Fractal Tube Formulas for Compact Sets and Relative Fractal Drums: Oscillations, Complex Dimensions and Fractality

We establish pointwise and distributional fractal tube formulas for a large class of relative fractal drums in Euclidean spaces of arbitrary dimensions. A relative fractal drum (or RFD, in short) is an ordered pair $(A,\Omega)$ of subsets of the Euclidean space (under some mild assumptions) which generalizes the notion of a (compact) subset and that of a fractal string. By a fractal tube formula for an RFD $(A,\Omega)$, we mean an explicit expression for the volume of the $t$-neighborhood of $A$ intersected by $\Omega$ as a sum of residues of a suitable meromorphic function (here, a fractal zeta function) over the complex dimensions of the RFD $(A,\Omega)$. The complex dimensions of an RFD are defined as the poles of its meromorphically continued fractal zeta function (namely, the distance or the tube zeta function), which generalizes the well-known geometric zeta function for fractal strings. These fractal tube formulas generalize in a significant way to higher dimensions the corresponding ones previously obtained for fractal strings by the first author and van Frankenhuijsen and later on, by the first author, Pearse and Winter in the case of fractal sprays. They are illustrated by several interesting examples. These examples include fractal strings, the Sierpi\'nski gasket and the 3-dimensional carpet, fractal nests and geometric chirps, as well as self-similar fractal sprays. We also propose a new definition of fractality according to which a bounded set (or RFD) is considered to be fractal if it possesses at least one nonreal complex dimension or if its fractal zeta function possesses a natural boundary. This definition, which extends to RFDs and arbitrary bounded subsets of $\mathbb{R}^N$ the previous one introduced in the context of fractal strings, is illustrated by the Cantor graph (or devil's staircase) RFD, which is shown to be `subcritically fractal'.Comment: 90 pages (because of different style file), 5 figures, corrected typos, updated reference

Complex dimensions of fractals and meromorphic extensions of fractal zeta functions

We study meromorphic extensions of distance and tube zeta functions, as well as of geometric zeta functions of fractal strings. The distance zeta function $\zeta_A(s):=\int_{A_\delta} d(x,A)^{s-N}\mathrm{d}x$, where $\delta>0$ is fixed and $d(x,A)$ denotes the Euclidean distance from $x$ to $A$ extends the definition of the zeta function associated with bounded fractal strings to arbitrary bounded subsets $A$ of $\mathbb{R}^N$. The abscissa of Lebesgue convergence $D(\zeta_A)$ coincides with $D:=\overline\dim_BA$, the upper box dimension of $A$. The complex dimensions of $A$ are the poles of the meromorphic continuation of the fractal zeta function of $A$ to a suitable connected neighborhood of the "critical line" $\{\Re(s)=D\}$. We establish several meromorphic extension results, assuming some suitable information about the second term of the asymptotic expansion of the tube function $|A_t|$ as $t\to0^+$, where $A_t$ is the Euclidean $t$-neighborhood of $A$. We pay particular attention to a class of Minkowski measurable sets, such that $|A_t|=t^{N-D}(\mathcal M+O(t^\gamma))$ as $t\to0^+$, with $\gamma>0$, and to a class of Minkowski nonmeasurable sets, such that $|A_t|=t^{N-D}(G(\log t^{-1})+O(t^\gamma))$ as $t\to0^+$, where $G$ is a nonconstant periodic function and $\gamma>0$. In both cases, we show that $\zeta_A$ can be meromorphically extended (at least) to the open right half-plane $\{\Re(s)>D-\gamma\}$. Furthermore, up to a multiplicative constant, the residue of $\zeta_A$ evaluated at $s=D$ is shown to be equal to $\mathcal M$ (the Minkowski content of $A$) and to the mean value of $G$ (the average Minkowski content of $A$), respectively. Moreover, we construct a class of fractal strings with principal complex dimensions of any prescribed order, as well as with an infinite number of essential singularities on the critical line $\{\Re(s)=D\}$.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figures, improved parts of the paper and shortened the paper by reducing background material, to appear in Journal of mathematical analysis and applications in 201

Essential singularities of fractal zeta functions

We study the essential singularities of geometric zeta functions $\zeta_{\mathcal L}$, associated with bounded fractal strings $\mathcal L$. For any three prescribed real numbers $D_{\infty}$, $D_1$ and $D$ in $[0,1]$, such that $D_{\infty}<D_1\le D$, we construct a bounded fractal string $\mathcal L$ such that $D_{\rm par}(\zeta_{\mathcal L})=D_{\infty}$, $D_{\rm mer}(\zeta_{\mathcal L})=D_1$ and $D(\zeta_{\mathcal L})=D$. Here, $D(\zeta_{\mathcal L})$ is the abscissa of absolute convergence of $\zeta_{\mathcal L}$, $D_{\rm mer}(\zeta_{\mathcal L})$ is the abscissa of meromorphic continuation of $\zeta_{\mathcal L}$, while $D_{\rm par}(\zeta_{\mathcal L})$ is the infimum of all positive real numbers $\alpha$ such that $\zeta_{\mathcal L}$ is holomorphic in the open right half-plane $\{{\rm Re}\, s>\alpha\}$, except for possible isolated singularities in this half-plane. Defining $\mathcal L$ as the disjoint union of a sequence of suitable generalized Cantor strings, we show that the set of accumulation points of the set $S_{\infty}$ of essential singularities of $\zeta_{\mathcal L}$, contained in the open right half-plane $\{{\rm Re}\, s>D_{\infty}\}$, coincides with the vertical line $\{{\rm Re}\, s=D_{\infty}\}$. We extend this construction to the case of distance zeta functions $\zeta_A$ of compact sets $A$ in $\mathbb{R}^N$, for any positive integer $N$.Comment: Theorem 3.2 (b) was wrong in the previous version, so we have decided to omit it and pursue this issue at some future time. Part (b) of Theorem 3.2. was not used anywhere else in the paper. Theorem 3.2. is now called Proposition 3.2. on page 12. Corrected minor typos and added new references To appear in: Pure and Applied Functional Analysis; issue 5 of volume 5 (2020

Soliton stability and collapse in the discrete nonpolynomial Schrodinger equation with dipole-dipole interactions

The stability and collapse of fundamental unstaggered bright solitons in the discrete Schrodinger equation with the nonpolynomial on-site nonlinearity, which models a nearly one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a deep optical lattice, are studied in the presence of the long-range dipole-dipole (DD) interactions. The cases of both attractive and repulsive contact and DD interaction are considered. The results are summarized in the form of stability/collapse diagrams in the parametric space of the model, which demonstrate that the the attractive DD interactions stabilize the solitons and help to prevent the collapse. Mobility of the discrete solitons is briefly considered too.Comment: 6 figure

Local amplification of Rayleigh waves in the continental United States observed on the USArray

We develop a method based on ratios of amplitudes measured at adjacent stations to determine local amplification of surface waves across an array of seismic stations. We isolate the effects of local structure from those of the earthquake and propagation by systematic averaging of ratios corresponding to many sources. We apply the method to data recorded on the USArray for the years 2006–2011 and determine amplification factors at each station of the array for Rayleigh waves at periods between 35 s and 125 s. Local amplification factors are spatially coherent and display variations of ±10% at a period of 125 s and greater variations at shorter periods. Maps of local amplification exhibit spatial correlation with topography and geologic structures in the western and central United States. At long periods, the observed amplification factors correlate well with predictions from a regional crust and mantle model of North America. At short periods, correlations are weaker, suggesting that the local amplification factors can be useful for constraining shallow structure better

A Machine-learning based Probabilistic Perspective on Dynamic Security Assessment

Probabilistic security assessment and real-time dynamic security assessments (DSA) are promising to better handle the risks of system operations. The current methodologies of security assessments may require many time-domain simulations for some stability phenomena that are unpractical in real-time. Supervised machine learning is promising to predict DSA as their predictions are immediately available. Classifiers are offline trained on operating conditions and then used in real-time to identify operating conditions that are insecure. However, the predictions of classifiers can be sometimes wrong and hazardous if an alarm is missed for instance. A probabilistic output of the classifier is explored in more detail and proposed for probabilistic security assessment. An ensemble classifier is trained and calibrated offline by using Platt scaling to provide accurate probability estimates of the output. Imbalances in the training database and a cost-skewness addressing strategy are proposed for considering that missed alarms are significantly worse than false alarms. Subsequently, risk-minimised predictions can be made in real-time operation by applying cost-sensitive learning. Through case studies on a real data-set of the French transmission grid and on the IEEE 6 bus system using static security metrics, it is showcased how the proposed approach reduces inaccurate predictions and risks. The sensitivity on the likelihood of contingency is studied as well as on expected outage costs. Finally, the scalability to several contingencies and operating conditions are showcased.Comment: 42 page

Probing seesaw at LHC

We have recently proposed a simple SU(5) theory with an adjoint fermionic multiplet on top of the usual minimal spectrum. This leads to the hybrid scenario of both type I and type III seesaw and it predicts the existence of the fermionic SU(2) triplet between 100 GeV and 1 TeV for a conventional GUT scale of about 10^{16} GeV, with main decays into W (Z) and leptons, correlated through Dirac Yukawa couplings, and lifetimes shorter than about 10^{-12} sec. These decays are lepton number violating and they offer an exciting signature of Delta L=2 dilepton events together with 4 jets at future pp (p\bar p) colliders. Increasing the triplet mass endangers the proton stability and so the seesaw mechanism could be directly testable at LHC.Comment: 19 pages, discussion on leptogenesis added, new references, main conclusions unchange

Adherence to artemether/lumefantrine treatment in children under real-life situations in rural Tanzania.

A follow-up study was conducted to determine the magnitude of and factors related to adherence to artemether/lumefantrine (ALu) treatment in rural settings in Tanzania. Children in five villages of Kilosa District treated at health facilities were followed-up at their homes on Day 7 after the first dose of ALu. For those found to be positive using a rapid diagnostic test for malaria and treated with ALu, their caretakers were interviewed on drug administration habits. In addition, capillary blood samples were collected on Day 7 to determine lumefantrine concentrations. The majority of children (392/444; 88.3%) were reported to have received all doses, in time. Non-adherence was due to untimeliness rather than missing doses and was highest for the last two doses. No significant difference was found between blood lumefantrine concentrations among adherent (median 286 nmol/l) and non-adherent [median 261 nmol/l; range 25 nmol/l (limit of quantification) to 9318 nmol/l]. Children from less poor households were more likely to adhere to therapy than the poor [odds ratio (OR)=2.45, 95% CI 1.35-4.45; adjusted OR=2.23, 95% CI 1.20-4.13]. The high reported rate of adherence to ALu in rural areas is encouraging and needs to be preserved to reduce the risk of emergence of resistant strains. The age-based dosage schedule and lack of adherence to ALu treatment guidelines by health facility staff may explain both the huge variability in observed lumefantrine concentrations and the lack of difference in concentrations between the two groups