P-56b via Doppler tomography with TRES
We present Doppler tomographic analyses for the spectroscopic transits of KELT-7b and HAT-P-56b, two hot-Jupiters orbiting rapidly rotating F-dwarf host stars. These include analyses of archival TRES observations for KELT-7b, and a new TRES transit observation of HAT-P-56b. We report spin-orbit aligned geometries for KELT-7b (2.7 +/- 0.6 deg) and HAT-P-56b (8 +/- 2 deg). The host stars KELT-7 and HAT-P-56 are among some of the most rapidly rotating planet-hosting stars known. We examine the tidal re-alignment model for the evolution of the spin-orbit angle in the context of the spin rates of these stars. We find no evidence that the rotation rates of KELT-7 and HAT-P-56 have been modified by star-planet tidal interactions, suggesting that the spin-orbit angle of systems around these hot stars may represent their primordial configuration. In fact, KELT-7 and HAT-P-56 are two of three systems in super-synchronous, spin-orbit aligned states, where the rotation periods of the host stars are faster than the orbital periods of the planets.
1605.01991v1
2016-06-18
Mathematical Foundations of the GraphBLAS
The GraphBLAS standard (GraphBlas.org) is being developed to bring the potential of matrix based graph algorithms to the broadest possible audience. Mathematically the Graph- BLAS defines a core set of matrix-based graph operations that can be used to implement a wide class of graph algorithms in a wide range of programming environments. This paper provides an introduction to the mathematics of the GraphBLAS. Graphs represent connections between vertices with edges. Matrices can represent a wide range of graphs using adjacency matrices or incidence matrices. Adjacency matrices are often easier to analyze while incidence matrices are often better for representing data. Fortunately, the two are easily connected by matrix mul- tiplication. A key feature of matrix mathematics is that a very small number of matrix operations can be used to manipulate a very wide range of graphs. This composability of small number of operations is the foundation of the GraphBLAS. A standard such as the GraphBLAS can only be effective if it has low performance overhead. Performance measurements of prototype GraphBLAS implementations indicate that the overhead is low.
1606.05790v2
2016-07-15
Influence of grain size and exchange interaction on the LLB modeling procedure
Reliably predicting bit-error rates in realistic heat-assisted magnetic recording simulations is a challenging task. Integrating the Landau-Lifshitz-Bloch (LLB) equation can reduce the computational effort to determine the magnetization dynamics in the vicinity of the Curie temperature. If one aims that these dynamics coincide with trajectories calculated from the atomistic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, one has to carefully model required temperature dependent material functions such as the zero-field equilibrium magnetization as well as the parallel and normal susceptibilities. We present an extensive study on how these functions depend on grain size and exchange interactions. We show that, if the size or the exchange constant of a reference grain is modified, the material functions can be scaled, according to the changed Curie temperature, yielding negligible errors. This is shown to be valid for volume changes of up to $\pm 40$ % and variations of the exchange constant of up to $\pm10$ %. Besides the temperature dependent material curves, computed switching probabilities also agree well with probabilities separately determined for each system. Our study suggest that there is no need to recalculate the required LLB input functions for each particle. Within the presented limits it is sufficient to scale them to the Curie temperature of the altered system.
1607.04480v1
2016-08-23
Thermal stability and irreversibility of skyrmion-lattice phases in Cu$_2$OSeO$_3$
Small angle neutron scattering measurements have been performed to study the thermodynamic stability of skyrmion-lattice phases in Cu$_2$OSeO$_3$. We found that the two distinct skyrmion-lattice phases [SkX(1) and SkX(2) phases] can be stabilized through different thermal histories; by cooling from the paramagnetic phase under finite magnetic field, the SkX(2) phase is selected. On the other hand, the 30$^{\circ}$-rotated SkX(1) phase becomes dominant by heating the sample from the ordered conical phase under finite field. This difference in stabilization is surprisingly similar to the irreversibility observed in spin glasses. The zero-field cooling results in the co-existence of the two phases. It is further found that once one of the skyrmion-lattice phases is formed, it is hardly destabilized. This indicates unusual thermal stability of the two skyrmion-lattice phases originating from an unexpectedly large energy barrier between them.
1608.06359v2
2016-08-24
Carbon Stars in the Satellites and Halo of M31
We spectroscopically identify a sample of carbon stars in the satellites and halo of M31 using moderate-resolution optical spectroscopy from the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo survey. We present the photometric properties of our sample of 41 stars, including their brightness with respect to the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) and their distributions in various color-color spaces. This analysis reveals a bluer population of carbon stars fainter than the TRGB and a redder population of carbon stars brighter than the TRGB. We then apply principal component analysis to determine the sample's eigenspectra and eigencoefficients. Correlating the eigencoefficients with various observable properties reveals the spectral features that trace effective temperature and metallicity. Putting the spectroscopic and photometric information together, we find the carbon stars in the satellites and halo of M31 to be minimally impacted by dust and internal dynamics. We also find that while there is evidence to suggest that the sub-TRGB stars are extrinsic in origin, it is also possible that they are are particularly faint members of the asymptotic giant branch.
1608.06714v1
2016-09-12
Discovery and Precise Characterization by the MEarth Project of LP 661-13, an Eclipsing Binary Consisting of Two Fully Convective Low-mass Stars
We report the detection of stellar eclipses in the LP 661-13 system. We present the discovery and characterization of this system, including high resolution spectroscopic radial velocities and a photometric solution spanning two observing seasons. LP 661-13 is a low mass binary system with an orbital period of $4.7043512^{+0.0000013}_{-0.0000010}$ days at a distance of $24.9 \pm 1.3$ parsecs. LP 661-13A is a $0.30795 \pm 0.00084$ $M_\odot$ star while LP 661-13B is a $0.19400 \pm 0.00034$ $M_\odot$ star. The radius of each component is $0.3226 \pm 0.0033$ $R_\odot$ and $0.2174 \pm 0.0023$ $R_\odot$, respectively. We detect out of eclipse modulations at a period slightly shorter than the orbital period, implying that at least one of the components is not rotating synchronously. We find that each component is slightly inflated compared to stellar models, and that this cannot be reconciled through age or metallicity effects. As a nearby eclipsing binary system where both components are near or below the full-convection limit, LP 661-13 will be a valuable test of models for the structure of cool dwarf stars.
1609.03591v1
2016-09-14
Topological superconductivity in an ultrathin, magnetically-doped topological insulator proximity coupled to a conventional superconductor
As a promising candidate system to realize topological superconductivity, the system of a 3D topological insulator (TI) grown on top of the s-wave superconductor has been extensively studied. To access the topological superconductivity experimentally, the 3D TI sample must be thin enough to allow for Cooper pair tunneling to the exposed surface of TI. The use of magnetically ordered dopants to break time-reversal symmetry may allow the surface of a TI to host Majorana fermion, which are believed to be a signature of topological superconductivity. In this work, we study a magnetically-doped thin film TI-superconductor hybrid systems. Considering the proximity induced order parameter in thin film of TI, we analyze the gap closing points of the Hamiltonian and draw the phase diagram as a function of relevant parameters: the hybridization gap, Zeeman energy, and chemical potential of the TI system. Our findings provide a useful guide in choosing relevant parameters to facilitate the observation of topological superconductivity in thin film TI-superconductor hybrid systems. In addition, we further perform numerical analysis on a TI proximity coupled to a s-wave superconductor and find that, due to the spin-momentum locked nature of the surface states in TI, the induced s-wave order parameter of the surface states persists even at large magnitude of the Zeeman energy.
1609.04129v2
2016-09-16
Convex separation from convex optimization for large-scale problems
We present a scheme, based on Gilbert's algorithm for quadratic minimization [SIAM J. Contrl., vol. 4, pp. 61-80, 1966], to prove separation between a point and an arbitrary convex set $S\subset\mathbb{R}^{n}$ via calls to an oracle able to perform linear optimizations over $S$. Compared to other methods, our scheme has almost negligible memory requirements and the number of calls to the optimization oracle does not depend on the dimensionality $n$ of the underlying space. We study the speed of convergence of the scheme under different promises on the shape of the set $S$ and/or the location of the point, validating the accuracy of our theoretical bounds with numerical examples. Finally, we present some applications of the scheme in quantum information theory. There we find that our algorithm out-performs existing linear programming methods for certain large scale problems, allowing us to certify nonlocality in bipartite scenarios with upto $42$ measurement settings. We apply the algorithm to upper bound the visibility of two-qubit Werner states, hence improving known lower bounds on Grothendieck's constant $K_G(3)$. Similarly, we compute new upper bounds on the visibility of GHZ states and on the steerability limit of Werner states for a fixed number of measurement settings.
1609.05011v2
2016-09-18
Narrowly distributed crystal orientation in biomineral vaterite
Biominerals formed by animals provide skeletal support, and many other functions. They were previously shown to grow by aggregation of amorphous nanoparticles, but never to grow ion-by-ion from solution, which is a common growth mechanism for abiotic crystals. We analyze vaterite CaCO3 multi crystalline spicules from the solitary tunicate Herdmania momus, with Polarization dependent Imaging Contrast PIC mapping, scanning and aberration corrected transmission electron microscopies. The first fully quantitative PIC mapping data, presented here, measured 0{\deg} 30{\deg} angle spreads between immediately adjacent crystals. Such narrowly distributed crystal orientations demonstrate that crystallinity does not propagate from one crystal to another 0{\deg} angle spreads, nor that new crystals with random orientation 90{\deg} nucleate. There are no organic layers at the interface between crystals, hence a new, unknown growth mechanism must be invoked, with crystal nucleation constrained within 30{\deg}. Two observations are consistent with crystal growth from solution: vaterite microcrystals express crystal faces, and are smooth at the nanoscale after cryo fracture. The observation of 30{\deg} angle spreads, lack of interfacial organic layers, and smooth fracture figures broadens the range of known biomineralization mechanisms and may inspire novel synthetic crystal growth strategies. Spherulitic growth from solution is one possible mechanism consistent with all these observations.
1609.05449v1
2016-09-29
Multiscale Model Approach for Magnetization Dynamics Simulations
Simulations of magnetization dynamics in a multiscale environment enable rapid evaluation of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation in a mesoscopic sample with nanoscopic accuracy in areas where such accuracy is required. We have developed a multiscale magnetization dynamics simulation approach that can be applied to large systems with spin structures that vary locally on small length scales. To implement this, the conventional micromagnetic simulation framework has been expanded to include a multiscale solving routine. The software selectively simulates different regions of a ferromagnetic sample according to the spin structures located within in order to employ a suitable discretization and use either a micromagnetic or an atomistic model. To demonstrate the validity of the multiscale approach, we simulate the spin wave transmission across the regions simulated with the two different models and different discretizations. We find that the interface between the regions is fully transparent for spin waves with frequency lower than a certain threshold set by the coarse scale micromagnetic model with no noticeable attenuation due to the interface between the models. As a comparison to exact analytical theory, we show that in a system with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction leading to spin spiral, the simulated multiscale result is in good quantitative agreement with the analytical calculation.
1609.09295v1
2016-12-21
Geometric generalised Lagrangian mean theories
Many fluctuation-driven phenomena in fluids can be analysed effectively using the generalised Lagrangian mean (GLM) theory of Andrews & McIntyre (1978). This theory relies on particle-following averaging to incorporate the constraints imposed by the material conservations. It relies implicitly on an Euclidean structure; as a result, it does not have a geometrically intrinsic interpretation and suffers from undesirable features, including the divergence of the Lagrangian-mean velocity for incompressible fluids. Motivated by this, we develop a geometric generalisation of GLM that we formulate intrinsically. The theory applies to arbitrary Riemannian manifolds; it also establishes a clear distinction between results that stem directly from geometric consistency and those that depend on particular choices. We show that the Lagrangian mean momentum -- the average of the pull-back of the momentum one-form -- obeys a simple equation which guarantees the conservation of Kelvin's circulation, irrespective of the mean-flow definition. We discuss four possible definitions of the mean flow: a direct extension of standard GLM, a definition based on optimal transportation, a definition based on a geodesic distance in the group of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms, and the glm definition proposed by Soward & Roberts (2010). Assuming small-amplitude perturbations, we carry out order-by-order calculations to obtain explicit expressions for the mean flow and pseudomomentum at leading order. We also show how the wave-action conservation of GLM extends to the geometric setting. To make the paper self-contained, we introduce the tools of differential geometry and main ideas of geometric fluid dynamics on which we rely. We mostly focus on the Euler equations for incompressible inviscid fluids but sketch out extensions to the rotating-stratified Boussinesq, compressible Euler and magnetohydrodynamic equations.
1612.07111v3
2017-01-13
A Multi-Planet System Transiting the $V$ = 9 Rapidly Rotating F-Star HD 106315
We report the discovery of a multi-planet system orbiting HD 106315, a rapidly rotating mid F-type star, using data from the K2 mission. HD 106315 hosts a $2.51\pm0.12\,R_\oplus$ sub-Neptune in a 9.5 day orbit, and a $4.31_{-0.27}^{+0.24}\,R_\oplus$ super-Neptune in a 21 day orbit. The projected rotational velocity of HD 106315 (12.9 km s$^{-1}$) likely precludes precise measurements of the planets' masses, but could enable a measurement of the sky-projected spin-orbit obliquity for the outer planet via Doppler tomography. The eccentricities of both planets were constrained to be consistent with 0, following a global modeling of the system that includes a Gaia distance and dynamical arguments. The HD 106315 system is one of few multi-planet systems hosting a Neptune-sized planet for which orbital obliquity measurements are possible, making it an excellent test-case for formation mechanisms of warm-Neptunian systems. The brightness of the host star also makes HD 106315 c a candidate for future transmission spectroscopic follow-up studies.
1701.03807v2
2017-01-17
The Landau-Lifshitz equation, the NLS, and the magnetic rogue wave as a by-product of two colliding regular "positons"
In this article we present a new method for construction of exact solutions of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation (LLG) for ferromagnetic nanowires. The method is based on the established relationship between the LLG and the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (NLS), and is aimed at resolving an old problem: how to produce multiple-rogue wave solutions of NLS using just the Darboux-type transformations. The solutions of this type - known as P-breathers - have been proven to exist by Dubard and Matveev, but their technique heavily relied on using the solutions of yet another nonlinear equation, Kadomtsev-Petviashvili I equation (KP-I), and its relationship with NLS. We have shown that in fact one doesn't have to use KP-I but can instead reach the same results just with NLS solutions, but only if they are dressed via the binary Darboux transformation. In particular, our approach allows to construct all the Dubard-Matveev P-breathers. Furthermore, the new method can lead to some completely new, previously unknown solutions. One particular solution that we have constructed describes two positon-like waves, colliding with each other and in the process producing a new, short-lived rogue wave. We called this unusual solution (rogue wave begotten after the impact of two solitons) the "impacton".
1701.04903v3
2017-01-24
Partial Bridging of Vaccine Efficacy to New Populations
Suppose one has data from one or more completed vaccine efficacy trials and wishes to estimate the efficacy in a new setting. Often logistical or ethical considerations make running another efficacy trial impossible. Fortunately, if there is a biomarker that is the primary modifier of efficacy, then the biomarker-conditional efficacy may be identical in the completed trials and the new setting, or at least informative enough to meaningfully bound this quantity. Given a sample of this biomarker from the new population, we might hope we can bridge the results of the completed trials to estimate the vaccine efficacy in this new population. Unfortunately, even knowing the true conditional efficacy in the new population fails to identify the marginal efficacy due to the unknown conditional unvaccinated risk. We define a curve that partially identifies (lower bounds) the marginal efficacy in the new population as a function of the population's marginal unvaccinated risk, under the assumption that one can identify bounds on the conditional unvaccinated risk in the new population. Interpreting the curve only requires identifying plausible regions of the marginal unvaccinated risk in the new population. We present a nonparametric estimator of this curve and develop valid lower confidence bounds that concentrate at a parametric rate. We use vaccine terminology throughout, but the results apply to general binary interventions and bounded outcomes.
1701.06739v1
2017-02-07
Resonant spin transfer torque nano-oscillators
Spin transfer torque nano-oscillators are potential candidates for replacing the traditional inductor based voltage controlled oscillators in modern communication devices. Typical oscillator designs are based on trilayer magnetic tunnel junctions which are disadvantaged by low power outputs and poor conversion efficiencies. In this letter, we theoretically propose to use resonant spin filtering in pentalayer magnetic tunnel junctions as a possible route to alleviate these issues and present device designs geared toward a high microwave output power and an efficient conversion of the d.c. input power. We attribute these robust qualities to the resulting non-trivial spin current profiles and the ultra high tunnel magnetoresistance, both arising from resonant spin filtering. The device designs are based on the nonequilibrium Green's function spin transport formalism self-consistently coupled with the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert-Slonczewski's equation and the Poisson's equation. We demonstrate that the proposed structures facilitate oscillator designs featuring a large enhancement in microwave power of around $775\%$ and an efficiency enhancement of over $1300\%$ in comparison with typical trilayer designs. We also rationalize the optimum operating regions via an analysis of the dynamic and static device resistances. This work sets stage for pentalyer spin transfer torque nano-oscillator device designs that extenuate most of the issues faced by the typical trilayer designs.
1702.01869v1
2017-03-17
Communication Primitives in Cognitive Radio Networks
Cognitive radio networks are a new type of multi-channel wireless network in which different nodes can have access to different sets of channels. By providing multiple channels, they improve the efficiency and reliability of wireless communication. However, the heterogeneous nature of cognitive radio networks also brings new challenges to the design and analysis of distributed algorithms. In this paper, we focus on two fundamental problems in cognitive radio networks: neighbor discovery, and global broadcast. We consider a network containing $n$ nodes, each of which has access to $c$ channels. We assume the network has diameter $D$, and each pair of neighbors have at least $k\geq 1$, and at most $k_{max}\leq c$, shared channels. We also assume each node has at most $\Delta$ neighbors. For the neighbor discovery problem, we design a randomized algorithm CSeek which has time complexity $\tilde{O}((c^2/k)+(k_{max}/k)\cdot\Delta)$. CSeek is flexible and robust, which allows us to use it as a generic "filter" to find "well-connected" neighbors with an even shorter running time. We then move on to the global broadcast problem, and propose CGCast, a randomized algorithm which takes $\tilde{O}((c^2/k)+(k_{max}/k)\cdot\Delta+D\cdot\Delta)$ time. CGCast uses CSeek to achieve communication among neighbors, and uses edge coloring to establish an efficient schedule for fast message dissemination. Towards the end of the paper, we give lower bounds for solving the two problems. These lower bounds demonstrate that in many situations, CSeek and CGCast are near optimal.
1703.06130v1
2017-03-22
Magnetization induced dynamics of a Josephson junction coupled to a nanomagnet
We study the superconducting current of a Josephson junction (JJ) coupled to an external nanomagnet driven by a time dependent magnetic field both without and in the presence of an external AC drive. We provide an analytic, albeit perturbative, solution for the Landau-Lifshitz (LL) equations governing the coupled JJ-nanomagnet system in the presence of a magnetic field with arbitrary time-dependence oriented along the easy axis of the nanomagnet's magnetization and in the limit of weak dimensionless coupling $\epsilon_0$ between the JJ and the nanomagnet. We show the existence of Shapiro-like steps in the I-V characteristics of the JJ subjected to a voltage bias for a constant or periodically varying magnetic field and explore the effect of rotation of the magnetic field and the presence of an external AC drive on these steps. We support our analytic results with exact numerical solution of the LL equations. We also extend our results to dissipative nanomagnets by providing a perturbative solution to the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equations for weak dissipation. We study the fate of magnetization-induced Shapiro steps in the presence of dissipation both from our analytical results and via numerical solution of the coupled LLG equations. We discuss experiments which can test our theory.
1703.07717v3
2017-04-19
Integrating optimization with thermodynamics and plant physiology for crop ideotype design
A computational framework integrating optimization algorithms, parallel computing and plant physiology was developed to explore crop ideotype design. The backbone of the framework is a plant physiology model that accurately tracks water use (i.e. a plant hydraulic model) coupled with mass transport (CO2 exchange and transport), energy conversion (leaf temperature due to radiation, convection and mass transfer) and photosynthetic biochemistry of an adult maize plant. For a given trait configuration, soil parameters and hourly weather data, the model computes water use and photosynthetic output over the life of an adult maize plant. We coupled this validated model with a parallel, meta-heuristic optimization algorithm, specifically a genetic algorithm (GA), to identify trait sets (ideotypes) that resulted in desired water use behavior of the adult maize plant. We detail features of the model as well as the implementation details of the coupling with the optimization framework and deployment on high performance computing platforms. We illustrate a representative result of this framework by identifying maize ideotypes with optimized photosynthetic yields using weather and soil conditions corresponding to Davis, CA. Finally, we show how the framework can be used to identify broad ideotype trends that can inform breeding efforts. The developed presented tool has the potential to inform the development of future climate-resilient crops.
1704.05885v1
2017-04-28
From deep inelastic scattering to heavy-flavor semi-leptonic decays: Total rates into multi-hadron final states from lattice QCD
We present a new technique for extracting decay and transition rates into final states with any number of hadrons. The approach is only sensitive to total rates, in which all out-states with a given set of QCD quantum numbers are included. For processes involving photons or leptons, differential rates with respect to the non-hadronic kinematics may also be extracted. Our method involves constructing a finite-volume Euclidean four-point function, whose corresponding spectral function measures the decay and transition rates in the infinite-volume limit. This requires solving the inverse problem of extracting the spectral function from the correlator and also necessitates a smoothing procedure so that a well-defined infinite-volume limit exists. Both of these steps are accomplished by the Backus-Gilbert method and, as we show with a numerical example, reasonable precision can be expected in cases with multiple open decay channels. Potential applications include nucleon structure functions and the onset of the deep inelastic scattering regime, as well as semi-leptonic $D$ and $B$ decay rates.
1704.08993v2
2017-05-01
Measuring galaxy cluster masses with CMB lensing using a Maximum Likelihood estimator: Statistical and systematic error budgets for future experiments
We develop a Maximum Likelihood estimator (MLE) to measure the masses of galaxy clusters through the impact of gravitational lensing on the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We show that, at low noise levels in temperature, this optimal estimator outperforms the standard quadratic estimator by a factor of two. For polarization, we show that the Stokes Q/U maps can be used instead of the traditional E- and B-mode maps without losing information. We test and quantify the bias in the recovered lensing mass for a comprehensive list of potential systematic errors. Using realistic simulations, we examine the cluster mass uncertainties from CMB-cluster lensing as a function of an experiment's beam size and noise level. We predict the cluster mass uncertainties will be 3 - 6% for SPT-3G, AdvACT, and Simons Array experiments with 10,000 clusters and less than 1% for the CMB-S4 experiment with a sample containing 100,000 clusters. The mass constraints from CMB polarization are very sensitive to the experimental beam size and map noise level: for a factor of three reduction in either the beam size or noise level, the lensing signal-to-noise improves by roughly a factor of two.
1705.00411v2
2017-05-03
Current driven second harmonic domain wall resonance in ferromagnetic metal/ nonmagnetic metal bilayer: a field-free method for spin Hall angle measurements
We study the ac current-driven domain wall motion in bilayer ferromagnetic metal (FM)/nonmagnetic metal (NM) nanowire. The solution of the modified Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation including all the spin transfer torques is used to describe motion of the domain wall in presence of the spin Hall effect. We show that the domain wall center has second harmonic frequency response in addition to the known first harmonic excitation. In contrast to the experimentally observed second harmonic response in harmonic Hall measurements of spin-orbit torque in magnetic thin films, this second harmonic response directly originates from spin-orbit torque driven domain wall dynamics. Based on the spin current generated by domain wall dynamics, the longitudinal spin motive force generated voltage across the length of the nanowire is determined. The second harmonic response introduces additionally a new practical field-free and all-electrical method to probe the effective spin Hall angle for FM/NM bilayer structures that could be applied in experiments. Our results also demonstrate the capability of utilizing FM/NM bilayer structure in domain wall based spin torque signal generators and resonators.
1705.01355v5
2017-05-20
SVM via Saddle Point Optimization: New Bounds and Distributed Algorithms
We study two important SVM variants: hard-margin SVM (for linearly separable cases) and $\nu$-SVM (for linearly non-separable cases). We propose new algorithms from the perspective of saddle point optimization. Our algorithms achieve $(1-\epsilon)$-approximations with running time $\tilde{O}(nd+n\sqrt{d / \epsilon})$ for both variants, where $n$ is the number of points and $d$ is the dimensionality. To the best of our knowledge, the current best algorithm for $\nu$-SVM is based on quadratic programming approach which requires $\Omega(n^2 d)$ time in worst case~\cite{joachims1998making,platt199912}. In the paper, we provide the first nearly linear time algorithm for $\nu$-SVM. The current best algorithm for hard margin SVM achieved by Gilbert algorithm~\cite{gartner2009coresets} requires $O(nd / \epsilon )$ time. Our algorithm improves the running time by a factor of $\sqrt{d}/\sqrt{\epsilon}$. Moreover, our algorithms can be implemented in the distributed settings naturally. We prove that our algorithms require $\tilde{O}(k(d +\sqrt{d/\epsilon}))$ communication cost, where $k$ is the number of clients, which almost matches the theoretical lower bound. Numerical experiments support our theory and show that our algorithms converge faster on high dimensional, large and dense data sets, as compared to previous methods.
1705.07252v4
2017-06-15
On the Maximum Size of Block Codes Subject to a Distance Criterion
We establish a general formula for the maximum size of finite length block codes with minimum pairwise distance no less than $d$. The achievability argument involves an iterative construction of a set of radius-$d$ balls, each centered at a codeword. We demonstrate that the number of such balls that cover the entire code alphabet cannot exceed this maximum size. Our approach can be applied to codes $i)$ with elements over arbitrary code alphabets, and $ii)$ under a broad class of distance measures, thereby ensuring the generality of our formula. Our formula indicates that the maximum code size can be fully characterized by the cumulative distribution function of the distance measure evaluated at two independent and identically distributed random codewords. When the two random codewords assume a uniform distribution over the entire code alphabet, our formula recovers and obtains a natural generalization of the Gilbert-Varshamov (GV) lower bound. We also establish a general formula for the zero-error capacity of any sequence of channels. Finally, we extend our study to the asymptotic setting, where we establish first- and second-order bounds on the asymptotic code rate subject to a normalized minimum distance constraint.
1706.04709v2
2017-06-19
Capability of Detecting Ultra-Violet Counterparts of Gravitational Waves with GLUV
With the discovery of gravitational waves (GW), attention has turned towards detecting counterparts to these sources. In discussions on counterpart signatures and multi-messenger follow-up strategies to GW detections, ultra-violet (UV) signatures have largely been neglected, due to UV facilities being limited to SWIFT, which lacks high-cadence UV survey capabilities. In this paper, we examine the UV signatures from merger models for the major GW sources, highlighting the need for further modelling, while presenting requirements and a design for an effective UV survey telescope. Using $u'$-band models as an analogue, we find that a UV survey telescope requires a limiting magnitude of m$_{u'}\rm (AB)\approx 24$ to fully complement the aLIGO range and sky localisation. We show that a network of small, balloon-based UV telescopes with a primary mirror diameter of 30~cm could be capable of covering the aLIGO detection distance from $\sim$60--100\% for BNS events and $\sim$40\% for BHNS events. The sensitivity of UV emission to initial conditions suggests that a UV survey telescope would provide a unique dataset, that can act as an effective diagnostic to discriminate between models.
1706.06106v2
2017-07-27
LCD codes over ${\mathbb F}_q $ are as good as linear codes for q at least four
The hull $H(C)$ of a linear code $C$ is defined by $H(C)=C \cap C^\perp$. A linear code with a complementary dual (LCD) is a linear code with $H(C)=\{0\}$. The dimension of the hull of a code is an invariant under permutation equivalence. For binary and ternary codes the dimension of the hull is also invariant under monomial equivalence and we show that this invariant is determined by the extended weight enumerator of the code.\\ The hull of a code is not invariant under monomial equivalence if $q\geq 4$. We show that every ${\mathbb F}_q $-linear code is monomial equivalent with an LCD code in case $q \geq 4$. The proof uses techniques from Gr\"obner basis theory. We conclude that if there exists an ${\mathbb F}_q $-linear code with parameters $[n,k,d]_q$ and $q \geq 4$, then there exists also a LCD code with the same parameters. Hence this holds for optimal and MDS codes. In particular there exist LCD codes that are above the Gilbert-Varshamov bound if $q$ is a square and $q\geq 49$ by the existence of such codes that are algebraic geometric.\\ Similar results are obtained with respect to Hermitian LCD codes.
1707.08856v1
2017-08-04
Energy release in the solar atmosphere from a stream of infalling prominence debris
Recent high-resolution and high-cadence EUV imaging has revealed a new phenomenon, impacting prominence debris, where prominence material from failed or partial eruptions can impact the lower atmosphere, releasing energy. We report a clear example of energy release and EUV brightening due to infalling prominence debris that occurred on 2011 September 7-8. The initial eruption of material was associated with an X1.8-class flare from AR11283, occurring at 22:30 UT on 2011 September 7. Subsequently, a semi-continuous stream of this material returned to the solar surface with a velocity v > 150 km/s, impacting a region remote from the original active region between 00:20 - 00:40 UT on 2011 September 8. Using SDO/AIA, the differential emission measure of the plasma was estimated throughout this brightening event. We found that the radiated energy of the impacted plasma was L_rad ~10^27 ergs, while the thermal energy peaked at ~10^28 ergs. From this we were able to determine the mass content of the debris to be in the range 2x10^14 < m < 2x10^15 g. Given typical promimence masses, the likely debris mass is towards the lower end of this range. This clear example of a prominence debris event shows that significant energy release takes place during these events, and that such impacts may be used as a novel diagnostic tool for investigating prominence material properties.
1708.01555v2
2017-08-16
Magneto Acoustic Spin Hall Oscillators
This paper introduces a novel oscillator that combines the tunability of spin Hall-driven nano oscillators with the high quality factor (Q) of high overtone bulk acoustic wave resonators (HBAR), integrating both reference and tunable oscillators on the same chip with CMOS. In such magneto acoustic spin Hall (MASH) oscillators, voltage oscillations across the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) that arise from a spin-orbit torque (SOT) are shaped by the transmission response of the HBAR that acts as a multiple peak-bandpass filter and a delay element due to its large time constant, providing delayed feedback. The filtered voltage oscillations can be fed back to the MTJ via a) strain, b) current, or c) magnetic field. We develop a SPICE-based circuit model by combining experimentally benchmarked models including the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (sLLG) equation for magnetization dynamics and the Butterworth Van Dyke (BVD) circuit for the HBAR. Using the self-consistent model, we project up to $\sim$ 50X enhancement in the oscillator linewidth with Q reaching up to 52825 at 3 GHz, while preserving the tunability by locking the STNO to the nearest high Q peak of the HBAR. We expect that our results will inspire MEMS-based solutions to spintronic devices by combining attractive features of both fields for a variety of applications.
1708.04735v2
2017-09-01
An order optimal policy for exploiting idle spectrum in cognitive radio networks
In this paper a spectrum sensing policy employing recency-based exploration is proposed for cognitive radio networks. We formulate the problem of finding a spectrum sensing policy for multi-band dynamic spectrum access as a stochastic restless multi-armed bandit problem with stationary unknown reward distributions. In cognitive radio networks the multi-armed bandit problem arises when deciding where in the radio spectrum to look for idle frequencies that could be efficiently exploited for data transmission. We consider two models for the dynamics of the frequency bands: 1) the independent model where the state of the band evolves randomly independently from the past and 2) the Gilbert-Elliot model, where the states evolve according to a 2-state Markov chain. It is shown that in these conditions the proposed sensing policy attains asymptotically logarithmic weak regret. The policy proposed in this paper is an index policy, in which the index of a frequency band is comprised of a sample mean term and a recency-based exploration bonus term. The sample mean promotes spectrum exploitation whereas the exploration bonus encourages for further exploration for idle bands providing high data rates. The proposed recency based approach readily allows constructing the exploration bonus such that it will grow the time interval between consecutive sensing time instants of a suboptimal band exponentially, which then leads to logarithmically increasing weak regret. Simulation results confirming logarithmic weak regret are presented and it is found that the proposed policy provides often improved performance at low complexity over other state-of-the-art policies in the literature.
1709.00237v1
2017-09-08
EndoSensorFusion: Particle Filtering-Based Multi-sensory Data Fusion with Switching State-Space Model for Endoscopic Capsule Robots
A reliable, real time multi-sensor fusion functionality is crucial for localization of actively controlled capsule endoscopy robots, which are an emerging, minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic technology for the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In this study, we propose a novel multi-sensor fusion approach based on a particle filter that incorporates an online estimation of sensor reliability and a non-linear kinematic model learned by a recurrent neural network. Our method sequentially estimates the true robot pose from noisy pose observations delivered by multiple sensors. We experimentally test the method using 5 degree-of-freedom (5-DoF) absolute pose measurement by a magnetic localization system and a 6-DoF relative pose measurement by visual odometry. In addition, the proposed method is capable of detecting and handling sensor failures by ignoring corrupted data, providing the robustness expected of a medical device. Detailed analyses and evaluations are presented using ex-vivo experiments on a porcine stomach model prove that our system achieves high translational and rotational accuracies for different types of endoscopic capsule robot trajectories.
1709.03401v3
2017-09-12
Distributed Scheduling in Time Dependent Environments: Algorithms and Analysis
Consider the problem of a multiple access channel in a time dependent environment with a large number of users. In such a system, mostly due to practical constraints (e.g., decoding complexity), not all users can be scheduled together, and usually only one user may transmit at any given time. Assuming a distributed, opportunistic scheduling algorithm, we analyse the system's properties, such as delay, QoS and capacity scaling laws. Specifically, we start with analyzing the performance while \emph{assuming the users are not necessarily fully backlogged}, focusing on the queueing problem and, especially, on the \emph{strong dependence between the queues}. We first extend a known queueing model by Ephremides and Zhu, to give new results on the convergence of the probability of collision to its average value (as the number of users grows), and hence for the ensuing system performance metrics, such as throughput and delay. This model, however, is limited in the number of users one can analyze. We thus suggest a new model, which is much simpler yet can accurately describes the system behaviour when the number of users is large. We then proceed to the analysis of this system under the assumption of time dependent channels. Specifically, we assume each user experiences a different channel state sequence, expressing different channel fluctuations (specifically, the Gilbert-Elliott model). The system performance under this setting is analysed, along with the channel capacity scaling laws.
1709.04361v1
2017-09-16
A differential memristive synapse circuit for on-line learning in neuromorphic computing systems
Spike-based learning with memristive devices in neuromorphic computing architectures typically uses learning circuits that require overlapping pulses from pre- and post-synaptic nodes. This imposes severe constraints on the length of the pulses transmitted in the network, and on the network's throughput. Furthermore, most of these circuits do not decouple the currents flowing through memristive devices from the one stimulating the target neuron. This can be a problem when using devices with high conductance values, because of the resulting large currents. In this paper we propose a novel circuit that decouples the current produced by the memristive device from the one used to stimulate the post-synaptic neuron, by using a novel differential scheme based on the Gilbert normalizer circuit. We show how this circuit is useful for reducing the effect of variability in the memristive devices, and how it is ideally suited for spike-based learning mechanisms that do not require overlapping pre- and post-synaptic pulses. We demonstrate the features of the proposed synapse circuit with SPICE simulations, and validate its learning properties with high-level behavioral network simulations which use a stochastic gradient descent learning rule in two classification tasks.
1709.05484v1
2017-09-21
Impacts of Surface Depletion on the Plasmonic Properties of Doped Semiconductor Nanocrystals
Degenerately doped semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) exhibit a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Unlike metals, semiconductor NCs offer tunable LSPR characteristics enabled by doping, or via electrochemical or photochemical charging. Tuning plasmonic properties through carrier density modulation suggests potential applications in smart optoelectronics, catalysis, and sensing. Here, we elucidate fundamental aspects of LSPR modulation through dynamic carrier density tuning in Sn-doped Indium Oxide NCs. Monodisperse Sn-doped Indium Oxide NCs with various doping level and sizes were synthesized and assembled in uniform films. NC films were then charged in an in situ electrochemical cell and the LSPR modulation spectra were monitored. Based on spectral shifts and intensity modulation of the LSPR, combined with optical modeling, it was found that often-neglected semiconductor properties, specifically band structure modification due to doping and surface states, strongly affect LSPR modulation. Fermi level pinning by surface defect states creates a surface depletion layer that alters the LSPR properties; it determines the extent of LSPR frequency modulation, diminishes the expected near field enhancement, and strongly reduces sensitivity of the LSPR to the surroundings.
1709.07136v2
2017-10-05
Transport theory for femtosecond laser-induced spin-transfer torques
Ultrafast demagnetization of magnetic layers pumped by a femtosecond laser pulse is accompanied by a nonthermal spin-polarized current of hot electrons. These spin currents are studied here theoretically in a spin valve with noncollinear magnetizations. To this end, we introduce an extended model of superdiffusive spin transport that enables to treat noncollinear magnetic configurations, and apply it to the perpendicular spin valve geometry. We show how spin-transfer torques arise due to this mechanism and calculate their action on the magnetization present, as well as how the latter depends on the thicknesses of the layers and other transport parameters. We demonstrate that there exists a certain optimum thickness of the out-of-plane magnetized spin-current polarizer such that the torque acting on the second magnetic layer is maximal. Moreover, we study the magnetization dynamics excited by the superdiffusive spin-transfer torque due to the flow of hot electrons employing the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. Thereby we show that a femtosecond laser pulse applied to one magnetic layer can excite small-angle precessions of the magnetization in the second magnetic layer. We compare our calculations with recent experimental results.
1710.02083v2
2017-10-12
A critical comparison of methods for the determination of the ageing sensitivity in biomedical grade yttria stabilized zirconia
Since the recent failure events of two particular series of zirconia femoral heads for total hip replacement prosthesis, a large decrease in the use of zirconia ceramics for orthopaedic implants has been observed. In spite of the biomedical success of this material during the last ten years, this was required for safety reasons, until the cause of the failures is known. It has been shown that these failures were related to the low temperature hydrothermal degradation (also known as ageing). Thus it is crucial to better understand the ageing behaviour, in order to be able to assess its importance and then control it if required. In this paper, various techniques relevant to assess the hydrothermal degradation sensitivity of biomedical grade yttria stabilized zirconia are discussed and compared. The expected outputs of conventional methods, i.e. X-Ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy are examined. More recent methods like optical interferometry and atomic force microscopy are presented, with their respective benefits and drawbacks. An up to date comparison of these different techniques is provided, and their use for ensuring the long term reliability of a particular batch of zirconia in terms of ageing degradation is demonstrated.
1710.04449v1
2017-10-26
Evaluation of Treatment Effect Modification by Biomarkers Measured Pre- and Post-randomization in the Presence of Non-monotone Missingness
In vaccine studies, investigators are often interested in studying effect modifiers of clinical treatment efficacy by biomarker-based principal strata, which is useful for selecting biomarker study endpoints for evaluating treatments in new trials, exploring biological mechanisms of clinical treatment efficacy, and studying mediators of clinical treatment efficacy. However, in trials where participants may enter the study with prior exposure therefore with variable baseline biomarker values, clinical treatment efficacy may depend jointly on a biomarker measured at baseline and measured at a fixed time after vaccination. Therefore, it is of interest to conduct a bivariate effect modification analysis by biomarker-based principal strata and baseline biomarker values. Previous methods allow this assessment if participants who have the biomarker measured at the the fixed time point post randomization would also have the biomarker measured at baseline. However, additional complications in study design could happen in practice. For example, in the Dengue correlates study, baseline biomarker values were only available from a fraction of participants who have biomarkers measured post-randomization. How to conduct the bivariate effect modification analysis in these studies remains an open research question. In this article, we propose an estimated likelihood method to utilize the sub-sampled baseline biomarker in the effect modification analysis and illustrate our method with datasets from two dengue phase 3 vaccine efficacy trials.
1710.09923v1
2017-10-29
If it ain't broke, don't fix it: Sparse metric repair
Many modern data-intensive computational problems either require, or benefit from distance or similarity data that adhere to a metric. The algorithms run faster or have better performance guarantees. Unfortunately, in real applications, the data are messy and values are noisy. The distances between the data points are far from satisfying a metric. Indeed, there are a number of different algorithms for finding the closest set of distances to the given ones that also satisfy a metric (sometimes with the extra condition of being Euclidean). These algorithms can have unintended consequences, they can change a large number of the original data points, and alter many other features of the data. The goal of sparse metric repair is to make as few changes as possible to the original data set or underlying distances so as to ensure the resulting distances satisfy the properties of a metric. In other words, we seek to minimize the sparsity (or the $\ell_0$ "norm") of the changes we make to the distances subject to the new distances satisfying a metric. We give three different combinatorial algorithms to repair a metric sparsely. In one setting the algorithm is guaranteed to return the sparsest solution and in the other settings, the algorithms repair the metric. Without prior information, the algorithms run in time proportional to the cube of the number of input data points and, with prior information we can reduce the running time considerably.
1710.10655v1
2017-12-06
Monitoring the orientation of rare-earth-doped nanorods for flow shear tomography
Rare-earth phosphors exhibit unique luminescence polarization features originating from the anisotropic symmetry of the emitter ion's chemical environment. However, to take advantage of this peculiar property, it is necessary to control and measure the ensemble orientation of the host particles with a high degree of precision. Here, we show a methodology to obtain the photoluminescence polarization of Eu-doped LaPO4 nano rods assembled in an electrically modulated liquid-crystalline phase. We measure Eu3+ emission spectra for the three main optimal configurations ({\sigma}, {\pi} and {\alpha}, depending on the direction of observation and the polarization axes) and use them as a reference for the nano rod orientation analysis. Based on the fact that flowing nano rods tend to orient along the shear strain profile, we use this orientation analysis to measure the local shear rate in a flowing liquid. The potential of this approach is then demonstrated through tomographic imaging of the shear rate distribution in a microfluidic system.
1712.02191v1
2017-12-08
Shrewd Selection Speeds Surfing: Use Smart EXP3!
In this paper, we explore the use of multi-armed bandit online learning techniques to solve distributed resource selection problems. As an example, we focus on the problem of network selection. Mobile devices often have several wireless networks at their disposal. While choosing the right network is vital for good performance, a decentralized solution remains a challenge. The impressive theoretical properties of multi-armed bandit algorithms, like EXP3, suggest that it should work well for this type of problem. Yet, its real-word performance lags far behind. The main reasons are the hidden cost of switching networks and its slow rate of convergence. We propose Smart EXP3, a novel bandit-style algorithm that (a) retains the good theoretical properties of EXP3, (b) bounds the number of switches, and (c) yields significantly better performance in practice. We evaluate Smart EXP3 using simulations, controlled experiments, and real-world experiments. Results show that it stabilizes at the optimal state, achieves fairness among devices and gracefully deals with transient behaviors. In real world experiments, it can achieve 18% faster download over alternate strategies. We conclude that multi-armed bandit algorithms can play an important role in distributed resource selection problems, when practical concerns, such as switching costs and convergence time, are addressed.
1712.03038v3
2017-12-08
Qatar Exoplanet Survey: Qatar-6b -- a grazing transiting hot Jupiter
We report the discovery of Qatar-6b, a new transiting planet identified by the Qatar Exoplanet Survey (QES). The planet orbits a relatively bright (V=11.44), early-K main-sequence star at an orbital period of P~3.506 days. An SED fit to available multi-band photometry, ranging from the near-UV to the mid-IR, yields a distance of d = 101 +/- 6 pc to the system. From a global fit to follow-up photometric and spectroscopic observations, we calculate the mass and radius of the planet to be Mp = 0.67 +/- 0.07 Mjup and Rp = 1.06 +/- 0.07 Rjup, respectively. We use multi-color photometric light curves to show that the transit is grazing, making Qatar-6b one of the few exoplanets known in a grazing transit configuration. It adds to the short list of targets that offer the best opportunity to look for additional bodies in the host planetary system through variations in the transit impact factor and duration.
1712.03216v1
2018-01-25
Generating survival times using Cox proportional hazards models with cyclic time-varying covariates, with application to a multiple-dose monoclonal antibody clinical trial
In two harmonized efficacy studies to prevent HIV infection through multiple infusions of the monoclonal antibody VRC01, a key objective is to evaluate whether the serum concentration of VRC01, which changes cyclically over time along with the infusion schedule, is associated with the rate of HIV infection. Simulation studies are needed in the development of such survival models. In this paper, we consider simulating event time data with a continuous time-varying covariate whose values vary with time through multiple drug administration cycles, and whose effect on survival changes differently before and after a threshold within each cycle. The latter accommodates settings with a zero-protection biomarker threshold above which the drug provides a varying level of protection depending on the biomarker level, but below which the drug provides no protection. We propose two simulation approaches: one based on simulating survival data under a single-dose regimen first before data are aggregated over multiple doses, and another based on simulating survival data directly under a multiple-dose regimen. We generate time-to-event data following a Cox proportional hazards model based on inverting the cumulative hazard function and a log link function for relating the hazard function to the covariates. The method's validity is assessed in two sets of simulation experiments. The results indicate that the proposed procedures perform well in producing data that conform to their cyclic nature and assumptions of the Cox proportional hazards model.
1801.08248v1
2018-01-29
Band-pass superlattice magnetic tunnel junctions
Significant scientific and technological progress in the field of spintronics is based on trilayer magnetic tunnel junction devices which principally rely on the physics of single barrier tunneling. While technologically relevant devices have been prototyped, the physics of single barrier tunneling poses ultimate limitations on the performance of magnetic tunnel junction devices. Here, we propose a fresh route toward high performance magnetic tunnel junctions by making electronic analogs of optical phenomena such as anti-reflections and Fabry-P\`erot resonances. The devices we propose feature anti-reflection enabled superlattice heterostructures sandwiched between the fixed and the free ferromagnets of the magnetic tunnel junction structure. Our predictions are based on the non-equilibrium Green's function spin transport formalism coupled self-consistently with the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert-Slonczewski equation. Owing to the physics of bandpass spin filtering in the bandpass superlattice magnetic tunnel junction device, we demonstrate an ultra-high boost in the tunnel magneto-resistance (TMR$\approx5\times10^4\%$) and nearly 92% suppression of spin transfer torque switching bias in comparison to a traditional trilayer magnetic tunnel junction device. We rationalize improvised spin transfer torque switching via analysis of the Slonczewski spin current transmission spectra. The proof of concepts presented here can lead to next-generation spintronics device design harvesting the rich physics of superlattice heterostructures and exploiting spintronic analogs of optical phenomena.
1801.09409v2
2018-01-29
Theory of AC quantum transport with fully electrodynamic coupling
With the continued scaling of microelectronic devices along with the growing demand of high-speed wireless telecommunications technologies, there is increasing need for high-frequency device modeling techniques that accurately capture the quantum mechanical nature of charge transport in nanoscale devices along with the dynamic fields that are generated. In an effort to fill this gap, we develop a simulation methodology that self-consistently couples AC non-equilibrium Green functions (NEGF) with the full solution of Maxwell's equations in the frequency domain. We apply this technique to simulate radiation from a quantum-confined, quarter-wave, monopole antenna where the length $L$ is equal to one quarter of the wavelength, $\lambda_0$. Classically, such an antenna would have a narrower, more directed radiation pattern compared to one with $L \ll \lambda_0$, but we find that a quantum quarter-wave antenna has no directivity gain compared to the classical solution. We observe that the quantized wave function within the antenna significantly alter the charge and current density distribution along the length of the wire, which in turn modifies the far-field radiation pattern from the antenna. These results show that high-frequency radiation from quantum systems can be markedly different from classical expectations. Our method, therefore, will enable accurate modeling of the next generation of high-speed nanoscale electronic devices.
1801.09611v1
2018-02-17
Design and Implementation of the Andromeda Proof Assistant
Andromeda is an LCF-style proof assistant where the user builds derivable judgments by writing code in a meta-level programming language AML. The only trusted component of Andromeda is a minimalist nucleus (an implementation of the inference rules of an object-level type theory), which controls construction and decomposition of type-theoretic judgments. Since the nucleus does not perform complex tasks like equality checking beyond syntactic equality, this responsibility is delegated to the user, who implements one or more equality checking procedures in the meta-language. The AML interpreter requests witnesses of equality from user code using the mechanism of algebraic operations and handlers. Dynamic checks in the nucleus guarantee that no invalid object-level derivations can be constructed. %even if the AML code (or interpreter) is untrusted. To demonstrate the flexibility of this system structure, we implemented a nucleus consisting of dependent type theory with equality reflection. Equality reflection provides a very high level of expressiveness, as it allows the user to add new judgmental equalities, but it also destroys desirable meta-theoretic properties of type theory (such as decidability and strong normalization). The power of effects and handlers in AML is demonstrated by a standard library that provides default algorithms for equality checking, computation of normal forms, and implicit argument filling. Users can extend these new algorithms by providing local "hints" or by completely replacing these algorithms for particular developments. We demonstrate the resulting system by showing how to axiomatize and compute with natural numbers, by axiomatizing the untyped $\lambda$-calculus, and by implementing a simple automated system for managing a universe of types.
1802.06217v1
2018-03-02
Broadband spectroscopy of thermodynamic magnetization fluctuations through a ferromagnetic spin-reorientation transition
We use scanning optical magnetometry to study the broadband frequency spectra of spontaneous magnetization fluctuations, or "magnetization noise", in an archetypal ferromagnetic film that can be smoothly tuned through a spin reorientation transition (SRT). The SRT is achieved by laterally varying the magnetic anisotropy across an ultrathin Pt/Co/Pt trilayer, from the perpendicular to in-plane direction, via graded Ar$^+$ irradiation. In regions exhibiting perpendicular anisotropy, the power spectrum of the magnetization noise, $S(\nu)$, exhibits a remarkably robust $\nu^{-3/2}$ power law over frequencies $\nu$ from 1~kHz to 1~MHz. As the SRT region is traversed, however, $S(\nu)$ spectra develop a steadily-increasing critical frequency, $\nu_0$, below which the noise power is spectrally flat, indicating an evolving low-frequency cutoff for magnetization fluctuations. The magnetization noise depends strongly on applied in- and out-of-plane magnetic fields, revealing local anisotropies and also a field-induced emergence of fluctuations in otherwise stable ferromagnetic films. Finally, we demonstrate that higher-order correlators can be computed from the noise. These results highlight broadband spectroscopy of thermodynamic fluctuations as a powerful tool to characterize the interplay between thermal and magnetic energy scales, and as a means of characterizing phase transitions in ferromagnets.
1803.00962v1
2018-03-06
On Simple Back-Off in Unreliable Radio Networks
In this paper, we study local and global broadcast in the dual graph model, which describes communication in a radio network with both reliable and unreliable links. Existing work proved that efficient solutions to these problems are impossible in the dual graph model under standard assumptions. In real networks, however, simple back-off strategies tend to perform well for solving these basic communication tasks. We address this apparent paradox by introducing a new set of constraints to the dual graph model that better generalize the slow/fast fading behavior common in real networks. We prove that in the context of these new constraints, simple back-off strategies now provide efficient solutions to local and global broadcast in the dual graph model. We also precisely characterize how this efficiency degrades as the new constraints are reduced down to non-existent, and prove new lower bounds that establish this degradation as near optimal for a large class of natural algorithms. We conclude with a preliminary investigation of the performance of these strategies when we include additional generality to the model. These results provide theoretical foundations for the practical observation that simple back-off algorithms tend to work well even amid the complicated link dynamics of real radio networks.
1803.02216v3
2018-04-12
Connectivity in Random Annulus Graphs and the Geometric Block Model
We provide new connectivity results for {\em vertex-random graphs} or {\em random annulus graphs} which are significant generalizations of random geometric graphs. Random geometric graphs (RGG) are one of the most basic models of random graphs for spatial networks proposed by Gilbert in 1961, shortly after the introduction of the Erd\H{o}s-R\'{en}yi random graphs. They resemble social networks in many ways (e.g. by spontaneously creating cluster of nodes with high modularity). The connectivity properties of RGG have been studied since its introduction, and analyzing them has been significantly harder than their Erd\H{o}s-R\'{en}yi counterparts due to correlated edge formation. Our next contribution is in using the connectivity of random annulus graphs to provide necessary and sufficient conditions for efficient recovery of communities for {\em the geometric block model} (GBM). The GBM is a probabilistic model for community detection defined over an RGG in a similar spirit as the popular {\em stochastic block model}, which is defined over an Erd\H{o}s-R\'{en}yi random graph. The geometric block model inherits the transitivity properties of RGGs and thus models communities better than a stochastic block model. However, analyzing them requires fresh perspectives as all prior tools fail due to correlation in edge formation. We provide a simple and efficient algorithm that can recover communities in GBM exactly with high probability in the regime of connectivity.
1804.05013v3
2018-04-19
Equilibrium magnetization of a quasispherical cluster of single-domain particles
Equilibrium magnetization curve of a rigid finite-size spherical cluster of single-domain particles is investigated both numerically and analytically. The spatial distribution of particles within the cluster is random. Dipole-dipole interactions between particles are taken into account. The particles are monodisperse. It is shown, using the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation that the magnetization of such clusters is generally lower than predicted by the classical Langevin model. In a broad range of dipolar coupling parameters and particle volume fractions, the cluster magnetization in the weak field limit can be successfully described by the modified mean-field theory, which was originally proposed for the description of concentrated ferrofluids. In moderate and strong fields, the theory overestimates the cluster magnetization. However, predictions of the theory can be improved by adjusting the corresponding mean-field parameter. If magnetic anisotropy of particles is additionally taken into account and if the distribution of the particles' easy axes is random and uniform, then the cluster equilibrium response is even weaker. The decrease of the magnetization with increasing anisotropy constant is more pronounced at large applied fields. The phenomenological generalization of the modified mean-field theory, that correctly describes this effect for small coupling parameters, is proposed.
1804.07196v2
2018-05-28
Starbug fibre positioning robots: performance and reliability enhancements
Starbugs are miniature piezoelectric walking robots that can be operated in parallel to position many payloads like optical fibers across a telescopes focal plane. They consist of two concentric piezoelectric ceramic tubes that walk with micron step size. In addition to individual optical fibers, Starbugs have moved a payload of 0.75kg at several millimeters per second. The Australian Astronomical Observatory previously developed prototype devices and tested them in the laboratory. Now we are optimizing the Starbug design for production and deployment in the TAIPAN instrument, which will be capable of configuring 300 optical fibers over a six degree field-of-view on the UK Schmidt Telescope within a few minutes. The TAIPAN instrument will demonstrate the technology and capability for MANIFEST (Many Instrument Fiber-System) proposed for the Giant Magellan Telescope. Design is addressing: connector density and voltage limitations, mechanical reliability and construction repeatability, field plate residues and scratching, metrology stability, and facilitation of improved motion in all aspects of the design for later evaluation. Here we present the new design features of the AAO TAIPAN Starbug.
1805.10761v1
2018-06-14
Resolving interfacial charge transfer in titanate superlattices using resonant X-ray reflectometry
Charge transfer in oxide heterostructures can be tuned to promote emergent interfacial states, and accordingly, has been the subject of intense study in recent years. However, accessing the physics at these interfaces, which are often buried deep below the sample surface, remains difficult. Addressing this challenge requires techniques capable of measuring the local electronic structure with high-resolution depth dependence. Here, we have used linearly-polarized resonant X-ray reflectometry (RXR) as a means to visualize charge transfer in oxide superlattices with atomic layer precision. From our RXR measurements, we extract valence depth profiles of SmTiO$_3$ (SmTO)/SrTiO$_3$ (STO) heterostructures with STO quantum wells varying in thickness from 5 SrO planes down to a single, atomically thin SrO plane. At the polar-nonpolar SmTO/STO interface, an electrostatic discontinuity leads to approximately half an electron per areal unit cell transferred from the interfacial SmO layer into the neighboring STO quantum well. We observe this charge transfer as a suppression of the t$_{2g}$ absorption peaks that minimizes contrast with the neighboring SmTO layers at those energies and leads to a pronounced absence of superlattice peaks in the reflectivity data. Our results demonstrate the sensitivity of RXR to electronic reconstruction at the atomic scale, and establish RXR as a powerful means of characterizing charge transfer at buried oxide interfaces.
1806.05733v1
2018-06-18
Formation Timescales for High-Mass X-ray Binaries in M33
We have identified 55 candidate high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) in M33 using available archival {\it HST} and {\it Chandra} imaging to find blue stars associated with X-ray positions. We use the {\it HST} photometric data to model the color-magnitude diagrams in the vicinity of each candidate HMXB to measure a resolved recent star formation history (SFH), and thus a formation timescale, or age for the source. Taken together, the SFHs for all candidate HMXBs in M33 yield an age distribution that suggests preferred formation timescales for HMXBs in M33 of $<$ 5 Myr and $\sim$ 40 Myr after the initial star formation episode. The population at 40 Myr is seen in other Local Group galaxies, and can be attributed to a peak in formation efficiency of HMXBs with neutron stars as compact objects and B star secondary companions. This timescale is preferred as neutron stars should form in abundance from $\sim$ 8 M$_{\odot}$ core-collapse progenitors on these timescales, and B stars are shown observationally to be most actively losing mass around this time. The young population at $<$ 5 Myr has not be observed in other Local Group HMXB population studies, but may be attributed to a population of very massive progenitors forming black holes very early on. We discuss these results in the context of massive binary evolution, and the implications for compact object binaries and gravitational wave sources.
1806.06863v1
2018-06-24
Nanoscopic time crystal obtained by nonergodic spin dynamics
We study the far-from-equilibrium properties of quenched magnetic nanoscopic classical spin systems. In particular, we focus on the interplay between lattice vibrations and magnetic frustrations induced by surface effects typical of an antiferromagnet. We use a combination of Monte Carlo simulations and explore the dynamical behaviours by solving the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation at finite temperature. The Monte Carlo approach treats both the ionic degrees of freedom and spin variables on the same footing, via an extended Lennard-Jones Hamiltonian with a spin-lattice coupling. The zero temperature phase diagram of the finite size nanoscopic systems with respect to the range of the Heisenberg interaction and the Lennard-Jones coupling constant shows two main structures with non-trivial magnetisation triggered by antiferromagnetism: a simple cubic and a body-centred cubic. At non zero temperature, the competition between spins and the ionic vibrations considerably affects the magnetization of the system. Exploring the dynamics reveals a non-trivial structural induced behaviour in the spin relaxation with a concomitant memory of the initially applied ferromagnetic quench. We report the observation of a non-trivial dynamical scenario, obtained after a ferromagnetic magnetic quench at low temperature. Furthermore, we observe long-lived non-thermal states which could open new avenues for nano-technology.
1806.09130v4
2018-06-29
The warm Neptunes around HD 106315 have low stellar obliquities
We present the obliquity of the warm Neptune HD 106315c measured via a series of spectroscopic transit observations. HD 106315c is a 4.4 REarth warm Neptune orbiting a moderately rotating late F-star with a period of 21.05 days. HD 106315 also hosts a 2.5 REarth super-Earth on a 9.55 day orbit. Our Doppler tomographic analyses of four transits observed by the Magellan/MIKE, HARPS, and TRES facilities find HD 106315c to be in a low stellar obliquity orbit, consistent with being well aligned with the spin axis of the host star at lambda = -10 +3.6/-3.8 deg. We suggest, via dynamical N-body simulations, that the two planets in the system must be co-planar, and thus are both well aligned with the host star. HD 106315 is only the fourth warm Neptune system with obliquities measured. All warm Neptune systems have been found in well aligned geometries, consistent with the interpretation that these systems are formed in-situ in the inner protoplanetary disk, and also consistent with the majority of Kepler multi-planet systems that are in low obliquity orbits. With a transit depth of 1.02 mmag, HD 106315c is among the smallest planets to have been detected in transit spectroscopy, and we discuss its detection in the context of TESS and the next generations of spectrographs.
1807.00024v1
2018-07-13
BFORE: A CMB Balloon Payload to Measure Reionization, Neutrino Mass, and Cosmic Inflation
BFORE is a high-altitude ultra-long-duration balloon mission to map the cosmic microwave background (CMB). During a 28-day mid-latitude flight launched from Wanaka, New Zealand, the instrument will map half the sky to improve measurements of the optical depth to reionization tau. This will break parameter degeneracies needed to detect neutrino mass. BFORE will also hunt for the gravitational wave B-mode signal, and map Galactic dust foregrounds. The mission will be the first near-space use of TES/mSQUID multichroic detectors (150/217 GHz and 280/353 GHz bands) with low-power readout electronics.
1807.05215v1
2018-07-19
Magnetization nutation induced by surface effects in nanomagnets
We investigate the magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic nanoparticles in the atomistic approach taking account of surface anisotropy and the spin misalignment it causes. We demonstrate that such inhomogeneous spin configurations induce nutation in the dynamics of the particle's magnetization. More precisely, in addition to the ordinary precessional motion with frequency $f_{p}\sim10\,{\rm GHz}$, we find that the dynamics of the net magnetic moment exhibits two more resonance peaks with frequencies $f_{c}$ and $f_{n}$ which are higher than the frequency $f_{p} : f_{c}=4\times f_{p}\sim40\,{\rm GHz}$ is related with the oscillations of the particle's magnetic moment between the minima of the effective potential induced by weak surface anisotropy. On the other hand, the much higher frequency $f_{n}\sim1\,{\rm THz}$ is attributed to the magnetization fluctuations at the atomic level driven by exchange interaction. We have compared our results on nutation induced by surface effects with those rendered by the macroscopic approach based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation augmented by an inertial term (proportional to the second-order time derivative of the macroscopic moment) with a phenomenological coefficient. The good agreement between the two models have allowed us to estimate the latter coefficient in terms of the atomistic parameters such as the surface anisotropy constant. We have thus proposed a new origin for the magnetization nutations as being induced by surface effects and have interpreted the corresponding resonance peaks and their frequencies.
1807.07392v1
2018-07-19
Unsupervised Metric Learning in Presence of Missing Data
For many machine learning tasks, the input data lie on a low-dimensional manifold embedded in a high dimensional space and, because of this high-dimensional structure, most algorithms are inefficient. The typical solution is to reduce the dimension of the input data using standard dimension reduction algorithms such as ISOMAP, LAPLACIAN EIGENMAPS or LLES. This approach, however, does not always work in practice as these algorithms require that we have somewhat ideal data. Unfortunately, most data sets either have missing entries or unacceptably noisy values. That is, real data are far from ideal and we cannot use these algorithms directly. In this paper, we focus on the case when we have missing data. Some techniques, such as matrix completion, can be used to fill in missing data but these methods do not capture the non-linear structure of the manifold. Here, we present a new algorithm MR-MISSING that extends these previous algorithms and can be used to compute low dimensional representation on data sets with missing entries. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm by running three different experiments. We visually verify the effectiveness of our algorithm on synthetic manifolds, we numerically compare our projections against those computed by first filling in data using nlPCA and mDRUR on the MNIST data set, and we also show that we can do classification on MNIST with missing data. We also provide a theoretical guarantee for MR-MISSING under some simplifying assumptions.
1807.07610v3
2018-08-09
Four new eclipsing mid M-dwarf systems from the New Luyten Two Tenths catalog
Using data from the MEarth-North and MEarth-South transit surveys, we present the detection of eclipses in four mid M-dwarf systems: LP 107-25, LP 261-75, LP 796-24, and LP 991-15. Combining the MEarth photometry with spectroscopic follow-up observations, we show that LP 107-25 and LP 796-24 are short-period (1.388 and 0.523 day, respectively) eclipsing binaries in triple-lined systems with substantial third light contamination from distant companions. LP 261-75 is a short-period (1.882 day) single-lined system consisting of a mid M-dwarf eclipsed by a probable brown dwarf secondary, with another distant visual brown dwarf companion. LP 991-15 is a long-period (29.3 day) double-lined eclipsing binary on an eccentric orbit with a geometry which produces only primary eclipses. A spectroscopic orbit is given for LP 991-15, and initial orbits for LP 107-25 and LP 261-75.
1808.03243v1
2018-08-14
Addressing Johnson graphs, complete multipartite graphs, odd cycles and other graphs
Graham and Pollak showed that the vertices of any graph $G$ can be addressed with $N$-tuples of three symbols, such that the distance between any two vertices may be easily determined from their addresses. An addressing is optimal if its length $N$ is minimum possible. In this paper, we determine an addressing of length $k(n-k)$ for the Johnson graphs $J(n,k)$ and we show that our addressing is optimal when $k=1$ or when $k=2, n=4,5,6$, but not when $n=6$ and $k=3$. We study the addressing problem as well as a variation of it in which the alphabet used has more than three symbols, for other graphs such as complete multipartite graphs and odd cycles. We also present computations describing the distribution of the minimum length of addressings for connected graphs with up to $10$ vertices. Motivated by these computations we settle a problem of Graham, showing that most graphs on $n$ vertices have an addressing of length at most $n-(2-o(1))\log_2 n$.
1808.04757v2
2018-09-26
On Bioelectric Algorithms: A Novel Application of Theoretical Computer Science to Core Problems in Developmental Biology
Cellular bioelectricity describes the biological phenomenon in which cells in living tissue generate and maintain patterns of voltage gradients induced by differing concentrations of charged ions. A growing body of research suggests that bioelectric patterns represent an ancient system that plays a key role in guiding many important developmental processes including tissue regeneration, tumor suppression, and embryogenesis. Understanding the relationship between high-level bioelectric patterns and low-level biochemical processes might also enable powerful new forms of synthetic biology. A key open question in this area is understanding how a collection of cells, interacting with each other and the extracellular environment only through simple ligand bindings and ion fluxes, can compute non-trivial patterns and perform non-trivial information processing tasks. The standard approach to this question is to model a given bioelectrical network as a system of differential equations and then explore its behavior using simulation techniques. In this paper, we propose applying a computational approach. In more detail, we present the cellular bioelectric model (CBM), a new computational model that captures the primary capabilities and constraints of bioelectric interactions between cells and their environment. We use this model to investigate several important topics in cellular bioelectricity, including symmetry breaking and information processing. Among other results, we describe and analyze a basic bioelectric strategy the efficiently stabilizes arbitrary cell networks into maximal independent sets (a structure known to play a role in the nervous system development of flys), and prove cells in our model are Turing complete in their ability to process information encoded in their initial voltage potential.
1809.10046v1
2018-10-02
Floquet engineering of classical systems
We develop the Floquet-Magnus expansion for a classical equation of motion under a periodic drive that is applicable to both isolated and open systems. For classical systems, known approaches based on the Floquet theorem fail due to the nonlinearity and the stochasticity of their equations of motion (EOMs) in contrast to quantum ones. Here, employing their master equation, we successfully extend the Floquet methodology to classical EOMs to obtain their Floquet-Magnus expansions, thereby overcoming this difficulty. Our method has a wide range of application from classical to quantum as long as they are described by differential equations including the Langevin equation, the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, and the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation. By analytically evaluating the higher-order terms of the Floquet-Magnus expansion, we find that it is, at least asymptotically, convergent and well approximates the relaxation to their prethermal or non-equilibrium steady states. To support these analytical findings, we numerically analyze two examples: (i) the Kapitza pendulum with friction and (ii) laser-driven magnets described by the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. In both cases, the effective EOMs obtained from their Floquet-Magnus expansions correctly reproduce their exact time evolution for a long time up to their non-equilibrium steady states. In the example of driven magnets, we demonstrate the controlled generations of a macroscopic magnetization and a spin chirality by laser and discuss possible applications to spintronics.
1810.01103v2
2018-10-02
Geodesic motion on the groups of diffeomorphisms with $H^1$ metric as geometric generalised Lagrangian mean theory
Generalized Lagrangian mean theories are used to analyze the interactions between mean flows and fluctuations, where the decomposition is based on a Lagrangian description of the flow. A systematic geometric framework was recently developed by Gilbert and Vanneste (J. Fluid Mech., 2018) who cast the decomposition in terms of intrinsic operations on the group of volume preserving diffeomorphism or on the full diffeomorphism group. In this setting, the mean of an ensemble of maps can be defined as the Riemannian center of mass on either of these groups. We apply this decomposition in the context of Lagrangian averaging where equations of motion for the mean flow arise via a variational principle from a mean Lagrangian, obtained from the kinetic energy Lagrangian of ideal fluid flow via a small amplitude expansion for the fluctuations. We show that the Euler-$\alpha$ equations arise as Lagrangian averaged Euler equations when using the $L^2$-geodesic mean on the volume preserving diffeomorphism group of a manifold without boundaries, imposing a `Taylor hypothesis', which states that first order fluctuations are transported as a vector field by the mean flow, and assuming that fluctuations are statistically isotropic. Similarly, the EPDiff equations arise as the Lagrangian averaged Burgers' equations using the same argument on the full diffeomorphism group. These results generalize an earlier observation by Oliver (Proc. R. Soc. A, 2017) to manifolds in geometrically fully intrinsic terms.
1810.01377v1
2018-10-07
Training Convolutional Neural Networks and Compressed Sensing End-to-End for Microscopy Cell Detection
Automated cell detection and localization from microscopy images are significant tasks in biomedical research and clinical practice. In this paper, we design a new cell detection and localization algorithm that combines deep convolutional neural network (CNN) and compressed sensing (CS) or sparse coding (SC) for end-to-end training. We also derive, for the first time, a backpropagation rule, which is applicable to train any algorithm that implements a sparse code recovery layer. The key observation behind our algorithm is that cell detection task is a point object detection task in computer vision, where the cell centers (i.e., point objects) occupy only a tiny fraction of the total number of pixels in an image. Thus, we can apply compressed sensing (or, equivalently sparse coding) to compactly represent a variable number of cells in a projected space. Then, CNN regresses this compressed vector from the input microscopy image. Thanks to the SC/CS recovery algorithm (L1 optimization) that can recover sparse cell locations from the output of CNN. We train this entire processing pipeline end-to-end and demonstrate that end-to-end training provides accuracy improvements over a training paradigm that treats CNN and CS-recovery layers separately. Our algorithm design also takes into account a form of ensemble average of trained models naturally to further boost accuracy of cell detection. We have validated our algorithm on benchmark datasets and achieved excellent performances.
1810.03075v1
2018-11-16
Asymmetric Drift in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) as a Function of Stellar Age
We analyze the kinematics of Andromeda's disk as a function of stellar age by using photometry from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey and spectroscopy from the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo (SPLASH) survey. We use HI 21-cm and CO ($\rm J=1 \rightarrow 0$) data to examine the difference between the deprojected rotation velocity of the gas and that of the stars. We divide the stars into four stellar age bins, from shortest lived to longest lived: massive main sequence stars (0.03 Gyr), more luminous intermediate mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars (0.4 Gyr), less luminous intermediate mass AGB stars (2 Gyr), and low mass red giant branch stars (4 Gyr). There is a clear correlation between the offset of the stellar and the gas rotation velocity, or the asymmetric drift: the longer lived populations lag farther behind the gas than short lived populations. We also examine possible causes of the substructure in the rotation curves and find that the most significant cause of scatter in the rotation curves comes from the tilted ring model being an imperfect way to account for the multiple warps in Andromeda's disk.
1811.07037v2
2018-11-21
Exploring interfacial exchange coupling and sublattice effect in heavy metal/ferrimagnetic insulator heterostructures using Hall measurements, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and neutron reflectometry
We use temperature-dependent Hall measurements to identify contributions of spin Hall, magnetic proximity, and sublattice effects to the anomalous Hall signal in heavy metal/ferrimagnetic insulator heterostructures with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. This approach enables detection of both the magnetic proximity effect onset temperature and the magnetization compensation temperature and provides essential information regarding the interfacial exchange coupling. Onset of a magnetic proximity effect yields a local extremum in the temperature-dependent anomalous Hall signal, which occurs at higher temperature as magnetic insulator thickness increases. This magnetic proximity effect onset occurs at much higher temperature in Pt than W. The magnetization compensation point is identified by a sharp anomalous Hall sign change and divergent coercive field. We directly probe the magnetic proximity effect using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism and polarized neutron reflectometry, which reveal an antiferromagnetic coupling between W and the magnetic insulator. Finally, we summarize the exchange-coupling configurations and the anomalous Hall-effect sign of the magnetized heavy metal in various heavy metal/magnetic insulator heterostructures.
1811.08574v2
2018-12-13
Qatar Exoplanet Survey: Qatar-7b -- A Very Hot Jupiter Orbiting a Metal Rich F-Star
We present the discovery of Qatar-7b --- a very hot and inflated giant gas planet orbiting close its parent star. The host star is a relatively massive main sequence F-star with mass and radius Mstar = 1.41 +/- 0.03 Msun and Rstar = 1.56 +/- 0.02 Rsun, respectively, at a distance d = 726 +/- 26 pc, and an estimated age ~1 Gyr. With its orbital period of P = 2.032 days the planet is located less than 5 stellar radii from its host star and is heated to a high temperature Teq ~ 2100 K. From a global solution to the available photometric and radial velocity observations, we calculate the mass and radius of the planet to be Mpl = 1.88 +/- 0.25 Mjup and Rpl = 1.70 +/- 0.03 Rjup, respectively. The planet radius and equilibrium temperature put Qatar-7b in the top 6% of the hottest and largest known exoplanets. With its large radius and high temperature Qatar-7b is a valuable addition to the short list of targets that offer the best opportunity for studying their atmospheres through transmission spectroscopy.
1812.05601v1
2019-01-02
Leader Election in Well-Connected Graphs
In this paper, we look at the problem of randomized leader election in synchronous distributed networks with a special focus on the message complexity. We provide an algorithm that solves the implicit version of leader election (where non-leader nodes need not be aware of the identity of the leader) in any general network with $O(\sqrt{n} \log^{7/2} n \cdot t_{mix})$ messages and in $O(t_{mix}\log^2 n)$ time, where $n$ is the number of nodes and $t_{mix}$ refers to the mixing time of a random walk in the network graph $G$. For several classes of well-connected networks (that have a large conductance or alternatively small mixing times e.g. expanders, hypercubes, etc), the above result implies extremely efficient (sublinear running time and messages) leader election algorithms. Correspondingly, we show that any substantial improvement is not possible over our algorithm, by presenting an almost matching lower bound for randomized leader election. We show that $\Omega(\sqrt{n}/\phi^{3/4})$ messages are needed for any leader election algorithm that succeeds with probability at least $1-o(1)$, where $\phi$ refers to the conductance of a graph. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that shows a dependence between the time and message complexity to solve leader election and the connectivity of the graph $G$, which is often characterized by the graph's conductance $\phi$. Apart from the $\Omega(m)$ bound in [Kutten et al., J.ACM 2015] (where $m$ denotes the number of edges of the graph), this work also provides one of the first non-trivial lower bounds for leader election in general networks.
1901.00342v1
2019-01-23
Cooperation Speeds Surfing: Use Co-Bandit!
In this paper, we explore the benefit of cooperation in adversarial bandit settings. As a motivating example, we consider the problem of wireless network selection. Mobile devices are often required to choose the right network to associate with for optimal performance, which is non-trivial. The excellent theoretical properties of EXP3, a leading multi-armed bandit algorithm, suggest that it should work well for this type of problem. Yet, it performs poorly in practice. A major limitation is its slow rate of stabilization. Bandit-style algorithms perform better when global knowledge is available, i.e., when devices receive feedback about all networks after each selection. But, unfortunately, communicating full information to all devices is expensive. Therefore, we address the question of how much information is adequate to achieve better performance. We propose Co-Bandit, a novel cooperative bandit approach, that allows devices to occasionally share their observations and forward feedback received from neighbors; hence, feedback may be received with a delay. Devices perform network selection based on their own observation and feedback from neighbors. As such, they speed up each other's rate of learning. We prove that Co-Bandit is regret-minimizing and retains the convergence property of multiplicative weight update algorithms with full information. Through simulation, we show that a very small amount of information, even with a delay, is adequate to nudge each other to select the right network and yield significantly faster stabilization at the optimal state (about 630x faster than EXP3).
1901.07768v1
2019-01-31
Still out there: Modeling and Identifying Russian Troll Accounts on Twitter
There is evidence that Russia's Internet Research Agency attempted to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election by running fake accounts on Twitter - often referred to as "Russian trolls". In this work, we: 1) develop machine learning models that predict whether a Twitter account is a Russian troll within a set of 170K control accounts; and, 2) demonstrate that it is possible to use this model to find active accounts on Twitter still likely acting on behalf of the Russian state. Using both behavioral and linguistic features, we show that it is possible to distinguish between a troll and a non-troll with a precision of 78.5% and an AUC of 98.9%, under cross-validation. Applying the model to out-of-sample accounts still active today, we find that up to 2.6% of top journalists' mentions are occupied by Russian trolls. These findings imply that the Russian trolls are very likely still active today. Additional analysis shows that they are not merely software-controlled bots, and manage their online identities in various complex ways. Finally, we argue that if it is possible to discover these accounts using externally - accessible data, then the platforms - with access to a variety of private internal signals - should succeed at similar or better rates.
1901.11162v1
2019-02-11
Efficient Randomized Test-And-Set Implementations
We study randomized test-and-set (TAS) implementations from registers in the asynchronous shared memory model with n processes. We introduce the problem of group election, a natural variant of leader election, and propose a framework for the implementation of TAS objects from group election objects. We then present two group election algorithms, each yielding an efficient TAS implementation. The first implementation has expected max-step complexity $O(\log^\ast k)$ in the location-oblivious adversary model, and the second has expected max-step complexity $O(\log\log k)$ against any read/write-oblivious adversary, where $k\leq n$ is the contention. These algorithms improve the previous upper bound by Alistarh and Aspnes [2] of $O(\log\log n)$ expected max-step complexity in the oblivious adversary model. We also propose a modification to a TAS algorithm by Alistarh, Attiya, Gilbert, Giurgiu, and Guerraoui [5] for the strong adaptive adversary, which improves its space complexity from super-linear to linear, while maintaining its $O(\log n)$ expected max-step complexity. We then describe how this algorithm can be combined with any randomized TAS algorithm that has expected max-step complexity $T(n)$ in a weaker adversary model, so that the resulting algorithm has $O(\log n)$ expected max-step complexity against any strong adaptive adversary and $O(T(n))$ in the weaker adversary model. Finally, we prove that for any randomized 2-process TAS algorithm, there exists a schedule determined by an oblivious adversary such that with probability at least $(1/4)^t$ one of the processes needs at least t steps to finish its TAS operation. This complements a lower bound by Attiya and Censor-Hillel [7] on a similar problem for $n\geq 3$ processes.
1902.04002v1
2019-03-11
Evidence for the formation of nanoprecipitates with magnetically disordered regions in bulk $\mathrm{Ni}_{50}\mathrm{Mn}_{45}\mathrm{In}_{5}$ Heusler alloys
Shell ferromagnetism is a new functional property of certain Heusler alloys which has been recently observed in $\mathrm{Ni}_{50}\mathrm{Mn}_{45}\mathrm{In}_{5}$. We report the results of a comparative study of the magnetic microstructure of bulk $\mathrm{Ni}_{50}\mathrm{Mn}_{45}\mathrm{In}_{5}$ Heusler alloys using magnetometry, synchrotron x-ray diffraction, and magnetic small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). By combining unpolarized and spin-polarized SANS (POLARIS) we demonstrate that a number of important conclusions regarding the mesoscopic spin structure can be made. In particular, the analysis of the magnetic neutron data suggests that nanoprecipitates with an effective ferromagnetic component form in an antiferromagnetic matrix on field annealing at $700 \, \mathrm{K}$. These particles represent sources of perturbation, which seem to give rise to magnetically disordered regions in the vicinity of the particle-matrix interface. Analysis of the spin-flip SANS cross section via the computation of the correlation function yields a value of $\sim 55 \, \mathrm{nm}$ for the particle size and $\sim 20 \, \mathrm{nm}$ for the size of the spin-canted region.
1903.04183v1
2019-03-14
Low Field-size, Rate-Optimal Streaming Codes for Channels With Burst and Random Erasures
In this paper, we design erasure-correcting codes for channels with burst and random erasures, when a strict decoding delay constraint is in place. We consider the sliding-window-based packet erasure model proposed by Badr et al., where any time-window of width $w$ contains either up to $a$ random erasures or an erasure burst of length at most $b$. One needs to recover any erased packet, where erasures are as per the channel model, with a strict decoding delay deadline of $\tau$ time slots. Presently existing rate-optimal constructions in the literature require, in general, a field-size which grows exponential in $\tau$, for a constant $\frac{a}{\tau}$. In this work, we present a new rate-optimal code construction covering all channel and delay parameters, which requires an $O(\tau^2)$ field-size. As a special case, when $(b-a)=1$, we have a field-size linear in $\tau$. We also present three other constructions having linear field-size, under certain constraints on channel and decoding delay parameters. As a corollary, we obtain low field-size, rate-optimal convolutional codes for any given column distance and column span. Simulations indicate that the newly proposed streaming code constructions offer lower packet-loss probabilities compared to existing schemes, for selected instances of Gilbert-Elliott and Fritchman channels.
1903.06210v1
2019-03-21
Emergent topology and symmetry-breaking order in correlated quench dynamics
Quenching a quantum system involves three basic ingredients: the initial phase, the post-quench target phase, and the non-equilibrium dynamics which carries the information of the former two. Here we propose a dynamical theory to characterize both the topology and symmetry-breaking order in correlated quantum system, through quenching the Haldane-Hubbard model from an initial magnetic phase to topologically nontrivial regime. The equation of motion for the complex pseudospin dynamics is obtained with the flow equation method, with the pseudospin evolution shown to obey a microscopic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert-Bloch equation. We find that the correlated quench dynamics exhibit robust universal behaviors on the so-called band-inversion surfaces (BISs), from which the nontrivial topology and magnetic order can be extracted. In particular, the topology of the post-quench regime can be characterized by an emergent dynamical topological pattern of quench dynamics on BISs, which is robust against dephasing and heating induced by interactions; the pre-quench symmetry-breaking orders is read out from a universal scaling behavior of the quench dynamics emerging on the BIS, which is valid beyond the mean-field regime. This work opens a way to characterize both the topology and symmetry-breaking orders by correlated quench dynamics.
1903.09144v3
2019-03-22
Advanced Non-Destructive in Situ Characterization of Metals with the French Collaborating Research Group D2AM/BM02 Beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
The ability to non-destructively measure the structural properties of devices, either in situ or operando, are now possible using an intense X-ray synchrotron source combined with specialized equipment. This tool attracted researchers, in particular metallurgists, to attempt more complex and ambitious experiments aimed at answering unresolved questions in formation mechanisms, phase transitions, and magnetism complex alloys for industrial applications. In this paper, we introduce the diffraction diffusion anomale multi-longueur d'onde (D2AM) beamline, a French collaborating research group (CRG) beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), partially dedicated to in situ X-ray scattering experiments. The design of the beamline combined with the available equipment (two-dimensional fast photon counting detectors, sophisticated high precision kappa diffractometer, a variety of sample environments, continuous scanning for X-ray imaging, and specific software for data analysis) has made the D2AM beamline a highly efficient tool for advanced, in situ synchrotron characterization in materials science, e.g., single crystal or polycrystalline materials, powders, liquids, thin films, or epitaxial nanostructures. This paper gathers the main elements and equipment available at the beamline and shows its potential and flexibility in performing a wide variety of temporally, spatially, and energetically resolved X-ray synchrotron scattering measurements in situ.
1903.09390v1
2019-03-31
Relaxation to equilibrium in models of classical spins with long-range interactions
For a model long-range interacting system of classical Heisenberg spins, we study how fluctuations, such as those arising from having a finite system size or through interaction with the environment, affect the dynamical process of relaxation to Boltzmann-Gibbs equilibrium. Under deterministic spin precessional dynamics, we unveil the full range of quasistationary behavior observed during relaxation to equilibrium, whereby the system is trapped in nonequilibrium states for times that diverge with the system size. The corresponding stochastic dynamics, modeling interaction with the environment and constructed in the spirit of the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, however shows a fast relaxation to equilibrium on a size-independent timescale and no signature of quasistationarity, provided the noise is strong enough. Similar fast relaxation is also seen in Glauber Monte Carlo dynamics of the model, thus establishing the ubiquity of what has been reported earlier in particle dynamics (hence distinct from the spin dynamics considered here) of long-range interacting systems, that quasistationarity observed in deterministic dynamics is washed away by fluctuations induced through contact with the environment.
1904.00432v2
2019-04-27
Blue-Light-Emitting Color Centers in High-Quality Hexagonal Boron Nitride
Light emitters in wide band gap semiconductors are of great fundamental interest and have potential as optically addressable qubits. Here we describe the discovery of a new color center in high-quality hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with a sharp emission line at 435 nm. The emitters are activated and deactivated by electron beam irradiation and have spectral and temporal characteristics consistent with atomic color centers weakly coupled to lattice vibrations. The emitters are conspicuously absent from commercially available h-BN and are only present in ultra-high-quality h-BN grown using a high-pressure, high-temperature Ba-B-N flux/solvent, suggesting that these emitters originate from impurities or related defects specific to this unique synthetic route. Our results imply that the light emission is activated and deactivated by electron beam manipulation of the charge state of an impurity-defect complex.
1904.12107v6
2019-04-30
Realization of Ordered Magnetic Skyrmions in Thin Films at Ambient Conditions
Magnetic skyrmions present interesting physics due to their topological nature and hold significant promise for future information technologies. A key barrier to realizing skyrmion devices has been stabilizing these spin structures under ambient conditions. In this manuscript, we exploit the tunable magnetic properties of amorphous Fe/Gd mulitlayers to realize skyrmion lattices which are stable over a large temperature and magnetic field parameter space, including room temperature and zero magnetic field. These hybrid skyrmions have both Bloch-type and N\'eel-type character and are stabilized by dipolar interactions rather than Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, which are typically considered required for the generation of skyrmions. Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) was used in combination with soft X-ray microscopy to provide a unique, multi-scale probe of the local and long-range order of these structures. These results identify a pathway to engineer controllable skyrmion phases in thin film geometries which are stable at ambient conditions.
1904.13274v1
2019-05-16
Ultralow-loss domain wall motion driven by magnetocrystalline anisotropy gradient in antiferromagnetic nanowire
Searching for new methods controlling antiferromagnetic (AFM) domain wall is one of the most important issues for AFM spintronic device operation. In this work, we study theoretically the domain wall motion of an AFM nanowire, driven by the axial anisotropy gradient generated by external electric field, allowing the electro control of AFM domain wall motion in the merit of ultra-low energy loss. The domain wall velocity depending on the anisotropy gradient magnitude and intrinsic material properties is simulated based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation and also deduced using the energy dissipation theorem. It is found that the domain wall moves at a nearly constant velocity for small gradient, and accelerates for large gradient due to the enlarged domain wall width. The domain wall mobility is independent of lattice dimension and types of domain wall, while it is enhanced by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. In addition, the physical mechanism for much faster AFM wall dynamics than ferromagnetic wall dynamics is qualitatively explained. This work unveils a promising strategy for controlling the AFM domain walls, benefiting to future AFM spintronic applications.
1905.06695v2
2019-05-22
Constraining level densities using spectral data
Several models of level densities exist and they often make simplified assumptions regarding the overall behavior of the total level densities (LD) and the intrinsic spin and parity distributions of the excited states. Normally, such LD models are constrained only by the measured $D_0$, i.e. the density of levels at the neutron separation energy of the compound nucleus (target plus neutron), and the sometimes subjective extrapolation of discrete levels. In this work we use microscopic Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) level densities, which intrinsically provide more realistic spin and parity distributions, and associate variations predicted by the HFB model with the observed double-differential cross sections at low outgoing neutron energy, region that is dominated by the LD input. With this approach we are able to perform fits of the LD based on actual experimental data, constraining the model and ensuring its consistency. This approach can be particularly useful in extrapolating the LD to nuclei for which high-excited discrete levels and/or values of $D_0$ are unknown. It also predicts inelastic gamma (n,n$^{\prime}\gamma$) cross sections that in some cases can differ significantly from more standard LD models such as Gilbert-Cameron.
1905.09194v1
2019-05-23
The Kepler Smear Campaign: Light curves for 102 Very Bright Stars
We present the first data release of the Kepler Smear Campaign, using collateral 'smear' data obtained in the Kepler four-year mission to reconstruct light curves of 102 stars too bright to have been otherwise targeted. We describe the pipeline developed to extract and calibrate these light curves, and show that we attain photometric precision comparable to stars analyzed by the standard pipeline in the nominal Kepler mission. In this paper, aside from publishing the light curves of these stars, we focus on 66 red giants for which we detect solar-like oscillations, characterizing 33 of these in detail with spectroscopic chemical abundances and asteroseismic masses as benchmark stars. We also classify the whole sample, finding nearly all to be variable, with classical pulsations and binary effects. All source code, light curves, TRES spectra, and asteroseismic and stellar parameters are publicly available as a Kepler legacy sample.
1905.09831v1
2019-06-06
A Hot Saturn Near (but unassociated with) the Open Cluster NGC 1817
We report on the discovery of a hot Saturn-sized planet (9.916 +/- 0.985 R_earth) around a late F star, EPIC 246865365, observed in Campaign 13 of the K2 mission. We began studying this planet candidate because prior to the release of Gaia DR2, the host star was thought to have been a member (> 90% membership probability) of the approximately 1 Gyr open cluster NGC 1817 based on its kinematics and photometric distance. We identify the host star (among three stars within the K2 photometric aperture) using seeing-limited photometry and rule out false positive scenarios using adaptive optics imaging and radial velocity observations. We statistically validate EPIC 246865365b by calculating a false positive probability rate of 0.01%. However, we also show using new kinematic measurements provided by Gaia DR2 and our measured radial velocity of the system that EPIC 246865365 is unassociated with the cluster NGC 1817. Therefore, the long-running search for a giant transiting planet in an open cluster remains fruitless. Finally, we note that our use of seeing-limited photometry is a good demonstration of similar techniques that are already being used to follow up TESS planet candidates, especially in crowded regions.
1906.02395v1
2019-06-12
Towards the nucleon hadronic tensor from lattice QCD
We present the first calculation of the hadronic tensor on the lattice for the nucleon. The hadronic tensor can be used to extract the structure functions in deep inelastic scatterings and also provide information for the neutrino-nucleon scattering which is crucial to the neutrino-nucleus scattering experiments at low energies. The most challenging part in the calculation is to solve an inverse problem. We have implemented and tested three algorithms using mock data, showing that the Bayesian Reconstruction method has the best resolution in extracting peak structures while the Backus-Gilbert and Maximum Entropy methods are somewhat more stable for the flat spectral function. Numerical results are presented for both the elastic case (clover fermions on domain wall configuration with $m_\pi\sim$ 370 MeV and $a\sim$ 0.06 fm) and a case (anisotropic clover lattice with $m_\pi\sim$ 380 MeV and $a_t\sim$ 0.035 fm) with large momentum transfer. For the former case, the reconstructed Minkowski hadronic tensor gives precisely the vector charge which proves the feasibility of the approach. While for the latter case, the nucleon resonances and possibly shallow inelastic scattering contributions around $\nu=1$ GeV are clearly observed but no information is obtained for higher excited states with $\nu>2$ GeV. A check of the effective masses of $\rho$ meson with different lattice setups indicates that, in order to reach higher energy transfers, using lattices with smaller lattice spacings is essential.
1906.05312v1
2019-06-17
Non-equilibrium Green's Function and First Principle Approach to Modeling of Multiferroic Tunnel Junctions
Recently, multiferroic tunnel junctions (MFTJs) have gained significant spotlight in the literature due to its high tunneling electro-resistance together with its non-volatility. In order to analyze such devices and to have insightful understanding of its characteristics, there is a need for developing a multi-physics modeling and simulation framework. The simulation framework discussed in this paper is motivated by the scarcity of such multi-physics studies in the literature. In this study, a theoretical analysis of MFTJs is demonstrated using self-consistent analysis of spin-based non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method to estimate the tunneling current, Landau-Khalatnikov (LK) equation to model the ferroelectric polarization dynamics, together with landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert's (LLG) equations to capture the magnetization dynamics. The spin-based NEGF method is equipped with a magnetization dependent Hamiltonian that eases the modeling of the tunneling electro-resistance (TER), tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR), and the magnetoelectric effect (ME) in MFTJs. Moreover, we apply the first principle calculations to estimate the screening lengths of the MFTJ electrodes that are necessary for estimation of tunneling current. The simulation results of the proposed framework are in good agreement with the experimental results. Finally, a comprehensive analysis of TER and TMR of MFTJs and their dependence on various device parameters is illustrated.
1906.06986v1