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1. Linking Nuclear Reactions and Nuclear Structure to Study Exotic Nuclei Using the Dispersive Optical Model

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58082-7_10  

   Dickhoff, W H (January 2021, Springer proceedings in physics)

   Escher, Jutta et (Ed.)

   The dispersive optical model (DOM) is employed to simultaneously describe elastic nucleon scattering data for 40Ca, 48Ca, and 208Pb as well as observables related to the ground state of these nuclei, with emphasis on the charge density. Such an analysis requires a fully non-local implementation of the DOM including its imaginary component. Illustrations are provided on how ingredients thus generated provide critical components for the description of the (d, p) and (e, e′p) reaction. For the nuclei with N > Z the neutron distribution is constrained by available elastic scattering and ground-state data thereby generating a prediction for the neutron skin. We identify ongoing developments including a non-local DOM analysis for 208Pb and point out possible extensions of the method to secure a successful extension of the DOM to rare isotopes. 

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2. Cooperative SGD: A Unified Framework for the Design and Analysis of Local-Update SGD Algorithms

   Wang, Jianyu; Joshi, Gauri (January 2021, Journal of machine learning research)

   When training machine learning models using stochastic gradient descent (SGD) with a large number of nodes or massive edge devices, the communication cost of synchronizing gradients at every iteration is a key bottleneck that limits the scalability of the system and hinders the benefit of parallel computation. Local-update SGD algorithms, where worker nodes perform local iterations of SGD and periodically synchronize their local models, can effectively reduce the communication frequency and save the communication delay. In this paper, we propose a powerful framework, named Cooperative SGD, that subsumes a variety of local-update SGD algorithms (such as local SGD, elastic averaging SGD, and decentralized parallel SGD) and provides a unified convergence analysis. Notably, special cases of the unified convergence analysis provided by the cooperative SGD framework yield 1) the first convergence analysis of elastic averaging SGD for general non-convex objectives, and 2) improvements upon previous analyses of local SGD and decentralized parallel SGD. Moreover, we design new algorithms such as elastic averaging SGD with overlapped computation and communication, and decentralized periodic averaging which are shown to be 4x or more faster than the baseline in reaching the same training loss. 

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3. A generalized fractional-order elastodynamic theory for non-local attenuating media

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2020.0200  

   Patnaik, Sansit; Semperlotti, Fabio (June 2020, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences)

   This study presents a generalized elastodynamic theory, based on fractional-order operators, capable of modelling the propagation of elastic waves in non-local attenuating solids and across complex non-local interfaces. Classical elastodynamics cannot capture hybrid field transport processes that are characterized by simultaneous propagation and diffusion. The proposed continuum mechanics formulation, which combines fractional operators in both time and space, offers unparalleled capabilities to predict the most diverse combinations of multiscale, non-local, dissipative and attenuating elastic energy transport mechanisms. Despite the many features of this theory and the broad range of applications, this work focuses on the behaviour and modelling capabilities of the space-fractional term and on its effect on the elastodynamics of solids. We also derive a generalized fractional-order version of Snell’s Law of refraction and of the corresponding Fresnel’s coefficients. This formulation allows predicting the behaviour of fully coupled elastic waves interacting with non-local interfaces. The theoretical results are validated via direct numerical simulations. 

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4. Dynamics and topology of non-Hermitian elastic lattices with non-local feedback control interactions

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab81b6  

   Rosa, Matheus I. N.; Ruzzene, Massimo (May 2020, New Journal of Physics)

   Abstract We investigate non-Hermitian elastic lattices characterized by non-local feedback interactions. In one-dimensional lattices, proportional feedback produces non-reciprocity associated with complex dispersion relations characterized by gain and loss in opposite propagation directions. For non-local controls, such non-reciprocity occurs over multiple frequency bands characterized by opposite non-reciprocal behavior. The dispersion topology is investigated with focus on winding numbers and non-Hermitian skin effect, which manifests itself through bulk modes localized at the boundaries of finite lattices. In two-dimensional lattices, non-reciprocity is associated with directional wave amplification. Moreover, the combination of skin effect in two directions produces modes that are localized at the corners of finite two-dimensional lattices. Our results describe fundamental properties of non-Hermitian elastic lattices, and suggest new possibilities for the design of meta materials with novel functionalities related to selective wave filtering, amplification and localization. The considered non-local lattices also provide a platform for the investigation of topological phases of non-Hermitian systems. 

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5. Clots reveal anomalous elastic behavior of fiber networks

   https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh1265  

   Zakharov, Andrei; Awan, Myra; Gopinath, Arvind; Lee, Sang-Joon John; Ramasubramanian, Anand K; Dasbiswas, Kinjal (January 2024, Science Advances)

   The adaptive mechanical properties of soft and fibrous biological materials are relevant to their functionality. The emergence of the macroscopic response of these materials to external stress and intrinsic cell traction from local deformations of their structural components is not well understood. Here, we investigate the nonlinear elastic behavior of blood clots by combining microscopy, rheology, and an elastic network model that incorporates the stretching, bending, and buckling of constituent fibrin fibers. By inhibiting fibrin cross-linking in blood clots, we observe an anomalous softening regime in the macroscopic shear response as well as a reduction in platelet-induced clot contractility. Our model explains these observations from two independent macroscopic measurements in a unified manner, through a single mechanical parameter, the bending stiffness of individual fibers. Supported by experimental evidence, our mechanics-based model provides a framework for predicting and comprehending the nonlinear elastic behavior of blood clots and other active biopolymer networks in general. 

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