Network delay tomography using flexicast experiments

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73739/1/j.1467-9868.2006.00567.x.pd

Exact Bayesian curve fitting and signal segmentation.

We consider regression models where the underlying functional relationship between the response and the explanatory variable is modeled as independent linear regressions on disjoint segments. We present an algorithm for perfect simulation from the posterior distribution of such a model, even allowing for an unknown number of segments and an unknown model order for the linear regressions within each segment. The algorithm is simple, can scale well to large data sets, and avoids the problem of diagnosing convergence that is present with Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) approaches to this problem. We demonstrate our algorithm on standard denoising problems, on a piecewise constant AR model, and on a speech segmentation problem

Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

We are deeply disturbed by the recent escalation of political assaults on scientists in general and on climate scientists in particular. All citizens should understand some basic scientific facts. There is always some uncertainty associated with scientific conclusions; science never absolutely proves anything. When someone says that society should wait until scientists are absolutely certain before taking any action, it is the same as saying society should never take action. For a problem as potentially catastrophic as climate change, taking no action poses a dangerous risk for our planet. Scientific conclusions derive from an understanding of basic laws supported by laboratory experiments, observations of nature, and mathematical and computer modeling. Like all human beings, scientists make mistakes, but the scientific process is designed to find and correct them. This process is inherently adversarial—scientists build reputations and gain recognition not only for supporting conventional wisdom, but even more so for demonstrating that the scientific consensus is wrong and that there is a better explanation. That’s what Galileo, Pasteur, Darwin, and Einstein did. But when some conclusions have been thoroughly and deeply tested, questioned, and examined, they gain the status of “well-established theories” and are often spoken of as “facts.” We urge our policy-makers and the public to move forward immediately to address the causes of climate change, including the unrestrained burning of fossil fuels. We also call for an end to McCarthy-like threats of criminal prosecution against our colleagues based on innuendo and guilt by association, the harassment of scientists by politicians seeking distractions to avoid taking action, and the outright lies being spread about them. Society has two choices: We can ignore the science and hide our heads in the sand and hope we are lucky, or we can act in the public interest to reduce the threat of global climate change quickly and substantively. The good news is that smart and effective actions are possible. But delay must not be an option

Tectono-metamorphic evolution of the Wadi Hafafit Culmination (central Eastern Desert, Egypt). Implication for Neoproterozoic core complex exhumation in NE Africa

The Neoproterozoic rock assemblages in the Wadi Hafafit Culmination (WHC) can be subdivided into two main units which are separated by the Nugrus Thrust. The structurally higher Nugrus unit is mainly composed of low grade micaschists, metavolcanic, serpentinites, and metagabbros. The overthrusted Hafafit unit forms the Hafafit domes and is composed of ortho- and para-gneisses associated with amphibolite and ultramafic rocks. Mineral chemistry and thermobarometry indicate that the WHC was affected by two main metamorphic phases. The first metamorphic phase (M1), observed in the micaschists of the Nugrus unit, is characterized by greenschist-facies conditions. Garnet-biotite and garnet-muscovite geothermometry, as well as temperatures calculated by means of the TWEEQU program yield temperatures of 400°-550°C, whereas the white mica geobarometer reveals pressure of 3.7-4.9 kbar for this metamorphic phase (M1). The second metamorphic phase (M2), observed in gneisses and amphibolites of the Hafafit unit, is characterized by amphibolite-facies conditions. Garnet-biotite, garnet-amphibole and amphibole-plagioclase geothermometry yield temperatures of 600°-750°C, whereas the garnet-hornblende-plagioclase-quartz geobarometer indicates pressures of 6-8 kbar for the second metamorphic phase (M2). Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr whole rock-mineral isochron ages around 590 Ma for gneisses and amphibolites probably represent cooling from the metamorphic thermal peak which was attained around 600 Ma or slightly earlier. A 3-stage geologic evolution model is proposed for the tectonic evolution of the WHC. The first stage started earlier than 680 Ma ago with rifting and ocean floor spreading at a time which is as yet unspecified. It was followed by a second stage of subduction and emplacement of subduction-related granitoids around 620-640 Ma. At this time, the Hafafit region has become an active margin with the production of large amounts of calc-alkaline subduction-related volcanic and plutonic sequences. Subduction was terminated by collision and NW-ward Nugrus Nappe thrusting under greenschist-facies conditions (M1) around 620-640 Ma. At this stage, rocks of Hafafit unit were subjected to intense deformation and metamorphism in amphibolite facies (M2). Next came the third stage of late-orogenic extension and crustal thinning that was controlled by the Najd transform faults (620-580 my) and that resulted in exhumation of the Hafafit domes through a combination of transpression and lateral extrusion

Fine Selmer Groups and Isogeny Invariance

We investigate fine Selmer groups for elliptic curves and for Galois representations over a number field. More specifically, we discuss Conjecture A, which states that the fine Selmer group of an elliptic curve over the cyclotomic extension is a finitely generated $\mathbb{Z}_p$-module. The relationship between this conjecture and Iwasawa's classical $\mu=0$ conjecture is clarified. We also present some partial results towards the question whether Conjecture A is invariant under isogenies.Comment: 20 page