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1. THE BOUNDARY OF THE p -RANK STRATUM OF THE MODULI SPACE OF CYCLIC COVERS OF THE PROJECTIVE LINE

   https://doi.org/10.1017/nmj.2022.12  

   OZMAN, EKIN; PRIES, RACHEL; WEIR, COLIN (December 2022, Nagoya Mathematical Journal)

   Abstract. We study the p-rank stratification of the moduli space of cyclic degree ! covers of the projective line in characteristic p for distinct primes p and !. The main result is about the intersection of the p-rank 0 stratum with the boundary of the moduli space of curves. When ! = 3 and p ≡ 2 mod 3 is an odd prime, we prove that there exists a smooth trielliptic curve in characteristic p, for every genus g, signature type (r,s), and p-rank f satisfying the clear necessary conditions. 

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2. The Grayness of the Origin of Life

   https://doi.org/10.3390/life11060498  

   Smith, Hillary H.; Hyde, Andrew S.; Simkus, Danielle N.; Libby, Eric; Maurer, Sarah E.; Graham, Heather V.; Kempes, Christopher P.; Sherwood Lollar, Barbara; Chou, Luoth; Ellington, Andrew D.; et al (June 2021, Life)

   null (Ed.)

   In the search for life beyond Earth, distinguishing the living from the non-living is paramount. However, this distinction is often elusive, as the origin of life is likely a stepwise evolutionary process, not a singular event. Regardless of the favored origin of life model, an inherent “grayness” blurs the theorized threshold defining life. Here, we explore the ambiguities between the biotic and the abiotic at the origin of life. The role of grayness extends into later transitions as well. By recognizing the limitations posed by grayness, life detection researchers will be better able to develop methods sensitive to prebiotic chemical systems and life with alternative biochemistries. 

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3. The eigensplitting of the fiber of the cyclotomic trace for the sphere spectrum

   https://doi.org/10.1090/tran/8822  

   Blumberg, Andrew; Mandell, Michael (January 2022, Transactions of the American Mathematical Society)

   Let p ∈ Z p\in {\mathbb {Z}} be an odd prime. We show that the fiber sequence for the cyclotomic trace of the sphere spectrum S {\mathbb {S}} admits an “eigensplitting” that generalizes known splittings on K K -theory and T C TC . We identify the summands in the fiber as the covers of Z p {\mathbb {Z}}_{p} -Anderson duals of summands in the K ( 1 ) K(1) -localized algebraic K K -theory of Z {\mathbb {Z}} . Analogous results hold for the ring Z {\mathbb {Z}} where we prove that the K ( 1 ) K(1) -localized fiber sequence is self-dual for Z p {\mathbb {Z}}_{p} -Anderson duality, with the duality permuting the summands by i ↦ p − i i\mapsto p-i (indexed mod p − 1 p-1 ). We explain an intrinsic characterization of the summand we call Z Z in the splitting T C ( Z ) p ∧ ≃ j ∨ Σ j ′ ∨ Z TC({\mathbb {Z}})^{\wedge }_{p}\simeq j \vee \Sigma j’\vee Z in terms of units in the p p -cyclotomic tower of Q p {\mathbb {Q}}_{p} . 

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4. The impact of the crust equation of state on the analysis of GW170817

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6382/ab5ba4  

   Gamba, R.; Read, J. S.; Wade, L. E. (December 2019, Classical and Quantum Gravity)

   Abstract The detection of GW170817, the first neutron star-neutron star merger observed by Advanced LIGO and Virgo, and its following analyses represent the first contributions of gravitational wave data to understanding dense matter. Parameterizing the high density section of the equation of state of both neutron stars through spectral decomposition, and imposing a lower limit on the maximum mass value, led to an estimate of the stars’ radii ofkm andkm (Abbottet al2018Phys. Rev. Lett.121161101). These values do not, however, take into account any uncertainty owed to the choice of the crust low-density equation of state, which was fixed to reproduce the SLy equation of state model (Douchin and Haensel 2001Astron. Astrophys.380151). We here re-analyze GW170817 data and establish that different crust models do not strongly impact the mass or tidal deformability of a neutron star—it is impossible to distinguish between low-density models with gravitational wave analysis. However, the crust does have an effect on inferred radius. We predict the systematic error due to this effect using neutron star structure equations, and compare the prediction to results from full parameter estimation runs. For GW170817, this systematic error affects the radius estimate by 0.3 km, approximatelyof the neutron stars’ radii. 

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5. The Role of Dislocations in the Anelasticity of the Upper Mantle

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JB031674  

   Hein, Diede; Hansen, Lars N; Kumamoto, Kathryn M; Chen, Haiyan; Nehring, M Adaire; Goddard, Rellie M; Breithaupt, Thomas; Cross, Andrew J; Thom, Christopher A; Seyler, Caroline (October 2025, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth)

   Abstract Dislocation‐based dissipation mechanisms potentially control the viscoelastic response of Earth's upper mantle across a variety of geodynamic contexts, including glacial isostatic adjustment, postseismic creep, and seismic‐wave attenuation. However, there is no consensus on which dislocation‐based, microphysical process controls the viscoelastic behavior of the upper mantle. Although both intergranular (plastic anisotropy) and intragranular (backstress) mechanisms have been proposed, there is currently insufficient laboratory data to discriminate between those mechanisms. Here, we present the results of forced‐oscillation experiments in a deformation‐DIA apparatus at confining pressures of 3–7 GPa and temperatures of 298–1370 K. Our experiments tested the viscoelastic response of polycrystalline olivine—the main constituent of the upper mantle—at stress amplitudes from 70 to 2,800 MPa. Mechanical data are complemented by microstructural analyses of grain size, crystallographic preferred orientation, and dislocation density. We observe amplitude‐ and frequency‐dependent attenuation and modulus relaxation and find that numerical solutions of the backstress model match our results well. Therefore, we argue that interactions among dislocations, rather than intergranular processes (e.g., plastic anisotropy or grain boundary sliding), control the viscoelastic behavior of polycrystalline olivine in our experiments. In addition, we present a linearized version of the constitutive equations of the backstress model and extrapolate it to conditions typical of seismic‐wave propagation in the upper mantle. Our extrapolation demonstrates that the backstress model can explain the magnitude of seismic‐wave attenuation in the upper mantle, although some modification is required to explain the weak frequency dependence of attenuation observed in nature and in previous experimental work. 

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