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In the video game "7 Billion Humans", the player is requested to direct a group of workers to various destinations by writing a program that is executed simultaneously on each worker. While the game is quite rich and, indeed, it is considered one of the best games for beginners to learn the basics of programming, we show that even extremely simple versions are already NP-Hard or PSPACE-Hard., Comment: Preliminary version appeared at FUN (2024)

We forecast the sensitivity of future correlations between CMB lensing and the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest power spectrum. This squeezed-limit bispectrum probes the connection between the Lyman-$\alpha$ transmission and the underlying large-scale matter density field. We recover the measured signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio obtained with Planck$\times$BOSS, and forecast a SNR of $10.3, 14.8$ and $20.2$ for DESI combined with ACT, SO and CMB-S4 respectively. For DESI and SO/CMB-S4, the correlation should be detectable at SNR$\ge 5$ in 5 redshift bins, useful for distinguishing our signal from several contaminants.Indeed, our forecast is affected by large theoretical uncertainties in the current modeling of the signal and its contaminants, such as continuum misestimation bias or damped-Lyman-$\alpha$ absorbers. Quantifying these more accurately will be crucial to enable a reliable cosmological interpretation of this observable in future measurements. We attempt to enumerate the features required in future Lyman-$\alpha$ forest simulations required to do so., Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, Comments welcome

We study the effects due to mismatches in passbands, polarization angles, and temperature and polarization calibrations in the context of the upcoming cosmic microwave background experiment Simons Observatory (SO). Using the SO multi-frequency likelihood, we estimate the bias and the degradation of constraining power in cosmological and astrophysical foreground parameters assuming different levels of knowledge of the instrumental effects. We find that incorrect but reasonable assumptions about the values of all the systematics examined here can have significant effects on cosmological analyses, hence requiring marginalization approaches at the likelihood level. When doing so, we find that the most relevant effect is due to bandpass shifts. When marginalizing over them, the posteriors of parameters describing astrophysical microwave foregrounds (such as radio point sources or dust) get degraded, while cosmological parameters constraints are not significantly affected. Marginalization over polarization angles with up to 0.25$^\circ$ uncertainty causes an irrelevant bias $\lesssim 0.05 \sigma$ in all parameters. Marginalization over calibration factors in polarization broadens the constraints on the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom $N_\mathrm{eff}$ by a factor 1.2, interpreted here as a proxy parameter for non standard model physics targeted by high-resolution CMB measurements., Comment: 61 pages (27 of which are appendices), 26 figures, 12 tables. (Replacement to update the acknowledgments)

Microvortex generators (MVGs) are a promising solution to control shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interactions (SBLIs). This study examines the effects of a microramp VG on an SBLI generated by an oblique shock wave and a turbulent boundary layer using direct numerical simulations (DNSs). Two cases, with and without MVGs, are compared at free-stream Mach number equal to 2 and friction Reynolds number equal to 600. A long integration period allows assessing how MVGs affect the typical SBLI low-frequency unsteadiness. The 3D microramp wake dramatically alters the interaction, inducing spanwise modulation and topology changes of the separation. For example, tornado-like structures redistribute the recirculating flow in the spanwise and wall-normal directions. The increase in momentum close to the wall by the ramp vortices delays the onset of the separation but also leads to an increase in the intensity of the wall-pressure fluctuations. We then characterise the interaction between the arch-like vortices around the ramp wake and the SBLI. The spanwise vorticity shows that these vortices follow the edge of the separation, and their intensity is unaffected by the shocks. The shocks, instead, are deformed by the impingement of the vortices, although the spectral analysis does not reveal relevant traces of their shedding frequency at separation. These vortices, however, may be important in the separation bubble closure. A constant increase - in both value and magnitude - in the low-frequency peak is observed all along the span, suggesting that the shock oscillation remains coherent while being disturbed by the arch-like vortices., Comment: 32 pages, 21 figures, 3 tables

We introduce a class of quantum Markov semigroups describing the evolution of interacting quantum lattice systems, specified either as generic qudits or as fermions. The corresponding generators, which include both conservative and dissipative evolutions, are given by the superposition of local generators in the Lindblad form. Under general conditions, we show that the associated infinite volume dynamics is well defined and can be obtained as the strong limit of the finite volume dynamics. By regarding the interacting evolution as a perturbation of a non-interacting dissipative dynamics, we further obtain a quantitative criterion that yields the ergodicity of the quantum Markov semigroup together with the exponential convergence of local observables. The analysis is based on suitable a priori bounds on the resolvent equation which yield quantitive estimates on the evolution of local observables.

Spatial variations in the cosmic electron density after reionization generate cosmic microwave background anisotropies via Thomson scattering, a process known as the ``patchy screening" effect. In this paper, we propose a new estimator for the patchy screening effect that is designed to mitigate biases from the dominant foreground signals. We use it to measure the cross-correlation between \textit{unWISE} galaxies and patchy screening, the latter measured by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and \textit{Planck} satellite. We report the first detection of the patchy screening effect, with the statistical significance of the cross-correlation exceeding $7\sigma$. This measurement directly probes the distribution of electrons around these galaxies and provides strong evidence that gas is more extended than the underlying dark matter. By comparing our measurements to electron profiles extracted from simulations, we demonstrate the power of these observations to constrain galaxy evolution models. Requiring only the 2D positions of objects and no individual redshifts or velocity estimates, this approach is complementary to existing gas probes, such as those based on the kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect., Comment: See Schutt et al for a detailed comparison of patchy screening estimators. 17 pages with 8 figures

We review and update constraints on the Early Dark Energy (EDE) model from cosmological data sets, in particular Planck PR3 and PR4 cosmic microwave background (CMB) data and large-scale structure (LSS) data sets including galaxy clustering and weak lensing data from the Dark Energy Survey, Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam, and KiDS+VIKING-450, as well as BOSS/eBOSS galaxy clustering and Lyman-$\alpha$ forest data. We detail the fit to CMB data, and perform the first analyses of EDE using the CAMSPEC and Hillipop likelihoods for Planck CMB data, rather than Plik, both of which yield a tighter upper bound on the allowed EDE fraction than that found with Plik. We then supplement CMB data with large-scale structure data in a series of new analyses. All these analyses are concordant in their Bayesian preference for $\Lambda$CDM over EDE, as indicated by marginalized posterior distributions. We perform a series of tests of the impact of priors in these results, and compare with frequentist analyses based on the profile likelihood, finding qualitative agreement with the Bayesian results. All these tests suggest prior volume effects are not a determining factor in analyses of EDE. This work provides both a review of existing constraints and several new analyses., Comment: 59 pages, 23 figures, 11 tables, Invited review for International Journal of Modern Physics D

Observations of the millimeter sky contain valuable information on a number of signals, including the blackbody cosmic microwave background (CMB), Galactic emissions, and the Compton-$y$ distortion due to the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect. Extracting new insight into cosmological and astrophysical questions often requires combining multi-wavelength observations to spectrally isolate one component. In this work, we present a new arcminute-resolution Compton-$y$ map, which traces out the line-of-sight-integrated electron pressure, as well as maps of the CMB in intensity and E-mode polarization, across a third of the sky (around 13,000 sq.~deg.). We produce these through a joint analysis of data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) Data Release 4 and 6 at frequencies of roughly 93, 148, and 225 GHz, together with data from the \textit{Planck} satellite at frequencies between 30 GHz and 545 GHz. We present detailed verification of an internal linear combination pipeline implemented in a needlet frame that allows us to efficiently suppress Galactic contamination and account for spatial variations in the ACT instrument noise. These maps provide a significant advance, in noise levels and resolution, over the existing \textit{Planck} component-separated maps and will enable a host of science goals including studies of cluster and galaxy astrophysics, inferences of the cosmic velocity field, primordial non-Gaussianity searches, and gravitational lensing reconstruction of the CMB., Comment: The Compton-y map and associated products will be made publicly available upon publication of the paper. The CMB T and E mode maps will be made available when the DR6 maps are made public

Microvortex generators are passive control devices smaller than the boundary layer thickness that energise the boundary layer to prevent flow separation with limited induced drag. In this work, we use direct numerical simulations (DNSs) to investigate the effect of the Reynolds number in a supersonic turbulent boundary layer over a microramp vortex generator. Three friction Reynolds numbers are considered, up to $Re_{\tau}=2000$, for fixed free-stream Mach number $M_{\infty}=2$ and fixed relative height of the ramp with respect to the boundary layer thickness. The high-fidelity data set sheds light on the instantaneous and highly three-dimensional organisation of both the wake and the shock waves induced by the microramp. The full access to the flow field provided by DNS allows us to develop a qualitative model of the near wake, explaining the internal convolution of the Kelvin-Helmoltz vortices around the low-momentum region behind the ramp. The overall analysis shows that numerical results agree excellently with recent experimental measurements in similar operating conditions and confirms that microramps effectively induce a significantly fuller boundary layer even far downstream of the ramp. Moreover, results highlight significant Reynolds number effects, which in general do not scale with the ramp height. Increasing Reynolds number leads to enhanced coherence of the typical vortical structures in the field, faster and stronger development of the momentum deficit region, increased upwash between the primary vortices from the sides of the ramp - and thus increased lift-up of the wake - and faster transfer of momentum towards the wall., Comment: 29 pages, 21 figures, 1 table, submitted to Journal of Fluid Mechanics on May, 17th 2023

We present cosmological constraints from a gravitational lensing mass map covering 9400 sq. deg. reconstructed from CMB measurements made by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) from 2017 to 2021. In combination with BAO measurements (from SDSS and 6dF), we obtain the amplitude of matter fluctuations $\sigma_8 = 0.819 \pm 0.015$ at 1.8% precision, $S_8\equiv\sigma_8({\Omega_{\rm m}}/0.3)^{0.5}=0.840\pm0.028$ and the Hubble constant $H_0= (68.3 \pm 1.1)\, \text{km}\,\text{s}^{-1}\,\text{Mpc}^{-1}$ at 1.6% precision. A joint constraint with CMB lensing measured by the Planck satellite yields even more precise values: $\sigma_8 = 0.812 \pm 0.013$, $S_8\equiv\sigma_8({\Omega_{\rm m}}/0.3)^{0.5}=0.831\pm0.023$ and $H_0= (68.1 \pm 1.0)\, \text{km}\,\text{s}^{-1}\,\text{Mpc}^{-1}$. These measurements agree well with $\Lambda$CDM-model extrapolations from the CMB anisotropies measured by Planck. To compare these constraints to those from the KiDS, DES, and HSC galaxy surveys, we revisit those data sets with a uniform set of assumptions, and find $S_8$ from all three surveys are lower than that from ACT+Planck lensing by varying levels ranging from 1.7-2.1$\sigma$. These results motivate further measurements and comparison, not just between the CMB anisotropies and galaxy lensing, but also between CMB lensing probing $z\sim 0.5-5$ on mostly-linear scales and galaxy lensing at $z\sim 0.5$ on smaller scales. We combine our CMB lensing measurements with CMB anisotropies to constrain extensions of $\Lambda$CDM, limiting the sum of the neutrino masses to $\sum m_{\nu} < 0.13$ eV (95% c.l.), for example. Our results provide independent confirmation that the universe is spatially flat, conforms with general relativity, and is described remarkably well by the $\Lambda$CDM model, while paving a promising path for neutrino physics with gravitational lensing from upcoming ground-based CMB surveys., Comment: 32 pages, 17 figures, replaced with version accepted in ApJ (Feb 2024). Cosmological likelihood data and mass maps are public here: https://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/act/actadv_prod_table.html ; likelihood software is here: https://github.com/ACTCollaboration/act_dr6_lenslike . Also see companion papers Qu et al and MacCrann et al

We present new measurements of cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing over $9400$ sq. deg. of the sky. These lensing measurements are derived from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) Data Release 6 (DR6) CMB dataset, which consists of five seasons of ACT CMB temperature and polarization observations. We determine the amplitude of the CMB lensing power spectrum at $2.3\%$ precision ($43\sigma$ significance) using a novel pipeline that minimizes sensitivity to foregrounds and to noise properties. To ensure our results are robust, we analyze an extensive set of null tests, consistency tests, and systematic error estimates and employ a blinded analysis framework. The baseline spectrum is well fit by a lensing amplitude of $A_{\mathrm{lens}}=1.013\pm0.023$ relative to the Planck 2018 CMB power spectra best-fit $\Lambda$CDM model and $A_{\mathrm{lens}}=1.005\pm0.023$ relative to the $\text{ACT DR4} + \text{WMAP}$ best-fit model. From our lensing power spectrum measurement, we derive constraints on the parameter combination $S^{\mathrm{CMBL}}_8 \equiv \sigma_8 \left({\Omega_m}/{0.3}\right)^{0.25}$ of $S^{\mathrm{CMBL}}_8= 0.818\pm0.022$ from ACT DR6 CMB lensing alone and $S^{\mathrm{CMBL}}_8= 0.813\pm0.018$ when combining ACT DR6 and Planck NPIPE CMB lensing power spectra. These results are in excellent agreement with $\Lambda$CDM model constraints from Planck or $\text{ACT DR4} + \text{WMAP}$ CMB power spectrum measurements. Our lensing measurements from redshifts $z\sim0.5$--$5$ are thus fully consistent with $\Lambda$CDM structure growth predictions based on CMB anisotropies probing primarily $z\sim1100$. We find no evidence for a suppression of the amplitude of cosmic structure at low redshifts, Comment: 45+22 pages, 50 figures. v2 matches with published version in ApJ. Cosmological likelihood data and lensing maps are here: https://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/act/actadv_prod_table.html ; likelihood software is here: https://github.com/ACTCollaboration/act_dr6_lenslike . Also see companion papers Madhavacheril et al and MacCrann et al

The increasing statistical power of cosmic microwave background (CMB) datasets requires a commensurate effort in understanding their noise properties. The noise in maps from ground-based instruments is dominated by large-scale correlations, which poses a modeling challenge. This paper develops novel models of the complex noise covariance structure in the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Data Release 6 (ACT DR6) maps. We first enumerate the noise properties that arise from the combination of the atmosphere and the ACT scan strategy. We then prescribe a class of Gaussian, map-based noise models, including a new wavelet-based approach that uses directional wavelet kernels for modeling correlated instrumental noise. The models are empirical, whose only inputs are a small number of independent realizations of the same region of sky. We evaluate the performance of these models against the ACT DR6 data by drawing ensembles of noise realizations. Applying these simulations to the ACT DR6 power spectrum pipeline reveals a $\sim 20\%$ excess in the covariance matrix diagonal when compared to an analytic expression that assumes noise properties are uniquely described by their power spectrum. Along with our public code, $\mathtt{mnms}$, this work establishes a necessary element in the science pipelines of both ACT DR6 and future ground-based CMB experiments such as the Simons Observatory (SO)., Comment: 41 pages (+10 appendix), 22 figures (+5 appendix), submitted to JCAP

We discuss the quantitative ergodicity of quantum Markov semigroups in terms of the trace distance from the stationary state, providing a general criterion based on the spectral decomposition of the Lindblad generator. We then apply this criterion to the bosonic and fermionic Ornstein-Uhlenbeck semigroups and to a family of quantum Markov semigroups parametrized by semisimple Lie algebras and their irreducible representations, in which the Lindblad generator is given by the adjoint action of the Casimir element.

A direct numerical simulation of an oblique shock wave impinging on a turbulent boundary layer at Mach number 2.28 is carried out at moderate Reynolds number, simulating flow conditions similar to those of the experiment by Dupont et al. (2006). The low-frequency shock unsteadiness, whose characteristics have been the focus of considerable research efforts, is here investigated via the Morlet wavelet transform. Owing to its compact support in both physical and Fourier spaces, the wavelet transformation makes it possible to track the time evolution of the various scales of the wall-pressure fluctuations. This property also makes it possible to define a local intermittency measure, representing a frequency-dependent flatness factor, to pinpoint the bursts of energy that characterise the shock intermittency scale by scale. As a major result, wavelet decomposition shows that the broadband shock movement is actually the result of a collection of sparse events in time, each characterised by its own temporal scale. This feature is hidden by the classical Fourier analysis, which can only show the time-averaged behaviour. Then, we propose a procedure to process any relevant time series, such as the time history of the wall-pressure or that of the separation bubble extent, in which we use a condition based on the local intermittency measure to filter out the turbulent content in the proximity of the shock foot and to isolate only the intermittent component of the signal. In addition, wavelet analysis reveals the intermittent behaviour also of the breathing motion of the recirculation bubble behind the reflected shock, and allows us to detect a direct, partial correspondence between the most significant intermittent events of the separation region and those of the wall-pressure at the foot of the shock.

Planck's Cosmic Microwave Background temperature and polarization observations are the premier dataset for constraining cosmological models. Cosmic variance limited temperature at large and intermediate scales today dominates the constraints; polarization provides additional constraining power and further scrutiny of the models. To complete this picture from Planck, ground-based experiments, such as the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the South Pole Telescope (SPT) continue to add temperature and polarization measurements at small scales, allowing for the extraction of competitive cosmological constraints from the $TE$ and $EE$ power spectra. Matching at the same time all these stringent probes is a key challenge and validation step for any cosmological model. In particular, $\Lambda$CDM requires a tight consistency between the temperature and polarization measurements. In this paper, we present a number of methods to identify and quantify possible inconsistencies between temperature and polarization, we apply them to the latest Planck, ACT and SPT data and find no evidence for a deviation from $\Lambda$CDM. Application of these methods will have increased importance for future, more constraining CMB data., Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures

Early dark energy (EDE) is a proposed solution to the Hubble tension in which a new cosmological field accelerates cosmic expansion prior to recombination and reduces the physical size of the sound horizon. In previous work, a slight preference for a non-zero EDE contribution was found in the latest Atacama Cosmology Telescope data (ACT DR4), while the Planck satellite legacy data alone do not show evidence for it. In this work, we use the most recent public data from the South Pole Telescope (SPT-3G) to constrain the parameters of the EDE scenario. We find that at the current precision level of SPT-3G, an EDE contribution to the total energy density of the universe prior to recombination of $\sim 10\%$ can not be ruled out, but that the data are also consistent with no EDE. The combination of ACT DR4 and SPT-3G with the Planck large-scale temperature anisotropy measurement shows a hint ($2.6\sigma$) for non-zero EDE; however, this preference disappears when the full Planck 2018 data set is included., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures

The early dark energy (EDE) scenario aims to increase the value of the Hubble constant ($H_0$) inferred from cosmic microwave background (CMB) data over that found in $\Lambda$CDM, via the introduction of a new form of energy density in the early universe. The EDE component briefly accelerates cosmic expansion just prior to recombination, which reduces the physical size of the sound horizon imprinted in the CMB. Previous work has found that non-zero EDE is not preferred by Planck CMB power spectrum data alone, which yield a 95% confidence level (CL) upper limit $f_{\rm EDE} < 0.087$ on the maximal fractional contribution of the EDE field to the cosmic energy budget. In this paper, we fit the EDE model to CMB data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) Data Release 4. We find that a combination of ACT, large-scale Planck TT (similar to WMAP), Planck CMB lensing, and BAO data prefers the existence of EDE at $>99.7$% CL: $f_{\rm EDE} = 0.091^{+0.020}_{-0.036}$, with $H_0 = 70.9^{+1.0}_{-2.0}$ km/s/Mpc (both 68% CL). From a model-selection standpoint, we find that EDE is favored over $\Lambda$CDM by these data at roughly $3\sigma$ significance. In contrast, a joint analysis of the full Planck and ACT data yields no evidence for EDE, as previously found for Planck alone. We show that the preference for EDE in ACT alone is driven by its TE and EE power spectrum data. The tight constraint on EDE from Planck alone is driven by its high-$\ell$ TT power spectrum data. Understanding whether these differing constraints are physical in nature, due to systematics, or simply a rare statistical fluctuation is of high priority. The best-fit EDE models to ACT and Planck exhibit coherent differences across a wide range of multipoles in TE and EE, indicating that a powerful test of this scenario is anticipated with near-future data from ACT and other ground-based experiments., Comment: v1: 25+20 pages, 6+18 figures, submitted to PRD; v2: 26+20 pages, 7+18 figures, results unchanged, matches PRD accepted version. MCMC chains available at https://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/act/actpol_mcmc_chains_get.html

Tensions in cosmological parameters measurement motivate a revisit of the effects of instrumental systematics. In this article, we focus on the Pearson's correlation coefficient of the cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization E modes $\mathcal{R}_\ell^{\rm TE}$ which has the property of not being biased by multiplicative instrumental systematics. We build a $\mathcal{R}_\ell^{\rm TE}$-based likelihood for the Planck data, and present the first constraints on $\Lambda$CDM parameters from the correlation coefficient. Our results are compatible with parameters derived from a power spectra based likelihood. In particular the value of the Hubble parameter $H_0$ characterizing the expansion of the Universe today, 67.5 $\pm$ 1.3 km/s/Mpc, is consistent with the ones inferred from standard CMB analysis. We also discuss the consistency of the Planck correlation coefficient with the one computed from the most recent ACTPol power spectra., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

We consider the symmetric exclusion process on the $d$-dimensional lattice with translational invariant and ergodic initial data. It is then known that as $t$ diverges the distribution of the process at time $t$ converges to a Bernoulli product measure. Assuming a summable decay of correlations of the initial data, we prove a quantitative version of this convergence by obtaining an explicit bound on the Ornstein $\bar d$-distance. The proof is based on the analysis of a two species exclusion process with annihilation.

We estimate the mixing time of the a nonreversible finite Markov chain called Repeated Balls-into-Bins (RBB) process. This process is a discrete time conservative interacting particle system with parallel updates. Place initially in $L$ bins $rL$ balls, where $r$ is a fixed positive constant. At each time step a ball is taken from each non-empty bin. Then \emph{all the balls} are uniformly reassigned into bins. We prove that the mixing time of the RBB process depends linearly on the maximum occupation number of balls of the initial state. Thus if the initial configuration is such that the maximum occupation number of balls is of order $L$ then the mixing time is of the same correct order. While if the initial configuration is more diluted then the equilibrium is reached in a time of order $(\log L)^c$.

The paper uses diffusion models to understand the main determinants of diffusion of solar photovoltaic panels (SPP) worldwide, focusing on the role of public incentives. We applied the generalized Bass model (GBM) to adoption data of 26 countries between 1992-2016. The SPP market appears as a frail and complicate one, lacking public media support. Even the major shocks in adoption curves, following state incentive implemented after 2006, failed to go beyond short-term effects and therefore were unable to provide sustained momentum to the market. This suggests that further barriers to adoption should be removed., Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, under review by Technological Forecasting and Social Change

Consider $N$ balls initially placed in $L$ bins. At each time step take a ball from each non-empty bin and \emph{randomly} reassign the balls into the bins.We call this finite Markov chain \emph{General Repeated Balls into Bins} process. It is a discrete time interacting particles system with parallel updates. Assuming a \emph{quantitative} chaotic condition on the reassignment rule we prove a \emph{quantitative} propagation of chaos for this model. We furthermore study some equilibrium properties of the limiting nonlinear process.

Consider a finite number of balls initially placed in $L$ bins. At each time step a ball is taken from each non-empty bin. Then all the balls are uniformly reassigned into bins. This finite Markov chain is called Repeated Balls-into-Bins process and is a discrete time interacting particle system with parallel updating. We prove that, starting from a suitable (chaotic) set of initial states, as $L\to+\infty$, the numbers of balls in each bin becomes independent from the rest of the system i.e. we have propagation of chaos. We furthermore study some equilibrium properties of the limiting nonlinear process.

We study realizations of Lie algebras by vector fields. A correspondence between classification of transitive local realizations and classification of subalgebras is generalized to the case of regular local realizations. A reasonable classification problem for general realizations is rigorously formulated and an algorithm for construction of such classification is presented., Comment: 20 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:math-ph/0512038 by other authors