169 research outputs found
RanDumb: a simple approach that questions the efficacy of continual representation learning
We propose RanDumb to examine the efficacy of continual representation learning. RanDumb embeds raw pixels using a fixed random transform which approximates an RBF-Kernel, initialized before seeing any data, and learns a simple linear classifier on top. We present a surprising and consistent finding: RanDumb significantly outperforms the continually learned representations using deep networks across numerous continual learning benchmarks, demonstrating the poor performance of representation learning in these scenarios. RanDumb stores no exemplars and performs a single pass over the data, processing one sample at a time. It complements GDumb [39], operating in a lowexemplar regime where GDumb has especially poor performance. We reach the same consistent conclusions when RanDumb is extended to scenarios with pretrained models replacing the random transform with pretrained feature extractor. Our investigation is both surprising and alarming as it questions our understanding of how to effectively design and train models that require efficient continual representation learning, and necessitates a principled reinvestigation of the widely explored problem formulation itself. Our code is available here
New limit for the half-life of double beta decay of Zr to the first excited state of Mo
Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay is a phenomenon of fundamental interest in
particle physics. The decay rates of double beta decay transitions to the
excited states can provide input for Nuclear Transition Matrix Element
calculations for the relevant two neutrino double beta decay process. It can be
useful as supplementary information for the calculation of Nuclear Transition
Matrix Element for the neutrinoless double beta decay process. In the present
work, double beta decay of Zr to the excited state of
Mo at 871.1 keV is studied using a low background 230 cm HPGe
detector. No evidence of this decay was found with a 232 g.y exposure of
natural Zirconium. The lower half-life limit obtained for the double beta decay
of to the excited state of is y at 90% C.L., an improvement by a factor of
4 over the existing experimental limit at 90\% C.L. The sensitivity is
estimated to be y at 90% C.L. using
the Feldman-Cousins method.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, Accepted in Eur. Phys. J.
Make some noise: reliable and efficient single-step adversarial training
Recently, Wong et al. (2020) showed that adversarial training with single-step FGSM leads to a characteristic failure mode named catastrophic overfitting (CO), in which a model becomes suddenly vulnerable to multi-step attacks. Experimentally they showed that simply adding a random perturbation prior to FGSM (RS-FGSM) could prevent CO. However, Andriushchenko & Flammarion (2020) observed that RS-FGSM still leads to CO for larger perturbations, and proposed a computationally expensive regularizer (GradAlign) to avoid it. In this work, we methodically revisit the role of noise and clipping in single-step adversarial training. Contrary to previous intuitions, we find that using a stronger noise around the clean sample combined with \textit{not clipping} is highly effective in avoiding CO for large perturbation radii. We then propose Noise-FGSM (N-FGSM) that, while providing the benefits of single-step adversarial training, does not suffer from CO. Empirical analyses on a large suite of experiments show that N-FGSM is able to match or surpass the performance of previous state of-the-art GradAlign while achieving 3× speed-up
Characterization of PARIS LaBr(Ce)-NaI(Tl) phoswich detectors upto 22 MeV
In order to understand the performance of the PARIS (Photon Array for the
studies with Radioactive Ion and Stable beams) detector, detailed
characterization of two individual phoswich (LaBr(Ce)-NaI(Tl)) elements has
been carried out. The detector response is investigated over a wide range of
= 0.6 to 22.6 MeV using radioactive sources and employing
reaction at = 163 keV and = 7.2 MeV. The
linearity of energy response of the LaBr(Ce) detector is tested upto 22.6
MeV using three different voltage dividers. The data acquisition system using
CAEN digitizers is set up and optimized to get the best energy and time
resolution. The energy resolution of 2.1% at = 22.6~MeV is
measured for the configuration giving best linearity upto high energy. Time
resolution of the phoswich detector is measured with a Co source after
implementing CFD algorithm for the digitized pulses and is found to be
excellent (FWHM 315~ps). In order to study the effect of count rate on
detectors, the centroid position and width of the = 835~keV peak
were measured upto 220 kHz count rate. The measured efficiency data with
radioactive sources are in good agreement with GEANT4 based simulations. The
total energy spectrum after the add-back of energy signals in phoswich
components is also presented.Comment: Accepted in JINS
The Mini-CAPTAIN Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber
This manuscript describes the commissioning of the Mini-CAPTAIN liquid argon
detector in a neutron beam at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE),
which led to a first measurement of high-energy neutron interactions in argon.
The Mini-CAPTAIN detector consists of a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with an
accompanying photomultiplier tube (PMT) array sealed inside a
liquid-argon-filled cryostat. The liquid argon is constantly purified and
recirculated in a closed-loop cycle during operation. The specifications and
assembly of the detector subsystems and an overview of their performance in a
neutron beam are reported.Comment: 21 pages, 27 figure
Measurement of the Neutron Cross Section on Argon Between 95 and 720 MeV
We report an extended measurement of the neutron cross section on argon in
the energy range of 95-720 MeV. The measurement was obtained with a 4.3-hour
exposure of the Mini-CAPTAIN detector to the WNR/LANSCE beam at LANL. Compared
to an earlier analysis of the same data, this extended analysis includes a
reassessment of systematic uncertainties, in particular related to unused wires
in the upstream part of the detector. Using this information we doubled the
fiducial volume in the experiment and increased the statistics by a factor of
2.4. We also shifted the analysis from energy bins to time-of-flight bins. This
change reduced the overall considered energy range, but improved the
understanding of the energy spectrum of incoming neutrons in each bin. Overall,
the new measurements are extracted from a fit to the attenuation of the neutron
flux in five time-of-flight regions: 140 ns - 180 ns, 120 ns - 140 ns, 112 ns -
120 ns, 104 ns - 112 ns, 96 ns - 104 ns. The final cross sections are given for
the flux-averaged energy in each time-of-flight bin:
(syst) b,
(syst) b,
(syst) b,
(syst) b,
(syst) b.Comment: 15 pages, 7 tables, 11 figures. Prepared for submission to PR
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