The Entanglement Entropy of Solvable Lattice Models

We consider the spin k/2 analogue of the XXZ quantum spin chain. We compute the entanglement entropy S associated with splitting the infinite chain into two semi-infinite pieces. In the scaling limit, we find S ~ c_k/6 (ln(xi))+ln(g)+... . Here xi is the correlation length and c_k=3k/(k+2) is the central charge associated with the sl_2 WZW model at level k. ln(g) is the boundary entropy of the WZW model. Our result extends previous observations and suggests that this is a simple and perhaps rather general way both of extracting the central charge of the ultraviolet CFT associated with the scaling limit of a solvable lattice model, and of matching lattice and CFT boundary conditions.Comment: 6 pages; connection with boundary entropy of Affleck and Ludwig added in revised version and notation slightly change

How to Motivate Your Dragon: Teaching Goal-Driven Agents to Speak and Act in Fantasy Worlds.

We seek to create agents that both act and communicate with other agents in pursuit of a goal. Towards this end, we extend LIGHT (Urbanek et al. 2019)—a large-scale crowd-sourced fantasy text-game—with a dataset of quests. These contain natural language motivations paired with in-game goals and human demonstrations; completing a quest might require dialogue or actions (or both). We introduce a reinforcement learning system that (1) incorporates large-scale language modeling-based and commonsense reasoning-based pre-training to imbue the agent with relevant priors; and (2) leverages a factorized action space of action commands and dialogue, balancing between the two. We conduct zero-shot evaluations using held-out human expert demonstrations, showing that our agents are able to act consistently and talk naturally with respect to their motivations

The Distance to Nova V959 Mon from VLA Imaging

Determining reliable distances to classical novae is a challenging but crucial step in deriving their ejected masses and explosion energetics. Here we combine radio expansion measurements from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array with velocities derived from optical spectra to estimate an expansion parallax for nova V959 Mon, the first nova discovered through its gamma-ray emission. We spatially resolve the nova at frequencies of 4.5-36.5 GHz in nine different imaging epochs. The first five epochs cover the expansion of the ejecta from 2012 October to 2013 January, while the final four epochs span 2014 February to 2014 May. These observations correspond to days 126 through 199 and days 615 through 703 after the first detection of the nova. The images clearly show a non-spherical ejecta geometry. Utilizing ejecta velocities derived from 3D modelling of optical spectroscopy, the radio expansion implies a distance between 0.9 +/- 0.2 and 2.2 +/- 0.4 kpc, with a most probable distance of 1.4 +/- 0.4 kpc. This distance implies a gamma-ray luminosity much less than the prototype gamma-ray-detected nova, V407 Cyg, possibly due to the lack of a red giant companion in the V959 Mon system. V959 Mon also has a much lower gamma-ray luminosity than other classical novae detected in gamma-rays to date, indicating a range of at least a factor of 10 in the gamma-ray luminosities for these explosions.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, submitted to ApJ 2015-01-21, under revie

Reduction in Physical Match Performance at the Start of the Second Half in Elite Soccer

Purpose: Soccer referees' physical match performances at the start of the second half (46-60 min) were evaluated in relation to both the corresponding phase of the first half (0-15 min) and players' performances during the same match periods. Methods: Match analysis data were collected (Prozone, UK) from 12 soccer referees on 152 English Premier League matches during the 2008/09 soccer season. Physical match performance categories for referees and players were total distance, high-speed running distance (speed >5.5 m/s), and sprinting distance (>7.0 m/s). The referees' heart rate was recorded from the start of their warm-up to the end of the match. The referees' average distances (in meters) from the ball and fouls were also calculated. Results: No substantial differences were observed in duration (16:42 ± 2:35 vs 16:27 ± 1:00 min) or intensity (107 ± 11 vs 106 ± 14 beats/ min) of the referees' preparation periods immediately before each half. Physical match performance was reduced during the initial phase of the second half when compared with the first half in both referees (effect sizes-standardized mean differences-0.19 to 0.73) and players (effect sizes 0.20 to 1.01). The degree of the decreased performance was consistent between referees and players for total distance (4.7 m), high-speed running (1.5 m), and sprinting (1.1 m). The referees were closer to the ball (effect size 0.52) during the opening phase the second half. Conclusion: Given the similarity in the referees' preparation periods, it may be that the reduced physical match performances observed in soccer referees during the opening stages of the second half are a consequence of a slower tempo of play

The Peculiar Multi-Wavelength Evolution Of V1535 Sco

We present multi-wavelength observations of the unusual nova V1535 Sco throughout its outburst in 2015. Early radio observations were consistent with synchrotron emission, and early X-ray observations revealed the presence of high-energy (>1 keV) photons. These indicated that strong shocks were present during the first ~2 weeks of the nova's evolution. The radio spectral energy distribution was consistent with thermal emission from week 2 to week 6. Starting in week 7, the radio emission again showed evidence of synchrotron emission and there was an increase in X-ray emission, indicating a second shock event. The optical spectra show evidence for at least two separate outflows, with the faster outflow possibly having a bipolar morphology. The optical and near infrared light curves and the X-ray measurements of the hydrogen column density indicated that the companion star is likely a K giant.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, under review at ApJ, updated to match the most recent version submitted to the refere

Thermochemiluminescent peroxide crystals

Chemiluminescence, a process of transduction of energy stored within chemical bonds of ground-state reactants into light via high-energy excited intermediates, is known in solution, but has remained undetected in macroscopic crystalline solids. By detecting thermally induced chemiluminescence from centimeter-size crystals of an organic peroxide here we demonstrate direct transduction of heat into light by thermochemiluminescence of bulk crystals. Heating of crystals of lophine hydroperoxide to ~115 °C results in detectable emission of blue-green light with maximum at 530 nm with low chemiluminescent quantum yield [(2.1 ± 0.1) × 10 ‒7 E mol ‒1 ]. Spectral comparison of the thermochemiluminescence in the solid state and in solution revealed that the solid-state thermochemiluminescence of lophine peroxide is due to emission from deprotonated lophine. With selected 1,2-dioxetane, endoperoxide and aroyl peroxide we also establish that the thermochemiluminescence is common for crystalline peroxides, with the color of the emitted light varying from blue to green to red

Digging into acceptor splice site prediction : an iterative feature selection approach

Feature selection techniques are often used to reduce data dimensionality, increase classification performance, and gain insight into the processes that generated the data. In this paper, we describe an iterative procedure of feature selection and feature construction steps, improving the classification of acceptor splice sites, an important subtask of gene prediction. We show that acceptor prediction can benefit from feature selection, and describe how feature selection techniques can be used to gain new insights in the classification of acceptor sites. This is illustrated by the identification of a new, biologically motivated feature: the AG-scanning feature. The results described in this paper contribute both to the domain of gene prediction, and to research in feature selection techniques, describing a new wrapper based feature weighting method that aids in knowledge discovery when dealing with complex datasets

Introduction: anthropology's queer sensibilities

This special issue addresses vital epistemological, methodological, ethical and political issues at the intersections of queer theory and anthropology as they speak to the study of sexual and gender diversity in the contemporary world. The special issue centres on explorations of anthropology’s queer sensibilities, that is, experimental thinking in ethnographically informed investigations of gender and sexual difference, and related connections, disjunctures and tensions in their situated and abstract dimensions. The articles consider the possibilities and challenges of anthropology’s queer sensibilities that anthropologise queer theory whilst queering anthropology in ethnographically informed analyses. Contributors focus on anthropologising queer theory in research on same-sex desire in the Congo; LGBT migrant and asylum experience in the UK and France; same-sex intimacies within opposite gender oriented sexualities in Kenya and Ghana; secret and ambiguous intimacies and sensibilities beyond an identifiable ‘queer subject’ of rights and recognition in India; migrant imaginings of home in Indonesian lesbian relationships in Hong Kong; and cross-generational perspectives on ‘coming out’ in Taiwan and their implications for theories of kinship and relatedness. An extensive interview with Esther Newton, the prominent figure in gay and lesbian and queer anthropology concludes the collection

Development of an exergame to deliver a sustained dose of high-intensity training: formative pilot randomized trial

Background: Sport science can play a critical role in reducing health inequalities. The inverse relationship between life expectancy, cardiorespiratory fitness, and socioeconomic status could be addressed by performing high-intensity training (HIT), delivered in a class salient and accessible approach. Commercially available exergames have shown encouraging compliance rates but are primarily designed for entertainment purposes rather than focusing on health-related outcomes. A serious game tailored toward delivering an exercise stimulus, while reducing the aversive protocols associated with HIT, could be beneficial to engage and improve health outcomes in socially deprived males. Objective: The aims of this study were to develop an exergame capable of delivering HIT and evaluate the effect on selected health outcomes in men recruited in regions of socioeconomic deprivation. Methods: We conducted an exploratory trial in our target population, and participants were allocated to intervention (n=14) or control groups (n=10) by third-party minimization. The intervention was a 6-week training program consisting of three sessions of exergaming per week. The sessions involved a structured warm-up, then brief intermittent repetitions in the form of boxing rounds (10 s, 20 s, and 30 s) against their peers with a work/rest ratio of 0.25. Results: Retention to the intervention was 87.5% (21/24). Over the duration of the intervention, session attendance was 67.5% (170/252); repetition mean and peak heart rates (% of maximal) and session ratings of perceived exertion (AU, arbitrary units) were 86.3 (5.4%), 89.9 (6.1%), and 7.5 (2.2 AU), respectively. The effect of the intervention, when compared with the control, was a likely small beneficial improvement in predicted maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max, 3.0; 90% confidence limits ±2.6%). Effects on body mass, waist circumference, and blood pressure were either trivial or unclear. Conclusions: Over the 6-week intervention, the exergame delivered a consistent and sustained dose of HIT, with some beneficial effects on aerobic fitness in the target population. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03477773; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03477773 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6yDLgVs35

A Phase transition in acoustic propagation in 2D random liquid media

Acoustic wave propagation in liquid media containing many parallel air-filled cylinders is considered. A self-consistent method is used to compute rigorously the propagation, incorporating all orders of multiple scattering. It is shown that under proper conditions, multiple scattering leads to a peculiar phase transition in acoustic propagation. When the phase transition occurs, a collective behavior of the cylinders appears and the acoustic waves are confined in a region of space in the neighborhood of the transmission source. A novel phase diagram is used to describe such phase transition. Originally submitted on April 6, 99.Comment: 5 pages, 5 color figure