Setting per-field normalisation hyper-parameters for the named-page finding search task

Per-field normalisation has been shown to be effective for Web search tasks, e.g. named-page finding. However, per-field normalisation also suffers from having hyper-parameters to tune on a per-field basis. In this paper, we argue that the purpose of per-field normalisation is to adjust the linear relationship between field length and term frequency. We experiment with standard Web test collections, using three document fields, namely the body of the document, its title, and the anchor text of its incoming links. From our experiments, we find that across different collections, the linear correlation values, given by the optimised hyper-parameter settings, are proportional to the maximum negative linear correlation. Based on this observation, we devise an automatic method for setting the per-field normalisation hyper-parameter values without the use of relevance assessment for tuning. According to the evaluation results, this method is shown to be effective for the body and title fields. In addition, the difficulty in setting the per-field normalisation hyper-parameter for the anchor text field is explained

Model-independent Constraints on the Weak Phase α\alpha (or ϕ2\phi_2) and QCD Penguin Pollution in B→ππB \to \pi\pi Decays

We present an {\it algebraic} isospin approach towards a more straightforward and model-independent determination of the weak phase $\alpha$ (or $\phi_2$) and QCD penguin pollution in $B\to \pi\pi$ decays. The world averages of current experimental data allow us to impose some useful constraints on the isospin parameters of $B\to \pi\pi$ transitions. We find that the magnitude of $\alpha$ (or $\phi_2$) extracted from the indirect CP violation in $\pi^+\pi^-$ mode is in agreement with the standard-model expectation from other indirect measurements, but its four-fold discrete ambiguity has to be resolved in the near future.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 2 table

LOFF Pairing vs. Breached Pairing in Asymmetric Fermion Superfluids

A general analysis for the competition between breached pairing (BP) and LOFF pairing mechanisms in asymmetric fermion superfluids is presented in the frame of a four fermion interaction model. Two physical conditions which can induce mismatched Fermi surfaces are considered: (1) fixed chemical potential asymmetry $\delta\mu$ and (2) fixed fermion number asymmetry $\alpha$. In case (1), the BP state is ruled out because of Sarma instability and LOFF state is thermodynamically stable in a narrow window of $\delta\mu$. In case (2), while the Sarma instability can be avoided and both the BP and LOFF states can survive provided $\alpha$ is less than the corresponding critical value, the BP state suffers magnetic instability and the LOFF state is always thermodynamically stable. While the LOFF window in case (2) is much larger than the one in the conventional case (1), for small $\alpha$ the longitudinal superfluid density of the LOFF state is negative and it suffers also magnetic instability.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, published in Physical Review B. Notice: an algebra error in Equation (39) correcte

Efficiency at maximum power output of an irreversible Carnot-like cycle with internally dissipative friction

We investigate the efficiency at maximum power of an irreversible Carnot engine performing finite-time cycles between two reservoirs at temperatures $T_h$ and $T_c$ $(T_c<T_h)$, taking into account of internally dissipative friction in two "adiabatic" processes. In the frictionless case, the efficiencies at maximum power output are retrieved to be situated between $\eta_{_C}/$ and $\eta_{_C}/(2-\eta_{_C})$, with $\eta_{_C}=1-T_c/{T_h}$ being the Carnot efficiency. The strong limits of the dissipations in the hot and cold isothermal processes lead to the result that the efficiency at maximum power output approaches the values of $\eta_{_C}/$ and $\eta_{_C}/(2-\eta_{_C})$, respectively. When dissipations of two isothermal and two adiabatic processes are symmetric, respectively, the efficiency at maximum power output is founded to be bounded between 0 and the Curzon-Ahlborn (CA) efficiency $1-\sqrt{1-\eta{_C}}$, and the the CA efficiency is achieved in the absence of internally dissipative friction