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Given the complex geometry of white matter streamlines, Autoencoders have been proposed as a dimension-reduction tool to simplify the analysis streamlines in a low-dimensional latent spaces. However, despite these recent successes, the majority of encoder architectures only perform dimension reduction on single streamlines as opposed to a full bundle of streamlines. This is a severe limitation of the encoder architecture that completely disregards the global geometric structure of streamlines at the expense of individual fibers. Moreover, the latent space may not be well structured which leads to doubt into their interpretability. In this paper we propose a novel Differentiable Vector Quantized Variational Autoencoder, which are engineered to ingest entire bundles of streamlines as single data-point and provides reliable trustworthy encodings that can then be later used to analyze streamlines in the latent space. Comparisons with several state of the art Autoencoders demonstrate superior performance in both encoding and synthesis. 

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05409-9_38 

Abstract The Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC) is a collection of short-duration (transient) gravitational-wave signals identified by the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Collaboration in gravitational-wave data produced by the eponymous detectors. The catalog provides information about the identified candidates, such as the arrival time and amplitude of the signal and properties of the signal’s source as inferred from the observational data. GWTC is the data release of this dataset, and version 4.0 extends the catalog to include observations made during the first part of the fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA observing run up until 2024 January 31. This Letter marks an introduction to a collection of articles related to this version of the catalog, GWTC-4.0. The collection of articles accompanying the catalog provides documentation of the methods used to analyze the data, summaries of the catalog of events, observational measurements drawn from the population, and detailed discussions of selected candidates. 

Abstract We report the observation of gravitational waves from two binary black hole coalescences during the fourth observing run of the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA detector network, GW241011 and GW241110. The sources of these two signals are characterized by rapid and precisely measured primary spins, nonnegligible spin–orbit misalignment, and unequal mass ratios between their constituent black holes. These properties are characteristic of binaries in which the more massive object was itself formed from a previous binary black hole merger and suggest that the sources of GW241011 and GW241110 may have formed in dense stellar environments in which repeated mergers can take place. As the third-loudest gravitational-wave event published to date, with a median network signal-to-noise ratio of 36.0, GW241011 furthermore yields stringent constraints on the Kerr nature of black holes, the multipolar structure of gravitational-wave generation, and the existence of ultralight bosons within the mass range 10⁻¹³–10⁻¹²eV. 

Abstract On 2023 November 23, the two LIGO observatories both detected GW231123, a gravitational-wave signal consistent with the merger of two black holes with masses $137_{-18}^{+23}{M}_{\odot }$and $101_{-50}^{+22}{M}_{\odot }$(90% credible intervals), at a luminosity distance of 0.7–4.1 Gpc, a redshift of $0.40_{-0.25}^{+0.27}$, and with a network signal-to-noise ratio of ∼20.7. Both black holes exhibit high spins— $0.90_{-0.19}^{+0.10}$and $0.80_{-0.52}^{+0.20}$, respectively. A massive black hole remnant is supported by an independent ringdown analysis. Some properties of GW231123 are subject to large systematic uncertainties, as indicated by differences in the inferred parameters between signal models. The primary black hole lies within or above the theorized mass gap where black holes between 60–130M_⊙should be rare, due to pair-instability mechanisms, while the secondary spans the gap. The observation of GW231123 therefore suggests the formation of black holes from channels beyond standard stellar collapse and that intermediate-mass black holes of mass ∼200M_⊙form through gravitational-wave-driven mergers. 

The gravitational-wave signal GW250114 was observed by the two LIGO detectors with a network matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 80. The signal was emitted by the coalescence of two black holes with near-equal masses $m_1={33.6}_{-0.8}^{+1.2}{M}_{\odot }$and $m_2={32.2}_{-1.3}^{+0.8}{M}_{\odot }$, and small spins ${\chi }_{1,2}\le 0.26$(90% credibility) and negligible eccentricity $e\le 0.03$. Postmerger data excluding the peak region are consistent with the dominant quadrupolar $(\ell =|m|=2)$mode of a Kerr black hole and its first overtone. We constrain the modes’ frequencies to $\pm 30\%$of the Kerr spectrum, providing a test of the remnant’s Kerr nature. We also examine Hawking’s area law, also known as the second law of black hole mechanics, which states that the total area of the black hole event horizons cannot decrease with time. A range of analyses that exclude up to five of the strongest merger cycles confirm that the remnant area is larger than the sum of the initial areas to high credibility. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> An angular analysis ofB⁰→ K^*0e⁺e⁻decays is presented using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb⁻¹. The analysis is performed in the region of the dilepton invariant mass squared of 1.1–6.0 GeV²/c⁴. In addition, a test of lepton flavour universality is performed by comparing the obtained angular observables with those measured inB⁰→ K^*0μ⁺μ⁻decays. In general, the angular observables are found to be consistent with the Standard Model expectations as well as with global analyses of otherb → sℓ⁺ℓ⁻processes, whereℓis either a muon or an electron. No sign of lepton-flavour-violating effects is observed. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> A search for the decay$$ {B}_c^{+} $$ $B_c^{+}$→ χ_c1(3872)π⁺is reported using proton-proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and 2018 at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb⁻¹. No significant signal is observed. Using the decay$$ {B}_c^{+} $$ $B_c^{+}$→ψ(2S)π⁺as a normalisation channel, an upper limit for the ratio of branching fractions$$ {\mathcal{R}}_{\psi (2S)}^{\chi_{c1}(3872)}=\frac{{\mathcal{B}}_{B_c^{+}\to {\chi}_{c1}(3872){\pi}^{+}}}{{\mathcal{B}}_{B_c^{+}\to \psi (2S){\pi}^{+}}}\times \frac{{\mathcal{B}}_{\chi_{c1}(3872)\to J/\psi {\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-}}}{{\mathcal{B}}_{\psi (2S)\to J/\psi {\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-}}}<0.05(0.06), $$ $R_{\psi \left(2S\right)}^{{\chi }_{c1}\left(3872\right)}=\frac{B_{B_c^{+}\to {\chi }_{c1}\left(3872\right){\pi }^{+}}}{B_{B_c^{+}\to \psi \left(2S\right){\pi }^{+}}}\times \frac{B_{{\chi }_{c1}\left(3872\right)\to J/\psi {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}}}{B_{\psi \left(2S\right)\to J/\psi {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}}}<0.05\left(0.06\right),$ is set at the 90 (95)% confidence level.