Algorithm Diversity for Resilient Systems

Diversity can significantly increase the resilience of systems, by reducing the prevalence of shared vulnerabilities and making vulnerabilities harder to exploit. Work on software diversity for security typically creates variants of a program using low-level code transformations. This paper is the first to study algorithm diversity for resilience. We first describe how a method based on high-level invariants and systematic incrementalization can be used to create algorithm variants. Executing multiple variants in parallel and comparing their outputs provides greater resilience than executing one variant. To prevent different parallel schedules from causing variants' behaviors to diverge, we present a synchronized execution algorithm for DistAlgo, an extension of Python for high-level, precise, executable specifications of distributed algorithms. We propose static and dynamic metrics for measuring diversity. An experimental evaluation of algorithm diversity combined with implementation-level diversity for several sequential algorithms and distributed algorithms shows the benefits of algorithm diversity

Bubbles created from vacuum fluctuation

We show that the bubbles $S^2\times S^2$can be created from vacuum fluctuation in certain De Sitter universe, so the space-time foam-like structure might really be constructed from bubbles of $S^2\times S^2$ in the very early inflating phase of our universe. But whether such foam-like structure persisted during the later evolution of the universe is a problem unsolved now.Comment: 6 page

On length spectrum metrics and weak metrics on Teichmüller spaces of surfaces with boundary

We define and study metrics and weak metrics on the Teichmüller space of a surface of topologically finite type with boundary. These metrics and weak metrics are associated to the hyperbolic length spectrum of simple closed curves and of properly embedded arcs in the surface. We give a comparison between the defined metrics on regions of Teichmüller space which we call $\varepsilon_0$-relative $\epsilon$-thick parts} for $\epsilon >0$ and $\varepsilon_0\geq \epsilon>0$

Persistent Orbital Degeneracy in Carbon Nanotubes

The quantum-mechanical orbitals in carbon nanotubes are doubly degenerate over a large number of states in the Coulomb blockade regime. We argue that this experimental observation indicates that electrons are reflected without mode mixing at the nanotube-metal contacts. Two electrons occupying a pair of degenerate orbitals (a ``shell'') are found to form a triplet state starting from zero magnetic field. Finally, we observe unexpected low-energy excitations at complete filling of a four-electron shell.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Heavy Meson Masses in the \epsilon-Regime of HM\chi PT

The pseudoscalar and vector heavy meson masses are calculated in the \epsilon-regime of Heavy Meson Chiral Perturbation Theory to order \epsilon^4. The results of this calculation will allow the determination of low-energy coefficients (LECs) directly from Lattice QCD calculations of the heavy mesons masses for lattices that satisfy the \epsilon-regime criteria. In particular, the LECs that parametrize the NLO volume dependance of the heavy meson masses are necessary for evaluating the light pseudoscalar meson (\pi, K, \eta) and heavy meson ({D^0, D^+, D^+_s}, {B^-,\bar{B}^0,\bar{B}^0_s}) scattering phase shifts.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure

On local comparison between various metrics on Teichmüller spaces

International audienceThere are several Teichmüller spaces associated to a surface of infinite topological type, after the choice of a particular basepoint ( a complex or a hyperbolic structure on the surface). These spaces include the quasiconformal Teichmüller space, the length spectrum Teichmüller space, the Fenchel-Nielsen Teichmüller space, and there are others. In general, these spaces are set-theoretically different. An important question is therefore to understand relations between these spaces. Each of these spaces is equipped with its own metric, and under some hypotheses, there are inclusions between these spaces. In this paper, we obtain local metric comparison results on these inclusions, namely, we show that the inclusions are locally bi-Lipschitz under certain hypotheses. To obtain these results, we use some hyperbolic geometry estimates that give new results also for surfaces of finite type. We recall that in the case of a surface of finite type, all these Teichmüller spaces coincide setwise. In the case of a surface of finite type with no boundary components (and possibly with punctures), we show that the restriction of the identity map to any thick part of Teichmüller space is globally bi-Lipschitz with respect to the length spectrum metric and the classical Teichmüller metric on the domain and on the range respectively. In the case of a surface of finite type with punctures and boundary components, there is a metric on the Teichmüller space which we call the arc metric, whose definition is analogous to the length spectrum metric, but which uses lengths of geodesic arcs instead of lengths of closed geodesics. We show that the restriction of the identity map restricted to any ``relative thick" part of Teichmüller space is globally bi-Lipschitz, with respect to any of the three metrics: the length spectrum metric, the Teichmüller metric and the arc metric on the domain and on the range

Explaining the Black-White Homeownership Gap: The Role of Own Wealth, Parental Externalities and Locational Preferences

African Americans in the United States are considerably less likely to own their homes compared to Whites. Differences in household income and other socio-economic and demographic characteristics can only partially explain this gap and previous studies suggest that the ‘unexplained’ gap has increased over time. In this paper we use the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) intergenerational data, which provides information on household wealth, parental characteristics and macro-location choice. We find that African-American households are 6.5 percent less likely to own if only traditional explanatory variables are controlled for. However, the black-white homeownership gap disappears if differences in own and parental wealth and in the preferred macro-location type are accounted for.Homeownership; housing tenure choice; location choice; wealth effects; intergenerational effects

Length spectra and the Teichmüller metric for surfaces with boundary

International audienceWe consider some metrics and weak metrics defined on the Teichmmüller space of a surface of finite type with nonempty boundary, that are defined using the hyperbolic length spectrum of simple closed curves and of properly embedded arcs, and we compare these metrics and weak metrics with the Teichmüller metric. The comparison is on subsets of Teichmüller space which we call ''$\varepsilon_0$-relative $\epsilon$-thick parts", and whose definition depends on the choice of some positive constants $\varepsilon_0$ and $\epsilon$. Meanwhile, we give a formula for the Teichmüller metric of a surface with boundary in terms of extremal lengths of families of arcs

Intra-day variability observations and the VLBI structure analysis of quasar S4 0917+624

The IDV observations of S4 0917+624 were carried out monthly, from August 2005 to January 2010, with the Urumqi 25m radio telescope at 4.8 GHz. The quasar S4 0917+624 exhibits only very weak or no IDV during our 4.5 year observing interval. Prior to the year 2000, the source S4 0917+624 was one of the most prominent IDV sources. Our new data indicate that the previous strong IDV has ceased. We analyzed the long-term VLBI structural variability using Gaussian model-fitting. From this we obtained the flux densities and the deconvolved sizes of core and inner-jet components of the source. We studied the properties such as core fraction, angular size, spectral index, and brightness temperature of VLBI core for S4 0917+624, as well as the time delay between 5 and 15 GHz variations, and compared them with the IDV properties of S4 0917+624. The source shows ejection of several jet components that are suspected to have partially reduced the IDV amplitude of S4 0917+624. However, during 2005-2006, the VLBI core size was comparable to the size before the year 2000, but no strong IDV was detected in the period, suggesting that the quenching effect due to source size changes may not be responsible for the lack of strong IDV after the year 2000. The refractive scattering properties for the strong IDV phase of S4 0917+624 before the year 2000 are discussed. The disappearance of strong IDV in S4 0917+624 after the year 2000 is a mystery and cannot be explained via the quenching effect by changes in the observable VLBI structure. However, it may be caused by changes in the interstellar medium, i.e. by interstellar weather, which induces changes in the scintillation pattern on timescales of several years. Further coordinated multi-frequency observations will be required to distinguish between the effect of source-intrinsic variability and changing properties of the interstellar medium.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&