A Mean-field Approach for an Intercarrier Interference Canceller for OFDM

The similarity of the mathematical description of random-field spin systems to orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme for wireless communication is exploited in an intercarrier-interference (ICI) canceller used in the demodulation of OFDM. The translational symmetry in the Fourier domain generically concentrates the major contribution of ICI from each subcarrier in the subcarrier's neighborhood. This observation in conjunction with mean field approach leads to a development of an ICI canceller whose necessary cost of computation scales linearly with respect to the number of subcarriers. It is also shown that the dynamics of the mean-field canceller are well captured by a discrete map of a single macroscopic variable, without taking the spatial and time correlations of estimated variables into account.Comment: 7pages, 3figure

Statistical Mechanics of Dictionary Learning

Finding a basis matrix (dictionary) by which objective signals are represented sparsely is of major relevance in various scientific and technological fields. We consider a problem to learn a dictionary from a set of training signals. We employ techniques of statistical mechanics of disordered systems to evaluate the size of the training set necessary to typically succeed in the dictionary learning. The results indicate that the necessary size is much smaller than previously estimated, which theoretically supports and/or encourages the use of dictionary learning in practical situations.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Chemical Defense by the Native Winter Ant (Prenolepis imparis) against the Invasive Argentine Ant (Linepithema humile)

The invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) is established worldwide and displaces native ant species. In northern California, however, the native winter ant (Prenolepis imparis) persists in invaded areas. We found that in aggressive interactions between the two species, P. imparis employs a potent defensive secretion. Field observations were conducted at P. imparis nest sites both in the presence and absence of L. humile. These observations suggested and laboratory assays confirmed that P. imparis workers are more likely to secrete when outnumbered by L. humile. Workers of P. imparis were also more likely to secrete near their nest entrances than when foraging on trees. One-on-one laboratory trials showed that the P. imparis secretion is highly lethal to L. humile, causing 79% mortality. The nonpolar fraction of the secretion was chemically analyzed with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and found to be composed of long-chain and cyclic hydrocarbons. Chemical analysis of dissected P. imparis workers showed that the nonpolar fraction is derived from the Dufour's gland. Based on these conclusions, we hypothesize that this chemical defense may help P. imparis to resist displacement by L. humile