A topological realization of the congruence subgroup Kernel A

A number of years ago, Kumar Murty pointed out to me that the computation of the fundamental group of a Hilbert modular surface ([7],IV,${\S}$6), and the computation of the congruence subgroup kernel of SL(2) ([6]) were surprisingly similar. We puzzled over this, in particular over the role of elementary matrices in both computations. We formulated a very general result on the fundamental group of a Satake compactification of a locally symmetric space. This lead to our joint paper [1] with Lizhen Ji and Les Saper on these fundamental groups. Although the results in it were intriguingly similar to the corresponding calculations of the congruence subgroup kernel of the underlying algebraic group in [5], we were not able to demonstrate a direct connection (cf. [1], ${\S}$7). The purpose of this note is to explain such a connection. A covering space is constructed from inverse limits of reductive Borel-Serre compactifications. The congruence subgroup kernel then appears as the group of deck transformations of this covering. The key to this is the computation of the fundamental group in [1]

Values of quadratic forms at primitive integral points

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Overlap properties of geometric expanders

The {\em overlap number} of a finite $(d+1)$-uniform hypergraph $H$ is defined as the largest constant $c(H)\in (0,1]$ such that no matter how we map the vertices of $H$ into $\R^d$, there is a point covered by at least a $c(H)$-fraction of the simplices induced by the images of its hyperedges. In~\cite{Gro2}, motivated by the search for an analogue of the notion of graph expansion for higher dimensional simplicial complexes, it was asked whether or not there exists a sequence $\{H_n\}_{n=1}^\infty$ of arbitrarily large $(d+1)$-uniform hypergraphs with bounded degree, for which $\inf_{n\ge 1} c(H_n)>0$. Using both random methods and explicit constructions, we answer this question positively by constructing infinite families of $(d+1)$-uniform hypergraphs with bounded degree such that their overlap numbers are bounded from below by a positive constant $c=c(d)$. We also show that, for every $d$, the best value of the constant $c=c(d)$ that can be achieved by such a construction is asymptotically equal to the limit of the overlap numbers of the complete $(d+1)$-uniform hypergraphs with $n$ vertices, as $n\rightarrow\infty$. For the proof of the latter statement, we establish the following geometric partitioning result of independent interest. For any $d$ and any $\epsilon>0$, there exists $K=K(\epsilon,d)\ge d+1$ satisfying the following condition. For any $k\ge K$, for any point $q \in \mathbb{R}^d$ and for any finite Borel measure $\mu$ on $\mathbb{R}^d$ with respect to which every hyperplane has measure $0$, there is a partition $\mathbb{R}^d=A_1 \cup \ldots \cup A_{k}$ into $k$ measurable parts of equal measure such that all but at most an $\epsilon$-fraction of the $(d+1)$-tuples $A_{i_1},\ldots,A_{i_{d+1}}$ have the property that either all simplices with one vertex in each $A_{i_j}$ contain $q$ or none of these simplices contain $q$

Fano resonances in a three-terminal nanodevice

The electron transport through a quantum sphere with three one-dimensional wires attached to it is investigated. An explicit form for the transmission coefficient as a function of the electron energy is found from the first principles. The asymmetric Fano resonances are detected in transmission of the system. The collapse of the resonances is shown to appear under certain conditions. A two-terminal nanodevice with an additional gate lead is studied using the developed approach. Additional resonances and minima of transmission are indicated in the device.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 2 equations are added, misprints in 5 equations are removed, published in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte

Property (T) and rigidity for actions on Banach spaces

We study property (T) and the fixed point property for actions on $L^p$ and other Banach spaces. We show that property (T) holds when $L^2$ is replaced by $L^p$ (and even a subspace/quotient of $L^p$), and that in fact it is independent of $1\leq p<\infty$. We show that the fixed point property for $L^p$ follows from property (T) when 1. For simple Lie groups and their lattices, we prove that the fixed point property for $L^p$ holds for any $1< p<\infty$ if and only if the rank is at least two. Finally, we obtain a superrigidity result for actions of irreducible lattices in products of general groups on superreflexive Banach spaces.Comment: Many minor improvement

Linear-time list recovery of high-rate expander codes

We show that expander codes, when properly instantiated, are high-rate list recoverable codes with linear-time list recovery algorithms. List recoverable codes have been useful recently in constructing efficiently list-decodable codes, as well as explicit constructions of matrices for compressive sensing and group testing. Previous list recoverable codes with linear-time decoding algorithms have all had rate at most 1/2; in contrast, our codes can have rate $1 - \epsilon$ for any $\epsilon > 0$. We can plug our high-rate codes into a construction of Meir (2014) to obtain linear-time list recoverable codes of arbitrary rates, which approach the optimal trade-off between the number of non-trivial lists provided and the rate of the code. While list-recovery is interesting on its own, our primary motivation is applications to list-decoding. A slight strengthening of our result would implies linear-time and optimally list-decodable codes for all rates, and our work is a step in the direction of solving this important problem

Spin-orbit interaction and spin relaxation in a two-dimensional electron gas

Using time-resolved Faraday rotation, the drift-induced spin-orbit Field of a two-dimensional electron gas in an InGaAs quantum well is measured. Including measurements of the electron mobility, the Dresselhaus and Rashba coefficients are determined as a function of temperature between 10 and 80 K. By comparing the relative size of these terms with a measured in-plane anisotropy of the spin dephasing rate, the D'yakonv-Perel' contribution to spin dephasing is estimated. The measured dephasing rate is significantly larger than this, which can only partially be explained by an inhomogeneous g-factor.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

High-resolution satellite-based cloud-coupled estimates of total downwelling surface radiation for hydrologic modelling applications

A relatively simple satellite-based radiation model yielding high-resolution (in space and time) downwelling longwave and shortwave radiative fluxes at the Earth&apos;s surface is presented. The primary aim of the approach is to provide a basis for deriving physically consistent forcing fields for distributed hydrologic models using satellite-based remote sensing data. The physically-based downwelling radiation model utilises satellite inputs from both geostationary and polar-orbiting platforms and requires only satellite-based inputs except that of a climatological lookup table derived from a regional climate model. Comparison against ground-based measurements over a 14-month simulation period in the Southern Great Plains of the United States demonstrates the ability to reproduce radiative fluxes at a spatial resolution of 4 km and a temporal resolution of 1 h with good accuracy during all-sky conditions. For hourly fluxes, a mean difference of &amp;minus;2 W m&lt;sup&gt;&amp;minus;2&lt;/sup&gt; with a root mean square difference of 21 W m&lt;sup&gt;&amp;minus;2&lt;/sup&gt; was found for the longwave fluxes whereas a mean difference of &amp;minus;7 W m&lt;sup&gt;&amp;minus;2&lt;/sup&gt; with a root mean square difference of 29 W m&lt;sup&gt;&amp;minus;2&lt;/sup&gt; was found for the shortwave fluxes. Additionally, comparison against advanced downwelling longwave and solar insolation products during all-sky conditions showed comparable uncertainty in the longwave estimates and reduced uncertainty in the shortwave estimates. The relatively simple form of the model enables future usage in ensemble-based applications including data assimilation frameworks in order to explicitly account for input uncertainties while providing the potential for conditioning estimates from other readily available products derived from more sophisticated retrieval algorithms

Methods of genetic toxicology in the assessment of genomic damage induced by electromagnetic ionizing radiation

Medical or occupational exposure of patients and healthcare personnel to ionizing radiation (IR) can be a cause of genetic disorders. In this article we discuss the efficiency of the following tests used to comprehensively assess the effects of ionizing radiation on the genetic apparatus of a cell: The Ames test, the micronucleus test and the FISH method. We provide examples of their use, outline their advantages and drawbacks, estimate the possibility of designing more advanced test systems and discuss requirements for their implementation