6,333 research outputs found

    Graduate Catalog of Studies, 2023-2024

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    Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Applications in Payment, Clearing, and Settlement Systems:A Study of Blockchain-Based Payment Barriers and Potential Solutions, and DLT Application in Central Bank Payment System Functions

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    Payment, clearing, and settlement systems are essential components of the financial markets and exert considerable influence on the overall economy. While there have been considerable technological advancements in payment systems, the conventional systems still depend on centralized architecture, with inherent limitations and risks. The emergence of Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is being regarded as a potential solution to transform payment and settlement processes and address certain challenges posed by the centralized architecture of traditional payment systems (Bank for International Settlements, 2017). While proof-of-concept projects have demonstrated the technical feasibility of DLT, significant barriers still hinder its adoption and implementation. The overarching objective of this thesis is to contribute to the developing area of DLT application in payment, clearing and settlement systems, which is still in its initial stages of applications development and lacks a substantial body of scholarly literature and empirical research. This is achieved by identifying the socio-technical barriers to adoption and diffusion of blockchain-based payment systems and the solutions proposed to address them. Furthermore, the thesis examines and classifies various applications of DLT in central bank payment system functions, offering valuable insights into the motivations, DLT platforms used, and consensus algorithms for applicable use cases. To achieve these objectives, the methodology employed involved a systematic literature review (SLR) of academic literature on blockchain-based payment systems. Furthermore, we utilized a thematic analysis approach to examine data collected from various sources regarding the use of DLT applications in central bank payment system functions, such as central bank white papers, industry reports, and policy documents. The study's findings on blockchain-based payment systems barriers and proposed solutions; challenge the prevailing emphasis on technological and regulatory barriers in the literature and industry discourse regarding the adoption and implementation of blockchain-based payment systems. It highlights the importance of considering the broader socio-technical context and identifying barriers across all five dimensions of the social technical framework, including technological, infrastructural, user practices/market, regulatory, and cultural dimensions. Furthermore, the research identified seven DLT applications in central bank payment system functions. These are grouped into three overarching themes: central banks' operational responsibilities in payment and settlement systems, issuance of central bank digital money, and regulatory oversight/supervisory functions, along with other ancillary functions. Each of these applications has unique motivations or value proposition, which is the underlying reason for utilizing in that particular use case

    Graduate Catalog of Studies, 2023-2024

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    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volume

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    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volum

    From a causal representation of multiloop scattering amplitudes to quantum computing in the Loop-Tree Duality

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    La teoría cúantica de campos con enfoque perturbativo ha logrado de manera exitosa proporcionar predicciones teóricas increíblemente precisas en física de altas energías. A pesar del desarrollo de diversas técnicas con el objetivo de incrementar la eficiencia de estos cálculos, algunos ingredientes continuan siendo un verdadero reto. Este es el caso de las amplitudes de dispersión con lazos múltiples, las cuales describen las fluctuaciones cuánticas en los procesos de dispersión a altas energías. La Dualidad Lazo-Árbol (LTD) es un método innovador, propuesto con el objetivo de afrontar estas dificultades abriendo las amplitudes de lazo a amplitudes conectadas de tipo árbol. En esta tesis presentamos tres logros fundamentales: la reformulación de la Dualidad Lazo-Árbol a todos los órdenes en la expansión perturbativa, una metodología general para obtener expresiones LTD con un comportamiento manifiestamente causal, y la primera aplicación de un algoritmo cuántico a integrales de lazo de Feynman. El cambio de estrategia propuesto para implementar la metodología LTD, consiste en la aplicación iterada del teorema del residuo de Cauchy a un conjunto de topologías con lazos m\'ultiples y configuraciones internas arbitrarias. La representación LTD que se obtiene, sigue una estructura factorizada en términos de subtopologías más simples, caracterizada por un comportamiento causal bien conocido. Además, a través de un proceso avanzado desarrollamos representaciones duales analíticas explícitamente libres de singularidades no causales. Estas propiedades permiten escribir cualquier amplitud de dispersión, hasta cinco lazos, de forma factorizada con una mejor estabilidad numérica en comparación con otras representaciones, debido a la ausencia de singularidades no causales. Por último, establecemos la conexión entre las integrales de lazo de Feynman y la computación cuántica, mediante la asociación de los dos estados sobre la capa de masas de un propagador de Feynman con los dos estados de un qubit. Proponemos una modificación del algoritmo cuántico de Grover para encontrar las configuraciones singulares causales de los diagramas de Feynman con lazos múltiples. Estas configuraciones son requeridas para establecer la representación causal de topologías con lazos múltiples.The perturbative approach to Quantum Field Theories has successfully provided incredibly accurate theoretical predictions in high-energy physics. Despite the development of several techniques to boost the efficiency of these calculations, some ingredients remain a hard bottleneck. This is the case of multiloop scattering amplitudes, describing the quantum fluctuations at high-energy scattering processes. The Loop-Tree Duality (LTD) is a novel method aimed to overcome these difficulties by opening the loop amplitudes into connected tree-level diagrams. In this thesis we present three core achievements: the reformulation of the Loop-Tree Duality to all orders in the perturbative expansion, a general methodology to obtain LTD expressions which are manifestly causal, and the first flagship application of a quantum algorithm to Feynman loop integrals. The proposed strategy to implement the LTD framework consists in the iterated application of the Cauchy's residue theorem to a series of mutiloop topologies with arbitrary internal configurations. We derive a LTD representation exhibiting a factorized cascade form in terms of simpler subtopologies characterized by a well-known causal behaviour. Moreover, through a clever approach we extract analytic dual representations that are explicitly free of noncausal singularities. These properties enable to open any scattering amplitude of up to five loops in a factorized form, with a better numerical stability than in other representations due to the absence of noncausal singularities. Last but not least, we establish the connection between Feynman loop integrals and quantum computing by encoding the two on-shell states of a Feynman propagator through the two states of a qubit. We propose a modified Grover's quantum algorithm to unfold the causal singular configurations of multiloop Feynman diagrams used to bootstrap the causal LTD representation of multiloop topologies

    The Geometry and Calculus of Losses

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    Statistical decision problems lie at the heart of statistical machine learning. The simplest problems are binary and multiclass classification and class probability estimation. Central to their definition is the choice of loss function, which is the means by which the quality of a solution is evaluated. In this paper we systematically develop the theory of loss functions for such problems from a novel perspective whose basic ingredients are convex sets with a particular structure. The loss function is defined as the subgradient of the support function of the convex set. It is consequently automatically proper (calibrated for probability estimation). This perspective provides three novel opportunities. It enables the development of a fundamental relationship between losses and (anti)-norms that appears to have not been noticed before. Second, it enables the development of a calculus of losses induced by the calculus of convex sets which allows the interpolation between different losses, and thus is a potential useful design tool for tailoring losses to particular problems. In doing this we build upon, and considerably extend existing results on MM-sums of convex sets. Third, the perspective leads to a natural theory of ``polar'' loss functions, which are derived from the polar dual of the convex set defining the loss, and which form a natural universal substitution function for Vovk's aggregating algorithm.Comment: 65 pages, 17 figure

    Investigating the learning potential of the Second Quantum Revolution: development of an approach for secondary school students

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    In recent years we have witnessed important changes: the Second Quantum Revolution is in the spotlight of many countries, and it is creating a new generation of technologies. To unlock the potential of the Second Quantum Revolution, several countries have launched strategic plans and research programs that finance and set the pace of research and development of these new technologies (like the Quantum Flagship, the National Quantum Initiative Act and so on). The increasing pace of technological changes is also challenging science education and institutional systems, requiring them to help to prepare new generations of experts. This work is placed within physics education research and contributes to the challenge by developing an approach and a course about the Second Quantum Revolution. The aims are to promote quantum literacy and, in particular, to value from a cultural and educational perspective the Second Revolution. The dissertation is articulated in two parts. In the first, we unpack the Second Quantum Revolution from a cultural perspective and shed light on the main revolutionary aspects that are elevated to the rank of principles implemented in the design of a course for secondary school students, prospective and in-service teachers. The design process and the educational reconstruction of the activities are presented as well as the results of a pilot study conducted to investigate the impact of the approach on students' understanding and to gather feedback to refine and improve the instructional materials. The second part consists of the exploration of the Second Quantum Revolution as a context to introduce some basic concepts of quantum physics. We present the results of an implementation with secondary school students to investigate if and to what extent external representations could play any role to promote students’ understanding and acceptance of quantum physics as a personal reliable description of the world
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