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We study the photon statistics of a single-mode sub-Poissonian light propagating in the temperature-loss bosonic channel with fluctuating transmittance which can be regarded as a temperature-dependent model of turbulent atmosphere. By assuming that the variance of the transmittance can be expressed in terms of the fluctuation strength parameter we show that the photon statistics of the light remains sub-Poissonian provided the averaged transmittance exceeds its critical value. The critical transmittance is analytically computed as a function of the input states parameters, the temperature and the fluctuation strength. The results are applied to study special cases of the one-mode squeezed states and the odd optical Shr\"odinger cats., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures

Station-Keeping short-duration high-altitude balloons (HABs) in a region of interest is a challenging path-planning problem due to partially observable, complex, and dynamic wind flows. Deep reinforcement learning is a popular strategy for solving the station-keeping problem. A custom simulation environment was developed to train and evaluate Deep Q-Learning (DQN) for short-duration HAB agents in the simulation. To train the agents on realistic winds, synthetic wind forecasts were generated from aggregated historical radiosonde data to apply horizontal kinematics to simulated agents. The synthetic forecasts were closely correlated with ECWMF ERA5 Reanalysis forecasts, providing a realistic simulated wind field and seasonal and altitudinal variances between the wind models. DQN HAB agents were then trained and evaluated across different seasonal months. To highlight differences and trends in months with vastly different wind fields, a Forecast Score algorithm was introduced to independently classify forecasts based on wind diversity, and trends between station-keeping success and the Forecast Score were evaluated across all seasons.

Recently, latent action learning, pioneered by Latent Action Policies (LAPO), have shown remarkable pre-training efficiency on observation-only data, offering potential for leveraging vast amounts of video available on the web for embodied AI. However, prior work has focused on distractor-free data, where changes between observations are primarily explained by ground-truth actions. Unfortunately, real-world videos contain action-correlated distractors that may hinder latent action learning. Using Distracting Control Suite (DCS) we empirically investigate the effect of distractors on latent action learning and demonstrate that LAPO struggle in such scenario. We propose LAOM, a simple LAPO modification that improves the quality of latent actions by 8x, as measured by linear probing. Importantly, we show that providing supervision with ground-truth actions, as few as 2.5% of the full dataset, during latent action learning improves downstream performance by 4.2x on average. Our findings suggest that integrating supervision during Latent Action Models (LAM) training is critical in the presence of distractors, challenging the conventional pipeline of first learning LAM and only then decoding from latent to ground-truth actions., Comment: Preprint. In review

We report on the stability of the magnetic dipole string (DS), a three-dimensional magnetic texture formed by two coupled Bloch points with opposite topological charges, separated by an equilibrium distance. Previous studies demonstrated the stability of such configurations through geometric confinement or coupling with local perturbations in the magnetization field, such as skyrmion strings or dislocations in helical modulations. Here, we show that, in uniaxial chiral magnets, an isolated DS remains stable in an unperturbed vacuum, thus representing a true three-dimensional soliton. The phase diagram illustrates the stability of the DS embedded in the conical or helical phases across a broad range of material parameters and external magnetic fields. Using the geodesic nudged elastic band method applied to a regularized micromagnetic model, we demonstrate that isolated DSs are protected from collapse by an energy barrier. Stochastic spin-lattice simulations demonstrate that DSs can spontaneously nucleate during in-field annealing. This work aims to stimulate the experimental observation of DSs and further exploration of uniaxial chiral magnets., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures

The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) is an upcoming accelerator facility aimed at exploring the properties of quarks and gluons in nucleons and nuclei, shedding light on their structure and dynamics. The inaugural experimental apparatus, ePIC (electron-Proton and Ion Collider), is designed as a general purpose detector to address the NAS/NSAC physics program at the EIC. The wider EIC community is strongly supporting a second interaction region and associated second detector to enhance the full science program. In this study, we evaluate how the second interaction region and detector can be complementary to ePIC. The pre-conceptual layout of an interaction region for the second detector offers a secondary focus that provides better forward detector acceptance at scattering angles near $\theta \sim 0$~mrad, which can specifically enhance the exclusive, tagging, and diffractive physics program. This article presents an analysis of a tagging program using the second interaction region layout with incoherent diffractive vector meson production. The potential for the second interaction region to provide improved vetoing capabilities for incoherent events to elucidate the coherent diffractive cross-section is evaluated. The capability to access the coherent diffractive cross-section is of prime importance for studying the spatial imaging of nucleons and nuclei., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables

We consider the generation of Schr\"odinger cat states using a quantum measurement-induced logical gate where entanglement between the input state of the target oscillator and the Fock state of the ancillary system produced by the quantum non-demolition entangling $C_Z$ operation is combined with the homodyne measurement. We utilize the semiclassical approach to construct both the input-output mapping of the field variables in the phase space and the wave function of the output state. This approach is found to predict that the state at the gate output is represented by a minimum disturbed cat-like state which is a superposition of two initial state copies symmetrically displaced by momentum variable. For the target oscillator prepared in the coherent state, we show that the fidelity between the exact solution for the gate output state and the "perfect" Schr\"odinger cat reconstructed from the semiclassical theory can reach high values exceeding 0.99., Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures

Specific action for isotropic fluctuations of scalar field is derived under the condition of 4D cut-off. It is implemented into the estimates of dark energy scale consistent with current cosmological data., Comment: 5 pages

The influence of departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) on neutral sulfur lines is considered. A grid of corrections is proposed to take into account the influence of departures from LTE for neutral sulfur lines in the visible and infrared spectral regions, including the H-band. The grid is calculated using the atomic model of sulfur incorporating the most up-to-date collision rates with electrons and hydrogen. The inclusion of levels and transitions of ionized sulfur in the atomic model made it possible to expand the range of effective temperatures of stellar photospheres in the grid up to 10000 K. The atomic model was tested in determining the sulfur abundance of 13 stars and showed its adequacy in a wide range of fundamental stellar parameters. In the spectra of all test stars, the sulfur lines are fitted with similar abundances of the element, regardless of the degree of influence of the effects of deviation from LTE on a particular spectral line. For lines of several multiplets, the wavelengths and oscillator strengths were refined. A list of S I lines recommended for determining sulfur abundance has been created., Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures

Chemotaxis and reactions are fundamental processes in biology, often intricately intertwined. Chemotaxis, in particular, can be crucial in maintaining and accelerating a reaction. In this work, we extend the investigation initiated by kiselev et al. [17] by examining the impact of chemotactic attraction on reproduction and other processes in the context of anomalous diffusion of gamete densities. For that, we consider a partial differential equation, with a single density function, that includes advection, chemotaxis, absorbing reaction, and diffusion, incorporating the fractional Laplacian $\Lambda^\alpha$. The inclusion of the fractional Laplacian is motivated by experimental evidence supporting the efficacy of anomalous diffusion models, particularly in scenarios with sparse targets. The fractional Laplacian accommodates the nonlocal nature of superdiffusion processes, providing a more accurate representation than traditional diffusion models. Our proposed model represents a step forward in refining mathematical descriptions of cellular behaviors influenced by chemotactic cues.

Magnetic vortices and skyrmions are typically characterized by distinct topological invariants. This work presents a unified approach for the topological classification of these textures, encompassing isolated objects and configurations where skyrmions and vortices coexist. Using homotopy group analysis, we derive topological invariants that form the free abelian group, $\mathbb{Z}\times\mathbb{Z}$. We provide an explicit method for calculating the corresponding integer indices in continuous and discrete systems. This unified classification framework extends beyond magnetism and is applicable to physical systems in general.

We derive a PDE that models the behavior of a boundary layer solution to the incompressible porous media (IPM) equation posed on the 2D periodic half-plane. This 1D IPM model is a transport equation with a non-local velocity similar to the well-known C\'{o}rdoba-C\'{o}rdoba-Fontelos (CCF) equation. We discuss how this modification of the CCF equation can be regarded as a reasonable model for solutions to the IPM equation. Working in the class of bounded smooth periodic data, we then show local well-posedness for the 1D IPM model as well as finite time blow-up for a class of initial data., Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure

The OKA Collaboration has obtained a new upper limit on the $K^+ \to \pi^0\pi^0\pi^0 e^+ \nu$ decay probability which is 65 times lower than the one currently listed by PDG. However it is still about $10^{4}$ times worse than the theoretical prediction. It was suggested that production of pionium $A_{2\pi}$ in the final state of the semileptonic $K^+$ decay with subsequent $A_{2\pi} \to \pi^0 \pi^0$ decay will increase the value of theoretical branching ratio due to the absence of five-particle phase space suppression. The estimates done in our paper show that despite the gain in the phase space the decay $K^+ \to A_{2\pi}\pi^0 e^+ \nu$ appeares to be strongly suppressed because of the smallness of the pionium wave function at zero $\pi$ mesons separation., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures

We develop the algebraic method based on the Lie algebra of quadratic combinations of left and right superoperators associated with matrices to study the Lindblad dynamics of multimode bosonic systems coupled a thermal bath and described by the Liouvillian superoperator that takes into account both dynamical (coherent) and environment mediated (incoherent) interactions between the modes. Our algebraic technique is applied to transform the Liouvillian into the diagonalized form by eliminating jump superoperators and solve the spectral problem. The temperature independent effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, $\hat{H}_{eff}$, is found to govern both the diagonalized Liouvillian and the spectral properties. It is shown that the Liouvillian exceptional points are represented by the points in the parameter space where the matrix, $H$, associated with $\hat{H}_{eff}$ is non-diagonalizable. We use our method to derive the low-temperature approximation for the superpropagator and to study the special case of a two mode system representing the photonic polarization modes. For this system, we describe the geometry of exceptional points in the space of frequency and relaxation vectors parameterizing the intermode couplings and, for a single-photon state, evaluate the time dependence of the speed of evolution as a function of the angles characterizing the couplings and the initial state., Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures, a continuation of arxiv:2207.01383

The previously-unknown nucleus 20Al has been observed for the first time by detecting its in-flight decays. Tracking trajectories of all decay products with silicon micro-strip detectors allowed for a conclusion that 20Al is unbound with respect to three-proton (3p) emission. The 3p-decay energy of 20Al ground state has been determined to be 1.93(+0.11,-0.09) MeV through a detailed study of angular correlations of its decay products, 17Ne+p+p+p. This value is much smaller in comparison with the predictions inferred from the isospin symmetry by using the known energy of its mirror nucleus 20N, which indicates a possible mirror symmetry violation in the structure of 3p emitters. Such an isospin symmetry breaking is supported by the calculations of the continuum embedded theoretical frameworks, describing the observed 20Al ground state as an 1p s-wave state with a spin-parity of 1-, which contradicts to the spin-parity (2-) of the 20N ground state. The 20Al ground state decays by sequential 1p-2p emission via intermediate ground state of 19Mg, which is the first observed case of daughter two-proton radioactivity following 1p decay of the parent state., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to be submitted to APS

We study a spatial-temporal structure of quantum fluctuations in the stress-energy tensor of zero-point modes for a scalar field in order to formulate a covariant model. The model describes an invariant vacuum contribution to the cosmological constant in the non-stationary coherent state in a finite volume. Bare and effective mean values of vacuum energy density are compared., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures

In-context learning allows models like transformers to adapt to new tasks from a few examples without updating their weights, a desirable trait for reinforcement learning (RL). However, existing in-context RL methods, such as Algorithm Distillation (AD), demand large, carefully curated datasets and can be unstable and costly to train due to the transient nature of in-context learning abilities. In this work, we integrated the n-gram induction heads into transformers for in-context RL. By incorporating these n-gram attention patterns, we considerably reduced the amount of data required for generalization and eased the training process by making models less sensitive to hyperparameters. Our approach matches, and in some cases surpasses, the performance of AD in both grid-world and pixel-based environments, suggesting that n-gram induction heads could improve the efficiency of in-context RL.

We present LLM-KT, a flexible framework designed to enhance collaborative filtering (CF) models by seamlessly integrating LLM (Large Language Model)-generated features. Unlike existing methods that rely on passing LLM-generated features as direct inputs, our framework injects these features into an intermediate layer of any CF model, allowing the model to reconstruct and leverage the embeddings internally. This model-agnostic approach works with a wide range of CF models without requiring architectural changes, making it adaptable to various recommendation scenarios. Our framework is built for easy integration and modification, providing researchers and developers with a powerful tool for extending CF model capabilities through efficient knowledge transfer. We demonstrate its effectiveness through experiments on the MovieLens and Amazon datasets, where it consistently improves baseline CF models. Experimental studies showed that LLM-KT is competitive with the state-of-the-art methods in context-aware settings but can be applied to a broader range of CF models than current approaches., Comment: accepted at ICDM 2024 (demo track)

The yields of the inverse beta decay events produced by antineutrinos from a certain nuclear reactor fuel component are used by many experiments to check various model predictions. Yet measurements of the absolute yields feature significant uncertainties coming, mainly, from the understanding of the antineutrino detection efficiency. This work presents a simple novel approach to directly determine the $^{235}$U to $^{239}$Pu inverse beta decay yield ratio using the fuel evolution analysis. This ratio can be used for a sensitive test of reactor models, while the proposed method, results in smaller systematic uncertainties., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures

Electron antineutrinos are emitted in the decay chains of the fission products inside a reactor core and could be used for remote monitoring of nuclear reactors. The DANSS detector is placed under the core of the 3.1 GW power reactor at the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) and collects up to 5000 antineutrino events per day. DANSS measured changes of the reactor power by antineutrino counting rates over 7 years with 1.0% accuracy in one week periods. The systematic uncertainty of this measurement is less than 0.8%. It is comparable to the accuracy of conventional methods of the reactor power measurements while it is based on completely different approach. For the first time the 239Pu and 235U fission fractions were reconstructed using antineutrino inverse beta-decay spectrum which is a completely new technique. This method was applied to the data from three reactor fuel campaigns (approximately 1.5 year each). The reconstructed fission fractions in about one week measurements and the fission fractions provided by KNPP coincide within about 3% accuracy. This provides confidence in both completely different approaches of the fission fraction determination.

Attosecond photoelectron interferometry based on the combination of an attosecond pulse train and a synchronized infrared field is a fundamental technique for the temporal characterization of attosecond waveforms and for the investigation of electron dynamics in the photoionization process. In this approach, the comb of extreme ultraviolet harmonics typically lies above the ionization threshold of the target under investigation, thus releasing a photoelectron by single-photon absorption. The interaction of the outgoing photoelectron with the infrared pulse results in the absorption or emission of infrared photons, thereby creating additional peaks in the photoelectron spectrum, referred to as sidebands. While, in the absence of resonances in the first ionization step, the phases imparted on the photoionization process evolve smoothly with the photon energy, the presence of intermediate resonances imprints a large additional phase on the outgoing photoelectron wave packet. In this work, using a comb of harmonics below and above the ionization threshold of neon, we investigate the effect of intermediate bound excited states on attosecond photoelectron interferometry. We show that the phase of the oscillations of the sidebands and their angular distributions are strongly affected by such resonances. By slightly tuning the photon energies of the extreme ultraviolet harmonics, we show how the contributions of selected resonances can be enhanced or suppressed., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures

Nambu-determinant brackets on $R^d\ni x=(x^1,...,x^d)$, $\{f,g\}_d(x)=\rho(x) \det(\partial(f,g,a_1,...,a_{d-2})/\partial(x^1,...,x^d))$, with $a_i\in C^\infty(R^d)$ and $\rho\partial_x\in\mathfrak{X}^d(R^d)$, are a class of Poisson structures with (non)linear coefficients, e.g., polynomials of arbitrarily high degree. With good cocycles in the graph complex, Kontsevich associated universal -- for all Poisson bivectors $P$ on affine $R^d_{aff}$ -- elements $\dot{P}=Q^\gamma(P)\in H^2_{P}(R^d_{aff})$ in the Lichnerowicz-Poisson second cohomology groups; we note that known graph cocycles $\gamma$ preserve the Nambu-Poisson class $\{P(\rho,a)\}$, and we express, directly from $\gamma$, the evolution $\dot{\rho}$,$\dot{a}$ that induces $\dot{P}$. Over all $d\geq2$ at once, there is no universal mechanism for the bivector cocycles $Q^\gamma_d$ to be trivial, $Q^\gamma_d=[\![P,\vec{X}^\gamma_d(P)]\!]$, w.r.t. vector fields defined uniformly for all dimensions $d$ by the same graph formula. While over $R^2$, the graph flows $\dot{P} = Q^{\gamma_i}_{2D}(P(\rho))$ for $\gamma\in\{\gamma_3,\gamma_5,\gamma_7,...\}$ are trivialized by vector fields $\vec{X}^{\gamma_i}_{2D}=(dx\wedge dy)^{-1}d_{dR}(Ham^{\gamma_i}(P))$ of peculiar shape, we detect that in $d\geq3$, the 1-vectors from 2D, now with $P(\rho,a_1,...,a_{d-2})$ inside, do not solve the problems $Q^{\gamma_i}_{d\geq3}=[\![P,{\vec{X}^{\gamma_i}_{d\geq3}}(P(\rho,a))]\!]$, yet they do yield good Ansatz where we find solutions $\vec{X}^{\gamma_i}_{d=3,4}(P(\rho,a))$. In the study of the step $d\mapsto d+1$, by adapting the Kontsevich graph calculus to the Nambu-Poisson class of brackets, we discover more identities for the Jacobian determinants within $P(\rho,a)$, i.e. for multivector-valued $GL(d)$-invariants on $R^d_{aff}$., Comment: Plenary talk given by AVK at the international conference on Integrable Systems and Quantum Symmetries (ISQS28) held on 1-5 July 2024 at CVUT Prague, Czech Republic; 13 pages, 1 table; followed by papers II. (arXiv:2409.12555 [math.QA]) and III. (arXiv:2409.15932 [math.QA]) by the same authors

Kontsevich constructed a map between `good' graph cocycles $\gamma$ and infinitesimal deformations of Poisson bivectors on affine manifolds, that is, Poisson cocycles in the second Lichnerowicz--Poisson cohomology. For the tetrahedral graph cocycle $\gamma_3$ and for the class of Nambu-determinant Poisson bivectors $P$ over $\mathbb{R}^2$, $\mathbb{R}^3$ and $\mathbb{R}^4$, we know the fact of trivialization, $\dot{P}=[[ P, \vec{X}^{\gamma_3}_{\text{dim}}]]$, by using dimension-dependent vector fields $\vec{X}^{\gamma_3}_{\text{dim}}$ expressed by Kontsevich (micro-) graphs. We establish that these trivializing vector fields $\vec{X}^{\gamma_3}_{\text{dim}}$ are unique modulo Hamiltonian vector fields $\vec{X}_{H}=d_P(H)= [[ P, H]]$, where $d_P$ is the Lichnerowicz--Poisson differential and where the Hamiltonians $H$ are also represented by Kontsevich (micro-)graphs. However, we find that the choice of Kontsevich (micro-)graphs to represent the aforementioned multivectors is not unique.

Kontsevich constructed a map from suitable cocycles in the graph complex to infinitesimal deformations of Poisson bi-vector fields. Under the deformations, the bi-vector fields remain Poisson. We ask, are these deformations trivial, meaning, do they amount to a change of coordinates along a vector field? We examine this question for the tetrahedron, the smallest nontrivial suitable graph cocycle in the Kontsevich graph complex, and for the class of Nambu--Poisson brackets on $\mathbb{R}^d$. Within Kontsevich's graph calculus, we use dimension-specific micro-graphs, in which each vertex represents an ingredient of the Nambu--Poisson bracket. For the tetrahedron, Kontsevich knew that the deformation is trivial for $d = 2$ (1996). In 2020, Buring and the third author found that the deformation is trivial for $d = 3$. Building on these discoveries, we now establish that the deformation is trivial for $d = 4$.

The loss landscape of neural networks is a critical aspect of their training, and understanding its properties is essential for improving their performance. In this paper, we investigate how the loss surface changes when the sample size increases, a previously unexplored issue. We theoretically analyze the convergence of the loss landscape in a fully connected neural network and derive upper bounds for the difference in loss function values when adding a new object to the sample. Our empirical study confirms these results on various datasets, demonstrating the convergence of the loss function surface for image classification tasks. Our findings provide insights into the local geometry of neural loss landscapes and have implications for the development of sample size determination techniques.

In the present paper, it is shown how the columnar/layered CoLaNET spiking neural network (SNN) architecture can be used in supervised learning image classification tasks. Image pixel brightness is coded by the spike count during image presentation period. Image class label is indicated by activity of special SNN input nodes (one node per class). The CoLaNET classification accuracy is evaluated on the MNIST benchmark. It is demonstrated that CoLaNET is almost as accurate as the most advanced machine learning algorithms (not using convolutional approach)., Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2409.01230

In the present paper, I describe a spiking neural network (SNN) architecture which, can be used in wide range of supervised learning classification tasks. It is assumed, that all participating signals (the classified object description, correct class label and SNN decision) have spiking nature. The distinctive feature of this architecture is a combination of prototypical network structures corresponding to different classes and significantly distinctive instances of one class (=columns) and functionally differing populations of neurons inside columns (=layers). The other distinctive feature is a novel combination of anti-Hebbian and dopamine-modulated plasticity. The plasticity rules are local and do not use the backpropagation principle. Besides that, as in my previous studies, I was guided by the requirement that the all neuron/plasticity models should be easily implemented on modern neurochips. I illustrate the high performance of my network on a task related to model-based reinforcement learning, namely, evaluation of proximity of an external world state to the target state.

We investigate Lorentz invariance breaking in quantum wires due to Rashba spin-orbit interaction and transverse phonons. Using bosonization, we derive an effective action coupling electronic and mechanical degrees of freedom. Stikingly, at a quantum phase transition between straight and bent wire states, we find a gapped phonon mode and a gapless mode with quadratic dispersion, signaling the breaking of Lorentz invariance. We explore stability conditions for general potentials and propose nano-mechanical back-action as a sensitive tool for detecting this transition, with implications for Sliding Luttinger Liquids and dimensional crossover studies., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

This paper demonstrates the efficacy of a modified U-Net structure for the extraction of vascular tree masks for human fundus photographs. On limited compute resources and training data, the proposed model only slightly underperforms when compared to state of the art methods., Comment: 8 pages

We study penetration of interstellar cosmic rays (CRs) into molecular clouds surrounded by nonuniform diffuse envelopes. The present work generalizes our earlier model of CR self-modulation (Ivlev et al. 2018, Dogiel et al. 2018), in which the value for the envelope's gas density where CRs excite MHD waves was treated as a free parameter. Now, we investigate the case where the density monotonically increases toward the center. Assuming that CRs are relativistic, we obtain a universal analytical solution which does not depend on the particular shape of gas distribution in the envelope, and self-consistently derive boundaries of the diffusion zone formed within the envelope, where CRs are scattered at the self-excited waves. The values of the gas density at the boundaries are found to be substantially smaller than those assumed in the earlier model, which leads to a significantly stronger modulation of penetrating CRs. We compute the impact of CR self-modulation on the gamma-ray emission, and show that the results of our theoretical model are in excellent agreement with recent observations of nearby giant molecular clouds by Yang et al. (2023)., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted to PRD

We consider the decentralized minimization of a separable objective $\sum_{i=1}^{n} f_i(x_i)$, where the variables are coupled through an affine constraint $\sum_{i=1}^n\left(\mathbf{A}_i x_i - b_i\right) = 0$. We assume that the functions $f_i$, matrices $\mathbf{A}_i$, and vectors $b_i$ are stored locally by the nodes of a computational network, and that the functions $f_i$ are smooth and strongly convex. This problem has significant applications in resource allocation and systems control and can also arise in distributed machine learning. We propose lower complexity bounds for decentralized optimization problems with coupled constraints and a first-order algorithm achieving the lower bounds. To the best of our knowledge, our method is also the first linearly convergent first-order decentralized algorithm for problems with general affine coupled constraints.

(abridged) The Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) is undergoing a design study for a large (50 meter) single-dish submm-wavelength Ritchey-Chr\'etien telescope to be located 5050 meters above sea level in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It will allow for observations covering 30 to 950 GHz. Observing at such high frequencies with a 50~m primary mirror will be challenging, and has never been attempted thus far. This observational capability demands exquisite control of systematics to ensure a reliable beam shape, and to mitigate the expected sidelobe levels. Among them, critical issues that large telescopes like AtLAST need to deal with are introduced by the panel gap pattern, the secondary mirror supporting struts, mirror deformations produced by thermal and gravitational effects, and Ruze scattering due to surface roughness. Proprietary software such as TICRA-Tools allows for full-wave, complex-field physical optics simulations taking into account these features. Such calculations can be computationally expensive since the mirror surfaces are gridded (meshed) into a fine array in which each element is treated as a current source. If the telescope size is large and the wavelengths are short this may lead to very long running times. Here we present a set of physical optics results that allow us to estimate the performance of the telescope in terms of beam shape, directivity, sidelobes level and stray light. We also discuss how we addressed the computational challenges, and provide caveats on how to shorten the run times. Above all, we conclude that the scattering effects from the gaps and tertiary support structure are minimal, and subdominant to the Ruze scattering., Comment: Submitted to SPIE Proceedings

Recent results on short-lived hadronic resonances obtained with the ALICE detector at LHC energies are presented. These results include system-size and collision-energy evolution of transverse momentum spectra, yields and the ratios of resonance yields to those of longer-lived particles, and nuclear modification factors. Results will be compared with model predictions., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, Talk at RAS24, Dubna, Russia, April 1-5, 2024. submitted to Phys. Part. Nucl

The Atacama Large Aperture Submm Telescope (AtLAST) is a concept for a novel 50-meter class single-dish telescope operating at sub-millimeter and millimeter wavelengths (30-950 GHz). The telescope will provide an unprecedentedly wide field of view (FoV) of 1-2 degree diameter with a large receiver cabin housing six major instruments in Nasmyth and Cassegrain positions. The high observing frequencies, combined with the scanning operation movements with up to 3 deg/second, place high demands on the accuracy and stability of the optical and structural components. The design features the introduction of a rocking chair type mount with an iso-statically decoupled main reflector backup structure and an active main reflector surface with a high precision metrology system. The planned site location is in the Chilean Atacama Desert at approximately 5050 meters above sea level, near Llano de Chajnantor. This paper gives an overview of the optical, structural, and mechanical design concepts. It explains the flow-down from key science requirements to technical design decisions as well as showing design analogies from other existing large radio, (sub-)mm, and optical telescopes., Comment: 20 pages. Submitted to the SPIE proceedings

The use of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with anchoring groups was considered as an effective approach for interface engineering in perovskite solar cells with metal oxide charge transporting layers. However, the coating of SAM layers in PSMs by means of a slot-die is a challenging process due to the low viscosity of the solutions and the low wettability of the films. In this study, we integrate a triphenylamine-based polymer, pTPA-TDP, blended with SAM based on 5-[4-[4-(diphenylamino) phenyl] thiophene-2-carboxylic acid (TPATC), to address the challenges of uniform slot-die coating and interface passivation in large-area modules. We fabricated p-i-n oriented PSMs on 50x50 mm2 substrates (12-sub-cells) with NiO hole transport layer (HTL) and organic interlayers for surface modification. Wetting angle mapping demonstrated that ununiform regions of the slot-die coated SAM have hydrophobicity with contact angle values up to 90{\deg}, causing fluctuations in absorber thickness and the presence of macro-defects at buried interfaces. The incorporation of the blended interlayer to NiO/perovskite junction homogenized the surface wettability (contact angle=40{\deg}) and mitigated lattice strain in the absorber. This enabled the effective use of SAM properties on a large-area surface, improving energy level alignment and enhancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the modules from 13.98% to 15.83% and stability (ISOS-L-2, T80 period) from 500-1000 hours to 1630 hours. Investigation of PSMs upon cooling till -5 {\deg}C showed that the PCE increased by +0.19%/{\deg}C for samples with NiO HTL, while using SAM and blended interlayers raised the coefficient to ~0.40%/{\deg}C due to changes in activation energy and trap contributions to device performance across a wide temperature range.

We report on the observation of previously-unknown isotope $^{21}$Al, the first unbound aluminum isotope located beyond the proton dripline. The $^{21}$Al nucleus decays by one-proton (1p) emission, and its in-flight decays were detected by tracking trajectories of all decay products with micro-strip silicon detectors. The 1p-emission processes were studied by analyses of the measured angular correlations of decay products $^{20}$Mg+p. The 1p-decay energies of ground and low-lying excited states of $^{21}$Al, its mass excess and proton separation energy value $S_p$=$-1.1(1)$ MeV were determined., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures

Topological magnetic solitons, such as skyrmions, exhibit intriguing particle-like properties that make them attractive for fundamental research and practical applications. While many magnetic systems can host skyrmions as statically stable configurations, chiral magnets stand out for their ability to accommodate a wide diversity of skyrmions with arbitrary topological charges and varied morphologies. Despite extensive investigation, a complete understanding of chiral magnetic skyrmions has remained elusive. We present a classification of all chiral skyrmions, demonstrating three classes based on their response to external magnetic field pulses: stationary, translating, and rotating. We highlight the role of magnetic texture symmetry in this classification. Skyrmions with varied dynamics offer avenues for exploring phenomena like skyrmion-skyrmion scattering that might be crucial for future applications., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures