@inproceedings{14083, abstract = {In this work we consider the list-decodability and list-recoverability of arbitrary q-ary codes, for all integer values of q ≥ 2. A code is called (p,L)_q-list-decodable if every radius pn Hamming ball contains less than L codewords; (p,𝓁,L)_q-list-recoverability is a generalization where we place radius pn Hamming balls on every point of a combinatorial rectangle with side length 𝓁 and again stipulate that there be less than L codewords. Our main contribution is to precisely calculate the maximum value of p for which there exist infinite families of positive rate (p,𝓁,L)_q-list-recoverable codes, the quantity we call the zero-rate threshold. Denoting this value by p_*, we in fact show that codes correcting a p_*+ε fraction of errors must have size O_ε(1), i.e., independent of n. Such a result is typically referred to as a "Plotkin bound." To complement this, a standard random code with expurgation construction shows that there exist positive rate codes correcting a p_*-ε fraction of errors. We also follow a classical proof template (typically attributed to Elias and Bassalygo) to derive from the zero-rate threshold other tradeoffs between rate and decoding radius for list-decoding and list-recovery. Technically, proving the Plotkin bound boils down to demonstrating the Schur convexity of a certain function defined on the q-simplex as well as the convexity of a univariate function derived from it. We remark that an earlier argument claimed similar results for q-ary list-decoding; however, we point out that this earlier proof is flawed.}, author = {Resch, Nicolas and Yuan, Chen and Zhang, Yihan}, booktitle = {50th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming}, isbn = {9783959772785}, issn = {1868-8969}, location = {Paderborn, Germany}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik}, title = {{Zero-rate thresholds and new capacity bounds for list-decoding and list-recovery}}, doi = {10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2023.99}, volume = {261}, year = {2023}, } @article{12922, abstract = {The influence of structural modifications on the catalytic activity of carbon materials is poorly understood. A collection of carbonaceous materials with different pore networks and high nitrogen content was characterized and used to catalyze four reactions to deduce structure–activity relationships. The CO2 cycloaddition and Knoevenagel reaction depend on Lewis basic sites (electron-rich nitrogen species). The absence of large conjugated carbon domains resulting from the introduction of large amounts of nitrogen in the carbon network is responsible for poor redox activity, as observed through the catalytic reduction of nitrobenzene with hydrazine and the catalytic oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine using hydroperoxide. The material with the highest activity towards Lewis acid catalysis (in the hydrolysis of (dimethoxymethyl)benzene to benzaldehyde) is the most effective for small molecule activation and presents the highest concentration of electron-poor nitrogen species.}, author = {Lepre, Enrico and Rat, Sylvain and Cavedon, Cristian and Seeberger, Peter H. and Pieber, Bartholomäus and Antonietti, Markus and López‐Salas, Nieves}, issn = {1521-3773}, journal = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition}, keywords = {General Chemistry, Catalysis}, number = {2}, publisher = {Wiley}, title = {{Catalytic properties of high nitrogen content carbonaceous materials}}, doi = {10.1002/anie.202211663}, volume = {62}, year = {2023}, } @article{13450, abstract = {In previous work, we identified a population of 38 cool and luminous variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds and examined 11 in detail in order to classify them as either Thorne–Żytkow objects (TŻOs; red supergiants with a neutron star cores) or super-asymptotic giant branch (sAGB) stars (the most massive stars that will not undergo core collapse). This population includes HV 2112, a peculiar star previously considered in other works to be either a TŻO or high-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. Here we continue this investigation, using the kinematic and radio environments and local star formation history of these stars to place constraints on the age of the progenitor systems and the presence of past supernovae. These stars are not associated with regions of recent star formation, and we find no evidence of past supernovae at their locations. Finally, we also assess the presence of heavy elements and lithium in their spectra compared to red supergiants. We find strong absorption in Li and s-process elements compared to RSGs in most of the sample, consistent with sAGB nucleosynthesis, while HV 2112 shows additional strong lines associated with TŻO nucleosynthesis. Coupled with our previous mass estimates, the results are consistent with the stars being massive (∼4–6.5 M⊙) or sAGB (∼6.5–12 M⊙) stars in the thermally pulsing phase, providing crucial observations of the transition between low- and high-mass stellar populations. HV 2112 is more ambiguous; it could either be a maximally massive sAGB star, or a TŻO if the minimum mass for stability extends down to ≲13 M⊙.}, author = {O‘Grady, Anna J. G. and Drout, Maria R. and Gaensler, B. M. and Kochanek, C. S. and Neugent, Kathryn F. and Doherty, Carolyn L. and Speagle, Joshua S. and Shappee, B. J. and Rauch, Michael and Götberg, Ylva Louise Linsdotter and Ludwig, Bethany and Thompson, Todd A.}, issn = {1538-4357}, journal = {The Astrophysical Journal}, keywords = {Space and Planetary Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics}, number = {1}, publisher = {American Astronomical Society}, title = {{Cool, luminous, and highly variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds. II. Spectroscopic and environmental analysis of Thorne–Żytkow object and super-AGB star candidates}}, doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/aca655}, volume = {943}, year = {2023}, } @article{13449, abstract = {Stars strongly impact their environment, and shape structures on all scales throughout the universe, in a process known as "feedback." Due to the complexity of both stellar evolution and the physics of larger astrophysical structures, there remain many unanswered questions about how feedback operates and what we can learn about stars by studying their imprint on the wider universe. In this white paper, we summarize discussions from the Lorentz Center meeting "Bringing Stellar Evolution and Feedback Together" in 2022 April and identify key areas where further dialog can bring about radical changes in how we view the relationship between stars and the universe they live in.}, author = {Geen, Sam and Agrawal, Poojan and Crowther, Paul A. and Keller, B. W. and de Koter, Alex and Keszthelyi, Zsolt and van de Voort, Freeke and Ali, Ahmad A. and Backs, Frank and Bonne, Lars and Brugaletta, Vittoria and Derkink, Annelotte and Ekström, Sylvia and Fichtner, Yvonne A. and Grassitelli, Luca and Götberg, Ylva Louise Linsdotter and Higgins, Erin R. and Laplace, Eva and You Liow, Kong and Lorenzo, Marta and McLeod, Anna F. and Meynet, Georges and Newsome, Megan and André Oliva, G. and Ramachandran, Varsha and Rey, Martin P. and Rieder, Steven and Romano-Díaz, Emilio and Sabhahit, Gautham and Sander, Andreas A. C. and Sarwar, Rafia and Stinshoff, Hanno and Stoop, Mitchel and Szécsi, Dorottya and Trebitsch, Maxime and Vink, Jorick S. and Winch, Ethan}, issn = {1538-3873}, journal = {Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific}, keywords = {Space and Planetary Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics}, number = {1044}, publisher = {IOP Publishing}, title = {{Bringing stellar evolution and feedback together: Summary of proposals from the Lorentz Center workshop}}, doi = {10.1088/1538-3873/acb6b5}, volume = {135}, year = {2023}, } @article{14104, abstract = {Thorne–Żytkow objects (TŻO) are potential end products of the merger of a neutron star with a non-degenerate star. In this work, we have computed the first grid of evolutionary models of TŻOs with the MESA stellar evolution code. With these models, we predict several observational properties of TŻOs, including their surface temperatures and luminosities, pulsation periods, and nucleosynthetic products. We expand the range of possible TŻO solutions to cover 3.45≲log(Teff/K)≲3.65 and 4.85≲log(L/L⊙)≲5.5⁠. Due to the much higher densities our TŻOs reach compared to previous models, if TŻOs form we expect them to be stable over a larger mass range than previously predicted, without exhibiting a gap in their mass distribution. Using the GYRE stellar pulsation code we show that TŻOs should have fundamental pulsation periods of 1000–2000 d, and period ratios of ≈0.2–0.3. Models computed with a large 399 isotope fully coupled nuclear network show a nucleosynthetic signal that is different to previously predicted. We propose a new nucleosynthetic signal to determine a star’s status as a TŻO: the isotopologues 44TiO2 and 44TiO⁠, which will have a shift in their spectral features as compared to stable titanium-containing molecules. We find that in the local Universe (∼SMC metallicities and above) TŻOs show little heavy metal enrichment, potentially explaining the difficulty in finding TŻOs to-date.}, author = {Farmer, R and Renzo, M and Götberg, Ylva Louise Linsdotter and Bellinger, E and Justham, S and de Mink, S E}, issn = {1365-2966}, journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, keywords = {Space and Planetary Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics}, number = {2}, pages = {1692--1709}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{Observational predictions for Thorne–Żytkow objects}}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stad1977}, volume = {524}, year = {2023}, } @article{13989, abstract = {Characterizing and controlling entanglement in quantum materials is crucial for the development of next-generation quantum technologies. However, defining a quantifiable figure of merit for entanglement in macroscopic solids is theoretically and experimentally challenging. At equilibrium the presence of entanglement can be diagnosed by extracting entanglement witnesses from spectroscopic observables and a nonequilibrium extension of this method could lead to the discovery of novel dynamical phenomena. Here, we propose a systematic approach to quantify the time-dependent quantum Fisher information and entanglement depth of transient states of quantum materials with time-resolved resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. Using a quarter-filled extended Hubbard model as an example, we benchmark the efficiency of this approach and predict a light-enhanced many-body entanglement due to the proximity to a phase boundary. Our work sets the stage for experimentally witnessing and controlling entanglement in light-driven quantum materials via ultrafast spectroscopic measurements.}, author = {Hales, Jordyn and Bajpai, Utkarsh and Liu, Tongtong and Baykusheva, Denitsa Rangelova and Li, Mingda and Mitrano, Matteo and Wang, Yao}, issn = {2041-1723}, journal = {Nature Communications}, keywords = {General Physics and Astronomy, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, General Chemistry, Multidisciplinary}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Witnessing light-driven entanglement using time-resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering}}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-023-38540-3}, volume = {14}, year = {2023}, } @article{13990, abstract = {Many-body entanglement in condensed matter systems can be diagnosed from equilibrium response functions through the use of entanglement witnesses and operator-specific quantum bounds. Here, we investigate the applicability of this approach for detecting entangled states in quantum systems driven out of equilibrium. We use a multipartite entanglement witness, the quantum Fisher information, to study the dynamics of a paradigmatic fermion chain undergoing a time-dependent change of the Coulomb interaction. Our results show that the quantum Fisher information is able to witness distinct signatures of multipartite entanglement both near and far from equilibrium that are robust against decoherence. We discuss implications of these findings for probing entanglement in light-driven quantum materials with time-resolved optical and x-ray scattering methods.}, author = {Baykusheva, Denitsa Rangelova and Kalthoff, Mona H. and Hofmann, Damian and Claassen, Martin and Kennes, Dante M. and Sentef, Michael A. and Mitrano, Matteo}, issn = {1079-7114}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, keywords = {General Physics and Astronomy}, number = {10}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Witnessing nonequilibrium entanglement dynamics in a strongly correlated fermionic chain}}, doi = {10.1103/physrevlett.130.106902}, volume = {130}, year = {2023}, } @article{12697, abstract = {Models for same-material contact electrification in granular media often rely on a local charge-driving parameter whose spatial variations lead to a stochastic origin for charge exchange. Measuring the charge transfer from individual granular spheres after contacts with substrates of the same material, we find instead a “global” charging behavior, coherent over the sample’s whole surface. Cleaning and baking samples fully resets charging magnitude and direction, which indicates the underlying global parameter is not intrinsic to the material, but acquired from its history. Charging behavior is randomly and irreversibly affected by changes in relative humidity, hinting at a mechanism where adsorbates, in particular, water, are fundamental to the charge-transfer process.}, author = {Grosjean, Galien M and Waitukaitis, Scott R}, issn = {1079-7114}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, keywords = {General Physics, Electrostatics, Triboelectricity, Soft Matter, Acoustic Levitation, Granular Materials}, number = {9}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Single-collision statistics reveal a global mechanism driven by sample history for contact electrification in granular media}}, doi = {10.1103/physrevlett.130.098202}, volume = {130}, year = {2023}, } @article{14103, abstract = {Observations of individual massive stars, super-luminous supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and gravitational wave events involving spectacular black hole mergers indicate that the low-metallicity Universe is fundamentally different from our own Galaxy. Many transient phenomena will remain enigmatic until we achieve a firm understanding of the physics and evolution of massive stars at low metallicity (Z). The Hubble Space Telescope has devoted 500 orbits to observing ∼250 massive stars at low Z in the ultraviolet (UV) with the COS and STIS spectrographs under the ULLYSES programme. The complementary X-Shooting ULLYSES (XShootU) project provides an enhanced legacy value with high-quality optical and near-infrared spectra obtained with the wide-wavelength coverage X-shooter spectrograph at ESO’s Very Large Telescope. We present an overview of the XShootU project, showing that combining ULLYSES UV and XShootU optical spectra is critical for the uniform determination of stellar parameters such as effective temperature, surface gravity, luminosity, and abundances, as well as wind properties such as mass-loss rates as a function of Z. As uncertainties in stellar and wind parameters percolate into many adjacent areas of astrophysics, the data and modelling of the XShootU project is expected to be a game changer for our physical understanding of massive stars at low Z. To be able to confidently interpret James Webb Space Telescope spectra of the first stellar generations, the individual spectra of low-Z stars need to be understood, which is exactly where XShootU can deliver.}, author = {Vink, Jorick S. and Mehner, A. and Crowther, P. A. and Fullerton, A. and Garcia, M. and Martins, F. and Morrell, N. and Oskinova, L. M. and St-Louis, N. and ud-Doula, A. and Sander, A. A. C. and Sana, H. and Bouret, J.-C. and Kubátová, B. and Marchant, P. and Martins, L. P. and Wofford, A. and van Loon, J. Th. and Grace Telford, O. and Götberg, Ylva Louise Linsdotter and Bowman, D. M. and Erba, C. and Kalari, V. M. and Abdul-Masih, M. and Alkousa, T. and Backs, F. and Barbosa, C. L. and Berlanas, S. R. and Bernini-Peron, M. and Bestenlehner, J. M. and Blomme, R. and Bodensteiner, J. and Brands, S. A. and Evans, C. J. and David-Uraz, A. and Driessen, F. A. and Dsilva, K. and Geen, S. and Gómez-González, V. M. A. and Grassitelli, L. and Hamann, W.-R. and Hawcroft, C. and Herrero, A. and Higgins, E. R. and John Hillier, D. and Ignace, R. and Istrate, A. G. and Kaper, L. and Kee, N. D. and Kehrig, C. and Keszthelyi, Z. and Klencki, J. and de Koter, A. and Kuiper, R. and Laplace, E. and Larkin, C. J. K. and Lefever, R. R. and Leitherer, C. and Lennon, D. J. and Mahy, L. and Maíz Apellániz, J. and Maravelias, G. and Marcolino, W. and McLeod, A. F. and de Mink, S. E. and Najarro, F. and Oey, M. S. and Parsons, T. N. and Pauli, D. and Pedersen, M. G. and Prinja, R. K. and Ramachandran, V. and Ramírez-Tannus, M. C. and Sabhahit, G. N. and Schootemeijer, A. and Reyero Serantes, S. and Shenar, T. and Stringfellow, G. S. and Sudnik, N. and Tramper, F. and Wang, L.}, issn = {1432-0746}, journal = {Astronomy & Astrophysics}, keywords = {Space and Planetary Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics}, publisher = {EDP Sciences}, title = {{X-shooting ULLYSES: Massive stars at low metallicity. I. Project description}}, doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202245650}, volume = {675}, year = {2023}, } @phdthesis{13175, abstract = {About a 100 years ago, we discovered that our universe is inherently noisy, that is, measuring any physical quantity with a precision beyond a certain point is not possible because of an omnipresent inherent noise. We call this - the quantum noise. Certain physical processes allow this quantum noise to get correlated in conjugate physical variables. These quantum correlations can be used to go beyond the potential of our inherently noisy universe and obtain a quantum advantage over the classical applications. Quantum noise being inherent also means that, at the fundamental level, the physical quantities are not well defined and therefore, objects can stay in multiple states at the same time. For example, the position of a particle not being well defined means that the particle is in multiple positions at the same time. About 4 decades ago, we started exploring the possibility of using objects which can be in multiple states at the same time to increase the dimensionality in computation. Thus, the field of quantum computing was born. We discovered that using quantum entanglement, a property closely related to quantum correlations, can be used to speed up computation of certain problems, such as factorisation of large numbers, faster than any known classical algorithm. Thus began the pursuit to make quantum computers a reality. Till date, we have explored quantum control over many physical systems including photons, spins, atoms, ions and even simple circuits made up of superconducting material. However, there persists one ubiquitous theme. The more readily a system interacts with an external field or matter, the more easily we can control it. But this also means that such a system can easily interact with a noisy environment and quickly lose its coherence. Consequently, such systems like electron spins need to be protected from the environment to ensure the longevity of their coherence. Other systems like nuclear spins are naturally protected as they do not interact easily with the environment. But, due to the same reason, it is harder to interact with such systems. After decades of experimentation with various systems, we are convinced that no one type of quantum system would be the best for all the quantum applications. We would need hybrid systems which are all interconnected - much like the current internet where all sorts of devices can all talk to each other - but now for quantum devices. A quantum internet. Optical photons are the best contenders to carry information for the quantum internet. They can carry quantum information cheaply and without much loss - the same reasons which has made them the backbone of our current internet. Following this direction, many systems, like trapped ions, have already demonstrated successful quantum links over a large distances using optical photons. However, some of the most promising contenders for quantum computing which are based on microwave frequencies have been left behind. This is because high energy optical photons can adversely affect fragile low-energy microwave systems. In this thesis, we present substantial progress on this missing quantum link between microwave and optics using electrooptical nonlinearities in lithium niobate. The nonlinearities are enhanced by using resonant cavities for all the involved modes leading to observation of strong direct coupling between optical and microwave frequencies. With this strong coupling we are not only able to achieve almost 100\% internal conversion efficiency with low added noise, thus presenting a quantum-enabled transducer, but also we are able to observe novel effects such as cooling of a microwave mode using optics. The strong coupling regime also leads to direct observation of dynamical backaction effect between microwave and optical frequencies which are studied in detail here. Finally, we also report first observation of microwave-optics entanglement in form of two-mode squeezed vacuum squeezed 0.7dB below vacuum level. With this new bridge between microwave and optics, the microwave-based quantum technologies can finally be a part of a quantum network which is based on optical photons - putting us one step closer to a future with quantum internet. }, author = {Sahu, Rishabh}, isbn = {978-3-99078-030-5}, issn = {2663 - 337X}, keywords = {quantum optics, electrooptics, quantum networks, quantum communication, transduction}, pages = {202}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Cavity quantum electrooptics}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:13175}, year = {2023}, } @phdthesis{12900, abstract = {About a 100 years ago, we discovered that our universe is inherently noisy, that is, measuring any physical quantity with a precision beyond a certain point is not possible because of an omnipresent inherent noise. We call this - the quantum noise. Certain physical processes allow this quantum noise to get correlated in conjugate physical variables. These quantum correlations can be used to go beyond the potential of our inherently noisy universe and obtain a quantum advantage over the classical applications. Quantum noise being inherent also means that, at the fundamental level, the physical quantities are not well defined and therefore, objects can stay in multiple states at the same time. For example, the position of a particle not being well defined means that the particle is in multiple positions at the same time. About 4 decades ago, we started exploring the possibility of using objects which can be in multiple states at the same time to increase the dimensionality in computation. Thus, the field of quantum computing was born. We discovered that using quantum entanglement, a property closely related to quantum correlations, can be used to speed up computation of certain problems, such as factorisation of large numbers, faster than any known classical algorithm. Thus began the pursuit to make quantum computers a reality. Till date, we have explored quantum control over many physical systems including photons, spins, atoms, ions and even simple circuits made up of superconducting material. However, there persists one ubiquitous theme. The more readily a system interacts with an external field or matter, the more easily we can control it. But this also means that such a system can easily interact with a noisy environment and quickly lose its coherence. Consequently, such systems like electron spins need to be protected from the environment to ensure the longevity of their coherence. Other systems like nuclear spins are naturally protected as they do not interact easily with the environment. But, due to the same reason, it is harder to interact with such systems. After decades of experimentation with various systems, we are convinced that no one type of quantum system would be the best for all the quantum applications. We would need hybrid systems which are all interconnected - much like the current internet where all sorts of devices can all talk to each other - but now for quantum devices. A quantum internet. Optical photons are the best contenders to carry information for the quantum internet. They can carry quantum information cheaply and without much loss - the same reasons which has made them the backbone of our current internet. Following this direction, many systems, like trapped ions, have already demonstrated successful quantum links over a large distances using optical photons. However, some of the most promising contenders for quantum computing which are based on microwave frequencies have been left behind. This is because high energy optical photons can adversely affect fragile low-energy microwave systems. In this thesis, we present substantial progress on this missing quantum link between microwave and optics using electrooptical nonlinearities in lithium niobate. The nonlinearities are enhanced by using resonant cavities for all the involved modes leading to observation of strong direct coupling between optical and microwave frequencies. With this strong coupling we are not only able to achieve almost 100\% internal conversion efficiency with low added noise, thus presenting a quantum-enabled transducer, but also we are able to observe novel effects such as cooling of a microwave mode using optics. The strong coupling regime also leads to direct observation of dynamical backaction effect between microwave and optical frequencies which are studied in detail here. Finally, we also report first observation of microwave-optics entanglement in form of two-mode squeezed vacuum squeezed 0.7dB below vacuum level. With this new bridge between microwave and optics, the microwave-based quantum technologies can finally be a part of a quantum network which is based on optical photons - putting us one step closer to a future with quantum internet. }, author = {Sahu, Rishabh}, isbn = {978-3-99078-030-5}, issn = {2663 - 337X}, keywords = {quantum optics, electrooptics, quantum networks, quantum communication, transduction}, pages = {190}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Cavity quantum electrooptics}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:12900}, year = {2023}, } @inproceedings{14242, abstract = {We study the problem of training and certifying adversarially robust quantized neural networks (QNNs). Quantization is a technique for making neural networks more efficient by running them using low-bit integer arithmetic and is therefore commonly adopted in industry. Recent work has shown that floating-point neural networks that have been verified to be robust can become vulnerable to adversarial attacks after quantization, and certification of the quantized representation is necessary to guarantee robustness. In this work, we present quantization-aware interval bound propagation (QA-IBP), a novel method for training robust QNNs. Inspired by advances in robust learning of non-quantized networks, our training algorithm computes the gradient of an abstract representation of the actual network. Unlike existing approaches, our method can handle the discrete semantics of QNNs. Based on QA-IBP, we also develop a complete verification procedure for verifying the adversarial robustness of QNNs, which is guaranteed to terminate and produce a correct answer. Compared to existing approaches, the key advantage of our verification procedure is that it runs entirely on GPU or other accelerator devices. We demonstrate experimentally that our approach significantly outperforms existing methods and establish the new state-of-the-art for training and certifying the robustness of QNNs.}, author = {Lechner, Mathias and Zikelic, Dorde and Chatterjee, Krishnendu and Henzinger, Thomas A and Rus, Daniela}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 37th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence}, isbn = {9781577358800}, location = {Washington, DC, United States}, number = {12}, pages = {14964--14973}, publisher = {Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence}, title = {{Quantization-aware interval bound propagation for training certifiably robust quantized neural networks}}, doi = {10.1609/aaai.v37i12.26747}, volume = {37}, year = {2023}, } @inproceedings{14243, abstract = {Two-player zero-sum "graph games" are central in logic, verification, and multi-agent systems. The game proceeds by placing a token on a vertex of a graph, and allowing the players to move it to produce an infinite path, which determines the winner or payoff of the game. Traditionally, the players alternate turns in moving the token. In "bidding games", however, the players have budgets and in each turn, an auction (bidding) determines which player moves the token. So far, bidding games have only been studied as full-information games. In this work we initiate the study of partial-information bidding games: we study bidding games in which a player's initial budget is drawn from a known probability distribution. We show that while for some bidding mechanisms and objectives, it is straightforward to adapt the results from the full-information setting to the partial-information setting, for others, the analysis is significantly more challenging, requires new techniques, and gives rise to interesting results. Specifically, we study games with "mean-payoff" objectives in combination with "poorman" bidding. We construct optimal strategies for a partially-informed player who plays against a fully-informed adversary. We show that, somewhat surprisingly, the "value" under pure strategies does not necessarily exist in such games.}, author = {Avni, Guy and Jecker, Ismael R and Zikelic, Dorde}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 37th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence}, isbn = {9781577358800}, location = {Washington, DC, United States}, number = {5}, pages = {5464--5471}, title = {{Bidding graph games with partially-observable budgets}}, doi = {10.1609/aaai.v37i5.25679}, volume = {37}, year = {2023}, } @inproceedings{14241, abstract = {We present a technique to optimize the reflectivity of a surface while preserving its overall shape. The naïve optimization of the mesh vertices using the gradients of reflectivity simulations results in undesirable distortion. In contrast, our robust formulation optimizes the surface normal as an independent variable that bridges the reflectivity term with differential rendering, and the regularization term with as-rigid-as-possible elastic energy. We further adaptively subdivide the input mesh to improve the convergence. Consequently, our method can minimize the retroreflectivity of a wide range of input shapes, resulting in sharply creased shapes ubiquitous among stealth aircraft and Sci-Fi vehicles. Furthermore, by changing the reward for the direction of the outgoing light directions, our method can be applied to other reflectivity design tasks, such as the optimization of architectural walls to concentrate light in a specific region. We have tested the proposed method using light-transport simulations and real-world 3D-printed objects.}, author = {Tojo, Kenji and Shamir, Ariel and Bickel, Bernd and Umetani, Nobuyuki}, booktitle = {SIGGRAPH 2023 Conference Proceedings}, isbn = {9798400701597}, location = {Los Angeles, CA, United States}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, title = {{Stealth shaper: Reflectivity optimization as surface stylization}}, doi = {10.1145/3588432.3591542}, year = {2023}, } @article{12562, abstract = {Presynaptic inputs determine the pattern of activation of postsynaptic neurons in a neural circuit. Molecular and genetic pathways that regulate the selective formation of subsets of presynaptic inputs are largely unknown, despite significant understanding of the general process of synaptogenesis. In this study, we have begun to identify such factors using the spinal monosynaptic stretch reflex circuit as a model system. In this neuronal circuit, Ia proprioceptive afferents establish monosynaptic connections with spinal motor neurons that project to the same muscle (termed homonymous connections) or muscles with related or synergistic function. However, monosynaptic connections are not formed with motor neurons innervating muscles with antagonistic functions. The ETS transcription factor ER81 (also known as ETV1) is expressed by all proprioceptive afferents, but only a small set of motor neuron pools in the lumbar spinal cord of the mouse. Here we use conditional mouse genetic techniques to eliminate Er81 expression selectively from motor neurons. We find that ablation of Er81 in motor neurons reduces synaptic inputs from proprioceptive afferents conveying information from homonymous and synergistic muscles, with no change observed in the connectivity pattern from antagonistic proprioceptive afferents. In summary, these findings suggest a role for ER81 in defined motor neuron pools to control the assembly of specific presynaptic inputs and thereby influence the profile of activation of these motor neurons.}, author = {Ladle, David R. and Hippenmeyer, Simon}, issn = {1522-1598}, journal = {Journal of Neurophysiology}, keywords = {Physiology, General Neuroscience}, number = {3}, pages = {501--512}, publisher = {American Physiological Society}, title = {{Loss of ETV1/ER81 in motor neurons leads to reduced monosynaptic inputs from proprioceptive sensory neurons}}, doi = {10.1152/jn.00172.2022}, volume = {129}, year = {2023}, } @inproceedings{13310, abstract = {Machine-learned systems are in widespread use for making decisions about humans, and it is important that they are fair, i.e., not biased against individuals based on sensitive attributes. We present runtime verification of algorithmic fairness for systems whose models are unknown, but are assumed to have a Markov chain structure. We introduce a specification language that can model many common algorithmic fairness properties, such as demographic parity, equal opportunity, and social burden. We build monitors that observe a long sequence of events as generated by a given system, and output, after each observation, a quantitative estimate of how fair or biased the system was on that run until that point in time. The estimate is proven to be correct modulo a variable error bound and a given confidence level, where the error bound gets tighter as the observed sequence gets longer. Our monitors are of two types, and use, respectively, frequentist and Bayesian statistical inference techniques. While the frequentist monitors compute estimates that are objectively correct with respect to the ground truth, the Bayesian monitors compute estimates that are correct subject to a given prior belief about the system’s model. Using a prototype implementation, we show how we can monitor if a bank is fair in giving loans to applicants from different social backgrounds, and if a college is fair in admitting students while maintaining a reasonable financial burden on the society. Although they exhibit different theoretical complexities in certain cases, in our experiments, both frequentist and Bayesian monitors took less than a millisecond to update their verdicts after each observation.}, author = {Henzinger, Thomas A and Karimi, Mahyar and Kueffner, Konstantin and Mallik, Kaushik}, booktitle = {Computer Aided Verification}, isbn = {9783031377020}, issn = {1611-3349}, location = {Paris, France}, pages = {358–382}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Monitoring algorithmic fairness}}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-031-37703-7_17}, volume = {13965}, year = {2023}, } @article{12205, abstract = {Background: This study seeks to evaluate the impact of breast cancer (BRCA) gene status on tumor dissemination pattern, surgical outcome and survival in a multicenter cohort of paired primary ovarian cancer (pOC) and recurrent ovarian cancer (rOC). Patients and Methods: Medical records and follow-up data from 190 patients were gathered retrospectively. All patients had surgery at pOC and at least one further rOC surgery at four European high-volume centers. Patients were divided into one cohort with confirmed mutation for BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 (BRCAmut) and a second cohort with BRCA wild type or unknown (BRCAwt). Patterns of tumor presentation, surgical outcome and survival data were analyzed between the two groups. Results: Patients with BRCAmut disease were on average 4 years younger and had significantly more tumor involvement upon diagnosis. Patients with BRCAmut disease showed higher debulking rates at all stages. Multivariate analysis showed that only patient age had significant predictive value for complete tumor resection in pOC. At rOC, however, only BRCAmut status significantly correlated with optimal debulking. Patients with BRCAmut disease showed significantly prolonged overall survival (OS) by 24.3 months. Progression-free survival (PFS) was prolonged in the BRCAmut group at all stages as well, reaching statistical significance during recurrence. Conclusions: Patients with BRCAmut disease showed a more aggressive course of disease with earlier onset and more extensive tumor dissemination at pOC. However, surgical outcome and OS were significantly better in patients with BRCAmut disease compared with patients with BRCAwt disease. We therefore propose to consider BRCAmut status in regard to patient selection for cytoreductive surgery, especially in rOC.}, author = {Glajzer, Jacek and Castillo-Tong, Dan Cacsire and Richter, Rolf and Vergote, Ignace and Kulbe, Hagen and Vanderstichele, Adriaan and Ruscito, Ilary and Trillsch, Fabian and Mustea, Alexander and Kreuzinger, Caroline and Gourley, Charlie and Gabra, Hani and Taube, Eliane T. and Dorigo, Oliver and Horst, David and Keunecke, Carlotta and Baum, Joanna and Angelotti, Timothy and Sehouli, Jalid and Braicu, Elena Ioana}, issn = {1534-4681}, journal = {Annals of Surgical Oncology}, keywords = {Oncology, Surgery}, pages = {35--45}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Impact of BRCA mutation status on tumor dissemination pattern, surgical outcome and patient survival in primary and recurrent high-grade serous ovarian cancer: A multicenter retrospective study by the Ovarian Cancer Therapy-Innovative Models Prolong Survival (OCTIPS) consortium}}, doi = {10.1245/s10434-022-12459-3}, volume = {30}, year = {2023}, } @article{12115, author = {Glajzer, Jacek and Castillo-Tong, Dan Cacsire and Richter, Rolf and Vergote, Ignace and Kulbe, Hagen and Vanderstichele, Adriaan and Ruscito, Ilary and Trillsch, Fabian and Mustea, Alexander and Kreuzinger, Caroline and Gourley, Charlie and Gabra, Hani and Taube, Eliane T. and Dorigo, Oliver and Horst, David and Keunecke, Carlotta and Baum, Joanna and Angelotti, Timothy and Sehouli, Jalid and Braicu, Elena Ioana}, issn = {1534-4681}, journal = {Annals of Surgical Oncology}, keywords = {Oncology, Surgery}, pages = {46--47}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{ASO Visual Abstract: Impact of BRCA mutation status on tumor dissemination pattern, surgical outcome, and patient survival in primary and recurrent high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). A multicenter, retrospective study of the ovarian cancer therapy—innovative models prolong survival (OCTIPS) consortium}}, doi = {10.1245/s10434-022-12681-z}, volume = {30}, year = {2023}, } @article{14253, abstract = {Junctions between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the plasma membrane (PM) are specialized membrane contacts ubiquitous in eukaryotic cells. Concentration of intracellular signaling machinery near ER-PM junctions allows these domains to serve critical roles in lipid and Ca2+ signaling and homeostasis. Subcellular compartmentalization of protein kinase A (PKA) signaling also regulates essential cellular functions, however, no specific association between PKA and ER-PM junctional domains is known. Here, we show that in brain neurons type I PKA is directed to Kv2.1 channel-dependent ER-PM junctional domains via SPHKAP, a type I PKA-specific anchoring protein. SPHKAP association with type I PKA regulatory subunit RI and ER-resident VAP proteins results in the concentration of type I PKA between stacked ER cisternae associated with ER-PM junctions. This ER-associated PKA signalosome enables reciprocal regulation between PKA and Ca2+ signaling machinery to support Ca2+ influx and excitation-transcription coupling. These data reveal that neuronal ER-PM junctions support a receptor-independent form of PKA signaling driven by membrane depolarization and intracellular Ca2+, allowing conversion of information encoded in electrical signals into biochemical changes universally recognized throughout the cell.}, author = {Vierra, Nicholas C. and Ribeiro-Silva, Luisa and Kirmiz, Michael and Van Der List, Deborah and Bhandari, Pradeep and Mack, Olivia A. and Carroll, James and Le Monnier, Elodie and Aicher, Sue A. and Shigemoto, Ryuichi and Trimmer, James S.}, issn = {2041-1723}, journal = {Nature Communications}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Neuronal ER-plasma membrane junctions couple excitation to Ca2+-activated PKA signaling}}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-023-40930-6}, volume = {14}, year = {2023}, } @inproceedings{14259, abstract = {We provide a learning-based technique for guessing a winning strategy in a parity game originating from an LTL synthesis problem. A cheaply obtained guess can be useful in several applications. Not only can the guessed strategy be applied as best-effort in cases where the game’s huge size prohibits rigorous approaches, but it can also increase the scalability of rigorous LTL synthesis in several ways. Firstly, checking whether a guessed strategy is winning is easier than constructing one. Secondly, even if the guess is wrong in some places, it can be fixed by strategy iteration faster than constructing one from scratch. Thirdly, the guess can be used in on-the-fly approaches to prioritize exploration in the most fruitful directions. In contrast to previous works, we (i) reflect the highly structured logical information in game’s states, the so-called semantic labelling, coming from the recent LTL-to-automata translations, and (ii) learn to reflect it properly by learning from previously solved games, bringing the solving process closer to human-like reasoning.}, author = {Kretinsky, Jan and Meggendorfer, Tobias and Prokop, Maximilian and Rieder, Sabine}, booktitle = {35th International Conference on Computer Aided Verification }, isbn = {9783031377051}, issn = {1611-3349}, location = {Paris, France}, pages = {390--414}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Guessing winning policies in LTL synthesis by semantic learning}}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-031-37706-8_20}, volume = {13964}, year = {2023}, }