What are the Building Blocks of Our Universe?

We are told that we are living in a Golden Age of Astronomy. Cosmological Parameters are found with un precedented accuracy. Yet, the known form of matter forms only a small fraction of the total energy density of the universe. Also, a mysterious dark energy dominates the universe and causes acceleration in the rate of expansion.Comment: To be published in the Proceedings of the Interantional Conference on COSMOLOGY;Facts and Problems (College de France, Paris, June 8-11, 2004

A Discretized Version of Kaluza-Klein Theory with Torsion and Massive Fields

We consider an internal space of two discrete points in the fifth dimension of the Kaluza-Klein theory by using the formalism of noncommutative geometry developed in a previous paper \cite{VIWA} of a spacetime supplemented by two discrete points. With the nonvanishing internal torsion 2-form there are no constraints implied on the vielbeins. The theory contains a pair of tensor, a pair of vector and a pair of scalar fields. Using the generalized Cartan structure equation we are able not only to determine uniquely the hermitian and metric compatible connection 1-forms, but also the nonvanishing internal torsion 2-form in terms of vielbeins. The resulting action has a rich and complex structure, a particular feature being the existence of massive modes. Thus the nonvanishing internal torsion generates a Kaluza-Klein type model with zero and massive modes.Comment: 24 page

Noncommutative Geometry and a Discretized Version of Kaluza-Klein Theory with a Finite Field Content

We consider a four-dimensional space-time supplemented by two discrete points assigned to a $Z_2$ algebraic structure and develop the formalism of noncommutative geometry. By setting up a generalised vielbein, we study the metric structure. Metric compatible torsion free connection defines a unique finite field content in the model and leads to a discretized version of Kaluza-Klein theory. We study some special cases of this model that illustrate the rich and complex structure with massive modes and the possible presence of a cosmological constant.Comment: 21 pages, LATEX fil

Optimal Topology Design for Disturbance Minimization in Power Grids

The transient response of power grids to external disturbances influences their stable operation. This paper studies the effect of topology in linear time-invariant dynamics of different power grids. For a variety of objective functions, a unified framework based on $H_2$ norm is presented to analyze the robustness to ambient fluctuations. Such objectives include loss reduction, weighted consensus of phase angle deviations, oscillations in nodal frequency, and other graphical metrics. The framework is then used to study the problem of optimal topology design for robust control goals of different grids. For radial grids, the problem is shown as equivalent to the hard "optimum communication spanning tree" problem in graph theory and a combinatorial topology construction is presented with bounded approximation gap. Extended to loopy (meshed) grids, a greedy topology design algorithm is discussed. The performance of the topology design algorithms under multiple control objectives are presented on both loopy and radial test grids. Overall, this paper analyzes topology design algorithms on a broad class of control problems in power grid by exploring their combinatorial and graphical properties.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, a version of this work will appear in ACC 201

Baryons and Mesons with Beauty

Recent experimental findings of several mesons and baryons with "beauty" and "charm" as flavors remind us of the days when strangeness was discovered, and how its inclusion led to SU(3)-flavor symmetry with enormous success in the classification of the "proliferated" states into SU(3) multiplets. One of the key elements was the successful application of the first order perturbation in symmetry breaking, albeit what then appeared to be huge mass differences, and the prediction of new states that were confirmed by experiments. In this note, we venture into the past and, applying the same techniques, predict some new "beauty-" and "charm-" flavored hadrons. If these new states are confirmed experimentally, it may provide a useful phenomenological model for classifying numerous states that are found to be in the PDG data and could invite further theoretical challenges towards our understanding of symmetry breaking.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, plain Late

Mechanism Design for Demand Response Programs

Demand Response (DR) programs serve to reduce the consumption of electricity at times when the supply is scarce and expensive. The utility informs the aggregator of an anticipated DR event. The aggregator calls on a subset of its pool of recruited agents to reduce their electricity use. Agents are paid for reducing their energy consumption from contractually established baselines. Baselines are counter-factual consumption estimates of the energy an agent would have consumed if they were not participating in the DR program. Baselines are used to determine payments to agents. This creates an incentive for agents to inflate their baselines. We propose a novel self-reported baseline mechanism (SRBM) where each agent reports its baseline and marginal utility. These reports are strategic and need not be truthful. Based on the reported information, the aggregator selects or calls on agents to meet the load reduction target. Called agents are paid for observed reductions from their self-reported baselines. Agents who are not called face penalties for consumption shortfalls below their baselines. The mechanism is specified by the probability with which agents are called, reward prices for called agents, and penalty prices for agents who are not called. Under SRBM, we show that truthful reporting of baseline consumption and marginal utility is a dominant strategy. Thus, SRBM eliminates the incentive for agents to inflate baselines. SRBM is assured to meet the load reduction target. SRBM is also nearly efficient since it selects agents with the smallest marginal utilities, and each called agent contributes maximally to the load reduction target. Finally, we show that SRBM is almost optimal in the metric of average cost of DR provision faced by the aggregator

Learning Robustness with Bounded Failure: An Iterative MPC Approach

We propose an approach to design a Model Predictive Controller (MPC) for constrained Linear Time Invariant systems performing an iterative task. The system is subject to an additive disturbance, and the goal is to learn to satisfy state and input constraints robustly. Using disturbance measurements after each iteration, we construct Confidence Support sets, which contain the true support of the disturbance distribution with a given probability. As more data is collected, the Confidence Supports converge to the true support of the disturbance. This enables design of an MPC controller that avoids conservative estimate of the disturbance support, while simultaneously bounding the probability of constraint violation. The efficacy of the proposed approach is then demonstrated with a detailed numerical example.Comment: Added GitHub link to all source code