Simulated Annealing for JPEG Quantization

JPEG is one of the most widely used image formats, but in some ways remains surprisingly unoptimized, perhaps because some natural optimizations would go outside the standard that defines JPEG. We show how to improve JPEG compression in a standard-compliant, backward-compatible manner, by finding improved default quantization tables. We describe a simulated annealing technique that has allowed us to find several quantization tables that perform better than the industry standard, in terms of both compressed size and image fidelity. Specifically, we derive tables that reduce the FSIM error by over 10% while improving compression by over 20% at quality level 95 in our tests; we also provide similar results for other quality levels. While we acknowledge our approach can in some images lead to visible artifacts under large magnification, we believe use of these quantization tables, or additional tables that could be found using our methodology, would significantly reduce JPEG file sizes with improved overall image quality.Comment: Appendix not included in arXiv version due to size restrictions. For full paper go to: http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~michaelm/SimAnneal/PAPER/simulated-annealing-jpeg.pd

Higgs Portals for Thermal Dark Matter - EFT Perspectives and the NMSSM -

We analyze a low energy effective model of Dark Matter in which the thermal relic density is provided by a singlet Majorana fermion which interacts with the Higgs fields via higher dimensional operators. Direct detection signatures may be reduced if blind spot solutions exist, which naturally appear in models with extended Higgs sectors. Explicit mass terms for the Majorana fermion can be forbidden by a $Z_3$ symmetry, which in addition leads to a reduction of the number of higher dimensional operators. Moreover, a weak scale mass for the Majorana fermion is naturally obtained from the vacuum expectation value of a scalar singlet field. The proper relic density may be obtained by the $s$-channel interchange of Higgs and gauge bosons, with the longitudinal mode of the $Z$ boson (the neutral Goldstone mode) playing a relevant role in the annihilation process. This model shares many properties with the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (NMSSM) with light singlinos and heavy scalar and gauge superpartners. In order to test the validity of the low energy effective field theory, we compare its predictions with those of the ultraviolet complete NMSSM. Extending our framework to include $Z_3$ neutral Majorana fermions, analogous to the bino in the NMSSM, we find the appearance of a new bino-singlino well tempered Dark Matter region.Comment: 42 pages, 14 figures. v2: added references, published in JHE

Lighting up the LHC with Dark Matter

We show that simultaneously explaining dark matter and the observed value of the muon's magnetic dipole moment may lead to yet unexplored photon signals at the LHC. We consider the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with electroweakino masses in the few-to-several hundred GeV range, and opposite sign of the Bino mass parameter with respect to both the Higgsino and Wino mass parameters. In such region of parameter space, the spin-independent elastic scattering cross section of a Bino-like dark matter candidate in direct detection experiment is suppressed by cancellations between different amplitudes, and the observed dark matter relic density can be realized via Bino-Wino co-annihilation. Moreover, the observed value of the muon's magnetic dipole moment can be explained by Bino and Wino loop contributions. Interestingly, "radiative" decays of Wino-like neutralinos into the lightest neutralino and a photon are enhanced, whereas decays into leptons are suppressed. While these decay patterns weaken the reach of multi-lepton searches at the LHC, the radiative decay opens a new window for probing dark matter at the LHC through the exploration of parameter space regions beyond those currently accessible. To complement the current electroweakino searches, we propose searching for a single (soft) photon plus missing transverse energy, accompanied by a hard initial state radiation jet

"What's (the) Matter?", A Show on Elementary Particle Physics with 28 Demonstration Experiments

We present the screenplay of a physics show on particle physics, by the Physikshow of Bonn University. The show is addressed at non-physicists aged 14+ and communicates basic concepts of elementary particle physics including the discovery of the Higgs boson in an entertaining fashion. It is also demonstrates a successful outreach activity heavily relying on the university physics students. This paper is addressed at anybody interested in particle physics and/or show physics. This paper is also addressed at fellow physicists working in outreach, maybe the experiments and our choice of simple explanations will be helpful. Furthermore, we are very interested in related activities elsewhere, in particular also demonstration experiments relevant to particle physics, as often little of this work is published. Our show involves 28 live demonstration experiments. These are presented in an extensive appendix, including photos and technical details. The show is set up as a quest, where 2 students from Bonn with the aid of a caretaker travel back in time to understand the fundamental nature of matter. They visit Rutherford and Geiger in Manchester around 1911, who recount their famous experiment on the nucleus and show how particle detectors work. They travel forward in time to meet Lawrence at Berkeley around 1950, teaching them about the how and why of accelerators. Next, they visit Wu at DESY, Hamburg, around 1980, who explains the strong force. They end up in the LHC tunnel at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland in 2012. Two experimentalists tell them about colliders and our heroes watch live as the Higgs boson is produced and decays. The show was presented in English at Oxford University and University College London, as well as Padua University and ICTP Trieste. It was 1st performed in German at the Deutsche Museum, Bonn (5/'14). The show has eleven speaking parts and involves in total 20 people.Comment: 113 pages, 88 figures. An up to date version of the paper with high resolution pictures can be found at http://www.th.physik.uni-bonn.de/People/dreiner/Downloads/. In v2 the acknowledgements and a citation are correcte

lenstronomy II: A gravitational lensing softwareecosystem

peer reviewe

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe