Optimal Dorfman Group Testing For Symmetric Distributions

We study Dorfman's classical group testing protocol in a novel setting where individual specimen statuses are modeled as exchangeable random variables. We are motivated by infectious disease screening. In that case, specimens which arrive together for testing often originate from the same community and so their statuses may exhibit positive correlation. Dorfman's protocol screens a population of n specimens for a binary trait by partitioning it into nonoverlapping groups, testing these, and only individually retesting the specimens of each positive group. The partition is chosen to minimize the expected number of tests under a probabilistic model of specimen statuses. We relax the typical assumption that these are independent and indentically distributed and instead model them as exchangeable random variables. In this case, their joint distribution is symmetric in the sense that it is invariant under permutations. We give a characterization of such distributions in terms of a function q where q(h) is the marginal probability that any group of size h tests negative. We use this interpretable representation to show that the set partitioning problem arising in Dorfman's protocol can be reduced to an integer partitioning problem and efficiently solved. We apply these tools to an empirical dataset from the COVID-19 pandemic. The methodology helps explain the unexpectedly high empirical efficiency reported by the original investigators.Comment: 20 pages w/o references, 2 figure

High-precision computation of uniform asymptotic expansions for special functions

In this dissertation, we investigate new methods to obtain uniform asymptotic expansions for the numerical evaluation of special functions to high-precision. We shall first present the theoretical and computational fundamental aspects required for the development and ultimately implementation of such methods. Applying some of these methods, we obtain efficient new convergent and uniform expansions for numerically evaluating the confluent hypergeometric functions and the Lerch transcendent at high-precision. In addition, we also investigate a new scheme of computation for the generalized exponential integral, obtaining on the fastest and most robust implementations in double-precision floating-point arithmetic. In this work, we aim to combine new developments in asymptotic analysis with fast and effective open-source implementations. These implementations are comparable and often faster than current open-source and commercial stateof-the-art software for the evaluation of special functions.Esta tesis presenta nuevos métodos para obtener expansiones uniformes asintóticas, para la evaluación numérica de funciones especiales en alta precisión. En primer lugar, se introducen fundamentos teóricos y de carácter computacional necesarios para el desarrollado y posterior implementación de tales métodos. Aplicando varios de dichos métodos, se obtienen nuevas expansiones uniformes convergentes para la evaluación numérica de las funciones hipergeométricas confluentes y de la función transcendental de Lerch. Por otro lado, se estudian nuevos esquemas de computo para evaluar la integral exponencial generalizada, desarrollando una de las implementaciones más eficientes y robustas en aritmética de punto flotante de doble precisión. En este trabajo, se combinan nuevos desarrollos en análisis asintótico con implementaciones rigurosas, distribuidas en código abierto. Las implementaciones resultantes son comparables, y en ocasiones superiores, a las soluciones comerciales y de código abierto actuales, que representan el estado de la técnica en el campo de la evaluación de funciones especiales

High-precision computation of uniform asymptotic expansions for special functions

In this dissertation, we investigate new methods to obtain uniform asymptotic expansions for the numerical evaluation of special functions to high-precision. We shall first present the theoretical and computational fundamental aspects required for the development and ultimately implementation of such methods. Applying some of these methods, we obtain efficient new convergent and uniform expansions for numerically evaluating the confluent hypergeometric functions and the Lerch transcendent at high-precision. In addition, we also investigate a new scheme of computation for the generalized exponential integral, obtaining on the fastest and most robust implementations in double-precision floating-point arithmetic. In this work, we aim to combine new developments in asymptotic analysis with fast and effective open-source implementations. These implementations are comparable and often faster than current open-source and commercial stateof-the-art software for the evaluation of special functions.Esta tesis presenta nuevos métodos para obtener expansiones uniformes asintóticas, para la evaluación numérica de funciones especiales en alta precisión. En primer lugar, se introducen fundamentos teóricos y de carácter computacional necesarios para el desarrollado y posterior implementación de tales métodos. Aplicando varios de dichos métodos, se obtienen nuevas expansiones uniformes convergentes para la evaluación numérica de las funciones hipergeométricas confluentes y de la función transcendental de Lerch. Por otro lado, se estudian nuevos esquemas de computo para evaluar la integral exponencial generalizada, desarrollando una de las implementaciones más eficientes y robustas en aritmética de punto flotante de doble precisión. En este trabajo, se combinan nuevos desarrollos en análisis asintótico con implementaciones rigurosas, distribuidas en código abierto. Las implementaciones resultantes son comparables, y en ocasiones superiores, a las soluciones comerciales y de código abierto actuales, que representan el estado de la técnica en el campo de la evaluación de funciones especiales.Postprint (published version

Nature’s Optics and Our Understanding of Light

Optical phenomena visible to everyone abundantly illustrate important ideas in science and mathematics. The phenomena considered include rainbows, sparkling reflections on water, green flashes, earthlight on the moon, glories, daylight, crystals, and the squint moon. The concepts include refraction, wave interference, numerical experiments, asymptotics, Regge poles, polarisation singularities, conical intersections, and visual illusions

Fine-grained performance analysis of massive MTC networks with scheduling and data aggregation

Abstract. The Internet of Things (IoT) represents a substantial shift within wireless communication and constitutes a relevant topic of social, economic, and overall technical impact. It refers to resource-constrained devices communicating without or with low human intervention. However, communication among machines imposes several challenges compared to traditional human type communication (HTC). Moreover, as the number of devices increases exponentially, different network management techniques and technologies are needed. Data aggregation is an efficient approach to handle the congestion introduced by a massive number of machine type devices (MTDs). The aggregators not only collect data but also implement scheduling mechanisms to cope with scarce network resources. This thesis provides an overview of the most common IoT applications and the network technologies to support them. We describe the most important challenges in machine type communication (MTC). We use a stochastic geometry (SG) tool known as the meta distribution (MD) of the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR), which is the distribution of the conditional SIR distribution given the wireless nodes’ locations, to provide a fine-grained description of the per-link reliability. Specifically, we analyze the performance of two scheduling methods for data aggregation of MTC: random resource scheduling (RRS) and channel-aware resource scheduling (CRS). The results show the fraction of users in the network that achieves a target reliability, which is an important aspect to consider when designing wireless systems with stringent service requirements. Finally, the impact on the fraction of MTDs that communicate with a target reliability when increasing the aggregators density is investigated