Phase Structure of Non-Compact QED3 and the Abelian Higgs Model

We review the phase structure of a three-dimensional, non-compact Abelian gauge theory (QED3) as a function of the number $N$ of 4-component massless fermions. There is a critical $N_{c}$ up to which there is dynamical fermion mass generation and an associated global symmetry breaking. We discuss various approaches to the determination of $N_c$, which lead to estimates ranging from $N_c =1$ to $N_c =4$. This theory with N=2 has been employed as an effective continuum theory for the 2D quantum antiferromagnet where the observed Neel ordering corresponds to dynamical fermion mass generation. Thus the value of $N_c$ is of some physical interest. We also consider the phase structure of the model with a finite gauge boson mass (the Abelian Higgs model).Comment: 14 pages, corrected the normalization of the fermion condensate in section V, corrected a typo in the reference

Utilizing Deep Neural Networks for Brain–Computer Interface-Based Prosthesis Control

Limb amputations affect a significant portion of the world’s population every year. The necessity for these operations can be associated with related health conditions or a traumatic event. Currently, prosthetic devices intended to alleviate the burden of amputation lack many of the premier features possessed by their biological counterparts. The foremost of these features are agility and tactile function. In an effort to address the former, researchers here investigate the fundamental connection between agile finger movement and brain signaling. In this study each subject was asked to move his or her right index finger in sync with a time-aligned finger movement demonstration while each movement was labeled and the subject’s brain waves were recorded via a single-channel electroencephalograph. This data was subsequently used to train and test a deep neural network in an effort to classify each subject’s intention to rest and intention to extend his or her right index finger. On average, the employed model yielded an accuracy of 63.3%, where the most predictable subject’s movements were classified with an accuracy of 70.5%

On the involution fixity of exceptional groups of Lie type

The involution fixity ${\rm ifix}(G)$ of a permutation group $G$ of degree $n$ is the maximum number of fixed points of an involution. In this paper we study the involution fixity of primitive almost simple exceptional groups of Lie type. We show that if $T$ is the socle of such a group, then either ${\rm ifix}(T) > n^{1/3}$, or ${\rm ifix}(T) = 1$ and $T = {}^2B_2(q)$ is a Suzuki group in its natural $2$-transitive action of degree $n=q^2+1$. This bound is best possible and we present more detailed results for each family of exceptional groups, which allows us to determine the groups with ${\rm ifix}(T) \leqslant n^{4/9}$. This extends recent work of Liebeck and Shalev, who established the bound ${\rm ifix}(T) > n^{1/6}$ for every almost simple primitive group of degree $n$ with socle $T$ (with a prescribed list of exceptions). Finally, by combining our results with the Lang-Weil estimates from algebraic geometry, we determine bounds on a natural analogue of involution fixity for primitive actions of exceptional algebraic groups over algebraically closed fields.Comment: 45 pages; to appear in Int. J. Algebra Compu

Understanding the effects of geometry and rotation on pulsar intensity profiles

We have developed a method to compute the possible distribution of radio emission regions in a typical pulsar magnetosphere, taking into account the viewing geometry and rotational effects of the neutron star. Our method can estimate the emission altitude and the radius of curvature of particle trajectory as a function of rotation phase for a given inclination angle, impact angle, spin-period, Lorentz factor, field line constant and the observation frequency. Further, using curvature radiation as the basic emission mechanism, we simulate the radio intensity profiles that would be observed from a given distribution of emission regions, for different values of radio frequency and Lorentz factor. We show clearly that rotation effects can introduce significant asymmetries into the observed radio profiles. We investigate the dependency of profile features on various pulsar parameters. We find that the radiation from a given ring of field lines can be seen over a large range of pulse longitudes, originating at different altitudes, with varying spectral intensity. Preferred heights of emission along discrete sets of field lines are required to reproduce realistic pulsar profiles, and we illustrate this for a known pulsar. Finally, we show how our model provides feasible explanations for the origin of core emission, and also for one-sided cones which have been observed in some pulsars.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Expressions to determine temperatures and emission measures for solar X-ray events from GOES measurements

Expressions which give the effective color temperatures and corresponding emission measures for solar X-ray events observed with instruments onboard any of the GOES satellites are developed. Theoretical spectra were used to simulate the solar X-ray input at a variety of plasma temperatures. These spectra were folded through the wavelength dependent transfer functions for the two GOES detectors. The resulting detector responses and their ratio as a function of plasma temperature were then fit with simple analytic curves. Over the entire range between 5 and 30 million degrees, these fits reproduce the calculated color temperatures within 2% and the calculated emission measures within 5%. With the theoretical spectra, similar expressions for any pair of broadband X-ray detectors whose sensitivities are limited to wavelengths between 0.2 and 100 A are calculable

Dancing with loneliness in later life: A pilot study mapping seasonal variations

Temporal variations in loneliness at the individual and population level have long been reported in longitudinal studies. Although the evidence is limited due to methodological distinctions among studies, we broadly know that loneliness as one ages is a dynamic experience with people becoming more or less lonely or staying the same over time. There is, however, less evidence to understand individual variations in loneliness over shorter periods of time. This paper reports on one element of a small mixed method pilot study to investigate seasonal variations in loneliness over the course of one year and to test the effectiveness of tools used to collect data at repeated short intervals. Our findings confirm that loneliness is dynamic even over shorter periods of time with participants reporting to be lonelier in the evenings, weekends and spring-summer period. Data measures were at times problematic due to language and/or interpretation and reinforce the relevance of reviewing the more common approaches to studying loneliness to more effectively capture the complex and individual nature of the experience.Brunel University Londo

Unicast Barrage Relay Networks: Outage Analysis and Optimization

Barrage relays networks (BRNs) are ad hoc networks built on a rapid cooperative flooding primitive as opposed to the traditional point-to-point link abstraction. Controlled barrage regions (CBRs) can be used to contain this flooding primitive for unicast and multicast, thereby enabling spatial reuse. In this paper, the behavior of individual CBRs is described as a Markov process that models the potential cooperative relay transmissions. The outage probability for a CBR is found in closed form for a given topology, and the probability takes into account fading and co-channel interference (CCI) between adjacent CBRs. Having adopted this accurate analytical framework, this paper proceeds to optimize a BRN by finding the optimal size of each CBR, the number of relays contained within each CBR, the optimal relay locations when they are constrained to lie on a straight line, and the code rate that maximizes the transport capacity.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, in IEEE Military Commun. Conf. (MILCOM), 201