Distributed Implementations of Vickrey-Clarke-Groves Mechanisms

Mechanism design (MD) provides a useful method to implement outcomes with desirable properties in systems with self-interested computational agents. One drawback, however, is that computation is implicitly centralized in MD theory, with a central planner taking all decisions.We consider distributed implementations, in which the outcome is determined by the self-interested agents themselves. Clearly this introduces new opportunities for manipulation.We propose a number of principles to guide the distribution of computation, focusing in particular on Vickrey-Clarke-Groves mechanisms for implementing outcomes that maximize total value across agents. Our solutions bring the complete implementation into an ex post Nash equilibrium.Engineering and Applied Science

A bird's eye view of quantum computers

Quantum computers are discussed in the general framework of computation, the laws of physics and the foundations of quantum mechanics.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur

The Weights in MDS Codes

The weights in MDS codes of length n and dimension k over the finite field GF(q) are studied. Up to some explicit exceptional cases, the MDS codes with parameters given by the MDS conjecture are shown to contain all k weights in the range n-k+1 to n. The proof uses the covering radius of the dual codeComment: 5 pages, submitted to IEEE Trans. IT. This version 2 is the revised version after the refereeing process. Accepted for publicatio

Reversible Computation: Extending Horizons of Computing

This open access State-of-the-Art Survey presents the main recent scientific outcomes in the area of reversible computation, focusing on those that have emerged during COST Action IC1405 "Reversible Computation - Extending Horizons of Computing", a European research network that operated from May 2015 to April 2019. Reversible computation is a new paradigm that extends the traditional forwards-only mode of computation with the ability to execute in reverse, so that computation can run backwards as easily and naturally as forwards. It aims to deliver novel computing devices and software, and to enhance existing systems by equipping them with reversibility. There are many potential applications of reversible computation, including languages and software tools for reliable and recovery-oriented distributed systems and revolutionary reversible logic gates and circuits, but they can only be realized and have lasting effect if conceptual and firm theoretical foundations are established first

Vibrational properties of inclusion complexes: the case of indomethacin-cyclodextrin

Vibrational properties of inclusion complexes with cyclodextrins are studied by means of Raman spectroscopy and numerical simulation. In particular, Raman spectra of the non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin undergo notable changes in the energy range between 1600 and 1700 cm$^{-1}$ when inclusion complexes with cyclodextrins are formed. By using both \emph{ab initio} quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamics, we studied how to relate such changes to the geometry of the inclusion process, disentangling single-molecule effects, from changes in the solid state structure or dimerization processes.Comment: 14 file figure

A CMV--based eigensolver for companion matrices

In this paper we present a novel matrix method for polynomial rootfinding. By exploiting the properties of the QR eigenvalue algorithm applied to a suitable CMV-like form of a companion matrix we design a fast and computationally simple structured QR iteration.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Reversible Computation: Extending Horizons of Computing

This open access State-of-the-Art Survey presents the main recent scientific outcomes in the area of reversible computation, focusing on those that have emerged during COST Action IC1405 "Reversible Computation - Extending Horizons of Computing", a European research network that operated from May 2015 to April 2019. Reversible computation is a new paradigm that extends the traditional forwards-only mode of computation with the ability to execute in reverse, so that computation can run backwards as easily and naturally as forwards. It aims to deliver novel computing devices and software, and to enhance existing systems by equipping them with reversibility. There are many potential applications of reversible computation, including languages and software tools for reliable and recovery-oriented distributed systems and revolutionary reversible logic gates and circuits, but they can only be realized and have lasting effect if conceptual and firm theoretical foundations are established first