Blind Normalization of Speech From Different Channels

We show how to construct a channel-independent representation of speech that has propagated through a noisy reverberant channel. This is done by blindly rescaling the cepstral time series by a non-linear function, with the form of this scale function being determined by previously encountered cepstra from that channel. The rescaled form of the time series is an invariant property of it in the following sense: it is unaffected if the time series is transformed by any time-independent invertible distortion. Because a linear channel with stationary noise and impulse response transforms cepstra in this way, the new technique can be used to remove the channel dependence of a cepstral time series. In experiments, the method achieved greater channel-independence than cepstral mean normalization, and it was comparable to the combination of cepstral mean normalization and spectral subtraction, despite the fact that no measurements of channel noise or reverberations were required (unlike spectral subtraction).Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure

Chaos and order in a finite universe

All inhabitants of this universe, from galaxies to people, are finite. Yet the universe itself is often assumed to be infinite. If instead the universe is topologically finite, then light and matter can take chaotic paths around the compact geometry. Chaos may lead to ordered features in the distribution of matter throughout space.Comment: 3 pages, contribution to the conference proceedings for ``The Chaotic Universe'', ICRA, Rom

Gluon saturation effects on J/Psi production in heavy ion collisions

We consider a novel mechanism for J/Psi production in nuclear collisions arising due to the high density of gluons. We calculate the resulting J/Psi production cross section as a function of rapidity and centrality. We evaluate the nuclear modification factor and show that the rapidity distribution of the produced J/Psi's is significantly more narrow in AA collisions due to the gluon saturation effects. Our results indicate that gluon saturation in the colliding nuclei is a significant source of J/Psi suppression that can be disentangled from the quark-gluon plasma effects.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; v2: typos corrected; presentation improve

D-instantons and multiparticle production in N=4 SYM

N=4 Super-symmetric Yang-Mills theory (N=4 SYM) in the strong coupling regime has been successfully applied (through the AdS/CFT correspondence) to the description of strongly coupled plasma which is a multiparticle state. Yet, the high-energy scattering in the strong coupling limit of N=4 SYM is purely elastic, so this multiparticle final state can never be produced: this is because in this limit the theory is dual to weak supergravity, and the dominant interaction is the elastic graviton exchange. Here we propose a resolution of this dilemma by considering the contribution of D-instantons in $AdS_5$ bulk space to the scattering amplitude. We argue that D-instantons coupled to dilatons and axions are responsible for multiparticle production in strongly coupled N=4 SYM, and the corresponding cross section increases with energy. We evaluate the intercept and the slope of the corresponding Pomeron trajectory in terms of the typical size of the D-instanton, and argue that the resulting physical picture may resemble the real world.Comment: 22 pp and 11 figures in the eps forma

Ellsberg Paradox: Ambiguity And Complexity Aversions Compared

We present a simple model where preferences with complexity aversion, rather than ambiguity aversion, resolve the Ellsberg paradox. We test our theory using laboratory experiments where subjects choose among lotteries that “range” from a simple risky lottery, through risky but more complex lotteries, to one similar to Ellsberg’s ambiguity urn. Our model ranks lotteries according to their complexity and makes different—at times contrasting—predictions than most models of ambiguity in response to manipulations of prizes. The results support that complexity aversion preferences play an important and separate role from beliefs with ambiguity aversion in explaining behavior under uncertainty